Melbourne's Scheme
Bagan had finished subjugating the Tyram County and was now scouring the territory like a man hunting rats.
“Nothing here either.”
Even after combing through the entire fief, the one thing he couldn’t find was a bonus. He clicked his tongue.
“You’re looking for those connected to that black magician, right?”
After dealing with Kai Bolg—the black magician of Demonia he’d met in the Urbert territory—and passing judgment on him, it was only natural that Bagan had extracted every scrap of information the man possessed. The fact that Kai Bolg had been embedded so deeply in Urbert territory made it no exaggeration to assume Demonia had been plotting something serious against the Sog Kingdom. After all, they had even smuggled out Hwanju, a substance that was notoriously difficult to handle.
Keeping that in mind, Bagan had interrogated Kai Bolg thoroughly and uncovered many truths.
“Yeah, it’s basically confirmed that Demonia’s people have infiltrated deep into the Sog Kingdom… but there’s nothing here?”
“We’ve searched this thoroughly and found no one. Either they were never here, or they fled in advance.”
Sally kept every possibility open as she considered the situation. Since not a single person had been caught by her ability to judge sin, there was no longer any reason to cling to the Tyram lands.
And if high-ranking figures from Demonia had truly entered the Sog Kingdom, it was no trivial matter. Bagan made up his mind.
“I’ll have to tell Gruon.”
Now that the target—the Tyram County—had fallen, Gruon had to hold his current position until he received orders to withdraw. But there was no need for Bagan to stay with him. That was why he planned to meet Gruon and tell him he would act separately.
Since nothing had turned up even after thoroughly searching the Tyram County, he intended to examine the territories of other noble faction lords. If necessary, he would even head to the capital, Davens.
With his thoughts settled, Bagan and his party moved toward the location where Gruon was stationed.
Meanwhile, the Seiros allied forces, having successfully captured the Silverty Barony, left behind only a portion of the orthodox faction’s troops and immediately set out for the Garios County.
The reason they moved without rest was simple: they wanted to prevent the next target, Count Garios, from preparing after hearing news of the Silverty Barony’s fall.
No matter how much he prepared, stopping an army of nearly two thousand would be difficult, but the man was as cunning as a fox.
However, Vidion was thinking of tearing that very Garios apart.
Because of that, Valion—who had been put in charge of this operation—spoke up carefully.
“Lord Vidion, even though this is war… perhaps showing a little mercy would be wise?”
Valion, who had followed after Vidion a bit later, once again realized that the man was one of the Seven Great Heroes and a slaughter-crazed warrior. He had been like this in past wars, and he was the same now. His reputation for mercilessly splitting anyone weaker than himself in two was so infamous that it haunted people’s dreams.
“Why should I? Must I show kindness to the enemy? An enemy is an enemy, and the weak deserve to die.”
But Vidion had no intention of changing. His convictions stemmed from his belief in the superiority of his race and his loyalty to the Seiros Kingdom. And that wasn’t all.
‘There is a mountain I must overcome.’
Recently, he had even gained a new goal he needed to grow stronger to face. The adventurer named Bagan—whose true strength was uncertain even if Vidion revealed his full power. Though he could be considered a fellow dragonkin due to possessing a dragon’s power, the fact that Bagan was clearly superior only fueled Vidion’s drive even more.
Others called him the strongest, yet the existence of someone above him was something Vidion simply could not accept. Therefore, Valion’s words fell on deaf ears.
“Then at least promise me one thing. Leave the final blow against Verdeng Garios, the lord of the Garios County we are about to attack, to me.”
“If he turns out to be a nobody, I’ll hand him over.”
Vidion showed his confidence, saying he could afford to do at least that much if Count Garios wasn’t a true powerhouse. Valion bowed his head in gratitude, and with that, they continued marching.
The border territories were all clustered within a day or two’s distance from one another. This was to strengthen border defense despite the Sog Kingdom’s relatively modest territory. As a result, the noble faction’s Silverty, Garios, and Urbert lands, along with the orthodox faction’s Mercury and Pierce territories, were all packed closely together.
Thanks to that, the journey from the Silverty lands to the Garios territory didn’t take long. After an intense forced march, they had set out early in the morning and arrived before sunset.
There was no absolute rule that attacks had to happen only at night, but evening was the time when even the most tense soldiers tended to let their guard down. That was why the nearly two-thousand-strong Seiros allied forces hid themselves carefully in the nearby forest before launching a sudden assault.
The sight of them emerging from the forest holding torches, like a wildfire sweeping through, was spectacular. To the Garios County’s sentries, it was nothing short of a moment of despair. An unexpected force had been hiding nearby and now poured out.
There had been no scheduled military training in the area, and since they were currently at war, any visible lights at night could only belong to the enemy. They felt it instinctively even without confirming the Seiros Kingdom’s banners.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
“Enemy attack!!”
They rang the prepared bells and shouted until their throats nearly burst. It was meant to snap awake the soldiers who had almost fallen asleep.
Thanks to that, their preparations were solid. It seemed the Garios County took pride in its archers; many waited on the walls with arrows already nocked.
Vidion looked at them and found it laughable. Once again, he gripped Epentes in a reverse hold.
The Seiros allied forces saw this and wondered if they were experiencing déjà vu.
“He’s starting again.”
“Truly astonishing.”
Both Valion and Gorgon watched with renewed admiration.
