Chapter 21 The Humble Aide <TOC> Chapter 23 Deadly Fireworks
Translator: SumTLMan
“Clemens F. Metternich?”
Barzel’s brow furrowed slightly at the black-robed man’s unfamiliar name.
But clearly, this wasn’t the time to pursue this man’s origins either.
And that was when, as if noticing something, he became furious after sniffing the air.
In an instant, the calmness on Barzel’s face completely dissipated, revealing an expression of utter disgust as he grimly spat: “Damn it!!! I can smell a dirty vampire around!!!”
After catching a whiff of a vampire, the silver werewolf’s fur exploded up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and a low bestial “growl” could be heard coming from his throat.
After a pause, he stared across at the opposite Omagh Royal Family’s side with open eyes as he mockingly said: “What, have both Omagh and Sidhe Empires incredibly joined forces to deal with me?”
He felt such a strong sense of threat, this meant that the vampire nearby must be very strong. The vampire must be at least in the “Prince” Lineage!
For werewolves… If the Omagh Royalty were regular enemies on one side, then those dirty vampires, who were enemies they had been feuding with for thousands of years, would be another side they had to fight until death!
In such an expansive empire, how many Vampire “Prince” Lineages could there be in Sidhe?
It’s doubtful that a Vampire Prince would be forced to lower their status down to lie and wait in ambush for him in the Omagh Empire’s territory.
The Omagh and Sidhe Empire have been enemies for hundreds of years, so why had they suddenly joined forces?
Neither his status as one of the “Ten Legendary Demon Hunters” nor his status as the “White Wolf Bandits” leader warranted joint efforts between the two…
At this moment, Barzel’s mind was filled with a myriad of conspiracies, all of which he had found hard to believe.
But the strange thing was that…
Everyone on the Omagh Empire’s side seemed to be oblivious of the presence.
No one responded to what Barzel had just said as if the vampire’s presence didn’t exist at all.
…….
Rayne, who was standing on the first floor of the “Hyacinth Tavern”, was forced to witness the full development of the “big event” with an expression of utter disbelief on his face.
He was crushed by the standoff’s momentum between the big shots and was left unable to move.
Any one of those present was a big shot who could’ve killed him, a tiny shrimp who had just awakened to transcendence with a single finger.
He wanted to slip away, but his feet wouldn’t budge.
He felt like an ant under a herd of elephants… And if he moved even a little bit, he would be crushed to death!
“Holy sh*t…”
Rayne really couldn’t say anything else.
After more than a year of hellish imprisonment, he became fed up with the beating reality had given him.
After a year of painstaking efforts of dressing up as a pig and playing the fool, he had managed to escape from the “Demon Weasel Bandits” and old Pythius’s schemes…
And now that he had just climbed out of the depths of the abyss, he climbs into another tiger’s den?
Is this the kind of conflict that a tiny shrimp like him can get involved with?
…….
On the other side, the heavily armoured Grand Knight Commander Rhine entered the rubble.
He picked up the badly wounded Grand Princess Ymir and whispered in an apologetic tone: “Your Highness, you should leave here first. Metternich has passed on His Majesty’s secret orders, and I can only carry them out…”
Initially, he was the only one who knew the purpose of Princess Ymir’s visit to the “Black Market Fair” and how much effort the Grand Princess had put into her elaborate layout.
But now, by royal decree, he had been forced to take part in the siege against Barzel and destroy Her Royal Highness’s careful plan.
This feeling of betrayal made him feel a strong sense of guilt and disgust.
Ymir shook her head, not letting Rhine continue to explain.
What part of the situation could she not see before her… This had the Royal Empress’s signature written all over it, she who was a bit too impatient and could no longer wait for results.
Ymir didn’t continue staying any longer, nor did she stay and listen to any explanation. She clutched the wound on her chest where the werewolf had clawed her and turned decisively to leave.
Only Rhine, who was nearest, saw the momentary gloom in her eyes.
…….
On another side, the whole trade fair was in an uproar.
“Damn it, the Omagh Royalty are beating at our doorsteps! Brothers, cop your weapons and join me in taking out these sons of b*tches!”
“Daddy wants to see which ungrateful bastard dares to backstab our leader!”
“They’re too arrogant. We can’t let those guys leave this place alive.”
“Mechanical city boilers pressurised, guns ready…”
“…”
The movement towards the “Hyacinth Tavern’s” side was massive. Soon, countless cursing bandits armed to the teeth with weapons had gathered around, swearing up a storm in their wake.
