The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 40

Lucia, no, Niketa’s expression was terrifyingly cold.

It was the true face of the strongest Warlock, the Silver Witch.

“How did you know?”

The moment he heard her frostbitten voice,

Aden felt as if his throat had been cut off.

It was an illusion of being slashed dozens of times.

He felt as if the blade of death was sweeping over his entire body.

No, the mere presence of the woman standing before him felt like death itself.

It was a murderous aura that could only be felt from someone beyond a master level.

It wasn’t the false killing intent from the time of the Border Count Tiried Sedus or Master Fear, but a genuine, heartfelt intent to kill.

It was an oppressive force befitting a Warlock capable of killing even a Sword Master.

At this moment, Aden felt he would be instantly killed just as he had in his illusion.

“Heh.”

However, instead of fear, Aden felt a thrill and couldn’t help but laugh.

Aden shrugged his shoulders.

“Who knows.”

This nonchalance came from knowing her better than anyone else.

Given her nature, she wouldn’t kill him outright.

She asked again, her voice still cold as ice.

“Who exactly are you?”

Aden shrugged his shoulders again.

“You probably know better than I do about the personal details of a mere scoundrel from the borderlands. With the information network of the ‘White Moon,’ you should know everything, shouldn’t you?”

“……”

When Aden mentioned the ‘White Moon,’ her aura grew even more menacing.

The White Moon was a large information organization she operated from the shadows.

Instead of direct warfare, she aimed to slowly conquer the empire through information gathering and economic control.

She operated under various identities.

In the daylight, she ran a trading company; in the shadows, she controlled the information organization ‘White Moon.’

At this time, about one-third of the imperial underworld was under her influence.

Her ability to achieve such feats in her early twenties was unbelievable.

If the forces under the Silver Witch had cooperated with the Empire during the Talos War, they might have ended the war much sooner.

“You don’t have to be so on edge. I don’t intend to harm you. In fact, you could say we’re on the same side.”

“The same side?”

She smiled cynically, as if she found the notion laughable.

Her smile carried the dignity of a queen.

However, her smirk vanished at Aden’s next words.

“You came here to find and stop ‘Chaos,’ didn’t you?”

“……!”

Her face hardened as Aden mentioned Chaos.

Only a very few trusted individuals within her organization knew her true purpose here.

But the fact that Aden not only knew her identity but also her objective left her no choice but to take him seriously.

“Who exactly…?”

She was about to ask something when,

-Kyaoooorrr!

-Krraaarrr!

The monstrous roars and the screams of people followed from the garden of the banquet hall.

—

The banquet hall extended not only inside the Crown Prince’s palace but also into the garden, where people mingled.

Among them, Taion Sedus was scouring the surroundings with a fierce look in his eyes.

He had bandages wrapped around the part where Aden had struck him with his sheath.

“Curse it, where did he go! Aden Remes! Come out and fight me again!”

He was looking around, unable to see Aden and Niketa on the second-floor terrace.

After being disgracefully knocked out, he was determined to regain his honor.

“Come on, calm down, Taion.”

Dayer Sias, a spearman knight, intervened with a wry smile, trying to calm Taion.

As soon as he regained consciousness, Taion had been searching for Aden, intent on a rematch.

“Ugh, it’s frustrating!”

Taion gulped down wine to quell his burning frustration.

“Haha… hmm?”

Dayer, who was watching his friend with a troubled smile, suddenly stiffened.

“Wait, Taion!”

“Hmm? Why are you calling me so suddenly…?”

Taion, his face flushed from the wine, frowned at the sudden call, but then sensed something as well and flinched.

He felt several large presences approaching.

They turned their heads toward the garden forest direction.

Something was coming their way!

Some of the knights attending the banquet also sensed it.

They were about to shout a warning to the people.

-Kyaaaarrr!

-Krraa!

-Kiaaa!

Monsters emerged from the garden thicket all at once.

“Mo-monsters!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

The nobles screamed at the sudden situation.

—

Hearing the screams and monster roars, Aden’s eyes turned cold.

‘It’s started.’

Warlocks were controlling the monsters through mental domination.

“You have work to do, don’t you? Go quickly.”

Niketa had to deal with the Warlocks controlling the monsters.

