CHAPTER 578

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Dante did not declare himself regent the next day. It was because there were issues he needed to address before making such a declaration.

In the central region of the empire, within an underground mansion.

A man was walking aimlessly through the living room. His pale, weary face and trembling shoulders revealed his anxiety.

He was Tion Hairan, the second son of Ron Hairan and the former flagbearer of Hairan.

He was the first to betray Hairan and join the Emperor's treason. He took refuge in this underground mansion even before the end of the Sword Emperor Castle War. With about fifty knights of the empire following him.

'Damn it, why did this happen...…!'

There were many reasons why he betrayed Hairan. Despite being a flagbearer, he never once satisfied Ron, and was always overshadowed by his nephew, Dante.

Tion believed that all this discrimination stemmed from the difference in talent. Although he was well aware of Dante's efforts to overcome the extreme frailty he was born with, Tion chose to ignore it. It was easier to think of it as a difference in talent.

He harboured resentment towards the clan, and Ron, who seemed likely to hold his position for the next twenty years, suddenly collapsed due to illness. The emperor then made a sweet proposal to Tion.

There is a thing called 'white stone', so if you give false testimony about it in front of the people, I will make you the patriarch when Ron Hairan dies.

At that time, the emperor had said that he was really interested in Tion's potential. That's why Tion accepted the emperor's offer without thinking for a minute.

Not even dreaming of the fact that the clan had been silently waiting for Tion to return to his right path even after knowing the signs of his betrayal and disloyalty.

'I thought we would never lose, as the imperial army would be backed up by Zipfel if pushed, but the King of the Black Sea? Why the heck is that popping up now!'

Bang!

The table shattered as Tion's fist came crashing down, sending shards flying. The knights, who had been watching him cautiously, flinched and involuntarily cleared their throats.

"Uh, Sir Tion... Has there been any contact from His Majesty?"

A knight asked cautiously.

"Do you really think there would be? And you, you fool. His Majesty is already done for. Our chance of survival now depends on the imperial family, not His Majesty."

"Still, Your Majesty doesn't seem to have been defeated yet. From what I gathered about the situation outside, there are rumors that Dante Hairan will soon declare himself as the regent..."

"Ha, the clan is not enough for him, so now he wants to swallow the empire? My nephew's world has come. If only my father were alive, this wouldn't have happened, damn it!"

Tion shouted defiantly.

"Sir Tion, the imperial family has already ignored our calls three times. First of all, how about trying to get in touch with His Majesty somehow?"

"How many times do I have to say that Your Majesty is finished! What's wrong with you?"

"The reason His Majesty hasn't been caught yet might be because of the imperial family's protection. Perhaps the imperial family hasn't given up on His Majesty yet. There might still be a card His Majesty holds to turn the situation around. So, it's worth trying to talk to him."

"If you mumble about finding His Majesty one more time, I will break your neck...…."

Tion, who had been talking that far, was stunned and met the knight's eyes.

Suddenly, an ominous intuition took over his mind. Among the knights who followed him, there was no one who would argue with him like this.

"You... Who are you? Why do you keep talking about finding His Majesty? Did you receive some order from the imperial family?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Take off your helmet."

"Sir Tion?"

"I said take off your helmet! Your obsession with His Majesty is suspicious. Look here! Surround him. I doubt he'll speak willingly, so be prepared!"

Other knights cautiously approached, sensing the tension. The knight continued to keep his helmet on, then he sighed and said:

"That's right, it doesn't fit my character."

The knight stretched out his hand into the air. Then he grabbed something invisible and pulled it, and three approaching knights were torn apart like a sliced fish.

Squeak-!

What he pulled was an invisible weapon in the form of a thread. The blood that gushed out like a fountain instantly turned Tion's face red, and as he blinked, he realized that the knight had disappeared from his sight.

'Eh, what is this...!'

The knight was standing behind Tion, holding a dagger to his throat. He had taken off his helmet, but what covered his face was a milky-white mask.

It was already a week ago since Bizen, the nameless best executioner, had infiltrated Tion's underground mansion.

During that week, Bizen had more than ten thousand chances to kill Tion. Even so, he has been acting for two reasons.

Firstly, there was the possibility that Emperor Amir Vermont's whereabouts could be traced through Tion, if still had any direct communication with the Emperor.

Secondly, there was a request from his client.

-Watch him for a few days. If he shows any sign of remorse, please apprehend him and bring him in. As a clan member, I will give him time to repent.

That didn't mean to spare Tion. It was just to be considerate so that he could die with a little bit of repentance.

