“The priests went to the imperial legion?” Eugene asked with a slight frown.

Master Helmond, who had been maintaining a cold expression for a while, turned and spoke in a cold, dreary voice, “Sir Rudiger. Are you truly the governor of this place? What kind of a governor can’t even control the flow of information, especially important information concerning treason?”

The other clan masters also took on cold expressions as they turned toward Rudiger.

“Ah, that’s…” Count Rudiger wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He hurriedly explained, “It was certainly a dishonorable mistake on my part to have spoken to the priests. However, even though I am the governor, I can’t just disregard the priests of the city. Moreover…”

‘All of you are leaving soon, but those churchmen are going to haunt me like flies for the years to come!’

This was what he wanted to say, but he was forced to lower his head with a miserable expression.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s all my fault,” he said.

“Hmm. Well, I have no intention of blaming you for what has already happened. Rather, tell me about the imperial legion the priests notified,” Eugene said.

Count Rudiger felt slightly relieved at Eugene’s words of deliverance. He quickly answered, “The sixth legion of the imperial army. They are also known as the Firebird Legion. The commander of the legion is Baron August, and the August family is a family of knights known to have produced a chiliarch in the days of the founding emperor…”

Count Rudiger stated what he knew about the sixth legion. Eugene listened with interest. He had faced armies from various territories and kingdoms until now, but the imperial legions were different from them in many ways. Of course, he would not know for sure until he faced them directly, but judging from Count Rudiger’s words…

“Amazing. Are you saying that three thousand troops are absolutely obedient only to the orders of the legion’s commander?” Eugene asked. The imperial army maintained a perfectly unified chain of order, unlike the armies of other kingdoms.

“To be exact, it’s the orders of His Majesty the Emperor. Of course, His Majesty has entrusted his authority to the commanders of the legions, so the orders of the commanders are the orders of His Majesty,” Count Rudiger explained. When he noticed that Eugene seemed to regard the imperial army highly, he straightened his posture with pride.

“The imperial army is different from the armies of other kingdoms, which are composed of knights from noble families and soldiers. That is why there’s a separate title for imperial knights. They receive their wages directly from His Majesty, and their status and titles will not be passed on to the next generation. As such, even commoners could become imperial knights if they had excellent skills and great achievements,” Count Rudiger said.

Eugene responded, “I see… So, how many knights are there in the Firebird Legion?”

“About three hundred. Most of them belong to the heavy cavalry and are receiving direct orders from the commander. The rest are serving as captains,” Count Rudiger said. He stood tall and proud just like when Eugene first met him. Perhaps it was only natural, as there were twelve legions in the Roman Empire similar to the Firebird Legion. Even during times of peace, the Roman Empire maintained more than thirty thousand troops. Considering that ordinary kingdoms did not possess even three thousand troops in peacetime, it was indeed a terrifying force. Not to mention a legion, a huge chaos would occur if even half a legion appeared near the border of another country.

If an ordinary kingdom mobilized all of its soldiers, mercenaries, as well as the private troops of the nobles, they could surpass a legion in terms of pure headcount. However, the problem was that almost ten percent of the troops in an imperial legion were armed with plate armor or plate mail and that thirty percent of the infantry were heavy infantry. Moreover, they were thoroughly unified under a chain of command, unlike the armies of most other countries. It was for a good reason that many people assumed that a single imperial legion was capable of defeating three or four times their number. However…

“I can tell that it’s a great army just from hearing about it,” Eugene pretended to be in awe while looking at those behind him. Count Rudiger’s gaze naturally followed along.

There stood four vampire clan masters and their subordinate high lords and bannerets.

“…”

Count Rudiger slightly shrank. There were only about thirty vampires here. However, Count Rudiger knew very well how strong these vampires were. Excluding the clan masters, vampire high lords and bannerets were also powerful in their own right. It was for good reason that each of them was rumored to be the equivalent of a hundred men or more, and it was true that each of them could face a hundred enemies or more. Moreover, it wasn’t simply referring to soldiers or mercenaries but more than one hundred heavily armed knights. Obviously, they couldn’t always win against one hundred or more such knights, as the results of battles could change depending on various factors. Even so, there were still thirty existences present who could definitely handle one hundred knights on their own. In terms of sheer power, the high lords and bannerets alone could compete with the Firebird Legion.

‘However…’

Count Rudiger stood tall once more.

“Ehem!” He garnered everyone’s attention with a cough, then looked around with a slightly worried expression. However, there was a subtle hint of a different expression on his face.

“Your Majesty. The imperial army isn’t only great in terms of number, organization, and equipment. Your Majesty may not know, but in all of the imperial army’s legions, there are—”

“A war mage in each legion, is it?” Eugene concluded.

“…!”

How did he know? After all, it was considered a military secret of the Roman Empire. Count Rudiger was startled to hear that Eugene already knew about war mages.

“Ah… You must have heard from His Highness the Third Prince.”

Count Rudiger nodded with understanding when he remembered that Prince Localope had been staying by the side of Maren’s King for several years now.

“No. I heard it from my wizard,” Eugene responded. It was true—Romari had informed Eugene that there were wizards in the imperial army.

“Yes, well, I’m sure that’s true,” Count Rudiger agreed half-heartedly, assuming that Eugene was simply trying to shield Prince Localope.

“It’s true. If I heard it from the third prince, why would I ask you about the imperial army? I would have already known everything,” Eugene added.

“Ah…” Count Rudiger exclaimed after realizing that Eugene was telling the truth. It meant that the wizard of Maren’s King was competent.

“Your Majesty’s wizard must be a great figure. Do they belong to a school that exists in the empire? They must be a famous wizard—” Count Rudiger asked.

