Ident immediately put his prepared scheme into action.
“I’m going to the Hausen Viscountcy in the south.”
From the perspective of the Marquis of Owen’s House, the north, the Hausen Viscountcy was a family confronting Duke Jisert.
Positioned at the very front line for the Marquis of Owen’s House, they had been coveting the Earl’s Territory and also bore the duty of keeping Duke Jisert, who sometimes aimed secret maneuvers at them, in check.
It was only because the Marquis of Owen’s House had been suspicious for generations that they hadn’t granted them an Earldom.
Their power was by no means weak.
‘Even so, they’re no match for Duke Jisert.’
The problem was that the Viscountcy was wavering.
As the internal strife within the Owen Marquisate dragged on, even the Hausen Viscount, one of the few holding out with grit, was gradually facing difficulties.
In this situation, Duke Jisert’s movements were like the final nail in the coffin to crush them.
It was into this situation that Ident stepped forward.
The weakened Hausen Viscount’s eyes were still sharp.
“It’s been a while.”
“Hah… What brings a crow here? You’re not one to show yourself easily, are you?”
Seeing Ident suddenly reveal himself, the Hausen Viscount wasn’t surprised.
Even though crows moved while hiding themselves, moving about everywhere meant their identity could be exposed sometimes.
‘Still the same. At least his personal martial prowess is strong. The problem is that’s all there is to it.’
The Hausen Viscount had encountered Ident like this several times before.
Sometimes for the covert operations they engaged in against each other, and other times to jointly keep an eye on the movements of Duke Jisert’s House.
As the dominant power of a region, the Hausen Viscount was by no means a weak man.
The Viscount brought up a frightening topic with a smiling face.
“Did you come here to be captured and meet your death? Even if I’ve weakened, I think I could bring down one of your level.”
“Your jokes are still excessive.”
“It’s no joke. In a situation like this, if I were to offer your head, it could become a valuable tribute. A crow tribute. Not bad, right?”
“…You’re serious.”
“Hohoh. If it means I can live, what wouldn’t I do?”
At least the Hausen Viscount’s eyes were serious.
His family’s situation was precarious.
In this situation, the head of Crow Unit Leader Ident could become a valuable sacrifice.
If the head of Ident, who could be considered one pillar of the Count of Ophern’s House, were to be taken…
‘Many would laugh.’
Greater chaos than expected would erupt.
Using that chaos, the Hausen Viscount would likely move to save his own family.
He might even be calculating that even if he himself died, he could save his family.
With the Count of Ophern’s House gaining momentum daily, the Marquis of Owen’s House wavering, and Duke Jisert eyeing the south and north, for the Hausen Viscount, who had become the weaker party, such a calculation wasn’t bad.
It might be the way a fox survives caught between tigers.
In this respect, the now-dead Marquis Owen and the Hausen Viscount were similar.
But, being a fox…
‘He’s someone who knows how to calculate.’
The Viscount’s insight into his surroundings was by no means shallow.
That’s why Ident had come to make a deal with him, staking his life.
“You don’t particularly want to live either, do you? Since you’re going to die anyway, wouldn’t it be better to die honorably?”
“Funny talk. If you’d said that twenty years ago, I might have been tempted. I want to live. Sincerely.”
“You want to save your family, not yourself, right?”
Ident’s words hit the Hausen Viscount’s weak spot.
He was already on the verge of death.
His eyes were sharp, but his body was old.
He only had enough strength to make a brilliant sacrifice on the battlefield.
Ident saw through that.
That’s precisely why he had come here.
“I’ll ensure your family survives even if you die. Not a bad deal, is it? As long as they live, they can rise again someday.”
“Funny talk.”
The Viscount dismissed Ident’s words.
Ident wasn’t bothered.
“Your family’s lives depend on this funny talk.”
“Grooooooar!”
Gooo.
Instantly, the Viscount’s aura surged.
An intense aura strong enough to make an ordinary person kneel.
But Ident withstood it.
There was no change, no retreat.
At that sight, the Viscount’s eyebrow twitched.
It clearly meant he was surprised.
“…So the rumors about a new Auran Yeongongbeop appearing in Ophern were true.”
“Correct. And not just one or two. Quite a few techniques have spread. It’s hardly a secret anymore.”
“Damn it! I don’t know what that old coot Marquis Owen was doing before he died. Wouldn’t a Black Mage have techniques too? He made a losing deal. That old man.”
“Thanks to that, our Ophern was able to grow.”
“…Hoo.”
At Ident’s boldness, the Hausen Viscount let out a big sigh.
‘Ophern… Same as ever, or is it different now…’
In the Hausen Viscount’s eyes, House Ophern was a strange place.
The resources they possessed were also barren.
Although they had the southern granary region, that was it.
It was only enough to feed and maintain the Earldom.
Enemies were on all sides.
Yet, Ophern endured.
There were crises, but each time they stood right back up like a roly-poly toy.
Sometimes it was the knights, other times the Master of the House who staked their lives to endure.
Ophern was a place of tenacity within silence.
Talent overflowed there.
The only thing lacking was one thing: power.
Enough power to barely protect themselves, but not enough to extend to their surroundings.
And now, it seemed this Ophern had grown wings without even realizing it.
While the Marquis of Owen’s House was engulfed in internal strife, Ophern was flying.