Vidion gathered power into Epentes and hurled it once more.
Kugogogo!
A piercing rupture tore through the air as the spear flew, then slammed directly into the castle gate, leaving behind indescribable destruction. What kind of siege was this? What kind of defense?
The archers couldn’t even loose their arrows before they were forced to deal with the rushing soldiers. As expected, Vidion stood at the very front, retrieving Epentes to slaughter the enemy as he advanced into the territory.
“There are far more weak and foolish ones here than at the Silverty Barony.”
Since this was a county rather than a barony, they naturally had more troops and even commanding generals. Their individual skill was equally mediocre, but the difference lay in whether their command structure was organized or not.
And just as expected, Count Garios himself was positioned relatively far back, surrounded by mages. The fact that he was a cunning man showed immediately. Even though the gates had been breached, barricades had been set up inside. The entire territory had essentially been turned into a fortress.
“A despicable tactic.”
Vidion spat out the short assessment and began cutting down enemies one by one. The soldiers and two nobles who had already witnessed how Vidion opened gates followed him closely this time, slaughtering the enemy alongside him.
Gorgon, true to his bold personality, fought without restraint. Watching him felt like looking at an orc; every swing of his massive two-handed axe sent two or three enemy soldiers flying.
Valion was also quite skilled. As a 4th-circle mage and a competent swordsman, he wielded a sword in his right hand while casting basic spells with his left, efficiently trampling the enemy.
Yet compared to Vidion, it was nothing. Every time Vidion swung Epentes, enemy soldiers lost their minds. Because among those who had seen Epentes with their own eyes, not a single one still lived.
His speed of slaughter—yes, slaughter—was simply on another level.
“You filthy orthodox faction bastards! You dare betray the will of the kingdom and commit treason!”
Count Garios, casting magic from afar, spat out his words in fury.
Valion moved forward and made things perfectly clear.
“It was your noble faction that schemed while the king lay ill! Consider this the consequence of your actions!!”
Count Garios found Valion’s words ridiculous. He frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. With an army this large, being pushed back is only a matter of time! I’ll at least take your head!!”
Whether they had been enemies in a past life or not, Count Garios charged at Valion with fire in his eyes.
Even in that moment, Valion glanced at Vidion. Vidion nodded at the Mercury Count who was looking his way. He saw no need to kill Garios himself after confirming the man’s level of skill.
“I’ve waited for this moment until my neck nearly snapped! Magic Missile!”
Basic magic flew toward Count Garios, but he deployed a magical barrier and blocked it instantly.
In that instant, Valion closed in on him.
What Count Garios had overlooked was that Valion was also a swordsman.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Slash!
“Aaaargh!”
Count Garios, who had been about to cast magic at the Mercury Count now right in front of him, had his wrist severed. The moment his hand was cut off, panic set in. The pain was enough to make him lose consciousness, and blood gushed like a fountain.
Garios clutched the stump and screamed at the top of his lungs. The sight was so repulsive that Valion immediately pressed his sword against the man’s throat.
Stab!
“In your next life, I hope you choose not to fight.”
It could not be called an honorable death, so Valion at least offered words worthy of honor.
Strictly speaking, this was an internal conflict, so continuing the war would not be easy. Since the kingdom had been run by the power of autonomous nobles, losing that power would weaken the nation.
That was why Count Mercury shouted.
“Stop!! This territory is finished!!”
He lifted Count Garios’s head high. Seeing that, the Garios soldiers lost all will to fight.
Stab! Fwoosh!
Even so, Vidion slaughtered one last soldier.
“A shame, but this is as far as it goes. Everyone, drop your weapons and surrender!!”
Vidion understood the situation and possessed a conscience. He was not a bloodthirsty killer who would slaughter those who had already surrendered.
Thus, the Seiros allied forces finished off the Garios County as well, successfully completing their mission in this war.
With Tyram, Silverty, and Garios all having fallen, dark forces were secretly moving within the Melbourne Duchy.
The one wielding that power was none other than Nidus Melbourne—the head of the Melbourne Ducal House and the highest-ranking noble of the noble faction.
Nidus continued descending the stairs into the basement beneath his castle. Passing the iron cages that had originally been used to hold slaves, he went even deeper until a new space appeared.
Unlike the dark and gloomy area above, this place was surprisingly clean. Two figures stood there.
One had a black body resembling a rabbit, with sharp fangs and beast-like eyes that gleamed. The other had the head of a goat and emitted an indescribable aura.
Nidus bowed his head before them and spoke.
“This is Nidus, servant of Lord Sleptas. The scheme to plunge the world into ruin is on the verge of failure. However, there is a saying: turning misfortune into fortune. If we can kill Vidion—one of the Seven Great Heroes—many deaths will follow.”
At those words, the rabbit-headed being spoke.
“Not only did you fail in what you prepared, but now you ask us to step forward?”
“Without doing so, we cannot recover from damage of this scale.”
“We suffer no damage. We can begin again at any time. However, the idea of eliminating one of the Seven Great Heroes is certainly intriguing.”
Nidus’s words had gotten through properly. With a hideous smile, he pressed further.
“Release your servants, kill the king and the first prince, and use the Sog Kingdom as a foothold to rule the world.”
“A sound suggestion. Lure Vidion to Davens.”
“Understood.”
Nidus raised his bowed head once more and exited the basement.