PS2. I saw someone complaining that the Red Duke seems weak, but I want to say that it's actually because the protagonist is already very strong. Moreover, the Red Duke was never particularly powerful; if you've paid attention to the history I've described before, the Red Duke has been defeated many times. He's just good at escaping.
As long as the sorceress's teleportation spell is interrupted, these people will find it hard to escape today. Manfred's face was filled with hatred. This is the second time; he must kill Ryan this time!
At this moment, Ryan moved. He was filled with powerful psychic energy, and his eyes were enveloped by a vortex of psychic power.
He was recalling the psychic skills taught to him by the Emperor. Ever since he was tricked by Manfred, he had been planning to hit the vampire count hard, and now, his plan was in motion.
This ability, known by the Emperor and the Warp creature Makado, was something Ryan had no reason not to know. However, the energy consumption was too great, and he could only use it once in a battle.
"Kill him! Kill Ryan Makado! For Aibo-Wallace!" The Blood Knights gathered, and five or six long spears stabbed at Ryan together.
As the spear tips stabbed in unison, something shocking happened to all the Blood Knights. Ryan's body exploded in a light blue psychic light, turning into countless fragments. It seemed like the spears hit him, but then he was gone.
This scene stunned everyone in the battle.
Three seconds left until the teleportation spell was activated.
Then, all the glowing fragments suddenly reassembled behind Manfred. It was Ryan! Incredibly, he had televersed through space, and the Avenger Goddess penetrated Manfred's chest from behind, splattering black blood.
Two seconds left until the teleportation spell was activated.
"Ah!" Manfred was severely injured, covering his chest with his hands. His assault was interrupted, and Ryan immediately withdrew the Avenger Goddess, shouting, "Alfred, Gerard! Let's go!"
Manfred was thrown towards the Blood Knights, and Alfred and Gerard immediately abandoned the fight. Despite being struck from behind, they leaped towards Theresa, and the Blood Knights were knocked down by Manfred's body.
One second left until the teleportation spell was activated.
"Go!" Theresa barely lifted her staff, and the long-prepared teleportation spell finally activated. The three men touched the sorceress's staff together.
A yellow light illuminated the camp.
Then, all was silent.
...
In the Duchy of Bordeleaux, Turris Castle.
A yellow teleportation light shone in the middle of the castle, and several people fell from the void to the ground.
"Who goes there?!" The appearance of several strangers immediately alerted the castle's guards. The Sea God Knights completely surrounded the newcomers, weapons drawn.
"It's me!" Among the four people who fell, only one stood up. The badge of the Grail Knight Commander on his chest indicated his identity, and the Sea God Knights immediately bowed and saluted: "Lord Ryan!"
"We need a doctor!" Ryan barely stood up and shouted to the nearby soldiers. Theresa's magical power couldn't support long-distance teleportation, so Ryan had planned in advance to directly teleport inside Turris Castle.
Many castles do not welcome uninvited teleporters and have prohibitions, but Ryan was prepared.
Theresa was completely exhausted from using too much magic and had passed out. Alfred lay listlessly on the grass inside the castle, weakly asking, "Are we dead?"
"Not yet!" Gerard replied through gritted teeth.
"Ryan! Gerard!" Francois and Bodrick quickly arrived, and several Lake God prophets and doctors immediately attended to Alfred and Gerard's wounds.
Lake God prophets also tried to treat Ryan, but he gestured that he didn't need it.
What he brought out was the head of the Red Duke and the Sword of Aquitaine.
"This is?!" Francois and Bodrick widened their eyes: "The Red Duke's head?!"
"I ended him." Ryan carried Theresa and softly said, "In the Lady's name, I've ended him completely."
"The Red Duke is beheaded, and the siege weapons have been completely destroyed." Francois stroked his beard, squinting his eyes: "We've won this war! Well done, Ryan!"
"Hard work, Ryan." Bodrick couldn't help but smile; this was the best news he had heard in a while.
"You too, Gerard, and Alfred." Francois nodded.
