Chapter 150: Slaud's Speech
Bosk Duchy, Stravburg.
Kai Xiusu gently pushed aside the concealed door hidden within the wall, stepping into the grand hall.
The members of the Arcane Hermitage had not yet all arrived, but the chamber was already abuzz with murmurs. Most faces were shadowed by a heavy veil of gloom—the dread of an uncertain future.
The Anzeta Chapter was composed mostly of Northern Nobles, accustomed to lives of luxury and indulgence. But now, the shadow of the Red Dragon loomed over the entire Northern Regions. Kingdoms trembled on the brink, and they feared that the flames of war would soon reach their own lands. Once the fires came, their noble status would be ashes.
Seeing Kai Xiusu enter, a tall, elegant Noblewoman stepped forward with a warm smile.
“Good day, Lord Ember.”
“Good day, Lady Tulip. You remain as radiant as ever.”
Kai Xiusu offered a courteous reply.
Not just her—several others approached, eager to engage in conversation, some even trying to curry favor.
At the last Arcane Hermitage gathering, his lavish display had drawn sharp attention. Rumors about his status swirled. The most widely accepted theory? That “Ember” was a bastard son of a Southern Faedran noble family, sent to carve out influence for his kin in Anzeta.
Yet even in her polished demeanor, the Lady Tulip’s eyes betrayed a flicker of unease.
Kai Xiusu feigned ignorance. “Is something troubling you, Lady Tulip?”
She exhaled deeply. “It’s not just me. Everyone here mourns the fall of the Duchy of Lakanman.”
“That Evil Dragon… he was terrifying. Utterly brutal. Rumor has it he trampled upon the sacred traditions of the Northern Regions, mercilessly slaughtering countless noble bloodlines. On that day, the Council Square ran red with blood.”
“Yes… truly horrifying,” Kai Xiusu murmured, nodding in agreement.
Another member chimed in. “Such tyranny cannot stand. Justice will rise.”
“He dared to place noble-born Northern blood on equal footing with commoners—those gray livestock! It’s an abomination!”
“This is a complete destruction of the Northern Order!”
“Indeed! That Evil Dragon will face retribution!”
“Our House Trelsh has already recruited Adventurers to hunt down the beast!”
“If war comes, the Duchy of Phano will stand firm! We will die before surrendering our lands to monsters!”
Kai Xiusu listened to their fiery words, quietly committing each voice, each name, each house to memory.
“So much fuss over a few dozen heads. These Northern Nobles really do overreact.”
“But no matter. We’ll take this one step at a time.”
“You’ll all learn to accept it eventually.”
He made a silent vow.
Unbeknownst to her, the noblewoman had no idea that her casual threat would one day bring ruin upon her own family.
As the crowd turned its gaze, the figure of the “Silver Star,” Olivia, reappeared in the hall.
“Good day, Lady Stellar,” Kai Xiusu greeted her warmly.
She did not reply aloud. Instead, a clear, melodic voice echoed only in his mind through mental communion.
“I asked my grandfather. He says the Golden Dragons have little love for this land—magic-thin as it is. Aside from one adult female, only a young male Golden Dragon resides here for now. If I recall correctly, you are Anher, son of the Ancient Golden Dragon Castro, am I right?”
She raised an eyebrow, her expression smug, as if she’d uncovered a secret.
Kai Xiusu froze for a moment, then suppressed a wry chuckle.
He hadn’t expected the self-proclaimed clever Silver Dragon to so effortlessly fill in the gaps of his cover story—saving him the trouble of fabricating a backstory.
So, neither confirming nor denying, he replied in kind through mental communion.
“Lady Stellar, prying into a member’s status is a violation of the Arcane Hermitage’s charter. As the head of this chapter, are you truly willing to set such a precedent?”
“You were the one—”
“I did not seek it out. I merely heard whispers. There’s a world of difference between rumor and deliberate intrusion.”
“Hmph. Pretending to be noble while hiding behind a mask.”
The opulent hall remained unchanged. At its center stood a vast circular table. The members of the Arcane Hermitage took their seats in order.
“Now that everyone has arrived…” Olivia began, ready to proceed with the usual agenda.
But before she could continue, a voice cut through the air.
She arched a brow, her expression subtly displeased—but still, she offered a polite nod, gesturing for the speaker to continue.
“Forgive my interruption, Lady Stellar.”
“I mean no disrespect to the meeting’s flow. But I believe there is something far more urgent that demands our attention. This aligns with Lord Talafelan Luo’s own words: ‘When necessary, unite against evil.’”
The speaker was none other than the “Gray Hawk,” Slaud.
His face, etched with deep lines of fatigue and sorrow, looked twenty years older than before. Now, his expression was grim, his eyes shadowed by a heavy cloak of grief.
“I will no longer hide my identity.”
“I was once a court mage of the Duchy of Lakanman. A noble of pure Northern blood. Now… I am but a wanderer—homeless, broken.”
A wave of pity swept across the hall. Even those who had harbored private doubts wore expressions of sorrow and sympathy.
Slaud’s voice cracked, growing hoarse.
“I witnessed with my own eyes as that Red Dragon annihilated our allied forces. I watched as he razed our cities to the ground—while I stood powerless.”
“Now, he has destroyed the nation I served. He oppresses my people with brutal cruelty. He massacres the nobles of the duchy without mercy.”
The words struck like ice. Members lowered their heads. Some wept openly.
Olivia’s brow furrowed.
“But my investigation reveals that the Duke Brad you served was, in fact, a vampire. The Kingdom of Ashen has not yet committed atrocities against civilians. Your claims… seem somewhat—”
She was cut off mid-sentence.
“Lady Stellar,” Slaud roared, his voice trembling with fury, “you are too kind. Too naive! By the gods, he is a Red Dragon—an embodiment of evil and brutality! And you still believe his lies?”
“A vampire? That’s slander! I say he is the true vampire—draining the lifeblood of the entire Northern Regions with greed!”
“And who can say what horrors he will unleash tomorrow? Today he slaughters nobles. Tomorrow, he may devour an entire city. The next day, he could swallow the whole of the Northern Regions!”
“I—” Olivia tried to speak, to remind him that her information came from spell-visions, not propaganda from Ashen.
But Slaud ignored her entirely. His words poured forth like a flood—passionate, relentless, unyielding.
The moment reached its crescendo.
Slaud rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping across the hall with solemn, tragic intensity.
“Ladies and gentlemen… the Duchy of Lakanman—four centuries of legacy—has fallen. The next? Norton Duchy. Then what? Who will be next?”
“If we do not act now, the next victim of that Evil Dragon’s wrath… may be one of you.”
(End of Chapter)
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