Battle for the throne

"So, before you understand how Abilash ascended to the throne, you need to understand the true extent of his powers."

Cassius frowned. "True extent of his powers ?"

Asura nodded."Yes. He had fooled the entirety of Atsolaes because he didn't want to go to the frontlines in the great war."

Cassius scowled. "That coward."

"You might know that he used to study in the same academy as Arthur. But, what you might not know is that he used to be the one with the seemingly greatest talent among everyone in the academy."

Cassius nodded.

"That was until Arthur came along. Of course, Arthur, being the greatest talent ever born, outshined him in every category. Abilash was furious that he, the son of the greatest swordsmistress of all time, was being outshined by Arthur, who at the time was a mere commonor.

Then, the civil war started. Yes, the same one after which Arthur killed the tyrant king and became crowned the youngest king of Atsolaes. When it started, the king's men started picking the geniuses from various academy, to fight in the war.

However, Abilash was scared of fighting in the war in fear of dying. So, he began hiding his powers while Arthur was scouted to fight in the war from the King's side.

Meanwhile, Abilash was found by you,Lord Cassius who saw pity in the seemingly talentless child of Alekerth, caught in the middle of war, and took him under your wing. You, at the time, were supporting the rebels. The child showed no talent, so he was never taken to fight in the front lines.

Meanwhile, Arthur Bloodfallen was making history, reaching Master at the young age of 20, while being a level 11 magician, being known as the Red Death in the battlefield by his enemies. Meanwhile, the then King grew paranoid. Why wouldn't he ? Arthur was not only powerful and talented, but also ambitious. In Atsolaes, where the king is determined by who is the strongest, Arthur was the man who threatened his position the most.

He even heard people talking about how Arthur would be the next king, talented, intelligent, ambitious and not to mention he was loved by the people because he came from humble beginnings. They started calling him the 'Scarlet king' because of his hair and because any battlefield he entered was painted scarlet by the blood of his enemies.

The king made a trap to have him killed but Arthur survived. At that time, he was taken in by the leader of the rebels, Athreas Lionheart. He was hated by the rebels for killing their comrades. But over time, they came to adore and respect him.

When Athreas died, Arthur became the leader of the rebels and led them to victory, becoming the youngest king of Atsolaes.

All while Abilash was still hiding his powers, and building connection in the shadows, hoping to one day rise to power. His opportunity came when Arthur died in the battle against Blank. At the time, Abilash was probably one of the strongest men in Atsolaes and had probability of becoming the king.

However, one person was there to challenge his ascension to the throne, someone quickly gaining fame, being known as the greatest swordmaster in Atsolaes. Of course, that was none other than Arthur Bloodfallen's oldest son, Sieg Bloodfallen.

Abilash was stronger than Sieg, but of course, even though strength is the main factor in becoming king of Atsolaes, the difference in strength between Sieg and Abilash was small enough that the public opinion was enough to make Sieg the king.

And of course, the public would support the son of the beloved king over some coward that his powers due to his fear of death. Abilash recognized this fact and decided to make use of his connections.

He whispered ideas into the nobles ears about how they themselves could be king if Sieg was out of the equation. Of course, they agreed with Abilash, who was still hiding his powers that were enough to crown him king in front of them in order to get rid of Sieg.

So, they framed Sieg and every Bloodfallen except for my mother, their offense being that they supposedly acted as spies for Blank in the great war.

Of course, everyone knew that was bullshit, but commoners were too weak to speak up and the nobles, their greed didn't allow them to save the son of the man they swore loyalty to.

Then, Abilash revealed his true power. As per the tradition of Atsolaes, since no one was strong enough to rival him. The nobles were furious. Among the nobles, there were 3 types,1st were the ones loyal to Atsolaes that only helped Abilash as Sieg wasn't king yet,2nd were the ones loyal to the Bloodfallens that didn't help Abilash, and 3rd, the snakes loyal only to themselves.

The 2nd type ran away from Atsolaes, scared of death and they say they are planning a rebellion with Sieg, the 1st type were angry but as they were loyal to the throne, and the snakes were all killed before they had a chance to act.

The reason Abilash didn't throw out Diana was because he was always jealous of Arthur's strength and wanted a heir that would surprass Arthur. He even threw his children to the streets until they were 10, and threatened to throw them back there again if they weren't strong, instead of treating them like royals.

He had his hopes on me till he found out that I was the result of him being a cuckold. And the rest is history.

Now, as I was saying, you have 2 option, throw me to them and serve Abilash. Or, you can help me and I promise to get you back to Atsolaes and give you back the position you held as the 10 great clans."

After hearing everything Asura said, Silas and Cassius looked at each other before Cassius spoke.

"We will help you. You are the grandson of the man I swore loyalty. From this moment, the Shadowborne are yours to command as long as you do not make a decision that is bound to kill us all."

