“That arrogant brat. It seems he’s acting out with the belief that his meager powers will help him,” Count Gunther growled under his breath and revealed an icy smirk.
A week had passed since he had placed the request with the Mercenary Guild, but he hadn't heard any reply from the assassins nor from Mercenary King Dreyfus.
There was only one explanation as to why he had yet to receive any reports from them and why Siegfried van Proa was still strolling around the Espadrille Province—they all failed their tasks.
In other words, the brat was most likely stronger than he appeared. In fact, Count Gunther had heard rumors that Siegfried van Proa was a powerful Adventurer, but he was not bothered by the slightest whether Siegfried was powerful or not.
What was the use of being strong when his kingdom was weak and poor? On top of that, he was a pushover who could not even stand for himself!
“Is anyone out there?” Count Gunther called out.
“Yes, my lord?”
“Prepare to host a banquet. Make sure every single noble of the Espadrille Province gets an invitation and attends the banquet.”
“As you command, my lord!”
“Also, we will prepare a military parade for our cute little king, so inform the feudal lords to send their most elite soldiers and knights.”“Yes, my lord!”
“Weak and poor king! Do you really think you can still do as you wish after seeing our might? Bwahahaha!” Count Gunther flashed an insidious grin and growled before bursting into laughter. He could not help but be thrilled at the thought of giving Siegfried a good scare.
Meanwhile, Siegfried had already set up surveillance all over the castle without Count Gunther’s knowledge, and he was watching every single thing the count was doing in real time.
“Wow, so that was your plan? Hehe!” Siegfried said leisurely while watching the count through the eyes of Night Stalker No. 8.
“Kyu?”
Hamchi was curled up and sleeping, and he opened his eyes upon hearing Siegfried talking to himself.
“So that was your big plan?”
“Kyu?”
“Go back to sleep, punk,” Siegfried said while patting the back of Hamchi’s neck.
“Kyu… Hamchi is… back to sleep… ZzzZz… Kyuuu…”
Zzz… ZzzZzz…
Hamchi seemed to love Siegfried’s touch as he immediately fell back to sleep with a grin.
‘Haha… This guy can be really cute at times,’ Siegfried thought with a smirk. Then, he commanded the Night Stalkers. ‘Keep a close eye on him and report immediately if there’s anything out of the ordinary.’
He then closed his eyes and went to sleep as well inside his VR capsule.
***
The next morning, Siegfried enjoyed a hearty breakfast unsparingly prepared for him and waited until Count Gunther called for him.
A servant came to guide him, and he was guided to the training ground of the Cabochon Territory. The training ground was massive, and it truly made the Cabochon Territory live up to its reputation as one of the Marchioni Empire's territories.
It was nothing more than a provincial territory, but the training ground was on par with most kingdoms' training grounds.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Rows of soldiers and knights wearing the uniform of the Espadrille Coalition Forces marched in the training ground.
“Please, take a look, Your Majesty,” Count Gunther said. Then, he waved his hand and said proudly, “This is the military might of the Espadrille Province.”
“That is truly amazing,” Siegfried replied honestly.
He was sincerely in awe of the soldiers marching. Every single one of them was perfectly aligned; they had fierce looks on their faces, and they exuded a dominating aura despite not uttering even a single word.
The Espadrille Province’s coalition forces were not lacking at all, and they could be called a powerful army. Moreover, the knights at the forefront of the march looked truly powerful and dangerous.
“We are at the bottom of the empire’s pecking order, but this army is as powerful as most of the kingdom's armies.”
“Yes, it truly is,” Siegfried replied and nodded.
It was then.
“Haiyah!”
The soldiers suddenly unleashed a cry and raised their spears at a fifteen-degree angle, but the problem was that the tip of their spears was pointing at none other than Siegfried himself.
“Gasp!” Siegfried retreated in shock and almost landed on his butt.
Of course, he wasn't really shocked and was merely playing along with Count Gunther’s script.
‘Oh? He’s already scared? Hohoho!’ Count Gunther was elated after seeing Siegfried almost land on his butt. Then, he flashed an insidious grin and thought, ‘I’m just getting started, brat.’
Count Gunther signaled at the captain of the knights.
Wooong!
The elite squadron of knights at the head of the parade gathered their mana to put even more pressure on Siegfried, but that was not the end of it.
“Stab!”
“Haiyah!”
“Slash!”
“Haiyah!”
“Stab again!”
“Haiyah!”
“Slash again!”
“Haiyah!”
The coalition forces soldiers cried out and swung their weapons according to the knight captain’s commands, and their weapons were still pointing in Siegfried's direction.
“K-Kuheok!” Siegfried gasped, clutched his chest, and staggered.
“Your Majesty! Are you alright?!” Count Gunther rushed to his side and helped him to his feet.
“Argh… I-I am alright…” Siegfried muttered weakly and forced himself to his feet while being aided by the count.
Plop…!
Blood dripped down the corner of Siegfried’s mouth…
“Your Majesty! You are bleeding!”
“Argh…”
“Men! Hurry up and escort His Majesty! He is unwell!” Count Gunther commanded.
‘Damn it… That’s painful!’ Siegfried cried inwardly in agony after biting his lips with all of his strength.
He bit his own lips to make it bleed in order to fool the count, and it seemed to have worked perfectly, as the count believed that Siegfried was bleeding after suffering internal injuries from the sheer amount of mana unleashed by the elite knights.