Niketa shot a sharp glare at Aden.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, she bit her lower lip.

“…We’ll finish this conversation later.”

She enveloped herself in darkness, like a shadow, and quickly jumped off the terrace, running swiftly.

‘There’s no problem leaving that side to her.’

The Warlocks would be silently exterminated by her, just as in his previous life.

This was Aden’s turn to take action.

Aden descended from the terrace with a nimble roll and sprinted toward the panicked garden.

Monsters were rampaging.

Everywhere, people were locked in desperate battles against the monsters.

Under mental domination, the Crown Prince’s collection of monsters varied widely in types.

There were goblins with two heads, trolls with disproportionately long arms, orcs as large as ogres, and more.

There were ogres with fire resistance, lizardmen with venomous fangs, and even rare monsters Aden had never seen before, totaling over fifty.

Each one was bizarre and unfamiliar.

‘The Crown Prince has a pretty nasty taste. He’s gathered quite a lot.’

Nobles were pushing and shoving each other, trying to flee into the Crown Prince’s palace to save themselves from the monsters.

“Get out of my way, you wench!”

“Kyaa!”

A nobleman shoved a maid aside in his frantic escape.

A goblin with two heads, a mutant goblin, ran towards the fallen maid with crazed eyes.

Both of its grotesque faces were closing in on the maid.

“Aaaah!”

Despair clouded the maid’s eyes as she screamed in terror.

At that moment,

Swish! Thud!

A knife flew from somewhere and embedded itself in the left eye of one of the goblin’s heads.

-Kyaaaaargh!

The goblin shrieked in pain.

Then, a flash of a sword light,

Slash!

The goblin’s body was split in half.

Aden casually flicked the blood off Baalzebul and helped the maid up.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes…”

“Run quickly.”

“Yes, thank you for saving me!”

The weeping maid thanked him and quickly fled, following the others.

Aden turned his gaze from the maid and observed the palace’s response to the situation without intervening for the moment.

A group in platinum armor was gathering toward the monsters.

They were the Crown Prince’s palace guards.

“Everyone, to the first formation!”

“Some of you, evacuate the people into the palace!”

“Our mission is to ensure not a single filthy monster sets foot in the Crown Prince’s palace until the Imperial Knights arrive! Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

The Imperial Guards quickly formed a line between the monsters and the nobles.

They drew their swords.

Whoosh!

Sword auras ignited on the swords of every guard.

All the Imperial Guards were at least advanced-level knights with sword auras.

Their combined presence was an overwhelming aura.

-Kryaaaah!

-Kraak!

Yet the monsters under mental domination rushed at the knights without hesitation.

Slash! Slash!

The knights’ swords flashed, slicing through the monsters like tofu.

The prowess of the Imperial Guards was outstanding.

Monsters were cut down wherever the knights passed.

“Haah!”

One knight’s swing dismembered a troll, slicing it to pieces.

They moved through the monsters, swinging their deep blue sword auras.

Despite their heavy armor, their movements were light and swift like the wind.

Their coordinated actions and the flashing of their sword lights left trails of blood.

Their skill was befitting of those entrusted with the security of the heart of the empire.

The knights slaughtered the monsters with remarkable skill.

On one side, a massive three-meter-tall muscular creature roared.

-Kwoooargh!

“It’s an ogre! Four knights, form a pincer attack!”

Knights rushed the ogre, drawing its attention.

Meanwhile, Taion Sedus, who had been assisting the knights in the fight, moved.

Tap, tap!

His movements were like a flash.

He cut the muscles behind the ogre’s knee with his sword aura, forcing it to kneel.

“Haah!”

He pierced the ogre’s thick hide and slashed its neck.

-Kuooorh!

The ogre roared, spraying blood.

Thud!

As the ogre fell, the knights expressed their admiration.

“Impressive skills!”

“As expected of the son of a Sword Master!”

With their morale boosted, the knights continued to cut down the monsters with exceptional skill.

Following the Imperial Guards were the envoys from the Magic Tower.

“Our Anguis Magic Tower will also lend a hand!”

“Fireball!”

“Ice Spear!”

Monsters hit by fireballs were set ablaze.

Lizardmen hit by ice spears were pierced through their chests.

