“….!!!”

Eugene’s affirmation was truly shocking. The Marecasio was a group of vampires who were free to roam anywhere in the Roman Empire. However, Eugene could go to any place that believed in the three gods. Naturally, that included the Roman Empire and the imperial castle as well. However, the Marecasio were unaware of this fact. Just as Eugene said, they had trapped themselves inside the imperial castle instead of protecting themselves.

Prince Localope murmured after coming to his senses, “Come to think of it, His Majesty was able to sneak into Petrucca because…”

“How could it have been possible if it weren’t for the blessing of the saintess? Petrucca is also a city ruled by a governor on behalf of the emperor.”

“Hmm. Well, indeed. I first encountered the great monarch at the residence of my child in Petrucca. I didn’t think about it because of the situation at the time, but…” Master Rivoles nodded in agreement. Such was why families belonging to different clans could not battle it out to death in large cities. If one side chose to hole themselves up in their residence, the vampires of the other clan would be incapable of doing anything. The restriction placed on the Dark Clan also protected them as well, and the Marecasio had definitely burrowed themselves into the imperial castle since they had full trust in the restriction.

“All in all, it doesn’t matter to me at all if they decide to hide in the imperial castle. No, rather, it’s preferable that they hide. Why would I complain that they are choosing to drive themselves into a corner?” Eugene said.

“This is good. However, the Marecasio aren’t going to simply sit around either. If they discover what happened here, they will surely send troops,” Eugene continued.

“But is that really possible when His Majesty the Emperor and the crown prince are absent?”

The imperial castle was currently without its master. Moreover, throughout history, the Marecasio only ever met with the emperors and crown princes of each generation for many years. They would surely be hard-pressed to meddle in the affairs of the imperial castle in the absence of the two figures.

“It will be difficult but not impossible. After all, they are vampires,” Eugene said. They weren’t ordinary vampires either, but those who stood at the peak of the tribe. Eugene was certain that they would try something.

“That’s why time is of the essence,” Eugene declared.

“Don’t give the Marecasio any time?”

“That’s right. This isn’t a territorial battle, right? Mobilizing soldiers the size of a legion couldn’t be easy, right?” Eugene asked.

“That’s right,” Prince Localope answered.

Eugene turned and looked over at everyone while continuing, “We will advance to the imperial castle as soon as possible. We will join all those who have not yet responded to your summons on our way. That includes those who do not belong to your clans.”

“A-all of them?” Master Samit asked with bewilderment.

Eugene nodded. “All of them. Tell them that I will see them personally if they do not comply.”

“As the great monarch wishes!” the four clan masters exclaimed. They were excited. Vampires were thought to be impossible to unite, but the impossible was about to become a reality through the command of their god—the founder of the tribe.

“Ah, and one more thing. I would like the prince to lead the army,” Eugene added.

“Huh? Y-you mean me?” Prince Localope asked, startled. He knew that he had to step up and take action, and he had been planning to do so. However, he assumed that Eugene would personally lead the army over to the capital.

“Ah! So Your Majesty is planning to direct the troops? That would definitely make for a better picture,” Prince Localope responded. After all, the current situation could be considered the internal affairs of the Roman Empire. It would be much better for others to see that an imperial prince was in charge of taking care of the issue rather than a foreign monarch. However, Eugene’s following words caught Prince Localope off guard.

“My vassal will take command of the troops.”

“What do you mean…?!”

The clan masters were greatly surprised as well. He had just given a command for all members of the Dark Tribe to gather, so who would lead them if not the great monarch himself?

“I told you, right? Time is of the essence,” Eugene said.

“Yes. So, Your Majesty should command the troops—”

“The Marecasio will be distracted if they realize that an imperial legion and an army of the tribe are being led by an imperial prince and my vassal. No, the whole world will be distracted by you,” Eugene said.

“…!”

“Yes. Officially, I will be with the prince. But in reality…” Eugene continued with an even deeper smile. “I will be heading to the imperial castle, and I would arrive there much quicker if I were by myself.”

***

The Firebird Legion, soldiers of Petrucca, and the allied forces began their northward march. There were well over ten thousand troops in the congregation of soldiers, including the soldiers and the supply units. Naturally, news regarding the incident in Petrucca and the movement of the large group quickly spread throughout the empire. Information was usually slow to spread in the empire due to its vast territory, but it was different this time around. With Prince Localope and the governor making efforts to spread the news, the rumors spread faster than ever.

In addition, Prince Localope made sure to visit all the areas located between the City of Petrucca and the imperial capital. The lords of the respective territories were appalled when they saw the crown prince being detained, but they were left with no choice but to join Prince Localope after learning the truth. Of course, the existence of those who supported the crown prince or those who had doubts couldn’t be helped. Even so, they were still forced to provide the army with funds, at the very least. And it was all because of Prince Localope’s army.

Was it because they numbered over ten thousand? It was obviously a huge, terrifying force. However, if several nobles joined together, they could also gather an army of similar size. The reason why the lords provided unconditional support for Prince Localope was because of the types of troops in Prince Localope’s army of ten thousand.

