Bab 42: Chapter 42: Walpurgis Night
"Welcome."
Regis Gremory sat at the head of the massive table as he greeted the hundreds of demon nobles in what looked like the building of congress. It was a massive room where the nobles took their places in an individual seat. I saw that many of them were empty, their occupants absent.
"There are many who have chosen to withdraw from the Demon Collective and rule their own kingdoms independently…thus they no longer believe there is a need for them to attend these meetings. However, there are more who are absent because they are dead," Marquis Kratz explained when he caught me staring at the empty seats. "So many of us perished in the war…and yet the war has yet to end. In the year to come, I expect more of us will die…unless we find some way to deal with Evelyn's Chosen."
"That's why I invite our young hero to join us." Regis Gremory's voice boomed, and immediately the attention of everyone in the massive room was turned to me. I squirmed uncomfortably under their gaze, wishing I was somewhere else. It felt as if I was placed under a microscope. "He is the key to our future…the salvation of our species."
"He really doesn't hesitate in dropping a ton of pressure on me, eh?" I remarked wearily. Kratz chuckled.
"A lot of hope is resting on your young shoulders, boy." He thumped me in the back. "I hope you don't let us down."
I chewed my lip but said nothing. Even with Gremory and Kratz's positive attitude toward me, a lot of the demon nobles were sending hostile gazes in my direction. It was only natural – I was a mysterious Lich Lord (now Vampire Lord) who came out of nowhere. They had no knowledge of my background, my origins or my character. How did they know they could trust me?
"You'll take the place of the recently Nosferatu Clan." Kratz pointed me toward the seat and I scrambled toward it, seeking shelter under the ledge and hiding away from the glares of many of the demon nobles.
It wasn't just hostility and mistrust in those gazes. There were stares of curiosity, of demon nobles impressed and amazed by my achievements. There was hope, hope that the demons could finally turn the tables on the humans and repel them from our borders for good. And then there were those opportunistic expressions of cunning demons scheming to make use of me for their own ends and to further their own agendas and positions.
And of course, there were gazes that mixed two of these. Hope and ambition. Curiosity and hope. Curiosity and ambition.
Regis Gremory waited for the still significant number of demon nobles to take their seats before he finally began the meeting.
"And so we shall officially proclaim the opening of Walpurgis Night!"
"Uoooh!"
The demon nobles shouted as one, voicing their approval. Regis smiled and allowed the noise to fade away before he continued.
"First, I would like to thank you all for coming all this way to witness the wedding between my son and daughter-in-law."
"Long live the crown prince!"
"Long live the crown prince and his wife!"
Regis Gremory held up his hand to forestall the congratulations and glanced at his son, who was seated in the Gremory Clan's seat. His new wife was seated in the cubicle meant for the Serpenta Clan – apparently she was representing her family.
"I know there are some concerns among many of you about my son succeeding the title of Demon Lord by blood. You question his qualifications…his pedigree, and wish for him to prove himself in a manner that I…did not."
There was a ripple of laughter from the gathered demon nobles, but none of them raised any objection. Regis smiled and continued.
"To assure you that I am not raising a spoiled and pampered child and sheltering him inside my castle, I will be assigning him to an important task. Richard."
"Yes, Father!"
Richard stood up straight and saluted. Regis nodded.
"Then, my son, Richard Gremory, will be tasked with approaching the Scarlet, Nocturne and Rowan Clans and negotiating an alliance with them…to bring their forces back under our fold. He will depart tomorrow."
"Yes, Father! I understand!"
Richard accepted the task without hesitation. Regis Gremory nodded in satisfaction before he turned toward Princess Yuan, who quietly stood up to acknowledge him.
"I am sorry to ask this of you, Princess Yuan, especially when you've only just arrived in Helsfort. But will you support my son?"
"Yes, Father-in-law. I will surely support Richard with all my strength."
"Good. I'll be counting on you. Please take care of Richard."
"Yes, Father-in-law!"
With that done, Regis Gremory turned to the rest of the demon nobles and solemnly continued.
"Then…"
The rest of the meeting just flew by me. I wasn't that interested in politics and whatnot, but it appeared that Regis Gremory was negotiating a military alliance to push the human armies back from the borders of Helsreach.
"I need to borrow troops from all of you. Even as we speak, the human armies are amassing on Helsreach on a large scale never seen before. Evelyn's Chosen, inactive for over a week, have begun to move again. As you witnessed yesterday, one of her has penetrated so far and deep into our territory that she was able to launch an assassination attempt on the royal family. That she actually threatened the safety of my wife and daughter…"
"Kill the humans!"
