Episode 123
Archmage Pacus tried to kill the creature by summoning wind and fire, but four vampires absorbed the magic with their entire bodies.
The commander of the Knights of Haryan cut down the vampire with the Holy Sword. But that was all. Four vampires were slaughtered in an instant, but the rest all escaped.
30,000 monsters were left behind.
“Commander-in-Chief!”
Pacus grabbed the Duke of Breyo. The sturdy man collapsed. He was leaning against Pacus, his arms hanging limply. It was a sight I had never imagined in my life.
The High Priest of Haryan rushed over and showered the Braios with divine magic. As the divine light enveloped the two, Adolphe de Braiot’s bleeding stopped.
The High Priestess, judging that the crisis had passed, focused on treating Duke Breyo.
Paaaaaaaah!
It was a dazzling light. It was as if a miracle had occurred in Haryan. If that much divine power had been poured out, it seemed as if even the dead would jump up.
But the Duke of Breyot did not rise.
“Your Majesty!”
Pacus shouted and swung his staff. His robes billowed and mana rippled. A dragon of flame spewed from his staff and struck the fleeing group of vampires. The vampires chasing behind were reduced to ash, but the true-blooded vampires who were slightly ahead survived.
Thud!
Pacus, who had used magic too much, had to pay a price. He was coughing up blood while clutching his heart. It seemed like he would have to recuperate for a while.
‘He’s dead? No? He’s not dead, is he?’
I opened the tricycle and looked at Braio. I could smell death coming from him. But he wasn’t dead yet. He was breathing, though faintly, and his heart was beating, though weakly.
Wulf took me to Braio. The Braio Knights blocked my path, but when I showed them the Southern Commander’s badge, they had no choice but to open the way.
“Commander-in-Chief!”
The Duke of Breio lay on the ground. Two high priests clung to him, pouring divine powers upon him, while Pacus, with blood on his lips, cast protective magic. The faithful knights of House Breio erected a barrier around the Duke.
The Duke of Breyo opened his eyes. He had a pale complexion, as if he were about to die. His lips were blue, and his fingernails were black. He looked as if he had been poisoned by some terrible poison.
“Ah, Count Hebron. I’m making a fool of myself to you. Cough!”
“Don’t talk much. You need to take care of yourself now.”
I looked at Duke Braio through my eyes. He was fading away from life. The life flowed out of his body, and the void was filled with the energy of death. It was clearly an overwhelming fight, but Duke Braio was struck down by a true-blooded vampire.
It was a fatal injury from which immediate recovery was impossible.
‘Why?’
Just as I was about to open the three-wheeled vehicle to check, the peacock motioned to me.
“Count Louis de Hebron.”
“insect!”
“I appoint you commander-in-chief.”
All eyes were on me.
Some looked at me with jealousy, while others were indifferent.
“I will obey your orders.”
“Protect them, Commander-in-Chief.”
Duke Breyot dropped his arms.
He needed rest. No, he needed serious treatment.
‘If you leave it here, it will die.’
I never thought I would be watching over my father’s deathbed like this. I had imagined myself trampling on the Breio family and laughing out loud, but the Breio that had fallen to its knees was not even mentioned as a joke.
“We must advance.”
When I turned my head, I saw the commander of the Knights of Braio standing there. He was a count like me. It was a single title that could not be passed down to children, but in terms of his past achievements, he was above me.
Duke Breyot tried to manipulate me, the commander-in-chief, as if he thought it was natural.
He opened his three-wheeled eye. He scanned the surroundings with his third eye. He checked the location of the fleeing vampire apostle and the group of monsters that had yet to be dealt with. He also looked at the Kyle Kingdom army stationed behind them.
‘Even in this situation, they don’t open the gate. And the commanders’ eyes… are red.’
It was Duke Darun, not the Kyle royal family, who requested reinforcements from the Zenon Kingdom because the Kyle royal family was ruled by true-blooded vampires.
But now I see that it wasn’t. Not only the Kyle royal family, but also the Darun dukedom fell to the true vampires. This country became the property of vampires.
‘It’s a trap.’
The True Blood Vampire fled with irreparable wounds. The monster force was torn apart and fell prey to the expeditionary force.
It was a situation that anyone could see as requiring an advance. If they advanced deep into the Kingdom of Kyle and raised Zenon’s flag, it would even be possible to take over the territory.
‘Did you know? Is this why you appointed me commander-in-chief? Or… . . . ‘
I was anxious.
Something felt uneasy.
Even now, I tried to examine Duke Breyo with my three-wheeled vision, but strangely enough, my ability did not work.
‘Artifact?’
A special artifact surrounded the Duke of Braio. It seemed to have a powerful protective magic that protected him, but I didn’t expect it to even repel the three-wheeled sword.
I could see the Duke of Braio’s appearance. It was clear that he was dying. Even though the high priests poured out divine magic, a greater amount of energy flowed out of the Duke of Braio’s body.
I fought several battles in my head. I tried advancing on my allies, pretending to retreat, and then making a surprise attack. None of them were easy. There was only one easy way.
“Retreat.”
“Count Hebron!”
The commander of the Braio Knights glared at me fiercely. He was a veteran. He was the second-highest-ranking knight in the Braio family after the Duke. Adolf was called the next swordsman, but that was an evaluation that took Adolf’s age into account. The actual second-ranking person was the commander of the Braio Knights.
