CH 213

The vicinity of the gate where Eugene first made his appearance as a drake was in a state of absolute chaos.

“Move! Get out of my way!”

“Uaaah!”

A large crowd was struggling to push through the gate to escape the capital, and Viscount Horie was running around in the chaos after returning from the royal castle. Prince Localope grabbed hold of the viscount.

“Sir! Wait, listen to me for a second!” Prince Localope said.

“Hmm! Sir! It’s an emergency right now, so…” Viscount Horie attempted to shake off the prince’s hand. He could not afford to take care of them right now, even if they were the imperial prince’s group.

“No, that’s not it. A group of knights employed by His Highness is in the vicinity!” Prince Localope exclaimed.

“Huh! Is that true?!” Viscount Horie was astounded.

“Although this is a foreign country, we can’t just wait around and do nothing, right? His Highness wants to lend a helping hand to the King of the Caylor Kingdom. Can I bring the knights?” Prince Localope explained.

“Ooohh! I-is that really true?” Viscount Horie asked with delight. He had basically been handed his title due to his family background, and he had no practical experience. Under normal circumstances, he would have been more stringent and reported the situation to the royal family, but he couldn’t think of going through the formal procedures in such chaos. It was the first time he was experiencing such turmoil. In addition, he was responsible for the capital’s security during the absence of the count, who was serving as the commander of the army that had departed to fight against the noble union.

It was more important for him to overcome the current crisis, even if it meant he would face a reprimand later.

“His Highness was fortunate to hire a large number of knights. Perhaps it was a divine revelation to prepare for this crisis. Anyhow, can I call them right away?” Prince Localope asked once more.

“Of course! I will offer my gratitude to His Highness later. I must head to the royal castle, so please call the knights in my stead. Then!” Viscount Horie exclaimed before rushing to the royal castle with the guards. He appeared to be quite befuddled by the situation.

Prince Localope turned to the knights and shouted, “We must hurry as well! We need to go and get the knights!”

“But Your Highness! It’s simply too crowded in front of the gate! It’s impossible for us to get through with the horses!” one of the knights responded.

“What? This…” The prince’s expression darkened at the unexpected predicament. Suddenly, a spirit the size of a first levitated into the air while laughing arrogantly.

“Kihehehehehe! That’s a problem that I, King God Neo Revolution Mirian Mark Two, can solve for you!”

“…?” The prince’s eyes filled with doubt and surprise at the spirit’s haughty words. The spirit’s mysterious self-introduction was unimportant if she could indeed solve the current problem.

***

“Hahaha! Sir Bello caught four deers! I think I won this hunt, Your Majesty.”

“Tsk! There’s no helping it. Oi!” King Payle the 2nd of the Caylor Kingdom responded before gesturing with his head. The servants rushed over and placed a large box on the ground.

“Haha. Thank you,” Hayborne said before opening the lid of the box with a content smile. He was the younger cousin of Payle the 2nd and the Count of Entoller. The box was filled with various equipment made from the by-products of intermediate-rank monsters and handicrafts made from mana stones.

“Sir Bello, this is for you,” Hayborne said while handing over a piece of equipment.

“It’s an honor, Your Excellency Entoller,” His knight, Bello, responded with a bright expression while receiving the equipment.

Boom, boom, boom, boom…

“Huh? What is that noise?”

“Hmm. I wonder.”

A gentle, dull, repetitive reverberation could be heard from the distance, and everyone turned their gazes in the direction of the noise.

“Perhaps someone is cutting down a tree?”

“Huh! Would they dare?”

This was a hunting ground dedicated to the royal family. In addition, it was one of the prohibited areas in the capital. Anyone trespassing into the hunting ground would be executed. No one would invade the hunting ground unless they were out of their minds.

“With the current state of affairs, some people might have gone mad. I will go and find out what’s going on, Your Majesty,” Bello said while receiving his shield, sword, and spear from his aide. He was quick to act. He was the winner of today’s hunt, and if he could handle the unexpected situation, he could surely gain more trust from the king.

“Right. Take care of it quickly,” the king responded. Bello recognized that the king was in a bad mood and quickly advanced along with his aides. However, he was forced to a stop alongside his aides after moving less than fifty meters.

Boom! Booooom! Boooooooom!! BOOOOM!!!

The noise gradually grew louder.

Kuweeeeeegggh!

A huge monster similar to a dragon suddenly appeared, breaking through the thick covers of the humongous trees. It exploded into a terrible roar capable of freezing the spirits of all living things, including humans and beasts.

“What?!” Bello inhaled sharply as his horse came to a screeching halt. His aides reacted similarly. Everyone forgot to breathe as they dumbly stared at the monster responsible for the forest’s devastation. Meanwhile, Eugene-drake looked down at the group with puzzlement.

‘Huh? Who are they? From their demeanor, they seem like nobles.’

Eugene was visiting the capital for the first time, so he didn’t know exactly where he was. He had simply seen a forest located near the royal castle and judged that he would be more noticeable if he created a ruckus there. That way, the king and the nobles of the castle would become even more agitated, which would give his knights enough justification to enter the capital.

A group of knights outraged by the monster’s threat! A brave stand against the horrible monster!

How could there be a better justification than that?

‘But what should I do with them?’

Eugene contemplated for a short moment.

“Huaaaaap!” In the meantime, Bello came to his senses and threw a spear with all his might. As an experienced knight, he had been quicker than the others in regaining his senses. However, Eugene leaped into the air as soon as the spear left the knight’s hand.

Fwoosh!

“What…?!” Bello couldn’t help but express his disbelief. The enormous monster had jumped to avoid the spear all too easily, then narrowed the distance to himself in the blink of an eye.

Eugene shot forward dozens of meters in an instant before swiping with his large claw.

