The Firebird Legion moved beneath the warm sunlight. Their equipment was uniform for each division, and their solid formation remained perfectly coordinated. The three thousand members of the legion marched on silently under the banners emblazoned with the symbol of a red bird with its wings spread wide. It was almost as if their solid armament and strict discipline served to show how different a real army was from mere soldiers of nobles and mercenaries. Unfortunately, the commander of the army—Baron August—wasn’t as stoic as the legion members.

The distance between the base of the sixth legion and the City of Petrucca was about sixty kilometers. It was a distance that could be traveled within two days. However, despite leaving three days ago, the legion had yet to reach the City of Petrucca. It was because of the nobles who resided in the areas between the military base and the city. Since the residences of the nobles weren’t situated in a straight line, the legion had to keep on changing directions to gather troops from the various nobles. The biggest reason for the delay was the uncooperativeness of the nobles. Since the matter was related to the crown prince and treason, the nobles had no choice but to tread lightly. Just like the knights of the sixth legion, the nobles were also doubtful of the stories told by the priests. In fact, most of them had judged it to be nonsense, and there was a good reason for their doubt.

‘Damned bishop! Those dishonorable men! Just how greedy you lot are usually…’

The nobles frequented the City of Petrucca, which was the largest in the vicinity, and they had a very poor assessment of the city’s bishop and priests. It was largely due to the indecency and greed of the bishop and the priests. Since they were religious leaders, the nobles could not openly express their dissatisfaction and could only laugh it off, but they cursed the priests behind their backs. As such, the nobles assumed that the bishop and the priests had simply made a mistake or were plotting something to solidify their own positions. In addition, it was highly suspicious that only the priests were babbling about treason when the governor and the nobles of the city were quiet.

In the end, the local nobles were left with no choice but to be hesitant to comply with Baron August’s orders to supply soldiers. However, Baron August was a tough, adamant man. Some of the nobles eventually offered troops and supplies, but the process ended up costing too much time.

“We should deal with it as soon as possible, but we are still short of troops…”

The Firebird Legion now consisted of about four thousand troops after forcibly gathering soldiers from the nobles. It was truly a huge group of soldiers, but the problem was that they were about to lay siege. Petrucca was a large city, which meant that a siege was basically impossible to conduct with only four thousand soldiers. They needed at least another two to three thousand troops to simultaneously attack the various parts of the city wall.

“This is driving me crazy. We will need to persuade the nobles and hire mercenaries if we cannot persuade them,” Baron August said. It was a shame for the honorable imperial army to receive help from mercenaries, but there was no other choice if the situation continued.

“Three days. We will recruit more troops and punish the traitors within the next three days,” Baron August said with a burning determination.

However, contrary to his expectations, he ended up spending five more days to barely gather six thousand troops before finally arriving in front of Petrucca. By the time he arrived at Petrucca, fifteen days had already passed since Count Rudiger’s mistake.

Fifteen days was enough time for many changes to occur in the City of Petrucca, and they were changes Baron August himself could have never expected.

***

“I’m wondering if we even need to go this far. Don’t you think we might be making a mountain out of a molehill? Treason… I think that’s ridiculous,” said a nobleman on a horse wearing his family’s heirloom while staring at the sixth legion in front of him.

Another noble clicked his tongue, “Tsk. It doesn’t matter if it’s real treason or not. All we have to do is to fulfill the duty given to us as pure-blooded nobles of the empire.”

“That’s true, but what if we sour our relationship with Petrucca over nothing? Sir Rudiger still has quite a bit left in his term.”

The other nobles nodded in agreement. The leaders of each noble family or their direct descendants were participating in this expedition, and they did not want to have a falling-out with a port city that acted as a hub for the nearby regions.

“The bigger question is if the City of Petrucca will sit quietly and wait for the sixth legion. In any case, they have to be mobilizing their troops as well.”

The expressions of the nobles darkened. As nobles of the Roman Empire, they did not doubt the power of the imperial legion. Even though the sixth legion had been inactive for so many years until now, they were still well-equipped and disciplined. However, their opponent could be considered one of the busiest, most popular port cities in the empire. The city’s own guards were at a considerable level as well, and it would be easy for them to hire mercenaries considering the geographical advantage the city held as a port city. In other words, if the City of Petrucca were truly detaining the crown prince and plotting treason, it was hard to guarantee a victory against them with just one imperial legion. This was why Baron August was adamant in asking the nearby nobles for soldiers.

“This is getting out of hand…” someone muttered. The nobles did not respond. In the first place, the situation would inevitably grow out of hand from the moment the priests spoke of ‘treason.’ However, the faces of the nobles still stiffened upon hearing it.

“Is there truly going to be a war…?”

The nobles here had enjoyed a peaceful, uneventful life until now. War was something foreign and unknown to them, but they may soon be engulfed by it. No, rather, the sight of heavily armed troops crossing the plains, as well as themselves standing in the midst fully equipped could be nothing but war.

War had become their reality.

***

“Your Highness…”

“…” Crown Prince Voltaire raised his head helplessly. His once proud, arrogant golden eyes had faded, and his shaggy beard covered his shabby face. He once shone brightly as the sun, but he had lost his appearance. Those who saw him clenched their teeth, but they believed the crown prince would recover after hearing the news they brought.

“It’s good news. It looks like the sixth legion, led by Sir August, has now arrived outside the city. From what the governor’s subordinates are saying, it seems the nearby nobles have joined with Sir August as well.”

“Your Highness! The true loyal servants of the empire have gathered to save Your Highness.”

