Two Moons, A Thousand Sword Swings

Kelvin examined the sword, which was beside Asher, with squinted eyes. Upon seeing the tome, his eyes went wide. 

"How did you get that tome?" He gaped.

Asher looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

"Haven't you seen it before?" 

A wry smile appeared on Kelvin's face. "I last saw it in Jeffery Ashbourne's hands."

Asher's eyes widened. "My grandfather was the last person to practice this Battle Force Art?!"

"Yes. I wanted you to see the palm print and ask questions, but I never knew Sirius was already a gold ranked beast."

Ashe leaned back. "So the prerequisite to entering that room is to nurture my pet beast to the gold rank."

"It is." Kelvin replied respectfully. "After your grandfather and his pet beast died, the barony began to decline. A baron must have a gold-ranked knight to qualify as a true baron in the standards of the Eternal Immortal Empire's laws, and that was the same criteria for obtaining the family's ancient art." Kelvin added. 

"So without a gold-ranked knight, I'm not recognized?" Asher asked with a frown.

"The wastelands are abandoned, and we haven't been able to produce anything worth trading, so the low class nobles here aren't recognized."

"I see." Asher got to his feet. 

As he was about to leave, Kelvin stopped him. 

"Before I forget, My Lord,. Jon is on his way to the high plains. He should leave the wastelands in two weeks' time." 

"I'll await the good news." Asher smiled and left for the study. 

...

In the study, he sat behind the stone table after selecting a book that had what he wanted. As he opened it, his eyes paused on the heading. 

Eternal Immortal Empire's Fall.

'If this world is exactly the same as the virtual game, then beyond the mountain range lie the ruins of the powerful races of the Eternal Immortal Empire.'

Without knowing, Asher became absorbed in reading. Time kept moving, and by the time he reached the last page, the sun had gone down.

He supported his chin with his arms while meditating on the information he got from the book. He had no idea of this backstory, but it was magnificent and mind-shaking. According to the book, the Eternal Immortal Empire was the first empire to rise up after the fall of mages.

There were several promising talents who stood on the side of their ruler, and among them was Zenas Ashbourne, known as the two-faced shura! He was the grand general in charge of keeping watch against the abyss creatures after their rise 500 years ago.

After the sudden appearance of the abyss creatures, there was a great war that caused the disappearance of other races. Only a few of them remained, but the dragons and many mystical creatures had disappeared from the continent. 

The North, once a renowned land, kept dying until it finally became a wasteland, a land void of any good.

The Eternal Immortal Empire was greater than the other two empires, but internal strife split the once great empire into dukedoms and kingdoms. However, the capital of the Eternal Immortal Empire remained under the reign of the imperial family.

Unfortunately, the nobles had rebelled against them and refused their orders, reducing their control solely to the capital.

With all this information, the most striking thing to Asher was the size of the wastelands. It was three times bigger than the biggest dukedom and belonged to no one! 

Rightfully, it was the Ashbournes, but that was 500 years ago. The Ashbourne family had declined into a wretched state during the period and had lost ownership of the land, not because it was taken from them but because they lacked the power to maintain ownership.

The dukedoms had sold the land in parts, thereby demarcating it into several territories. 

"Even those who have no rightful ownership of the land are using it to enrich themselves." Asher frowned.

Knock! Knock!

"My Lord." A soft female voice broke Asher's train of thought. 

He opened the door and saw Mary. "My Lord. Sir Kelvin requires that you eat and prepare for your training."

"Requires? Training?" 

In the next moment, it dawned on Asher that he must have spent quite a lot of time reading. Especially when the size of the tome was considered. 

As he walked toward the dining room, he discovered Sirius wasn't in the sacred hall. 

"Where is Sirius?" He turned to Mary.

"It went to hunt."

"Oh."

He wasn't bothered by Sirius going into the forest due to its rank. As a gold-ranked beast, it was a top predator for as long as it didn't go beyond the mountains.

.....

Not long after Asher had his dinner and a small nap, he stood in a training field with Kelvin, Alex, and Alec standing outside the elevated stone platform. Asher looked at the two big, celestial-looking moons, ushering their lights at him. He wore a sleeveless white shirt and black pants that weren't as tight as the ones he wore during the daytime.

The chill from the cold stones transferred from his bare feet to the rest of his body, and his hands were connected to the hilt of an exquisite sword, befitting a lord.

"Attach the stones." He said it with determined eyes. 

Kelvin ascended the platform and tied the stones on his arms and legs. Each stone weighed about 20 kg. 

Asher grunted as he lifted his sword and swung it down. 

"One." Alex counted. 

Another swing.

"Two."

Another swing.

"Three."

….

"600."

"601."

….

"990"

Asher could barely hear Alex as he panted heavily. Sweat had drenched his body so much that the surface of the stone platform was wet. 

His eyes were on his sword, even as his muscles were trembling. 

Hu Hu~

He lifted his sword up, and it felt as if he lifted a massive stone. The weight made him stagger to the right before he regained himself. 

His vision was blurry, and he could barely see Kelvin, Alex, and Alec watching him.

'I can do it!' Asher clenched his teeth. "C… count!" he spat forcefully. 

With sheer determination, he did nine, lifted the sword with all his might, and swung it down the last time. The sword hit the stone platform, cleaving through it while he fell backward. The last thing he remembered was his subordinates' alarmed voices.