From a certain point, Eugene no longer cared about his power. To be exact, he didn’t care whether he would become stronger or not. There was no one who could defeat him anyway. Eugene felt that he was already invincible, at least among those who fell into the category of ‘people.’ Who could possibly overwhelm an existence similar to a half-god?

It was a conviction rather than an assumption based on experience. Eugene was completely certain that he would win in ordinary battles and duels unless he was faced with tens of thousands of soldiers attacking him without any regard for their own lives. Even so, Eugene had no intention of boasting nor displaying his force without reason.

The reason was simple—it was more efficient to use and show his force when necessary. There was no need to use a tool for butchering cows against chickens.

However, today was different. He had to show his overwhelming strength and completely crush the knights of Petrucca.

Boooooooo…!

The crowd gathered in the square hollered at Eugene’s provocation. The jeer of the furious crowd was like thunder. However, even though he was caught straight in the middle of the anger and hostility of thousands, Eugene remained calm.

Eugene knew that great hostility and anger existed in close parallel with a completely different emotion, and he knew better than anyone how to transform the hostility of those he defined as ‘enemies’ into that specific emotion.

“…”

Eugene pressed down on his helmet and gestured at the knights with his hand without speaking a word.

“How arrogant!”

“I see that you are just a rascal who knows no honor! Let’s see if your skills are as good as your glib tongue!”

It was no longer possible to see any semblance of respect in the roused knights. They had lived out their entire lives as knights from prestigious noble families. As such, Eugene’s provocation was a type of disrespect they could not overlook.

Chaeng!

The weapons of the knights appeared as they scattered the sun’s fierce light. All of them were wearing plate armor, and no one was using a spear. Befitting their statuses and prestigious backgrounds, their equipment was made by famous craftsmen, and they were excellent in quality and expensive.

Although Eugene had called for them to come all at once, the knights were too proud to do so. After sharing a gaze among themselves, one of the knights received a spear from his aide and spurred his horse to charge toward Eugene.

Tututututututu!

The sound of hooves broke through the loud roar of the crowd. Eugene remained unfazed as he watched the warhorse charging at him. He pulled out a red spear hanging next to his saddle. When the distance between the two knights narrowed to about ten meters, Eugene threw Madarazika with all his strength.

Shuaaack!

The demonic spear tore through the heated atmosphere and the cheers of the crowd at once.

“…?!”

The charging knight’s eyes widened when he saw a bright red light shooting toward him at breakneck speed. And that was the last thing he saw…

Bang!

The sound that followed was similar to the sound produced after beating a large drum. It wasn’t the sound of metal clashing against metal, but the fascination presented by the strange sound was fleeting, as a red, colorful display distracted the crowd.

Tutututututu!

In the meanwhile, the warhorse continued its charge at Eugene. However, the horse was no longer accompanied by a knight. To be exact, the lower half of the knight was still sitting on the saddle, but the upper half of his body had disappeared without a trace.

“…!!!”

The show of hostility and jeering shouts of the crowd disappeared like a lie. An unpleasant, strange silence immediately descended on the square. It was hard to believe that the area was filled with an incredible number of people. The horse carrying half of its master passed by Eugene before stopping shortly afterward. Everyone stared like enchanted fools, including the crowd, the count, the nobles, and the knight’s four colleagues. Despite their disbelief; however, it was clear what the long path of red left behind the warhorse’s trail and the blooming flower of blood at the path’s end represented. A heavily armed knight had exploded and died with one strike of a spear.

Clop. Clop.

The forced silence was broken by the sound of a horse’s hooves. Eugene didn’t speak a word to the remaining four knights. Instead, he held Madarazika in one hand and Wolfslaughter in the other as he directed his horse toward them. Silion obeyed his master’s will and ran like the wind. The immense shock and sense of futility surrounding the knights immediately transformed as well. Although they were rather simple and ignorant, they were still powerful, experienced knights. They didn’t lose themselves entirely to the unbelievable situation, as the four knights directed their anger of losing a colleague at a single figure without panicking.

“Jan Eugeeene!”

“Dieeee!”

It was fight or flight. The knights’ fury caused them to lose their sense of reason as their muscles inflated. There was no consideration for honor or chivalry. They only had one goal in mind—kill Eugene. The knights pushed their spears and swords toward Eugene.

Kyaaaaahk!

Madarazika left Eugene’s grasp once again and left behind a red trail while screeching. The knights were prepared when the demonic spear left Eugene’s hand. They weren’t so stupid as to be defeated in the same way as their late colleague. Moreover, skilled knights were capable of deflecting one or two arrows, even at a close distance. As such, they were convinced that they could deflect that awfully noisy spear before striking and killing the cruel king. Unfortunately, although the knights had heard many rumors about Eugene’s skills and achievements, they knew nothing about Jan Eugene Batla’s weapons. They only knew that his weapons were masterpieces, but they had no idea just what exactly were the abilities his weapons possessed.