These bandits, who usually robbed buildings and caravans, gave a fierce reaction in the face of war.
As the enemy attacked, the steel castles also “clicked” into action, with cannons aimed in the direction of the “Hyacinth Tavern”.
In particular, the three “War Beast Grade” mechanical cities had hundreds of cannons mounted on their city walls for siege purposes. This kind of coverage for artillery fire was capable of pulverising even the most powerful of transcendents.
It was as if the tables had suddenly turned all at once.
Barzel, who had just been surrounded by several great masters, suddenly became the side with the greater number of people.
If the Omagh Royal Family’s side were presently alone, even with [King of Hell] Heme, who was also one of the “Top Ten Legendary Demon Hunters”, present…
They would all still go on a one-way trip to hell!
……
At the entrance of the “Hyacinth Tavern”, the confrontation continued.
The less crowded side was as steady as Mount Tai, and the more crowded Barzel’s side was in no hurry to make the first move.
The “White Wolf Bandits”, apart from their leader Barzel, had many other masters of varying ranks. Even if their transcendent accomplishments weren’t as frighteningly pronounced as the Omagh Royal Family’s side, they could still be absolutely sure of killing the other side with waves of bandit attacks.
But at this moment, while Barzel looked at his horde of colleagues and brothers who were swarming around him. For some reason, instead of feeling even half a sense of ease, his heart was growing increasingly… Uneasy.
His werewolf bloodline had a natural ability to sense crises.
As more time passes, he suddenly felt that sense of crisis growing stronger and stronger.
“What the hell is going on? Where the hell are these guys getting their confidence from…”
Barzel stared unblinkingly at the few calm enemies in front of him, his mind still perplexed about his growing sense of unease.
He had thought that his old rival [King of Hell] Heme would be his biggest threat, but for some odd reason, the humble aide with an obscure reputation had caught his eye every now and then.
It was as if… There was a demonic power in that guy that made him feel… Like a cold-calculating deadly demon crawling out from the abyss!
……
“Saved at last…”
On the bandits’ side, the commotion was growing increasingly worse, while on the other hand, Rayne felt that his tiny life had finally been saved.
More and more of the cursing bandits had gathered around the tavern. The tension in the air coming from several big shots in the tavern was broken by the cacophony of noise.
As the crowd of people drew closer and closer, no one paid any attention to the fact that a tiny shrimp had quietly slipped away.
Rayne, the bystander who had listened to the whole “exchange” between both sides, was probably the clearest about each sides’ intention of having a fight to the death.
Just now, having been stared at by the big shots, he had no chance of running away, but right now, when his chance had come, he didn’t hesitate for a moment to anoint his feet in oil and immediately blend in with the crowd to slip away.
With no delay in his actions, Rayne was running as fast as he could to get away from the centre of the conflict.
He didn’t give a damn about who those big shots were or who lived or who died.
He wasn’t interested in finding out what the conspiracy was…
He was very self-aware. This kind of hullabaloo wasn’t something he could witness… This would be pointlessly gambling away his life!
“Start fighting later, guys, start fighting later…”
Rayne ran the whole way, mentally praying to the gods to not let him get dragged into the excitement.
Large scale warfare was a meat grinder, and in the centre of the stormy vortex, no one knows how they will die.
But… Even with Rayne’s silent prayers, an accident happened anyway.
“Boom!”
A sudden cannon shot rang out, knocking everyone senseless.
Without warning, a shell came from out of nowhere and struck one of the leading mechanical cities belonging to the “White Wolf Regiment”.
Then, with a loud “boom”, it exploded into a massive ball of fire, and a horribly deep hole was made in the thick armour…
The power behind this shot was mind-boggling!
……
“What the hell is going on? Who fired at random? Where are they shooting from?”
“No, this power… As if it came from a giant cannon?”
“Look, there’s a steel monster in the lake… In the lake!”
“That size… It’s an Overlord Behemoth-Grade Mechanical City! No, that’s the Omagh Royal College of Sciences top-grade mechanical city—‘The City of Destruction’!”
“…”
In the blink of an eye, a super steel monster dozens of times larger than the other “War Beast Grade” mechanical cities slowly revealed its ferocious armour as it surfaced from the waters of Storm Lake. The muzzles of the dense number of oversized cannons with exaggerated calibres all lit up with flames at the same time…
Signaling that the prelude to war had begun.
Chapter 21 The Humble Aide <TOC> Chapter 23 Deadly Fireworks