Alon already had some understanding of why the nobles blatantly ignored him.

“Because all the rumors have finally died down.”

Until now, the nobles had feared Alon because they believed he was the mastermind behind taking down Avalon, which had controlled the vast underworld of the East alongside Leo. 

However, the nobles no longer considered Alon to be the mastermind. After he became a count, he had done nothing significant for several years.

The Palatio Count family, from the time of Alon’s grandfather, had always been known as a notorious household that never failed to wield influence in the underworld. The Palatio family had consistently dominated the Eastern underworld, though the degree of their control varied over time.

But ever since Alon became the count, the Palatio family no longer exerted influence in the underworld. As a result, the current Eastern underworld was now divided and devoured by packs of wolves that used to scavenge for the leftover crumbs outside the domain governed by the Palatio Count.

Furthermore, the power of the Palatio Count family had also weakened, which was natural. The power they wielded up until now had mostly been fueled by the wealth generated from the underworld. However, since Alon became count, he no longer used money to maintain power. His desired life was not one of grand success in the underworld, but rather, a comfortable and prosperous life that any noble could enjoy.

In other words, he had already achieved what he wanted. 

However, by completely withdrawing from the underworld, rumors began to spread among the nobles. 

Some speculated that perhaps the current Count Palatio wasn’t a mastermind at all, but merely someone who became count by chance.

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As time passed and Alon continued to do nothing, the rumor gradually became accepted as truth. 

Eventually, Alon’s reputation had devolved into that of a “lucky fool who happened to become count in the place of the real mastermind.”

Of course, there were still a few nobles who remained suspicious of Alon, but even they had begun to agree with the spreading rumors. 

After all, it didn’t make sense that Alon, if he truly had the power to destroy Avalon in a single day, would not have used that power until now.

In any case, Alon had somewhat expected this kind of treatment, but he hadn’t anticipated that people would go out of their way to mock him like this.

Alon looked up at the two nobles, whose faces radiated slyness. He didn’t recognize either of them.

However, based on the crest engraved on their carriage, it was easy to tell that one was from the Crylde Count family, and the other from the Edolon Count family.

‘They both look old enough, but isn’t this too childish?’

Alon laughed to himself as he noted how aged their faces were.

He quickly understood why the two nobles had come all this way just to mock him.

‘…Ah, I see. This is a gathering of the victims.’

The Palatio family, notorious as they were, had also been a powerful family in the underworld. As a result, they naturally provided benefits to the surrounding families but also exploited them beyond necessity. 

The families that were frequently treated like tools were none other than the Crylde Count family and the Edolon Count family.

To summarize the current situation, these families, who had suffered under the Palatio family, were now venting their grievances on Alon. 

Of course, it wasn’t Alon but Leo, the first son of the count family, who had exploited them. 

In short, Alon had no real reason to be the target of such mockery. 

But to the two nobles who were eagerly mocking him, what mattered wasn’t that he was Alon but that he was the Count of Palatio.

“All those underworld forces you had, did they vanish because you couldn’t manage them properly?”

“Looks like you haven’t been taking care of your carriage properly either. Would you like to borrow some money?” 

The two counts, like anonymous trolls commonly found on online communities, made every effort to scratch at Alon.

“Hmm.”

Alon briefly thought, ‘This is kind of annoying’, but he chose to follow his reason rather than his instincts. 

If he were to fight now, he could easily crush the two nobles before him—maybe not slaughter them, but leave them beaten to a pulp. However, doing so would only complicate things. The moment he fought with them, Alon would have to leave the gathering and move separately. And that might lead to unnecessary trouble, like running into bandits.

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Clearly, responding to their provocations was exactly what they wanted. 

‘There’s no need to entertain these fools,’ Alon decided to ignore them.

He wasn’t stupid enough to fall into such an obvious trap.

That day, Alon ate two ears of corn, using the jeers from the two counts as background music.

‘Delicious.’

The roasted corn tasted even better in the slightly chilly weather.

