Word spread around the Keller territory extremely fast. With the help of the forces Elrich had arranged for, behind the scenes, the news reached not just the borders but the people who had friends working at different areas around the territory. They were quickly informed by either family or friends who were able to hear about the b.l.o.o.d.y duke's declaration near the borders of the Keller territory.

With Elrich Eberbach's reputation, people who heard about the information being spread around by the duke's men inside the territory weren't doubted. Rather, the Keller family was hated even more. Not only were they making their residents suffer from all the taxes spent for strengthening the Keller family's forces, they even brought the b.l.o.o.d.y duke who could possibly raze their homes to the ground.  

To those in the Keller family's service, they saw this as a chance to be part of the invincible army of the human forces. How can they not be tempted to join? Not only would they be able to march under the name of the historical army, but they would also be trained to be part of the company of the people who were most likely to survive on the battlefield.

Now that Elrich had made his move openly, the current head of the Keller family, couldn't help but burst out in anger as soon he heard how Elrich decided to enter his territory.

*SLAM!!*

The table in front of him grew cracks from the point of impact and split in half.

"That arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d!! Does he think that I won't be able to put up a fight!?" the commanders of his army remained silent after witnessing him vent his frustration.

Paul Keller, the current head of the Keller family was prideful as he was ambitious. He was currently the best candidate in the king's faction to have taken control of most of the Eberbach family's forces if the king's plan had succeeded as they had initially expected. This was why he was currently at his wit's end with Elrich knocking at his doorstep.

Paul may not have been able to take over everything because having too much power was what caused the discord between the king and Elrich but, it was still more than twice the power and influence he currently had. Now, what could have been his was out to destroy everything that he currently had.

Unlike what they had planned secretly behind the b.l.o.o.d.y duke's back, Elrich was openly poaching people from the forces he had been painstakingly building. They could either remain loyal to the Keller Earldom and fall with them when Elrich's forces attacked, or they could be promoted in serving a more powerful employer whilst also surviving this ordeal. Paul was worried about the choices his own people would make. 

The choice Elrich gave to those working for the Keller family was extremely tempting. They would not be seen or branded as traitors by the people because it was the Keller family who had made a move against the Eberbach family in the first place. There were very few people who doubted the b.l.o.o.d.y general's words after the hero's name was thrown into the equation.

To those who knew or had any idea of how politics worked, the two-day grace period given confidently by Elrich was also a sign that the duke was sure that reinforcements for the Keller family were not coming. It was either that or he welcomed anyone who would try to help the Keller family.

"From the reports sent to us by the scouts, it looks like the forces that the b.l.o.o.d.y duke brought with him is not as large as we expected but…" one of the subordinates hesitated.

"But what? Isn't that good news? I heard that Elrich's right-hand man and his unit were asked to stay at the capital with his daughter to take care of the hero." Paul impatiently looked at the hesitating commander.

"Indeed. The butler Zwei stayed at the capital but… the duke had brought his b.l.o.o.d.y legion. The elite unit that emerged victorious against the sabretooth tribe when they tried to invade the territories not too far from here." his reports caused the other commanders to shudder.

Who could forget about the sabretooth tribe? It was one of the most ferocious and reclusive of the beast races. The only reason why they weren't the ones who were tasked to defend against the savage tribe was because, when the tribesmen headed towards the Keller territory, they attacked villages that were located in the Eberbach dukedom.

If it were not for the swift actions of Elrich's forces, the Keller forces might not have their territories today. Almost all the forces that were sent to deal with the sabretooth tribe entering their territory had been wiped out so many of the soldiers that remember that incident were surprised that the Keller family had ungratefully made a move on the duke's most beloved daughter.

"So, what do you propose?" he may be prideful but Paul wasn't stupid. The mere mention of the b.l.o.o.d.y legion that went up against the sabretooth tribe was enough to make him regain his calm.

"I think we should try and negotiate. If the duke had come here and given us time to prepare or even escape, he might be open to negotiations." One of the commanders suggested.

"I think so as well. The b.l.o.o.d.y Duke of old would have just slaughtered his way here. This is a sign that he has learned to be a little civil after his time at the capital." Another added.

"Hmm…" Paul pondered. "We have to quickly gather our forces and march towards the territory borders." He made a quick decision.

If he hadn't made a move, the soldiers that were left on their own might have defected due to their anxiety. Since they were going for negotiations, if a battle broke out, there would be no chance for them to defect since the duke wasn't careless enough to accept strangers that could turn on them in the midst of battle.

""Right away!!"" the commanders saluted and left the room.

"I should send my son to a safe place in case this all turns south…" Paul muttered as he walked towards where his wife and children were gathered.

Of course, the movements the Keller family took couldn't be hidden. They had deployed their army so suddenly that the families of the soldiers that left were reluctant to see them march towards the borders.

Elrich's forces were also able to receive news of Paul Keller's movement. The forces that he brought with him laughed out loud as they heard that their enemies were walking towards their own doom. They felt that it had been a pity that the Keller forces had moved after only a day since their forces had little time to dwindle because of Elrich's declaration.

"What of the soldiers that aren't at Keller's city?" Elrich asked for a report.

"Our operatives have accepted their submission. They are to stay on their posts until this issue is dealt with and be transferred to one of our training facilities." One of the intelligence operatives covered in dark cloaks explained.

"Did Paul bring his worthless sons to the battlefield?" Elrich wanted to know if his enemy dared to bring his own offspring to battle after Sodina was targeted by them.