Asura smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Thank you very much----"

*Bang*

Before Asura could finish talking, the door to the room opened, making a loud noise and a white haired man with with red eyes who looked to be in his early 20's entered the room and began shouting.

"Nonsense, why should we listen to a stupid brat like him just because he is the grandson of some stupid king."

Asura had veins popping from his head hearing insults directed not only towards himself but also his grandfather.

"Lord Silas, I apologize if this is disrespectful, but is this babbling buffoon a son of yours ?"

Silas sighed. "Indeed, he is Lucas, my youngest son. He is the reason I sometimes doubt if my wife cheated on me with a donkey."

His wife, threw him a smile glare that was unnoticed by everyone except Silas and Elana herself.

Lucas fumed. "Don't talk as if I'm not here. Can't we just not pick a side and stay here instead of listening to this brat and putting ourselves in danger ?"

Asura was getting annoyed. "Excuse me, young lord Lucas. You seem to be very knowledgeable in making life saving decisions. So, will you answer a question of mine ?"

"Sure, why not, brat. Go ahead." Lucas said in a mixture of arrogance and annoyance. No way, was he taking orders from some brat who wasn't even 16 just cause he was some royalty.

"See, even if they wanted to 'stay here' as you said, soldiers have already entered this world. Do you think they will not even so much as hear the word Shadowborne ? And when the king hears of your presence in this world, pray tell what your family's fate will be then ?"

Lucas froze."To.... serve the current king."

Asura looked at him as if he was some donkey. "Are you stupid ? That would be a miracle. You would serve him if you handed me to him as that would prove that you don't serve the Bloodfallen. However, if you just take no side,... Well, let's put it like this, in Atsolaes, Shadowborne clan are known for swearing loyalty to Arthur and being his closest subordinates.

Would Abilash take the risk of letting you live ? I wonder if he wouldn't be paranoid of you betraying him and joining Sieg's side if the rebellion happens. So, what idea comes to your donkey brain when your family's heads are rolling on the ground ? You stupid donkey, were you born with an extra chromosome ? Is that why you're a dumbass ?"

Cassius and Silas looked at each other. They had also considered not picking a side but didn't say so because they wanted to support the grandson of Arthur and also wanted to kill Abilash. Thank god they didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, Lucas was fuming in rage."What did you call me ?"

"Aside from being stupid, are you deaf as well ? I asked you if you had down's syndrome, you idiot."

Tanwen and Zereth watched in amusement. Watching Asura verbally annihilate someone other than themselves was quite entertaining to say the least.

Lucas was fuming even more. "That's it. Since you can talk so much, let's fight."

At this point, Silas had enough. "Lucas, that's enough---"

Before he finished speaking, Asura signalled him to stop. "No no. Don't suppress his Atsolaes mentality. He is right. Only the one with strength has the right to talk."

As he said that, Silas sighed and sat down.

Asura smiled. "I know you have a god complex as you were raised by a family that is the strongest in this world. But, you need to learn some manners. So, come at me."

Lucas smirked, believing he would easily win. He raised his hand in front of himself and blood began to raise beside the chair Asura was sitting on. The blood turned to hands that rushed for Asura's throat.

Asura, still not getting up from his seat, merely said in a whisper, "Negation" and the blood vanished.

Lucas although surprised grabbed his sword as red aura emitted from him, suggesting he was a general level sword aura user. He blindly rushed towards Asura.

Asura didn't seem to take the threat seriously, even talking in the middle of the fight."General level before 30, impressive. But, rushing carelessly at an opponent whose capabilities you don't know. How foolish. Boulder crash."

As he said that, before Lucas reached him, a magic circle appeared above Lucas, dropping a boulder on top of him, pinning him down.Lucas coughed up some blood and grunted in pain.

Asura just looked at him coldly. "Earlier, you used the vampire's signature blood magic, instead of your clan's shadow magic, suggesting you don't have mana. Although, General before 30 is quite impressive, you are quite arrogant for a Shadowborne with no mana."

Lucas didn't even look him in the eye when he mentioned mana.

Such a shame, he had talent in aura training, but he lacked mana, was stupid and had low esteem ? What a complete waste of time. Asura waved his hand and the boulder above Lucas completely vanished as if it was never there.

Silas went to help Lucas get up. He then bowed down and apologized to Asura. "I'm sorry you had to witness such behavior, Lord Asura. I promise it won't happen again."

Asura simply smiled. "It's not a big deal."

Silas sweatdropped. 'It seemed a big deal when you brutally insulted him and almost killed him.'

Asura's smile remained bright. "Lord Shadowborne. Do prepare a room for us three. We will be intruding on your house today. We need a solid plan to take care of the problem on our hand."

It was Cassius who spoke. "Please, don't consider it intrusion."

He pointed at a maid. "You, prepare a room for Lord Asura and his friends."

Then, a person who hadn't spoken a single word the whole time spoke up,"In the meantime, Lord Asura, would you like to take a walk with me ?"