Duke Fershtein, having gone up to his office, sank into thought. He was staking everything on seizing control of the Krosen Empire.
Perhaps it was because of the blood of his house flowing through his veins. The peculiar disposition of House Helfrein, which desired to receive loyalty but could not offer it. Lost in thought, Duke Fershtein suddenly frowned.
“At any rate, there are far too few capable people around me. Every last one of them is useless…”
It was a statement one could hardly imagine coming from the mouth of a duke who controlled an army of five hundred thousand, a personal knight order numbering three hundred, and the vast majority of the nobles in the House of Nobles. But there was a proper reason for it.
“There are too few true experts. At the very least, I need one man capable of facing Williams one-on-one. In terms of numbers, I have enough, but the gap in individual ability is far too great…”
In truth, Duke Fershtein had, in both name and reality, seized control of more than ninety percent of the empire’s power. Yet the reason he still felt it was lacking was precisely the absence of a supreme master.
At the moment, he still had no warrior capable of facing Marquis Williams. Marquis Williams, commander of the Krosen Knight Order, was indisputably the greatest expert in all Arcadia. To be frank, even the most skilled knight under the duke’s command would, strictly speaking, be pushed outside the top five ranks of the Krosen Knight Order. That was how many powerful individuals the Krosen Knight Order possessed. Thus, though he had many knights, Duke Fershtein keenly felt the lack of truly powerful experts.
But there was nothing to be done about it. There was a clear limit to the caliber of knights one could draw in through money and power. Most martial artists who pursued the ultimate heights of the martial path tended to transcend fame and profit.
Until now, Duke Fershtein had devoted tremendous effort to winning over Marquis Williams. But it had all been in vain. In Marquis Williams’s mind, there existed nothing but loyalty to the Krosen imperial family.
“My life belongs solely to the Krosen imperial family. Unless one is a descendant who has inherited that blood, no one shall receive my loyalty.”
So firm was Marquis Williams’s will that even Duke Fershtein, formidable as he was, had no choice but to give up with bitter regret. Thus, if there were a swordsman capable of facing Williams one-on-one, Duke Fershtein had resolved to recruit him no matter what conditions he had to accept. But it was impossible even to find such a supreme expert.
Just then, an expression of deep regret passed over the duke’s face.
“Damn it. If only I had been able to make contact with that black mage in Sebain back then, I wouldn’t have to worry about this sort of thing.”
In Duke Fershtein’s mind appeared the unknown black mage said to possess four absurdly powerful Death Knights.
It had not been long since the duke had learned of that news. Elkein, a guard knight who had set out to subjugate the wicked black mage of Sebain, had been utterly defeated while carrying out his mission.
After receiving the report on the circumstances, Marquis Williams kept the matter under strict secrecy. But the secret soon reached Duke Fershtein’s ears. The intelligence bureau of the Krosen Empire was already completely under the duke’s control. After receiving the report on how Elkein had been defeated, the duke clapped his hands.
“This is it. If there are four Death Knights powerful enough to toy with Elkein, they should be more than enough to deal with Williams. No matter what happens, I must bring that black mage over to my side.”
Duke Fershtein immediately attempted to make contact with the black mage. His intention was to win him over through money and power. Selecting a tight-lipped confidant, the duke attached numerous escort knights and dispatched them to Sebain. But that proved to be the duke’s decisive mistake…
If he had sent only a single unarmed envoy, he would surely have been able to speak with Damon. However, sending along a large number of escort knights out of caution became the greatest cause of disaster.
When the heavily armed knights entered the cave, Damon regarded them simply as another punitive force. So, as he had always done, he cleanly disposed of the entire delegation with a barrage of Magic Missiles and Winslott’s finishing work. As a result, the duke’s confidant was never even given the chance to meet Damon face-to-face.
After spending a full week unconscious, battered to a pulp and tormented by nightmares, the delegation left the cave in horror. The nightmares caused by Nightmare were so dreadful that all thought of their mission vanished completely.
“I am sorry. We were unable even to see the black mage’s face.”
Upon receiving the report from his confidant that the mission had failed, the duke still did not give up. After that, he sent delegations no fewer than five more times. But the result was always the same.
Only after the sixth delegation failed did Duke Fershtein finally change his mind. This time, he dispatched only one confidant to Sebain. It was Morris, a loyal retainer who would not open his mouth even if his head were cut off. But Morris too had no choice but to return empty-handed.
By the time he arrived, Damon had already left Sebain. Thus, for Duke Fershtein, failing to recruit the black mage could only be a truly regrettable matter.
“What a waste. If he can cast Hell Fire, then he must certainly be a master of the Ninth Circle, and in that case he would be an enormous help to my forces. Of course, what I need most are the Death Knights. Where am I supposed to find that black mage?”
As he sat silently immersed in thought, an urgent voice suddenly came from beyond the door.
“Y-Your Grace. Urgent news.”
Because he had been interrupted while deep in thought, Duke Fershtein wore an irritated expression.
“What is it? Is it so important that you must make such a fuss?”
“Y-yes, it is. It is intelligence from Terbia. They say they have discovered traces of the black mage Your Grace was searching for.”
Hearing those words, the duke shot to his feet. It was truly the news he had been waiting for.
“Is that true? Come in at once.”
Clack.
