[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]

Chapter 324: The Whereabouts of the Dragon Heart

The Blood Bats that Skella Recrusa had scattered about had no trouble finding the rear guard protecting the 3rd Prince.

“This way, my lady.”

Siena Valkenhain gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.

“We have no time. We must secure the 3rd Prince as quickly as possible.”

“Understood.”

Powerful warriors were guarding the 3rd Prince, but not enough to intimidate the two of them.

“I will attack them from the front. Use that opening.”

“Yes, I will hurry.”

Skella’s body blurred. Vampires were, after all, a clan of the night.

“Hoo.”

Siena steadied her breath and thrust the sharp talons of an eagle toward the enemy’s heart.

“Black Hawk Heaven Flash!”

A flurry of sword strikes embroidered the sky, pouring down in the shape of an eagle.

“Kuaaaaargh!”

“Enemy attack!”

Though she had not yet surpassed the wall of the 7th-tier, the martial arts and stature Siena had built up had long since reached a level sufficient to overwhelm a battlefield.

“W-wait! We’re being attacked from behind, too!”

“What?”

“His Highness the 3rd Prince has been…”

“Shit! What are you all doing?! Protect His Highness at once!”

…The 3rd Prince was abducted.

***

“We have secured the 3rd Prince!”

Casimir, who had been pushing back Verdzig and Zamuel, looked up at the cry coming from the distance.

“What?”

Siena Valkenhain.

She was standing atop a steeple, shouting with the 3rd Prince Boldunhar and Lavinia bound before her.

“Throw down your weapons!”

“!”

Casimir, seeing the sight, couldn't stop himself from muttering.

“Fucking idiot.”

“Hahaha. What an insolent thing to say, Grand Commander of the Royal Guard.”

Verdzig taunted.

“Shut up.”

He was clearly at a disadvantage. But a triumphant smile spread across the face of Verdzig, who had nevertheless succeeded in holding on.

“This is our victory.”

Meanwhile, Ivan’s reaction upon seeing the scene was also unexpected.

“It’s over. We’re pulling back.”

Feinting as if to charge in and thrust with his sword, Ivan deceived Karzan and then retreated, sheathing his blade.

“The objective has been achieved.”

“What objective? Were you trying to buy time until the 3rd Prince was captured?”

Ivan shook his head at my jeer.

“No.”

Ivan tapped his ear.

“…A report just came in. It says the recovery of the Dragon Heart is complete.”

“What?”

“It means there is no longer a need to squabble over things like the succession.”

Ivan spoke with a dejected face, yet one that also held a flicker of hope.

“…The elders seem to have something up their sleeve. I will have to see if it is just a meaningless stay of execution.”

Ivan turned his back.

“Let’s go back.”

“Yes, sir.”

As even the men in black, who had been fighting so fiercely, withdrew in an instant, Casimir let out a roar.

“Ivan! You bastard! Are you using us and then throwing us away?”

“Wasn’t it the same for both of us?”

Ivan dismissed him.

“With the leader captured, this fight is as good as over. Who do you intend to crown as king now?”

His question accurately read the state of the battle.

“And it’s not as if you have any way to ‘recover’ him, do you?”

“…”

“I wish you luck, former Grand Commander of the Royal Guard.”

Ivan departed.

All that remained were the leaderless remnants and Casimir.

“Hehehe.”

Looking at the enemy forces that had surrounded him with their swords drawn, Casimir suddenly let out a chilling laugh.

“…There is nothing left.”

He had lost his honor, and his brother was dead.

His lord had been taken prisoner. And his clan was on the verge of ruin.

“In the end, Lavinia, it was you who ruined everything.”

Casimir looked at his pathetic niece, who was staring back at him with a deathly pale face.

“You alone ruined everything.”

If he had abandoned his niece back then, today’s events would never have happened.

“You were forced to act to protect the clan from your niece’s mistake? Yes, that must have been it.”

Allenvert dismissed his rage.

“But can you truly say there wasn’t a shred of greed in that choice?”

“What did you say?”

“If you hadn’t covered up your niece’s crime from the beginning, the clan would have taken a hit, but it would not have been ruined.”

“…”

“In the end, wasn’t it that you didn’t want to lose the position of ‘the king’s father-in-law,’ even if it meant pushing the 3rd Prince forward?”

“You strike right at the heart of it.”

Casimir said with an empty laugh.

“Young Master, your tongue is sharper than a sword.”

Allenvert said playfully.

“No matter how sharp, my sword is surely sharper than my mouth, wouldn’t you say?”

But it was true that his way with words was first-rate.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but Count Darsereun has already surrendered.”

“Is that so?”

“I will be frank. You should surrender as well. Your strength would be a godsend to our forces.”

“…What use would you have for me if you kept me alive?”

“The fight against the Dark King, what else?”

Allenvert persuaded him.

“I made a promise with your brother, Duke Montera. That I would allow the clan to pay for its sins, with the First Young Master and Count Darsereun at its center, but I would prevent its annihilation.”

