Ball of Nothing

Chapter 539 - Duke Connie's Bad Day

Ever since the start of King Brice’s speech, things went downhill for a certain duke. First, none of the assassins he hired was able to do their jobs. They were swiftly taken down by a traitor within. Lady Death lived up to her fearsome reputation and there was nothing much Duke Connie could do.

The frustrated duke turned to his allies to ask for manpower he could borrow. Like any good second-rate villain, Duke Connie had a backup plan in case his first was foiled. He had been building his forces up over the years and even if the assassination attempt failed, there was no way he couldn’t use the chance to attack the inner castle and snatch the crown by force. The outer gates were going to be open all day, it was the best chance he could ask for.

He sent emergency messenger birds to all his allies but nobody replied. Furious, Duke Connie decided to do it himself. Those cowards! Backing out at the last moment on him was as good as a betrayal. Once he was the king, they were the first people he would send to the gallows!

When plan A fails and plan B flops, the third time should always be the charm. Duke Connie knew better than to trust anyone. He was prepared to do this all by himself. Even if Altear backs out on him, he wasn’t going to let that stop him. This coup d’état will not be delayed. He spent many years building his wealth and his influence over adventurers and those slaves were part of his exploitable forces. All he had to do was bribe them accordingly. There were no slaves who would do anything to earn their slave contracts back and there were no adventurers who wouldn’t do something for enough money. Duke Connie was a man of resources and he owned both guilds.

He wasted no time and asked for a carriage to be arranged. He was making a trip down to his guilds. At the same time, he told his trusted aide to gather his private army. In an hour, he was going to turn the castle inside out. Brice’s speech would have just ended and he should be heading back to the Great Chamber or rest. That would also serve as his final resting place.

When he reached the Slavery Guild, the royal guards were already surrounding the place for a raid. Duke Connie didn’t know what kind of speech King Brice gave but the search warrant was the real deal.

"Duke Connie, if you do not surrender the slavery guild and hand in all the slave contracts, you will be charged guilty of going against the King’s words and sentenced for execution immediately," the head warrant officer announced.

With too many people looking at him and being severely outnumbered, the duke could only yell in frustration as he turned the carriage around to visit his adventurer guild. Things were not going his way and Duke Connie’s expression turned dark. Instead of killing Brice, he was going to torture him first. How dare that cheeky brat mess with him? Did he think he won by adding some new laws?

Fuming as he alighted from his carriage, Duke Connie noticed that at the very least, the adventurer guild was still operating as per normal.

"Put up an emergency quest notice," he instructed the administration manager. "I want to hire anyone who can fight to meet in the outer court of the castle in two hours. They will be paid handsomely and can name their request."

The administration manager looked at Duke Connie for one second too long and the infuriated duke slapped her hard. The poor lady flew across the wall and slammed into the shelf full of record scrolls. The commotion caught everyone’s attention and the duke lost his temper completely.

"What are you looking at? Do you look down on me as well? I haven’t lost! Get working if you don’t want to die you sow!" he kicked the manager harshly in the stomach when she didn’t get up after the hit.

Unable to watch any longer, a hooded stranger who had been sitting at one of the desks at the lobby stopped the duke from beating the poor lady. There were many whispers among the adventurers who witnessed it but nobody dared to stop him. After all, Duke Connie was the boss of this guild and they didn’t want to lose their adventurer cards.

"Who do you think you are? Unhand me this instant or I’ll revoke your adventurer rights!" the duke fumed, unable to free himself from the strong grip.

Instead of feeling threatened, the man was very calm. People started to recognise that arm and guessed his identity before they saw his face.

"Go ahead," the hooded stranger told the duke. "I don’t particularly care about being an adventurer anyway. However, that would also mean I wouldn’t be bound by the rules of this adventurer guild. Are you sure I wouldn’t kill you?"

Duke Connie took a good look at the stranger’s face and paled. The hood came off and people started whispering loudly behind him. Vrald grinned. He knew that Gerald couldn’t sit still when he witnessed women getting hit. The man might be calmer in most situations but he had a soft spot for animals, children and women. The man was truly worthy of his name as the Demonic Saint.

"It’s the Claw of the Light Dragon!"

"The Dragon Hero is here! Does this mean King Brice’s words were true?"

Exclamations with such comments could be heard in the background and Olaf decided that it was no use keeping their identities a secret. Initially, they were meant to stealthily follow Duke Connie back and wait for him to lead them to his private army before crushing them completely and pinning him for the crime of treason. However, now that Gerlad lost it, they would be better off improvising.

"Duke Connie," the Frost Dragon grinned and walked over slowly. Gerald still hasn’t released his grip on the man’s wrist and Vrald shrugged his hood off. It was going to be an interesting show.

"I heard that you were going to hire adventurers for an emergency quest to stand outside of the outer court at a certain time today in exchange for anything. Are you sure you can afford it? Employing the Dragon Heroes isn’t going to be cheap."

Vrald didn’t know what Olaf was thinking but he played along. "Yeah, I’m sick of eating roasted sheep meat all the time. I’m thinking of something more exotic. Maybe roasted dukes, oh I’m sorry! I meant roasted ducks."

Duke Connie laughed nervously with the dragon heroes staring at him with predatory looks in their eyes. He felt cold sweat dripping down his back but the duke nodded. Why should he turn down their offer for help? If he could buy these greedy heroes over, he didn’t need any other adventurers.

"I see. My apologies for not welcoming the great heroes earlier. Where is my hospitality? Would you perhaps like to join me upstairs to discuss it over?"

Olaf smirked. This man was a true case of stupid and he laughed. "Of course!" he agreed and slung an arm over the duke. Gerald released his hold of the duke’s wrist and Duke Connie pulled it back quickly, rubbing on the bruised part.

As Duke Connie led the way, Gerald tossed a vial of healing potion at the poor administrative manager. "Use that and heal yourself," he told her and followed Olaf upstairs.

When Zero heard the news, he smirked.

"King Brice, how would you like to host a welcome party this afternoon for about five thousand men in your outer court grounds?"

Misana was confused but King Brice was surprised. "So many? I thought you said the Dragon Heroes would handle it."

Zero blinked. "About that, there has been a change of plans. Due to some circ.u.mstances, they’ve decided to join the siege instead."

Speechless, King Brice could only beg Zero to tell him that he was joking. Why would the Dragon Heroes meant to suppress Duke Connie’s private army be joining them in the rebellion?