章 148: Master of Puppets

Following his departure from the noble school, Vlad, who felt that he should also move toward the Wisdom Palace, began walking toward the bridge connecting this district with the palace.

The alleys had a decent flow of people, which made him believe even more that they knew nothing about what he was planning with his army.

Passing the people without causing any commotion, keeping his gaze on the large palace that felt even grander when up close.

"For sure, the ancestor had some style into building such monstrosity." commented Vlad when he was about to get to the bridge.

Getting to the bridge gate, he noticed a squad of guards, about 20 stationed around the gate, securing it from possible dangers.

'Still not enough to stop my army from taking over the city. It could be that they don't focus their forces on this gate leading to the noble district.'

Arriving at the gates of the bridge, he saw the guard bow at him, believing he was a great noble who just arrived in the capital and would attempt the council.

"Your Excellency, you should hurry because the meeting is about to start." said the guard in a respectful tone.

Taking two seconds to process the information, Vlad nodded his head at the guards admiring his clothes and replied with a dignified tone.

"I see, then I shall not have His Grace wait more than needed."

Passing past this checkpoint with a smile that turned wicked, he moved on the solid bridge casually, like he was strolling around. Without fearing anything, he got to the perimeter of the Fortress Walls which he used his spirit to check on how durable the wall was.

'Hoh, have you felt it, Moth, Khorne? These walls are imbued with willpower. Don't tell me, is this my ancestor's willpower?'

*** I don't remember my last wielder after my long slumbering.*** added the red Wisp after hearing Vlad's comment.

[You know I am the same as you, so I have no idea. I feel you can destroy this wall if you use your real spirit] said the black moth, with an arrogant tone.

'If I would do that, I would alert everyone here. The ones around me will die, and the stronger ones will gang one me.'

[Master, you sound so foolish. You changed compared to when you were in your first life. It feels like you are no longer pressured by that invisible hand called faith and show your true self more and more]

Vlad scoffed when hearing that in his mind and kept advancing until he got to another checkpoint, which was the fortress's gates.

Spreading out his Observation Haki, he could feel the presence of many people numbered in thousands which made his eyes turn colder for a brief moment. After that, he stepped inside the opened gates and walked forward to be met by a great gathering of armored people stationed in different camps around the palace courtyard.

Aside from those armored men, there was also the sight of ordinary people only having some basic equipment, looking around the palace with big eyes.

Seeing all of these soldiers of the noble side made him nod his head and said to himself.

"Not bad. They have gathered here about 10.000 people. However, I doubt this is their real number. There are still nobles that might come to support Lacilet or maybe not."

Vlad kept his gait strong and dignified as he proceeded to walk toward the square of the palace courtyard.

When he reached the square, he could see that it was crowded by the noble soldiers that were filling the courtyard in a lively area full of small talks. Yet, they quieted down when noticing Vlad wearing his noble ceremonial clothes.

Once he got in their sights, they started whispering around each other, asking for who Vlad was exactly.

"Hey guys, do you know who this great noble is?"

"I haven't seen him meeting Count Grailly back home. Could it be that he is Count Alderhine? Only he is said to match Duke Lacilet's splendor in the entire kingdom.

"I haven't seen Count Alderhine in my life. This is actually my first time moving out of my county." said one noble soldier to another soldier, a bit embarrassed.

"Let's ask those from around Alderhine County since I believe we will stay here some time until the lords decide on how to start the war."

Vlad could only give a small smile when listening to those talks about him, and without bothering to stop, he walked to the front entrance of the Wisdom Palace who was heavily guarded.

"The code for the meeting, Your Excellency" said one of the 10 guards surrounding the Palace entrance.

Vlad, who was staring calmly at those guards, smiled at them, and with an open of his mouth, a great wave of darkness enveloped them. (A/N: The smelly breath)

"King's Return." said Vlad in a cold tone while those guards took in the dark wave.

Their eyes looked unfocused, and with a bow of their body, they welcomed Vlad inside while saying.

"Your Excellency, the other lords are gathered at the throne room."

Entering inside the palace as the noble guards were bowing at him, Vlad later saw with his own two eyes the scale of the palace hall that had his floor constructed in white marble where an expensive rug covered the lobby.

Meanwhile, at the palace entrance, those guards regained their clarity in their eyes and looked around themselves as if they forgot something.

"Did that noble say the meeting check-word?"

