Chapter 29: Death Marches

Leon leaned back in his chair, exhaling. "Wow… this is so much to process. Thank you for this."

Edric let out a rough chuckle. "Oh, come on, Leon. This is the least I can do after you saved my ass."

Leon smirked but quickly refocused. "You said lords started appearing ten years ago. How many of us have been summoned? I've barely encountered any, yet you make it sound like there should be a lot more."

At that, Edric's expression darkened. His fingers tapped idly against the wooden table as if debating how much to say. Then, with a sigh, he leaned forward.

"You really don't know much, do you?" He shook his head. "Like I told you, this world is bloodthirsty, and humans here are brutal. When lords first started appearing—wooden castles and all—people were wary at first, unsure what to make of them. But then they realized that lords, for all their strange powers, were still human. They bled. They died. And they had something the locals wanted—free resources, land, and abilities no one else possessed."

Leon frowned. "Wait… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that once the kingdoms and warlords understood what lords were, they didn't hesitate. The extermination began."

Leon tensed.

Edric's voice was grim as he continued. "You either submitted and became a slave, or you died. Millions of lords were wiped out in the first few years. The ones with the strongest abilities and sharpest wits survived. Some, on other continents, even managed to unite and carve out small kingdoms. But here, in Velraion? This continent is worse than the rest. It's a battlefield soaked in blood, and the locals here weren't interested in alliances. Lords were hunted like animals, their castles looted, their people slaughtered. The only ones who survived were those lucky enough to be summoned in remote places—people like us."

Leon let out a slow breath, his mind racing. He had thought he had it rough, but compared to the first wave of lords? He had it easy.

Edric continued, "I came here a year and a half ago. I was lucky enough to meet three other lords, and we allied together. At first, things were going well—we built up our settlements, trained our people. We even thought we might have a future here. Then the Covenant noticed us."

Leon's gaze sharpened. "The Eclipse Covenant?"

Edric nodded. "At first, they sent small attacks, testing our strength. We fought back and managed to hold them off. But six months ago… one of our own betrayed us."

His fingers clenched into a fist, his voice thick with barely contained rage. "That bastard Callan. He sided with the Covenant. He gave them our defenses, our supply routes—everything. Because of him, the strongest of our group was ambushed and wiped out."

Leon narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell would he betray his own people to a bunch of lunatics?"

Edric scoffed. "Who knows? Power? Greed? Maybe they promised him safety in exchange for his loyalty. Either way, his betrayal cost us everything. When we arrived to help our strongest ally, it was too late. His settlement was nothing but ash and corpses. After that, I kept my distance from the last surviving lord of our group. We're still on decent terms, but I couldn't risk trusting him anymore."

Leon studied him for a moment before asking, "Then why trust me?"

Edric chuckled, the bitterness fading slightly. "Hah! If you were working with the Covenant, you'd be a pretty dumb cultist. If you had done nothing, my settlement would've been destroyed, and you wouldn't have even needed to get your hands dirty. Instead, you risked your life to fight by our side. That says more than words ever could."

Leon smirked. "Fair enough. I appreciate your trust, Edric. I hope we can build something real out of this."

Edric gave a firm nod. "I hope so too. Because this is exactly the time when we need allies." His expression hardened. "For the past six months, the Covenant was quiet. No major attacks, no signs of movement. We thought they were dealt with. But now…"

Leon leaned in. "What changed?"

Edric's eyes darkened.

"They're back. Stronger than before. And they're finally making their move to take full control of the Death Marches."

Leon sat silently for a moment, processing Edric's words. The Eclipse Covenant had returned, and they weren't just launching raids anymore. They were here to claim the land itself.

And Leon wasn't about to let that happen.