Ch.636Side Story) Orhan. From 11 Years Ago, Until Now

I searched for traces of the curse’s solution and secretly scoured the entire plains to find the culprits so I could tear them into a thousand pieces, but achieved nothing.

Until she lost her life.

A few days later, I finally found those who had cursed Imelia de Median. Around the time of her funeral.

After inflicting every torture I could imagine, I discovered they were a group of sorcerers who had cursed Imelia under the orders of the “Grand Sorcerer.”

But even they didn’t know the most important thing—the Grand Sorcerer’s identity.

Empty feelings. Bottomless rage. When I returned to Ordos covered in their blood, I was greeted with news that Haschal had gouged out Aishan-Gioro Amin’s eyes.

I glimpsed in that child’s eyes a deep, intense murderous intent that could burn the entire plains and more. Murderous intent toward me. Toward the warriors of Clan Aishan. Toward the world.

At the center of that murderous intent that could burn even the heavens lay wolf’s blood thicker than my own.

Could there be anything more ironic?

The child with the potential to become the strongest on the plains, which I had longed for. The bloodline of divine blood that I had given up on while with Imelia revealed itself before me right after I lost her.

As if it had been waiting for this moment.

Haschal had sworn to live as a warrior, gripping Imelia’s sword—too long and heavy for her—and I couldn’t refuse.

Even knowing that child’s fangs were directed at me.

A nine-year-old girl who had lost Imelia’s protection, with no one to help her, and who had become a complete enemy of Dahamei.

For this child to survive, she needed to become strong. Stronger than anyone.

My daughter, who had no interest in martial arts, now harbored hatred toward me in her heart and gained both a desire for Karma and a reason to pursue strength. This was something to welcome.

As long as I remained the strongest on the plains, this child would use her desire for revenge against me as motivation and would not stop until she surpassed the strongest on the plains.

—-

The following year, I invaded the empire of the westerners, burning through Dane territory as I advanced.

I declared to the warriors that this was revenge for the raid two years ago, but in reality, it was merely a war born from my childish resentment that I wouldn’t have lost Imelia if Ludwig Wilhelm von Landenburg hadn’t attacked us.

I brought Haschal to the battlefield, protecting her while teaching her the skills and wisdom needed to survive as a warrior. I didn’t expect a nine-year-old child to understand all those teachings, but.

We lost the war.

The warriors were satisfied because they had plundered numerous villages and obtained countless spoils, but for me, it was a defeat.

The incomplete Unyielding Flesh was blocked by the bizarre techniques of an old man who called himself the Ghost Sword, and Ludwig surrounded us from three directions, forcing us to choose between annihilation and retreat.

I had no choice but to withdraw, promising to return another day.

My past dream—to conquer the great plains and find and take revenge on those who massacred my divine-blooded clan—had not even been half fulfilled…

And my second dream, to pass on the great empire of the plains I had created to a child who inherited the wolf’s blood, to revive the divine-blooded clan once more, would also vanish like bubbles if I continued this fight.

The only consolation was that I managed to slaughter Ludwig’s remaining child during that war.

—-

Years passed like arrows shot from time’s bow.

I focused on avoiding large-scale battles as much as possible while training an army to burn all my enemies in the east. As for the west… honestly, I was only interested in Landenburg.

The warriors wanted to destroy the western countries and plunder everything, but I would be satisfied if I could break down the wall and kill Ludwig. I didn’t think Imelia would want her homeland completely burned down.

While I was training the warriors into an army, Haschal grew stronger at an astonishing rate.

It took only about five years for a ten-year-old child who had only learned basic self-defense swordsmanship to become one of Clan Aishan’s greatest champions.

Having inherited both my and Imelia’s talents, and with the wolf’s blood awakened in her lineage, Haschal’s genius had reached a realm no one else on the plains had ever attained.

After the wolf’s blood awakened, that child, like me, was reborn with a body that transcended humanity. Her blood was so potent that she even succeeded in materializing the Karma of Murder, something even I couldn’t do.

The only worry was that she might become a madwoman consumed by revenge…

Thanks to a warrior named Jahan, whom I had assigned as her bodyguard and companion, Haschal grew into an excellent warrior without losing her mind to madness, even while burning with hatred toward me.

A warrior worthy of the position of Kagan, the absolute ruler of the great plains.

On the day Haschal demonstrated the materialized power of the Karma of Murder, I designated that child as my successor. To surpass me, to defeat me, and to become the ruler of the plains after me.

