Hero of Darkness

Armin stood in front of Kahn and the rest of the subordinates with an ecstatic expression as he saw the big barrels that were tightly sealed. And the one in front of him had only a part of the lid open but given his innate skills, the alchemist subordinate sensed the quality of goods. 

The barrels were actually filled with the blood of Bjormngandur that flowed like a river. And these were just the samples Kahn decided to display. There were more than a thousand of such barrels carefully stored on the warship he used this time. 

Yesterday when Kahn was absorbing the body of the fallen legendary rank monster, Rudra himself told Kahn about how the blood was the main reason why even his Corrosive Acid that could even melt metal easily wasn't able to harm the opponent in the beginning of their fight. 

And someone, Rudra could feel that this was just as deadly as the Neurotoxic Venom it used during their fight… maybe even more. And because of that, Kahn and his generals salvaged the fresh stream of blood in magically fortified containers they had on the warship which were usually used for carrying rations for the thousands of soldiers boarded on them. 

And now, Armin who was the true expert among them when it came to poison or alchemy-related ingredients… was smiling happily as if he got his hands on the biggest treasure. 

"I can make so many things with it. Bombs, poisons, antidotes for various types of poisons and even narcotics!" said Armin as he cleaned his fists in excitement. 

"Then it's good for business I see. Although we'd have a lot of money from the last option… I'd rather not ruin the entire fiefdom and turn the population into drug addicts who think popping pills looks cool or makes them better than others." spoke Kahn. 

"But why? We can even use our underworld organization to sell them without getting noticed." queried Armin. 

"Rules. Without them, we live with the animals." replied Kahn as he leaned back on his throne. 

Although he could earn much more money despite having no need of it for now… Kahn declined the last options for reasons of his own. 

Because in his previous… his elder brother David, who was the pearl of the eye for his parents… had ruined his life after becoming a junkie. 

Unlike Elric, David actually made a life for himself as a popular athlete and he was earning millions after getting a lot of fame and fan support. But like how the glimmering light of fake celebrity world blinds even the most disciplined people… 

David had fallen to the drug abuse after befriending the wrong people he met through various channels. Even the famous people he had to befriend to keep appearances were no exception to this sort of life. 

And as the addiction started affecting his work and professional life… it didn't even take a couple of years till he hit the bottom and destroyed his life with his own hands. 

Although Elric hated both his elder brother and sister… he had to stick around with the family as an obligation and he personally experienced how messed up and pitiful one's life became from substance abuse. 

That kind of life was a slow and pitiful death in itself. So Elric was someone who despised it from his core. 

And in this life.. Kahn had already made sure that he never dealt in narcotics or slave trading. Even after he took over Verlassen fiefdom, he had completely abolished narcotics from even the black market. 

And those who previously dealt in this sector were either dead or waiting for their execution in the People's Court. 

For someone like him… even Killing thousands of enemies wasn't an issue. But knowingly destroying someone's life and their families for some money still didn't sit right with him. 

The whole idea of a weapon of mass destruction was alright though. Because he intended to only use it as a force of deterrence in case there was a monster tide and their numbers were too big for him to handle. 

Plus having an advantage in a large-scale battle including millions of enemies was something too good to let go of. 

Because unlike like Fear Toxin ability Kahn used till this point.. The Neurotoxic Venom skill was even deadlier. 

—————-

So Kahn then ordered Armin to mass-produce the various products using Ayurveda company's production line. And also create an antidote for their side if they ever had to use the bombs and bioweapons Armin proposed to make for them. 

This way… no matter how big enemy numbers were.. Or how big the battlefield was. 

It would inevitably turn into their personal slaughterhouse.

For the following week, Kahn took a break from monster hunting while Ronin was left in charge of gathering important and detailed intel related to their next destination. 

Meanwhile, Kahn was focused on the matters related to the fiefdom regarding management, public order and economy. There were many things that needed his attention and if he wanted to keep the people pleased with his rules… neglecting his main job as the Sovereign was out of options. 

But during this week, a rumor spread across the two hundred million people that lived in Verlassen fiefdom. 

That their Sovereign… Kahn Salvatore was risking his life and hunting for the legendary rank monsters in the deepest parts of the Six hotspots of the monster tide while his Covenant Army took the charge of protecting the borders to safeguard both normal citizens as well as the soldiers who served in the military. 

His act of bravery had garnered a lot of attention because soon, many recordings of Kahn and his forces traveling with warships and flying ships to the rumored regions were spread across the populace, cementing the rumors as the truth in their minds. 

While it seemed like some sort of scandal… in reality, it was Kahn and the Seven Deadly Sins organization that controlled the underworld spreading the news among the masses. 

And the reason being that he wanted to have the public support till the point they'd be brainwashed into thinking that he was untainted and even doubting him would be treated as blasphemy. 

This was also a good way to raise his popularity through the entire Rakos Empire because once he became a Saint, he would be a force that everyone will have to be careful while dealing with. 

So that he will never be forced to the oppression of the three noble factions once he had got the rewards of the deal he made with the faction leader of the Pureblood faction. 

After 10 days passed… 

Kahn and the entourage finally departed for their next target. And that was… 

THE NORTH. 

—————-

With the entourage of the 3 million soldiers from the covenant army and his generals, Kahn arrived in Winterberg, one of the two biggest cities of the north, the biggest region of the Verlassen fiefdom as well as the main headquarters of the House Stark. 

The last time he visited this place was when he ran the crusade against the government and military in order to overthrow them. And on that very night, the House Stark pledged their loyalty to Kahn as they were under the impression that he wanted to make the fiefdom a better place for the common people. 

Yet this time, he officially came to this hotspot of monster tides that was filled with nothing but frost throughout its perimeter. Yet to make a living and survive… 30 million citizens of the fiefdom lived in this 2000 kilometers of area. 

The species and monsters that inhabited this region were lacking in terms of variety because they were mostly ice elemental creatures given the environmental conditions. But they were also the strongest of their kind because if any species could thrive in such adverse conditions… they'd be obviously many times stronger than the other regions. 

After his warship landed in the open grounds of one of the military headquarters, Kahn and his people were welcomed and escorted by the people in charge. 

Dozens of men donned in black and brown armors that were covered under hides of furry monsters to protect them from the frost greeted Kahn. 

And the one to lead them was a white-haired semi-saint swordsman with a clean gray-haired beard donned in a silver armor. This was a man who was not only the figurehead of his military house but also the sole protector of this region who had been serving his motherland for three decades at this point. 

It was none other than Kahn's trustworthy allies who was also the grandfather of Elijah and Niklaus. 

Commander Stark!

[[Author : Reference Art for Commander Stark in chapter comments. Check it out.]] 

Under the leadership of the old man, Kahn now sat in the main headquarters of this outpost and relayed his orders to the people in charge. 

Bang! 

"Unacceptable!" shouted commander Stark as he banged his hand on the table. 

[Ah… his grandsons take after him I see.] thought Kahn. 

"My lord! I can't allow you to go inside the borders all by yourself. It's no different than trying to commit suicide!" said the old swordsman. 

However, Kahn waved his palm and signaled to the semi-saint commander to calm down. 

"I understand your worries. However, you know the law of the jungle…" spoke Kahn as he gave an insidious smile to the old man and spoke in a grim voice. 

"The weak should fear the strong."