I Was Once The Greatest Evil King's Warlord

Inside a lonely cave where no living being dares to cross, a Young Man slept for at least two thousand years, unable to wake. His skin shows no aging, his body remains the same, but his hair is grows paler as time passes. Woven of words surround the sphere where he sleeps and protects him from dust and dirt. His chest glows red, blinking repeatedly as if it were his heart.

But just today, his chest blinked faster than ever.

The Young Man is dreaming. A flame surrounds him, thousands of shooting stars aim at his head, and he runs as if everyone is chasing him.

His hand glows blue, imitating the color of the thousands of shooting stars. In a single quick movement, he launches an equal number of shooting stars from his hand to repel the thousands of shooting stars that are after him. A big blast occurs as his shooting stars clash with the others, creating a magnificent yet terrifying scene for those who look from afar.

The ground then shatters after a mighty spear stabs the earth with its immense power. The Young Man flees, avoiding the wall of fire from the shattered ground. He immediately stands up and prepares to face the guest who has come for his head. But he knows they are actually after the key he holds, which will allow them to proceed deeper inside the castle. And that key is held within the chest that glows red inside his body.

"Well... seems there's nothing we could do to stop you."

A group of five then appears before him. Exhausted, they keep chasing him but feel no resistance from him. The Young Man simply flees around the castle hall, depleting their magic flow, known as mana. But whatever they throw at him, the Young Man counters it back with the same force. Nothing can get to him, and nothing can scratch him, as if his body is immune to magic attacks. But he isn't simply immune; his body just resists their attacks as strongly as possible.

On the other hand, the group of five is almost at their limit but still eager to fight the real battle with him. Until one of their members spots his weakness.

"Is that so....?"

But the Young Man's weakness itself has demoralized the group of five. That's because his weakness is aligned with his strength, making him unbeatable in their current condition. A major decision must be made, and it's not a pleasing one, of course.

This Young Man is their final trial against their own power to change the world. He represents a great danger with no intention of bringing either chaos or peace to a world already filled with chaos. Leaving him be will yield a result of zero. This means there will still be war, chaos, and humanity will face potential extinction.

Like the wind blowing his cape, the captain of the troupe extends his arm and walks forward. He draws his sword and challenges the Young Man to a duel with no interruptions. He asks the other four to watch closely from behind and, if he fails, the rest will take their turn.

"My blade will pierce the darkness and bring the light to its glory."

At that moment, the Young Man's heart is beating rapidly. His adrenaline is rushing through his body, challenged by the captain's wise words. Thus, the Young Man decides to accept the challenge of a duel against the captain of wise words. With a smile on his face and his eyes widened, he is excited to fight him.

Both of them then start striking with their weapons. The Young Man has fists of iron, and the Captain wields a blade of light. Their adrenaline rushes as neither of them wants to lose this fight. They put everything on the line and try to overwhelm each other.

Without using mana, the Young Man moves very fast to attack and outwit the Captain. Meanwhile, the Captain uses mana to hold his defense, observing every possible move of his opponent and looking for an opening. Once he has finished calculating, the Captain rushes back towards the Young Man and begins attacking.

At this moment, the Young Man feels his adrenaline rushing at its highest. The fierce attack from the Captain carries a wholehearted killing intent towards him. But fear not, the Young Man is also releasing the same killing intent, making the fight even more intense.

But that is just the beginning; the true battle begins as the Captain gets more heated and starts launching his magic attacks to strike his opponent.

The castle is filled with illuminating light as the Captain of the troupe launches his magic attack and the Young Man strikes back with the same magic. Their movements can't be read by the naked eye, as both possess inhuman strength and speed. The difference lies in how they enhance their strength and speed to match each other. The Captain uses his magic, while the Young Man relies purely on his muscles. Yet, the Captain's strength and speed are easily matched, as if he were fighting a mirror.