“…Are you serious?”

“I am. I happen to be quite magnanimous.”

“Hahaha.”

Casimir shook his head.

“To think my heart wavers even now. Was my will always this weak?”

“The choice is yours.”

“Very well. …If the Young Master can defeat me…”

Casimir said, having made his decision.

“I will abandon the name of Montera and atone as a nameless man.”

“And if I cannot defeat you?”

“I will die as a younger brother who has avenged his older sibling.”

At that, Siena protested.

“Do you have no honor? To make such a convenient proposal.”

“It’s alright, my lady.”

Allenvert said, stopping Siena.

“I will accept. Let us decide this with a fair one-on-one duel.”

This was not just about honor or justification.

Even if there were arrangements waiting for him in the fight against the Dark King, he first needed to forge a vessel that could fully accept them.

***

“I offer my greetings.”

Count Aiden, who was guarding the entrance to the secret treasury, said.

“I am the Head Butler.”

Gulbark, who had stepped forward as if to escort the Dark King, asked.

“What is your intention? Do you mean to resist?”

“Not at all.”

He replied with an attitude that was both dignified and full of respect.

“The key to opening Grunewald’s secret treasury is under my purview as the Head Butler. It is only right that I open it for you.”

It was the same etiquette one would show to the king of a neighboring kingdom.

“I permit it. Lead the way.”

Once the Dark King had spoken, the decision was made.

“I will escort you.”

The Head Butler opened the secret treasury with a trembling hand.

“…A place both old and elegant.”

Gulbark remarked.

“Is that s.”

The Dark King said simply, entering the treasury with his eyes still closed.

“It smells of dust, accumulated like the years.”

“…You are very perceptive.”

“Silence.”

As Gulbark glared silently, the Head Butler gave a slight bow.

‘…Something is strange.’

But he had no time to think further.

This was not a place where he had the luxury to rack his brain.

Aiden had to entertain these heinous invaders alone and send them off safely.

In a way, it was a task more difficult than facing them with a sword at his side.

“As you may have guessed, the Dragon Heart is stored in the deepest and most secret location.”

The Head Butler said.

“If you wish, I can explain the other treasures you see as well.”

Gulbark sneered.

“There is no need. Our own secret treasury hold far more valuable and diverse treasures.”

“…Understood.”

The Head Butler bowed his head and led them on in silence.

Aiden walked, calmly mulling over the sight of Gulbark leading and the Dark King following, as well as their past conversations.

‘Something is bothering me. What could it be?’

…But he could not figure out anything more.

“This is the place. I will wait outside.”

As the Head Butler stepped back from the door, Gulbark and the Dark King entered the small room.

“…This is.”

Gulbark muttered.

“This is the Dragon Heart.”

A mystical aura that shone with five colors.

A concentration of mana so dense and refined that one could get drunk on its fragrance alone.

The heart of a dragon, the lord of all creation said to have vanished long ago, a treasure of which there was no other on the continent, was here.

“We have finally recovered it, after two hundred long years.”

The Dark King nodded, showing no emotion.

“Honest and foolish. It would have been better for them to have eaten it, or if they could not digest it, to have destroyed it.”

Gulbark smiled faintly.

“They were arrogant. Or perhaps they were quick-witted.”

“Both are correct.”

A terrifying trap was hidden within the Dragon Heart.

“Our ancestors placed a binding spell on this before it was lost.”

The Dark King said, revealing the hidden truth.

“They concealed a deadly poison within it that would cause instant death to anyone who was not of our bloodline.”

They might have sensed that.

Even if they hadn't, how could it be easy to discard the greatest treasure remaining on the continent?

“Now that we have recovered it, we will withdraw.”

At that, Gulbark spoke cautiously with a surprised face.

“But now is our chance to inflict devastating damage upon them.”

“It is a promise I made with my own mouth. I must keep it.”

“!”

They had committed all sorts of schemes and deceptions in the name of the Black Society, but…

“A king’s word must have dignity and weight.”

Gulbark bowed his head.

“I will obey.”

It was always the right of the stronger to decide the course of a war.

***

The grand fleet departed, leaving the destroyed and burning city of Grunewald behind.

“Now, please tell me. What on earth were you thinking?”

At Georg’s question, Geninghen sighed with a tired face.

“This was the best option.”

“Giving them the Dragon Heart on top of the Ebony Oath, allowing the Dark King to become a Demon God, was the best option?”

“Clan Head, what are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

Geninghen’s nostrils flared, as if he were trying to hold back laughter.

“Hehehehe.”

It was the face of a mischievous child who had succeeded in a wicked prank.

“Who said I handed over the Dragon Heart?”

“Pardon?”

Georg’s brow furrowed.

“Don’t tell me…”

“The Dragon Heart wasn’t there. This genius archmage swapped it out with a perfect replica.”

“!”

Geninghen cackled.

“Those bastards were completely fooled, is what I’m saying.”

[Translator - Pot ]

[Proofreader - Kawaii ]