NOVEL NEXT Chapter 113
The Demon King was not residing in the Demon King’s Castle as usual. Out of curiosity—or perhaps doubt—regarding Dracula’s actions, which were occurring without his orders, the Demon King was embarking on a perilous adventure to infiltrate the Empire’s territory and meet with Dracula himself.
Of course, the imperial army’s strength was largely concentrated due to the northern campaign, deeply entrenched in the Demon King’s territory, and the fact that the Directly Governed Territories in the southern region relied largely on the noble lords’ autonomous forces made infiltration easier. Nevertheless, even considering all of this, it was undeniably a dangerously reckless endeavor.
Especially since, despite being at the rear, it was not left unguarded; several formidable local lords were managing the territory.
Koesernis in the southeast was once a mighty border baron leading thousands of elite troops, but now he had conscripted a significant portion of his forces to Walter, only managing to retain about a thousand troops for defense.
Douglas Koesernis was so busy dealing with remnants of the kobolds attempting to invade from the mountains that he even missed the Imperial Assembly concerning Jenis Harker’s affairs, leaving him devoid of resources to detect the Demon King’s infiltration.
Harker was also preoccupied with the threat posed by Dracula’s attacks, and amidst all this, the territory that the Harker Clan had to manage was too vast for him to handle alone. He was well-versed in vampire knowledge and took various measures to prevent vampires from roaming freely in the south, but he was not well-informed enough to monitor the Demon King’s infiltration personally.
Sally Jeffrey was too far west to intervene in this matter, meaning that the only being the Demon King really had to be wary of was the Grand Mage Jeongjae, who possessed power nearly equal to his own. Jeongjae’s enormous mana reserves and exceptional proficiency were widely known even within the Demon King’s army, making him one of the few formidable heroes whom the Demon King wouldn’t reliably defeat in a one-on-one encounter.
Considering that the Demon King himself had analyzed the capabilities of Rose and Margaret meticulously and concluded that both could be easily subdued in a one-on-one match, it indicated just how highly he evaluated and feared Jeongjae.
While attempting to deceive Jeongjae’s eyes during his infiltration in the south, the Demon King indeed succeeded in establishing contact with Dracula through elaborate scheming.
Upon realizing that the Demon King had personally come to find him, Count Dracula greeted him with an expression of surprise.
“Ha, Moriarty? What brings you all the way here, Your Majesty?”
“Don’t call me that like I’m your father, Dracula. It’s true that I inherited this title from my father, but I dislike the way you pronounce it.”
The Demon King rumbled angrily at the vampire lord. Dracula slightly bowed his head in apology.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. It’s just that the late king and I… were quite close friends, you see?”
“So? Do you have any complaints about the one who directly ripped him apart?”
“Of course not. In some sense, Your Majesty’s blood runs through me.”
“If it’s 25%, then perhaps your blood runs through me as well. But if that makes you think you can act like an adult, I’ll summon you right now and throw you into the Demon King’s dungeon.”
“By not killing me, you seem to show some sort of kinship toward your kind.”
“Shut up. I didn’t come here to have pointless conversations.”
The Demon King kept glancing around anxiously. Seeing the unusual fear on the Demon King’s face, Dracula tilted his head in confusion.
“What are you afraid of, Your Majesty? It’s been a long while since I’ve seen you look this frightened.”
“You’re too close; thinking about it too much makes it feel far too close.”
“Close, you say…?”
“Your mage’s base of operations and Van Helsing’s territory are both far too near for my liking. This is not a place I should be crawling into on my own. I must admit, your group’s audacity is commendable.”
Jeongjae had already left the south to attend the Imperial Assembly concerning Jenis, and the Demon King was aware of this, which made him bold enough to contact Dracula like this.
However, knowing that there were no powerful mages like Jenis and Jeongjae in the south, he still trembled at the residual mana in the air.
The Demon King wasn’t just an outright coward, nor was he reckless in character. In a sense, both the Demon King and Walter were surprisingly similar in disposition. Both could appear audacious and act like madmen on the surface, yet their true natures were incredibly cautious, not trusting lightly even after several careful considerations.
A commonality between these two was that they easily read each other’s thoughts, which sometimes led to the apparent one-sided advancement of events devolving into a stalemate.
Walter consistently overwhelmed the Demon King’s forces with his wisdom, but the Demon King, sitting all the way in the back, never allowed Walter to achieve a decisive, complete victory that would turn the tide in his favor. In some sense, this situation resembled a fierce struggle of schemes waged by their ancestors in 1800s England.
“To be honest, I don’t quite understand why Your Majesty has come to seek me out in this remote place. Are you suggesting that while the Grand Mage is away, we join forces here to massacre humans and disrupt the rear?”
Hearing Dracula’s words, the Demon King looked at him in disbelief. For a moment, it seemed the Demon King was considering whether Dracula was joking, but realizing the vampire lord’s expression was serious, he sighed.
“Crazy talk! If that were the case, I would have dug a tunnel and hidden away an army or dragons. No matter how far back this is, the imperial army would invariably reach my legion before I could. Even if it’s just us two, we are top warriors of the Empire in the present. If we all gathered up, there’s no chance we could hold them off. Moreover, Van Helsing is currently commanding that army. You know better than anyone not to underestimate him!”