"Curse Evelyn's Chosen!"
The council erupted into rage as the demon nobles hurled abuse and insult at Asakura Akane. A pity she was dead, so she couldn't suffer any of the verbal punishment meted out on her. Regis Gremory impatiently banged his table to call the meeting to order.
"As such, we need a united front. We need to meet this human army with a force of our own. One strong enough to repel them. All the demon nobles should gather together…with our united strength, even Evelyn's Chosen wouldn't be able to fight us. The previous Demon Lord, Hedas bless his soul, made the mistake of challenging all twenty-nine Evelyn's Chosen alone. I will not repeat that same mistake. Strength in unity…united we stand, divided we fall. That is why…"
He glanced at his son and daughter-in-law, and exchanged nods with them.
"…these negotiations with the outlying demon clans are so important. We must stand together or the demon race will perish."
"That's all and good, but…"
Everyone turned as the fat figure of Count Raum rose to his feet. His pudgy face was set into a scowl and he swept a condescending look around the council before he finally settled his scornful eyes on Regis.
"…let us not forget the fact that these clans are traitors. They left the alliance when we needed them the most and cowardly fled the war for their own safety. Now you want to welcome them back? There must be sanctions…punishments! If need be, we should send our armies to crush them and bring their territories and resources back to our fold before we confront the humans. I volunteer to invade the Scarlet Clan's domain of Haemorage."
"Rejected," Regis Gremory replied coolly. "What we need now is a united alliance, not a civil war. If we were to fight amongst each other right now, the humans will surely take advantage of our civil strife and seize more of our territories. We cannot afford to be fighting amongst ourselves now, not when the real enemy is on our doorstep."
"So you'll bend backward and over for these traitors? How is this fair to all those of us who are loyal to the demon race?" Raum snarled. "Why is it that these bastards get to leave and join the alliance any time they want, welcomed by your majesty with open arms, while we suffer the brunt of the human attacks?"
"The Scarlet clan and the others left the alliance because the previous Demon Lord failed to keep his promise and protect their domains. He left them to fend for themselves against overwhelming human enemies that left their lands devastated. It is natural that they would want to leave an alliance that serves only to drain their resources while offering no benefits to them in return."
"Is it not the duty of all demon nobles to sacrifice for the greater good?" Raum roared.
"Count Raum, please consider. Lady Scarlet, Marquis Rowan, Count Nocturne, the Earl of Labolas and Marquis Phenex all have their own people to consider." Marquis Kratz spoke up patiently. "Even if you say it's for the good of the demon race, they cannot so easily sacrifice the lives of the people they are governing."
"Bah! They can't now, can they? We sacrificed so much with our loyalty to the royal family and this is the thanks we get? While his majesty goes and begs them to join us, lowering his head and appeasing them, what do we get in return for our loyalty? Are we being taken for granted? Did we stand by you for so long just so you can take advantage of our loyalty like this?"
Regis Gremory looked at Raum expressionlessly. "Even if you say you've been loyal for so long, I've only just ascended to the throne after the death of the previous Demon Lord. Please bear with my inexperience and relative youth. All I ask is for your patience and understanding."
"And what about you understanding how we feel!"
It wasn't just Raum. A good number of demon nobles had stood up, sharing the same views as Raum.
"No clan, no domain is more important than the demon race as a whole! If they step out, then we shall crush them and bring them back by force!"
"They no longer deserve to be demon nobles!"
"Their territory should be spread out and shared among the true loyal nobles!"
Regis Gremory cleared his throat, and the chatter fell silent. Looking at all of them, Regis Gremory bowed his head.
"I understand your dissatisfaction, but please understand. The title of a demon noble is not something that can be taken away like that. Even the Demon Lord doesn't have the power to strip a noble of his or her rank. Ever since the ancient times, demon nobles are allowed a vast field of autonomy within which they can operate in. They are allowed to break off from the alliance at their own discretion if they decide that it no longer is beneficial for their clan."
"Then I no longer see this alliance as beneficial for my clan or deserving for my loyalty." Raum folded his arms and stared haughtily at Regis Gremory. "What will you do if I…no, if we leave?"
"Yeah, we'll form our own alliance!"
"You're free to do that, of course." Regis Gremory was not moved. "But you know as well as I do how shortsighted that would be. The more we divide ourselves, the more vulnerable we open ourselves to the humans."
