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Eugene stared at the elders without any expression, and Lanslo quickly whispered, “As I said before, the Batla Duchy holds a very special place in Brantia. The elders are acting like that because they are afraid that you will ask for their cooperation in taking Brantia’s throne.”
Still, they were being too shameless. Eugene looked at the elders with a cold gaze before speaking, “I’ve heard that you become brazen once you grow older, and it seems there’s no exception even within the Batla Duchy.”
“What did you say?!” one of the elders shouted.
“You don’t even have a grasp on reality. My army is just outside the walls. What do you think will happen if I give my orders?” Eugene asked.
“…!”
The expression of the elders underwent a rapid change after hearing a direct threat.
“S-sir! Are you going to betray your sense of honor? Such a devious tactic is unbefitting a true knight’s…” Vyort hurriedly stepped out.
Eugene turned his head and interrupted him in an arrogant voice. “Sir, before I am a knight, I am a member of the Tribe of the Darkness. Don’t you know how our kind usually are? Ah, and don’t call it devious. ‘Calculating’ sounds more dignified.”
“What?” Vyort said, dumbfounded.
One of the elders screamed, “What are you all doing? Capture that crazy man right this instant! How dare you threaten the great duchy of Batla?!”
Troops swarmed at the elder’s shout. They weren’t just armed with weapons either. Quite a few of them were holding shields in the form of a mirror made of silver and copper. It was a so-called anti-vampire weapon.
Shing!
Luke and Lanslo unsheathed their respective weapons in response.
“Hmph! What do you plan on doing with just the three of you? Apologize immediately if you don’t want to lose your lives!” The elders and their troops were in high spirits. Even though Eugene was a vampire nobleman, his entire figure was covered with his armor. In addition, his back was against the sun, and his visor was up.
Of course, it was only coincidental, but it was enough for the elders to assume that Eugene was a vampire vulnerable to the sun.
“Apologize right this instant! If you apologize and pay reasonable compensation, we will let you leave peacefully!”
“What a completely insane bunch of bastards,” Eugene responded.
“You…” The enraged elders started to shout once more, but Eugene raised his left arm.
Wooong! Clack!
His gauntlet transformed into the magical shield.
“Oh my god!”
“Paracletus! The Dragon Guardian!”
Everyone was stunned at the shield’s appearance, including the elders, the soldiers, and all those who had come to see what the commotion was about. They couldn’t easily come to their senses. The family heirloom had gone missing along with Laplas’s disappearance, but now it was suddenly in front of their eyes.
“You, you… No, sir, how could you be in possession of the Dragon Guardian…”
“Paracletus is a precious heirloom of the Batla duchy! Hand it over immediately!”
“Did you kill him? You dared to kill Sir Laplas?!”
It appeared that the elders still hadn’t regained their grip on reality. Eugene spoke with a disdainful smirk, “Stop talking nonsense. If you apologize now and pay reasonable compensation, I will let you off peacefully.”
“…?!”
He was repeating the elders’ words from just a moment ago. Everyone’s eyes widened with disbelief. The situation was rather unsuitable for his words, wasn’t it?
“Did you not hear me? Apologize and provide compensation. Then I won’t kill you.” Eugene repeated himself.
“What are you talking about!? Hand that over immediately! The Dragon Guardian is a treasure of our family and…”
“Whoever possesses the shield has the right to assert a claim to the duchy, isn’t that right?” Eugene said.
“H-how did you…” The elders started trembling at Eugene’s icy voice.
Vyort, who was at a loss, hurriedly spoke to the elders, “My lords! The knight accompanying Sir Eugene is a knight from the Drak family.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Lanslo of the Drak family.” Lanslo stepped forward with a smile.
“Drak! A family of the Knight of the Lake?”
The elders were unable to come to their senses. The appearance of a missing family heirloom was shocking enough, but now, a knight from the Drak family had even revealed his identity. The Drak family was one of the only families in Brantia capable of rivaling the Batla duchy in status.
