# Chapter 2: The Age of Strife
Countless memories surged into his mind like a river, and Joshua's memories returned to chaos.
Humans are a species that grows and evolves through war, advancing and surviving through slaughter.
So, when the warrior tore apart the orc before him with his greatsword, there was nothing in his heart.
The gloomy, overcast sky was torn apart by lightning streaking straight across it. In the howling north wind, the faint sound of war horns could be heard. Accompanied by thunder, rain began to fall—at first just a light drizzle, but before long it turned into a torrential downpour.
Before long, the accumulated bloody water had risen past his leg armor.
Gasping for breath, Joshua removed his already damaged helmet. Green orc blood dripped from his black hair tips, falling into the pools of blood.
He looked around.
Corpses littered the battlefield. Everywhere were severed limbs and entrails, the dead piled up like mountains. There were no enemies left to fight. He was the sole survivor.
*Success.* Slowly, a grin spread across his face. Joshua laughed silently.
Alone, he had killed over a hundred orcs.
Even the most exaggerated legendary novels wouldn't write such a plot, yet it had truly happened to him now.
"...Huff." Kneeling on one knee, supporting himself with his sword, Joshua felt the tearing pain inside his body. His mind was also a mess of confusion. The aftereffects of fighting to the point of berserk rage were beginning to manifest. A dizzying sensation like his soul was twisting assaulted his mental will. Countless illusions appeared before his eyes, floating like real scenes.
*Demons... Meteor... Kill... Betrayal!*
*Orcs... War... Territory... AAAAAHHHH!!!*
Veins bulged. His right hand, carrying berserk power, smashed into the ground. Under this tremendous force, countless severed limbs were turned into pulp. Blood and steel fragments were sent flying, falling like bloody rain. Madness took over his will. Chaos replaced wisdom. At this moment, what existed here was not Joshua himself, but a starving wolf of slaughter.
"Demons... Orcs!!!"
In the darkness, two points of red light flickered to life.
*Anyway, killing these bastards is definitely the right move!*
For some reason, his body began to move. The hilt of the steel greatsword was gripped tightly, without a single tremor. But the sturdy hilt slowly began to deform under the immense force.
"Not enough." Lifting his head, the eyes in his sockets seemed to be burning. The man looked into the distance at the fleeing orc remnants approaching. Piercing red light surged in his pupils: "Not nearly enough."
The next instant, dragging his greatsword, he vanished from everyone's sight. A few breaths later, several hundred meters away, a massive wave of blood suddenly erupted among the fleeing orc remnants.
The battle had only just begun.
"—****** I was so damn reckless back then!"
Shaking his head, Joshua's expression was pained. He covered his forehead with his left hand, unable to resist complaining: "So I actually transmigrated during a battle. Lucky I didn't die!"
After his complaint, his normal memories also rapidly flooded into his mind.
Joshua Van Radcliffe. The eldest son of a northern field military count, and the sole heir of the family. Following the tradition of the Radcliffe Family, after being trained by the family knights and his father until he cried for his parents and was bruised and battered, he passed his coming-of-age ceremony and was sent into the military, left to expand his connections and social circle on his own.
Everything had been going smoothly. Joshua was an open and gentle person. As a powerful noble heir with his own territory, and with considerable strength himself, naturally many people wanted to befriend him. As time passed, his military achievements and rank steadily rose. His connections and strength also progressed rapidly.
The process could be called perfect—until one day, a short message from afar shattered everything.
Joshua's family had moved away from the prosperous southern Empire to take root in the cold northern lands in order to guard 'something.' This responsibility was so secret and weighty that the old count never even mentioned it in front of others. Even when Joshua repeatedly asked, he was only fobbed off with excuses like "Your strength isn't enough yet; you don't need to know for now."
It was precisely to bear this responsibility as best he could that the young warrior trained his martial skills and power so diligently.
When he learned there was a short message from his territory, Joshua was initially puzzled. He knew his father's personality well—stubborn as a rock, never contacting him normally, not a single word of concern in years. But when he opened it and read the contents, hot blood immediately rushed to his head—
[The seal at the guarded location is in crisis. The master has personally gone to handle the situation. The city is without management. It seems someone is taking this opportunity to scheme in secret. The situation is critical. Please return as soon as possible to stabilize the territory.]
The signature was the old steward of the family. Joshua might not have believed someone else, but the old steward who had taken care of him since birth would never deceive him.
His homeland was in turmoil. The young warrior's heart was set on returning.
But just as he was preparing to bid farewell to his comrades and apply for discharge to go home, the damned Empire high command suddenly launched a war against the western orcs! There hadn't been a single hint of this beforehand. They justified it by saying that to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your own people. This caught Joshua completely off guard. Imperial law was strict—[No Discharge During Wartime] was one of the founding sacred laws. Never mind that Joshua was only a count's son; even imperial nobles had to obediently follow the sacred law. Since war had already begun, he could only suppress his urgent thoughts and take to the battlefield with a heart full of rage.