"No. From what we have gathered, the eldest daughter of the Keller family is currently enrolled in the Academy at the city of Vane. His eldest son, however, is in the Keller residence as we speak."

"Vane…" Elrich muttered. If the eldest daughter was there, even he wouldn't be able to lay a finger on her. "How come this was not mentioned in the reports about them beforehand?"

"It is because her departure from the Keller house to become an adventurer was something that the Keller family wanted to hide. We only received the report of her location after we gathered any kind of information related to the Keller family."

"I see…" Elrich nodded. They were already at the point of no return. It might be a long shot but he wished that the daughter would understand what was about to happen.

Though Elrich was a well-known and famous n.o.ble, it was not too long ago that he started to mingle with the n.o.bles at the capital. He had always been preoccupied with making peace for the Zweifel kingdom that he had been considered an outsider by the n.o.bles who were fighting for influence and power at the capital.

By the time he was confident enough to leave the work to his subordinates, the prominent factions of the capital had already been decided. As a man who looked down on political trifles, he did not care for such things and therefore had little knowledge and interaction towards the families of the n.o.bles around the king's faction.

"Shall we make changes to the plan?" one of the intelligence operatives asked after sensing the duke's hesitation.

"No… For the sake of my daughter's safety and future, we should be swift and decisive." He closed his eyes and made up his mind. "Inform the hundred-man unit that they will be the ones opening the battle tomorrow. I'm sure they are already itching to get their hands on the people who planned to a.s.sa.s.sinate my daughter."

"Right away!"

The territory that the Keller family occupied was quite large but their main residence was only a few days away from the borders that were connected to the Eberbach territory. The main reason for this was the mountains located north of the region that protected the Keller region from the various wild tribes that have not affiliated themselves with any forces. 

Though the Kellers would rather not admit it themselves, they felt safer being near the Eberbach territory. They once looked up to the Eberbach family and that was why they also tried to take up the route of establis.h.i.+ng themselves as a military family. 

With the deadline Elrich set, the Keller army had no choice but to hurry themselves towards the border. They had taken over the nearby village and used it as their main camp. The soldiers needed their rest for the possible battle so the villagers were chased out of their homes.

Paul didn't care about what they thought because he was willing to give the majority of his territory away to Elrich if he needed to. They weren't going to be his people in the future so why would he care about them?

They reached the village near the borders in a day instead of two. With the anxiety of being attacked by the Eberbach forces while they were exhausted, everyone was currently on edge. This was especially the case for Paul whose intentions for coming out here in the first place was to make contact with someone from the king's faction.

He was an important part of the king's faction so he didn't believe that the king himself wouldn't send him aid. He believed that the fact that he hadn't received word from them so far was because of the current tension between their faction and Elrich's after the failed a.s.sa.s.sination attempt.

"(I feel someone watching me from afar… could it be the messengers trying to scout the area?)" Paul looked towards the cliffs towards the north of the village.

"Oh?" the figure who had hidden himself behind the shadows noticed Paul senses in the vicinity. "Looks like the current king of the Zweifel kingdom has some decent people after all." he looked at the hand that was holding a snapped neck of a person he had found snooping around the area.

*WOOs.h.!.+* he threw the corpse away and watched it turned into ashes before it hit the ground.

"I hurried back to the human territories after I found out that they successfully completed the hero summoning ritual and here I stumbled upon an interesting event." He turned towards one of the scouts whose arms had been impaled to the nearby tree trunk. "Are you ready to tell me the truth about what caused that stubborn Eberbach man to turn his blade towards the king's most trusted attack dog?"

The scout shuddered at the grin of the handsome man before him. He would have thought that he was a human except for the pointed ears that were slowly transforming to reveal his true form.

"D-demo—!!" his mouth was immediately covered by hands that were slowly growing into claws.

"Shhh! You better watch your mouth because my patience when it comes to humans nowadays is very thin." He put a finger against his lips. "Your kingdom even tried to summon a hero by using the sc.r.a.ps that were hidden by a greedy little cleric who is now calling himself the pope of all things." He shook his head in disappointment.

"W-what do you want to know?" the scout shuddered in fear. There were very few demons who would dare to refer to the pope as 'greedy cleric' so, from his att.i.tude alone, the scout knew that this person was someone from the previous generation despite his young appearance.

"Let's start with how this little trouble suddenly occurred within the so-called most powerful human kingdom." He snorted and urged the scout to tell everything he knew.

"It all started because…" the scout dared not to leave a single detail that he knew. This demon took the life of even the leader of their unit as if he were swatting a fly so he knew what awaited him if he dared displease him.

He started the story with why Elrich had attacked the Keller territory and their task of delivering a message to Paul himself. Their unit was supposed to join the Keller army with the task of either a.s.sa.s.sinating or dealing a critical injury towards the b.l.o.o.d.y duke.

Their plan was simple; enrage the duke by using the same outfits that had been described by his daughter and act like they were under the command of the Keller family. This way, the blame would indeed fall upon Paul alone even if his army does end up falling.

"It never ceases to amaze me how humans can be a lot worse than us demons. Though I don't regret granting that human friend of mine his request at the time… thinking about it, I should have given him more conditions that would make my life easier. He sighed."

"I've told you everything I know… please let me live…" the scout begged for his life.

"Oh, I don't plan on killing you since you've been so cooperative. However… we need to discuss how you will live out the rest of your days…" he smiled.

"Now, tell me more about this hero you guys were able to summon. From what you've said so far, he seems to be an interesting fellow."

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