Born in Blood

Chapter 375 Improvisation

The Redirection Cloak was, in Liam's words, amazing.

Well, his Chaos didn't need to redirect spells. It basically negated it.

But this was comparing apples and oranges.

The Cloak didn't run on fuel.

It was a piece of cloth.

In response to Usan's comment, Alucard lightly laughed.

"They don't make them your size, friend."

Friend.

Although Alucard called Usan a friend, that was more of a respective term.

Right now, the alliance between the Temple of Shadow and the Pashah was platonic.

They were associates.

Not friends.

Plus, Alucard knew of Usan's sickness.

Soon, there would not be an Usan.

However, he also knew Liam would take his place.

When that happened, Liam didn't know for sure how Alucard's personality might change.

Powerhouses had their own things to worry about.

Granted, Alucard was perhaps the oldest powerhouse in the world, due to the peculiar way their species aged and grew stronger.

Their bodies naturally progressed with time.

And the older they got, the slower their progression was.

One could imagine how long the progenitor of vampires needed to make a breakthrough.

Thus, Liam could see how Alucard saw no losses in joining forces. Soon or later, this too would die out.

…But the real reason rested with Alucard alone.

Usan waved a hand at Alucard's comment. Clearly, he was joking.

"I'd do well with one of those dragons, instead," Usan said with a smirk.

Alucard briefly laughed.

"Sorry to say, but they aren't dispensable. Each one of them takes several decades to make."

Silence.

'Make?' Liam thought, hiding a bit of shock that almost appeared on his face.

Liam thought those Skeletal Dragons were birthed in the Korsan Lands. As though they were special magical beasts of some kind.

Clearly, he was wrong.

'Having the ability to construct creatures like that…' Liam thought. 'I'm pretty sure he has an army of those things just lying around.'

Though, that didn't explain why Alucard felt so lax about sharing that info.

Calling it a slip of the tongue was incredibly stupid.

This was Alucard.

People just stopped counting his age at a certain point.

Thus, no one knew how long he really lived.

The amount of experience, knowledge and understanding that such a person had accumulated throughout the years was unfathomable.

The man started out as a leech!

…At least, it was rumored.

'Is he underestimating our forces?' Liam thought with a neutral face. 'No. He has every right to.'

'Or maybe he's trying to build trust.'

Either way, information was good, and Liam couldn't complain.

Usan smiled lightly.

"Nevermind that. We can start the discussions now."

The meeting room's atmosphere turned serious.

Alucard and Usan exchanged a firm nod.

Shadows paired with inscriptions formed around the room, creating another layer of privacy.

"Bringing down the Dual Empire," Usan said with hardened eyes. "That's our goal."

Silence.

This was the first time Usan spoke of his plans.

Alucard hummed pensively to himself.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

The Ministers were quietly looking at their king for a response.

Kitsu just continued feeding on the bucket of fish, which somehow still hadn't finished.

"I had a feeling it was about that," Alucard said with a slight frown. "But…"

"This isn't the first time this has happened."

Usan's eyes visibly widened.

So did Liam's.

"What?" Usan asked, incredulous.

"It's just something they do," Alucard laughed out loud. "It's the way those two have always been."

"Their lover's quarrel is a bit… eccentric. They wage war out of spite."

"Granted, this time it's on a much grander scale."

Silence.

Liam was completely taken aback.

"I remember them quite fondly," Alucard continued, scratching his chin pensively.

"Back when they were Rank 5 Zeniths, they overthrew the Rank 6 Emperor that used to rule those lands."

This time, Kitsu stopped eating from her krill bucket and stared at Alucard with wide eyes.

"I still remember how my jaw fell to the floor when I heard that," Alucard said, suddenly serious.

"The Emperor wasn't the strongest person back then. Heck, he was an old coot."

Pot calling the kettle black.

"But he wasn't weak, that was for sure," Alucard said. "I personally still have no idea how they managed to pull that off."

Usan lowered his head with an alarmed, slightly dark look.

Getting revenge looked more distant now.

More dangerous and less likely.

How many people could boast about killing a powerhouse as a Zenith?

Just two, Liam supposed.

Granted, Usan always knew it was going to be incredibly hard to do.

But this was a bitter reality check that left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Do you still wish for war?" Alucard asked Usan with a serious voice.

It seemed that even Alucard wasn't a fan of needlessly exposing himself against powerful enemies.

Silence.

"They pulled it off because they were together," Liam said suddenly.

The room's attention fell on him.

Usually, Liam was silent in times like this.

Liam was inexperienced with these sorts of meetings.

He was basically an intern learning the ropes.

Plus, he was weaker compared to the rest.

And his words held less weight as a consequence.

But Usan was taking too long to answer.

"If they brought down the Emperor, it's because they did it together," Liam said.

Liam shrugged. "...They're not together now. What stops us from making their relationship worse?"

Silence.

"Interesting way to put it," Alucard chuckled lightly. "Your plan?"

A small pause.

Usan looked at Liam with an arched brow.

"If this is a common occurrence, then these people are clearly not fit for each other."

…Not that Liam had any relationship advice to give…

"What stops us from weakening them from within? They don't have to know their country is being invaded."

'Clearly you didn't,' Liam thought. But what he said was:

"Half of us could go to the Empire of Courage, and the other half could go to the Empire of Fear."

"From there, we could break down their forces as much as we can."

"If the powerhouses notice… you two could swoop in and kill them there."

Silence.

The Minister of Security and Defense looked supprised.

Then, they looked at their king with approving gazes.

Alucard stroked his beard.

"Interesting," he said. "Not too bad."

Usan looked at Liam with a broad smile, suppressing a laugh.

[Was that… all improvisation?] Usan transmissioned silently.

Liam hid a smirk. [Every word.]