The Regressed Blood Knight’s Strategy

Chapter 85

Meanwhile, Alvin, the envoy from Tegelo, was nearing the limits of his patience.

He had already spent several days in the mansion as a guest.

During this time, the so-called Grand Prince had yet to show his face.

"Rehinar family, you've grown up... Ignoring an envoy from Tegelo like myself in this state. Ridiculous."

He clenched his teeth tightly.

The humiliation was unbearable.

Never before had he been treated with such disregard.

Not even once.

Every noble had always been eager to welcome him.

Enraged, he suddenly stood up.

"Follow me."

As Alvin grabbed his sword, his attendants quickly followed him outside.

His destination was the main building, the residence of Duke Carl.

The Guardian Knights were vigilantly guarding the area.

Naturally, they blocked Alvin’s path.

"Access beyond this point is prohibited to outsiders. We ask for your understanding."

Despite the courteous tone, the words fell on deaf ears to Alvin.

"I am an envoy of Tegelo. I’m here to confront Duke Carl for this insult, so move aside!"

Alvin roared at the guard, his voice full of anger.

It seemed as if he was moments away from drawing his sword.

"Even if you are an envoy of Tegelo, here in Rehinar, you must follow Rehinar's laws."

Alvin’s cheeks trembled with rage.

Finally, he exploded.

"Do you think you can handle me?"

Whoosh—

As Alvin drew his sword, a sharp gust of wind blew.

"Ugh!"

"Please, put away your mana!"

Despite the guard's plea, Alvin was relentless.

He unleashed the power of the wind, using the breath of the Wind Fox.

The stone pavement was sharply cut by the mana, and the trees were torn to shreds.

It was at that moment—

Vice Commander Fabi appeared, making a striking entrance.

He unsheathed the sword at his waist and lazily tapped it against the ground.

Only then did the fierce wind come to a halt.

"Who’s the bastard invading the estate grounds... Oh, it's you, Alvin."

"The Butcher of the Red Dragon." Alvin said under his breath.

"It's been a while since I heard that nickname."

Fabi grinned, showing his white teeth.

While the empire gave Cedric’s nickname, Fabi’s nickname was earned in the warland of Hatzfeld.

The number of Hatzfelds killed by him reached thousands.

Just hearing Fabi’s name made them tremble in fear...

So, it was only natural for Fabi to earn such a title.

As the smile faded from Fabi's face, the atmosphere around him quickly turned cold.

"Put away your sword. This isn’t a place for you to act out."

His chilling voice echoed in front of the estate.

Fabi, usually playful and cheerful, had completely transformed.

Seeing someone from another family draw a sword in front of their family estate, and where his liege resided—

He had become a different person entirely.

As Alvin remained still, his attendants began to step forward.

"Do you see that insolent man?"

"Someone like you has no right to stand in our way. Get out of here!"

Their words only made Alvin’s eyebrows twitch in frustration.

Alvin was a Beginner-tier 6th Class Knight.

He was a high-ranking official even in Tegelo.

But inwardly, he was berating his attendant.

'Fools, can’t you see? The man before you is the Butcher of the Red Dragon. To the people of Hatzfeld, he’s a demon straight from hell.'

The first time he saw Fabi was four years ago.

At that time, it was rumored that he had just reached the 6th class.

However, now he was far stronger than before.

The fact that he effortlessly nullified Alvin’s mana with a single simple action was proof of that.

This was also why, despite Rehinar’s decline, Tegelo couldn't move recklessly.

Sure enough.

As if mocking the attendants, Fabi spoke up.

“Tegelo still doesn’t know its place. I wonder when you’ll finally come to your senses.”

The disdain in his voice was blatant.

Alvin’s attendants were infuriated by this.

They were about to spring into action when—

“…!?”

Fabi’s face was suddenly right in front of them.

“I won’t kill you. But you won’t be able to speak again.”

Clink.

