CHAPTER 76: ELDRIN SEVRIX— I

The tension between them seems to reach an all-time high, so thick that it should be able to cut with a knife. Now, there was no fake politeness between them.

Eldrin stood stiffly, his eyes like hard stones. "Declare war on you? How can a Duke do such a thing to his Grand Duke? I am only here to retrieve my father. Anything that stands in my way...."

Drenvar snorted coldly. "Oh? You will storm my fortress and do as you want? The army of the Red Leaves is impressive indeed, but not enough to fell a Dragon.

"The Dragon of the West that has its tail coiled around the whole Region."

"Are you sure that’s the truth? The thing on the street, the rumors in the West right now is that the long shadow of a liz... Dragon was long gone from here. We don’t have fear of such beasts again."

Vacuse stiffened.

This was as much as Eldrin Sevrix saying fuck you Vorrakyns. And Severin hated him for it.

Why? Why did he have to bring his army just when he was about to make his escape to the Capital and build his power? Things would have been easier then.

’....people won’t play by the rules you set...infact, they move against the current that you want..I must not underestimate my enemies...I must not look down on them...’

That was exactly what Vacuse learned during the night of the attack.

In a way, he didn’t think the Vassals could scheme like that. Or whoever was behind them. They had adjusted to his using Zorathian and flipped his plans on its head.

And now, the Sevrix family are here.

Things aren’t looking good.

Vacuse didn’t fear war.

On the contrary. War is a tool to be used to acquire more resources and gain foothold where one isn’t. It’s a tool to show one’s power and to spread prestige.

But not when he was at the receiving end of loss.

It made him twitch.

"The West?" Drenvar said in a low voice. "I am the West. The Dragon is the West. And a mere pup like you wants to bare its fangs at me?"

Eldrin gritted his teeth. "This mere pup is the current commander of the Red Leaves army and his eyes are where they aim."

"You are a commander. And yet, you don’t know how you are outnumbered?" There was mockery in Drenvar’s voice.

"Grand Duke, this is the Empire. We follow the head only when it can see well. But the Dragon has lost its eyes for years now.

If you hold my father with unjust reasons, I will have a just reason to rally the other Dukes against you."

Drenvar actually smiled when he heard that. "Is that so? Go on then. Call them, tell them to rally their army and come for the Dragon’s head."

But they all knew the Dukes won’t answer. And that was because Eldrin Sevrix isn’t his father.

Eldrin clenched his fist and the frustration in the action reminded him that Drenvar isn’t someone to take lightly.

He finally spoke after a long time. Eldrin’s voice lacked emotion as he forced himself to smile. "The Vorrakyn have always been arrogant. But it was an arrogance well earned."

"What do you mean?" Drenvar asked in a low voice.

Eldrin smiled and shrugged. "Honorable Grace, I will give you time to prepare my father for transporting. For the meantime, I will be locking down the Red Leaves territory until I see a solution to the problem at hand."

"Your territory?"

Vacuse understood. Eldrin was basically saying that he would stop movement from going and coming to Kragthar from his end.

It was just as he suspected he would do.

Eldrin didn’t say anything else as he turned to go, but just then, the members of the Dragon Guards closed around them, a wall of red armor.

Everyone froze as pressure exploded when the Bloodied Leaves positioned themselves in front of their Lord.

Eldrin turned slowly, face flushed with anger. "What are you doing, Honorable Grace?"

Drenvar stood. "Who asked you to go, boy? You still haven’t told me why you brought an army to my doorstep."

Drenvar’s voice was casual, as if he was speaking to one of his men.

Eldrin narrowed his eyes. "My army is on the other side and it is still swelling in size. And I hope you haven’t forgotten that some of the Elders of my family are S rank?"

’...this brat...’ Vacuse thought. Was he reminding us that the Vorrakyn have none of the S ranks?

Drenvar stiffened when he heard that, then a slow smile spread on his face. "Then, we would settle for the SSS."

Eldrin’s eyes flickered to Vacuse. "Ah. The famous new Dragon. I hear that the chances of pups dying before they come of maturity are quite high."

Drenvar wanted to respond, but Vacuse beat him to it. "Is that so? I also heard something. Snake children also carry the same venom as the adult snake.

"And I’m quite fond of snakes."

They stared at each other.

Eldrin with gritted teeth and Vacuse with a casual smile. "One day, I would love to meet the elders of your family."

Eldrin felt a chill at that as he turned away, and this time, the Dragon Guards allowed him passage without any issues.

Drenvar watched him go for a while, and then he sat back down with a thoughtful look on his face. "He’s not bad at all. He’s going to be a great Duke."

Vacuse raised his brows. "Do you think he’s going to attack?"

"If he could, then he would have done so already. As it is, he’s not going to rush into anything."

"Because he’s afraid for his father?"

"That, and because he’s just one Duke. We Vorrakyn can handle that much. And he won’t be able to get the support of the other Dukes now that his father is unconscious and with us.

In fact, they would like him dead."

Vacuse nodded. "That is what I think as well."