Demon invasions and wars against vicious tribes did not drive human
ity to extinction. Rather, they managed to rule the Mir continent
under the flag of heroes that inherited Wushu arts and magic of the
ancients. On the basis of the ancient’s Wushu, the heroes created
many new skills that helped humans overcome their physical weak
nesses and combat demons and monsters. Wielding these tech
niques, the human race built a kingdom that ruled half the Mir continent
in the era of the Conqueror King. However the human race was
consumed by power and greed after they became the dominant
ruling race of the continent. Led by lords of the kingdom, many civil
wars broke out, attempting to claim the throne for their glory and
honor.
Disillusioned by the foolish acts of the human race, the disciples of
the heroes retired to hermitage in the mountains. In fact, they were
banned from the kingdom as lords no longer needed their protection
from the hordes of monsters. Consumed by power and greed, the
kingdom was weakened and the people suffered.

The lords hired Wushu masters to assassinate their rivals and political adversaries. However, many masters were devoted to the ideals of the heroes and refused to assist the lords. They declared to break off all relations with the corrupted kingdom and its lords and they formed guilds with others who shared similar ideals. These guilds took their own course and they have never used their power for the lords of the corrupted kingdom.

Endless civil wars divided the kingdom into three separate nations. The warfare continued until the Nir tribe of the north and the Oma tribe of the east invaded the human kingdom. Lords of the three nations immediately sought help from the masters they had banned, in an effort to defeat the invasion horde. But their request was rejected outright. The desperate lords agreed to unite their power to combat the invaders and formed an alliance.
An expeditionary force was sent east to assault the Oma tribe. As they traveled, they came across a town named Bichon. However, upon their arrival, a major earthquake hit the entire Mir continent, causing geographical changes and Bichon was isolated from the rest of the continent. The expeditionary force lost contact and support from the homeland. They ended up settling in Bichon and built a sovereign nation with natives.

Many generations later, the path to the homeland was restored and a diplomat was sent there. The diplomat discovered that the civil war was finally over and a new united kingdom was born. The Royal Court ordered the diplomat to pass the word to Haoak Lim, the ruler of Bichon, that he was being called back to the homeland and a governor would take his place to rule Bichon. Haoak declared to follow the order but secretly he began raising an army to fight the homeland to achieve sovereignty.

However, Haoak came to realize that the military strength of the new kingdom was far greater than Bichon’s. The kingdom had countless numbers of well-trained generals and soldiers in command from the civil wars. Haoak then planned on imposing upon the Wushu masters to use them as his puppets.

Haoak made a series of efforts to conciliate guilds to his side. He officially recognized guilds and stepped in to settle disputes between them. However, it wasn’t enough to break the unwritten law of guilds not getting involved in politics. Finally, Haoak decided to use the Sabuk Keep to conciliate them.

The Sabuk Keep was built to defend Bichon from the Numas of the desert and other monsters. However, frequent battles resulted in many casualties and the resources needed to maintain the keep was outrageous. Haoak delegated authority to rule the keep to a guild, and in return, they were given authority to collect taxes from its surrounding area. As Haoak expected, they successfully defended the keep from monster assaults and the ruling guild kept growing stronger. Many other guilds craved to acquire the concessions of ruling the keep and they ended up petitioning. Haoak then proclaimed that the strongest and very best guild needed to occupy the keep as they are responsible for keeping Bichon from harm. This meant any capable guild could attempt to siege the keep from the occupying guild and gain the authority to rule the keep.
It was that moment when the unwritten law was finally broken, the law that was followed for the past hundred years, that the Wushu masters magic would not get involved in politics. Now that the masters have joined the struggle for power, it gave Haoak time to train an army to fight the Kingdom and also gave him guilds at his command since they fell for his bait.

No one knows when or who constructed the Desert Mud Fortress. It has been sitting there for centuries. Indeed, most parts of the fortress were eroded by sandstorms, but it is just astonishing how such a magnificent structure could be built in the middle of the desert. It was the people of Bichon who discovered this forgotten fortress. They began reconstructing the fortress to be used as an outpost to advance to the desert. However when the construction was almost over, the Numas brought their army and drove the humans out.

It was Haoak Lim, the Lord of Bichon, who saw the geographical advantages of occupying the Desert Mud Fortress. By occupying the fortress, he could rule the desert, the gateway to the homeland. And if an invasion army was sent from the homeland, he could use the fortress as a defending base. Haoak planned on using the strategy he had used on the Sabuk Keep, but there was a governor sent from the homeland who also saw the strategic importance of occupying the fortress. Not only did he recognize the traitorous mind Haoak had, but he counterplotted Haoak’s strategy to occupy the fortress for the Royal Court. He proclaimed that a guild that captures the Desert Mud Fortress would be given official authority from the Royal Court to rule the fortress. Many guilds that failed to capture the Sabuk Keep gathered to the desert and Haoak also proclaimed to award authority to rule the fortress to any guild that performed meritorious deeds in battle.

While the governor and Haoak argued over the authority to appoint the ruler of the fortress, guilds agreed to compete for supremacy of the fortress. When the humans were about to launch the siege, they were devastated as they gazed vacantly to the West. Led by a thunderous battle cry, countless Numan soldiers started charging the humans.

Although the Desert Mud Fortress was just a strategic outpost for humans, it was a sacred ground for the Numas. A magical stone was lying underneath the fortress which was the source of the Numa’s magical powers. The Numan army was here to prevent the humans from ruling their sacred ground. No one expected the Numas would bring their army to defend the fortress and the confounded humans were slaughtered.

The first siege attempt was not successful, but the guilds continued their attempts. At first glance, it appeared the guilds were fighting to gain the right to rule the fortress for their glory and fame. But it was more like a proxy war between the Royal Court and Haoak. They wanted a guild they supported to rule the fortress. In addition to that, the Numas raised an army to guard their sacred ground from humans.

Haoak’s traitorous mind was no longer a secret. He refused the summons from the Royal Court and he was raising an army to fight the kingdom. Many suggested crossing the desert to suppress Bichon and Haoak. But the Royal Court did not have good cause to start a war, as Haoak proclaimed to be a royal servant of the throne. Meanwhile, the Sabuk Keep and the Desert Mud Fortress had become a training ground for guilds from all the siege warfare. To defeat competitors, guilds studied forgotten Wushu skills and they even created new ones. Wushu was researched and trained as in the era of the Conquer King, when they were necessary tools of survival from the monster horde. But this time they were researched and studied to slay humans and to fulfill their selfish ambitions. Lusting for power and bloodshed, many Wushu masters who gained combat experience from siege warfare coveted a war. Another war between humans was inevitable.
As the earth was soaked with human blood, the evil creatures lurking in the shadows that were banned from the continent by the gods, rejoiced and emerged once again. Some wise masters appealed to stop the foolish battles between humans to prepare for the possible evil invasions. But blinded by power and greed, the humans did not listen.

The vortex of war was about to engulf the Mir continent. And at the center of the vortex, the Sabuk Keep and the Desert Mud Fortress stood. Will they follow the ideals and teachings of the heroes and save the human race or pursue power and greed which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the continent? Nothing has been decided yet. No one knows what role the Wushu master will take.

However one thing is for sure - the destiny of the human race is in their hands.

Other exciting episodes of Mir3 chronicles will be coming soon.