Chapter 224. Blood and Flesh

The Imperial Army decided to move forward and attempt to negotiate with the Allied Forces.

The representative of the Imperial Army was the Second Prince, Ureas, who took the lead while the legion commanders followed behind him.

Since Ferda had been standing in place for some time, he ended up walking alongside Count Rooster.

"It is good to see you again, Regent Ferda."

Count Rooster was the first to greet him.

"This is the first time since the Golden Council, isn't it, Lord Rooster?"

"Indeed. Grand Duke Golt is quite distressed."

"I suppose he has every reason to be. Especially since Marquess Dvelung happened to commit such an act. He was a Demon Follower, was he not?"

Count Rooster frowned.

"It was revealed that he was a Demon Follower, a Doppelgänger."

"How did you discover that? We still don't know how to identify a Doppelgänger."

"Would the Marquess Dvelung, who was known as a miraculous Alchemist, really have had such a filthy private life?"

"I suppose not."

Ferda thought that Count Rooster was a thicker-skinned man than he had expected.

"Grand Duke Golt's proposal still stands."

"I told you before, but I am not a Mage capable of manipulating the human mind."

"Grand Duke Golt knows that very well."

Persistent bastard.

Just what was that man to Grand Duke Golt that he was so obsessed with him? And why was this bastard helping him so much?

Ferda intended to counter him if he said anything more, but he did not continue the conversation.

It felt as though he deliberately avoided saying anything beyond what was necessary.

After a while, a temporary tent where the meeting between the Allied Forces and the Arken Empire's army would take place came into view.

At the same time, Ferda noticed six white horses surrounding the tent.

They were all magnificent steeds possessing the color and bloodline worthy of being used only by kings.

"Thank you for coming such a long way. Other than the five representatives, each of you may bring only one companion. Please leave all weapons outside before entering."

Following the knight's instructions at the entrance, a total of twelve people disarmed themselves and stepped inside.

Inside the tent, six middle-aged men were seated in a row along a long table.

There was also a man Ferda knew well.

King Eugene Hudret.

He stood first as the representative and greeted them.

"It is an honor to meet you, Prince Ureas. I never thought I would live to see such noble people whose blood runs with gold."

"I feel the same. I thought that when the time came for us to face you people, I wouldn't be meeting you from a position like this."

A tense battle of wills began right from the start.

King Hudret smirked and gestured for Ureas to take his seat.

"Let us sit first. Since we have all hoped to meet like this, shouldn't we at least have a conversation?"

The representatives took their seats, and Ferda followed suit.

Ureas cleared his throat and began speaking.

"This is the position of the Arken Empire."

Rather than wasting time with an awkward introduction, he went straight to the point and pushed the conversation forward quickly.

It was Olivia's idea.

"Since our Imperial Army has also determined that the Demons must be eradicated, we will join the Allied Forces."

"How surprising. The strongest army in the world has decided to stand together with us."

His intention was obviously sarcastic.

Although the remark irritated Ureas, he did not lose his temper easily.

"Given the severity of this matter, I believe it can only be resolved smoothly through an alliance. Wouldn't it be better for us to solve it together?"

"I agree. If we pursue our own petty interests, we may end up burning down the entire house to catch a rat."

King Hudret took out a prepared document and placed it in front of Ureas.

"The spoils will be distributed according to each faction's contributions to the Allied Forces. As for the Empire, we intend to provide twenty-seven percent as the basic share. If you agree, will you sign?"

Twenty-seven percent.

It was a small number for something that was supposedly fair.

It was just enough to make one wonder whether they could push for more even while taking a loss.

It was a figure that depended entirely on how Ureas chose to respond.

"Are you joking?"

Like the macho man he was, he could not accept it so easily.

"Our army is comparable in size to the forces gathered on your side. So why exactly did you come up with twenty-seven percent?"

"I thought it was quite reasonable. But I'd like to hear how much you expected to receive."

"Even if we can't have half, it should at least be forty-five percent."

"You're being rather greedy."

King Hudret chuckled.

"I understand that numbers are important when it comes to armies, but isn't that an argument you can't really use against the Imperial Army?"

"What do you mean?"

"I assume you already know about the incident where a colossal Monster appeared in the Empire. Didn't the army there get annihilated?"

Ureas's face immediately turned bright red.

"How dare you compare us to that spineless older brother's army? Unlike those who were thinking of running away under the pretext of an epidemic, we are warriors who throw ourselves into the jaws of death!"