" For some reason, I vaguely remember him saying something. The check-word was 'King's Return' or am I wrong?" asked another guard, feeling a missing puzzle piece from his memory.

"That's right, that's the check word. " said another guard, confident in himself.

Vlad, who heard their conversation as he entered inside, said to himself.

'It seems those guards aren't really that weak-willed and could handle my [Memory Fragment] ability with exception to that pathetic idiot.'

[Indeed, to my surprise, there are 7 guys who only got half affected and only three who had their memory altered. Those 7 guys will recover the missing memory fragment in time.]

'I don't care.'

Looking around himself, he saw many guards inside, fully armed in the two directions staring at him as he walked forward toward the staircase. Vlad could only gaze in admiration at the frescoes painted on the ceiling and the decoration on the walls, and the statues made of marble that seemed to be ancient.

'Ahh, my castle feels so insignificant compared to this palace. They even painted the ceiling with marvelous art.'

[Pathetic. Are you really that jealous?]

'Jealous of what? Of what they could achieve in the past in this world? Not really. I am impressed by the grandeur of this building, and I look forward to discovering the secrets of this building. Kavos will for sure have a heart attack once he arrives here.'

The guards didn't check on Vlad or disturb his ascension to the staircase and only stood there stoically, gazing at him with pikes held vertically and in guarding formation.

Looking left and right, Vlad could see that aside from the path toward the staircase, other directions were leading to different zones of the palace. He could feel the presence of many people inside the palace, from people running around the palace on the base floor, shouting around with passion.

" Don't mess up, guys. This is our chance to impress their excellencies attending the meeting. We shall bring the best food that exists in Kaysang."

Many voices were entering his strong hearing of diverse people, from young women that seemed to be maids to cooks and other types of people working inside the palace.

When he was about to step forward to the staircase, he spotted the face of a familiar man holding in his hands some plates along with other guys. They approached him, and Vlad could see the man's appearance that was about 26 years old, even clearer.

His face didn't change much when compared to when they first met. The features of his face morphed a bit, turning a bit mature, but he was unmistakenly the same as 3 years ago.

He smiled a bit, confirming in his mind that it was indeed Aslak, the staff member of the Kalerna Mine Camp, where he was a slave for four years.

The man who moved along with his group, holding food, noticed Vlad, who was wearing noble clothes and was moving with firm footstep, could only gaze a bit at his face as he was passing and think.

'This noble's face seems familiar. It reminds me of how Zagreus's face looked like, except that this noble has short hair and much matured features. No way this noble is Zagreus. I also haven't received any information from the old man in this regard. He only told me to poison Lacilet and his men.'

No longer focusing his thoughts on Vlad, who was climbing the stairs in his own rhythm, he caught up with the rest of his group and started climbing the staircase, moving up from the base floor to the first floor of the palace, and then after walking toward the end of another hallway decorated to the brim with gold, frescos on the ceiling and paints on the wall, they walked to another staircase.

This time they slowed down a bit when noticing the heavily guarded floor that was filled with knights that instantly gazed at Aslak and the others like they were some ants.

Walking slowly, Aslak kept his clarity and calm and moved first ahead while the others just gulped their saliva in the face of this invisible pressure.

Then when he arrived at the center of the hallway, there was a large door decorated heavily with unknown motifs to him and art pieces, guarded by the knights in almost a zealot manner.

Staring at this large door leading to his destination, he kept his calm and waited for the knights to open the door, but they kept gazing at him with mocking eyes as he held a large number of plates. It was until a person's voice resounded from the room past the door, drifting toward the hallway.

"OHH, the smell of the food. The servants have come with the food, Your Majesty."

"Indeed, my Royal Chefs are the best in the entire South Sea. Open the door, guys, don't make it hard for the servants." said the voice of a calm person that resounded even outside.

The knights at the door nodded their heads and opened the door for Aslak and the other servants to enter with the food.

When they entered, they were welcomed by the sight of a large room lighted by chandeliers crafted from glass and crystal they had never seen before, which had candles burning with a bright fire.

The room had many frescos and art pieces. Aside from the floor being of marble and having a unique design itself, it also held a large table at the center of the room placed on a rug large enough to encompass the table that held 24 seats, each filled with a person.

Those seated at the table all had extravagant clothing giving Aslak the feeling that each one of those was the best of the best. Yet the truth left one with a bad taste in his mouth.