“Abraham Van Helsing is not a figure to be taken lightly.”
Dracula agreed with the Demon King’s words.
“However, Your Majesty, if I must express my opinion frankly, I find myself more interested in that girl.”
“Is that so? She must carry about a quarter of your blood as well.”
The Demon King murmured anxiously.
“Besides that, blood from the Serem family flows through her. That little one must be dealt with before she grows too big. That matter is quite urgent, but there are more pressing issues at hand.”
“I think I understand Your Majesty’s thoughts. By coming all the way here to give me instructions, it must be top-secret information that even the messengers cannot be trusted with, am I right?”
Dracula shrugged. The Demon King turned to Dracula with a hint of expectation in his expression.
“Perhaps the wisdom of an ancient vampire is not in vain after all. What do you think?”
“Is it an instruction regarding the acquisition of the Moriarty Machine? No matter how much you dislike your father, there’s no way you could let go of that machine, which can clearly be found asleep in Harriet’s Territory…”
“Acquisition? The Moriarty Machine?”
The Demon King scowled. Dracula noticed that the Demon King was starting to get angry and instinctively backed away.
“I must have said something wrong…”
“Then, Dracula, do you think that machine is in the castle?”
At the Demon King’s words, Dracula gaped. It seemed that the Demon King was unaware of the device sleeping in Harriet Castle. The moment he thought he might be caught in a snare, the Demon King began to question the responsibility that Dracula had feared.
“If I had known that fact, would I have only sent a Kraken and a few thousand orcs to invade that territory? By any means necessary, I would have sent over a couple of dragons! Whatever it takes!”
The Demon King vented his frustration as he hurled Dracula away. The vampire lord barely managed to stabilize himself and maintain his balance without falling over.
The Demon King shook his head, deep in thought.
“Then is that why a mage of such caliber is curled up in this small nest… Could that precious castle be just that mana-based machine…”
“Your Majesty, if you give me the order, I’ll immediately march an army to attack that territory…”
“The alliance among the southern lords is almost established. Do you believe you can face all their soldiers with just the vampires you’ve brought with you? I have no faith in your skills reaching that level. Especially since Van Helsing is commanding that army, you would surely be defeated.”
Dracula wore a hurt expression at the Demon King’s cold evaluation. The vampire lord seemed to twitch his mouth as if to argue, but under the Demon King’s intimidating aura, he could not voice his objections and instead shrank back.
“Then… then it would be best to mobilize dragons now to turn that territory into ruins. Even if the Grand Mage returns, he would struggle against the dragons with just his own prowess; at the very least, we could ensure the destruction of Harriet’s Territory.”
“I’ve considered that seriously, but regrettably, I cannot summon more dragons from the Dragon Lord at this time. I’ve already seized over ten dragons by my authority. If I press any further, they would instantly betray their loyalty and incite rebellion. The dragons that have come under my command already have designated roles established. However, without dragons, Harriet’s Territory cannot be helped.”
Having lost most of his fleet and thus the possibility of a large-scale landing operation, even if there were ships, after considering the last battle with Jeongjae, it was uncertain whether victory could be assured.
From the perspective of the Demon King’s army that was preparing to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to repel Walter’s northern campaign, exhausting forces on an uncertain landing operation was nearly an impossible demand.
“Whatever the case, we’ll set that issue aside for now. I’ll reveal the original purpose of my visit to you. What you must do is not a mission to destroy any territory or annihilate any army. I do not know what purpose you’re rampaging here for, but at least, complete the three tasks I set forth.”
“Command me, Your Majesty.”
“First, eliminate Abraham Van Helsing. Next, kill Jenis Harker. After handling both of them, the final task is to deal with Jeongjae. The order cannot be rearranged. If it is out of order, we cannot sever the complete threats among our greatest enemies.”
“In that case, you want it done stealthily.”
“Do you not understand, even after I said this? You cannot engage the lord of that territory. If a hero leaves another behind, I would have considered a full-frontal assault. However, that mage is no ordinary one. Even if it takes time, you cannot dismantle it without putting in extra effort.”
“I understand. I will carry out your orders.”
Upon hearing this, the Demon King turned away from Dracula, muttering as if sighing.
“No one’s period is an easy one. Not for me, nor for my enemies. The long, tedious, meaningless skirmishes have already ended. Now, the grand work to destroy everything in one blow has begun. It is not the time to feel at ease, thinking that I have tens of times more troops than Hellhounds. Both our standings are essentially equal, and this has already evolved into a battle decided in mere moments. If a small mistake is made, defeat will be confirmed in that instant.”
As the Demon King gradually distanced himself from Dracula, he turned back one final time, as if feeling uneasy.
“Anyway, what I want to emphasize is this: by any means necessary, eliminate Harker. As long as that family exists, they will eternally gnaw at us like a curse upon our kind.”
“That’s my greatest desire, Your Majesty.”
The vampire lord responded with a voice full of conviction. The Demon King moved away, and Jeongjae was drawing nearer. At around the same time, Baron Harriet had concluded all his affairs in the Empire and was returning to his territory.