Chapter 21

Chapter 21
Alon had come to grasp the reasons for the nobles’ open disregard toward him.

“It’s because all the whispers have finally settled.”

Until recently, the nobility had kept their distance from Alon out of fear, convinced he was the architect of Avalon’s downfall, the organization that, together with Leo, had commanded the extensive underworld of the East.

But now, the nobles no longer saw Alon as that master strategist. Since attaining the title of count, he had accomplished nothing of note for years.

The Palatio Count line, stretching back to his grandfather’s era, had always been infamous as a house that consistently projected power within the shadows. The Palatio family had perpetually held sway over the Eastern underworld, even if the extent of their dominance fluctuated.

However, from the moment Alon inherited the title, the Palatio family’s influence in the underworld ceased. Consequently, the current Eastern underworld was fractured, fought over by wolf-like factions that once survived on the scraps left outside the Palatio Count’s territory.

Moreover, the power of the Palatio Count’s house had diminished, which was to be expected. The authority they had wielded up to that point was largely sustained by the riches flowing from the underworld. But since Alon became count, he no longer spent money to uphold that power. The life he sought was not one of underworld supremacy, but the comfortable and affluent existence any noble might desire.

In short, he had already secured his goal.

Yet, by pulling out of the underworld entirely, speculation started to circulate among the nobles.

Some wondered if the present Count Palatio was not a mastermind at all, but simply an individual who had stumbled into the title by luck.

As time went on and Alon remained inactive, this rumor slowly solidified into accepted fact.

In the end, Alon’s standing had deteriorated to that of a “fortunate simpleton who accidentally became count instead of the true architect.”

Naturally, a handful of nobles still harbored doubts about Alon, but even they were starting to align with the prevailing gossip.

After all, it seemed illogical that if Alon truly possessed the strength to obliterate Avalon in one day, he would have refrained from using it until now.

In any case, Alon had partly anticipated this kind of reception, but he hadn’t foreseen that individuals would actively seek him out to ridicule him.

Alon lifted his gaze to the two nobles, their faces shining with smugness. He did not know either of them.

But judging by the emblem carved on their carriage, it was simple to identify one as belonging to the Crylde Count family, and the other to the Edolon Count family.

‘They both seem old enough, but isn’t this behavior rather immature?’

Alon chuckled inwardly at how aged their faces appeared.

He swiftly comprehended why the two nobles had gone out of their way to mock him.

‘…Ah, I understand. This is a meeting of the aggrieved.’

The Palatio family, for all their notoriety, had also been a dominant force in the underworld. As such, they naturally offered advantages to neighboring families, but also oppressed them beyond what was necessary.

The families most often used as instruments were precisely the Crylde Count family and the Edolon Count family.

To sum up the present circumstances, these families, who had endured suffering under the Palatio family, were now taking out their frustrations on Alon.

Of course, it was not Alon but Leo, the first son of the count’s family, who had oppressed them.

Essentially, Alon had no genuine cause to be the object of such ridicule.

But for the two nobles who were zealously mocking him, it wasn’t important that he was Alon, only that he held the title of Count of Palatio.

“Did all those underworld forces disappear because you were incapable of controlling them?”

“It seems you haven’t been maintaining your carriage well, either. Do you need a loan?”

The two counts, much like nameless troublemakers often seen in online forums, put all their effort into needling Alon.

“Hmm.”

Alon briefly thought, ‘This is rather irritating,’ but he elected to follow logic over impulse.

If he fought now, he could easily overpower the two nobles in front of him—perhaps not kill them, but leave them severely battered. Yet, that would only create complications. The instant he clashed with them, Alon would have to depart the gathering and travel alone. And that could lead to unwanted problems, such as an encounter with bandits.

Plainly, reacting to their taunts was precisely what they desired.

‘There’s no reason to play along with these idiots,’ Alon resolved to pay them no mind.

He was not foolish enough to walk into such a transparent snare.

That day, Alon consumed two ears of corn, using the taunts from the two counts as ambient noise.