“I am not a count now. I am the commander in chief.”
“Commander-in-Chief, what are you doing? Victory is at hand. Are you ignoring the sacrifice of Your Excellency the Duke?”
“Your Majesty the Duke is in critical condition. His eldest son, who is to succeed him, has become disabled. I understand your desire for revenge, but I cannot give up on them both. I must save them both.”
The eyes of the Knight Commander of the Breyo Knights wavered. He was about to refute, but he shut his mouth tightly. It was because his weakness had been touched.
The Knight Commander of the Bray Knights was not a man loyal to the royal family. The only person he was loyal to was the swordsman Bray. The Commander could not dare to refuse my suggestion to save him.
“Pakus.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
“Can you move the two of them to the Duke of Braio? If it is difficult, His Majesty Braio should be moved immediately.”
Pacus shook his head. His condition wasn’t perfect either.
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“… … It is difficult. The coordinates are uncertain and the environment is unstable, so I don’t think the Duke will be able to withstand the teleportation magic.”
The teleportation magic that was performed in the open field like a battlefield was unstable. If only that instability could be eliminated, teleportation would be possible.
I looked back at the Breyo family’s entourage and said.
“Form a defensive formation and prepare to retreat. Beyond that are the Kyle Kingdom Army and Darun’s spy force. They are under the control of the True Blood Vampires, so if we advance now, we will suffer. This is a trap.”
‘Did you know?’
Archmage Pacus’s reaction was strange.
Even if no one else knew, he seemed to know the whole story.
“Commander of the Knights.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
“The first priority is to keep the Breo lineage from dying out. Right?”
“… … Thank you, Commander-in-Chief.”
Now, the Knight Commander of the Breyo Knights revealed his true feelings. I patted his shoulder.
I opened my three-wheeled eye and looked around the battlefield. There were no dangers in the area. The enemy was waiting for us to advance. What was unusual was that the True Blood Vampire had disappeared without a trace. The locations of the seven vampires following him were known, but the True Blood Vampire was nowhere to be seen around them.
The Knight Commander of the Breyos shouted.
“All forces, retreat! Knights of Braio, disrupt the enemy’s pursuit from the rear and assist our forces in their retreat!”
The soldiers who were hunting the monsters formed a defensive formation. They concentrated their forces in the rear to minimize the damage to their allies.
“Pacus, can you bring His Majesty Gaius? He is in the palace right now. I know you are in a terrible state, but I need you to do it.”
Pacus had no choice but to follow my orders.
There was no reason to refuse.
“Hurry up, it’s a matter of seconds.”
Pacus disappeared with the light. He returned in less than a minute, clearly exhausted from having traveled such a long distance in one breath.
Gaius looked between the fallen Duke of Breiot and Adolphe de Breiot, his mouth wide open. The battle had long since taken a shocking turn, far beyond his expectations.
“Your Majesty Gaius, could you please transfer Duke Breiot and Adolf to the royal residence?”
“Oh, of course. I’ll leave right now.”
As Gaius approached Duke Breio, everyone stepped back.
Gaius was about to use his teleportation bracelet. At that moment, I approached Gaius and asked him softly.
“Have you decided?”
Gaius nodded instead of answering.
But I wasn’t satisfied with that alone.
“Please state it clearly. What is Your Majesty’s will?”
“I will live for the people of Zeno.”
Gaius stared straight at me. His resolve was now firm, and I felt a little relieved.
“I will make that wish come true.”
“Thank you, Count Hebron.”
Gaius looked at me with a complicated expression. He was engulfed in light, and soon the three of them disappeared without a trace along with the light. They had teleported to the Zeno Palace.
After a fierce battle, the remaining soldiers were reduced from 100,000 to 94,000. In addition to suffering more casualties than expected in the first clash, those wounded by the vampires eventually died.
“Ambrod, I appoint you as acting commander-in-chief. Lead the retreat of our forces.”
“Okay, Commander-in-Chief!”
This time, everyone’s eyes were focused on Ambrod. Although he had once been mentioned as a potential recruit for the Duke of Braiot, the fact that he was a country knight remained unchanged.
When such an author became the leader of an army of 100,000 men, the knights of House Breyo were filled with murderous intent.
“Ambrod, stand tall. You are the face of Hebron. You are not lacking in skill. You are a knight I acknowledge.”
Ambrod followed my orders. I could see through the three-wheeled telescope that his aura was pulsating and his heart was pounding, but he managed to stand upright like a statue.
“Where are you going?”
The Knight Commander of the Breyots spoke to me. He packed his bag as if he were going to go a long distance.
“I’m going to run an errand for a bit. Do you want to come with me?”
“Would you please allow me?”
“No, if you die too, there will be no cleanup. You stay here and help my men. I will avenge your master on your behalf.”
“insect!”
I was the only one who could find the true vampire who was hiding in the kingdom of Zenon.
‘He’s definitely alone.’
It was clear that I didn’t have a vampire with me. I was confident that I could handle a wounded true-blooded vampire on my own. No, I couldn’t kill him if not now.
The bird of wisdom, Machia, was hovering over the kingdom of Kyle. He had pinpointed the locations of the seven vampires, who were disguised as true vampires.
‘They are all lies. There is not a single one that is not a trap.’
