He was Sir Aldric Thorne, Captain of the Black Wolves, personal guard of the Valerius family. He was Silas's particular guardian, and had watched Silas grow up from childhood.
A level 70 Warlord on the verge of breakthrough, his aura alone could suffocate the people in the room.
The beautiful emblem shone on his cloak, and everyone inside shuddered just by looking at it ,the crest of a family even the Empire couldn't go against.
Davon's back went rigid. Cassia stared at the warlord in horror, while the knight began to shake in fear. Alton looked at the warlord with a grim face; he hadn't even realized someone was in the room until now. He only felt, standing before the man, as he did before the Principal , a level 85 mage.
The warlord dropped to one knee and shouted in salute, "Captain Aldric Thorne greets Count Valerius."
A wave ran through the room. Even Davon, Cassia, Alton, and the knight dropped to one knee and gave the proper salute to Silas. "Greetings, Count Valerius."
Davon and Cassia felt cold all over. What kind of monster did we provoke? They knew the meaning of those words too well. Only the second young lord of the Valerius family could hold that title.
Silas took the family emblem from his pocket and tossed it to Davon. Davon caught it without hesitation.
Silas chuckled at them and motioned for Alton to stand.
He asked Davon, "Now, Davon ! do you think I deserve to sit in front of you? To say your full name and even qualify to challenge your sister?"
Davon stammered, "Count! Count! Please hear me out..."
But Silas didn't let him speak. "You, as the Viscount of the Arkwright family, dare to use your power to suppress commoners? Even with no reason to act, you and your sister both came here for revenge? What do you think of the Valerius family?"
Davon and Cassia both felt crushing pressure from those words. Even Alton beside them gulped. He also belonged to the Valerius Archduchy, and Silas was the acting Count here.
Looking at Silas's cold face sent a chill down his spine. He murmured, Truly… Valerius blood runs in his body. That demeanor alone could rival the princes.
Cassia immediately begged for forgiveness through gritted teeth. She had always bullied commoners, but this time she'd hit a wall her family couldn't touch.
"My lord! Please show mercy! I was wrong! I was wrong, please spare my brother and my family."
Silas sneered. "Spare? I won't spare anyone who tries to humiliate the name of Valerius! You mere subjects of Valerius dare to bully commoners. I'll send Valerius guards to the Arkwright castle."
"I want to see what Count Arkwright is made of."
Those words shattered their last hope. They hadn't told their father anything; they'd acted on their own. They'd done all this without alerting him.
Count Arkwright was a good man, revered by everyone in the county. How could his descendants be such fools?
Silas said coldly, "Stand up and leave the academy. If anyone hears a single word about this meeting or my true identity, you won't see the next second."
Davon and Cassia immediately stood with the knight, bowed to Silas, and turned to leave when,
The warlord stopped them. "Stop!"
Davon and Cassia froze. They couldn't fight the personal knight of the Valerius family. Even the knight bore the name of Valerius.
Aldric walked toward the knight, then drew his sword so perfectly that no one saw it leave the sheath and return. But the knight's right hand fell to the floor.
He screamed, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Aldric placed his palm over the severed hand and pressed down. The hand dissolved into a blood mist in seconds, destroying any chance of reattachment with medicine. The knight would live the rest of his life without his right hand… unless he found a fortuitous encounter.
He looked into the knight's terrified eyes and said, "You dared to hurt Count Valerius. This is the price."
Then he remembered when the knight had pointed his sword at Silas, and Silas had touched the tip and pricked his finger.
Davon and Cassia looked at Silas and saw a grin on his face as he looked at his fingertip. They cursed inwardly, Monster! A genuine monster. How cunning is he, to have planned this far ahead?
Even Alton stared at Silas, dumbfounded. He never imagined Silas was this cunning.
They left the room. Silas turned to Vice Principal Alton and said, "Vice Principal. Please don't reveal anything that happened here to anyone. Can you do that?"
Silas was about to leave when Alton asked from behind, "But why?"
Silas looked back with a simple smile. "I want to make a name for myself without using my family's name."
Then he left the room with Aldric. Aldric asked in confusion, "But Count, when did you learn that I was following you from the shadows?"
Silas smiled and said, "From the moment I left the house. I already knew Father would send you. I became certain when I didn't see you during my departure."
Aldric slapped his palm to his face. He always thought he was smart, but in front of the Valerius family, he was always outmatched.
Aldric then said, "Then Count, ask me for help whenever you need me. I'll be around you always."
