The First Magic World War

Anne was initially worried, fearing that her brother would reprimand Charles, but upon hearing Antonio's request, her cheeks turned red with a touch of shyness. However, she was overjoyed, thinking to herself, "Antonio, my brother is the best!"

What Antonio didn't know was what was going on in the minds of Charles and Anne. His suggestion didn't have any ulterior motives. Although the customs of Fars were not particularly conservative, having children out of wedlock before marriage was still considered a disgrace among the nobility and became fodder for ridicule. He simply wanted to protect his sister.

After all, Anne had run off to the city of Dubrovnik, where it was all too easy to "get into trouble."

The Brittany Family had strict rules; Anne wasn't even allowed to have dinner outside, so how could they tolerate such a thing?

Charles felt guilty, while Anne was worried that Charles might truly get involved with someone like Princess May, Sister Menilman, or the Strasbourg Rose...

The ensuing plot was not something a lady should contemplate.

Charles arranged accommodation for Antonio's Knighthood, choosing a courtyard with a training ground. This place was formerly the home of a wealthy merchant, but now his whole family had disappeared without a trace.

He deliberately got close to the knights from the Brittany Family, and after discovering their identities, Charles clicked his tongue in amazement. The Brittany Family had really gone all out to retrieve Anne this time, with nearly all the members being Transcendents and five of them of the Sacred Order, each of the four, excluding Antonio, was no less powerful than Tumishen.

Charles had never imagined he would be able to mobilize ten Sacred Order knights for a war!

The luxury of such forces was almost comparable to the early days of Ferlanden.

Although six of the ten Sacred Order knights came from the Brittany Family, including five knights and Mama Karen, and two from Sister Menilman—Sabastine and Tumishen—only the Black Dragon and Golden Ram Herolf could be considered his subordinates, Charles was still filled with a bold and ambitious spirit.

Even the Emperor seldom had the opportunity to command ten Sacred Order knights.

After all, the Sacred Order were the nation's ultimate weapons!

When it came to serious matters, Charles was quite earnest. He genuinely wanted to take this excellent opportunity to resolve the Beastman issue.

History is a common subject of education in most countries on Earth, and almost every child receives some knowledge of it. The realm in which Charles lived boasted a long history with an abundance to learn from it. The war between Fars and Byron had been going on for nearly a year, and it was clear that the economy of Fars could barely keep up.

As the war progressed, Fars's situation would only become more dire. Leaving the Beastman camps on the northern shore of the Red Dragon Strait would sooner or later become a significant threat to the heart of Fars.

Although Charles was a transmigrator, his feelings for Fars were complex. Most of his relatives, friends, and acquaintances were in Fars, and he had no desire to see Fars fall into destitution.

Therefore, since he had the chance, he was more than willing to help Fars solve its problems without any personal ambition of gaining honor or fortune; he was not a person who sought fame and wealth.

Charles gathered the nine Sacred Order knights for a war council that lasted seven or eight consecutive days.

Antonio, a veteran of many battles, commanded four elite knights of the Sacred Order. Old Leopard Man Tumishen was familiar with the Beastmen and had traveled across both the New and Old Continents, with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Sabastine hailed from a great pirate background, ranking among the Top Ten Pirates just like the Golden Ram Herolf. She was adept in close combat, long-range attacks, leadership, and commanding navies, without any particular weakness.

Mama Karen and Old Goat refrained from speaking; Mama Karen was gentle by nature and disliked combat, while Golden Ram Herolf maintained his persona of silence, though no one dared overlook their presence.

Although Charles was not very versed in military affairs, his continual stream of brilliant ideas won the trust of the Brittany Family's knights, and he gradually gained partial command authority.

They quickly formulated a plan, mainly provided by Charles.

His plan was to use Black Dragon, who was an insider within the Beastman camp, to somehow lure out Silverback Gorilla Quedero, and then have the Old Leopard Man use the Beast God Transformation Technique to disguise himself as Quedero and find an opportunity, in collaboration with Black Dragon, to place a "curse".

The Old Continent had little knowledge of poison; although there were a few types of natural toxins, very few could affect a Transcendent, and even rarer were those that could overpower someone of the Sacred Order. At least, they didn't have any at hand, and neither did the Brittany Family possess such a collection.

However, the study of curses was quite developed on the Old Continent; although curses that could affect the Sacred Order were extremely rare, fortune would have it that among the extraordinary objects Anne brought out, there was a very potent curse object called the Eye of Destiny.

It resembled an eyeball-shaped piece of amber that, upon contact with life, would sprout numerous tentacles, piercing into the living body to absorb vitality, and aimed to transfer the consciousness hidden within the Eye of Destiny to the host.

Because this object was so sinister, it was generally kept in a box made of gold to prevent it from coming into contact with life.

The Eye of Destiny was exceedingly rare, almost all mineral resources had by-products, but over the span of thousands of years, only a few dozen pieces had been discovered; most had been destroyed, leaving only a handful that circulated among certain nobles as a dangerous collectible.

No one knew the origins of the Eye of Destiny. While many speculated it was the remains of an ancient Evil God, no one was able to confirm this.

Once the plan was set, Tumishen departed. The Old Leopard Man was key to this operation; he was not only well-versed in the Beast God Transformation Art but also skilled in covert assassinations, making him the only one who could move in and out of the Beastman camp at will.

After the Old Leopard Man had left, Charles also set out with the remaining eight of the Sacred Order. They needed to infiltrate the area near the Beastman camp to rendezvous with Black Dragon and Tumishen and ambush Silverback Gorilla Quedero.

Anne was very concerned about Charles, but she knew she could not stop him, and could only plead tearfully with her brother to take care of her Mister Mecklen, much to Antonio's chagrin.

Although everyone in this operation was of the Sacred Order, except for Charles, knights of the Sacred Order would not often fly to travel, for they needed to conserve their energy to be at their peak during battle. When the Brittany Family came to rescue Anne, they brought dozens of Spirit Horses. Although Charles could summon a Magic Flame Horse, he still obediently borrowed a Spirit Horse, not planning to show off in front of a group of Sacred Order knights.

The group quickly traveled from Dubrovnik to the Beastman camp. There used to be a city here, but it had been destroyed by the Beastman army, with hundreds of thousands of Beastmen dwelling in it. The pungent stench could be detected from tens of miles away.

It wasn't long before Charles saw piles of white bones stacked along the roadside. His heart ached, and internally he made a solemn vow: "I must eradicate the slave trade and the consumption of living beings in Fars!"

"I will see to it that the flower of civilization blooms and the soil of barbarism vanishes."

"Please, Serpent of Destiny, bless me to fulfill this wish."