Book 5 Chapter 116 - Fallen Kingdom (2)

The Battle of Doria ended with the victory of the Rhine Kingdom’s forces.

When Woohyuk appeared with Heinrich III's head, the besieged Dane army surrendered at once, and the Lydia army also gently laid down their weapons upon the appearance of Philip II.

After receiving the damage reports from each commander, Woohyuk focused on finding those who had colluded with the demons amongst the captured enemy forces.

Agnes possessed advanced analysis magic, so the work was done quickly.

After a day of thorough investigation, quite a few people were discovered, and Woohyuk sentenced them all to death.

Even if they were to be generously accepted as an ally, there was the concern that they could betray again if the war became unfavorable for the Rhine Kingdom.

When the internal maintenance was over, Woohyuk led his army to Tenas, the capital city of the Dane Kingdom.

It was to secure political authority before the other demon kings would intervene.

“My Lord, will the Dane army betray us? Their prince is still alive.”

“That’s unlikely.”

The kingdom’s army hadn’t expressed their discontent before out of fear of Dantalion, but in truth, they did not like Heinrich III very much either.

After the Dane Kingdom was turned into a den of demons, the lives of the kingdom’s citizens became much more difficult than before.

In addition, in the case of the kingdom army, they were frequently treated like toys by the demons and had to risk each other's lives like gladiators in the Colosseum.

Nobody would support Heinrich III in this situation, unless they had already made a contract with a demon.

Until now, they had only obeyed the king’s orders as they didn’t want to bring harm to their families.

Leifina nodded at Woohyuk's explanation.

“I think I know that feeling. If I could, I would definitely change the monarch of the kingdom.”

“That’s why I plan to destroy the Dane Kingdom and incorporate its territory into the Rhine Kingdom.”

It was a dynasty that had already lost the public’s support.

The lords also didn't trust the king and were worried about when they would be exploited by the demons.

Therefore, if Woohyuk guaranteed their interests and safety, there would be no big backlash.

“It must be important to earn their trust.”

“I have Lemegeton with me.”

The main culprit that brought chaos to the Dane Kingdom was Dantalion.

If he made Dantalion kneel in front of himself, he could easily gain the favor of the lords.

Of course, not all of them would welcome him with open arms.

'Some of the lords may have contracted with the demons.'

While he didn’t care much about the people who were unwillingly forced to contract with demons, he could take this opportunity to deal with the group who voluntarily became subordinates of the demons to ride on the bandwagon.

He had to lay the proper foundation for the walls and building to hold.

Similarly to how he had purged the rebellious nobles of the Rhine Kingdom, Woohyuk was thinking of creating a bloodbath in the Dane Kingdom this time.

“Your Majesty, I have one question to ask.”

While Woohyuk was looking at the map of the Dane kingdom, Philip II approached him and spoke.

“What is it?”

“Is my daughter Joanna doing well? It's been a while since we've talked, so I'm quite worried.”

Philip II was worrying about his daughter who was living alone without a spouse during these confusing times.

In addition, she is currently in an ambiguous position in the Rhine Kingdom.

If she wasn’t going to remarry with Woohyuk and take her place as Queen, he wanted her to return to her home country.

“After this war is over, let’s go to the Rhine Palace together. I'll have to listen to Joanna's opinion to decide on that matter.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I will never forget your grace.”

To Philip II, Woohyuk was like a savior.

He had rescued his families and protected them in a safe location, and also defeated Demon King Amii who was the cause of all the incidents.

So, if possible, he wanted his daughter to remarry with him to strengthen their relationship, but he couldn't say that out loud because the war was still in full swing.

“We’ll reach the Schwarz County soon.”

When Philip II turned the horse back to its original position, Leifina spoke out loud.

She was a noblewoman from the Dane Kingdom.

During her younger days, she travelled around this area with her father and read about the local information.

“What kind of man is Count Schwarz?”

“He is the master of swordsmanship. My father also praised him for his excellent skills.”

Those who had risen to the point where they could use the auras were not common on the Eeth continent.

It's the same principle that wizards were rare.

Hard work was still fruitful, but without natural talent, one couldn't become like Schwarz.

'A master of swordsmanship.'

It seemed like he was a good person.

Even if he had excellent skills, using them was a separate problem.

For example, Leifina's Flash Slash had a basic form, but it could be modified freely.

Since most of the skills were made that way, understanding and applying the skills of swordsmanship was very important.

He didn't know if Schwarz had implemented his own skill.

“What are his tendencies? Do you know anything about things like his family or personal interests?”

“He is a man who values honor. He has a younger brother three years younger than him and likes to read books in a secluded place.”

He was a person who would be popular with women.

Woohyuk started to like him.

“A noble man worthy of the title of count. I want to welcome him as a vassal.”

“But I am not sure if he will easily bow his head to the king of another country. He has strong beliefs like you, My Lord.”

If he really valued honor, he wouldn't participate in the destruction of the Dane kingdom just because Heinrich III had done horrible things.

In any case, Count Schwarz had a master-slave relationship with him in name only.

