Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 40

Creating Affiliates to Build a Human Empire 42

Feigned Bravado

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‘This… damn blood bag!’

Vlad looked down at the gauntlet thrown before him.

His expression was calm, but inside, he was seething.

‘A duel? How much does he look down on me!’

He wanted to leap over the table and sink his fangs into the arrogant brat’s neck right away.

Would he be so presumptuous even with death staring him in the face?

‘I was going to let him off with just withdrawing from Wallachia.’

The purpose of Vlad formally proposing the agenda to the Assembly was twofold:

To make Edar withdraw from Wallachia, and

To ascertain whether Edar’s actions were a bluff or not.

A duel wasn’t even on his radar as a means to achieve these goals.

He simply thought that if he applied enough pressure, Edar would back down on his own.

It seemed like a naive thought, but there was a reason for it.

‘This is a bluff. It’s a bluff.’

He had been monitoring Edar since the emergency summons.

Vlad was the one who had deployed so many Familiars [magical creatures bound to a witch or wizard].

He had been wary of Edar from the moment he first met him.

Other members just thought, ‘I’ve been through a lot,’ and moved on.

Vlad, having once been human, harbored a unique sense of vigilance.

‘Can a mere human put me under this much pressure?’

It couldn’t be, and it shouldn’t be.

The human race was inherently inferior from the start.

He, who had abandoned his race and become a vampire, was a being who had transcended species.

Vlad believed and took pride in that.

‘It can’t be. There’s no way he’s human.’

So, at first, he monitored him with that thought in mind.

Who knew if his human form was just a disguise, like a Dragon Lord?

Or perhaps the source of his power came from something else.

‘What is it?’

As the surveillance continued, Vlad realized something.

Edar never directly engaged physically.

At most, he would demonstrate a technique.

He never stepped forward directly when facing an enemy.

He always stood back and observed.

‘Strange.’

Of course, one might say, ‘Why should the higher-up step in when there are subordinates?’

However, Edar’s detachment was excessive even by those standards.

‘Either he has to hide his power, or he has no power in the first place.’

Vlad’s intuition pointed to the latter.

There was no way a human could be his equal.

‘How could a mere human have the same power as me? He must have taken advantage of the situation and deceived us.’

Thinking that way, his past actions became understandable.

Looking back, he had never actually demonstrated his full capabilities.

Everything ended with the other party backing down on their own.

‘Just you wait.’

Vlad anticipated an opportunity while proposing the agenda.

He would unmask him in front of those gathered at the formal summons.

He would make him pay the price for daring to deceive the Assembly as a human.

‘I’ll tear off your mask and chew you up in this place.’

Even if the mask wasn’t torn off, it was fine.

There were few forms of resistance available to the powerless.

At best, he would have to relinquish the occupied Northern Wallachia.

And he would occupy the territory from which that guy withdrew.

‘If… if it really wasn’t a bluff, it doesn’t matter.’

This summons was on a different level from the last one.

There were people present whom Vlad couldn’t easily manipulate.

There would be no being swayed as he was during the emergency summons.

After finishing his reminiscence, Vlad hardened his expression.

“A duel?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That you could take it by force, but you were showing mercy by talking.”

Edar scoffed.

“Don’t hide your ambition with the guise of mercy, mosquito.”

“What…”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? That what you’re worried about isn’t Nerup or Ugdash, but Wallachia. That you were afraid I would interfere with the country where your bloodline is parasitizing – did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Vlad flinched.

‘This, how does this guy know that?’

The fact that his bloodline was taking root and increasing its power in Wallachia and other principalities was a secret known only to Vlad.

Unless it was a deal like with Ugdash, it was a clear violation of Mishu’s covenant [a treaty between different races] for a different race to directly establish a base in the human realm.

‘How much does he know…!’

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

He shouted, erupting before he could be eyed with suspicion.

“Are you trying to slander me with mere words without a shred of evidence!”

Edar chuckled lowly at the reaction.

“There’s no need to be ashamed. There isn’t a single one among the folks here who hasn’t done something like you.”

The gazes of the ambassadors who received the look flinched away.

“Therefore, I don’t need your petty mercy. If you intend to fulfill your ambitions by calling me with the lie of that mercy, then rather, try to take it by force.”