"There is no need to fear," Raum replied frostily even as several nobles stood up to support him. "We will form an alliance of our own. And we will do what you have always feared to attempt…we'll unite the entire demon race in Morten by force, and then crush the humans."
"You can try," Regis Gremory responded wearily. "But I assure, you will not be able to succeed in time before the humans exterminate all of us."
"We'll see about that."
With a swish of his cloak, the obese, gray-skinned demon spun around and stomped out of the assembly hall, his allies following him.
"What do we do about them, your majesty?"
Despite the commotion, I noticed that the majority of the demon nobles did not budge from their spot. They were surveying the rebellion with interest, but none of them appeared enthusiastic about taking Raum's side. However, a good number of them didn't seem that loyal to Regis either. They seemed more amused and interested in how he would deal with them.
"Let them go for now." Regis sighed as he shut his eyes. "We'll attempt to negotiate with them in future, to convince them to change their minds, but I doubt we can persuade them today. Allow them to cool off."
"It's a good thing it's just Raum and his rabble," a massive, muscular demon towering over three meters muttered as he shook his head in disapproval. His shaggy hair fell over his broad shoulders as he spoke. "They act so big and all, but they don't even possess a sizable amount of military forces. They will come back begging us to let them rejoin the alliance soon enough."
"Even then," Regis Gremory said tiredly. "We need every demon noble and their soldiers that we can get. Even the lowest-ranked noble will make a difference in this fight against Evelyn's Chosen and the human armies. We cannot afford to be picky."
"Tell that to Raum and the others," an old, wizened demon with long white hair and a beard muttered as he tapped his oak staff against the floor of his cubicle. "Idiots."
"On the bright side, we have a person who might just change the tide of the war for us."
Regis Gremory turned to me, and once again I felt the stares. Bloody hell, did the current Demon Lord enjoy putting me on the spot or something? I hated the mounting pressure that he thoughtlessly heaped upon me without a second thought.
"Uh, well…"
I forced a smile, causing Regis Gremory to chuckle.
"I suppose you'll need a domain and a territory of your own…hmm, the domain of Nosferatu, Umbra, will be under your governance, but after an incursion from the Britainnica army led by several of Evelyn's Chosen, it's now a desolate wasteland, devoid of demon life. I will scrounge around to see if I can find people and soldiers willing to immigrate to your domain…"
"Thank you, your majesty, but there is no need for that."
The demon nobles spun around to stare at me in surprise. I had stood up and kept my head bowed respectfully, but my tone was firm.
"I would like to remain an independent agent. My only goal is to eliminate the heroes…I mean Evelyn's Chosen. For that end, I do not wish to be bound to a domain, and I wish to maintain a freedom of movement. Where armies cannot prevail, I will strike surgically at the heart of the enemies and assassinate the Chosen one by one."
A sinister smile spread across my face.
"Just like what they did to your majesty today…I will return it to them several fold in future. I will beat them at their own game."
I couldn't wait to see the expressions on Kobayashi Kenji's face and all the others when I came for them.
"But in exchange, I have a request…"
*
The next day I was about to set out from Helsfort when I received a ping from the blue holographic window system. Apparently my inventory had updated itself when someone sent something over to me.
"What's this?"
I blinked as I stared at the blue window that floated across the lenses of my glasses.
Item received
"Item? What item?"
Scratching my head, I clicked on the tab, and to my surprise my Redwood jacket materialized in front of me.
Mobile Storage Space activated.
"Mobile Storage Space?" I repeated incredulously. What the hell was that? Some kind of magical storage system that allowed me to place my items inside and transfer them from place to place?
That's right. I gave my Redwood jacket to Hughes so that he can appraise it and register it under my name. That was in Havia City. Yet he somehow managed to send my Redwood jacket over such a vast distance?
As I slipped my Redwood jacket on and sighed in relief at the regenerative protection it afforded me, I suddenly realized that I had also received an email. Tapping the letter icon that flashed persistently in the corner of the screen, I opened it and read the contents.
It was from Hughes.
Hey, Tanaka!
Hughes here. Sorry for taking your Redwood Robe. I've registered it under your name now, so nobody will ever be able to take it away from you. If the nobles or even the royal family demand for you to turn it over to them, tell them to fuck off and take it up with the guild.