‘It would’ve been nice to have some butter,’ Alon mused, staring absentmindedly at the moonlit sky.

***

For the next few days, the uncomfortable coexistence continued. 

Every evening, Count Crylde and Count Edolon would emerge to hurl their mocking remarks, and every time, Alon pretended not to care, brushing off their words as if they were nothing.

The one who ignores and the one who tries desperately not to be ignored. Naturally, the one who ignored always won. 

Alon had deeply internalized one of the life lessons he had learned from a certain online community: ‘Don’t feed the trolls.’

At least in this place, no one could beat him at that game.

Of course, after several days of this, other nobles began to mock Alon as well, whispering that he lacked dignity as a noble or scoffing at him for staying silent under the insults of Crylde and Edolon.

But despite this, Count Crylde and Count Edolon, who had been the ones persistently mocking him, were not feeling particularly satisfied.

“Damn it,” growled Count Crylde.

“This is absurd…”

Count Crylde frowned as he looked at Alon from a distance. Even though they had been mocking him, they were the ones being ignored, which was naturally infuriating.

But after a moment of their sour mood, they exchanged low whispers.

“Did you confirm?”

“Yes, and it seems like he has no additional guards.”

In truth, the reason the two counts had openly mocked Alon wasn’t just to vent their frustrations. It was also to assess his security.

“…Even with an artifact to secretly check, there was nothing. It’s just that foolish brat and that rogue knight sitting next to him.”

“So the rumors are true after all.”

“It seems certain. If he had any forces, he wouldn’t be moving around alone.”

“Then we can proceed with the plan.”

The reason the two counts had been investigating Alon was because they were planning to expand into the underworld.

They were well aware that Alon had no interest in the underworld, and that, as a result, it had become overrun by various packs of scavengers. While the rumors about Alon were already widely accepted, the two counts—having been tormented by the Palatio family for so long—wanted to confirm the truth for themselves. 

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They needed to be sure that Alon truly had no power left.

After days of checking and confirming that Alon had no personal guards, a smile spread across their faces.

“The gods are smiling upon us.” 

“Indeed. Who would’ve thought we’d get a chance to step into the underworld?”

While most nobles hesitated to enter the underworld, these two were different. Having once acted as lackeys for the Palatio Count family, they knew full well just how astronomical the wealth circulating within the underworld was.

They were well aware of how sweet the taste of power from that realm could be.

Now that it seemed the Palatio family had truly become a hollow shell, the two spoke excitedly, as if they had already conquered the underworld.

In truth, it wasn’t impossible for them to seize control of the underworld if they joined forces. After all, the reason they hadn’t been able to do so before was not due to a lack of power, but because they had feared the Palatio Count family.

Thus, after their lengthy discussion, they turned their attention back to Alon.

“…If we take control of the ‘back,’ we should give that fool a gift, don’t you think?”

“That’s an excellent idea. There’s a limit to how much one can ignore others.”

“He’s probably acting this way because he doesn’t understand how dangerous the world can be. We’ll have to teach him.”

“Count Crylde has such a fine personality.” 

The two counts, wearing fishy grins that were far from noble, as if they had done nothing wrong, were confident that the moment they had been waiting for would come soon. 

Just as the two were about to rejoin the camp where the other nobles were gathered after finishing their private conversation, 

“Monsters!”

The event happened suddenly. Under the cover of darkness, monsters appeared. 

It was as if they had been lying in ambush, waiting silently, until a soldier spotted them by chance and shouted. 

At that moment, monstrous cries echoed from within the forest, as if on cue. 

Immediately, the mercenaries and knights, as if rehearsed, drew their weapons to protect the nobles.

And then—

“Wizard, give us light!”

A wizard, extravagantly brought along by a noble purely for boasting purposes at this Grand Church event, responded to the knight’s command and cast an orb of light into the sky.

In an instant—

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The mercenaries and knights, who had been noisy just moments earlier, fell silent.