In the meantime, they also discovered how Eugene came to know about the opportunity provided to the owner of the Dragon Guardian.
“Oi.”
Thud.
Vyort’s eyes trembled as he received an object from Eugene. It was a sealed parchment. After opening the parchment and examining the contents, Vyort spoke to the elders with a grim expression.
“My lords. This is Sir Laplas’s handwriting and seal. He was attempting to take down the monster of Marine Forest and…”
The parchment was a memorandum written by Laplas just before he entered Marine Forest with his troops. It mentioned that he would not hold the Bosch family and the Crawlmarine County accountable regardless of what fate he suffered in the forest.
“Laplas, knight of the Batla duchy. He was killed by the monster of Marine Forest. I avenged him and obtained this shield. Will you still claim ownership of it?” Eugene asked.
“Keugh…” The expressions of the elders crumpled. If what Eugene said was true, then he was a benefactor of the duchy and they owed him a great deal. Moreover, there were no issues with him taking ownership of the artifact since he had taken revenge for the fallen knight, even if it was a family treasure. On the contrary, it would only be natural for the family to seek mercy and grace from Eugene, asking him to return the object in exchange for compensation.
The elders quickly shared gazes. Eugene immediately recognized from their expressions how the situation would turn. But he also knew that he himself would be limited in his choices if he were standing in their shoes.
However, the dead wouldn’t talk…
“Oi, seniors, make the right choice,” Eugene said.
“…?!”
“This is your last warning and opportunity. Make, the right, choice.” Eugene continued.
Tsssss…
Strange energy contrasting with Eugene’s icy voice began to rise above Eugene’s shoulders. It wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but everyone could feel its presence.
Simultaneously, Eugene slowly took off his helmet. His obsidian hair and crimson eyes were revealed under the shedding light of the sun.
His actions were sufficient to leave a bigger impact than Lanslo’s identity and the appearance of Paracletus. The elders stood still without uttering a word for quite some time.
“D-daywalker…”
Someone’s whisper broke the magic of the silence, and the elders trembled.
Daywalker.
They were the highest nobles of the Dark Clan, and even in Brantia, which was home to many vampires, only a few Daywalkers had ever made their appearance throughout its history.
And such a figure had appeared in the Batla duchy’s castle. Moreover, he was in possession of the duchy’s treasure and had a knight from the Drak family as his subordinate.
“S-s-sir. We made a mistake. P-please return it. The treasure is indispensable to the great Batla duchy.”
“We will apologize, so please return the Dragon Guardian.”
The attitudes of the elders changed immediately. Vampires tended to be stationary creatures because they couldn’t enter spaces uninvited. As such, villages and castles were safe from vampire attacks as long as vampires weren’t explicitly invited inside. And even if they were invited, there was no difficulty dealing with vampires as long as there were mirrors to reflect sunlight and silver weapons.
However, such facts were only viable under the assumption that the opponent was a regular vampire. It was a completely different story if the opponent was one of the noblest vampires—a Daywalker.
It would be impossible to retaliate or fight the instant that such an existence set foot inside.
“Sir! Please!”
“Please show mercy!” The attitudes of the elders had dampened considerably. However, it was still far from what Eugene desired.
“You’re begging me, right. But is this how you treat all your guests?” Eugene asked.
“What are you…?” one of the elders muttered.
“My neck is hurting. You’ve got a precious guest like myself, yet you continue to look down on me. Is that how the great Batla duchy operates?” Eugene continued.
“Ah!” The elders flinched before slowly coming down the stairs. Although they were well-dressed, they were still small, frail seniors in front of Eugene. The five of them stood in front of Eugene and were forced to look slightly up at Eugene.
Click.
Eugene willed the magic shield, Paracletus, to turn back into a gauntlet as he looked down at the elders and spoke, “I will ask you. The master of this shield can challenge the duchy. Is that correct?”
