Reincarnated Lord: I can upgrade everything! - Chapter 536

Capítulo 536: The Legendary King

“Asher…”

A shoemaker, a woman clad in a brown garment of coarse linen, opened a wooden door and looked at her son lying on his bed with a book in hand.

At the sound of his name, the boy, whose brown hair matched the color of his mother’s garment, looked up.

Smiling, the mother stepped into the room and sat beside the bed, gently caressing her ten-year-old son, a child she had given birth to during the Great Abyssal War. A time of plagues that devoured cities, famine that starved nations, and corrupted waters that poisoned entire regions.

It was the bleakest era imaginable.

And yet, it was then that she had given birth to him, her most cherished treasure.

“How much did you pay for that book?” Ayra asked, her tone weary yet curious.

“This is the story of King Asher. The old man beside the tavern sold it for one bronze coin,” Asher replied, his eyes shining.

Ayra chuckled. “Do you even know how to read?”

“I know a few words.”

“Then let me read it for you.”

Ayra took the book from her son, tucked him in, drew the candle closer, and opened the leather-covered pages.

“Kings… there have been great ones, average ones, and mediocre ones. Like the youngest king of Intis, who made history by ruling at such an early age. Great was what his predecessors built, but give gold to a fool, and he will return with something far worse than what he inherited.”

Ayra paused, drawing a breath.

“But this is not the story of a foolish king who took the life of his own father.

This is the tale of the son of a once-great house, House Ashbourne of the Great Endless North.

“From a cripple, he rose, sword in hand, with loyal peasants at his side. From nothing, he built a paradise. He owned the rarest of livestock, raised the strongest of knights who trampled their foes, and fought battles against thieving bandits and scheming lords alike. A noble who slew nobles, without politics, without lies, without reverence for noble blood.”

Ayra smiled as she continued.

“From a measly baron, he rose to become an Archduke commanding the most terrifying army the world has ever known. Men the size of mini-giants, armor designs unheard of, ores rarer than gold itself. A band of hungry, frightened few became a mighty force, one that razed the Slave Kingdom of Everard and shattered the armies of the Eternal Immortal Empire and the Kingdom of Intis. Their elite Immortals fell. Their mighty air cavalry was slaughtered. And with that, their dominance came to an end.”

“In the end, he united all races, and even the dead, under a single banner to save the realm from the Dragon Queen, a being who had vowed to ravage all that God had created. A war that shook the skies with the cries of dragons, shattered the land beneath galloping steeds, and soaked the soil with the blood of great men. King Asher himself beheaded the Dragon Queen, ushering in the age you and I now live in, the Age of Freedom, the Golden Era.

“So… young man, would you like to see what has become of the kingdom of this legendary king?”

Asher blinked several times.

“Me… go to the legendary Ashbourne Kingdom? Does the book have magical properties that can take us there?”

Ayra laughed. “No. We’ll be leaving for that kingdom tomorrow. Prepare yourself.”

It was time to leave the small border town nestled between Nubis and Mormont.

Mary’s Academy would soon begin recruiting young children to train as knights. It was well known that King Asher’s Chief of Personal Forces, the Iron Saint, had been only fourteen when he rose to the top of the knight rankings. Now, at twenty-five, he was regarded as the most talented knight to ever exist.

And it had all begun with a ten-year-old boy standing before his lord, a lord returning from his first battle.

***

Here is a polished and enriched edit that corrects grammar, improves flow, and deepens immersion without changing the format, tone, or meaning, and without adding unnecessary flamboyance.

***

It was two months on the road, but finally, Asher and his mother, Ayra, seated in a cart pulled by a lone donkey, gazed in awe at the Great Dividing Wall.

Atop it stood eight-foot-tall giant men clad in heavy armor, gripping long spears. The legendary Heavy Infantry, warriors who had torn through the charging armies of rival lords and shattered great forces head-on.

The road leading forward was broad, very broad, and paved with solid cobblestones. Yet the true shock came when they passed through the gates and arrived at Tiberias, one of the great cities of the Ashbourne Kingdom.

“What’s that?!” Asher exclaimed, pointing excitedly at carriages moving without horses.

The design had originated from the Titan X war machine, which was operated using a special ore and controlled by a mage pilot. The rise of such carriages had, in turn, given birth to an entirely new profession, mage pilots.

Ayra stared as well, stunned. She hadn’t even known such a thing existed. The kingdom must have strictly restricted this technology, keeping it confined within its own borders.

There were not just humans but beastmen, elves, giants, moving together as one.

As one of the carriages rolled past them, her eyes caught sight of golden bread displayed nearby, bread that seemed to hold sunlight within it. Her stomach growled.

Was she truly still in the same world?

Unable to resist, Ayra bought bread for both herself and her son, and the two continued exploring, like village bumpkins lost in a vast metropolis.

The people here wore gorgeous clothes. Knights passed by, huge, exquisitely dressed, and impossible to miss.

Eventually, they found themselves before a massive castle, where a large crowd had gathered. This was Count Alec’s castle, a military fortress. Why was such a crowd assembled here?

“What’s going on?” Ayra asked a man nearby.

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? It’s the King’s sons. They’ve come to visit Tiberias, hoping to select a few promising men to join their retinue. They’re sixteen, of age.”

“Oh?” Ayra nodded thoughtfully. When she turned to look for her son, her heart skipped.

Asher was squeezing his way toward the front.

Alarmed, she hurried after him, pushing through the crowd until she reached the front herself, and her eyes widened.

Before her stood men nearly ten feet tall, handsome beyond belief, clad in fine silk attire, their smiles dazzling.

Asher was frozen in awe.

The Ashbourne twin princes sat atop a wooden platform, with the famed Nero standing behind them and Count Alec seated beside them. Together, they watched as young contestants displayed their skills before the crowd.

“They’re like gods…” Ayra gasped. So it was all true, this was a kingdom ruled by gods. Then, was King Asher really called to the courts of the sky to join with other Transcendents or was he seated behind the shut doors of his Sacred Hall with his pet mount?

***

Unbeknownst to her, the Sacred Hall had become the Hall of Rulers. Golden thrones surrounded one huge one with a wolf armrest.

Vladimir, who had expanded his territory greatly, sat with other rulers. The Emperor of Galvia and Evergreen were also seated along with the new King of Intis and Morgana, the new queen of Silvermoon.

To them, it wasn’t a dishonorable act to sit below someone who should be in the same status because their kingdoms and empires existed at the mercy of Asher. Should his army march, all would fall.

And aside that, it was an honor to meet with the only Transcendent to ever be alive. At that moment, the huge door to the hall opened, revealing a man with a long cloak, flowing white hair and cracks along his skin.

“Your Majesty, welcome.” Kelvin Salvatore bowed as the kings, queens and emperors rose to their feet.

THE END OF THIS REINCARNATED TALE.