The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 54

Drip. Drip.

Blood trickled down the blade.

The nobles were silent, shocked. Count Barco cried out loudly and ran to his son.

“No! Antoni, no!”

*Thump.* He fell to his knees beside Antoni’s body.

He held his son close, his fine clothes quickly getting covered in blood. Count Barco’s hands shook as he tried to stop the blood pouring from Antoni’s neck.

But it was no use. The blood kept flowing.

Antoni’s body was still a little warm, but as Count Barco looked at his son’s arm fall to the side, limp and still, his eyes went blank with pain.

“Aaaaaah!” A long, broken cry came from Count Barco.

His son’s death. He couldn’t accept it.

He had never imagined that his son would be killed in Barco’s own drawing-room, right before his very eyes.

“Aaaargh! What are you all doing?! Kill this fiend who dared to murder Barco’s heir! Tear him limb from limb!” Count Barco roared in a frenzy.

His eyes, bloodshot and wild, made the Barco knights hesitate, exchanging nervous glances.

They had witnessed Roman in battle.

They were unwilling to attack Roman directly. They had seen him attack Barco’s rear, slaughter a dozen soldiers, and kill Berge and Homerus with a single blow.

Whoever went first was sure to die.

Fear started to spread among them, and even in the face of Antoni Barco’s shocking death, their loyalty couldn’t overcome their fear.

Swish.

Roman flicked the blood from his sword.

Then, sheathing the blade, he looked at everyone around him.

“Is there a problem? It’s quite common for the guilty to die in a trial by combat, wouldn’t you agree?”

Count Barco had made a miscalculation.

When Roman proposed the trial by combat, he never once said he wouldn’t kill Antoni Barco.

It was a trap.

Roman had visited Barco without a single guard.

Count Barco assumed Roman wouldn’t take such a drastic step alone, and made the mistake of putting Antoni Barco on trial.

So, Roman now had a reason for what he did.

Since Count Barco had handed over the opportunity to punish him directly, Roman wasn’t responsible for Antoni Barco’s death.

He had simply delivered a deserved punishment.

Roman warned the bewildered onlookers.

“Remember what I’m about to say. From the day Antoni Barco threatened me, I could no longer live under the same sky as the Barcos. That’s the kind of person I am. I’m petty, and I can’t rest until I’ve repaid every wrong. From that moment on, I’ve been plotting how to bring down the Barco family. And this is the result. If there are still those who cling to even the slightest connection with the Barcos, see clearly what kind of person you’ll be dealing with.”

People say that a cornered rat will bite a cat.

Chris had tried to dissuade Roman for that very reason, and had pointed out Baek Ho-yeol’s extreme attitude in the past.

However.

If you spare the rat for fear of being bitten, the rat will bring its pack to attack the cat, or bide its time in its hole, plotting revenge.

So Roman didn’t give his opponents time.

Even if it meant losing a piece of his flesh and shedding blood, Baek Jung-hyuk’s way was to kill when necessary.

Count Barco glared, his eyes blazing with vengeful fury, and roared at Roman.

“Do you think you’ll get away with this!”

“Does it really matter what you say now? From the moment you sided with Lawrence in the war, Barco and I became enemies seeking each other’s lives. And that relationship will not change until you, Count Barco, are dead. I will never let my guard down, and I will watch how the Barco family lives from now on, and I intend to attack until Barco is completely destroyed.”

It was a warning.

To the nobles watching the situation, he was showing how dangerous it was to help Barco.

His will.

For Dimitri to go this far meant that he would attack any allied forces of Barco in the same manner.

At Roman’s warning.

No one stepped forward.

The Cairo nobles kept their mouths shut, and the Barco knights only pretended to reach for their swords, but didn’t attack.

“I’ll be going now.”

He turned and walked away, just as he had walked in alone through the front gate.

Even as blood dripped along the path Roman walked, no one dared to block his way.

And so.

Leaving behind the screaming Count Barco, Roman disappeared from sight.

Barco.

Their downfall was swift.

Count Barco, enraged by his son’s death, tried desperately to seek revenge, but the response he received was cold.

“I’m sorry. As you know, we don’t have the confidence to help Barco stand against Dimitri. I admit our relationship has been good, but Barco has provoked too dangerous an enemy.”

They drew a line.

Roman’s actions were unconventional.

He had gone to Barco’s drawing-room and killed Antoni Barco in front of Count Barco himself.

It was an act that definitively ended the ambiguous adversarial relationship.

Roman Dimitri made it clear that he was not simply involved in Lawrence’s affairs, but that he was the protagonist leading the revenge.

Moreover, his justification was clear.

Antoni Barco’s threats.

The molestation.

And even Count Barco’s decision to allow the trial by combat.

The nobles who had thought they were on Barco’s side became witnesses saying that Roman’s actions were justified.

Barco was trapped. Barco had no way to receive outside help.