"Finally. I was starving here since making my way to the capital city. Come, you servants put the food down already."

"Slaves, what are you staring dumbly at us? Start moving and do your job, you foolish commoners." (A/N: Wuxia young master type)

Aslak gazed a bit at that noble who said that and could see that it was a guy with a square-shaped head, then his eyes drifted at the end of the room where a large throne was elevated and where a man with blond hair and sharp eyes was staring at him.

Feeling the pressure get on his shoulder the more he waited, he walked along with the other servers and placed the food on the table, to the contempt of the nobles.

"Good, now you can piss off to the rat hole you came from." said another noble to Aslak and the other guys with an annoyed tone.

"Wait, those two girls shall remain here." added another noble who took notice of the only girls in the group.

The instant the girls heard that, they took some steps back, but that noble got on his feet and said again.

"If you don't come to me, I will have you killed."

The girls turned to look at Aslak, who was gripping his fists tight while his eyes looked coldly at the noble.

"There's no other choice, Paula, Monic. Remember why we are here. They will not go too far, think of why."

"We understand, Aslak. Don't worry, we know what to do." said one of the girls, who had black hair and pleasant features to the eye.

The two walked forward while the guys took their leave without showing any dissatisfaction. Once outside, they were pushed by the knights dropping to the floor while they closed the door with a grin.

"Those whores aren't really bad looking. The Lords for sure will enjoy themselves."

Aslak, who got up, gazed at that knight for a brief second before turning to walk away from this floor with the rest of the servers.

However, along the way, he said to himself. "That remains to be seen."

Once he said that another voice coming from the base of the staircase was heard, saying in a disdainful tone.

"Indeed, it shall be seen what those swine can do."

Aslak saw Vlad, who was walking up the stairs while staring at the servants with a small smile. He then remembered the room configuration he entered where all the seats at the table were filled.

'This person doesn't have a seat. Meaning he shouldn't be here. Wait, his face, that smile. It can't be.'

"Zagreus?" asked Aslak, stopping himself to meet Vlad face to face.

Vlad's smile grew bigger once Aslak asked that, and with a calm tone, he said.

"Indeed, Aslak, old friend."

Aslak looked with big eyes at Vlad, and with a grabbing motion on his shoulders, he stared at Vlad properly.

"What are you doing here, man? Do you even know where you are?"

Chuckling at Aslak's question, he asked him back.

"Are the rest with you?"

"They are with me from the moment I get on my mission. You got nothing to worry about, Zagreus. They are my friends."

"Hah, friends? If you say so. I came to meet the nobles. Now move away and mind your own business." said Vlad coldly while moving his shoulder a bit, pushing the hands holding him.

Aslak felt Vlad's strength from only his push, and sensing the coldness of his tone, he no longer bothered him, taking the guys whose expression turned cold when seeing how Vlad treated Aslak.

Moving past Vlad, who kept ascending at his own pace, the guys asked Aslak with an offended tone.

"Boss, who was that snobbish noble? Do you know each other?"

"That's right. I know him since he was a little kid shoving stones in a mine back in the days. Now let's go and make ourselves disappear from this palace. I have a feeling things will go messy with Zagreus's arrival."

"What about Paula and Monic? Aren't they endangered? Also, the poison, how sure you are they will get poisoned."

"The poison I put on their food is something I received from my boss. He told me that the poison can put down any person."

Meanwhile, Vlad, who was ascending, spread out his Observation again and could feel the knights' aura placed on the next floor. Aside from the second floor that he was about to arrive on, on the third and fourth floor, there were other people who showed intense auras, especially two guys, one on the third floor and another one with a fierce aura on the fourth floor.

'It seems I have to take those guys on the second floor out, climb to the third and fourth before returning to the second floor. I don't want to be disturbed by any rat.'

Finishing his plan in a brief moment, he began acting up in an orderly manner.

His heartbeat began increasing slowly, and as it did that, the veins around his body seemed to turn crimson while his muscles began tensing up, contracting like he had some nasty cramps.

Yet his expression remained cold with eyes that started shifting their color, turning crimson from their initial green.

Each of his steps began to release some blood that entered the walls of the palace. The blood was constantly flowing as he was ascending, and his presence was felt by the knights who later said in the staircase direction.

"Did you slaves forget something? Haven't you received the nobles parting words?"