“She’s not from the Roman Empire. Her school is a bit old, but not very great. She’s like her school,” Eugene responded. Although she had played her part, Eugene still considered Romari an inefficient and prodigal wizard.

‘I’m still going to keep her because she comes back with unexpected results sometimes.’

“Ehem! Anyway, there are war mages in the imperial legions. And there is a rumor that even the commander of the Firebird Legion acts very politely to the wizard of the legion,” Count Rudiger stated.

“Hmm. Since you’re saying that, it seems that you know the wizard’s identity. Is that right?” Eugene asked.

“Unfortunately, the war mage of the Firebird Legion is strictly protected by the commander of the legion…”

“So, are you trying to tell me to be careful of the wizard?” Eugene asked while revealing his fangs in a smile.

Count Rudiger flinched before responding with an awkward expression, “No, well… I’m not necessarily saying that…”

The King of Maren had killed five knights in an instant. Count Rudiger didn’t know exactly how great the hidden wizard of the Firebird Legion was, but faced with a knight of such ridiculous power, the wizard would have to be cautious instead of the knight.

“But Your Majesty is an excellent knight, so you must know very well. Wizards aren’t powerful because they are strong in a one-on-one battle. Moreover, a war mage of an imperial legion—”

“Would excel at large-scale battles,” Eugene concluded. The wizard had to be a powerful presence capable of transforming the tides of the battle. Otherwise, the commander of the legion wouldn’t have gone to such lengths just to hide their identity.

“That’s right. Moreover…” Count Rudiger lowered his voice. His following words were spoken with sincere concern, and he was partially anticipating that Eugene and the clan masters were already aware of the fact. “I think—no, I’m certain that not only the Firebird Legion will mobilize.”

“Hmm?”

“The crown prince was captured by a foreign monarch in a city of the empire. There won’t be enough time to mobilize another legion, but it won't be difficult to inform the neighboring nobles of the situation,” Count Rudiger said.

“Hooh?” Eugene muttered upon realizing what Count Rudiger meant.

Count Rudiger nodded. “Yes. It is very likely that nearby nobles loyal to the imperial family will flock with their knights and soldiers.”

Count Rudiger’s words were true. This was an unprecedented situation in which the crown prince was being detained. It was a great event that could possibly shake the foundation of the empire, as such an act was something no different from treason. Anyone who wouldn’t react to such an event was unfit to be called a noble of the empire.

“In an emergency situation like this, the commander of the imperial legion would have the authority to enlist troops. Soldiers of the nobles will become incorporated into the Firebird Legion, and the command will be entrusted to the commander, Sir August. That means that the number of troops coming to our city…”

Count Rudiger hesitated. He knew that there was a possibility of Petrucca becoming completely engulfed in a war. However, he still continued with great difficulty, “At least five thousand and up to ten thousand troops at most.”

The legion wouldn’t simply recruit the soldiers of the nearby nobles. They would gather all the mercenaries in the vicinity as well.

“Ten thousand…” Eugene muttered. It was a huge number. Eugene had experienced numerous battles, but he had never seen such a large group of soldiers. Although he could not hear anything, Eugene could feel that quite a few of the vampires standing behind him were shaken. It was only natural. Even he was a little surprised by the revelation, so he could not expect the other vampires to remain unfazed.

Eugene slowly turned around. The clan masters maintained indifferent expressions, but the high lords and bannerets flinched before immediately bowing their heads in surprise. They feared that they had behaved disgracefully in front of the sky above the sky.

Eugene questioned the four clan masters, “Let me ask a question.”

“Please give us your orders,” the clan masters responded.

“Are these guys the entirety of your clans’ strength?” Eugene asked. The clan masters shared a look. The full power of each clan was confidential. Although they were all members of the Dark Clan, only a fool would lay all of their cards on the table. However, the person who asked the question was none other than the ruler of all vampires. The clan masters felt ashamed that they even hesitated in the first place, so they answered at the same time.

“No, that’s not true…”

“I have more children who can play their part under the sun as long as I make preparations.”

Eugene nodded before responding, “Right. Well, it should be difficult to bring all of them here at such short notice. How many can you all bring in three or four days?”

The clan masters immediately answered as if they were competing with each other.

“Todor will prepare more than three hundred combatants at the orders of the great monarch.”

“The same goes for Samit’s children.”

“I will bring together all the nearby children with Helmond’s blood.”

As soon as the three clan masters finished speaking, Master Rivoles declared with blazing Fear in his eyes, “I swear by the cold blood of Rivoles. I will invoke the monarch’s order and summon all of my children.”

“…!!!”

The three other clan masters were startled. However, their astonishment only lasted for a short moment. The three of them prostrated on the ground before shouting with all their might.

“Todor will also invoke the monarch’s order!”’

“On Samit’s name!”

“I will invoke the order as well! Even if all of Helmond’s blood drenches the earth!”

When the four clan masters unleashed their Fear, the entire hall seemed to have been engulfed in blazing flames. The countenance of Count Rudiger, an ordinary human, became extremely pale, but Eugene was completely unaffected.

Eugene asked with a frown, “What is a monarch’s order?

“It means that we will be calling all members of our clans.”

“Hooh? Is that so? That’s great. Then, how many of them will be here?” Eugene asked. He was slightly excited at the thought of forming an army of hundreds of vampires.

After sharing a gaze with the other clan masters, Master Rivoles stepped forward and answered on everyone’s behalf, “In three or four days—one thousand. If you give us a little more time, even more than three thousand will be possible.”

“Heup?!” Count Rudiger inhaled sharply.

Eugene turned toward him. “So they say. One thousand vampires against an imperial legion, soldiers of nobles, and a war mage. Ten thousand troops in total…” As his smile deepened, Eugene continued, “I’m looking forward to it. It may be a battle that will go down in history.”

Or perhaps it would be a massacre that would go down in history...