Woohyuk frowned at Leifina’s explanation.

“It will be difficult to recruit him.”

In the past, there was no need for him to worry about this.

Even if they were a rather valuable genius with great talents, he would brand them as enemies if they didn’t accept his offers and ideals.

They were either put in jail or executed, and then forgotten from his mind.

However, he is now in a position where he had to assemble the most capable vassals.

It would be a waste cut off the neck of a man like Schwarz just because he didn't have the same thoughts as you.

“Then should I turn him into a vampire? He might become stronger if I give him the power of blood.”

Hong Yuri said.

“…It would be troublesome to make him join your family recklessly.”

Vampires were a class with distinct advantages and disadvantages.

They didn't seem to fit well with Schwarz's tendency to value honor.

“Lord Asura wants to leave him human, so that he can continue to develop his own abilities and grow.”

Aris said, popping out of Woohyuk's shadow.

After seeing her appearance, Hong Yuri pointed at her in annoyance.

“This little brat… Don't get intervene when the adults are talking!”

“Hmph, despite my current appearance, I have lived much longer than you have!”

Aris was a demon king and had existed for thousands of years. However, she had never explicitly revealed her age, so Woohyuk wasn’t of it either.

“What’s the point of it if you still look like a kid on the outside? Do you really think men will stare at that washboard of yours?”

“Ugh... .”

Aris trembled in fury at the outrageous personal attack.

Not being sexually appealing to Asura was one of her serious complexes.

"So noisy. Quiet down, you two.”

When the two women faced each other and were glaring sparks at each other, Woohyuk spoke in annoyance.

Then Sieg in the back intervened as if this were the perfect moment.

“My Lord, if they don’t like them, how about Tinia or Silvia…?”

“…Why don’t you give up about that?”

“What a pity. It was a great opportunity for my daughters to rise in social ranks.”

Sieg now seemed to treat Tinia and Silvia as his daughters.

It wasn’t unreasonable if you thought of their bond.

Woohyuk listened to Sieg's nagging through one ear and let it out the other.

The Schwarz County.

They had entered the fief a while ago, but there were no people walking on the streets so far. All the private houses were tightly locked.

As he thought that something felt strange,

Swoooosh!

An arrow aimed at Woohyuk's head flew in from nowhere.

Clang!

But Leifina, who was next to him, did not sit still.

She could gain 20-25% additional experience thanks to the passive skill of her Hidden Class, the Iron Maiden, and as a result, she had grown the fastest amongst his vassals.

Even at her worst, she could still follow the speed of arrows with the naked eye and block them from reaching their mark.

“Who are you! Identify yourself!”

Leifina shouted, looking towards the private house, feeling the presence of a hostile group.

Before long, a man appeared behind the stables.

His luxurious clothes couldn’t hide the fact that he was from a prestigious noble family.

“I am Rodriguez, the Lord of the Schwarz County. I would like to ask you why you led the army to this point.”

When Rodriguez finished speaking, armed soldiers walked out in a row.

It seems that he was waiting here in advance after knowing that Woohyuk had invaded.

“Is he Count Schwarz?”

“…No. Rodriguez is his younger brother.”

It meant that something had happened to Count Schwarz.

Woohyuk came forward and took a closer look at Rodriguez.

‘He signed a contract with a demon.’

He could easily see that much even without summoning Agnes.

Woohyuk, who had many predictions in his mind, asked him a question.

“Where is Bailey? Is he in bad health?”

“My brother fell ill and passed away. That's why I took over as the fief lord.”

Bailey Schwarz was not married and had no heirs.

It was logically correct, but Woohyuk shook his head.

'This guy is lying.'

Instinctive enlightenment.

After releasing Verserios’ seal up to two stages, he had somehow gained an unknown sixth sense. A so-called supersensory ability.

However, there was still no way to prove it.

‘He may have dealt with Bailey because he wanted the position of fief lord.’

Bailey valued honor, so he wouldn’t have been friendly with Demon King Dantalion and his men.

If Rodriguez was an ambitious man, he would have used that weakness.

In this case, whether Bailey survived or not was a very important piece of information to know to make future decisions.

'If Bailey is really dead, I don't have to waste time with them.'

Currently, Heinrich III's son Ramirez would be preparing a barricade by locking the palace gates firmly.

Woohyuk wouldn’t gain anything by letting him gain time for his barricade.

'I will have to rely on my sixth sense.'

He wasn’t sure if it was a real ability.

However, looking back, it was he who had saved himself from the life-threatening crises.

When his thoughts reached that conclusion, Woohyuk opened his mouth with a calm expression.

“Does that mean that Bailey is no longer in this world?”

“You’re asking the same question twice. Yes, that's right. As I said before, my brother fell ill and died. So now, please answer my questions.”

A big fat lie.

Woohyuk, who was instinctively convinced, laughed heartily.

“Ah, I see.”

It wouldn’t be meaningless to spend time dealing with this situation.

As he pulled Grandia out of its scabbard, Woohyuk spoke.

“Then I will answer with actions instead of words.”

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