Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 914- Simon's Call and the Unknown Enemy (4)

"Look at you Blake.. Ah no, should I call you Sir Blake by now" Wyot who chose to stick with Blake even after the calamity in the Tower Town, cracked a joke to diffuse the atmosphere.

"Haha, I was wondering now that you have assumed the position of the knight commander, will you give up on adventuring?"

Everything aside, Blake was an adventurer, he had always been. In fact, the reason why they met, was because Blake was adventuring in the Tower Town. If he stopped adventuring, it would be like discarding a part of him. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Don't worry about that, her highness offered me this position after thinking things through. She is planning to make this kingdom completely different from before. As such, I won't be quitting adventuring".

The title of Knight-Commander was a great honor, but it did not mean he had given up on adventuring. The thrill of exploration, the call of the unknown, still burned within him.

What's more, there was still the last words that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse left him. A creature with immense strength and character. He had met that being once again during the raid on the criminal organisation in the tower town.

Inside the basement, he had singlehandedly annihilated the top officers of the criminal organisation and stood on their corpses.

 The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was so powerful that in their second encounter even while injured he managed to blast him out of the earth and sent him flying into the dungeon.

"Our match is still pending, let's consider this one a draw. If you still have the courage to fight me, come find me on the lower floors of the dungeon. I will be waiting for our rematch"

 Those were the words he left him before they parted ways and he lost consciousness. Those words echoed in Blake's mind, a taunt that fueled his desire to return to the dungeon where so much had been lost.

The thought of that unfinished duel, of proving himself once and for all, gnawed at him. It wasn't just about pride or rivalry—it was about closure, about confronting the demons of his past and emerging stronger.

'Mars' Blake muttered inside his heart.

 "I haven't forgotten, Mars," Blake whispered, his eyes narrowing with determination. "I will enter that dungeon, and we will finish what we started."

Their journey was far from over. Wyot and a few others who started following Blake after witnessing his leadership and heroism were relieved.

"That said, I still have to perform my duties as the knight commander for the time being".

There were going to be massive reforms and changes to the kingdom, battles to be fought on many fronts—political, military, and personal.

The nobles needed to be kept in line, the people needed to feel safe, and the shadow of war still loomed over the land and as the Knight commander, he could not be absent.

Blake would fulfil his duties as Knight-Commander, but he would not let the fires of adventure die within him.

.

.

Outside the audience hall, in another room, Annette and the other subordinates loyal to Simon gathered. Among them were the vampire twins, the demihuman servants they commanded and others who had been recently or during the war, admitted into their ranks.

"It has been so long? Is there still no news from master?"

Theodore asked impatiently. He had been pacing around the room the whole time. His subordinates tried to calm him down to no avail.

It was not only him, the others around the room were also affected as they wore expressions of concern and impatience as they waited for a reply. Just that they were not as expressive as Theodore.

"Dammit, I cannot take this any longer. I am going back to the dungeon" He smacked his hands on the table before turning around to storm out.

It has been more than a week since they last heard from their master. And from what they heard the last time, it appeared that the dungeon was being attacked.

At that time, Theodore and a few others requested to discontinue their mission and return back to the dungeon. However, they weren't given the permission and ordered to continue their mission.

Ever since then, they have been dutifully doing their tasks, protecting the princess and supporting her to ascend the throne while waiting for their master's message.

Given the fact that the dungeon was being attacked, it was only natural for them to be concerned and impatient. The kingdom was secondary, their first and foremost priority was to defend their master and dungeon.

"I'm out of here"…

 "You won't take a step out of that door"

Just when Theodore was about to storm out, Annette spoke out.

A heavy pressure settled onto the place. The clash of two powerful auras both surpassing superhuman strength, created a tense atmosphere that was almost palpable.

The room shook and cracks appeared on the floor.

"What did you say? Are you implying that you will stop me, Annette?" Theodore glanced back, his crimson vampire like eyes glaring.

"It's big sister Annette for you and yes, you won't take a step out here. We have orders from the Master to continue with our mission and until he says otherwise, no one is to leave their stations. Bianca, Emma, Alice, block the place."

On her orders, the three valkyries each took a spot, blocking off all the exit inside the room.

"Ugh, big sister why are you doing this now of all times?" Theodore sighed but did not back down. Seeing this, Annette's eyes became cold.

 "Master made me the leader of this team. Going against me means defying Master's orders. And besides, there is no reason for anyone to be concerned. There is no way anything is going to happen to master. There might be a reason why he isn't able to contact us"

She added: "The soul connection will immediately tell us if there is anything wrong. Carry your missions, master will surely call us eventually".