Edar, after scanning the ambassadors, finally faced Vlad.

Vlad shuddered for a moment.

‘Damn it… what filthy eyes.’

It was the same feeling he had at their first meeting – eyes that defied comprehension.

The depth had become even greater than before, and it gave him goosebumps just looking at them.

“I will demonstrate in this place that I do not need to be shown mercy. I will prove that I am one who can sit in the same position as you. I will prove that humans are not inferior.”

Bang!

Edar slammed the table with his palm.

At that moment, Vlad felt a strong wave of dizziness.

He supported himself by placing his hands on the table.

‘What…?’

Why all of a sudden, and why dizziness now?

Unable to hide his bewilderment, he raised his right hand and pressed his temple.

As a vampire, there was no way he could have health problems like a living person.

Also, he wasn’t the only one who felt dizzy.

Groans rippled not only from the ambassadors sitting in their seats but also from the audience.

‘Magical interference?’

No, absolutely not.

Magic hadn’t shaken them.

If magic had shaken them, someone would have noticed it.

However, none of those in this place knew the cause.

No, they guessed the cause but didn’t want to believe it or be sure.

‘No way.’

He looked at the human standing before him with wide eyes.

Only the human in front of him was standing calmly.

‘A mere human, overwhelming us?’

Vlad thought it was absurd.

That a mere human’s aura could overwhelm everyone in this place?

It was an unthinkable, preposterous act.

In his entire life, there was only one person who could do that.

‘Lord… is he an existence close to the Lord?’

A memory he thought he had forgotten long ago resurfaced.

The existence of the Lord who established the Assembly and sat in the seat of honor in the old days, when he had just obtained his place in the Assembly.

He recalled the pressure that made it difficult to even lift his head.

And his memory whispered that it was the same as now.

Gulp…

The sound of someone swallowing echoed in the hall.

There were few who had lived as long as Vlad among those in this place, but if they were strong enough to sit in this place, they couldn’t help but intuitively realize it.

That the human’s presence overwhelmed them.

“What are you going to do, Vlad?”

Vlad flinched.

Vlad bit his pale lip.

‘It wasn’t a bluff.’

The plan was shattered beyond repair.

The place to unmask the fraud had instead become a place to prove that his presence was superior to anyone else in this place.

Edar raised his chin, spread his arms, and turned his back.

He looked at the audience and raised his voice.

“Anyone else is fine. Anyone who can prove that the Assembly needs nine chairs instead of eight is fine.”

Everyone gasped.

‘Eight chairs into nine?’

The chairs represented the members of the Assembly.

The races or civilizations that make up the Assembly.

Elves, dwarves, vampires, orcs, goblins, nagas, lizardmen, and dragons.

Only two had increased since the Assembly was established.

For nearly a thousand years, none of the eight members had ever changed.

But now, Edar was proposing to add humans.

To add humans and have nine chairs.

“······.”

Unpleasant emotions simmered from all directions.

However, no one readily stepped forward.

They were just boiling with anger at Edar’s arrogant remarks.

The glares that had been directed at him turned to Vlad.

The implication was that he should reap the fruits since he had sown the seeds.

‘Damn it…’

Vlad cursed inwardly at the pushing glares.

He didn’t think he would lose in a duel.

But he didn’t think he would emerge unscathed either.

‘He’s not alone.’

Two human women were glaring at Vlad from the audience.

They were powerful beings who made the hair on his body stand on end with just their gaze.

He wasn’t sure that he could face them and come out without a scratch.

And if he was even slightly injured… if he weakened?

The numerous witnesses here would become beasts.

They would surely try to bite him, who had weakened.

‘That won’t do. There’s nothing but loss left.’

Even if he killed the human and obtained Northern Wallachia, it would be a huge loss.

The human realm was just a gift for his lovely bloodline.

The gift could be postponed, and what was important was himself.

There was nothing more important than himself, the head of the bloodline.

‘I have to back down.’

It was something that would hurt his pride, but he couldn’t help it.

If he didn’t back down, he would suffer even greater injuries.

Even in the midst of the violently rising anger, Vlad made a cold judgment.

‘But to just back down like this…’

A lifeline was lowered to him as he pondered.

“How about we stop there?”

The old dog, who had been in a shallow sleep, rose and said.