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Only a few hours remained until midnight in the Dutchy when Lucifer vanished from in front of Allen's eyes in the blink of an instant. The reassuring part was that Allen knew Lucifer was heading to Tenserveria Town… but beyond that, Allen knew nothing. Because, in truth, there were three targets on Lucifer's list:
- City of Death, Morthveil.
- Purefield Dutchy.
- Lustbound Heaven Kingdom.
Allen was certain that the target was one of these three, but judging by distance, Purefield Dutchy was the farthest. Before that came the City of Death, Morthveil… and even before that was the Lustbound Heaven Kingdom. All these locations lay far to the south and southwest of Westirifer.
Allen knew that if Lucifer wanted to reach any of these places, it would take him only a few minutes. Or, if Lucifer used even 10% of his actual speed, it might take at most one hour. But this time Lucifer was also taking 2000 soldiers with him. So the question arose again: where exactly was Lucifer going, and how?
However, Allen had no need to worry about that matter. Allen only had to do exactly what Lucifer had told him to do.
That is why Allen ran to his room, where Westeria and Vinni were resting comfortably. Four maids had been summoned from the capital's public residential area to attend to both of them.
The reason for calling the maids was perfectly clear.
Westeria was currently at the end of her fifth month of pregnancy, with only 37 days left until delivery. Vinni's condition was almost the same—her fifth month was also about to end, with roughly 65 days remaining.
This was not only the case for these two. Duchess Amelia Velmora of Westirifer was in the exact same situation. She too was pregnant with Lucifer's children, and notably, she was expecting twins, with only 43 days left until delivery. That is why maids were also attending to her in her room.
For now, Allen rushed into his room, opened his wooden chest, took out Lucifer's black obsidian cleaver, and placed it inside his space ring.
Seeing Allen's action, Westeria asked, "Allen… honey, what are you doing? That is Young Master's cleaver, isn't it?"
The same question that Westeria had asked was also what Vinni wanted to ask at that moment.
Seeing the curiosity in Westeria and Vinni's eyes, Allen glanced at the maids and said, "Leave us."
Following Allen's order, all four maids left the room. As soon as they were gone, Allen locked the door latch, deployed a sound barrier magic in the room, then walked over to Westeria and Vinni and said, "Yes darling… this cleaver belongs to Young Master. And I am going to give it to him. He himself asked for it."
Hearing Allen's words, Westeria said, "But why? What happened now?"
In response to Westeria's question, Allen said, "I don't know, honey. But when I went to Master's room, he was extremely angry… so angry that I could feel his bloodlust."
Upon hearing this, Westeria said, "Come on, let me see what has made my dear Young Master so angry."
Hearing Westeria, Allen replied, "It's no use, Westeria. Master has already left for Tenserveria Town. He said he will return the day after tomorrow. And this cleaver… I will give it to one of the Viper Guards. Or perhaps to Sir Graham. Because Master told me to select 2000 Viper Guards and soldiers and send them to Tenserveria Town within two hours. If these soldiers do not reach Tenserveria Town in two hours, Master will leave alone."
Hearing Allen's words, Westeria was shocked. She grabbed Allen's collar and said, "Tell me… who is the target? Where has Master gone? And why did you let him go?"
In response to Westeria's anger, Allen said, "Darling, you can say whatever you want to me… but do you really think I can stop Master in any way?
I am Allen… I am not his 'my dear wess', not his wife, not his sister, and not his mother. Everyone knows that apart from his wives, mother, sister, and aunt, no one can say anything to Master, nor can anyone stop him. As for the target… I don't know. But my guess is that it is one of these three: Morthveil, Purefield Dutchy, or the Kingdom."
Hearing Allen's earnest reply, Westeria released his collar and said, "Then… what happens now?"
To this, Allen replied, "Master has given me full responsibility for the entire Dutchy. He said that until he returns, the complete responsibility of the Dutchy lies with me. In a way, I am his proxy. And in his absence, my authority will be the highest… even higher than Madam Mia and Miss Amelia."
"Right now, let me go. I need to speak with Sir Vance and select the soldiers. I will finish this task and then tell you everything… not just you, but I have to tell everything to everyone."
Hearing Allen's words, Vinni said, "Then why are you still standing here? Go quickly…"
Along with Vinni, Westeria also said, "Finish the work and come back soon… and deliver my message to Young Master that I said he should take care of himself."
Hearing this, Allen nodded toward Westeria and Vinni, then ran toward the gate of the ducal palace, where two Viper Guards were standing on duty.
Seeing the guards, Allen said, "NO997… NO998… One of you quickly summon Sir Vance here. I cannot run any faster, otherwise I would have gone myself. I need to convey Master's message."