With the cooperation of the knights’ swords and the mages’ spells, the battle became more manageable.

The number of monsters, which had initially exceeded fifty, had now been reduced by more than half.

But then,

A giant beast, resembling a mix of a black-maned lion and a dog, the Leonberger, appeared.

-Kyaoooorrr!

Its thunderous roar froze people in their tracks.

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guards’ face twisted.

“Damn, even that beast has escaped!”

Its burning, maddened eyes glared down at the knights.

“Haah!”

The knights coordinated their attacks against the beast.

The enraged beast’s body was slashed in multiple places, spraying blood in all directions.

Initially, the Imperial Guards thought they could bring down the Leonberger.

But…

Crack, creak.

The supposedly fatal wounds began to twitch, with bones reattaching and tissues regenerating back to their pristine condition.

The knights’ faces hardened.

‘What kind of absurd regenerative power is this!’

The Leonberger’s regenerative ability was nearly on par with a troll’s.

Was this beast really such a monstrous entity?

-Rooaarrr!

The beast became even more frenzied, retaliating against the knights.

It struck knights away with its forepaws, bit them, and threw them against walls.

It also swept the area with its tail from blind spots.

The scene looked like a cat toying with mice.

Leonberger.

This beast had held a small territory in an unknown forest teeming with terrifying monsters.

It should not be equated with regular monsters.

“Ugh!”

“Urgh…!”

Several knights hit by the attack coughed up blood and were knocked away.

“I will heal you!”

A priest affiliated with the palace rushed to heal the injured knights.

A fallen knight groaned and muttered,

“Of all times, for this to happen when the Imperial Knight Commander isn’t here…”

The beast was too gigantic and powerful.

A few of them, who were merely advanced-level Sword Aura knights, couldn’t handle it.

If the Sword Master, the Imperial Knight Commander, had been there, he would have sorted this out in no time.

But he wasn’t in the capital at the moment.

An emergency in his family’s territory had forced him to take a short leave and head there.

“Flames will consume the enemy, Fireball!”

“My lightning will destroy the enemy, Lightning!”

The mages from the Magic Tower hurriedly cast their spells at the beast.

However, their spells were rather weak.

But it didn’t matter.

The blazing fireballs and electricity meant to roast the beast reverted to mana and vanished before they could reach it.

“An anti-magic property!”

The mages finally remembered that the Leonberger had an anti-magic characteristic.

Their lower-level spells wouldn’t even scratch the beast.

Moreover, none of the mages present, who were there as envoys, could cast spells strong enough to ignore the beast’s properties.

Mages of the 5-star level and above were weapon-grade entities and typically weren’t sent as envoys.

-Rrrrrr…!

Instead, the mages’ attacks only aggravated the Leonberger.

-Kyaaaaarrr!

As expected, the Leonberger lunged at the mages with its jaws wide open.

“Aaaaah!”

“N-no, don’t come! Don’t come near!”

The Leonberger’s anti-magic properties nullified their shields upon contact.

The mages were thrown into panic.

They were arrogant individuals who believed that magic could solve everything.

Thus, finding themselves in a situation where their magic was ineffective plunged them into terror.

It was like being children stripped bare before a wild beast.

They had no improvisation skills to react in this uncontrolled situation.

The Leonberger was about to strike them with its claws when,

“Haaap!”

Dayer Sias leaped in front of the mages and swung his sword with all his might.

Clang!

The tremendous force behind his sword repelled the beast’s forepaw.

A mere human had managed to push back a beast over 5 meters tall.

This feat was possible due to the semi-master level senses and the superhuman physical abilities of the Sias family.

“Urgh.”

However, the effort came at a cost. His muscles ached, and his hand holding the sword trembled slightly.

Dayer pointed his sword at the beast and spoke to the mages behind him.

“If magic doesn’t work, you’ll only be a burden. Flee immediately!”

“L-Lord Dayer!”

The Imperial Guards were startled by Dayer’s sudden appearance.

“I will handle this beast! Deal with the other monsters!”

“…With regret, we leave it to you, Lord Dayer!”

The Imperial Guards moved to tackle the approaching monsters, covering Dayer.

Dayer Sias, the spearman knight of the North.

Leonberger, the ruler of a southern forest region.

A duel between the two had begun.