Azure, white, emerald, ruby, and magenta-colored magic flies around the castle, as if trying to beautify it with its magnificent gradation. Slashes and punches are launched, but neither overwhelms the other. The Young Man grows more excited, while the Captain becomes more determined. The Young Man's excitement increases his power even further, while the Captain's determination sharpens his focus.

The Young Man's heart beats rapidly as his chest glows red. The more excited he gets, the faster his heart beats.

But his excitement doesn't last long as the Captain unleashes his ultimate move. A light pierces through the darkness above and illuminates the ground where the Young Man is standing. A bright white scarf wraps around his neck, and a pair of pure white wings attaches to his back. As if possessed, his eyes turn a glowing white and gold. His blade is enhanced by the power of pure light magic, which can expel any darkness in its path.

At that moment, the Young Man remembers who he is and why he is standing there. He recalls the reason why he is fighting in the most isolated chamber of the grand castle. A cage where he was placed to watch and spectate every other Warlord fighting outside the castle.

And that cage is now broken...

The woven words snapped, and the sphere where he slept shattered. The Young Man fell and awakened from his deep slumber. Vines full of flowers caught him before he could smash his head into the ground, creating a bed with the scent of a thousand flowers.

The light illuminates his awakening. A young lady stands before him, as she is the one who summoned those vines of flowers. The cave ceiling cracks open, and the Young Man can see the face of the young lady clearly—the face he is familiar with.

"Rise and shine, darling." greeted the young lady.

"This is.... where am I?" the Young Man confused.

"Answer me, do you remember your name?"

"My name...."

His life then flashes before his eyes. A very young lady, staring at him with excitement as if she had found gold in a pile of dirt. But the young lady's image is blurry in front of his eyes. He doesn't recall what shape her face had or even what colour her eyes were. All he remembers is her smile—the damned smile that led him into the chaos he is now involved in.

"I don't recall my name..."

Despite the disappointment on her face, the young lady smiled as if she were relieved. "That's good to hear. As now we are freed, gaining our own freedom and live like how we wanted to."

Bewildered, the Young Man feels guilt for forgetting his given name. But looking at his past, he admits that he also wanted to leave everything behind. "But... still... it's hard for me."

"Then, let me show you the world we're facing."

Being pulled by force, the Young Man follows the young lady's footsteps and runs towards the exit of the cavern. The cavern hall is so dark, but with the help of the young lady's magic, she creates glowing flowers to guide the way to the exit.

The flowers she creates are manifestations of real flowers that have been extinct or are especially rare in the wilderness. Once she sees a real flower, she can recreate it anytime and even cultivate it to prevent its extinction. But all of this is only a manifestation, a replica of the physical object that imitates the real ones. Even the light they emit is an imitation. However, not every light can be easily replicated using magic. Pure light from its source is special and cannot be replicated by any living being. This pure light is visible in front of the Young Man's eyes as they exit the cavern.

A warm light washes over the Young Man's skin, revealing his true form.

He has a few hard scales, like a dragon's, attached to his skin as he remembers. His skin is white and pale, with sharp claws on his fingers, and a red orb attached to his abdomen. The red orb resembles his heart; it beats and spreads blood all over his body. Being a heartless living being might break the laws of nature by lacking a vital organ, so the red orb serves as its replacement.

He is a monster, but he never realized that he was one. The cage that had trapped him for almost two millennia has finally broken, and he has gained the freedom to learn about himself, to explore places he has never stepped foot in.

In front of him lies a very beautiful natural flower field that has not been touched by any magic, and a kingdom stands high before him. "What an amazing world I live in," said the Young Man deep inside his heart.

"Beautiful isn't it? This is the world we're trying to make. Despite every cruel things we've done in the past."

"I... never know. Is this also a fruit of my confinement?"

" That's right. You're our strongest warlord indeed and that's why he ask you to stay by his side until the end. Moreover, you are stronger than him, you are stronger than every one of us. Cause you're the one who once was The Evil King's Strongest Warlord."