***
After the military parade…
“Haha! What a weakling! He couldn’t even stand the pressure from a demonstration yet he wants to rule over us?! Bwahaha!” Count Gunther burst into laughter and was overjoyed by what happened. Then, he grinned from ear to ear and growled, “But this isn’t over yet. Hohoho! Just wait and see, brat.”
A few hours later…
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“It is a pleasure to see you again, Your Majesty.”
A grand feast in honor of Siegfried was prepared at Count Gunther’s castle, and all the nobles of the Espadrille Province were here to attend it.
It went without saying that the strongest knights in the province were lined up to guard the nobles in case of anything that could happen. Moreover, the knights were instructed to unleash their mana to put even more pressure on Siegfried.
‘Ah, that’s so ticklish and annoying…’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly.
The mana from the knights were so ticklish that he had to exert superhuman self-control to avoid bursting into laughter while pretending to be unwell.
“Are you alright, Your Majesty?” Count Gunther asked.
“I… I am alright…”
“A lot of people contributed to this feast in Your Majesty’s honor, so please hang in there, sire.”
“Yes, Count Gunther…”
The feast was over, and it was now time for Siegfried to deliver a speech to the nobles.
“A speech from His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa.”
Siegfried stood up and delivered his speech, “...Therefore, I, Siegfried van Proa, the King of the Proatine Kingdom, hope for your cooperation on the matter. Regardless of our nationality, we must strive to make this world a better place for everyone—”
It was then.
“What does a lowly Adventurer know?” Viscount Horn interrupted, causing the entire room to fall dead silent.
However, the silence did not last that long.
“Please know your royal place, Your Majesty. Why should we, people of the mighty Marchioni Empire, listen to a king of a weak and pitiful kingdom? All the more that the king is a lowly Adventurer!” Viscount Anterlock added.
Their comments opened Siegfried to ridicule from the other nobles.
“Keke! Look at him all frozen up in fear!”
“Hey, little kid! Don’t you dare piss your pants now!”
“You brat! How dare you come here with your nonsense?! Go and suck more milk out of your mother’s tits! Kekeke!”
The nobles on Count Gunther’s side chimed in one by one in a bid to humiliate Siegfried as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the nobles who promised to join Siegfried’s cause were at a loss about what to do. They felt like they had to help him, but Count Gunther’s faction was so strong that their knights were far too intimidating.
“Your Majesty,” Count Gunther stepped in. Then, he asked, “Have you come to your senses now?”
“...”
“This is reality. There is no way we—the people of the Marchioni Empire—will live under the rule of a weak and poor kingdom. And…” Count Gunther trailed off. Then, he flashed a despicable grin and said, “We don’t have any plans to be subjects of a lowly Adventurer.”
“Count Gunther…”
“I suggest you go back now. We will faithfully pay our taxes to the Proatine Kingdom as we see fit due to our loyalty to His Imperial Majesty, so I advise you to be satisfied with that.
"And I must warn you not to even dream of ruling us. There is a saying that you can’t bite off more than you can chew, right? I hope you will make the smart choice and stay in your place.”
“I see,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Then, he asked, “Is this the answer of the Espadrille Province?”
“Ha!” Count Gunther scoffed in disbelief. Then, he asked, “Are you deaf as well? Or are you having a hard time understanding what I’m saying?”
“I am just asking to make sure,” Siegfried replied.
“Yes, you are correct. This is the answer the Espadrille Province has for you. We—the Espadrille Province—refuse to be ruled by the Proatine Kingdom, and we also reject swearing loyalty to a king like you. If you dare to force us, then we will have no other choice but to—”
Just as Count Gunther was about to threaten Siegfried with an armed rebellion, heralds from different territories suddenly barged into the banquet hall.
“W-We have a problem, my lord!”
“Urgent! I bring urgent news!”
“The situation is dire, my lord!”
Count Gunther glared at the heralds and shouted, “What is the meaning of this?! How dare you cause a fuss in my castle!”
However, the heralds did not cower down at all. Instead, they delivered the news they brought, and the news they brought with them could only be described as shocking.
“T-The Proatine Kingdom has ambushed us!”
“Soldiers from the kingdom are attacking! Our walls are nearly breached!”
“Our territory has been conquered in the blink of an eye!”
Count Gunther doubted his ears and blinked a few times. Then, he asked the heralds again, “What? What did the Proatine Kingdom do?”
The herald from Viscount Anterlock’s territory, the Chateau Territory, replied, “T-The Proatine Kingdom has ambushed and killed our men. They instantly breached our walls and conquered the castle! A-and elven soldiers from the legendary elven kingdom, Elondel, were among them!”
“What? Then, that means…” Count Gunther muttered and turned.
"Heh."He saw Siegfried van Proa with an expression he had never seen before. The grin on Siegfried’s face was so despicable and evil that it would give even the vilest of demons a run for their money.
“So you refuse to be ruled and swear loyalty… Then I guess you have to hear my response, too, right?” Siegfried said icily.
As soon as he uttered those words and smirked, the windows of the banquet hall were smashed open, and soldiers from the Proatine Kingdom entered through them.
“For Proatine!”
“For Proatine!”
“For Proatine!”
Then, the war cry of the Proatine Kingdom's soldiers reverberated throughout the banquet hall.
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