"Good words. It would have been even better if someone other than the Second Prince had said them."

His eyes subtly shifted toward Count Rooster.

Count Rooster looked at King Hudret with a serious expression and warned him.

"Whether I say it or the Prince says it, the Imperial Army is still the Imperial Army. We will not tolerate you looking down on it."

Blood is thicker than water, after all.

Even if Count Rooster disliked Ureas, he was still a man of the Empire.

"Therefore, twenty-seven percent is difficult for us to accept. Do you even know how much preparation our Imperial Army has made?"

"If you're talking about preparation, we're not lacking either."

One of the kings on the Allied side spoke.

"The Allied Forces have been putting considerable effort into gathering information from inside their ranks."

"Information from inside?"

A crowned man spoke with an expression of pride, as though he were quite pleased with himself.

"People with exceptional espionage skills from our Heian Kingdom have successfully infiltrated their ranks. If they return with information from inside, we will be able to make a far greater contribution than the Imperial Army, which merely intends to overwhelm them with numbers! Do you understand that?"

King Hudret looked at the King of Heian with an expression that suggested he was hearing this for the first time.

"You didn't say you'd infiltrated them."

"I intended to tell you later."

"After something went wrong, or after you received some very good news, you'd tell us?"

"No, if you put it that way, what does that make me? There was no reason to give you bad news first."

"That's not what I meant—"

As King Hudret was about to say something, a commotion erupted near the entrance.

"This is where state affairs are being conducted. You cannot enter here recklessly!"

"Let me go! I have to tell everyone right now!!"

The King of Heian seemed to recognize the voice.

"It seems our infiltrator has returned. I have nothing to hide, so why don't we all hear what he has to say?"

"......."

King Hudret's expression remained displeased.

He reluctantly waved his hand, granting permission.

Once the gesture was understood, a man rushed into the tent.

The infiltrator from the Heian Kingdom entered and dropped to his knees.

"I am unworthy, Yuan. I greet Your Highness! I apologize for rudely barging into such an important meeting!"

The man hurriedly showed proper respect while breathing heavily.

The King of Heian rose from his seat and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, no! Welcome, Yuan!"

Then he casually glanced around.

He welcomed him with an ostentatious expression, as though deliberately showing off.

"You came here in such a hurry. That must mean you have some important news to deliver to us, correct?"

"Yes!"

"Tell us. Let everyone here know of your achievement."

"The thing is...!"

The man named Yuan grabbed the King of Heian by the arm.

"W-What are you doing?"

It was shocking enough that an ordinary soldier would dare grab the arm of a king.

But he was gripping it so tightly that the veins on his hand bulged.

When he raised his head, there was a madness in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Once I went inside that place, I realized just how utterly meaningless this world is, hahahaha!!"

At that moment, those capable of using magic clearly sensed it.

A Magic Circle engraved inside the man's body activated, and something began to boil up from within him.

Ferda could not stop the man.

He was turning himself into a bomb, and the explosion had already begun.

"What are you talking about?! What the hell are you saying?! Let go of me!!"

"Yuan! Let go of me this instant!"

The confused King of Heian and the knight tried to escape his grasp, but they were powerless.

An ominous light began rising from the man's chest.

Soon, it became bright enough for everyone to see with the naked eye.

"He's trying to blow himself up!!"

"Protect His Highness!"

The knights threw themselves over the king to protect him.

While everyone was focused on protecting themselves, King Hudret abruptly rose from his seat.

He walked toward the King of Heian and kicked him in the back.

The king was thrown into the tent wall, his body completely overlapping with the man who had become a human bomb.

And then the light reached its climax.

BOOM!!

Flesh and blood scattered everywhere.

The short but powerful explosion instantly dyed the inside of the tent red.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Damn it! Damn it!! Priest! My eyes! I can't see my eyes!"

"I'm bleeding! Blood, blood!!"

The kings fell into a state of panic at the grotesque sight they had never witnessed before.

"Silence!"

King Hudret's roar silenced the screams.

"Calm yourselves. Thanks to the King of Heian serving as an excellent shield, all you received was some blood and flesh. At worst, you only suffered a few scratches."

King Hudret spat blood from his mouth.

It wasn't his blood.

It belonged to the King of Heian.

Or perhaps to the infiltrator.

King Hudret wiped his face with a handkerchief and asked his aide:

"How old did you say the son of the King of Heian was?"

"Fourteen, I believe."