‘Damn bastard. He went blind before he died. It would have been better if he’d made a different deal with the Black Mage.’
The Hausen Viscount inwardly cursed his old friend, the now-dead Marquis Owen.
But it was useless.
The Marquis Owen, who had grown ugly before death in his old age, had neither properly prepared a successor nor elevated the power of the Owen Marquisate.
As a result, his old subordinate, the Viscount himself, was leading his Viscountcy with a weakened body.
And he knew the time had come.
“The time to die has come. Still, being told to die on the battlefield doesn’t seem so bad. What do you need me to do?”
Since he was going to die anyway, he wanted to save his family at the cost of his own life.
Amidst the writhing mass of greedy creatures scrambling only for their own gain in the internal strife, he had to save his family at least.
That was his duty as the Master of the Viscountcy.
A sign of permission.
Ident’s expression brightened.
“Hold them off. For as long as possible. Then the name of Hausen will remain.”
“How?”
“Ophern has never abandoned talent it has taken in. You know that, right?”
“So you intend to swallow us all in the end. In the end, it’s all the same. I knew it when you were stealing away administrative officers too, so greedy.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. I learned it from the Young Lord I serve.”
“You mean the second son. Rayrn… A monster has appeared.”
Ident’s words meant that Ophern would absorb the Hausen Viscountcy.
The Viscount had expected it too.
If Ophern didn’t protect them, there would be no one to protect the Hausen Viscountcy, which had betrayed House Owen.
As for Duke Jisert, who was invading…
‘That one won’t do. He’d never let us live.’
He had never spared a former enemy.
Even if they surrendered, the name of the Hausen Viscountcy would eventually be erased under the name of Jisert.
That was the Jisert way.
Perhaps.
“Maybe there was never a choice from the beginning. Hah. How did our Viscountcy come to this?”
“It was just a momentary change. You couldn’t ride the wave of that change, so it can’t be helped.”
“You’ve picked up the habit of speaking prettily, haven’t you? Well… fine. I’ll make my preparations.”
“Thank you.”
The Hausen Viscount accepted the deal.
Having concluded a secret deal with Ident, the Hausen Viscount secretly sent his family members out.
“Here.”
“…I entrust them to you. Help as many survive as possible.”
“Everyone will survive. I promise.”
The majority of the Hausen Viscountcy’s personnel transferred to the Count of Ophern’s House.
Even within the Owen Marquisate, the Hausen Viscountcy was one of the few remaining prestigious families.
Except for those blinded by greed who participated in the civil war, the majority went over to Ophern.
“What should we do now?”
“The Count will prepare a place for you. Until then, you must replenish your strength.”
“…Hoo. Understood.”
The Hausen Viscountcy, never omitted when speaking of the Marquis of Owen’s House.
They had entered the embrace of the Count of Ophern.
Thanks to the scheme Ident had prepared long ago.
Having saved his family, but choosing not to remain in that embrace himself, opting instead for a final sacrifice on the battlefield, the Hausen Viscount…
“It’s been a while. A long time.”
Clank. Clank.
Equipping his gear himself, he stepped out into the very center of the battlefield where Duke Jisert’s forces were charging.
For generations, the Viscountcy had been strong in physical power.
To the point it could be called monstrous strength.
Some even said the Hausen Viscountcy inherited Ogre blood.
That was half right, half wrong.
The Hausen Viscountcy had inherited some of the blood of those called Giants, not Ogres.
That’s why, even armored in thick plate mail that would be too much for one ordinary person to move in, he could move.
‘The problem is it’s thinning. Hah hah.’
Noble families had been like that for generations.
Even without great techniques or magical secrets, the reason they had power was ultimately because of their blood.
Those who inherited the Giant’s Blood.
Some had a faint trace of monster blood, others inherited magic and other mysterious powers.
That’s why nobles were strong and could build humanity’s domain against monsters.
“Hausen Viscount! Is this your choice? How dare you! How dare!”
Duke Jisert, shouting and charging from afar, was also like that.
For generations, the blood of House Jisert was specialized in protecting what was theirs.
Within his own domain, Duke Jisert was powerful.
But by some means…
“It’s no different from sorcery. Hmm… Even though he’s attacking, that level of power.”
Kwa-drrrr-dduk- Kwa-duk-
The power of Duke Jisert, who was moving while crushing the ground, was immensely strong even though it was for attack, not defense.
‘There’s something. Thick and dark.’
The Hausen Viscountcy had clashed with the Ducal House for a long time.
He knew their power better than anyone.
This defied common sense.
It was a power different from the Ducal House’s original power, not that of a Viscount.
Perhaps the Ducal House had obtained a new secret, or, like the dead Marquis Owen, obtained power from an unexpected source.
Whichever it was—
“Hah. I might really die.”
For the Hausen Viscount, who had to block such a Jisert, the task had become several times more difficult.
‘How long can I hold out?’
Clank.
Counting his few remaining days of life, the Hausen Viscount launched himself forward.
Koo-woong.
Along with the massive tremor from the ground he stepped on.
“Grooooooar!”
As if he had been waiting, Duke Jisert charged.
“Hah! I think I’m past the age to be called ‘bastard’ by the likes of you!”
Kwaaaaaaang!
The massive giants began to clash.
One to protect.
Another to obtain.