"To fight for the Lady, it's our duty." Gerard was weak; among those who participated in the mission, he was the most severely injured. He was covered in blood, and after a quick examination by the Lake God prophet, it was evident how fierce the battle had been. The deepest wound was only a few centimeters away from his heart.
Alfred's injuries were less severe. Paladins were particularly resilient in their profession. In the most critical moment, he activated the Holy Shield spell, saving his life, but his Paladin armor was completely destroyed, and the broken shield was simply thrown in the vampire's siege camp.
Theresa was held in Ryan's arms. The Champion of the Lady of the Lake looked at the pale, unconscious sorceress and sighed softly. Theresa was willing to join him on the front lines and stay behind to cover their retreat. She even overdrawn her bloodline power to fight Manfred in order to protect him.
The sorceress never expressed her feelings in words, but her actions had already told Ryan everything she wanted to say.
"Your lover? She's a powerful sorceress." Francois saw Ryan unbuttoning the sorceress's leather jacket, helping her take off her boots and socks, and placing her on the bed originally arranged for Ryan's rest, so he said with a smile.
The duke himself had several female courtiers, including one of the Lake God prophets who treated everyone just now, who was also his lover. Francois didn't think there was anything wrong, but he was a bit curious why Ryan, as the Champion of the Lady of the Lake, didn't choose to let the Lake God prophets serve him.
However, since the Lady of the Lake didn't say anything, Francois didn't inquire further.
"Not yet." Ryan gently shook his head. Theresa's body was severely overdrawn, and the sorceress might need to rest for several months.
Now, with the vampire army still outside the castle and Ryan and others injured, they couldn't leave the castle immediately. They had to settle down first, use water blessed by the Lake God prophets to clean their wounds, to prevent poisoning or corruption from the vampire's swords.
After Ryan bathed and changed clothes, Francois was already waiting in his bedroom: "How are you, Ryan? All good? I'd like to take this opportunity to talk to you."
"I'm not badly hurt." Ryan shook his head. He had some minor injuries, but it wasn't serious.
Turris Castle's rooms were very simple, with only the most basic living supplies and furniture. A servant brought in many white bread, vegetables, and a lot of meat. Francois, elegantly stroking his beard in his blue and white mithril full body armor, covered
with a shiny cloak, couldn't hide his admiration and affection for Ryan, his future son-in-law. He liked him more and more: "Ryan, you've brought me surprise after surprise. This time, your earldom is secured."
Ryan devoured his food hungrily, the intense battle making him famished. But hearing Francois's words, Ryan stopped, puzzled. He wiped his mouth with a napkin: "Killing the Red Duke is indeed a great achievement, but... will Richard be willing to promote me again? Last time I saved Morgiana from Manfred's hands, King Richard didn't react at all."
"What? Feeling unjust?" Francois smiled: "You became the Champion of the Lady and own the Lady's tower, isn't that enough?"
"Victory warrants no explanation, and defeat excuses none." Ryan softly quoted a famous Emperor's saying.
The meaning is that fighting against darkness and eradicating evil isn't something that needs to be greatly acclaimed because this is the basis on which we survive in this world. Similarly, there's no good explanation for failure; you must bear the consequences of failure yourself.
"I'm just puzzled. For the previous merits, our King didn't react at all, but why are you so sure I will definitely be promoted to an earl this time?" Ryan raised his question.
"Understanding this point, Ryan, you've surprised me again." Francois nodded. The duke said, "But you're obviously misunderstanding something. Saving Morgiana, our King can choose not to reward, but by killing the Red Duke and burning all the vampire siege engines to ashes, our King has to reward, and he must do so generously."
"Please enlighten me, my duke." Ryan became serious, respectfully asking Francois for guidance.
Ryan was very sophisticated and mature in human relationships, but he was obviously still far behind Francois in the game of nobility and court intrigue.
"Saving Morgiana, rewarding you is not difficult, but what after the reward? How would our King balance his power? The power balance between the Lady of the Lake and the King is already ambiguous. On normal days, the boundary between the King's power and the Lady of the Lake's power is very vague. They seem to not interfere with each other, with the King as the main and the Lady of the Lake as the auxiliary, but don't forget, the Lady of the Lake has more than once deposed a king and then appointed a new king herself." Francois's sea-blue eyes were filled with wisdom.