Even though his son had been murdered, he had been deprived of justification, and even though he ran around frantically asking for help, no one would give it.

It was no different even with connections in the central government.

Even though he was from the Barco family, he showed reluctance, saying that his own situation had become difficult because of this incident.

The carefully built tower crumbled.

Roman’s judgment was correct.

By completely crushing the cornered rat, Count Barco had no way to overcome the crisis.

And.

“There are exactly three days left until the time you promised to repay the principal and interest. If you do not repay by then, Golden Bank will have no choice but to exercise its rights as a creditor. Count Barco, three days. Sell your soul to the devil if you have to, and be sure to repay the principal and interest you borrowed from us.” It was a final warning.

Faced with the notorious reputation of Golden Bank, which was famous for recovering principal and interest by any means, Count Barco knew that he was completely finished.

It was a disaster caused by the greed that targeted Lawrence’s land. In the face of a desperate reality, he finally chose the last resort.

A few days later.

Count Barco attempted to flee in the night.

He fled with minimal luggage and possessions, but he was soon found dead in an unknown mountain.

The Barco family, which had once wielded power in the northeastern region, collapsed in vain.

It was a night with a bright moon.

Hans, who happened to be in the hallway, asked the man illuminated by the moonlight.

“Where are you coming from so late at night?”

Roman stopped walking, turned his head and smiled at Hans.

“The moonlight was bright. I went for a walk after a long time.”

“Is that so?” Hans smiled brightly.

He approached Roman, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and wiped the red stain on Roman’s clothes.

“Everyone is worried these days. It is a very happy thing that young master is gaining recognition from people, but I cannot hide my anxiety because you are doing dangerous things like war. Master Roman, please be careful. You are important to the family and to us all. Don’t take too many risks. And if you need help, please tell me anything. I am always behind you, ready to do my best for you.”

Hans carefully wiped the stain. Only when the stain was almost invisible did Hans step back with a proud expression.

Roman stared down at him.

“Hans.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I told you before, didn’t I? You are my man.”

“I remember.”

Starting a new life, Roman accepted the person called ‘Hans’ for the first time.

That meant a special relationship.

Cheonma Baek Jung-hyuk. He slaughtered countless enemies to reach that position, and lived steeped in carnage to the point where he could create an ocean with the blood of his enemies.

It was not a human life.

People called him a heinous demon for Baek Jung-hyuk’s behavior of thoroughly crushing his enemies, but rather, people always swarmed around Baek Jung-hyuk.

Why?

Baek Jung-hyuk prioritized one principle.

At least for those who came into his fence, he did his best for them.

One person inside the fence was more important than hundreds or thousands of enemies.

That was enough.

If the threat of Barco had been left unchecked, the fence might have been devastated someday.

“I, too, will do my best to ensure that my people are not in danger.”

Barco. They were no longer a threat.

Because the dead can’t do anything.

Roman finished his last words, turned around, and went into his room.

Hans stood in his place and watched the door that Roman had disappeared through for a long time.

News of what Roman did in Barco’s drawing-room started to spread, even reaching far away places.

In the capital of Cairo, an unbelievable news arrived where countless people flocked from all over the kingdom.

“Is this true?”

“Yes! I didn’t believe it at first either, but there are many witnesses who saw him defeat Homerus as it was a place where the great warriors fought. Isn’t it really amazing? A guy named Roman Dimitri didn’t even make it onto the rankings, and he’s an unknown person whose name isn’t even known. But such a person defeated a 4-star swordsman with one blow!”

Willas, the priest who manages the Cairo branch of the Valhalla Temple, narrowed his brows at the devotee’s excitement.

‘It’s realistically impossible.’

Homerus, the 49th-ranked player, had been on the Valhalla Temple’s radar. But he was suddenly killed by an unknown person.

The problem was the identity of the opponent.

The northeastern region of the Cairo Kingdom is so remote that there is no need to look into it, and I have never heard of such an outstanding person there who could defeat Homerus.

Who the hell is Roman Dimitri? If his name was even slightly known, he would have tried to understand this shocking news.

Willas said.

“What is certain is that Roman Dimitri is only 25 years old. If this report is true, it means that a hidden talent has been born in the Cairo Kingdom. First of all, we need to confirm the facts. No matter how high the probability of it being false, the ripple effect when it is true cannot be ignored.”

Valhalla Temple belongs to the Valhalla Empire.

Usually, rankings are managed through ‘Ranking Battles,’ but in cases like this, it was necessary to mobilize manpower.

Interest arose.

Indeed, whether it was a ridiculous rumor from the outskirts, or whether a monstrous genius was really born, I wanted to see Roman Dimitri’s face once.

“Pack your bags right away.”

“I understand.”

They didn’t know it at the time, but from the northeastern part of the Cairo Kingdom, a wind was blowing that would cause great changes on the continent.

Like a sharp awl in a bag, talent will reveal itself.