‘Delicious.’

The roasted corn seemed to taste even better in the somewhat cool air.

‘It would have been improved with some butter,’ Alon reflected, gazing idly at the moonlit sky.

***

Over the following days, the uneasy coexistence persisted.

Each evening, Count Crylde and Count Edolon would appear to fling their jeers, and each time, Alon acted as if it were nothing, dismissing their words as though they were meaningless.

The one who disregards and the one who struggles not to be disregarded. Inevitably, the one who ignores emerges victorious.

Alon had thoroughly absorbed one of the life principles he had picked up from a particular online forum: ‘Do not feed the trolls.’

At least in this setting, no one could best him at that practice.

Naturally, after several days of this, other nobles also began to mock Alon, muttering that he lacked the dignity of a nobleman or sneering at him for remaining quiet in the face of insults from Crylde and Edolon.

But even so, Count Crylde and Count Edolon, who had been the ones relentlessly taunting him, did not feel especially gratified.

“Damn it,” Count Crylde snarled.

“This is ridiculous…”

Count Crylde scowled as he observed Alon from afar. Even though they had been mocking him, they were the ones being ignored, which was naturally aggravating.

But after a moment of their bitter mood, they exchanged hushed words.

“Did you verify it?”

“Yes, and it appears he has no extra guards.”

In truth, the reason the two counts had openly ridiculed Alon was not solely to air their grievances. It was also to evaluate his security.

“…Even with an artifact to scan discreetly, there was nothing. It’s just that foolish young man and that scoundrel of a knight beside him.”

“So the rumors are accurate after all.”

“It seems definite. If he had any forces, he wouldn’t be traveling with so little company.”

“Then we can move forward with the scheme.”

The reason the two counts had been scrutinizing Alon was that they were preparing to expand into the underworld.

They knew perfectly well that Alon had no interest in the underworld, and that, as a result, it had become a free-for-all for various scavenger groups. While the gossip about Alon was already widespread, the two counts—having been abused by the Palatio family for so long—wanted to verify the truth personally.

They needed to be certain that Alon genuinely had no remaining power.

After days of investigation and confirmation that Alon traveled without a personal guard, smiles crept across their faces.

“The gods are favoring us.”

“Truly. Who would have imagined we’d get an opportunity to enter the underworld?”

While most nobles shied away from the underworld, these two were different. Having once served as underlings for the Palatio Count family, they knew exactly how immense the wealth moving through the underworld was.

They were fully aware of how intoxicating the taste of power from that domain could be.

Now that the Palatio family appeared to be an empty shell, the two spoke with excitement, as though they had already taken over the underworld.

In truth, it was not impossible for them to seize the underworld if they combined their strength. After all, the reason they hadn’t attempted it before was not a lack of capability, but their fear of the Palatio Count family.

Thus, after their extended conversation, they turned their focus back to Alon.

“…Once we control the ‘shadows,’ we ought to send that fool a present, don’t you think?”

“A splendid notion. There is a limit to how long one can disregard others.”

“He’s probably behaving this way because he doesn’t grasp the dangers of the world. We will have to educate him.”

“Count Crylde possesses such a refined character.”

The two counts, wearing sly smiles that were anything but noble, as if they were entirely blameless, were certain that the moment they had been awaiting would arrive shortly.

Just as the two were preparing to return to the camp where the other nobles were gathered after concluding their private discussion,

“Monsters!”

The incident occurred without warning. Under the veil of night, monsters emerged.

It was as if they had been lying in wait, silent and hidden, until a soldier happened to notice them and cried out.

At that moment, monstrous shrieks reverberated from the forest, as if on a signal.

Immediately, the mercenaries and knights, as though drilled for this, unsheathed their weapons to shield the nobles.

And then—

“Wizard, provide light!”

A wizard, lavishly hired by a noble purely for show at this Grand Church event, obeyed the knight’s order and launched a sphere of light into the sky.

In a flash—

The mercenaries and knights, who had been clamoring moments before, fell silent.

