Way of the Knights

Chapter 323 - Ivan Regulus

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"So that's why you were confident." Charles said after a moment of shock. "You do know that the places you're after are extremely dangerous. Right?"

"I am aware." Raven said with confidence. There's probably no other person in this entire plane who knows that true terrors of the Four Extremes more than he does. 

Raven was also not surprised that Charles had also heard about the Four Extremes. If his guesses were correct, then he must've read some records left by their founders, which allowed him to be aware of the term. 

"If that's the case then there's no stopping you. But I still advice you to be very careful on your journey." Charles reminded kindly, "I've read some records about those places. It didn't contain much, but it repeatedly emphasized the dangers of those places."

And it appears that Raven's hunch was correct. Charles really did read some records left behind by their founders.

"So did I." Raven replied, "Needless to say, I still have to go. If I can't do this, then no one can." 

Charles looked intently at Raven and sighed, it appears that this human had really made up his mind and there was no stopping him. And since there's nothing he could do to stop him, he might as well let it be. Insisting even further would be a bad idea anyway. He wouldn't want to provoke the ire of Raven, specially knowing his real identity. 

"There's something I would like to know, if you don't mind." Raven asked after a brief silence. Charles nodded at him, signaling him to continue. "Allan told me about the history of your tribe - well, most of it. He said that the founders of your tribe were adopted and raised by a Human."

Charles nodded at his statement, which then allowed Raven to ask: "May I know the name of that Human?"

"I was actually going to tell you about this, but you went first. Oh well." Charles stated.

He paused briefly and said: "Ivan Regulus. That's the name of our founder's adoptive father."

"Huh." Raven raised his brow in surprise, "King Ivan. Who would've thought?" 

Raven's thoughts were suddenly filled with information about King Ivan Regulus, who happens to be the one who adopted their founders. Charles looked at him with interest and asked: "You heard about him?"

"Even if I didn't want to, I still would've since the educators forces people to remember the Royalties." Raven chuckled. "Fortunately, I happen to be fond of history. So yes, I've read some records about him."

"King Ivan, you say." Charles muttered, seemingly surprised about this term.

"Would you mind telling me what kind of King he is?" Charles asked, "The records that was left by our founders only described him as a father. To be honest, I didn't even know that he was a King not until now."

"It would make sense why you guys didn't know." Raven stated, "King Ivan originally hated the throne anyway."

"Why is that?"

"Because he preached about equal rights." Raven said, "According to the records, he originally wanted the social system to go under a reform. On some records, it was said that he even tried to destroy the Royal Palace since if did that, then the symbol of inequality would be destroyed and everything would be fair."

"Was he a good king?"

"Yes." Raven replied confidently. "He was originally born as a commoner. According to records, he was is an excellent student and a fearsome warrior. Unfortunately, he was born at the Peak of the Dark Moon Era - the time when the Kingdom was at it's lowest."

"It was a time where the strong gets stronger and the weak becomes weaker The rich becomes richer and the poor becomes poorer. Everything was unfair back then. And since King Ivan was born as a commoner, he was treated almost like a slave. Back then, if one didn't have a considerable social status, then there is no justice, even if they were in the right. The corruption was so strong that time that the Kingdom was nearly destroyed due to it at one point. If it weren't for King Ivan, then the Kingdom might not have lasted until now."

Heroes are born at the time of need. This was true in Ivan's case. 

He rose in prominence during the defense against a massive sized beast horde that nearly destroyed the Kingdom. He was a nobody before but his unbending will and horrifying prowess as a warrior became the focal point of a war that lasted for a straight week. 

Ivan fought tirelessly and endlessly. Even when the morale was low and his comrades already accepted their defeat, he didn't stop nor rest on his quest to push the horde back. 

The spirit of the warriors were broken. The Royals and Nobles who were supposed to be the pillar of the kingdom that supported the defense, fled at the first sign of trouble, taking with the hard earned resources of the common folk whom they left as a sacrifice to the beast. 

With no support on the frontlines, the defense became weaker and weaker. The walls were breached and too many people died. Corpses formed mountains, blood flowed like rivers, and there was even an outbreak of a disease due to that. 

Everyone was tired from the war and just wanted to lay down and rest. However, Ivan never stopped fighting. He channeled his anger and fury against the traitors to beasts that killed many of his people. His body nearly broke due to injuries and his blood almost ran out but he never stopped swinging his weapon. 

See a beast? Kill. See a stronger beast? Kill! Big or small, swift or slow, venomous or not. Ivan fought until corpses piled under his feet. 

His unceasing efforts to save whatever's left of the Kingdom was rewarded by the resurrection of his men's spirits. Ivan's way killing like a possessed demon infected them, while some died during their battles, it was the best way to go since if they won, then they'll be celebrated as heroes. 

Ivan's way of fighting was incredibly rough and vicious, but at the same time very effective. The virtue behind his fighting style was simple - if it's still breathing or moving, never stop swinging. 

Since then, armies of warriors who fought like demons, terrorized the beasts. 

Chaos then descended like a raging tsunami. What's left of the army was too little to defend the kingdom so they went onto the offensive. The warriors were like crazed barbarians, they ranged from very young to very old. No one would've forced women, children or old people to participate in the war but sadly, they needed to since they're going to die if they sit still anyway. 

Ivan never forced anyone to follow him, it was completely fine for him to do this all alone. However, his actions boosted the morale of the kingdom and they followed since they could see hope on doing so.

They swarmed the beasts like locusts and dismantled their camps and ranks. Some of them even enslaved beasts themselves and used them to fight their kin. There were records of Ivan doing the same but it wasn't clear if it was monkeys. 

Slowly but surely, humans pushed back the forces of the beasts. The constant battles and dangers pushed their potential to the limits, allowing them to grow stronger on each battle they survived. 

And after a week of a rough, nonstop and bitter battle. The ranks of the beasts were whittled down to a pitiful degree and were forced to retreat. Unfortunately, the fight didn't end there. 

As soon as the beasts left, the forsakers returned and tried to regain their place and status at the kingdom. Their presence was like a mocking gesture to those who fought and died in battle. 

In his absolute fury against these people, Ivan raised his weapon and issued yet another massacre. The forsakers thought that they could go against Ivan since he's weakened but even if he was weakened, it was enough for him to utterly obliterate them. 

Ivan had enough and declared that those who have forsaken their home shall never be forgiven. He personally set out and hunted them one by one regardless of the dangers out in the wild. He alone killed most of the forsakers and retrieved the resources that they stole. 

They then used that to rebuild the walls and the infrastructures within the Kingdom. The homes, the stores, the roads, medical stations, important places. Even the Royal Palace was rebuilt, which surprisingly is Ivan's idea. 

It was also right then and there that Ivan was elected as the new leader, the new King of the Final Haven Kingdom. And it was during his reign that the Dark Moon Era ended and ushered the current era were Raven is currently steering towards a golden future.

And in retrospect, Raven personally never met nor read much about Ivan's life before. While he does like knowing history, it was very rare for him to know majority of what happened in the past. 

The real reason why Raven knows so much about Ivan's life, is because Ivan was the previous owner of the Archaic Thousand Arms Hammer.