And at that moment, a soul from another world, filled with battle lust, merged with him.
In the chaotic battle intent, the memories of 'him' and 'himself' rolled back and forth. The experience of a legendary warrior combined with his own strength allowed 'Joshua' to break through enemy lines on the battlefield, even killing entire enemy groups single-handedly. After going berserk, he broke through multiple battle lines, charging alone into the fleeing orc army formation and slaughtering wildly.
This was why his body was so severely damaged—no matter how you looked at it, after fighting with all his might for a day and a night, holding a mountain pass alone and killing three hundred, with orc corpses piled up like mountains, even an iron man would be worn out.
"Interesting."
Standing up slowly, the now-calm Joshua looked up at the dark sky and faint flashes of lightning, speaking with some emotion: "So this is the Mycroft Continent, the origin of all strife—the main world of the game, right?"
As he spoke, he looked up at the starlight revealed through the gaps in the clouds, reached out to touch some muddy water, tasted it, then gestured at the wind: "The position of the moonlight, wind direction and temperature, the taste of the soil..."
"It should now be late autumn of Year 831 of the Falling Star Calendar, mid-October. The epic campaign 'Glorious Expedition' should be near its end by now. The orcs' impregnable fortress Derris will be breached when the first snow falls."
"I actually returned to this time." Joshua sighed. "Not too late."
Before his transmigration, he had been a hardcore player of the full-immersion simulation game 'Continent of Strife.' In the game, he was ranked third overall and first among warriors as a legendary warrior. The game had been running for eight years, with thirty-two years of in-game time, through four major version updates, twelve epic events, and hundreds of legendary quests. The four major servers—Far South Alliance, Northern Empire, Eastern Plains, and Western Mountains—each had their own independent storylines. Before his transmigration, he had been developing in the Far South Alliance, occasionally visiting the North, so he knew some of the Northern server's main storyline events.
The Empire's 'Glorious Expedition' against the orcs was the second epic event of the Northern server, while the first was 'The Age of Strife,' which marked the players' entry.
Back then, he had even been invited by a friend to join the Empire's foreign legion for a time, tasked with sweeping the orc plains. Now, arriving in the Northern lands of this other world, he wasn't completely ignorant.
"Human victory is certain. The Empire has been building up strength for three generations. Now that they've erupted, sweeping through the orcs will be effortless. The overall situation is decided. I should be able to retire."
Thinking this, Joshua became exceptionally calm. He completely set aside the matter of transmigration for now and began to think very practically about his future plans: "The most urgent task now is to find other humans, go to a safe place to recover, and then think about returning to my territory."
Doubts and panic about transmigration, reluctance and confusion about his original world—none of these helped with survival, so he quickly discarded them as useless things.
Both versions of Joshua had extremely strong hearts and couldn't care less about such matters. One was already used to this kind of urban legend, the other didn't understand and couldn't be bothered to think about it—but most importantly, the matter had already happened. Since you can't reverse the river of time, instead of agonizing over it, it's better to just accept reality.
With the Earth soul as the main component, the reborn Joshua needed to plan every step of his future carefully. Although the changes in his hometown territory made him anxious, without a good body, all his worry was useless.
"Let me check my current status."
Casually opening his status panel, Joshua took a rough look.
[Name: Joshua Van Radcliffe]
[Template: Leader]
[Title: Brave Warrior - When attacking, there is a chance to trigger a intimidation check]
[Race: Human, Northwest Branch - Racial Skill: Combat Race (Combat Skill Experience x1.1)]
[Level: Lv28 · Silver (Challenge Level Lv29 · Silver)]
[Attributes: ...]
[Size: Medium Humanoid Lifeform]
[HP: Critical - Near Death]
[Stamina: Critical - Near Death]
[Battle Qi: Critical - Depleted]
[Mana: Not Activated]
[Status: Muscle Tear - Severe Fatigue - Exhausted and Weakened]
[Class: Black Crow Raider / Northern War Rider]
[Traits: Weapon Mastery (Class), Return from Bloodbath (Personal)]
[Life Profession: Blacksmith]
[Skills: MAX Ultimate Essence]
[Life Skills: Lv21 Weapon Forging, Lv22 Armor Forging, Lv9 Magic Weapon Forging, Lv3 Magic Armor Forging, Lv1 Magic Tool Forging]
[Equipment: Broken Helmet, Damaged Armor, Rusted Leg Guards, Leather Boots]
[Weapon: Imperial Standard Longspear Type III (Worn)]
[Your enemies never dare to appear before you.]
