The Age of Fallen Heroes

From the Spear of Witchcraft Chronicles:

In the year 214 of Babylon, the Kingdom of Roses stood at the peak of its power. The Babylonian Kingdom had fallen, and the lineage of orthodox witches was reduced to mere vassals. Thus began Babylon's descent into the Dark Ages.

"I must go… to the Kingdom of Roses in the mountains, to serve the wicked witches."

"Forget about me."

Such farewells were now commonplace.

In the streets and alleys, husbands wept as they bid goodbye to their wives and daughters. They walked with steady steps into the jaws of death, not out of bravery—but duty. They knew their fragile spiritual strength would not survive the witches' frenzied indulgence.

Everywhere, there were final embraces, final words. And this sorrow repeated, month after month.

A hundred men were sacrificed to the Rose Sect each moon cycle.

In Babylon, men no longer labored in the fields or studied the stars. Their only role was to reproduce. Each man was assigned a dozen wives and tasked with fathering children—sons who would one day be delivered to the Rose Sect, like cattle fattened for slaughter.

Even so, the gender imbalance worsened. In time, women outnumbered men ten to one.

A kingdom stripped of dignity.

The Royal Palace of Babylon

Lilith sat at the foot of her throne, slumped and shame-ridden. She didn't dare sit in the seat of power.

Before her stood sixteen male wizards—Babylon's last line of defense. They were not ordinary men. Unlike others, they could withstand the spiritual rampage of the witches. They would not die quickly.

That made their fate worse.

"I've wronged you all," Lilith murmured, eyes fixed on the floor. "Especially you, Garfield."

Garfield, the most gifted male wizard after Lilith, stood tall and serene. Handsome, gentle, unwavering in his celibacy—he was admired across Babylon. Yet he followed the Three Iron Laws of Magicians and kept himself pure.

"This isn't your fault," Garfield said softly. "You and Medusa were equals. But her training method—wicked as it is—fast-tracks progress. She reached the Fifth Level before you. That's all there is to it."

Lilith's voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll surpass her. I'll reach Fifth Level and save you all. I'll make her pay for this humiliation."

Garfield shook his head, a bitter smile on his lips.

"That's a dream, Lilith. She spared you not out of kindness, but because she knows you'll never catch up. Now that she has sixteen male wizards, her growth will outpace yours threefold—at least."

They had once been childhood sweethearts, united by their sacred ritual, bonded by the blood of the Evil Eye. Their love was austere, untouched by desire—an ideal among the orthodox. They had sacrificed much for Babylon.

Now, Medusa sought to make Garfield her concubine.

How could Lilith not burn with fury?

"It's alright," Garfield said. "Leave it to me. I'll endure her and find a way to change everything. I'll defeat that monster."

Lilith could only cry.

That day, a procession of sorrow set out from the capital. Sixteen wizards and a hundred men marched toward their doom.

"Is this divine will? Are we fated to vanish?" Lilith whispered blankly in the echoing throne room.

Year 265 of Babylon

Fifty years had passed.

Medusa, with the aid of the sixteen wizards, had broken through to the terrifying Sixth Level—rivaling the legendary Three Witches of ancient times. She was now revered, and feared, as the Supreme Emperor of Death.

Lilith had trained relentlessly, pushing herself to madness, but still lingered at the edge of the Fifth Level.

The Rose Sect reigned without opposition. Even the orthodox witches defected in droves.

"The Rose Sect is the true successor!"

"Circe was mocked in life, but history proved the other witches wrong!"

Voices of dissent vanished into the shadows, exiled and forgotten. Traditional magic faded into myth.

Xu Zhi: ???

Xu Zhi blinked in disbelief.

"Seriously? I went to the forums for one night, and now you're losing to Circe's forces? Shame on you! The Two Witches once fought her to a draw!"

The witches' tyrannical reign had plunged the world into decay. Civilization was stagnating. Without the orthodox path, alchemy—the very foundation of Xu Zhi's cure—might never evolve.

If this keeps up, my cancer's never getting cured!

"I need a genius who can turn the tide," Xu Zhi muttered, rubbing his temples.

In ages past, heroes had always emerged. Gilgamesh had led the people through calamity. The Three Witches guided the world after the Great Flood.

But now?

No savior appeared. No prodigy came forth.

Medusa stood unmatched. A Sixth-Level witch of terrifying might. Even Gilgamesh, in his prime, would barely be her equal—a Seventh-Level Epic in today's terms.

"I thought Lilith would rise from defeat, use her shame to forge greatness. But sixty years later, she's still stuck."

It was disappointing, yet understandable. Lilith, though talented, wasn't a once-in-a-millennium genius. She had already fallen too far behind.

And the phoenix?

Still maturing in the desert. When Medusa visited out of curiosity, it had nearly killed her.

"What kind of monster is this!?" she had screamed, retreating in fear. "It's still a child, but as powerful as a Seventh-Level witch!"

Xu Zhi couldn't believe it. Medusa—undefeated under the heavens—had nearly died to a baby bird.

She now avoided the desert entirely.

"Is there no one left to save this world? No justice, no balance?" Xu Zhi groaned. "And what about my alchemical potions?!"

Lilith was done for. No hero had stepped forward.

So now, it was up to him.

"But how?" Xu Zhi frowned. "I need a genius like Gilgamesh or the Three Witches. Someone with peerless wisdom and talent who can climb from the bottom and still reach the peak."

Where could such a person be found?

Then he remembered.

He did have someone.

A Big Boss.

A man who seemed born with cheat codes—tech prodigy, billionaire, visionary. Only forty years old, yet already a legend in the real world. And now? He was playing the sandbox game, studying the tech tree as a humble farmer-scientist.

"Thank god I had a backup plan."

Xu Zhi grinned.

"Bro, I'm counting on you. I'm opening a door—step into my world and climb. Climb until you reach the heavens."