The air around the street seemed to freeze.
Earl Harris stood on the balcony, looking down at them from above.
His expression remained calm and composed.
The dozen soldiers in silver armor had already taken out Magic Shackles, waiting for his surrender.
The leading man stepped forward, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
“Earl Harris, please. Don’t make this difficult.”
“Difficult?”
Earl Harris murmured, then let out a soft sigh.
“You think I’m the one making this difficult?”
The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed.
“Earl Harris, what do you mean?”
Earl Harris fell silent, lowering his gaze to his calloused hands, as if recalling his earlier years of fighting for the Empire.
His title of Count was not merely inherited.
“Thirty-seven years,” he said, almost to himself.
“I fought for the Empire for thirty-seven years. Countless battles, large and small—I’ve lost track. If not for magic, the scars on my body would be innumerable. I couldn’t even return when my wife passed away.”
“I gave everything to this Empire, and now…”
He smirked, a mocking curve on his lips.
“You say I’ve betrayed it, and you’ve come to arrest me?”
The middle-aged man’s expression shifted.
“Earl Harris, you can say all that in the Imperial Capital. I’m only here to arrest you, not to listen to your complaints. Besides, fighting for the Empire is your duty!”
“Complaints?”
Earl Harris laughed, stepping forward.
The soldiers sent to arrest him instinctively stepped back.
Then they exchanged glances, embarrassed and annoyed.
“You think I’m complaining? You’re wrong. You just don’t know. That thing sitting on the throne in the Imperial Capital hasn’t been human for a long time!”
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
The middle-aged man frowned and quickly shouted, “You… what nonsense are you spouting?!”
“Nonsense? Has he been governing the Empire these past years? Isn’t it the current Magistrate who’s been keeping the Empire standing? You who serve in the Imperial Capital should know better than I do.”
The middle-aged man’s face paled as if recalling something.
But soon, his eyes hardened, and his hand went to his sword hilt.
“Earl Harris, you are slandering His Majesty! That’s an additional crime!”
Earl Harris looked at him and shook his head.
“An incorrigible fool.”
“Attack! Arrest Earl Harris and his family!”
Drawing the longsword at his waist, the middle-aged man shouted.
But in the next second, a flash of sword light, and before he could even react, a bloodline appeared on his throat.
His eyes widened, his mouth opened, but no words came out.
In his spinning vision, his soldiers met the same fate.
The seemingly weak and vulnerable Harris Territory had suddenly become a den of tigers and dragons.
The Imperial Capital had sent Silver Grade soldiers, including the leader, to ensure the arrest of Earl Harris.
Such a force would be more than enough to subdue smaller territories.
But the Harris Territory…
With that thought, his consciousness sank into eternal darkness.
Only a few dozen seconds had passed, and all his soldiers lay in pools of blood.
Earl Harris stood amidst the corpses, drenched in blood, the tip of his sword pointing at the ground as a single drop of blood slowly slid down.
He raised his head and looked toward one side of the street.
There, Commander Pake stood, already fully armored, his drawn sword in hand.
Behind him was a squad of fully armed personal guards.
They stared at the bodies without a trace of surprise, as if they had known this would happen.
Earl Harris gave him a slight nod.
Pake bowed slightly and turned to leave.
After he left, the crowd erupted in heated discussion.
Some already understood the Count’s decision and felt his resolve.
After killing the soldiers sent from the Imperial Capital to arrest him, the entire City of Haila seemed to come alive.
The Inquisition, which had been watching the Count, submitted overnight, and all dissenting Inquisitors were executed.
At the same time, hurried footsteps and commands echoed through the streets.
The territory’s soldiers, who had been prepared long ago, replaced the City Guard and became the temporary defenders of Haila.
—
Night at the manor.
Earl Harris walked out of the study, stood at the doorway, and gazed at the sky slowly brightening in the distance.
Margaret appeared beside him, holding a new cloak—deep blue, embroidered with the Harris Family crest.
She gently draped it over his shoulders.
“My lord, do you truly intend to do this?”
Earl Harris reached out, grasped the edge of the cloak, and chuckled.
“Margaret, it’s not that I intend to, but that I must.”
“I don’t really care about the future of the Empire, nor whether darkness or dawn comes first. But I will kill the Empire’s King…”
He pulled a strand of pale blue hair from his chest, then softened at some memory.
Margaret said nothing more, stepping aside to not disturb him.
