The territory of the Bright Household, Byolren.

Inside the mansion, preparations for the banquet were in full swing. Not only were they busy with cleaning the mansion but also decorating the banquet hall and bringing in the finest ingredients for various dishes.

Of course, it wasn't just the servants who were busy.

"We should aim for Darius Verdi."

Elliah Bright, who was Erica's older brother and the eldest son of the Bright Household, firmly declared.

Hearing that, the second son of the household, Edwon Bright, also nodded in agreement.

"That's right. I heard that he has a favorable attitude towards us and is very pleased about his younger brother, Deus Verdi's marriage."

"He even sent us separate gifts for this family meeting. It should be easier to persuade Darius rather than Soul Whisperer Deus Verdi."

Listening to the advice of his two eldest sons, Ellan, Erica Bright’s father and the head of household, let out a heavy sigh. He then rested his hands on the desk with his chin on them.

“The Verdi Household does not just compose of the eldest son. Moreover, it was Deus who first suggested holding a family meeting, so he might not be hostile to us.”

"But isn't that strange? Why would the Soul Whisperer, who is the rising power in the kingdom, marry Erica?"

"He must want something from us! If we let our guard down, only that cunning fox will be able to benefit!"

Despite the fervent support from his two sons, Ellan remained silent for a moment before checking the Verdi Household's family tree which was laid out on the desk.

Both parents had already passed away, leaving only the eldest son, Darius; his younger brother, Deus; and the youngest, their sister, Deia Verdi.

Ellan pointed to Deia's name and asked.

"What about this woman?"

"...We absolutely can’t get through that woman."

The eldest son, Elliah, responded with a frown as if just hearing Deia’s name gave him a headache.

"She's like the lady of the Verdi Household. While the eldest son, Darius, guards Norseweden, and the second son, Deus, is spending time at the Academy as the Soul Whisperer, she governs Norseweden."

"Hmm."

"We once sent them a gift after the Zeronia Household collapsed quickly. It was a bribe to not forsake the marriage relationship between our families, but..."

Elliah took a deep breath, as if reminded of the memories of that event.

"In return, they sent us a letter and flowers.”

Despite being quite modest compared to the luxurious gifts that were sent by the Bright Household, the response alone showed that they were very grateful.

The contents of the letter were quite friendly.

They expressed that once a bond was formed, it was not easy to break, and how they trusted the Bright Household, and so on.

However, the letter itself was literally just lip service; the real problem lay with the flowers.

"They were white flowers called Snow Flower, which only bloom in Norseweden. And... they had already withered on the way here."

"..."

"There was no way we could miss the meaning behind their gift. While the letters talked about maintaining a strong relationship, the flowers expressed how our relationship had already decayed."

Deia had used the Snow Flower to convey that the relationship between Bright and Verdi Households was over.

"Do you understand? They already knew that we were trying to establish a new bridge called the Zeronia Household. Deus was also the one who dealt with the nobles through the bishops and strengthened the royal authority. The moment we mess around with them, an Inferno will strike.”

Elliah exclaimed while slamming the desk.

"Deia Verdi? That woman is probably raising several snakes in her belly. She's the Viper of Norseweden. The person we must aim for is definitely! Definitely Darius Verdi!"

"Hmm."

Seeing that even Ellan, who was the head of the household, finally seemed to agree, Elliah's voice grew louder.

"He's the giant who decided to become the kingdom's protector. Our goal is to target that man, who is honest and loyal. Fortunately, as he is the eldest son and the head of the household, he can't ignore his younger siblings."

Targeting Darius—that was the Bright Household's strategy.

And just like this, time passed.

Two carriages entered the estate.

In one were Deus Verdi and Erica Bright.

And from the other, Deia Verdi descended.

"There is an issue at our territory, so the head of the household is unable to attend the meeting."

At Deia’s words, the shoulders of the Bright Household members slumped as if someone had just pressed down on them. They realized that this family meeting would be more challenging than ever.

* * *

He thought he had surely won.

Darius' thick greatsword pierced through the heat and explosions without wavering, aiming straight for his opponent's heart. And indeed, it did make contact.