Ryan realized: "I see, each to their own, each keeping to their place. I only saw that I rescued Morgiana, but I didn't notice the balance of power between the King and the Lady of the Lake."
"Right, from a certain perspective, Richard might even be grateful to you because Morgiana's severe injury made him more free. But if he rewarded you, how would the kingdom's court balance? If you had been in my position for twenty years, you wouldn't have so many questions." Francois didn't hesitate to point out to Ryan: "But on the other hand, this time you killed the Red Duke, our King has to show something. Ryan, tell me, from whom does the King's power come?"
"Traditionally, the King's power comes from the Lady." Ryan chose the most standard answer.
Francois curled his lips: "Ryan, your words are not entirely correct. Yes, the King is given by the Lady, but the King's authority is given by all the nobles of the kingdom. If Richard can't get the support and endorsement of the nobles, he might have the title of King but can't even mobilize a squad of knights. Then, what use is being a King?"
"Every knight of Britannia forms the entire noble system of the kingdom. To command all the knights of the kingdom, it's not about whether you have the title of King, but whether you can make the entire kingdom willingly obey." Francois sat on the chair, softly saying to Ryan: "Authority lies below, not above, otherwise the title of King is just a castle in the air."
"So, during the knightly war in the Athel Loren forest, I advised you to step back, because at that time you didn't have much capital to fight for anything. But this time, I think you should go further. The Red Duke has brought us too many painful memories. Your killing of him is what everyone wanted, and you deserve what you want, otherwise the entire kingdom's knights will have opinions. Richard already has such limited authority, being smart, he knows that not only does he need to reward you this time, but he also needs to promote you exceptionally, to satisfy the entire kingdom's nobility. We should go further, Ryan." Francois smiled.
"I see."
Inside the city, Ryan and Francois were discussing in secret, while outside, in the vampire army's camp.
Manfred painfully covered his chest, the vampire count with a terrible wound left by a backstab. The white flame of purification penetrated his bones and decaying flesh, relentlessly seeping into his body. No matter what the vampire count tried, he couldn't extinguish the terrible flame. Finally, when the flame burned close to his heart, Manfred had no choice but to cut off his arm—he tore off all the flesh burned by the flame, then gasped heavily.
"The Red Duke is dead, his soul destroyed, he can never be revived." The Red Duke's death shocked the entire vampire forces of Mousillon, forcing the Lich King Arkhan to immediately rush to the frontline.
"Ryan Makado and his companions teleported into Turris Castle!" Manfred, covering his chest, said with a huge, terrible wound: "The siege weapons are destroyed, we can't take Turris Castle!"
"Ah! Again, Ryan Makado!" Lich King Arkhan, leaning on his staff, spoke angrily: "Time after time, he always ruins my plans... To kill the Red Duke, that squad of Blood Knights must have also been wiped out by him."
"He's injured now, trapped in Turris Castle... Arkhan, this is an opportunity, a good opportunity. The war is lost, but we still have the chance to bring pain to this country, especially to Ryan Makado!" Manfred roared unwillingly, offering a suggestion: "Now, we march overnight, crossing the Châlons Forest. We will slaughter Ryan Makado's entire domain! We will give him an unforgettable painful memory!"
Lich King Arkhan hesitated, the blue flames in his eyes wavering, somewhat indecisive. Turris Castle had tens of thousands of elite troops, elite city defenses, and dwarf cannons, plus Francois, a Holy Grail Knight of the Sanctuary level, and the Green Knight had just appeared here. They had no chance of taking Turris Castle.
On the contrary, the domain of Baron Jean was left defenseless, its elite forces all out, even Ryan himself had come to the frontlines.
Moreover, Lich King Arkhan had always suspected that Morgiana might be recuperating within Baron Jean's domain.
Arkhan's heart was torn, seeing Manfred's determination, he finally nodded: "Let's do as you say."
"But before that, let's find a way to deceive the defenders."
...
Meanwhile, inside the Châlons Forest, three golden lights descended from the sky. Below, in the forest, the Devourer gene-seed bearer An
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