Living A New Life Without Regrets In A New World

Swords were clashing and a distant explosion went off. He looked around and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of dead bodies. Some of them lost some of their limbs, the others were burnt, and the others just lay down with lifeless eyes. In the distance, he saw another wave of enemy cavalry charging towards them. They got baited into a trap. The High General of Altherea sent them to the battlefield without any real intel against their enemies- he sent them to their deaths.

"Michael! Run! Use your magic and run!" He heard his friend Jean shout.

"No! I will cover for you guys. Go and retreat!" He shouted back.

"No! You're going to get married soon. As your best man, I have to make sure that that wedding pushes through!" Jean said. After saying this, he summoned his wind magic and after a few seconds, little whirlwinds covered his feet and hands. He jumped to where Michael was, grabbed his coat, and threw him away from the battle.

After throwing Michael, Jean noticed him being dragged away by some of their comrades. Seeing that, he felt a flood of relief. Jean then jumped high, covered himself with gushing wind and flew straight to the enemies' lines. He wreaked havoc within their ranks and prevented them from chasing Altherea's fleeing armies.

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Lord Escrima woke up with a start. He was woken up by the nightmare that had haunted him for years -the nightmare of his first battle. The battle that showed him the reality and cruelty of war. The stench of blood; the sight of mangled corpses and their children crying over them; and lands left desolate would always live in the back his mind. He always thought that as a noble and as the son of one of the Kingdom's greatest knights, it was his duty to serve his country and to die for it. However, in his first battle, he was almost sent to certain death due to the High General's incompetence. What was worse was that he wasn't able to do anything since it was his first time experiencing real battle. He trained in swordsmanship, martial arts, and magic as early as he could remember for this. Heck, he was even one of the top students in his classes; but alas, when it was time to fight, he was overwhelmed with pressure and dread.

Fortunately, he was able to escape but he lost his best friend. When he returned to the plain of Masarhea to assault the army of Metallium, he saw the head of his friend on a pike alongside countless other heads of Altherhean soldiers. It was when he saw his best friend's head that Lord Michael Escrima awakened his full power. From then on, he was able to make a name for himself as the Divine General of the Kingdom. The greatest general to ever walk the streets of Altherea let his friend's head get skewered on a pike.

After a few years of quiet, Metallium attacked once again. They invaded the Western border without provocation. No matter how many soldiers were stationed there, Metallium soldiers once again steamrolled on the Western Province of Altherea. They were already halfway within the province when Altherea's soldiers arrived. Lord Escrima personally led the defense. Unlike the High General he deposed when he was named Divine General, he led battalions and made sure that he had enough intel against the enemies. He wanted to finish the battle as soon as possible so he could go home to his pregnant wife.

However, fate wasn't good to him. Battles after battles, Metallium fought as if they were the ones being oppressed. They fought hard and were more disciplined than what Lord Escrima remembered. It was after 3 months that he was able to drive them back to the edge of Altherhea's Western Border. The Metallium's soldiers were exhausted as they were on the run for a few months. On the other hand, the morale on Lord Escrima's side was as high as ever. Countless battles had already occured but the casualties on their side were close to zero. The devastating power of Lord Escrima combined with his tactical brilliance always gave them complete victories in every skirmish they had with the enemies. On the last battle, Altherhea started routing Metallium's soldiers. They were on a plain so the battle was a straight up slugfest. After some time, it was clear that Altherea was winning. The general on the other side decided to retreat to the Metallium Mountains. Lord Escrima wanted to deal a fatal blow to Metalliums army so he covered himself with magic and flew. He summoned his flame magic and created a huge fireball with the diameter of a 100 meters, as if it were a miniature sun. When Altherhean soldiers saw this, they retreated to a safe place and cheered on their general. When Lord Escrima finished his chanting, he threw the fireball to the fleeing enemies. However, the fireball was suddenly halted by lightning magic. Several Lightning bolts pierced the ball of flames. Then, another huge hole opened. It was a concentrated lightning beam which almost hit Lord Escrima. His ball of flames disintegrated. He looked at the person who destroyed his magic and saw a small child from where the beam originated.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked a few times and when he concentrated, he saw that the child vanished. He made himself believe that it was probably a high magician from the Royal Court of Metallium that saved the remnants of their army. He was sure that his eyes deceived him. He looked at the bright side and found consolation in the thought that he would now be able to go home to his wife and newborn son. He received a letter from his estate that he was now the father of a healthy baby boy- it should have been three months already since she gave birth.

However, his responsibilities hindered him from going home. He had to deal with a lot of administrative duties and assisting in the reconstruction of the destroyed cities in the Western Province. It took him another 3 months to finally come home. His estate is in the outskirts within the Eastern Province. Aside from being the highest ranking general in Altherhea, he's also the Duke of Escrima Estate. An estate with vast wheatfields, orchards, and a number of residents living within the lands they managed. Together, they make the estate self-sustainable. The only time they have interaction with the merchants in the Capital is when they export their fresh fruits and jams to the capital which is one of the best according to the food reviewers within the High Walls of Ignis, the capital city of Altherhea.

