No matter how outstanding their weapons and armory were, their durability differed according to who used them and under what circumstances. Although Davey had gotten rich from selling the blue steel weapons to Duke Bariatta in secret, the weapons were back in his hands now.
Davey sat on the field beyond the fortress walls for a break. He glanced over at the blue steel swords that Duke Bariatta’s army had thrown away upon surrendering. He commented, “If I sell these again, then I’ll double in money, right?”
-Oh my… I expected this when you requested for weapons from the dwarves and secretly sold them to Duke Bariatta, but…
‘It’s so easy to get money.’
This war was playing out exactly as Davey wanted it to; he had minimized the damage on the uninvolved subjects of the kingdom while picking out those who had caused this and killing them. Now that the enemy’s core had been struck, their strength had greatly diminished.
-If they’re not idiots, they will definitely try to stop you and go to the royal palace.
Almost eight thousand soldiers, about a third of the initial thirty thousand, had been subdued. Of course, it wasn’t like Davey hadn’t suffered any damage either. There were still limitations to buff magic; his army had sustained big and small injuries, but…
‘Who told you that you can die?’
Davey’s troops were kept alive by their monstrously fast recovery strength. They were similar to unkillable zombies.
‘Don’t underestimate a priest who has mastered holy power like the—no, more than the—pope.’
However, the enemy still had twenty-two thousand soldiers left; if they all marched to the royal palace, they wouldn’t be able to last long against Davey and his troops. It was about time for Swordmaster Marquis Enza and the vampires, their final asset, to come crawling out.
If Davey hadn’t attacked the vampires’ hideout and provoked them, only a few vampires would have fought, and the rest would have gone into hiding. But now that he had, those arrogant and prideful vampires were going to do anything and everything to kill him.
-Davey, vampires are clever and horrible beings who especially like teasing you with your weak spots.
“That’s right.”
Vampires were ridiculously proud. Their arrogance meant that they saw no one else as living things aside from the nobility.
Davey’s army was out of strength even with the buff magic’s effects. Realizing that it would be difficult to move forward with them, he looked down at his hand and made a fist.
‘About half of my mana and holy power remain… I’ve used a lot more than expected.’
Right now, Davey was in overcharge: his body was not yet used to the metamorphosis and still suffered from random bursts of power. It was a rare case where he had a lower level of control, but the total amount of his power had increased. His overall strength hadn’t really changed, but this was the best time for him to be this reckless. However, this couldn’t go on forever.
Davey was crazy to keep doing this. However, he was used to only using a portion of his power, so he cycled between using his power and waiting for recovery; the total amount of mana wasn’t the only thing that increased with the magic circles.
The Tionis continent was extremely rich with mana. There weren’t many people who could use it, but according to the comparisons that the heroes of the Hall had provided, not many places had as much mana in the air as the Tionis continent.
-Just how much is there?
“Um… Ten times more than usual.”
If a talentless human or a being from another world had come to this world, their progression would be undeniably obvious; the mana here was different from any other place. Davey was born into such a place and also had a very harmonious gift, which was his diverse range of talents.
Davey cleared out the Yallis Mountain Fortress and slashed all of Duke Bariatta’s entourage. He silently stared below the fortress, then slowly pulled out Blue Ribbon when he glanced over at the large mountain range just opposite.
He also reached into his Pocket Plane and summoned the long and heavy Divine Spear Longinus. At the same time, the spear end that was shaped like a scimitar transformed into the shape of a cross; as a blue magic circle began to vibrate behind Davey, the spear shrank and he absorbed it in the form of a buff magic spell.
‘One with many strengths has to fight in a variety of methods. I only stick to one method when I’m having fun.’
Davey could feel that Pace was more powerful than any ordinary Swordmaster or vampire he had met.
“It means that they are reaching their limit.”
The Yallis Mountain Fortress was over seven meters tall, but it didn’t matter to Davey who was so skilled in ‘Grass Dash’ that he could safely land after jumping off a thirty-meter palace. He landed without a sound, then began walking.
Davey could feel the presence of two large men who weren't there before. He murmured, “Fighting alone against two enemies makes the fight enjoyable.”
Above the mountains was the sky; these men didn’t know that yet.
* * *
The old man stood waiting, but pulled out one of his bastard swords from his waist as soon as he saw Davey. He declared, “Davey O’Rowane. You won’t be able to take another step forward.”
“Did you throw the titles out of the window?”
“Do you expect loyalty or respect from a rebel?”
Davey scoffed at how calm the old man, Marquis Enza, was.
Marquis Enza wasn’t someone who did evil things, but his ideologies were in line with the nobility. He was a crazy believer in authoritarianism. He could have been the most loyal servant, but he had chosen to hold hands with Duke Bariatta, and his ideology had become dangerous.
“A kingdom must have a leader. It is natural for commoners to remain protected and stay in their lanes.”