“You must ascend the throne after decimating those vicious traitors to pieces, Your Highness!”

There was no doubt in the faces and voices of the surviving guards and servants. They sincerely believed that Baron August and the sixth legion would kill the traitors and save Crown Prince Voltaire. But contrary to their expectations, there was no change in Crown Prince Voltaire’s expression.

They had no idea that he was the real traitor responsible for imprisoning the emperor. If the truth came out, the sword of his rescuers would turn on him.

“Phew. Even so…”

Crown Prince Voltaire started, but he was interrupted when the door opened in a hurry.

An attendant approached him.

“What is it?” Crown Prince Voltaire asked.

“Y-Your Highness. One of the priests who visited the Government General…” the attendant whispered while handing over a crumpled note. Crown Prince Voltaire was being detained in a heavily guarded space, but it seemed that the priests could enter and leave the Government General freely. Moreover, it seemed that one of the priests had taken the opportunity to secretly deliver a note to his attendant.

“Hmm.”

Crown Prince Voltaire could not hide his curiosity as he opened the note. His eyes quickly widened with surprise. Although the penmanship was a mess, the content of the note bearing the bishop’s seal was quite surprising.

[Message from the legion commander: everything in accordance with Your Highness’ will.]

‘As my will?’

Crown Prince Voltaire’s mind, body, and spirit were shattered by his encounter with Eugene, but he was still a brilliant man. As such, he instantly recognized Baron August’s intention from the short note.

‘This… This means that he will stand by my side regardless of the truth.’

A glimmer of light sparkled in Crown Prince Voltaire’s eyes.

This was his final chance.

The best outcome would be for the sixth legion to occupy Petrucca, but the opportunity was the time they would buy upon surrounding the city.

‘If they hold out until reinforcements from the imperial castle arrive, then…’

However, his thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. A vampire high lord entered, and Crown Prince Voltaire quickly hid the note. His escorting knights took on fierce expressions at the vampire’s rudeness, but there was nothing they could do.

“The great monarch told me to bring Your Highness,” the vampire high lord said.

“How dare…!” the knights started shouting in anger. They couldn’t believe that someone would dare to order the crown prince around.

However, Crown Prince Voltaire dissuaded them by raising his hand before responding, “What’s the matter?”

“I do not know. The great monarch simply asked for you to come immediately,” the vampire high lord responded.

“Let’s go...”

He had a bad feeling, but Crown Prince Voltaire accompanied the vampire high lord. In any case, he had gained an unexpected card. He could well turn a crisis into an opportunity if he made good use of it.

***

“Here you are,” Eugene said. His gaze was indifferent as he stared at Crown Prince Voltaire. In the past, Crown Prince Voltaire would have been unable to hold back his anger, but now, he remained rather indifferent. On the contrary, he felt afraid of Eugene’s gaze, which was similar to a boundless ocean.

He had experienced the power of the true ‘Origin,’ which presented itself as an overwhelming pressure boring down on his very soul. It was difficult to even make eye contact with Eugene, let alone confront him.

“You know that the imperial army is here to save you, right?” Eugene asked.

“…Yes,” Crown Prince Voltaire answered.

“Well, that’s as expected. You’re trapped, but that doesn’t mean your eyes and ears have gone. By the way, a rat just delivered something to you, right?” Eugene said.

“…!!!” Crown Prince Voltaire shivered at Eugene’s mention of the note he had just received.

“Why are you acting so surprised? Don’t you know who I am?” Eugene asked in a monotonous voice, and Crown Prince Voltaire felt all of his strength leaving his body. Indeed, the existence in front of him was a being beyond human comprehension. It would have been strange if he failed to notice one of the stupid priests’ tricks.

‘T-then that means…’

Eugene smirked when he noticed the subtle change in Crown Prince Voltaire’s expression.

“That’s right. I let it be. It’s already meaningless to try anything, “Eugene said. He already knew that a priest had delivered a note to the crown prince’s attendant. Of course, it wasn’t that he had been personally keeping an eye on the priest. Eugene had someone more competent than anyone else in such matters in his service.

“Kehem! It means that yours truly has scored big for the first time in a while.” Mirian put on airs with an arrogant expression. It was an ugly sight, but she had finally proven her worth after a long time.

As such, Eugene simply ignored her and continued, “The war mage of the imperial legion. On top of that, I heard they managed to gather soldiers from the nobles and even hired mercenaries. If the commander of the legion is giving you his unconditional loyalty, it could work as an unexpected variable,” Eugene said.

“…”

“That’s what you thought, right?” Eugene asked.

“…!”

Crown Prince Voltaire flinched, and Eugene continued with a mysterious smile, “But what’s this? While the priests were rushing over to tattle on the legion commander and while the legion was taking their time to come all the way here, we also received some guests.”

“G-guests…?” Crown Prince Voltaire asked. He could barely hold in his anxiety.

Eugene revealed his fangs as he answered, “My knights and the expedition. Support forces from the nations previously plagued by the monster uprising. In addition…”

Eugene paused. He walked over to the window and opened the curtains to reveal the Government General’s back garden before saying, “The warriors of my tribe…”

“…!!!”

Crown Prince Voltaire slowly walked to the window as if he were entranced and looked down. The sight he saw filled his eyes with absolute shock.

Beneath the gray, overcast skies, there were hundreds of troops armed with jet-black armor, and their helmets shimmered with crimson energy. For the first time in history, all the knights and bannerets of the four vampire clans had gathered under the order of their true master—the Vampire Overlord.