What they saw when the light from the wizard illuminated the dark forest were goblins.

Goblins are commonly found in forests. With the strength of a child, they are not dangerous monsters for anyone other than rookie mercenaries. 

Though the rusty swords and bows they wield can be dangerous, they pose little threat to seasoned mercenaries and knights. 

Goblins only become troublesome when their numbers swell, but even with dozens of them, they can still be easily driven off. 

However—

“…This is insane…”

If their numbers are enough to fill the forest before them, then they are undoubtedly a threat to the knights and mercenaries. 

Moreover, what heightened the tension for the knights was that the goblins before them were far from ordinary.

“…What on earth is that?” 

A knight’s voice, laced with both fear and confusion, was directed at the sight of the goblins. 

The problem wasn’t just that they were goblins—it was their grotesque appearance.

Purple crystals were growing all over their bodies, including their heads, as if they had been afflicted by some kind of plague.

To make matters worse—

“Wait, isn’t that Mark?”

Among the horde of goblins, the body of a seasoned mercenary who had been assigned to external surveillance for precautionary measures was being devoured savagely.

“Krrk—”

In the hands of a massive goblin was what remained of Mark’s body. 

The mercenaries who saw this sight—

“This… this can’t be happening…”

—felt a rising wave of fear within them.

Mark, the mutilated corpse in front of them, was a veteran mercenary who could easily handle dozens of goblins on his own. 

The fact that he had been killed without even being able to report the approach of this massive goblin horde suggested one thing to the mercenaries: 

The mutated goblins before them were anything but ordinary.

The knights, who were holding their weapons alongside the mercenaries, also recognized that this was a dire situation. 

Even if there were only hundreds of goblins, this fight would be incredibly unfavorable for the knights.

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

And goblins were cunning monsters, capable of easily exploiting that vulnerability.

While the mercenaries seemed to be paralyzed with fear at the sight of the goblins’ strange appearance and Mark’s death, the knights who could sense magic were aware of something more.

They realized that the goblins before them were imbued with magic power.

Even a small amount of magic within a monster significantly enhances its physical abilities, and the knights understood this well.

Just as the knights were grimacing at the goblins’ bizarre howls and their impending charge—

Thud!

A wall of stones and rubble suddenly rose from the midst of the goblin horde.

All eyes were instantly drawn to it.

The wizard, who had cast the light spell, recognized that the wall was a “Rock Wall,” a third-tier spell. 

As the translucent barrier of a second-tier shield formed beyond the wall, the knights’ expressions shifted from despair to confusion. 

The goblins’ malicious stares were now entirely focused on the wall. 

“Enhance!” 

A calm voice echoed through the air.

And then—

“Compress.”

With a loud cracking sound, the translucent sphere rapidly shrank, distorting the stone wall as it collapsed inward.

Thud, thud—

In the ensuing silence, the sound of footsteps drew the attention of the knights and mercenaries to one direction.

A man was approaching. Even in this life-threatening situation, he appeared completely unfazed, walking with an indifferent expression.

The nobles and knights quickly realized that the man was Count Palatio.

“Vacuum.”

As soon as his lips moved again, the round shield transformed into a rough, rock-like shape, about the size of a soccer ball you might find by the roadside.

And then—

“Return to origin.”

With Alon’s final words, the bracelet on his wrist began to emit a faint gray light.

Boom—!!!

The compressed stones exploded outward like a shotgun blast, tearing dozens of goblins to pieces.

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It all happened in an instant.

The nobles, knights, and mercenaries stood in stunned silence, their mouths agape as they watched the magic-infused goblins get shredded into mere lumps of flesh.

Among them, Count Crylde and Count Edolon’s eyes widened as if they were about to tear apart.

With all eyes now on Alon, he simply said:

“Stop standing there in a daze and get ready.”

His voice was calm as he looked ahead.

…The knights and mercenaries, as if mesmerized, raised their swords.

The fear that had been spreading in their hearts had, as if by magic, vanished entirely.