Silas suddenly remembered something and his face turned red with shame. "Are… are you always near me? Every time?"
Aldric looked confused, then understood what he meant and immediately shook his head. "No, no, no! Not those times, of course. But Count, do you believe in him?"
Silas nodded and said, "I believe in him more than myself. Does Father know about this?"
Aldric nodded. "The phantom guards already told the Archduke."
Silas sighed. He knew how his father would react. He felt bad for Draven. He'd have to tell Draven slowly that he was going to face a saint soon.
Draven and the others were still waiting for Silas to return. Draven kept shaking his leg anxiously, his face grim, while Rhys only told him to wait and believe in Silas.
At that moment they saw Davon and his sister come out with the soldiers and the knight captain was injured, missing one hand.
Draven felt confused. Davon and Cassia stopped before leaving the academy and looked at Draven. Anger, helplessness, and many other emotions warred in their hearts.
Cassia gritted her teeth, even biting her lip in desperation, but she couldn't do anything. If she acted on her feelings, even her life could be in danger.
Then a thud sounded behind them. It was Silas.
Draven immediately ran to Silas, and the others got up from their seats too. The people in the canteen all looking at the Viscount and Baroness Cassia in confusion. Weren't they here to deal with Silas? Why is he fine while an Arkwright knight is missing a hand?
Silas chuckled. "Aren't you going to leave the academy?"
Davon and Cassia shivered. Even the knight ran for the gate without waiting for his Viscount or Baroness.
Davon and Cassia also fled the academy in fear.
Draven hugged Silas tightly, then checked him over and asked, "Silas! Are you okay? They didn't do anything to you, did they?"
Silas shook his head and said with a chuckle, "No, our Vice Principal took care of them. That knight tried to point his sword at me, so he took his hand."
Kael asked in confusion, "Who, Alton? He did that?" He thought for a second, then nodded. "Yes! He's very protective of his students. If anyone dares point a sword at his students, he'll definitely take action."
At that moment Theron came over and added, "And don't forget Silas isn't a normal student. He's a special student." Then he looked at Silas and tried to sense his level, which he hadn't checked in a long time. His eyes went wide. "What the heck! No wonder! No wonder he took that knight's hand. When did you reach level 15, Silas?"
Kael also looked at him in confusion. Rhys sneered and said, "At least he has a boyfriend who takes him out of the academy to raid dungeons. He went out again yesterday and reached that level."
Now Kael understood why Rhys's mood was off. His friend had already reached level 15 while he was still stuck at level 5.
Embarrassed, Kael scratched his head and said, "Why don't we take a day off from the academy and do dungeon raids?"
Theron nodded. Jacob was also stuck at level 5, so he wanted his boyfriend to get some training too. They decided to meet that night.
After that, they left the academy together for the evening. They went to the nearest city to buy things, even stopping at a shop to choose souvenirs for each other.
Meanwhile, Aleric contacted the general in charge of the small village. The general knelt on one knee and placed a hand over his chest in salute. "Greetings, Margrave Valerius."
Aleric nodded and said, "Make preparations for these people. They'll stay here for the night. Arrange rooms and food for each of them."
The general looked at the beastmen behind Aleric and frowned. Aleric glanced at him coldly. "Do you want me to repeat myself?"
The general immediately bowed his head and said, "But my lord! They're beastmen. If we let them enter the archduchy, the Archduke might get angry..."
Before he could continue, Aleric said in a cold tone, "Don't worry. I'm taking them to my father. They are the saviors of my life. Now they're facing attacks even from the Beast Empire. I can't leave them to die."
The general nodded, then stood and went to the village to arrange rooms for them. Although it was called a village, in the Valerius Archduchy it looked like a small city. Even the walls were high enough to mount a defense.
Aleric returned to the villagers. Torin asked him with a sad face, "Aleric? Are you facing difficulties because you brought us here?"
Aleric shook his head. "Don't worry. No matter what happens in the future, I won't leave you to fight the Beast Empire alone." He put a hand on Torin's shoulder.
Torin nodded. He was still thinking about the promise he'd made to his parents, but looking at these children and elders, he could break a thousand promises to keep them safe.
A few minutes later, the general came back with news of the accommodations. Everyone went to their rooms, and food was served. The villagers had never eaten such good food in their lives. Some even cried from happiness.
After lunch, Aleric attended a meeting where he described what had happened to him, how he'd ended up in Tiger Village, and how he was saved by the villagers and torin.
The envoy listened to everything in detail and returned to the archduchy to report to the Archduke…