But that rare gentleness stirred a strong curiosity within her.
When dawn broke, the entire County knew the news: Earl Harris had rebelled.
He did not hide in his territory waiting to be besieged.
After issuing a conscription order, the number of soldiers in the county marching on the Imperial Capital reached fifty thousand.
Leading them, he set out for the Imperial Capital.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one rebelling.
A dozen or so nobles also revolted, including many Counts and Marquises, and even one Duke.
At the same time, news spread across the Empire: the Empire’s King was not human but a devil in human skin.
Earl Harris, leading his army, formed an alliance with the nearby Rebel Army.
Standing on a hill, he looked down at the dense camps and the banners flapping in the wind, feeling a surge of pride.
Commander Pake stood behind him.
“My lord,” he said in a low voice, “the Snake Eye organization has sent someone. They want to join our Rebel Army, kill the Empire’s King, and overthrow the Empire’s rule. Duke Vennar is convening a meeting of the nobles to discuss this.”
Earl Harris nodded.
“Lead the way. And call Tia.”
Pake acknowledged.
—
Tia was confused when she was called.
She had expected Earl Harris might rebel, but she didn’t think he would do so while she was still his daughter.
Moreover, he seemed to have high hopes for her, taking her to such an important meeting.
Inside the council tent, over a dozen nobles sat around a long table.
The atmosphere was tense.
The man at the head had a deeply wrinkled face, etched with the vicissitudes of age.
He was Duke Vennar, whom Earl Harris had mentioned—one of the pinnacles of imperial power.
Tia sat behind Earl Harris.
When everyone had gathered, the tent flap was pushed aside, and a tall figure entered, his face pale from lack of sunlight.
Duke Vennar cleared his throat, raised a hand, and pointed at the newcomer.
“Allow me to introduce you. This is Callum, from Snake Eye.”
Snake Eye.
The organization that conducted human experiments in the shadows, created Monster Soldiers, and even sent Raymond to hunt Mephia.
Tia had a very bad impression of them.
Callum gave a slight bow, greeting the assembly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Snake Eye may not have the best reputation, but we don’t want a devil ruling the Empire either. So we wish to assist in your rebellion.”
A Count sneered.
“Assist? Hah, with your Monster Soldiers? Don’t lose to the Imperial army and tarnish our reputation, making the common folk think we’re the villains.”
He was not old, around forty, with a neatly trimmed goatee, and his eyes gleamed with undisguised sarcasm.
Beside him, another Count added, “Exactly. Snake Eye’s reputation isn’t just bad—it’s abysmal. What you do is no better than the devil.”
The reason Snake Eye was universally reviled was not only for their deeds but also for harassing various territories.
The Counts whose lands had been harassed naturally gave them no goodwill.
Facing their mockery, Callum just smiled.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. In these special times, we should unite. Besides, if you don’t want us to use Monster Soldiers, we can keep our alliance secret.”
“Then, when we use Monster Soldiers to attack the Imperial army, the common folk will think Snake Eye is just causing chaos in the turmoil.”
He spread his hands, his tone increasingly persuasive.
“That way, we protect your reputation while striking the Empire—killing two birds with one stone, don’t you think?”
A brief silence fell over the tent.
The first Count opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words.
“Well…”
Duke Vennar seemed to have anticipated this.
He nodded slightly, sweeping his gaze across everyone.
“Any more objections? If not, I will accept.”
Just then, a low voice spoke up.
“What is Snake Eye’s objective?”
Earl Harris’s question drew everyone’s attention.
Callum looked at him, his smile unwavering.
“Our objective is the same: to overthrow the Empire’s rule. As for what comes after… there’s no rush, is there? After all, we haven’t even taken the first step.”
Earl Harris shook his head.
“If you don’t tell me, I won’t agree to your joining.”
His refusal made Tia’s heart tighten.
Having dealt with Snake Eye personally, she shared Earl Harris’s sentiment: Snake Eye’s aid in this situation was likely ill-intentioned.
Even if their interests aligned, those madmen would never make things easy for them.
Unfortunately, this was an Allied Forces, not the Harris Territory.
Callum shrugged, smiling casually.
“That’s too bad, Earl Harris. But this alliance isn’t your decision alone, is it? Duke Vennar, as long as the majority agrees to my joining, I can join, right?”
He looked at Duke Vennar, who nodded without hesitation.
“Of course.”
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