"Mortal, Black Iron, Silver, Gold, Ultimate Essence, Legendary... I actually went straight from Legendary Peak back to the Silver realm. My attributes are so shabby compared to before. But it's still decent for the Silver High-rank tier—everything is above average. No wonder I come from a military noble family; their training is solid."
In the game 'Continent of Strife,' everything was like reality. To use a skill, you had to make the corresponding movements and chant the correct incantation. Getting hurt meant pain and loss of strength. Basic attributes were improved through training.
Of course, the most important things were level and skills. Levels provided skill points. Classes were just a means to acquire skills. Collecting skills to build your own skill tree and perfecting your unique combat style was the first step to becoming a true expert.
Before his transmigration, Joshua had achieved the essential achievement [Ultimate Essence of Technique] and become a legendary figure, with all skills fully unlocked. He didn't expect this to be recognized in this world too. This meant he could now freely combine skills without being constrained by skill trees.
"But what's with that template? And challenge level? Do players have things like that? It's like I'm a boss or something."
As for attributes, Joshua didn't care. He always glanced over things that could be improved through training. As long as his body was normal and could move, he had confidence in crushing any opponent. But right now, his condition was truly miserable. His self-recovery speed was very slow, and he urgently needed treatment.
Closing the status panel, Joshua used his longspear as a walking stick and began moving toward the human army's direction. But by the time he had walked down the slope and reached the bottom of the canyon, heading toward the human army formation in his memory—he suddenly realized something was wrong!
"Wait, what was that just now!?" Because he was too used to it, he only reacted now. Joshua's eyes widened: "Didn't I transmigrate? Even though I spent so much time in the game 'Continent of Strife,' there's no reason I could imagine a system after transmigrating!"
A bit startled, Joshua quickly opened the status panel again and read through it from beginning to end.
"It's really there!?" Stroking his chin, Joshua's expression was pleasantly surprised, then he frowned: "Could it be an illusion? I've heard that some people, due to mental confusion during Christmas, imagined a girlfriend to spend the holiday with. Could I be in the same situation?"
Just then, he noticed several messages scrolling at the edge of his retina.
[Battle concluded. Beginning settlement.]
[Killed Orc Axe Warrior Togu (19 · Silver), Killed Orc Raider Valen (18 · Silver), Killed Orc Elite Guard Nale (23 · Silver)]
[You have gained 45 Expeditionary Force Prestige.]
[Expeditionary Force Prestige: Revered (5037)]
"It's actually real..." His brow relaxed. Joshua's mood improved: "In that case, there's even less to fear."
If he had been a bit worried about his fate after transmigration before, now he had no concerns at all.
As a former legendary warrior, he, Joshua, had experience and power. With just this body, he wouldn't fear any challenge. Now, with the system added on top, he was even more unstoppable.
With this level of advantage, he could easily grasp his fate, and even... influence the direction of the world!
In 'Continent of Strife,' there were countless epic and legendary events. Many of their outcomes had left him dissatisfied and frustrated. But now, none of them had happened yet. There was still a chance to change things. Thinking of this, Joshua couldn't help but feel his heart surge with excitement. He gripped his longspear tightly, a gleam appearing in his eyes: "And not just that."
A real other world was certainly vaster than a game. He would surely see a greater world, encounter more people, cross swords with stronger experts, and fight against more evil enemies—
He would surely break free from the shackles of mediocrity and become a true, genuine powerhouse!
"Of course, first I need to go back and find a place to rest."
After his grand declarations, Joshua still understood reason: "Otherwise, I'll definitely starve or die of thirst here."
This wasn't a game now, but reality. Life only came once. His current condition was terrible. Although the adrenaline from killing orcs earlier had given him some temporary strength, the feeling of weakness throughout his body had now returned to this broken vessel.
He had to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. Some orc squads had retreated earlier, which meant larger orc forces might follow. He no longer had the power to fight a hundred alone.
After determining his direction, Joshua used his spear as a crutch, crossing over corpses and trenches in the darkness, moving forward continuously.
Silence.
He didn't know how much time had passed when firelight suddenly appeared ahead.
It was the firelight of an army formation.
Not far away, the sound of orderly footsteps came. In Joshua's perception, a large group of humanoid creatures with obvious energy fluctuations appeared not far ahead. Just as he looked up to observe, the firelight began to waver. The group suddenly became agitated.
"Vice Commander?!"
Just as he was wondering, Joshua suddenly heard this exclamation. Before his eyes, a large group of people wearing black armor adorned with death-crow decorations stopped their orderly march and scattered.
From his perspective, it looked like many people had left the formation and were charging toward him at nearly sprinting speed.
Joshua couldn't help but take a step back, drawing in a sharp breath: "Damn, that's scary!"