However, if someone asked if that led to victory in the battle, it did not; it did not even pierce through flesh.

Thud!

What echoed from the forceful push was not the sound of flesh tearing but the chilling clang of sturdy armor.

"…!"

Darius widened his eyes. What he saw inside the coat of Doberman torn by his greatsword was a dull black garment he had never seen before

It was very different from what could be considered armor from Griffin Kingdom. However, its sturdiness far exceeded that of iron armor for it to be assessed as ordinary clothing.

Protection.

This was known to be worn by the elite extermination units of the Clark Republic, it was protective gear when worn, could never be taken off.

Therefore, it possessed a formidable defense to the extent that even Findenai couldn't normally penetrate it, and had to face the extermination units using another method.

The moment he saw it, Darius immediately knew that it was the so-called Protection. Since information about the Clark Republic was hard to come by, he owed it to the Scrapyard Nomads who lingered in his territory.

I heard he had been brainwashed.

The unique device implanted at the back of the neck seemed to have been a brainwashing device, and they also forced him to don the Protection as well.

However, that was not a reason for Darius to spare him.

After all, the ones who got brainwashed were dimwits.

"Huuueeeeub!"

Even if he couldn't pierce the Protection, it didn't mean he couldn't harm the wearer. After tilting his sword to the side, Darius readied to swing his greatsword in a slashing rather than a cutting motion.

Creakkkkk!

Doberman suddenly threw his body forward as if dodging the greatsword. Darius was taken aback by the unexpected response.

However, he abandoned his revolver and took out a spherical bomb the size of his palm from his coat pocket.

Seeing that, Darius instantly realized.

He’s going to blow both of us up!

It was too late to react. The bombs hidden all over Doberman's body began to explode.

Darius was swept away by the blast.

Although he had already endured the explosions several times, the impact at close range was different.

"Damn… it."

Darius, who was charred black, had his upper body armor turn into ashes. He spat out black smoke from his mouth as he fell backwards.

Meanwhile, Doberman, who detonated the bombs, remained unscathed thanks to the Protection.

Although his coat and hat were blown away, Doberman, who initially wouldn’t be able to win against a formidable opponent like Darius, was able to win.

Nevertheless, without any emotion, Doberman picked up his revolver lying on the ground.

As the revolver's muzzle was aimed at Darius's temple and the trigger was about to be pulled…

Thud!

A blunt axe flew in, striking Doberman's hand. Simultaneously, the revolver and the axe fell to the ground.

Beyond the axe stuck in the ground, a woman with blood-red eyes and striking white hair could be seen.

She had discarded her usual revealing maid outfit, and was now wearing a yellow coat with a black shirt and pants. On her hand was the Hand of Hemomancy gifted by Deus.

"Fin… den… ai!"

"Doberman."

Doberman, who moments ago, went wild without any reaction, growled as he glared at Findenai.

Meeting his gaze, Findenai calmly picked up her axe.

"You idiotic bastard."

Simultaneously, the Scraypard Nomads members rushed in behind Findenai. They arrived earlier than expected, but as it was time to leave Norseweden, they quickly followed their leader, who had returned to Norseweden.

They were also standing there to settle the debt they owed to Norseweden.

Findenai took out a cigarette from her pocket.

It was the one he had given her.

If she smoked it now, there would only be seven left. It felt like she used them faster than she thought, and she regretted it. However…

Fwoosh.

Sizzle.

Findenai lit the cigarette with a lighter, savoring the taste deeply once again.

Strangely, whenever she inhaled this cigarette, and enveloped herself in its smoke, she felt as if he was accompanying her.

"Leave that bear-like guy over there alone and come at me."

Even without her saying that, Doberman was already coming straight for her. He picked up the revolver that he dropped by rolling over and immediately pulled the trigger.

Indeed, it was a shot worthy of him being called the best marksman among the Resistance.

However, when Doberman aimed the muzzle at Findenai and pulled the trigger, she was already standing right next to him.

Life in the Clark Republic was much more intense than here.