The sound of Fabi’s sword being sheathed echoed.

The movement was so swift that they hadn’t even noticed it being drawn.

At the same time, blood spurted from the attendant’s neck.

“Now, I feel a lot better.”

Fabi’s decisive action was different from before.

“If I’d done this earlier, it would have saved me the trouble. Those worthless fools were just making my anger worse, but thanks to the Young Master, I can finally let off some steam.”

This was by Kane Rehinar's command.

He had allowed the use of a live blade against anyone who caused trouble in front of the main estate.

He even permitted immediate execution if necessary.

This was the result.

Though he could have killed them if he wanted to, he decided to show some restraint.

After all, he didn’t want to be scolded by Commander Cedric.

He had no qualms about slaughtering enemies from a hostile nation, but he had no taste for killing fellow Imperial citizens.

Grinding his teeth, Alvin spoke in response to Fabi’s unexpected actions.

“So, this is Rehinar’s answer?”

“You’ll hear the answer from our young master himself. This is not a place for you to be. Leave”

“Understood. I will relay Rehinar’s intentions to Tegelo’s commander.”

Alvin sheathed his sword and turned away.

The envoys left Rehinar without further incident.

As they walked away, the Guardian Knights began to comment among themselves.

“The Vice Commander really went and did it.”

“This sure feels like war.”

“Are we going to war because of the Vice Commander? Are we all going to die?”

“You idiot! No one’s dying. We’ll just send Tegelo a message saying it was all the Vice Commander’s doing.”

“That sounds simple.”

“Of course, it is, moron. We just need to cut ties with the Vice Commander.”

Fabi suddenly shouted at the guard who made the remark.

"I can't believe I trusted these disloyal bastards and ended up as the Vice Commander," Fabi muttered to himself, feeling betrayed.

But no one was there to hear Fabi's frustration. Everyone had already returned to their posts to resume their duties.

Left alone, Fabi suddenly felt a pang of doubt.

"This is only going to provoke the Tegelo family even more... Is this really okay? Why did the Grand Prince order me to retaliate?"

Kane knew the nature of the Guardian Knights. No matter how much the enemy threatened them, the Knights would never take the life of a fellow Imperial citizen—unless, of course, another family attacked first.

"Well, whatever. Things will work out somehow."

Not wanting to dwell on complicated matters, Fabi decided to shut off his thoughts entirely.

* * *

[A crafted gemstone has been turned into an accessory.]

[You have made 'Karasie Tie Pin (4★)'.]

[Gained experience points.]

[You have reached the maximum level.]

[Crafting skill has increased to Lv.6.]

Kane was examining the details of the tie pin he had just crafted.

[Karasie Tie Pin]

Type: Accessory

Grade: ★★★★

Description: A special tie pin crafted by Kane, with Sara in mind. It possesses an air of refined luxury.

Effects: Fire attribute defense +200%, Fire attribute magic defense +300%

[When in danger – Activates Guardian's Blessing (S)]

"It's a bit disappointing. It's an accessory that can't be upgraded to 5 stars."

The pin lacked an empty ☆, which indicated the potential for further upgrades. Once an item had fully colored ★s, it meant there was a limit to its upgradeability.

"Still, it's useful enough."

He wrapped the tie pin in a fine handkerchief and placed it carefully in his pocket. He was about to resume his gemstone crafting when he sensed an unsettling presence.

"It seems the envoy from Tegelo is preparing to leave."

As Kane grabbed his sword, Mikhail paused his hammering.

"Are you planning to go alone again?"

Mikhail had a good sense of what Kane was about to do. Just because he stayed cooped up in his workshop didn't mean he was completely oblivious to the outside world.

In fact, a lot of information reached him, especially when using the Breath of the Red Dragon for weapon crafting.

The power heightened his senses to the extreme, allowing him to hear everything happening outside the workshop. This included the fact that the envoy from Tegelo had visited Rehinar.

