“Y-you wench! Who do you think you are…”

“And you?” Romari asked with a strange frown. Although she was quite powerful as a wizard, she couldn’t be considered at the apex. However, it wasn’t her fault. It could not be helped due to the nature of the Blood Shadow School.

However, wizards of the Blood Shadow School possessed stronger resistance and attack power against vampires, even more so than divine power. At the same time, Romari was almost at the highest level when it came to wielding the magic of the Blood Shadow School.

“You wench! How dare you act like that toward your senior?! Oi! Do you want to die? Did Master **** *** never talk to you about me?” Romari exclaimed.

“You. You…” Artane was greatly taken back. She happened to meet an old, senile wizard in his later years and entered the Blood Shadow School after taking care of him for a few years. Whenever the old wizard’s mind was in the right place, she did recall him rambling that she had a few colleagues, or rather, seniors, in the school. However, all of her seniors had left the school, and she never thought she would encounter them in such a vast world where wizards were already so rare. Moreover, the old wizard also confirmed that none of his other disciples had been from the empire. As such, Artane knew that the student before her were taught the way of the school far from the empire.

It was in the nature of many wizards to stay in one place their entire lives after settling down, so she had been convinced that she would never encounter another wizard from the Blood Shadow School within the empire.

However, the impossible had just happened.

“Sir Eugene. It looks like she’s a new student Master took in,” Romari commented.

“I see. What was it that she was talking about just now?” Eugene asked.

“Ah, about that. It’s something we were told to say when we encounter a vampire weaker than a lord. Since the Dark Clan swears by hierarchy, when we talk about our founder, most of them usually yield,” Romari answered.

“Hmm. So that girl was telling these children and me to bow our heads?” Eugene asked while turning his gaze to Artane.

“Hieeek!” Artane squealed as she took a few steps back and stammered, “I-I-I am the one who succeeds the teachings of the Blood Shadow School! All members of the Dark Clan will…”

“Shut your mouth before I tear it off, wizard,” Eugene warned.

“…!!!”

Artane promptly closed her mouth. She wasn’t scared, but the power contained in Eugene’s voice made her do it. Regardless of her skill, Artane was still a wizard from the Blood Shadow School, and the Blood Shadow School was a school of magic founded by a vampire monarch. Similar to how Romari acted when she first encountered Eugene, Artane’s very soul was also influenced by the mystery Eugene exuded as the true Origin. More specifically, since Artane was inferior to Romari, she failed to sense his power when they faced each other. She had only come to a realization after hearing the power contained in Eugene’s voice, the Power of Word.

“A-Artane? Why are you standing still?” Baron August asked. He was as surprised, or even more surprised than her. He was an excellent knight, but unfortunately, he possessed no immunity to women after growing up under strict education and living out almost his entire life in the military. The temptation of a young, beautiful and ambitious wizard was fatal to him.

His marriage had been political, and he couldn’t be considered handsome in the slightest. As such, his wife showed no affection toward him. Therefore, he came to regard Artane’s persistent and clandestine temptation as true love.

To him, true love represented infinite trust in his partner. It meant that he had never doubted Artanes words at all. Moreover, it wasn’t as if she had really lied either. Although the Blood Shadow School wasn’t an extraordinary school of magic, it was a school well-known to the vampires. The wizards of the Blood Shadow School would fare well against vampires. Unfortunately, Artane met her master when he was already senile, and she interpreted his confusing words to her liking and trusted them fully.

Artane used the Commander of the Firebird Legion as her platform for success, and the base of the Firebird Legion happened to be near the City of Petrucca. In addition, Eugene coincidentally arrived in Petrucca, and his wizard by chance was Romari.

It was truly a trick of fate, but it could be taken as both a tragedy and a comedy. However, it was a wonderful turn of events for one person.

“So…” Eugene said while looking alternatingly between the completely terrified Artane and the confused Baron August. Then, he continued, “You entrusted her with the task of dealing with us?”

“…!”

Baron August’s face turned pale.

“An imperial prince, the direct descendant of the emperor, personally came as a messenger, but you attempted to capture him without even bothering to fully understand the situation?”

“I-I…”

Obviously, that had been the plan. Unfortunately, Baron August was a soldier and a knight inside and out. His plans and thoughts had been completely revealed, and he couldn’t keep a straight face in the face of the reveal. Moreover, his most trusted and valued card ended up being completely useless. As such, Baron August felt as if his head would burst from everything that was going on.

“Well, I guess that’s understandable,” Eugene said.

Baron August hurriedly raised his head. His face flushed red with embarrassment. Understandable? A knight lived and died by honor, so what was the King of Maren trying to do by…

Eugene continued, “But since you did it first, shouldn’t we get to do the same?”

“…!!!”

Kwarararararara!!!

Baron August’s eyes filled with shock as a crimson Fear emerged from Eugene’s body and exploded like a volcano.

“Keugggh!”

“Ugh!”

The knights within the radius of the Origin’s Fear were glued to their spots like stone statues.

“Take care of it,” Eugene said with an apathetic expression after unleashing the overwhelming torrent of crimson energy. In response, the four clan masters moved like predators.

***

Even though thousands of soldiers were facing each other, a battle did not take place. The Firebird Legion did not take any action even after Eugene had taken their commander and the legion’s war mage away. However, it wasn’t because their commander had been captured or that they were worried for his safety. In fact, even though Eugene didn’t touch even a single hair on anyone except Baron August and Artane, the thousands of troops would have pounced on his small group if one of the high-ranking knights gave the command.