Tion had just completely missed that opportunity.

"N-Nameless...!"

"Looks like you really can't reach Amir Vermont. I've been patient with the hope that our princess would be less troubled."

"Now, wait. Wait, as long as I can get in touch with Em, Emperor, will you spare me? In that case, let me contact the Em, Emperor right away..."

"Unfortunately, the carriage has already left. Besides, it would take a little time to find him, and he will die anyway, now that the best nameless executioner is on him."

Suk!

The dagger smoothly and swiftly pierced Tion's throat.

Tion Hairan met his end just like that. The rest of the knights looked like they were trying to run away in a panic, not even thinking about fighting against Bizen.

However, when Bizen pulled another invisible thread in the air, they were helplessly sliced to pieces.

"Uh, ah!"

"Spare me, spare me!"

Before even 10 seconds had passed, every remaining knight had drawn their last breath.

Bizen completed his mission without a single drop of their blood on his body.

* * *

The same thing as Tion was happening in the main houses, estates, and secret shelters of the clans who were on the emperor's side during the first battle of the Sword Emperor Castle War.

"Go, Acting patriarch! It seems that Dante Hairan has already started the purge. The clan knights in the main house are being assassinated... !"

Harlow's Shelter.

They attacked Hairan by deploying knights, including Scott Harlow, of the Central Knight Order in the imperial army.

Those who were killing the Harlows were also executioners of nameless. They were commissioned to kill all but a few of Harlow's finest knights.

"Puhaha... So, it has come to this. Well, having lost everything, he might as well become the vengeful demon."

The home of the Cenderer clan.

They also attacked Hairan with Gloria Cenderer of the White Spear Knight Order.

In that way, the Lillista clan, the Lillista Magic Corps, the Panga clan, and other clans that sided with the Imperial Army were paying the price close to extinction.

The nameless executioner took their lives without hesitation.

"The world is truly unpredictable. Dante Hairan...… I heard rumors that he turned into a demon in the war, but I didn't expect him to act so swiftly."

The second in command of the Hensirk clan said in a resigned voice. Standing in front of him was another nameless top executioner 'Ahn'.

"You are mistaken."

Ahn said in a dry voice as he looked at Hensirk's second in command.

"The one who requested us to kill you is not Dante Hairan."

"What?"

"I'm just saying. I don't need to tell you this in the first place, but I am afraid you will resent an upright person for no reason after you die."

Ahn's sword decapitated Hensirk's second in command. The corpses of dead mages lined up behind him, but not a single drop of blood was left on the milky-white clothes.

Dante had no intention of killing them right away. Just as he intended to give Tion time to repent and die, he also wanted to give them an opportunity to contribute to the restoration of the Empire before their deaths.

It was the imperial family, not Dante, who requested the annihilation of the clans that were on the side of the emperor.

They were trying to create justification to minimize the impact by cutting the tail. Those disgusting mystics valued their own well-being more than the stability of an empire tainted by chaos.

The imperial family sincerely believed that they needed to be strong for the Empire to come back. They still believed they had the power to make it happen.

Nameless is a neutral assassination sword.

Anyone from any faction could borrow the Nameless Sword, as long as they were qualified and paid a sufficient price.

If the umbrella called 'Ron Hairan' had continued to exist in the empire, Nameless would never have accepted the request from the imperial family. The fact that the Nameless took on the Imperial Family's request was solely because Ron was no longer present.

The Nameless didn't accept all the requests assigned by the Imperial Family this time. They didn't accept assassination request for only one clan among those who stood in the imperial army.

Nameless refused the imperial family's request to assassinate the remaining leaders of 'Perral'.

It wasn't exactly a refusal, but because the requests "overlapped". Nameless received the request to protect the Perral clan from assassination for the time being before the imperial family's request.

-Kevin Perral was a piece of trash, but Sir Jonsina Perral eventually stood on the side of the Imperial Army for the people. Even though that choice was ultimately wrong...… As a knight, as a martial artist. I want to honor the life of Sir Jonsina. Please protect them from assassination for the time being.

That's how the Perral was able to preserve the clan from the sword of nameless.

And fortunately those who remained in the Perral clan, most resembled Jonsina Perral.

* * *

More than four days has passed since the nameless best executioners found Emperor Amir Vermont hideout.

Amir Vermont was hiding in an unnamed forest in the south of Vermont, and there were no guards or escorts left by his side.

"Hello?"

Yona Runcandel.

Seeing her smiling and speaking, the Emperor could sense it.

Eventually, death had come for him too.