The First Lich Lord - Chapter 33

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

what did you say?
Your mobile phone eight-core processor? 6G running memory? 256G storage? One and a half hours full of electricity?
Very great?
Our mobile phone 16-core processor, 12G running memory, 1T storage, can be fully charged in just 10 minutes!
what did you say?
Your charging treasure 30,000 mAh capacity? Two-way fast charge?
Sorry, our charging treasure has a capacity of 100,000 mAh. As for the two-way fast charging technology… Our 10,000 mAh mobile phone can be fully charged in just ten minutes. Can you tell me two-way fast charging technology?
what did you say? Our products are defective?
Come here! Come over and try, let you see how to kill you in minutes!
Super electronics, super cars, super buildings…
Since Lin Yun acquired the universe trading system, various industries began to get a strong impact…
Money is just a trail, and force is fundamental!
You said that Lin Yun’s goal is to dominate the earth?
Do not! Do not! Do not! You are wrong, his goal is the sea of stars

- Description from uukanshu (translated)

Synopsis one: “The people here aren’t innocent. They’re cunning, they’re greedy, they’re ruthless.” “The nobles here aren’t noble. They’re selfish, they’re arrogant, they’re schemers.” “I was once furious about this. But now, I just pity them. This is a dark world, from the moment they were born, they had no choice but to live life like this. Now, I will give them a choice.” “I want to bring them food so they can be freed from hunger, that will give them morals. I want to bring them peace, so they can have beliefs. I am a transmigrator who has come from a faraway world, I want to bring the fire of civilization to this dark and barbaric place. I know I’m doing the right thing. Eliminating hunger, eradicating plagues, suppressing evil, and ending wars. I will give a second chance to anyone who wants change.” “Then, I’ll kill all of those shameless, brainless idiots.”

Synopsis Two: Kang De transmigrated. He didn’t expect this new world to have sorcerers, dragons, and even gods who were mythical beings that only existed in legends. To protect himself, Kang De had no choice but to train and fortify his body consistently. Soon, he realized that malicious intent didn’t just come from those who possessed extraordinary powers, but also the greedy aristocrats and the king, who was a ruthless dictator. “What? Did I overthrow the nobles? I just wanted to lead the people in my territory to live better lives?” “Why are you guys calling me the king? I don’t want to be a king!” By the time Kang De realized what was happening, his territory had already become the most powerful human kingdom on the continent. The Dragon Emperor called him a brother and powerful sorcerers formed his army. The only targets left now were those gods who saw themselves as superior beings!

Vampire Slave Number 43, or the self-named, Azriel Ruinous, learned about the history between the humans and the Vampires and it filled him with rage and hatred.

Nonetheless, he was helpless to do anything.

After years and years of suppression, the Vampires have become the weakest race in the world.

However, lady luck seemed to be on his side as Azriel found an ancient jar filled with mysterious blood that will not only change his, but his race's destiny as well.

This, will be the story about the rise of the self-named, Azriel Ruinous, and the Return of the Forgotten Blood Empire.

...

“Have you heard about the rumour?”

“What rumour?”

“They say that there's a Vampire on the loose, he's out there killing humans mercilessly”

“Hahahaha! That's the funniest joke I ever heard! Vampires? Those Slaves? Hahaha!”

“Yeah, I feel the same! I think someone just started this rumour as a joke! Hahaha! How can those weaklings kill us, humans?”

“True True…”

In a bar, two middle-aged men talked and laughed as they discussed the recent rumour they heard.

Seeing those two, a drunk old man shook his head as he sighed.

“Ignorance is bliss indeed…”

“These younglings do not know what the real fear is…

The vampires may have fallen… but my old bones still remember the days when they were in their prime…”

The old man sobered up in an instant and his body shuddered in fear as the memories of the long-forgotten horror appeared in his mind.

He then took a deep breath as he patted his trembling body and muttered.

“I just hope that they are not back…”