Chapter 210

The moment of surprise was brief.

“For the clan!”

“For the clan!”

The leaders, Gorito and Hanata, responded loudly and began sweeping through the Blood Wolf Swordsmen along with their subordinates.

Although they could later lodge a protest with the Law Enforcement Bureau, Theo was determined to bear all the political pressure himself. This was a clear indication of how much he valued Selford, Arin, and others, and naturally, their morale soared.

Boom—

“No matter how prestigious a family event may be, if they dare to oppress us like this, we won't stand idly by!”

Diego, his voice filled with power, let out a lion's roar.

The truth was, he was quite flustered.

It was one thing to have their secret hideout exposed so easily, but it was another to have their movements detected by the White Steel Vanguard. He had expected that even if they were exposed, the Law Enforcement Bureau would be cautious about the White Steel Vanguard’s actions and wouldn’t make a move right away.

His aim was to buy time, using various excuses to delay the inevitable.

‘Especially with a rookie like Theo, who just became the Young Lord. I never expected him to act so rashly...!’

Theo, this young upstart, was acting recklessly. Did he think he didn’t need the support of the Gardener family? How was he planning to deal with the fallout?

Perhaps reading Diego’s thoughts, Theo gave a cold laugh.

“If you can’t stand still, then what will you do?”

“It was the White Steel Vanguard who made the first move! The Gardener family will use force only for defense, if necessary! Do you think we care if White Steel Vanguard gets injured? Ranke, you are now considered to have declared war against the Gardener!”

Diego tried to issue a threat, hoping to get some leverage, but Bracken only shrugged nonchalantly.

“Once we’ve pledged allegiance to the Young Lord, if his will is to be followed, then we obey.”

“What...!”

“And,” Bracken added with a slightly predatory smile, “since when did the heir of the Gardener family dare show his blade against the head of the Ranke family?”

“...!”

‘I made a mistake!’

Diego quickly realized his error as Bracken’s intimidating words sank in. The Gardener family and Ranke had been rivals for a long time, but actual conflict had been rare due to the understanding that they would both incur heavy losses in direct confrontation. Their typical strategy involved intervening subtly and maintaining outward respect. But now, Diego had acted like Bracken was beneath him, and that was a mistake.

Bracken’s casual and mocking tone further unnerved him.

“Let’s take a good chunk from these Gardener fools. What are you waiting for? Go greet our guests!”

Bracken spoke with the tone of someone who had just stepped out of a mafia film, but his message was clear: capture Diego and demand ransom for the Gardener family.

“Hehehe! I’ll get to enjoy watching the Gardener bastards’ faces twist with rage!”

“Let’s feast while we can!”

With the White Steel Vanguard and Ranke now involved, the Blood Wolf Swordsmen were already outclassed.

“Young Lord!”

Finally, the Blood Wolf Swordsmen turned their attention to Diego.

“Stop them, any way you can!”

Diego, using his subordinates as human shields, turned and bolted in the opposite direction.

This wasn’t an attempt to escape—he had to ensure that the use of the relic didn’t get caught by Theo, as Kinckarnon had warned him.

‘Not the bead…!’

Diego gripped the white bead in his chest tightly, determined to keep it safe.

“The things you do are disgraceful.”

Theo gritted his teeth, watching as the Blood Wolf Swordsmen tried to block his path, then sneered.

It was clear Diego was trying to create some space and escape the situation.

Did he really think someone planning to become a ruler would act like this?

Moreover, Theo could see the faint blue glow emanating from Diego.

It was a clear indication that Diego had the relic. Theo couldn’t let this opportunity slip.

Whooo—

Theo’s murderous intent surged, freezing the Blood Wolf Swordsmen in place.

Boom!

With a powerful jump, Theo leaped over them, his blade slicing through the air with lightning speed.

“No, stop!”

“Block him!”

“What do you mean, ‘block’!? How dare you try to stop the Young Lord’s procession!”

The Blood Wolf Swordsmen tried to fight back, but were overwhelmed by the swift advance of Theo’s subordinates.

Theo had already reached Diego, and the blue glow grew brighter in his vision.

“Damn it!”

Diego felt Theo’s presence and spun around.

His sword glowed fiercely as he swung it in an attempt to defend himself.

‘If it’s come to this, I’ll just overpower him and deal with this brat once and for all…!’

Diego had dismissed rumors that Theo had passed the advanced swordsman test and had the strength of a Dragon Swordmaster. After all, how could someone barely sixteen years old achieve such mastery?

He thought Theo’s accomplishments had been exaggerated, and that the Ragnars had let him rise to power simply out of misplaced affection for his mother, a former famous actress.

