<h4>Chapter 294: 154. In the Name of the King -1 (Part Two)</h4>


    Tranted by a Passing Wanderer


    Edited by RED


    The ve soldier watched it all happen, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He briefly stared at the weapon he had discarded, before urgently crying out to hisrades. “Throw your weapons away! They won’t kill you if you surrender!”


    The other ve soldiers gasped in surprise before hurriedly discarding their weapons.


    That caused the Necromancers to shout at them in anger, “What are you all doing?! If you back off now, our An will peri...?!”


    Arge shadow loomed over that Necromancer’s head. mes were burning within the Bone Dragon’s maw right above him.


    The Necromancers all mped their mouths shut.


    One of them tried to cry out his spell and raise his staff up, only for the mes topletely and utterly wipe him out of existence without leaving so much as a single trace behind. His colleagues next to him were scorched by the mes and died too.


    The remaining Necromancers watched this scene unfold and hastily threw their staves away. They even raised their hands up high to indicate their surrender.


    The Bone Dragon ignored them and stomped straight past them.


    The battlefield was sorted out in the proverbial blink of an eye, and silence gradually returned to the scene.


    ——-


    Jeram, his throat still grabbed by the Holy King, red at Allen.


    The Holy King wore bone armour and the skull of a mountain goat. His eyes were glowing eerily while bluish breath leaked out from his slightly parted lips.


    How could anyone call this being the ‘Holy’ King? It was like staring at a true devil!


    What an overwhelming power this was; as expected of the one who killed King Rahamma!


    The Holy King looked up at Jeram and asked, “Who is behind this? Which vampire is responsible?”


    Jeram’s throat was twisted even further. Blood vessels bulged on his face and hisplexion turned crimson. “Just kill me! I’m one of An’s proud twelve feudal lords! I have nothing to say to the likes of you!”


    “Oh, the so-called proud feudal lord sold his country out for an eternal life? Is that how it is?”


    “This is all for the sake of An! You think I don’t know what you bastards are scheming? You want to wage a war against the vampires?!” Jeram sneered mockingly. “No, you just used that as a pretext to raise an army. After you purge all vampires, your next target would’ve been us, isn’t that true?! Starting from way back in ancient history, it was you bastards that kept attacking us. That’s why things would’ve been the same this time, too! You crazed war fanatics!”


    “That’s the same story for An, too, though?”


    “That’s right! And that’s why we can never be allies. A vassal state, you say? No, there can only be a total annihtion for one side! Rather than bowing our heads to you...!” Jeram red murderously at the Holy King. “I will sell my soul to the devil and walk the path of mutual destruction along with you lot! And that was the will of our King Rahamma, too!”


    He waspletely stained by madness at this point. It was as if he never acknowledged Tina, the descendant of that dead king, as his queen.


    In a way, Tina was also a traitor who aided in the killing of Rahamma. One could argue that she was a puppet queen who only managed to ascend to the throne through the Theocratic Empire’s assistance.


    The push-back from the nobles must’vee from that fact.


    “Well, alright, then. Let me ask you something else.” The Holy King brought Jeram’s face closer. “If, say, King Rahamma personallymands you, are you willing to follow him?”


    Jeram’s expression froze up in an instant.


    The Holy King looked behind him and called out. “Damon!”


    “Yes, Your Majesty. Please speak.”


    Damon had left the border wall and was standing in the middle of An camp even before Jeram had noticed him. At the same time, twenty thousand soldiers were pouring out from the open gateway of the empire’s border wall under Charlotte’smand.


    “You know where Rahamma’s remains are buried, don’t you?” the Holy King asked.


    “Yes, sire. I do.”


    “Guide me there.”


    Jeram red at the Holy King and roared out in rage, “You, you bastard! Are you nning to defile our King?!”


    “No, I’m just trying to give you a final chance.” The Holy King pulled Jeram’s face real close and stared straight into thetter’s eyes. Jeram’s whole body instinctively shrunk back when he stared at those eerily-burning eyes. “Now, choose. Live on by submitting to me, or die.”


    Jeram, dyed deep with terror by the Holy King’s threat, faltered and lowered his head.


    **


    Inside a dark, damp prison cell somewhere...


    “Why won’t you drink it?!”


    Rehton was currently ring at a shackled and chained Dark Elf inside the cell. The Dark Elf was the Queen of An, Tina An.


    Rehton didn’t give up and tried to coax her into drinking the blood contained in a bowl before her eyes. “Only by you drinking this will An regain her peace!”


    “Are you telling me to be a vampire, Rehton?”


    “That’s right! Only by doing so can we receive the promised eternal salvation! The eternal life itself! The glory of all the citizens of An bing vampires will be ours, too! Yes, ournd will be the very first kingdom of vampires. And you...” Rehton grabbed Tina’s cor and lifted her up. “...are destined to be a duchess. Yes, the wife of Duke Duran!”


    “...”


    Tina quietly closed her eyes, silently rejecting the ‘invitation’.