However, after following Deus Verdi around, she had faced various kinds of enemies.

Therefore, despite less than a year passing since she first crossed the mountain range, she had undergone significant growth.

Meanwhile, Doberman’s skill was indeed impressive, he also had a natural talent for commanding people from the start. Additionally, thanks to the Clark Republic’s cheat-like equipment, he was able to win against Margrave Darius.

However, if they were to face each other again, it would probably be difficult for him to secure another victory.

Anyway,

When it came to close range, Doberman wasn't a match for Findenai.

Thwack!

After throwing her axe to the ground, Findenai quickly grabbed Doberman's head and pulled it forward.

With her other hand, she grabbed the brainwashing device at the back of his neck and pulled it out.

Crunch!

"Kaaaaargh!"

Doberman's scream echoed. She then threw the brainwashing device, which oozed thick blood as well as a piece of Doberman’s flesh stuck to it.

"What the..."

Inside the brainwashing device, something squirmed and wriggled in agony along with the blood.

It seemed that the device was simply for fixation and these insects played some central role.

However, Findenai crushed it under her foot.

"Hey."

Doberman, who was feeling a lot of pain, had crouched his body. When Findenai picked up her axe, Doberman stared at her.

A few seconds passed like that.

Findenai then spoke to Doberman in a cold, detached tone.

"Stop acting, you motherfucker."

Bang!

An explosive sound and white smoke erupted from Doberman's crouched body.

Although he aimed at Findenai and pulled the trigger while crouching, the bullet was blocked by the axe, falling helplessly to the ground.

"Something's been off since the last time."

She had sensed it ever since she returned to the Clark Republic and the meeting area where Doberman held was attacked.

Although she confirmed that the woman named Lexi was the traitor, Findenai still sensed something fishy afterwards.

"After all, a traitor doesn't just have to be a single person, right?"

Doberman slowly rose from his crouched position. His expression was so calm that it seemed as if the man who was previously in agony wasn't him.

"You truly are a beast, Findenai."

"You really sold out your compatriots? You've chosen a great name, Doberman, you mutt bastard."

"They weren't my compatriots; I was a member of the extermination unit from the start."

"So that’s why you planted bugs in your body? Even though you’re part of the extermination unit, your body really is full of parasites."

"This is a token of my loyalty to the President."

"Ha, you crazy mutt bastard."

Click.

In the middle of the conversation, Doberman quickly got into position and aimed the revolver at Findenai.

Since he had already been discovered, he intended to at least eliminate Findenai, the most dangerous resistance member.

However, before he knew it, Doberman was already rolling on the ground. A moment later, he realized that the impact and dizziness were caused by an axe precisely striking his temple.

"Phew."

Holding the cigarette in one hand, Findenai deeply exhaled the smoke and used the axe to firmly pin down Doberman's shoulder joint.

"W-wait!"

Since Findenai knew how to kill those from the extermination units wearing Protection, Doberman hurriedly shouted.

However…

Crack!

Findenai precisely stepped around the Doberman’s neck area. Although there was no external wound, the shock itself couldn't be completely nullified.

Therefore, it was effective to deal with him by either striking his head to cause dizziness, or breaking the neck bone inside this way.

Although the Protection couldn't be damaged, one could still cause harm to the person wearing it.

Looking down at Doberman, who had died with his white eyes showing, Findenai turned around without a shred of hesitation.

"Fin… denai..."

"Master Bastard… Ah no, he’s not Master Bastard anymore now…"

Darius barely regained his senses when he called her name out, but Findenai was mumbling something to herself.

Her expression held an unspeakable bitterness.

"Give my regards to Deus. And don't forget that I saved you."

"W-w-where... are you going... cough!"

"Hey, quickly treat him and take him to where the soldiers are. He’s already helped us a lot, so we should at least do this much."

Watching her members take care of Darius, Findenai suddenly noticed that the cigarette she was smoking had almost burned out.

"Phew."

After taking one final deep drag from the cigarette, she flicked the butt onto the ground.

Findenai then looked towards the mountain range and declared.

"Let's go! Back to our shitty homeland."