The First Magic World War

Charles opened his eyes, and countless feathers emerged from his body. A pair of wings sprouted from his back, and his body became slimmer. His eyes deepened, becoming dark and gleaming.

This was the Channing Falcon!

Charles could feel a new change brewing within his Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit.

When Beastmen transformed into humans, their power was sealed, and the same seal applied when humans transformed into Beastmen. However, when Beastmen transformed into other tribes of Beastmen, the Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit wasn't sealed but merely converted into the attributes of another tribe.

When he transformed into a Hunchback Red Bear Warrior, he gained a new Special Ability—Bear Strength!

When he became a Silverback Ape Person, his Special Ability transformed into—Vajra!

And when he transformed into a Channing Falcon, the awakened Special Ability was—Eagle Eye!

The Blue Rattlesnake could possess eight properties: Speed Amplification (Quickness Technique x7), Devouring Life, Ultra Long Range, Antispace, Eagle Eye, Bear Strength, Fervor, Sleeplessness.

Charles frequently used Eagle Eye, but he didn't possess this ability naturally; it all depended on the provision of his Extraordinary Weapon.

Eagle Eye was a supportive Special Ability, a dream for Transcendents adept at shooting, bow and arrow, throwing knives, and throwing spears.

Charles had recently chosen his third Beast God Transformation Technique out of concern: what if he fell from the sky while flying on the Blood Spirit Rhinoceros due to insufficient Blood Energy, or if some other circumstance arose? So he thought of this contingency plan.

The Channing Falcon was naturally apt for flight and was a born hunter!

Charles sensed for a moment, and felt more deeply than ever the myriad mysteries contained within the Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit.

The Cultivation System of humans was diverse, with contributions from the Nine Great True Gods, insights by the Great Philosopher of the Human Race, the Evil God, and various other enigmatic sources. The energies obtained from the practice of different Secret Techniques were incompatible: knights couldn't use spells, mages were poor at hand-to-hand combat, and some Extraordinary Paths weren't even suited for battle, such as the Dreamwalker and Extreme Flyer.

When Charles transformed into a Beastman, he couldn't use Bloody Glory. Likewise, when Tumishen transformed into a human, he needed to pursue the cultivation of human Secret Techniques.

But the Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit of Beastmen all stemmed from the Dragon God. The Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit cultivated by Beastmen from different Tribes had the same origin, yet yielded vastly different results. The Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit of Lion People and Bear People was entirely distinct, as were the Fighting Spirits of Leopard People and Elephant People, with the awoken Special Abilities proving extremely diverse. Even Beastmen of the same Tribe but different Tribes, such as Hunchback Red Bears who easily awakened Bear Strength, while the Clawing Yellow Bears were more likely to awaken Iron Bone and Copper Skin!

Charles briefly experienced what it felt like to be a Channing Falcon before reverting to human form again. For him, the Beast God Transformation Technique was indeed a useful Skill, but there was no need to suffer greatly in its practice.

Having just practiced the Beast God Transformation Technique and with the inherently Berserk nature of Beastmen's Bloodthirsty Fighting Spirit, Charles's mind was slightly overexcited, and he found it hard to sleep. So, he stood before the map once more.

He stared at Sesath for a good while, then clapped his hands together lightly and muttered to himself, "Decided, then. I will attack Sesath."

But from Charles's occupied territory to Sesath, he needed to pass through the lands of four nobles. These weren't just minor nobles' lands: there were territories of two earls, one viscount, and one baron.

Their Knighthoods were already prepared for battle and had formed an Allied Army. Charles was confident he could break them, but it would certainly come with a cost.

To Charles, he didn't want to pay any price at all!

"How could I divide these four nobles and dissolve their Allied Army?" he pondered.

"I know a stomach-full of strategies, but those are all story material; put into practice, they might be full of holes."

Charles was contemplating how to devise a military strategy.

He knew he was no military genius or even a keyboard warrior; hence, when it came to leading troops in battle, he emphasized the character "cautious," specifically targeting foes that were bullies but cowardly at heart.

To put it in perspective, when facing Chloe, he had chosen to let a few Sacred-level fighters gang up on her...

At the time, Chloe cursed at him, "Charles, is there any meaning in doing this? You win against me with a sneak attack by a few Sacred-level fighters? Who in the world would be convinced by that?"

Charles could only beat around the bush and couldn't give a straightforward answer.

Had Charles himself taken action and captured Chloe in front of both armies, that would have been heroic.

By not taking part himself and having his Sacred-level subordinates take down Chloe, he could barely be considered a military commander.

Letting a few Sacred-level fighters, assault an ordinary Transcendent, is this even something a human would do?

Chloe was truly unconvinced!

Afterward, she questioned Charles on more than one occasion, "What was the meaning of getting several Sacred-level fighters to gang up on me?"

This minor incident also highlighted Charles's style of combat.

He was extremely protective of his subordinates, willing to pay a little "price" to reduce casualties as much as possible. That's one of the reasons why he always had a surge in soldiers, and his forces grew increasingly larger; he didn't want to stack up victories with lives but with numbers.

Charles also knew that this tactic had significant flaws, such as excessive logistical pressure and the potential to delay battle opportunities, but he just hoped that fewer people would die.

Suddenly, someone reported, "Earl Mecklen, a person claiming to be an old acquaintance of yours has come to visit."

Charles thought to himself, "I don't have any old acquaintances in Black Phoenix!"

He quickly had people wake up the old goat to go see this guest from Black Phoenix.

To Charles's great surprise, it turned out the visitor really was an old acquaintance, Andreas.

The youngest Sacred-level fighter of Black Phoenix, the son of Viscount Constantine, Black Phoenix's strongest fighter.

Andreas no longer carried the air of vigor and vitality he had upon their first meeting and looked utterly exhausted. Upon seeing Charles, he simply greeted him indifferently, without any intention to fight.

Charles hurriedly had someone serve Andreas hot floral tea, and he also prepared a bowl of hot noodles.

Fars didn't have such a dish as noodles, so sometimes when Charles missed home, he would come up with a little "invention." Noodles weren't particularly technical, it was just that the Old Continent had not invented this way of eating.

Charles, worrying that Andreas might not know how to use chopsticks and to spare him any embarrassment, thoughtfully included a fork as well.

Andreas didn't stand on ceremony, ate a few bites of the noodles, and despite his gloomy mood, a hint of appreciation appeared as he said, "You've heard about what happened between my father and Earl Brittany?"

Charles replied with a slight smile, "You mean His Majesty Brittany!"

"I never thought I would one day be fighting side by side with you."

Andreas snorted coldly, scooped up the noodles with a fork, and took a big bite. Handsome as he was, tears suddenly began to roll down his face, dropping into the noodle bowl, adding a bittersweet flavor.

Charles could understand Andreas's feelings, but he had nothing to say, nor did he dare to offer consolation...

This was the saying of a certain Western politician: between nations, there is no friendship, only interest.

The nations that believed in friendship and promises have either perished or are in the process of perishing.