Yet what responded to them was the sound of boots hitting the marble and creating an echo, that they felt it stronger and stronger with Vlad's approaching self.

The air around the knights seemed to turn a bit heavy, and when Vlad appeared in their sight, they knew that he wasn't expected.

"Identity yourself, right away!"

Vlad ignored that call and moved toward them, making all 100 knights placed in this hall to take their weapons.

"Stop right there. I say you identify now if you don't wish to die." said one knight wearing expensive armour in a domineering manner.

Once again, he was ignored, and the pressure grew heavier on them.

Vlad turned to look at the leading knight with his crimson eyes, and with his eyes seemed to release some red energy, the walls of the hallway turned red.

The knights noticed the walls, but then one of them also took notice of the ceiling that was covered by blood, removing the fascinating frescos.

"End this intruder!" ordered the leading knight while staring at Vlad's cold expression.

The moment he said that the knights charged at him without showing any fear, but the moment they got in his range, some of them dropped on their knees, crying out in pain.

"What happened with my legs? Why am I kneeling?!"

The rest of the knights who only showed signs of slowing down pushed forward and slashed at Vlad, cutting him down.

"Tsk, he even dared to get close to His Grace throne room. All this bravado was for nothing. Get us, you idiots!" said the knights who struck Vlad down, believing he was dead since his body started dropping on the ground split up.

Vlad's body, which looked bisected in halves, began to morph into the blood and reshape back into a whole person right in front of these knights.

"This guy is a ghost! I saw him being cut into halves. How the fuck is he still alive!" yelled one of the knights.

Vlad heard that knight give a sinister smile and unleashed a hand strike that pierced his chest, crushing his heart. He began laughing like he listened to the funniest joke while his body moved toward the knights closer to him like a real phantom.

From his hand, a longsword started to exit that later he used to cull down the knights around him.

The leading knight tried to alert the people in the throne room but couldn't see where the exit of this blood world was. He heard the knights screaming in pain as they were butchered by Vlad in a gruesome manner and could only tremble in fear seeing how smoothly Vlad was ripping the lives of those men.

"A monster, a monster has come after us. But I fear only God, for this I shall fight you monster. I was blessed by God with power."

As he said that, the knight began to morph rapidly into a dog-like creature.

Vlad, who was on the third floor creating another [Blood World] that would imprison this group of knights, saw everything from the eyes of the [Blood Clone] as he was fighting from distance and said to himself.

'A Zoan fruit user. Dog? This one doesn't seem like the ones from my land. Interesting, I am really interested to see how my clones are faring against those simple Zoan users.'

Vlad's clone, fighting the knights, said while his lips moved in synchrony with the voice.

" You should be so foolish to call upon his name in a place he doesn't have jurisdiction. You are left to your own fate. Keep powering yourself up while I clean this place. I shall see how strong you are. "

The third floor and fourth floor seemed to be bathed in blood as the entire hallways were covered in blood.

In front of Vlad's clones, aside from the weaklings, there were also some unique exceptions, the leaders of the squads who had eaten devil fruits.

The knight leading on the third floor started transforming immediately after he sensed that he was sealed off from outside by the [Blood World] and, in a sense protecting his men from Vlad, who started slaughtering them.

He morphed into a hybrid human with tiger features that had long, sharp canine teeth striking out of his mouth as he tried to bite off Vlad's head.

The other front had someone who seemed to look down a bit on Vlad as he caged him with the rest of the knights, who seemed calmer than the rest.

When Vlad showed himself to the knights of the fourth floor, that leading knight seemed to do a round of applause and say to Vlad after nobly bowing his head.

"Prince Vermilion, to think you would show yourself in such a fashion. Lord Vestios only said you will attack the Fortress Gates and the other kingdom locations, but to think you would show yourself in such a manner. Aren't you afraid of your life?"

Vlad's [Blood Clone] started laughing before extending his hand and releasing a spike at the talking knight.

The instant he did that, the leading knight also extended his hand, and from that hand, an intense pressure stopped the blood spike in its path, later shattering it.

"Impressive. Compared to the other two, you seem good. I might have to watch this fight with a closer eye." said a cold voice resounding in the [Blood World], heard by every single knight as if it was told right in their ears up close.

.......................

A/N: Now you guys will see how versatile is Vlad's fruit in the shape it is, Paramecia. Would a Logia-type Blood Fruit user be able to do the shenanigans Vlad pulls? Being Master of Puppets?