What the wizard’s light revealed in the darkened woods were goblins.

Goblins are common in forests. With the strength of a child, they are not dangerous monsters to anyone except novice mercenaries.

Although the rusty blades and bows they carry can be harmful, they offer little challenge to experienced mercenaries and knights.

Goblins only become a problem when they gather in large numbers, but even dozens of them can be repelled without much difficulty.

However—

“…This is madness…”

If their numbers are sufficient to fill the forest ahead, then they undoubtedly pose a threat to the knights and mercenaries.

Moreover, what intensified the knights’ alarm was that the goblins before them were far from typical.

“…What in the world is that?”

A knight’s voice, tinged with dread and bewilderment, was aimed at the sight of the goblins.

The issue wasn’t merely that they were goblins—it was their monstrous appearance.

Violet crystals sprouted across their bodies, including their heads, as if they were infected by some disease.

To worsen the situation—

“Wait, isn’t that Mark?”

Among the swarm of goblins, the corpse of a seasoned mercenary assigned to external watch for safety was being torn apart brutally.

“Krrk—”

In the grasp of a hulking goblin was what was left of Mark’s body.

The mercenaries who witnessed this—

“This… this can’t be real…”

—felt a surge of terror rising within them.

Mark, the dismembered body before them, was a veteran mercenary who could single-handedly take on dozens of goblins.

The fact that he had been slain without even alerting anyone to the approach of this enormous goblin swarm implied one thing to the mercenaries:

The mutated goblins they faced were far from ordinary.

The knights, standing armed alongside the mercenaries, also recognized the severity of the situation.

Even if there were only a few hundred goblins, this battle would be extremely difficult for the knights.

Individually, they might cope, but the knights had nobles to protect now.

And goblins are clever monsters, adept at exploiting such weaknesses.

While the mercenaries appeared frozen in fear at the sight of the goblins’ bizarre forms and Mark’s death, the knights sensitive to magic detected something more.

They sensed that the goblins before them were infused with magical energy.

Even a tiny amount of magic within a monster greatly boosts its physical capabilities, and the knights were well aware of this.

Just as the knights were grimacing at the goblins’ eerie howls and their imminent charge—

Thud!

A barrier of stone and debris abruptly erupted from the middle of the goblin swarm.

All eyes immediately snapped toward it.

The wizard who had cast the light spell identified the barrier as a “Rock Wall,” a third-tier spell.

As a translucent shield of a second-tier barrier materialized beyond the wall, the knights’ faces shifted from despair to bewilderment.

The goblins’ malevolent glares were now entirely fixed on the wall.

“Enhance!”

A steady voice cut through the air.

And then—

“Compress.”

With a sharp grinding noise, the translucent sphere contracted swiftly, warping the stone wall as it collapsed inward.

Thud, thud—

In the quiet that followed, the sound of footsteps guided the attention of the knights and mercenaries in one direction.

A man was approaching. Even in this deadly crisis, he looked utterly unperturbed, walking with a detached expression.

The nobles and knights quickly identified the man as Count Palatio.

“Vacuum.”

The moment he spoke again, the round shield morphed into a coarse, stone-like mass, roughly the size of a ball one might find on a roadside.

And then—

“Return to origin.”

With Alon’s last command, the bracelet on his wrist started to glow with a pale gray light.

Boom—!!!

The compressed rocks burst outwards like a shotgun blast, ripping dozens of goblins into shreds.

It was over in a second.

The nobles, knights, and mercenaries stood in shocked silence, their jaws slack as they watched the magic-imbued goblins torn into mere chunks of meat.

Among them, Count Crylde and Count Edolon stared with eyes wide enough to tear.

With everyone’s attention now fixed on Alon, he simply stated:

“Stop standing around stunned and prepare yourselves.”

His tone was even as he looked forward.

…The knights and mercenaries, as if enchanted, lifted their swords.

The fear that had been growing in their hearts had, as if by sorcery, disappeared completely.