The door opened, and his adjutant entered with an excited expression. Duke Fershtein immediately demanded to know where the black mage was.
“Where is he now?”
The adjutant was so agitated that he even stammered as he began his report.
“A-about half a month ago, he was seen near Dontrel. The w-witnesses were Wilkerson, a Sword Master of Terbia, and the paladins attached to Dontrel.”
“Calm down and tell me the whole story.”
“U-understood.”
After taking a moment to steady his breathing, the adjutant began reporting every detail of what he had just received. It was intelligence transmitted by a spy who had infiltrated the court of Terbia.
The court of Terbia had already been turned upside down by the fact that the black mage of Sebain was a mage who had reached the unprecedented realm of the Ninth Circle, and that he possessed four master-class Death Knights that even a Sword Master could not handle. And when the report reached the part where the black mage and the Death Knights had hunted an Ancient-class dragon before the eyes of Terbia’s paladins, even Duke Fershtein could not help being startled.
“H-how could such a thing…? Until now, there has not been a single record in all of history of an Ancient-class dragon being hunted…”
“But it is true. What is even more astonishing is that the black mage had already crossed over to Truvenia, killed a dragon, and taken the dragon’s magical treasury that it had been managing. Since the paladins of Terbia heard it directly from the mouth of the dead Ancient-class dragon, there seems to be no room for doubt.”
Duke Fershtein’s mouth fell open. He had never even imagined that a mage so powerful could exist in the world.
“Th-then how did they say they learned of this? Explain from the beginning how this man named Wilkerson met the black mage.”
“The general outline is as follows.”
From the adjutant’s mouth, the facts Damon had fabricated began to emerge one by one. A mage named Vertec, who had been dispatched to Dontrel, had become blinded by money and schemed to disguise the black mage of Sebain as a prisoner and take him to Terbia’s capital, Bayanka. That plan had ultimately been ruined by a dragon’s attack, during which five hundred escort troops and one paladin lost their lives, and the dragon finally met its end at the hands of the black mage and his Death Knights.
After the situation was resolved, the enraged black mage’s protest allowed Wilkerson to realize what Vertec had been plotting. The adjutant explained every detail of the matter, then added one more thing.
“The mage named Vertec was executed just yesterday. They say he was under the black mage’s spell and went to the execution ground without being able to utter a single word in his defense.”
After hearing the full explanation, Duke Fershtein slowly furrowed his brow.
“Still, there is something not quite convincing about the process. This mage Vertec’s actions lack too much justification. It is somewhat difficult to believe he did all that simply because of money.”
“They say the Terbian royal family also harbored some doubts on that point. However, because it was certain that five hundred soldiers and one paladin had died as a result, he was ultimately sentenced to death by royal decree.”
“I suppose so.”
Duke Fershtein nodded silently. There were parts that aroused suspicion, but since the person involved had already been executed, there was no need to think further on it. What mattered most to him now was the black mage’s whereabouts. His resolve to bring the man in no matter what had become firm.
“So where did they say the black mage went?”
“His route has not been discovered at all. The Terbian royal family is currently searching frantically for him as well.”
“Of course they are. If they can bring in the black mage, their military strength would increase tremendously. Even if they could not dare covet the Krosen Empire, they could easily force their old enemies, Penslott or Tezeros, into submission. That is why the Terbians will be desperate to win over the black mage. But they will not have him. The black mage must become one of ours.”
Duke Fershtein’s face was engraved with determination to recruit the black mage, even if it meant going to war with Terbia.
“Is there nothing else that has been discovered?”
“Not much. They say the reports were all melted by the dragon’s breath. However, there is some talk that he belongs to an unnamed mercenary corps and is undertaking a mission to escort the princess of a kingdom called Karsel to our empire, but it is not very credible. It is difficult to realistically accept that a black mage of such ability would do something so trivial, and that information was investigated by the already-executed mage Vertec.”
“That is true. Even by common sense, it has no plausibility. Still, just in case, investigate this kingdom called Karsel.”
Before the duke had even finished speaking, the adjutant held out a document.
“The investigation into Karsel has already been completed.”
After scanning the document, an incredulous expression appeared on the duke’s face.
“W-what is this? A population of eight thousand four hundred means it is a nation barely on the level of a small village, doesn’t it? And if it is located in the Elysia Mountains, then it lies at the southeastern edge of the continent, an extremely remote borderland…”
“That is correct. Strictly speaking, it is not even a place that can properly be called a kingdom.”
The duke scanned the document with doubtful eyes, then seemed to make up his mind and raised his head.
“Just in case, dispatch an envoy to Karsel. Send someone eloquent and have him form an alliance with Karsel. In order to bring in the black mage, we must not overlook even the smallest thing. Judging from the circumstances, there is a very high chance that this woman called the princess of Karsel is traveling with the black mage.”
“Understood. I will carry it out without fail.”
The adjutant bowed his head and immediately left. Sinking deep into his chair, the duke quietly immersed himself in thought.
“If I can bring in that black mage, nothing will stand in the way of seizing control of the Krosen Empire. It would also mean I no longer need to worry about dragons. If it is true that he hunted an Ancient-class dragon…”
The duke’s eyes gleamed with a certain expectation as he steeled his resolve to bring the black mage over to his side without fail.