First, there were dozens of beowulf warriors. It was commonly known that a single Beowulf could easily face five or six knights after transforming into a lycanthrope. Moreover, the beowulfs were heavily armed similar to knights. Clearly, the beowulfs alone could devastate a territory of considerable size.

Was that all?

The presence of a single vampire clan master was sufficient to invoke fear and anxiety in anyone. However, there were four such beings. Moreover, the clan masters had dozens of high lords under their command, and the number of vampire knights continued to grow, eventually surpassing five hundred.

The nobles and lords didn’t dare to casually breathe in the face of such an overwhelming army. Even so, there were some lords who did not submit to Prince Localope. There were also quite a few nobles who rallied their troops against the prince due to their misaligned loyalty to the empire and the imperial family. However, they and their territories were completely annihilated overnight. The army didn’t even have to fully mobilize. A few vampire high lords, a couple of dozen vampire knights, or about a dozen beowulfs were more than enough to wipe out the lords, their knights, and their troops without much effort.

After several such instances, the nobles learned to immediately offer up their soldiers or money when they met with Prince Localope’s messenger. As such, in just fifteen days, Prince Localope’s army marched more than two hundred kilometers, and their number increased to more than twenty thousand.

When they were about five hundred kilometers from the heart of the empire—the capital—the situation was finally reported to the imperial castle.

***

“Voltaire was captured.” A man growled. His head was thick with long, black hair, and his face was full of tattoos of strange shapes and characters.

The Silver-Browed Demon King Helmond laughed at the words of Caravan, the Monarch of Thirst.

“I was worried ever since he left without saying anything. I knew it would end up like this.”

“This is not the time to laugh. He’s coming, and with tens of thousands of troops,” Caravan said.

“As expected, he’s on another level. What kind of madman would lead such a large army in the middle of the empire? It’s exactly what I expected from him,” Helmond responded.

Caravan took on a serious expression. They had been living for so long, so the Marecasio were rarely surprised or excited about anything. However, after hearing the words of his brother, Caravan realized that the current situation certainly didn’t make any sense. This wasn’t any other country but the Roman Empire. It was a nation ruled by an iron fist. With the emperor at the apex, there were officials and thousands, or even tens of thousands of nobles supporting him.

It was unbelievable that an army was currently marching toward the imperial castle in the midst of the empire. Moreover, it was being led by a single imperial prince, who was essentially a traitor with unclear intentions.

“How’s it with the imperial nobles?”

“A mess. It’s a complete mess. More than half are still refusing to believe the situation.”

“Well, it’s hard for us to believe it either, so it’s expected. Anyway, the imperial castle should prepare its forces as well, right?”

“Since it looked like it would be difficult to handle with just the defense forces, they summoned five legions.”

Naturally, there were troops whose jobs were to defend the capital and the imperial castle. There were more than six thousand soldiers belonging to two legions, and there was also the Order of the Golden Knights in the imperial castle, which consisted of a thousand outstanding knights. However, the high officials hurriedly summoned five more legions after judging that the existing defense would be insufficient to deal with the approaching army.

“You know him better than I do. Do you really think he will really wage war in the middle of the empire? Will he truly attack the imperial castle?” Caravan asked.

Helmond responded with a grin, “He would do more. The deaths of tens of thousands mean nothing to him. Of course, he seems to be a completely different person now from what the rumors say, but judging from the current situation, we have to assume that he’s almost back to his old self.”

“That’s crazy...”

“Hahaha! That’s why monsters like us are his children,” Helmond responded.

“We should have properly dealt with him back then,” Caravan responded with regret. Helmond’s gaze seemed to be mocking Caravan as he stared at him.

“Dealt with him? You still think that could have been possible, do you?” Helmond asked.

“…” Caravan remained silent.

“We were fooled. No, to be exact, we failed to pass his test. Well, who could have passed his test? The devil of the devils… The test of the Great Demon King. Caravan, we were played by him,” Helmond said.

“…I cannot admit it. I am Marecasio. I am an Origin,” Caravan responded.

“Pffft! You still believe that we’re Origins?”

“You…”

Fwoooosh!

The atmosphere surrounding Helmond suddenly changed along with a sound similar to a hundred blades being unsheathed. If other vampires were nearby—even the clan masters—they would have been forced to prostrate on the ground with broken spirits.

“We are great. We can assume that there is almost no one in this world who could rival us,” Helmond said.

Saaaaa… Saa!

The crimson energy of Fear took the shape of blades on his palm and danced.

Helmond muttered, “But even this power… He gave it to us. And this power is—”

“Only a portion. No, perhaps about as much as the dirt on his toenails.”

The two Marecasio turned their heads at the drowsy voice. A girl with crimson eyes that looked as red as a lake of blood approached the two. Helmond’s blades of Fear drifted away from her steps. It wasn’t that she forced it away, but rather, the blades were set straight at a distance from her as if they were in reverence, similar to officials welcoming their monarch.

The two Marecasio, those considered absolute beings by the vampire clan masters, spoke at the same time.

“Mother...”

Veela: OMG, if Eugene is Daddy, then she’s—