Oh, and I have no idea why but the heroes seem intent on searching for you. I've told them you went off on a journey somewhere and have no idea where you are, but our system registered your participation in a huge party that was volunteering as scouts in the frontlines. We lost all contact with them a couple of days ago, and the system registers them as dead, but even your vital signs turned dangerous for a few hours. Thankfully, your signs seem to have stabilized and register you as still alive, but I always knew you wouldn't die that easily.
Anyway, here's your Redwood Robe…and a promotion. You're now Copper rank, which means you get to access the Mobile Storage Space that high-rank mercenaries are entitled to! With this, you can complete quests on the field and send the evidence straight to the office without delay. Pretty convenient, huh?
Good luck, and you may now use the online system to register for quests if you will.
P.S. the heroes are still searching for you, and apparently two of them have gone to the frontlines to track you down. I don't know what they're up to, but they seem agitated. Wouldn't tell us mercenaries anything, though. Be careful.
Yours, Hughes.
"Phew…"
I sighed and shook my head before uttering a silent thanks to Hughes. Closing the email, I then scanned through the mobile storage space. There were options to send my belongings to the guild, options to store my stuff, and options to purchase stuff from the online store. It was all super-convenient and I wondered why they didn't provide such an indispensable service to all mercenaries in the guild. That would make our lives easier.
Then again, it was obvious that such a magical system would be taxing on so many resources. As I explored the network, it dawned on me that it had to be incredibly taxing to maintain the servers and preserve the tremendous amounts of mana flow to transport items over vast distances. That was why the guild couldn't afford to give access to just anybody.
"Hmm…"
Adjusting my repaired glasses, I dismissed the blue holographic screen and got ready to set off. Even though I didn't have an army at my back, I had gained allies. When I proposed the Independent Operative scheme, I had attached a condition. Like an Inquisitor in the 41st Millennium, I had unparalleled authority second only to the Demon Lord himself. It allowed me to requisition any military force or resources for my own use while allowing me to be flexible enough because I wasn't bounded to any territory or physical space.
The demon nobles wouldn't see me as a threat because I would never have a permanent army or territory, but I had a pseudo-army because of the authority that Regis Gremory granted me, one that I could easily swap whenever I needed to.
I'll need a real army eventually, but not yet. Not until I know who are my real enemies.
For now, I would just placate the demon nobles by appearing to be a non-threat, to allay their fears. Then slowly build up their trust…
…and the best way to do that was to go hero hunting. Kill my former classmates and get my revenge. Two birds with one stone.
Just the way I liked it.
Before I could proceed to the gateway, however, a bunch of soldiers rushed through the palace gates on their wyverns, battered and bloodied.
"Emergency!"
The lead knight was shouting as he rode through the gates, almost falling from his horse. Behind him, Prince Richard clung to his horse, looking ragged and deathly pale.
There was no sign of Princess Yuan.
"Richard? What happened?"
Having heard the commotion, Regis dropped whatever he had been doing to emerge into the open, greeting his son worriedly.
"Yuan…she…"
Richard almost fell off his horse. His father helped him down but he almost collapsed, only for Regis to catch him.
"Doctors!" Regis shouted. "Help my son! Heal him!"
"Father."
Richard grabbed his father's arm, leaving smears of blood on his silky sleeve. Desperately hauling himself up, he pleaded.
"Please save Yuan."
"Yes, I understand. Hang in there! Doctors!"
"Allow me."
I stepped forward and casted Regeneration. Immediately, the color returned to Richard's face and he slowly recovered as his wounds closed up and knitted together. Blinking in surprise, he glanced up at his father, and then at me.
"…how?"
"Healing spell," I replied dismissively. "More importantly, your highness…what were you saying about Dragon Princess Yuan?"
"Ah…"
Richard's shoulders slumped and he cast a gaze down shamefully on the floor.
"…he has her."
"Who has her?" Regis Gremory demanded as he gripped Richard's shoulders tightly. Richard hesitated slightly, and then finally spoke a single name as he met his father's gaze.
"…Count Raum."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Tomoyuki
Tomoyuki I need you guys to explain to IgorRSAW (https://www.webnovel.com/profile/4308119947) why I should not delete my story, otherwise he will get the admins to take action and remove this story. Not that he'll listen to you guys, but...he's a contracted author, and my story is not a contracted story. So the admins are more likely to listen to him. Sigh.
Sorry, everyone. I've been fighting a losing battle to keep this story up, but IgorRSAW is adamant on getting it deleted. He has quite a bit of support from many people who hate this story.
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