Maren was simply too far from the empire, and Eugene’s great reputation had caused his arms to receive less attention than they deserved. As such, there wasn’t much information regarding his weapons. Unfortunately, the price the knights had to pay for their ignorance was both shocking and devastating.

“Huh?!”

One of the knights became wide-eyed as he attempted to deflect the red projectile flying toward him. The spear had been coming at him in a straight line before suddenly bending like a snake right in front of his eyes. At that moment, he followed the spear with his gaze, and his eyes turned to the left, but…

Bang!

The knight’s consciousness vanished as he felt a strong impact on his temple. His head exploded along with the entire helmet, and his headless body fell to the ground from the saddle. However, even before the dead knight’s body could hit the ground, the demonic spear continued on its path toward the other knights.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the heads of two more knights exploded.

Meanwhile…

“Kuaaaaaaah!”

It was difficult to tell whether the knight’s howl was a shout or a cry. Eugene swung Wolfslaughter as the knight passed by him. Eugene’s arm blurred, and a silver flash followed.

Plate armor was famous for its invincible defense. There was a good reason why it was common sense to either run or thrust a dagger into the gap between the armor when facing a knight with plate armor. However, that was only true for ordinary knights and mercenaries.

Eugene’s sense of sight had long exceeded the limits of humanity. He completely grasped the knight’s movement in an instant and discovered the gap between the knight’s joint pieces. Eugene then aimed his sword at the small gap.

Fwooooosh!

Blood spurted from the knight’s entire body. He was fatally injured in the forehead, armpit, and waist. The knight died from the strike made in the gap between his visor, and his body crumpled from the saddle. The horse came to a stop with the limp body of its owner hanging from its saddle. The square, which was once clean, had turned messy thanks to the five bodies and their blood. There was no spectacular sword fight or jousting to excite the spectators’ hearts. It had simply been a display of overwhelming force sufficient to provoke fear, which left the remains of the trampled weak in its wake. Moreover, it had taken only a minute. The crowd forgot to breathe at the unbelievable, devastating sight.

Clop, clop, clop.

However, the creator of the cruel tragedy simply guided his horse toward the podium as if he had nothing to do with its creation. He seemed as if he was simply out for a stroll with his horse. After finally coming to a stop amidst the deafening silence, Eugene raised his visor. He turned to Count Rudiger, who was drooling with his jaws agape.

“As promised, I am the master of Petrucca from now on,” Eugene stated.

“Heuk…!!!”

Count Rudiger’s face paled as if he were a vampire. What did he just hear? No, what did he just see? Oh, yes. This was just a nightmare—he was just having a terrible nightmare because of his malaise.

Count Rudiger was forced to deny reality amidst the shock and disbelief. However, he was forced to accept the terrible situation as being more than a simple nightmare at Eugene’s following words.

“What are you all doing? Get to work,” Eugene said.

“We accept the will of the ruler of blood and night!”

Those seated in the distinguished seats stood up at Eugene’s quiet words. It was the masters of Rivoles, Helmond, Todor, Samit, and their subordinate high lords. Around twenty daywalkers surrounded the leaders of Petrucca…

“W-what are you all doing?!”

“Sir! What’s wrong with you?!”

The escorts of the nobles began to move at the desperate shouts. However, each of the high lords could deal with dozens of skilled knights. It was impossible for the troops to hold their own because their opponents were high-ranking nobles of the Dark Clan who were either clan masters or high lords.

Kwaaaaaaah…!!!

A clear crimson energy stretched out toward the seats of the nobles.

“Keugh! Agh!”

“Ugh…”

An overwhelming Fear surrounded those seated in the distinguished seats, as well as those in the vicinity. The aggregation of Fear belonging to four clan masters and the high lords was truly overwhelming. Even one clan master would have been sufficient to easily overpower the crowd, but as many as four masters exuded their Fear according to their master’s wish.

“…!!!”

The spectators—particularly those who prided themselves on being smart—came to a natural realization. They finally realized why vampires were labeled as the most dangerous race and why the imperial family of the Roman Empire, as well as the clergy of the Holy Empire, had signed an agreement to incorporate vampires into human society. They finally realized why the imperial household and the nobility had been trying so hard to divide the society of the Dark Clan for so many years.

Most importantly, they finally realized how dangerous it would be if there were an existence that could unite the vampires—someone who could bring them together under one banner. They finally realized how dangerous and terrible it would be for the other races.

Today, the Roman Empire’s leading port city fell into the hands of the Dark Clan under the leadership of the Origin.