Once he was in his duchy, droves of people welcomed him. They have already heard of the additional exploits of the Divine General of the kingdom. There was a parade, while parading, people were showering him with the petals of freshly picked flowers, people were laying down clothes for him to act as his carpet. They were singing hymns and praises for him.

'Glory be to the Divine General, may The One Above All protect him as he protect us'.

He tried to be polite and tried to indulge his people. He waved, and smiled at them. On the outside he seemed so thankful for the people's love. But in the inside, he just wanted to have his horse gallop towards his villa, where his wife and his son is. After some pleasantries, he hurried home to where his villa was. The maids and menservants were already lined up outside the house, ready to meet him. In the front porch, his wife, the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom, second only to the late queen, was waiting for him. He ran so fast that it seemed like he used magic since he suddenly appeared in front of his wife. He hugged her tightly. He let go of her, looked at her blue eyes which is clearer than the sky. He kissed her passionately in front of all their servants. He didn't care anymore about their dignity as the masters of the house. All that he cared about is his beloved wife, and his son.

Without words, he swept his wife's feet and carried her like a princess. He was then already gone on the front porch and suddenly appeared to his child's room.

He looked at his child who is just sitting in his crib. As if expecting him to arrive. It is funny to note that his child's hands were also on his h.i.p.s, like a mother who is angrily waiting for his child who went home later than expected. When he saw him like that, he couldn't help but feel his heart melting because of how cute Johannes is. Lord Escrima slowly walked towards his son who's still pouting and acts mad at him. He didn't even notice how weird it was and just adored his cute little angel. He wanted to hug him, kiss him, and make him feel that his father loves him so much, but can't. He felt as if he already lost his right to call himself Johannes' father, not even his wife's husband. He felt defeated. He just stood there, teary eyed, and sad.

However, as if his son knew and read what was on his mind, he lifted his tiny little arms and act as if he was asking for a hug. Of course, as a father who loved his son so much, it took him no time to act and hug his son. He also gestured to his wife who was watching them in the corner of the room to come to him and then he hugged her too. It was the first time he felt peace once again.

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Lord Escrima spent the next 6 months with his family. He took care of anything related to Johannes. He slept in his son's room. Whenever Johannes wakes up in the middle of the night, he will wake up instinctively even if Johannes was not crying. He will carry him and try to lull him to sleep. However, after some time, he realized that the only time he can make Johannes sleep is when he reads books to him. He read books about history, the Altherhean Kingdom, and told him folklores of the continent.

He also prepared for the coming dedication of Johannes. When a child reached his first birthday, he will be baptized, then the magical potential of the child will be revealed. The subsequent trainings will be based on the child's talent level. Now the kingdom has been waiting expectantly on the results of his child. However, Lord Escrima has something else in his mind.

"Theobald, in the coming dedication of Johannes, make sure that most of the shadows will be near the area. Let them know that no one must know of whatever Johannes' results will be."

"My Lord, if you don't mind me asking, will there be a problem with the young master's magic?"Theobald asked worriedly. It has to be said that the whole estate loved the young master unconditionally, even the residents who lives in the estate. Lord and Madam Escrima had been married for 10 years but was only blessed with a child after 10 years. After the dedication, everyone is expecting to see a glimpse of the Lord's firstborn.

"I believe Johannes' magic is too great," Lord Escrima said in a dark tone. The head knight of the Duchy, Theobald saw the worry in his master's face. He knew that there was indeed something different with the Young Master, but he didn't think that it would be because the young master would have a great magic.

"My Lord, what made you say that?" Theobald asked curiously. It has to be known that Theobald is a loyal servant of the Housed of Escrima. He is also one of the closest confidant of the lord. Because of this, the Lord have told him about what he saw in Johannes.

"I can feel the magic coursing through his veins. Even though he can't speak now or control magic, it is as if he has been acc.u.mulating magic around him and made it his plaything. If we thought him the basics of magic when he started talking, I'm afraid that his development will be unheard of. If is safe to say that Johannes might release 10 magic circles during the dedication. That would cause an uproar. So I want you and the shadows to tighten the security within the duchy and specially in the church. Make sure that no outside force will come in the next few months."

With this, Theobald was already satisfied and knew what he has to do.

"Yes My Lord. The knights of the House and the Shadows pledges our lives in protecting the Young Master." After saying that, he suddenly vanished as if he was swallowed by the darkness.

After Theobald left, Lord Escrima stayed in his office before going back to his son's room.

"I will not let anyone who has any bad intentions with my son live," After Lord Escrima said that to himself, the darkly lit room was filled with light and heat. If the Lord didn't notice the change in temperature, his office would've been burnt to ashes.