However, not one of the legion’s knights issued such an order. The commander of their legion had acted dishonorably. Baron August had attempted to attack and overpower the enemy’s messengers, which included an imperial prince. The local nobles and the knights with the Firebird Legion had witnessed the scene.

Moreover, most of them had been half-threatened to collaborate by Baron August, and they also disliked the priests of the City of Petrucca. Most importantly, they were also in doubt about the legitimacy of the information brought to them by the priests.

A prince came forward directly to explain the situation, but the commander attacked without even listening to the prince. There was no law that prevented the nobles’ forces from turning against the legion, so why would they cooperate with them considering the circumstances?

The knights of the Firebird Legion were united in their thoughts as well.

‘This is it! It’s over!’

‘This takes care of the annoying problem.’

‘He’s a prince, right? Those damned priests lied.’

Most of the knights were opposed to the war from the very beginning, but they had been forced to obey the stubborn commands of their commander. Enjoying the peaceful life they had been living was more important to them. They abhorred the notion of having to go to war due to the unclear, suspicious words of greedy priests. The knights wanted the ridiculous situation to end by offering Baron August and the war mage as a ‘sacrifice.’ And fortunately, their wish came true because the case of treason involving the King of Maren and the City of Petrucca came to an end.

The governor of the city and Prince Localope personally dismissed the soldiers of the nobles and the mercenaries, and they gave the Firebird Legion permission to temporarily stay outside the city. In addition, Prince Localope invited the high-ranking knights and nobles to the city.

They were initially worried that it was a ploy to gather them in one place to eliminate them at once. However, they eventually accepted the invitation without any complaints after Prince Localope swore an oath on his blood and after the four clan masters promised on the names of their clans.

Afterward, they came to see and witnessed it in person. They finally discovered the real traitor, the true enemy of the empire, and the target of Petrucca’s soldiers. They also realized that their actions in trying to avoid responsibility had been their lucky strike. The soldiers of Petrucca, who they assumed were ordinary heavy infantry and knights, turned out to be beowulf warriors and knights of the Dark Clan. When they learned the truth, the nobles froze on the spot.

In particular, the knights of the empire knew exactly how powerful vampire bannerets and high lords were. It was impossible for a single legion to deal with hundreds of powerful, high-ranking vampires, although they perhaps stood a chance in a smaller-scale battle against them. In the first place, the imperial legion had never even considered that hundreds of vampires would gather to form a group.

Moreover, they would have to face the clan masters and their overlord—the King of Maren.

In other words, if things had continued according to Baron August’s plans…

If they had attempted to stop Eugene from taking Baron August away and attacked…

‘W-we might have gotten ourselves annihilated…’

Even worse, they wouldn’t have been fighting for the honor of the empire and His Majesty the Emperor. Instead, they would have laid their lives down while fighting on the side of the true traitor, Crown Prince Voltaire. The nobles and knights were relieved to realize that they had avoided such a shameful and disgraceful, meaningless death. They burned with fury toward Baron August, who had mobilized the legion and attempted to attack Petrucca knowing well that something like this could happen.

Fortunately, Prince Localope came forward and comforted the nobles and knights. He took charge and brought them back together under the banner of the empire.

“All of you sirs were deceived by the wicked traitor. Your eyes were temporarily dimmed by the foolish commander who pursued false chivalry and fake honor,” Prince Localope said and continued, “As the successor of the glorious golden blood, I forgive all of your mistakes. In addition, I would also like to present you all with an opportunity to show your loyalty and sincerity to the great empire and for His Majesty, who is in great danger as we speak.”

“Gather under the banner of the empire! Join me! Let us eliminate the evil traitors hiding in the imperial castle! That is the way forward for the gods and His Majesty the Emperor!”

Prince Localope no longer hesitated. He discovered that the opportunity had presented itself while he was in the midst of looking for his true mission. Prince Localope’s figure commanding thousands of troops situated at the base of the city walls looked incredibly dignified, even holy. In addition, the highest-ranking members of the Dark Clan stood next to the prince, and even the elf princess of Brantia, as well as the nobles from all over the world, fulfilled their roles to make him shine even brighter.

Paaaaaa!

Was it an illusion?

A brilliant blue light wrapped around Prince Localope. It complemented the golden ichor flowing within his veins and gave him the appearance of a legendary existence the gods had chosen.

“Kieeeeh… This is so hard. Princey… You can’t forget my hard work. You must erect a statue—a golden statue…”

“Keep spinning. It’s getting dim.”

“Yessuh!” Mirian answered and flapped her wings even faster.

Passssss!

To make the scene look even more dramatic, the spirit of water circled around Pince Localope at full speed, creating a curtain of lights. The droplets of water reflected the brilliant color of the golden blood, which made the scene even more exciting. Those up close could clearly see the spirit flying like crazy, but it wasn’t the case for those at the base of the city walls.

“Your Highness!”

“For the empire! For His Majesty the Emperor!”

Prince Localope had hesitated until the very last moment, wondering if such production was truly necessary. However, he was soon convinced of its value when he saw countless troops crying out in excitement at the base of the walls. Fraud was sometimes required, and there had never been anything to lose by listening to Eugene’s words.

Veela: “There had never been anything to lose by listening to Eugene’s words.” My condolences to the people who have had to offer their utmost “sincerity” to Eugene. xD