"He's at the prime of his life, and now things will become quite difficult for him. Knight of Heian, call some people and have them clean up the flesh."

King Hudret gave the order as casually as though he were telling someone to dispose of garbage.

The Heian knight, who had witnessed everything, shouted.

"Hudret!! How can you remain so calm after killing the king?!"

King Hudret glared at him irritably.

"What nonsense are you spouting about me killing the king?"

"Nonsense?! You kicked His Highness, the King of Heian, with your own foot! That's why he died!!"

"You reap what you sow. It was simply a fitting end for him. Hurry up and call someone to clean this up."

"If this becomes known, it will lead to war with the other kingdoms! Aren't you afraid?!"

King Hudret beckoned with his finger toward the protesting knight.

But the gesture was not directed at the Heian knight.

More precisely, it was an order to another knight standing behind him.

And that knight obeyed.

Slash!

The Heian knight's head fell to the floor and rolled.

The single strike had cleanly cut through even his plate armor.

"Gasp...!"

"H-Hudret!!"

Before their fear had even subsided, another person had died.

This time, it was a genuine murder committed in front of every king present.

King Hudret looked down at the dead man's head and spoke.

"He was removed under military law for attempting to cause unnecessary unrest within the alliance. I hope there will be no objections."

There wasn't the slightest trace of guilt or regret in King Hudret.

He calmly addressed the kings.

"Didn't I make myself clear? Once we became an alliance, I told you not to do anything unnecessary without my permission. Do you know why?"

"Do you think I was trying to become the king of kings? It's because situations like this can arise, where every single one of you could end up dead."

"......."

"Because of the King of Heian's reckless actions, every king here nearly became a piece of meat. And yet that knight was so concerned about his king that he threatened me with war!"

"What would happen if a knight like that returned to his kingdom? A foolish prince would spend the rest of his life carrying useless hatred."

"So I personally removed someone who could have threatened the kingdom. What do you think of that?"

King Hudret asked another Heian knight who had been watching the scene.

The knight silently nodded.

"Looks like we've reached an understanding."

"Let's bury the stories that could become sources of shame for both sides. Your king died like a hero while trying to protect everyone, and the same goes for the knight."

"Now hurry up and clean up the flesh."

"And understand that the Heian Kingdom will be withdrawing from this battle."

"Understood..."

"Good."

King Hudret sat down again.

The kings were bewildered by his actions.

They were supposed to leave the bloodstained tent, yet he had simply returned to his seat.

"Hudret. Why don't we continue this discussion somewhere else?"

The kings of the Allied Forces asked Hudret.

"Yes. I think it would be better to move somewhere a little cleaner."

They weren't the only ones uncomfortable with the situation.

Even the ruthless Ureas found it difficult to remain in such an unpleasant place.

"Is that so?"

King Hudret placed his hand on the table soaked in blood.

"I think this place is just fine. It seems the Prince finds it a little overwhelming."

It was more than a little overwhelming.

An unexpected explosion and the death of a king.

And then there was the blood.

Ureas's head was practically numb, his adrenaline racing through him.

Whenever he tried to speak, profanity threatened to come out of his mouth first.

He was in no condition to hold a normal conversation.

"Now that the Heian Kingdom has withdrawn..."

Instead, the one who spoke was the calm man even in such a situation.

Ferda Valdrova.

"Their forces have decreased. Wouldn't it be reasonable to increase our share?"

The negotiations continued amid blood and flesh.

At Ferda's bold proposal, King Hudret's expression hardened.

"Let's go up to thirty percent."

"Forty percent."

"There's no greater bandit than you. The Heian Kingdom has around two thousand troops. Thirty percent is already generous."

"The Allied Forces have just demonstrated that they cannot properly maintain unity. Do you really think two thousand soldiers are the issue? We don't know how many more bombs they might have hidden among them."

It was an undeniable reality.

"Thirty-five percent."

"Forty percent. The armies of the Far East are soldiers trained to fight Monsters."

"You mean those Magitech weapons. Are you saying you'll take the vanguard with them?"

"The vanguard may be too much, but if there's something blocking our path, we'll be the ones to break through it."

King Hudret burst out laughing at Ferda's proposal.

"You really are an interesting person. I thought I had understood you well enough when we met back then, but I underestimated you far too much."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Fine. Let's see just how impressive those renowned forces of the Far East really are."

"If you retreat even a single step, I'll reduce the Empire's share to twenty percent. How does that sound?"

"Do as you wish."

Ferda didn't hesitate for even a moment.