In the days that followed, a piece of official news spread like wildfire across the world: the newly minted Earl Inset An had stormed the Montgomery Family headquarters single-handedly, wiped out every last member, and freed all the slaves.
Though the authorities tried to downplay the story—tucking it into a tiny corner of the newspapers—it still kicked up a massive storm.
An entire marquis family wiped off the map? They had to give the public some kind of explanation.
The official line went like this:
Cause: Earl Inset An discovered the Montgomery Family conducting horrific, inhumane human experiments in secret.
Process: Earl Inset An broke into the slave warehouse in the Rita Suburbs all by himself.
Result: Earl Inset An defeated the entire Montgomery Family and liberated all the slaves.
As for Iyefut Cape’s involvement… that had been quietly swept under the rug.
It was a decision on multiple levels. On the surface, it protected the reputation of an unmarried noblewoman. Dig deeper, and it was about the bigger picture: even though Iyefut was part of the Cape Family, letting the Dark World’s nobles know she’d helped take down the Montgomery Family and free the slaves could strain relations between the Capes and the Dark World.
Sure, those snakes, rats, and insects in the Dark World were nothing compared to a global powerhouse like the Cape Family. But it was easy to guard against open attacks and hard to fend off hidden arrows.
Assassinating Iyefut? It wasn’t impossible.
In any case, they’d pinned everything on Sang. Manson Montgomery hadn’t been beaten by him—he’d been devoured by his own son. The Montgomery remnants weren’t cleared out by him either; the Black Knight had handled that.
All Sang had really done was take down Morton Montgomery!
However…
To keep things simple—and maybe divert a bit of trouble—Sang still shouldered the blame.
Sang: “In the end, I had to carry it all by myself. So damn tiring, not worth it.”
Unlike Sang’s own exasperation, the outside world erupted into total celebration.
After all… rumors had long swirled that the new Earl Inset An was the Northern Hero, but they’d never been confirmed. Neither the man himself nor the authorities had ever acknowledged it. Over time, the hype around the Northern Hero had faded, and most people had accepted it as just idle gossip.
However…
After this incident, even without a peep from the officials, everyone fully embraced the Northern Hero’s existence.
Earl Inset An’s name exploded in fame, resounding among humans and Blood Race alike.
The Montgomery Family wasn’t some small fry. They were one of the Dark World’s overlords in human trafficking, with a long and storied history. And the current family head, Manson Montgomery, had been a cadre in the Cape Knight Order (Red Gear). Though he’d left the knights behind, at his peak, he’d been a platinum-level knight—one of Grand Duke Richter Cape’s key right-hand men.
For such a powerhouse family to fall to a single human…
The Blood Race was stunned. How had this new earl wiped out the Montgomerys single-handedly? First triumphs in the Northern Region, now crushing slavers in Central… They hated to admit it, but they could no longer ignore this human.
Humans, meanwhile, felt shock mixed with adoration…
On one hand, the young man’s sheer power. Humans had always been on the back foot against the Blood Race, but here was someone strong enough to topple an entire family by himself. It was a huge sigh of relief, a shining light for humanity.
On the other, the Montgomerys weren’t just any family. As Blood Race specialists in human trafficking, they were more vile than your average nobles—downright evil, their crimes piled sky-high. For the young man to crush that kind of darkness? How could anyone not admire him!?
In an instant, countless Blood Race members took notice of this human—or rather, turned hostile, gripped by a sense of threat.
Sure, the Montgomerys had it coming first, but toppling an old established family single-handedly… What if he showed up on their doorstep next!?
He had to be eliminated!
In Central Periphery First District, human elites were already itching to befriend and court this new earl. In Second District, commoners buzzed with excitement, faces lit with admiration and a shared sense of pride.
“Earl Inset An is incredible! How did he pull it off? Destroying the whole Montgomery Family by himself!”
“The Montgomery Family—one of the Cape Family’s biggest subsidiaries! They even had the title of Dark World overlord. And their family head, Manson Montgomery, used to be a Red Gear cadre… Tsk tsk, beaten by a human. So badass!”
“Such a relief! Since Mr. Lance died, we haven’t had a human this badass!”
“Shh! Are you nuts? Don’t say that name…”
“Uh… sorry.”
Third District was the wildest of all—the chaotic underbelly of paupers, undocumented folk, and slaves. It had always been a dead zone, lifeless and grim. Lately, though, it brimmed with new energy.
And the reason? Simple.
Earl Inset An had crushed the Montgomery Family, and half of Third District’s slaves had ties to them. You can imagine the deep-seated hatred. Hearing of the family’s downfall? They were over the moon.
Many humans in Third District had lost all direction, merely waiting to die…
But this event inspired countless souls, filling them with hope to become like Earl Inset An.
As time passed, tales of the earl grew more exaggerated—not just the events, but his appearance too. He’d gone from six feet tall to over seven…
Idol worship will do that to people…
“Earl Inset An is humanity’s hope!”
“He’s a hero!”
…
In an opera house in Central First District.
This was an opulent venue for nobles only. At that moment, a short play praising the Blood Race’s glorious deeds was onstage.
Opera and theater were common pastimes for nobles, usually one of two flavors: most glorified noble achievements, a few told rags-to-riches tales of commoners rising to knighthood or nobility… Anything with “Are emperors and generals born to rule?” vibes? Straight-up censored.
Who’d dare dream of that these days? God knows what they’d try next!
Amid the ordinary nobles watching quietly below, a VIP box above held row upon row of seats filled with Blood Race nobles—and some humans. All players in the Dark World, from barons to marquises, dozens strong.
“Heard about it? Montgomerys wiped out. By the Northern Hero…”
“Sigh, I said that human was dangerous—a ticking time bomb. Now with Montgomerys gone, the slave market’s in for a bloodbath.”
History was always one player’s curtain call ushering in the next. The Dark World was no different. As long as the slavery system endured, one Montgomery down meant a thousand more waiting in the wings.
The Montgomerys had just stabilized the slave trade.
With them gone, nobles would fight tooth and nail over that juicy profit.
“But what do we do about this Earl Inset An?”
“Put a bounty on him?”
“Bounty? Hell yes! I’ll put up two thousand gold coins to take him out!”
Two thousand gold coins—think twenty million.
For context, official bounties had Bruno second at only eight hundred. Dark World bids ran higher than official ones, but two thousand? Outrageous.
It showed just how badly the Dark World wanted Earl Inset An gone.
“No… hold off for now. The Dark World needs to stay low-key… no moves yet…”
“Heh heh~ Right, inner squabbles first~ That slave market slot means tens of thousands in gold flow yearly. Tsk tsk…”
Thanks to the Dark World’s infighting, Sang could lay low a bit longer.