This wasn’t favoritism; there was simply no one else suitable.

Aishan-Gioro Targiyan was brave but reckless, Aishan-Gioro Sahakal was too cold to win the trust of the warriors. Aishan-Gioro Amin was both reckless and unpopular.

All three were decent enough as individual warriors and could manage to run a tribe if they became Khan, but… they weren’t vessels suitable for the imperial position of Kagan.

The problem was that the other children also noticed my intentions. Or more precisely, their mothers must have noticed. Biyashen and Meiharin were perceptive, and Dahamei was quite sharp as well.

My children had been competing for the position of my successor from before, but after Haschal reached the level of a champion, they all began to unite in checking only Haschal.

Haschal also seemed to perceive their checks as threats and didn’t stay in Ordos, instead roaming outside and focusing on plundering expeditions.

Eventually, she came to me with a plausible pretext, expressing her wish to leave for the Empire.

‘The Empire…’

A proposal delivered while calling me father again after many years, hiding her hatred-filled gaze and boiling murderous intent.

Whether it was just to temporarily escape, or to gather an army with the Empire’s help to kill me, I couldn’t tell… but after a brief deliberation, I permitted it.

Looking at Imelia’s sword hanging at Haschal’s waist.

If any of my other children crossed the wall to meet Ludwig, they would not escape death. Ludwig and I were mortal enemies, after all.

However, I thought that even Ludwig, who harbored deep resentment toward me, wouldn’t harm Imelia’s daughter.

According to Imelia, her ancestor and Ludwig’s ancestor were close comrades, and therefore Ludwig also knew that Imelia was a descendant of the Great’s Twelve Knights.

I didn’t think he would cut off the last descendant of such an important bloodline because of his desire for revenge.

Even if Ludwig did attack Haschal, I didn’t think she would lose, being among the top three champions.

The Ludwig I knew would rather…

Yes. It would be more like him to tempt Haschal and forge her into a sword to kill me.

I sent Haschal to the Empire.

She might return after growing stronger, or return with the imperial army, or not return at all… but any outcome seemed acceptable.

If she returned with the power to kill me, I would gladly die after a good fight and pass my position to her. Entrusting my unfulfilled dreams to that child.

If she returned with the imperial army to attack Clan Aishan, my dream of making her my successor would become difficult to achieve… but that was a price I was willing to pay.

If the Empire won, Haschal could live as a war hero praised by the Empire.

Conversely, if Clan Aishan won, I could not only satisfy my grudge by killing Ludwig, but also capture Haschal as a prisoner and persuade her to become my successor.

Even if she didn’t return, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. If Imelia’s daughter settled in Imelia’s homeland and lived peacefully, at least Imelia would be happy.

—-

Half a year later.

Aishan-Gioro Amin mobilized the White Banner Army to attack the wall on his own and fell from grace.

It was an unpleasant affair. Not only did it disrupt the eastern expedition, but it might have also destabilized Haschal’s position due to the unauthorized attack on the Empire.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Haschal seemed to have maintained her position by personally defeating the White Banner Army. She even seemed to have grown stronger than before.

The fact that she used fire magic was a little… no, a very unexpected fact.

I found Amin and punished him. I could forgive defeat, but forging my orders to move the army was an unforgivable crime.

…Perhaps because I used Aishan-Gioro Targiyan, the outcome was more violent than I had intended.

The state of Amin and Dahamei was enough to evoke a piece of compassion even from me, and I offered Amin a choice between his life and his mother’s.

If Amin chose to sacrifice himself to save Dahamei, I intended to pardon both of them as a final act of mercy.

But Amin disappointed me to the end, and as a result, he was left to live a life worse than death. Dahamei returned to the palace and took her own life.

Though it was the result of coveting a position beyond his abilities, it was still somewhat bitter.

—-

The following year, I defeated Adanmudur and took control of the entire great plains. It was a victory blessed by the heavens.

It was also a stroke of divine providence that I found a clue about the culprit who had destroyed my clan while dealing with prisoners and occupied territories.

The “Grand Sorcerer of the White Valley,” the leader of shamanic tribes scattered throughout the great plains, hiding their identities.

I couldn’t discover his identity, but he was the enemy who had destroyed my clan and the one who had ordered Imelia’s cursing.

The source of all troubles.

I ordered my soldiers, exhausted from the war with the Clan Union, to rest, and pondered how to find him.

Until Ludwig attacked the plains once more, causing the third great war.