Upon hearing Allen, NO998 nodded and summoned Vance through telepathy.
Finding Vance in front of him, Allen spoke straight to the point: "Sir Vance… listen to me carefully. Master has summoned 2000 Viper Guards plus soldiers to Tenserveria Town within two hours. Nearly half an hour has already passed. I am not the commander… you are the commander, so quickly select 2000 people and send them to Tenserveria Town. After you do that, I have more orders for you from Master. And yes, here—take this. This is Master's cleaver… his favorite weapon. He has asked for it. So entrust the responsibility of delivering it to Master to some reliable soldier."
As soon as Vance heard Allen's words, he immediately took the large black cleaver from Allen's hand and vanished.
Then Vance quickly went to the soldiers' barracks and urgently announced, "Young Master is going to war and wants to take 2000 soldiers with him. You all have 10 minutes. Whoever is interested, come out now."
As soon as Vance said this, the stance of the Viper Guards was clear. Upon receiving the order, 1000 A-rank guards immediately stepped forward. Vance then quickly selected 1000 soldiers, which also included 8 knight apprentices.
After that, Vance handed the large cleaver to Graham and said, "Guard this with your life… this is Master's weapon."
Having said that, Vance shared Lucifer's location with the selected soldiers and told them, "Move now… you all have only one hour. If you don't reach, Master will leave without you. And if you return here without being of any use to Master… then I will not leave your bodies intact. So go now."
With this sweet yet terrifying speech, Vance sent off the selected soldiers. All the soldiers ran toward Tenserveria Town as if their lives depended on whether they reached Lucifer within the next hour.
None of the selected soldiers were below A-rank. Moreover, one could not count the Viper Guards among normal soldiers because their ranking was done by Lucifer's depraved system. According to the system, their ranking was A-rank, which, in human ranking terms, placed them from the upper end of A+ to the lower end of S-.
The 1000 hunters accompanying them had been selected by Vance from Westirifer's army and were A-rank according to human ranking. Meaning, from the depraved system's perspective, they fell somewhere in the upper end of B- to the lower end of B+. But whatever the case, both the Viper Guards and the other soldiers were A-rank according to their respective systems and power rankings, even if the thresholds for measuring their power levels differed.
Among these 2000 soldiers was also Graham, who was training under Vance to become Westirifer's head knight. Along with him were Anna, Lina, Eilin, Laysa, Tara, Nora, and Edena, who were training under Artemis to become Westirifer's knights. At this moment, all of them were rushing toward Tenserveria Town at the speed of the wind. Tenserveria Town was located on the border between original Westirifer and the newly merged Keilname State.
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As soon as Vance had dispatched the 2000 soldiers, he immediately returned to Allen and said, "Sir Allen… now tell me, what are Master's orders?"
When Vance asked, Allen said, "Sir Vance, according to Master, he will return the day after tomorrow. So at this time, the responsibility for the security of the entire Dutchy, and especially Serendity and the Velmora family, lies with you.
Along with that, tomorrow a delegation from Holycross Dutchy is arriving with Mitalda. It includes their Duchess Aria Holygrill, Aria's daughter Delya, and Delya's husband Paul Librator. But the concerning part is that they are also bringing a cavalry of 8100 soldiers. That is why Master said that when the delegation arrives, both you and all available spy unit personnel must be present. Master also said that you and the spy unit members have permission to release your full aura. I don't know what releasing full aura means, but that is exactly what Master said. However, make sure that your aura does not have a bad effect on the Velmora family or the people of Westirifer. And it should not affect the Holycross Dutchy delegation either, as long as they stay within their limits. Master also said that 2000 Viper Guards will provide strict security for Westirifer alongside you for the next two days."
As soon as Allen finished speaking, Commander Vance said, "Understood."
After that, Allen asked Vance, "By the way, Sir Vance… what does releasing aura mean?"
To Allen's question, Vance replied, "Sir Allen… aura is what we call our suppressed latent power. This power makes our presence even heavier. It is an invisible force, and releasing it makes others stay wary, showing that the one releasing the aura is dangerous."
Allen then asked, "So Sir Vance… how dangerous is your aura?"
Upon hearing this, a proud smile appeared on Vance's face and he said, "Not too much, Sir Allen. Just understand this—if I release my aura right now without any prior protection, you would die from suffocation in merely 20 seconds. But I will not do that. And tomorrow when I release my aura, it will not be focused on anyone. I will also make sure that my aura does not affect the people of Westirifer. As for the Holycross Dutchy delegation and their cavalry… they should not get too arrogant. Keeping them in check is my job."
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