"Do you know what I'm about to do?"

"You're going to ‘take care’ of the Tegelo envoys, aren't you?"

"I thought you wouldn't know anything since you’re always stuck in the workshop."

"I just grabbed one of those black crow people spread across Rehinar and asked them. They spilled everything."

"Cunning bastards. They must have known you’re my man, so they gave you all the information without any compensation."

"It works out nicely for me."

Kane chuckled.

"I prefer moving alone."

"Use me well, you know your spear rusts quicker than you do."

Mikhail compared himself to a spear, talking about Kane’s rapid growth. He believed that while he might be stronger now, the roles would reverse in the future.

But Kane had a different view.

"Rust? If anything, you'll only grow sharper over time."

Mikhail grew stronger the more he worked with elemental mana stones. It was the hallmark of the Pervatz family. While others grew stronger through combat, Pervatz grew stronger through crafting weapons. This could potentially lead to differences in actual combat performance, but the gap was minimal.

Why?

Because Pervatz was one of the three great blacksmithing families of the continent. Every member of their bloodline had an exceptional eye, able to see through anything, be it a person or an object.

In battle, they could effortlessly identify their opponent's weaknesses. This was why Hatzfeld found Pervatz so troublesome and sought to exterminate them—just like they did with Rehinar.

"If you want to keep that edge sharp, use it more often. Don't just keep it locked up in the forge."

"Two are better than one."

Blata interjected, having overheard Kane's words.

"I'm in on this too."

"I didn't even notice you were here. You have such little presence."

"I’ve been holding my mana in completely, so I’ve become a bit faint myself. Hehe!"

"That’s not what I meant."

"What?!"

"Never mind. Let’s go."

"For you, Kane, I'll make sure to show off my presence, okay?"

"Do that."

Kane simply nodded, knowing that talking more would only exhaust him. Whether Blata understood this or not, he seemed thrilled at the prospect of helping Kane eliminate Tegelo.

* * *

The northern part of Rehinar.

A group of people on horseback were traveling along the path within the demon forest.

They were the envoys from Tegelo, returning to Tegelo after leaving Rehinar.

"Alvin, we must return to the lord and report all of Rehinar’s disgraceful actions immediately."

"I agree. They even went so far as to slit the throat of your attendant! This is a clear act of provocation."

"How dare those wretches disrespect Tegelo like this!"

They were all seething with anger. None of them had imagined they would be treated so poorly. The humiliation they felt was intense.

"Calm yourselves. We must think about this situation rationally."

Only Alvin managed to suppress his anger and spoke calmly.

"Does Rehinar look like a failing family to you?"

"It did seem strange. Where did all those slums go, and when did those new commercial facilities spring up…?"

"Not just that, there was even a military academy."

"And the central district, even the grand temple, was bustling with people."

The envoys began to recount their observations of Rehinar, all of which Alvin had also noticed.

"Exactly. And more importantly, unlike before, Rehinar now has the overwhelming support of its citizens."

"They indeed trust Kane Rehinar…"

"This is a troubling development. They are trying to rise up again before we can devour them."

"There was a reason why the lord sent you as an envoy, Alvin."

The expressions on everyone's faces grew serious. An unforeseen complication had arisen.

"That’s why we must go to war."

"So, you're saying that if Rehinar continues to develop, there won't be an opportunity for Tegelo?"

"My opinion is that we must eliminate Rehinar before they rise any further."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Alvin's assessment. No one had expected Rehinar to rise up like this. It was a place even the imperial family had given up on.

The Guardian Lord was even ill. Yet, they were rising from the ashes like a phoenix.

Although they were on the same side, Rehinar had become the greatest threat to Tegelo.

"Let's hurry. We need to report to the lord and tell him we must attack Rehinar immediately."

As Alvin and the envoys urged their horses to speed up, a crimson sword suddenly flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground in front of them.

Alvin turned his head and shouted, "Who’s there?"