Perhaps, he thought, Theo’s rise was part of a plan by the Ragnar head who had grown senile.

Now, with all the facts laid out before him, Diego felt the pressure.

He swung his sword to unleash his full power, hoping that by defeating Theo, he could disrupt the narrative and shift the momentum back in his favor.

But what followed was a result that he hadn’t expected.

Boom!

Theo’s Drake blade shattered Diego’s sword, and a searing energy surged, tearing through Diego’s right arm completely.

“Ugh!”

To make matters worse, four other swords—Yongsal, Wolbaek, Yeongmyeo, and Yonghwal—fired their light beams, hitting Diego in quick succession.

Thud!

Three struck his limbs, and one pierced his abdomen.

Diego collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood as his vision blurred.

His eyes darted in panic.

How... how could this happen...?

With wide eyes full of confusion, Diego looked up at Theo, still desperately hoping to find a way to negotiate his survival.

But before he could say anything...

Swoosh!

Theo mercilessly struck Diego’s head.

‘Why...?’

Diego’s eyes seemed to ask that question as his life slipped away.

[‘Skill: Hatching Synchronization’ is activating to search and extract the relic.]

A soft, smooth glow began to rise from Diego’s split chest.

[Chains of the Prison Bead]

Type: Artifact

Effect: Binds skilled individuals.

The glow from the bead was more intense than ever before.

This meant it was indeed one of the legendary relics—the ancient dragon relic.

Theo immediately used his telekinesis to retrieve the Chains of the Prison Bead, attempting to release its seal.

But...

[Unable to open the seal.]

[It is in a corrupted state due to unknown causes.]

‘Just like with the Dragon Slayer Sword...’

As expected, the relic had already shown signs of being forcibly unsealed.

Theo now realized that he needed to find Kinckarnon to fully deal with this issue.

‘But surely, you can reverse the activation of magic, right?’

[‘If I couldn’t, I’d have to give up the pride of being the last dragon.’]

With Lodbrok’s help, Theo managed to reverse the magic and cancel out the effects.

A horrible headache surged through him as his brain overheated, but soon the dark energy opened in the air, expelling the person trapped within.

They were bound tightly with black chains, their bodies limp.

It was Selford, Arin, and the missing members of the White Steel Vanguard.

“Selford!”

“Arin!”

“Are you alright?”

“Where are we?”

Selford regained consciousness, looking around, and saw Diego’s severed head rolling nearby.

He quickly understood the situation and clicked his tongue.

“Theo... I didn’t think you’d go this far.”

“What?”

Theo was confused, but Selford continued.

“When you cut off this bastard’s head, you should’ve left some for me.”

Selford’s dry humor lightened the mood as he remained unharmed.

Theo let out a quiet laugh.

***

The suppression was swiftly concluded.

With Diego dead, the Blood Wolf Swordsmen, who had expected to meet the same fate, attempted to resist in vain.

"Drop your swords, you bastards!!"

Selford, without a moment to recover, let out a powerful lion's roar, halting the Blood Wolf Swordsmen in their tracks.

"Second Prince...!"

"Are you all so stupid that you're still following Diego? Just drop your swords and surrender!"

"But—!"

"Do you really think returning to the family like this will bring you any favor from the head of the family? What, are you planning to just die on duty?"

The Blood Wolf Swordsmen hesitated, unable to resist.

Selford, who had previously been seen as weak and docile, now exuded the aura only a head of a family like the Gardener's could command.

"Don’t you see? That rope was already a rotten one. If Theo sits on the throne? You're all doomed, you fools. Are you really not going to switch to a better rope?"

By now, none of the Blood Wolf Swordsmen were dumb enough not to understand.

Selford had just declared his intent to become the head of the Gardener family.

And if that was with Theo’s backing?

It was game over.

"I don’t even like you guys, you know? But still, we have to save the family, right?"

In reality, Selford had no intention of sparing the people who had wronged him and his mother under Diego’s rule, but what else could he do? Continuing to resist would only risk more casualties among the Vanguard or the Ranke family.

Moreover...

Since it’s already come to this, why not just do it?

Theo’s menacing threat loomed in his mind.

I’m not doing any of that, you idiot.

This is an order from the 6th Company Leader.

6th Company? I’ve never been transferred there!

No, it’s fine now.

When?

Right now. I brought you under the authority of the Young Lord. I’ll take no refusal.

...

If you don’t like it, I’ll order you with the authority of the Young Lord.

Selford was both exasperated and, oddly enough, excited by the relentless bureaucracy.

But if he could stand by Theo’s side as the head of the Gardener family, he could help make Ragnar the greatest family in all of the land.

What could be more fulfilling than that?