“Do you think you would’ve said that if you were born a commoner?”
“I would have accepted that as my fate.”
It was a problem that Marquis Enza did not leave any room for discussion.
“The world changes. If not now, then it will someday.”
Someday, the Tionis continent’s crown might fall and disappear. Davey didn’t want that kind of world to come right now, but he wanted to stop the commoners’ suffering due to the unreasonable rule. This was his compromise.
“Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth. I’d rather stick to the status quo instead of waiting for that kind of chaos.”
In a way, Marquis Enza was aware of the confusion that ideological change would bring about. When he was young, right after King Krianes got the throne, he had torn down the huge wall separating the commoners and nobility, and had slightly improved their quality of life.
‘I guess everyone has a story.’
“I think we’ll grow tired of just chatting.” Davey glanced over at the gray-haired man slowly approaching from behind Marquis Enza.
“Is this our first meeting? You cracked a curse that someone else has cast so recklessly.”
“You…”
“You were stupid enough to fall into every single trap that I’ve set so far; surely you don’t still think that you’re above me?” The man scoffed as he stared at Davey with a cold gaze. “Sure, keep boasting, you inferior insect. You don’t even know what has happened to your home.”
Looking at the man’s eerie smile, Davey tilted his head in confusion. He asked, “Did you do something to the Heins Territory?”
“I just made them realize the nobility’s anger. You’re not thinking that it’s like the joke I sent before, right?”
The man was referring to the time he had sent five thousand monsters by controlling their minds.
‘He’s not an ordinary being. He can mind-control five thousand monsters.’
“Oh, is that right?”
The man was saying that the other vampires had attacked the Heins Territory, which was protected only by a hundred guards right now. There were wizard towers and a temple, but it was safe to say that there wasn’t anyone who would be of help to them in battle. On top of that, there was still Davey’s precious little sister, Winley, and his residents who he had to protect. Normally, he should be furious at Pace, but…
“Did that pink-haired vampire tell you nothing? You’re going to hurt yourself if you barge into someone’s house like that.” Davey calmly took a step forward.
“You’re misunderstanding the situation.” Pace revealed a horrifying smile and moved swiftly.
Boom!!!! At the same time, Davey jumped up and attacked with Longinus, which clashed with a bright red power of blood.
Crack!!! The impact of the clash left a huge crater in the ground.
“Did you think one High Elf could stop five count-ranked vampires? You are too arrogant and reckless. I will crush your limbs here and make you watch your loved ones be drained to death.”
Davey, who was fighting like this was a battle of strength, chuckled. “Dumbass.”
Boom!! Crack!! With the horrifying sound of destruction, a giant claw mark tore through the ground.
“Why are you so at ease?” Pace asked.
“I’m going to tell you two things that you’ve gotten wrong,” Davey said. As Pace revealed a confused look, Davey went on to say, “First of all, you will die here. Second, aren’t you wondering who your subordinates whom you sent to the territory are fighting right now?”
Pace remained as confused as ever.
[I will tell you my request.]
[Granted!]
[First, please promise me that this is a deal between Your Majesty and myself, and not a relation between kingdoms. There must not be any pressure or problems between the kingdoms.]
This was the most important thing; even though it was a spoken agreement, the emperor’s formal position was important in the things to come even if…
[Please lend me ten Swordmasters who are experienced in large battles.]
It was a huge request to borrow Swordmasters. The Lyndis Empire had twenty Swordmasters, and Davey had asked Emperor Deorte El Lyndis for half of his empire’s strongest people.
[The reason?]
It wouldn’t have been weird for Deorte to grab Davey by the neck and call him crazy, but he just asked a question calmly.
[What reason would I have other than to protect my people? I am just one man; as such, I request based on my personal interest.]
Some people would wonder what kind of lunatic would use three huge requests that the Lyndis Empire would grant unconditionally like this, but Davey had done it. If he had to, he would have used the rest of the requests he had as well.
“Ha… Did you plant an enemy or something? Even if…”
“Ten Swordmasters who are better than ordinary ones, armed with pure silver weapons that are the vampires’ weakness; don’t you think it’s so damn fun?” Davey grinned delightfully, then charged in and kicked Pace into the air. He said, “Now, do you understand the situation? You stone-headed mosquito.”
“You…”
“I’m telling you this because I think you’re misunderstanding big time, but there were vampires crazier than you three thousand years ago. Stupid mosquito.”
‘And the battle experience I gained against vampires was with materialized illusions of that time.’
Grit.
The best way to get rid of a vampire was to make them so mad that their actions become simple. Davey was using the small bits of advice he had learned from the Sword Lord well.
* * *
“Will Big Brother be okay…?” Winley mumbled anxiously while staring out the window in worry.
An internal war had broken out; Winley knew that this would happen…but it was happening too fast.
“Are you worried about your brother?”
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