“T-that…. Yes, that’s right.” The elders urgently nodded their heads. They could think of no more ways to deceive or control the vampire, especially when they had no means of dealing with him either.
“If you want, sir, I will formally declare that you are challenging the duchy. We will prepare the quest,” one of the elders said.
“The Dragon Guardian will…”
“What happens if I have two?” Eugene asked.
“…?”
The elders seemed confused by the seemingly random question. Eugene spoke once again, “The Batla family’s treasures. This isn’t the only one, is it?”
“H-how did you know…”
“It’s none of your business. Anyway, what happens if I have two?” Eugene asked.
“Well, that’s…” The elders seemed hesitant. They exchanged a quick glance before answering.
“You can skip the quest and exercise your authority as the duchy’s representative.”
“A representative?” Eugene asked.
The elders became frightened by Eugene’s question and hurriedly added. “Naturally, they would possess the same authority as the official duke.”
“That’s right. And although this is not well known to the public, the last three generations of dukes were actually just representatives. Anyway, first of all, Paracletus…”
Shing!
“Hieeek!”
“S-s-s-sir! What are you doing!?” The elders shouted with horror and took several steps back when Eugene unsheathed his sword. Vyort and his troops raised their weapons in response, although they knew they were no match for him.
“Look closely,” Eugene said before slowly waving Wolfslaughter. The sword emitted a brilliant, mysterious aura under the sunlight.
“There’s two, so from this moment on, I’m the duchy’s representative. Is that right?” Eugene asked.
“What?!”
“Wolfslaughter! How do you possess the…!?”
The questions kept coming—how could he possess two of the treasures, how could a vampire hold a sword made from silver and meteoric iron, et cetra… However, some of their questions were quickly made self-evident. A Daywalker wasn’t afraid of the sun. As such, he could utilize weapons that were deadly against monsters and undead.
“So what do you say? Am I, Jan Eugene, the representative of the Batla Duchy now?”
“…!”
The eyes of the elders quivered relentlessly. They couldn’t deny it now. They had already said too many things. If they denied it here, they would be ripping the family’s honor to shreds. Although they were arrogant and somewhat brazen, the elders of the Batla Duchy weren’t so inflexible as to deny their family’s honor.
“T-that’s correct. As elders, we… declare that…”
Woong!
A sudden resonance disrupted their words and everyone’s gaze turned to its origin.
Woooooooooong!
The demon spear rose into the air while crying with joy, then drew a circle before settling in Eugene’s hand like a living creature.
“…!”
The elders stiffened like stone statues. An impossible sight was displayed before them.
Eugene’s voice cut through their shock. “I have Madarazika as well. That’s three in total. Am I still just the representative?”
“M-Madarazika! The Orc Slayer as well?!”
Paracletus, Wolfslaughter, and Madarazika. It was an unprecedented sight where three of the Batla family’s four treasures were gathered in one place. The elders were in sheer disbelief.
The Dragon Guardian and Wolfslaughter were family heirlooms that were rather well known to the elders. However, Madarazika had gone missing more than fifty years ago, and the youngest of the elders was seeing the spear for the first time.
- Whoever gathers all the heirlooms by his own might is the monarch of Batla, the greatest knight, and the guardian of glory.
The departing words of the first duke resonated in the heads of the elders.
“A-ah!”
“Great gods, spirits of Batla…” The five elders gawked at the three artifacts with awe, then slowly began to fold their old, squeaky knees.
Then, they shouted in a unified, emotional voice, “We greet the new duke of the great family of Batla!”
Their words and actions were akin to a signal. Everyone in the duchy followed suit and bowed their heads, kneeling on one knee toward their new monarch.
“We greet Your Excellency the Duke!”
“Your Excellency!”
A huge wave appeared to fluctuate with Eugene at its very center, and the sight seemed to be hinting at the future of the Batla Duchy.