Crack!

Bello was rendered into an unrecognizable, miserable piece of meat, as he was literally blown away.

“Sir Bello!”

“Master!”

Fwoosh!

Eugene continued and swung his tail to knock the aides off their mounts. The other knights belatedly rushed forward.

“You damned monster!”

All of the knights were royal knights, and they were famous as the royal family’s shields. Normally, royal knights protected the royal family in close proximity, and as such, they were thought to be quite strong and skilled. However, that wasn’t the case at all.

In fact, the most important requirement to become a royal knight was one’s status rather than their skills. Regardless of how talented and skilled a knight was, they could not become a royal knight unless they stemmed from a family that had always been loyal to the royal family. In addition, the cardinal of the kingdom had greater influence in the royal castle than even the king. Therefore, the royal knights were selected based on their families and their loyalty to the church.

For such reasons, it was impossible for the royal knights to even stand a chance against a superior-rank monster like a drake, especially when they had less equipment than usual due to the hunting competition.

“Kuaag!”

“Argh!”

Eugene instantly crushed ten additional humans before sweeping his gaze at the others. He had no idea that they were royal knights.

‘I should roar right about now.’

Kuuuuuuuugh!!!

Eugene roared with all his might to ensure the sound would reach the royal castle. The humans frozen stiff by Eugene’s Fear immediately scattered like a group of frightened sheep.

“Huaaagh! Ahhk! Ahh!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Eugene ignored those fleeing on foot and chased after the ones escaping on horseback. They were obviously high-ranking nobles based on the fancy, expensive clothes they were donning.

‘I’m certain they will dispatch troops if nobles are being threatened.’

Moreover, it would provide a great reason for his knights to immediately enter the capital. Eugene roared once more before chasing after the nobles like a wolf chasing his prey. He couldn’t help but think that his plan was perfect, and he was truly satisfied.

But it was then…

Huaaaah…!

A cry containing a mysterious energy resounded. It caused even Eugene, an undead of the highest rank, to flinch.

‘This is...?’

Strangely, it was a roar familiar to Eugene.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“…?”

Eugene stopped chasing after the nobles, then turned his head. A monster was running toward him from the distance.

“…Twin-headed ogre?” Eugene muttered. Indeed, it was an undead form of the monster, twin-headed ogre, just like the one Eugene had faced in the past.

Huaaagh!

The monster emitted a bizarre cry before swinging the two giant axes in its hands.

Fwoosh! Krrrrr!

The blades of the axes cut through the air, and an evil energy distinctively different from Fear was etched on the blades, and all creatures that made contact with the energy exploded into gray ash.

Boom! Boooom!

In just a few breaths, the nobles were killed. None of them had been able to even utter a cry of pain before they disappeared into nothingness. Unsurprisingly, Payle the 2nd was among the casualties. It was incredulous and absurd, but the King of the Caylor Kingdom had died in the hands of an undead monster on his own hunting ground.

Of course, Eugene had never even imagined it. In fact, no one could have imagined that a king and his nobles could possibly be hunting leisurely while there was an ongoing civil war in the kingdom.

Eugene simply assumed that an unfortunate group of nobles had met their miserable ends as he looked around him. Undead monsters were puppets. In all likelihood, they had to be accompanied by their master—the wizard responsible for resurrecting them. As such, he definitely had to find the wizard controlling the monster if he wanted to defeat the twin-headed ogre.

Unfortunately, however, he couldn’t find the wizard. To make matters worse, Eugene didn’t have much time remaining in his drake form. Moreover, although a drake was an extremely powerful monster, it fell short of one of the most powerful creatures to roam the earth—the twin-headed ogre.

‘Damn it.’

In the end, Eugene was forced to undo his transformation. He stood naked in front of one of the strongest monsters in this world.

Huuuuung!!!

The monster roared fiercely toward the last creature standing. The monster was completely submerged in evil energy and had long been robbed of its thoughts and will.

Fwoosh!

Eugene’s figure became entirely covered by Black Scales, and Fear soared through his body. The translucent Fear of the Origin overflowed like flames, and any living creature would have had its soul eroded and body frozen stiff.

But unfortunately, the monster standing in Eugene’s way was an ultimate undead monster that had been revived by magic. it remained mostly unaffected by the Origin’s Fear. Moreover, Eugene had left all of his weapons behind to transform into a drake.

Of course, Eugene still had weapons.

Fwoosh!

Eugene’s fangs extended until they were as long as his fingers.

Craaaccck!

His claws also extended to about one meter. His claws became stronger as he gained abilities.

The two strongest undead faced each other, one wrapped in a crimson Fear and the other cloaked in obsidian-colored evil energy.

It was incapable of thinking, but the twin-headed ogre did not rush at the Origin Vampire as if it could still sense danger. Meanwhile, Eugene was also contemplating how he could get rid of his enemy.

However, it didn’t take him long to find an answer…

‘There’s no helping it.’

Fwoosh!

Eugene’s Fear started to overflow, and it soared high into the air as if someone had poured oil into a fire. The crimson energy rose to a height of four to five meters, then swirled into a spiral shape. Then, Eugene sucked the cloud of energy into his mouth.

Kuwuuuuuuuuugh!

Eugene roared. As stabbing pain filled his body, he felt a strange sense of vitality. Simultaneously, it felt as if his mind had become hazy and clouded; an intense, unparalleled killing intent started to beat against Eugene’s soul.

Only one thought dominated his mind…

Kill and destroy.

It was a whisper of chaos that sought nothing but destruction.

This was the effect of the ability, Berserker. Eugene was using it for the first time.

Kuwuuuuuuuuughhh!!!

The Origin Vampire attacked the undead twin-headed ogre like a devil armed with the unforgiving flames of hell. He had turned into a Berserker.