He did not know what to do next. No one was saying anything and no one was moving a single muscle. The only movent in the entire open area building ca from the constant stream of new troops rushing through the grand archways.
Garrick stood behind Li Yu and slowly lowered his massive spiked mace. The Great Sage looked around at the bowing army and then looked at the small dark token in Li Yu's hand. Garrick let out an amused grunt and rested the heavy weapon on his broad shoulder. He was ready for a brutal slaughter but this was better.
Li Yu felt incredibly awkward. He decided that since no one else was willing to talk he would have to be the one to break the tense silence. Li Yu lowered his arm and tucked the dark tal token safely back into his storage ring.
"You can all stand up now." Li Yu announced, his voice carrying clearly across the quiet arena.
A collective shudder ran through the front ranks of the army. Slowly and with extre hesitation the soldiers began to rise to their feet. They kept their heads bowed low, entirely refusing to make direct eye contact with the young stranger.
Li Yu looked down at the massive general who had been charging at him just monts ago.
He had the thick heavy lower body of a giant rhinoceros beetle covered in overlapping plates of dark purple chitin. His upper torso was that of a massive crimson demon with bulging muscles and jagged bone spikes protruding from his shoulders. Two large sharp mandibles rested near his mouth clicking together nervously.
"What is your na?" Li Yu asked the general directly.
The general flinched slightly but quickly stood at attention. "I am General Varak, esteed guest. I command the forces of this training district."
"It is nice to et you, General Varak." Li Yu offered a polite smile. "Could you please tell
exactly where we are right now? We had a slight navigation issue and we are a bit lost."
General Varak looked at Li Yu and then glanced at the crater they had created in his arena floor. He swallowed hard, entirely terrified of anyone who possessed the personal token of their supre ruler.
"You are currently in the Hive Empire." Varak explained, his deep voice rumbling through his mandibles. "This is one of our primary military focused cities. We are located roughly in the middle between the grand capital and the nearest border of the Empire."
Li Yu nodded while absorbing the information. He looked around at the surrounding soldiers. There were soldiers with the sleek predatory bodies of mantises fused with the dark scaly skin of lesser demons. There were massive hulking brutes that looked like a mixture of stag beetles and giant orcs.
"Could you tell
a little bit more about this realm?" Li Yu asked, wanting to gather as much intelligence as possible. "I have never been here before."
General Varak seed slightly surprised that soone carrying the Emperor's token did not know about the realm but he absolutely did not dare to question it.
"This entire world is vast and filled with countless territories."
Varak began to explain as his posture straightened slightly with national pride. He went on to explain that most of the beings here looked like insects mixed with humans, orcs, beasts and demons. There are also so pure elentals who reside in the wilds but they exist to a much smaller degree. That the Hive Empire itself was populated by beings who possess insect features mixed heavily with demon features.
"Our supre ruler Emperor Xerxis is the absolute pinnacle of this lineage. He is an existence that commands the very heavens. Our empire is massive."
Varak then went on and on about how great and amazing Emperor Xerxis was. From what Li Yu heard, it would seem that Xerxis was in the Domain King realm. Li Yu listened carefully. It turned out that Xerxis was actually quite the big shot in this realm. Back in the demonic world, Xerxis had been a terrifying threat but here he was a literal god to his people. His empire spanned massive amounts of land and boasted armies that numbered in the tens of millions.
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From the absolute pride radiating from the general, Li Yu found out even more about the political landscape.
"The Hive Empire is one of the top five empires in this entire realm." General Varak boasted as his mandibles clicked with excitent. "We are a supre power. We usually sit at the very first or second rank of absolute authority across this realm."
Li Yu caught the slight hesitation in the general's voice. "You usually sit first or second? Who exactly competes with you for that top spot?"
The atmosphere in the arena instantly plumted. The pride on General Varak's face vanished entirely and was replaced by a mask of visceral disgust. The soldiers nearby shifted uncomfortably, their insect wings buzzing with sudden agitation.
"The Eclipse Court." Varak spat the na out like it was a vile curse. "They are the only faction that truly rivals our absolute strength." It turns out the Eclipse Court was another empire in this realm and it was ruled by beings that had moth-like features.
Varak gripped his large fists tightly. The crimson skin on his knuckles stretched tight.
"Those absolute bastards are a plague upon this world." Varak continued as his voice filled with deep and generational hatred. "They use a suffocating and paralyzing dust in combat. They do not kill our soldiers on the battlefield. They capture our warriors alive and drag them back to their dark territories. They use the living bodies of the Hive Empire as breeding chambers for their young."
Li Yu grimaced slightly. The horror of the tactic was incredibly severe.
"They implant their parasitic young into our people." Varak growled and his eyes burning with rage. "The young hatch and eat our warriors from the inside out to fuel their own growth. It is an abomination of the highest order. There is a permanent death grudge between our two empires. We have a strict kill on sight order given by the Emperor himself. We slaughter them wherever we find them and we use their pathetic moth people as food to feed our own advancing armies as revenge."
The brutal reality of their endless war hung heavy in the air. The moths used the Hive Empire's bodies to breed the next generation and the Hive Empire roasted the moth people for food. It was a vicious and endless cycle of biological hatred and survival.
Li Yu stood in the center of the crater and found the entire situation incredibly interesting but also horrible.
He thought about his journey. He had seen the sprawling human realms divided by ancient sects and greedy patriarchs. He had seen the demonic realm torn apart by warring Sovereigns fighting over lands and limited resources. No matter where he went, it was the sa.
Grudges, survival, war, and ambition were common things everywhere. It did not matter if the people were humans, demons, gods or giant armored insects. The desire to conquer, to survive at the expense of others and to hold onto hatreds seed entirely universal.
Perhaps that was exactly what drove all species as a whole. No, perhaps that was just what usually drove most people, regardless of their origins. It was a profound and slightly depressing realization about the true nature of the universe.
Li Yu pushed the heavy philosophical thoughts out of his mind. He needed to focus on his current situation and secure a safe place for him and Garrick in this new realm. Since it would seem they would be here for the ti being, they needed to sort things out.
"I understand. Thank you for explaining things to ." Li Yu nodded to the general. "It sounds like you have a very difficult war on your hands. I would like to speak with Emperor Xerxis. Where is he right now? Is it possible for
to see him?"
General Varak's deanor shifted from a hateful warrior to an eager and obsequious servant.
"Of course you can see him, esteed guest!" Varak agreed imdiately. "The Emperor is currently away from the capital dealing with a border skirmish against the Eclipse Court but he is never too busy for soone who carries his personal token."
Varak turned to his elite commanders who were standing nearby.
"We will send a high priority transmission to let the Emperor know that his esteed guest has arrived in our city." Varak ordered quickly. "I will personally organize an elite escort and we will take you and your companion to see him right away. Please follow . We have luxurious quarters prepared for dignitaries just outside the arena grounds."
Li Yu smiled and was relieved that they were not going to have to fight their way out of a city filled with angry insect demons.
"Thank you, General Varak" Li Yu said, gesturing for Garrick to follow along. "We would deeply appreciate a place to rest and so food while we wait."
General Varak bead with pride and was eager to show off the legendary hospitality of the Hive Empire to soone so highly connected. He barked a series of rapid orders to his troops. The massive army parted perfectly and created a wide clear path for Li Yu and Garrick to walk through.
As they walked out of the ruined arena, Li Yu looked up at the bright alien sky of this new realm. There were three suns here but they were close to one another. He wondered what this realm would show him.
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