    Rehton cursed loudly.


    Two conditions had to be fulfilled before one could be a vampire. One, the blood of a Progenitor. Two, the willingness of the party about to drink the blood.


    This subordination contract could only be concluded sessfully if the one willingly chose to be a vampire.


    But Tina was rejecting the second half of that requirement.


    “You damn little...!” Just as Rehton raised his hand to p Tina’s face...


    “It won’t do for you to rough up my future fiancée, now will it?”


    Rehton’s hand froze in mid-air. He turned his head and stared at Duke Duran. “Master.”


    Rehton had be a blood-creation and as such, he was now obediently submitting to Duran’smands. He was frightened out of his wits and bowed his head before quickly stepping back.


    Duran opened the cell’s door and entered before looking down at Tina. “Are you still thinking of rejecting me?”


    “What is your reason for wanting me?”


    “Simple. An can only truly be mine when you be mine, too. And also, I get to defile the World Tree.”


    Tina furrowed her brow deeply.


    “No matter how much I burn the World Tree or try to stain it with blood, nothing I do works. My strength alone isn’t enough to stop the sacred power emanating from that tree. However, the story should be different if it’s the Elf bound to the tree.” Duke Duran bent over and matched Tina’s eye level. “I wish to possess that power. The power of the defiled World Tree, that is.”


    “...”


    “That’s why I need your help after you’ve turned into a vampire. It’s not a bad proposition for you. After all, it’s a glorious chance to inherit the blood of the noble, great me.”


    Duke Duran proimed his own blood to be noble, of a great heritage. His arrogant speech was overloaded with the boundless ego of being a vampire.


    Tina resolutely replied, “I decline.”


    “...” Duke Duran’s expression crumpled. “In that case, I don’t have a choice but to make up my mind, too. I’ll just cut your head off and turn you into an undead, instead. Although it may take several centuries, slowly and gradually turning you into a Progenitor might be an entertaining distraction. Rehton.”


    “Yes, master.” Rehton bowed his head.


    “We will proceed with my marriage to the queen.”


    “My lord, you mean...?”


    “We shallmence with the corruption ceremony.” The corners of Duke Duran’s lips curled up. “Summon all the livestock living in the city to the royal pce. Execute the queen before their eyes; we shall use the blood of all the livestock to turn her into an undead.”


    Tina’s face hardened immediately.


    “Oh, my dear queen. Enjoy the process of your soul being defiled by the blood of the subjects you hold so dear.”


    Tina’s eyes shook strongly, but thatsted only for a second or two. She then frowned slightly as her gaze shifted over to Rehton.


    He was trying to hide it, but his legs were shaking and he was biting into his nails.


    She asked, “Why are you being so impatient like this?”


    There was no visible change in Duke Duran’s expression, but Rehton standing next to him was sweating buckets of cold sweat while clearly being jittery.


    “...Could it be?” Tina addressed them with a hint of mockery in her voice. “Has His Majesty the Holy King arrived?”


    “How dare you still speak!”


    Before Rehton could roar out some more, though, Duran didn’t try to hide it and told her the truth, “Indeed. I hear that the Holy King has broken through the border region already.”


    “...!” Tina’s face brightened immediately.


    “That happened ten days ago. The report says his army is marching towards the royal capital with a terrifying momentum. I’m sure they will arrive here eitherter today or tomorrow.”


    “Which means...!” Tina was inwardly relieved.


    She thought that the horrifying n these vampires had cooked up would now be stopped.


    “Unfortunately for you, even if the Holy King’s army arrives here, they can never conquer An’s capital,” Duke Duran grinned in a sinister manner. He turned around and left the cell, while Rehton undid the chains binding Tina and brought her to the royal pce’s audience chamber.


    ‘Soon, the army of blood will arrive,’ thought Duran.


    The army of blood led by Marquis Kirum was currently marching towards An’s capital as well. Duran had heard that they should be arriving very soon.


    He had also heard that the sovereign of blood himself, the Vampire King, was personally participating in the proceedings this time!


    What an incredible honour this was turning out to be!


    Duran had provided the very first footing for the kingdom the Vampire King wished so dearly to create.


    No matter how strong the Holy King was, not only would he not win against Duran, he’d also lose soundly against the Vampire King, too.


    Duran fully believed in that notion, not doubting it even once.


    Just as he grinned deeply in satisfaction, a blood-creation rushed up to him and cried out, “Sir, I bring you an urgent report!”


    Duke Duran turned his head and stared at the creature.


    “A-an army has reached the vicinity of An’s royal capital!”


    Yet another satisfied grin floated up on Duke Duran’s face after listening to that report. It seemed that his allies had arrived. “Is it the army of blood, then?”


    “...No, sir. Our allies are nowhere to be seen!”


    “What did you say?!”


    “It’s the Holy King’s army! His army has arrived at the capital first!”


    Duke Duran’s expression froze instantly.


    < 154. In the Name of the King -1 (Part One and Two) > Fin.