Everyone was shocked to see Byron lose in less than 5 moves. Those who were shocked were vampires that come from Thignia. Some humans who knew Byron or were told about him were shocked as well.
Byron gritted his teeth. "Save me!"
His guards rushed forward, blocked the attack, and pulled him out. The statues did not move from their spot and simply stabbed their sword to the ground again, returning to their original posture.
Aldred laughed. "What a loser. Now give me all of your treasures. As for your mom and sister, I will surely do a lovely visit to your county some other time."
The people there couldn't even laugh anymore. They were too shocked at how powerful the statues were. If Byron was defeated so easily, then what about them?
Byron snorted. "I am not done yet."
He rushed forward along with his guards who almost matched him in strength. They worked together and fought the statues, circling them, and attacking them from all directions.
The statues didn't even lift their feet. They swung down, creating a powerful force wave that blasted all the snow along with Byron and his men.
Byron spat out blood as his whole body felt in pain. He was unwilling to admit defeat. "Again! Attack again!"
The guards obeyed. This time they were more careful in their movement and focused on dodging. Yet despite that, the statues kept on hitting them with their large stone swords. One of the guards got hit right in the face. His body was thrown onto the wall, and he slid down lifelessly.
Byron couldn't believe his eyes. How could he not defeat these statues? They were just a pile of rocks.
He gritted his teeth. "Charged!"
A powerful aura came from his fist. He leaped forward, and punched one of the statues in the face. His fist exploded with powerful energy. The statues did not feel that, and slammed him with its sword.
"Sir Byron!"
The guards dragged him away as he coughed out of blood.
"This cannot be. This cannot be! I refuse to believe this!" Byron coughed out more blood.
"You lose," Aldred said.
"NO! I am not. Give me time and I will destroy them."
"Even if you die, you won't be able to defeat them."
"What a joke. Then it's your turn to fight them. Go on. If you can unlock your dice, then I admit I lose."
"Say no more." Aldred walked to the statues.
It looked at him and stabbed with its sword. Aldred smiled and calmly raised his dice. The sword stabbed through the keyhole of the dice, and then it unlocked by itself. The statues turned lifeless and returned to their original position.
The onlookers gasped in shock. What the hell just happened?
Aldred turned around and smiled. "Byron, you lose the moment you try to take the key. Aldred walked to the cylinder stand. His hands pinched the key, but he couldn't take it.
"As you can see, the key is not real. It's merely a drawing. The key is right there all this time which is the tip of the stone knight's sword. All of you have been fooled."
The people whispered around with this revelation. They were shocked by Aldred's capabilities to figure that out, and were also grateful for him. If he did not tell them about this, then they wouldn't be able to climb.
Byron wore an unwilling expression at first, but then it turned into a smug look. "Humph. Let me tell you something. The contract I gave you earlier only works for you. Unless you are a vampire, I don't have to obey anythi—"
A red aura glowed in his body.
"Wait what?"
Suddenly, numerous sharp pain prickled his body from the inside out, stabbing his stomach, liver, heart, and brain. "AHH! I will obey the contract! I will obey!"
The pain disappeared.
Maverick furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Aldred. Was the boy a vampire?
"What's going on?" Aldred asked.
"He tried to trick you," Maverick said. "The contract given to you was for a vampire which means he doesn't have to obey anything if you are a human."
Aldred was a vampire? How was that possible? Bartrem and the soldiers had always lived with Aldred and they had never seen him drink blood.
"Mary, did you know?" Bartrem asked.
Mary nodded. "Mira, Sophia, and Mareona knew as well."
"Aldred, are you afraid that we won't accept you because you are a vampire?" Bartrem looked at him.
Aldred scratched his cheek. "It's not that. The thing is. I only turned into a vampire quite recently."
"Turning into a vampire?"
Aldred nodded. "I was a human, but I turned into a vampire when I traveled to Ruandeurtin with Mary."
The soldiers nodded in understanding.
"We don't care if you are a vampire, Aldred. What matters is not your race, but what you have done for us. You saved our lives numerous times and we laughed and ate together."
Aldred smiled. "I can turn into an eagle and snakes. Do you still accept me?"
"Hahaha. Even if you turn into a frog, we'd still be your friends."
Aldred looked to the side. If they knew he could turn into a vibrator… wonder what their reaction would be.
Maverick smiled. If Aldred was a vampire then it would be easier to rope Aldred in. His father had a lot of powerful blood supply for a young vampire like Aldred. But before that, he had to make a good impression.
"Byron, now that you lose, you must give all of your treasures to Aldred." Maverick stared at him.
"Fine," Byron said. He had no choice. If he refused, the contract would kill him.
Aldred walked towards him and received all the treasures. The man brought a lot of storage pouches. It was similar to his divine dimension, but only had a few meters of space.
After giving it all out, Byron was only left with one set of armor.
"Take that off as well," Aldred said.
"This is the only thing I have."
"I don't care. The contract said we will take everything."
Byron trembled in anger as he stared at Aldred. Nonetheless, he still took off his armor and handed them to the boy.
Aldred laughed. "We're rich! Guys, if you want any treasures just tell me. I will give you anything you want."
The adventurers hearing this bit their lips in jealousy. Being Aldred's friend or his subordinates seemed like a much better prospect than being an adventurer.
The boy glanced at Byron who was still shaking in anger. "Don't be so excited. I won't forget your mom and sister. I, Aldred the Great, will make a visit in the future."
Byron's vein burst on his forehead. A slight tinge of fear accompanied his anger. If the boy was serious, then he would be in a big trouble.
He then rummaged through the pile of treasures, looking for something useful that he could use. He found a small red trinket.
[Flame Ward]
- A powerful ward that let you control the fire elements with a radius of 200 meter (656 feet) in any direction.
- Increase your fire mastery within the effect radius by 200%
- Increase fire damage by 250%
