Jinrive Empire
The people were rowdy, jolly and having a good time. Each and every table inside the Cross Ant Tavern were full of a variety of food and alcohol. The foreigner whom Alexius met in the marketplace came inside. He was quite surprised since every tavern that was this rowdy, there was an argument going on.
"What can I get for you?" Cross said.
"I'll take your specialty and a glass of your finest wine" The foreigner said.
"Sure, coming right up."
As Cross went to the wine cellar to get the finest of all his wines, the foreigner took a look around the tavern. Yet again, he was quite intrigued with what he saw. The joyful people dancing, singing and eating. He loved the interior design of the tavern, making it feel like home. It was evident that it was very well taken care of.
A few moments later, Cross comes up to the foreigner and gives a large meal and a glass of the finest wine in the empire, the Everlast Wine made from the Everlast fruit which is exclusive only to the country.
"You should better savor the wine; this is incredibly difficult to obtain nowadays" Cross said in a serious tone.
"Thank you, I will Mister…. Bartender" The foreigner said as he ate the meal that was served to him.
"Call me Cross, I prefer it that way."
"Ohh so you're the person whom Alexius was referring to."
"If he sent you here, there is only one reason why. What do you need?"
"I came here for information, and I also promised Alexius to pay a week's worth of his meal here."
"That sly bastard, but well as long as I get paid it does not matter" Cross thought to himself.
Before the foreigner could speak, a group of three people entered the tavern. They all wore elegant robes making them standout instantly among the crowd. Two of them wore an intricate bronze token with a dragon carved on it while the other possessed a silver one.
"That's quite a rare scene here" Cross I said with hints of excitement in his voice.
"Do you know who they are?" The foreigner asked.
"They're the rich traders and merchants that live in the Sky Dragon District."
"Are there none of them here in the Black Dragon District?"
"There used to be a lot of them living here. You know, this district used to thrive and was visited by all kinds of people to do business here but ever since the current monarch overthrew and killed the past King, everything went down" Cross said with hints of sadness in his voice.
"This place has such a history. I am quite curious. Can you tell me more?"
Cross agreed to tell him and told his workers that he will be taking a break. It may not look like it but Cross was a very social person and enjoyed listening and talking to people.
Cross begins to tell him the events that transpired in the past that led Jinrive to what it is today.
There was once a time where the Jinrive empire was ruled by the Jin dynasty. There are numerous rumors and legends that tell that they were the founders of this empire, but nothing is certain right now. Under their rule, the empire thrived and expanded its borders until it took over the whole continent.
One fateful night 20 years ago, everything seemed normal, and nothing was out of the ordinary. The kingdom was in peace with no major threats among the neighboring countries. The garrison were on guard for any threats as usual. They never saw an army march towards the Capital.
It was sudden and loud, every single person in the capital all heard the resounding sound of the bells of defeat. They all looked at the Jade Dragon Palace and saw the nation's flag in cinder and flames. The whole capital was silent as the wind not knowing what was happening. It was only until the numerous sounds of leather boots and metal arms came rushing towards the palace.
When the soldiers arrived at the Palace, it's gates were fully open but in it were ten men in a shield wall formation that covers the whole gap. All they had was light armor, spears, swords and circular shields but they were able to exert so much pressure to the hundreds of soldiers forcing them to halt their advance.
After composing themselves, the commander of the soldiers ordered the attack on the ten men. A brutal battle ensued and the Jinrive forces were being decimated. Every advance was met with a spear and every attack was met with the shield.
They were an impregnable fortress too impossible to penetrate. Not only their shields but also their skin was durable that it can dull the edges or bend the blade.
Corpses started to build up in front of the ten men making it more difficult for the forces to continue launching an attack.
The soldiers were faced with a dilemma, had they want to advance would mean on stepping on the bodies of their fallen comrades and if they wouldn't mean that they would be endangering the life of the royal family.
The unthinkable then happened. The ten men guarding left the gates and re-positioned themselves in a disadvantageous area willingly. The soldiers then removed some of the bodies to pass through.
Moments later, the ten men were encircled and had let some of the other soldiers pass through and enter the palace.
The two forces were in a deadlock not moving an inch from their positions. Due to the devastating casualties that they had faced earlier, they were more wary of their next actions. The ten men just laughed and taunted the soldiers non-stop to attack them.
With the better equipment and sheer numbers, they had, they were laughed at. Their pride as soldiers of the Jinrive Empire were trampled on. Furious, they broke their formation and ragingly attacked the ten men.
Their attacks were ferocious and more violent than before. The ten men were having a difficult time defending against the attacks. The casualties didn't mount as fast as before and continued the offensive sending men after men non-stop.
The tides of battle began to turn for the soldiers but as time goes on and on. Their offensive proves to be futile as they had failed to penetrate the solid defense of the ten men.
The ground suddenly began to shake, small green like rocks and stones were falling from the walls of the Jade Dragon Palace. A person up high was thrown out of a window and brutally landed on the place where the ten men and soldiers were fighting.
The soldiers of Jinrive had a shocked expression on their faces. The person who landed was the Jade Emperor of the past dynasty, Jin Zhi. The soldiers started to worry and lose morale since their Emperor was in a grave situation. Despite the brutal landing, the king stood up unscathed like nothing ever happened.
He still had his majestic appearance; his cloak and clothes were dominantly green with red as secondary colors and gold colored clothing accessories.
He took out his jade-colored majestic sword with a dragon handle out of the sheath and raised it up in the air for the soldiers to see as if it was a signal and a beacon of hope. A loud ear-piercing scream from the soldiers were heard. Seeing their majesty in front leading them lit a fire inside of the soldiers. The rage, the fears, the doubts all disappeared due to the presence of their monarch.
A green compact aura covered the blade of the emperor's sword, with a swift single sword slash claimed a head of one of those ten men. The enemy was stunned for a bit but not scared while the soldiers of the empire were screaming at the top of their lungs further increasing their morale.
The remaining nine men re-positioned themselves in the doors of the palace. Despite the deafening screams and casualty, they suffered, they were all smiling as if they wanted this to happen. Behind them, a menacing man full of scars dragging a body who was accompanied by twenty men.
The nine men gave way to this man and as he exits the palace, he throws the body in front of the emperor and his soldiers. Shock took over them, the identity of the body was the crown prince. The emperor knelt down and held his son into his arms as tears form in his eyes. He found that he only had one wound, which is a stab to the heart.
With a pained heart, he laid the body of his lifeless son on the ground and covered him with his green cloak.
With a heart wrenching grief and an insurmountable rage, the emperor took up his blade and pointed it to the man who threw the body of his son. Behind him was his soldiers ready to fight and die to avenge the young prince.
A great battle would then ensue leaving a mountain of casualties from both sides. At first, the emperor was winning the battle, he had gravely wounded the enemy leader but that wretched man with no pride and honor, the current Emperor, Ephialtes, took the young Princess Xiaoyue as hostage. And with that, he managed to behead Emperor Jin Zhi in front of his men and his young daughter.