Chapter 483 – Brotherly Rescue.

“Did you really think that such a lowly-born nobody could abduct the young lady?”

“Argh … I didn’t…”

“…and get away with it?”

“Ugh…”

Within a darkened chamber a lone man was being held in restraints. His head was hanging forward as only his hands were holding up his body. Chains hung down from the ceiling and connected to metallic cuffs that clamped around his wrists, leaving him suspended just above the cold, damp floor. The flickering light from a single torch revealed deep gashes and bruises covering his torso, evidence of prolonged torture.

Robert’s breath was ragged, his strength fading away with each passing moment. The pain was relentless, and he had lost track of how long he had been in this hellish place. He struggled to keep his mind focused, to think of a way out, but the poison coursing through his veins muddied his thoughts.

Before him was an ever-grinning man of a lanky stature. In one of his hands was a long whip, its leather stained with blood. His eyes gleamed with a sadistic delight as he watched Robert’s suffering. The man was the personal torturer of the De Vere estate, a twisted individual who took pleasure in inflicting pain on others.

“It’s such a shame, you’re starting to turn into such a nice color, maybe the lord won’t mind if I do a little extra work, no one will care much for such a bastard like you.”

The man laughed while looking to the side. There, on a bloody workbench, were various tools for torture. The torturer approached the workbench, his fingers lightly tracing over the assortment of tools laid out. Robert’s breath quickened, his heart pounding in his chest as he braced himself for the next wave of pain.

“Why don’t we get rid of the thing that caused this problem?”

The torturer chuckled and picked up a large pair of shears. He held them with both hands and squeezed to close them. They produced an audible sound, muffled by the dried flesh and blood left behind by previous victims. There was a large grin on the man’s face as he pointed the shears towards Robert’s groin, implying the body part he planned to use them on.

“Yes, we must remove that obscenely large tool. I’m sure the potions will heal up what’s left after. Lord Graham will surely be pleased!”

However, before the torturer could take another step, a tremor reverberated throughout the dungeon cell. The man stopped and listened. Soon, he could hear the footsteps of many soldiers. This dungeon lay beneath the knights’ training ground, and for some reason, all of them were running somewhere.

“What was that?”

“Stay here, I’ll go look.”

The man torturing Robert wasn’t alone here, right in front of this chamber stood a guard watching over the whole procedure. Once the ruckus was heard he moved forward and left the torturer with his prisoner alone. The man shook his head in disappointment and wanted to turn back to face Robert again but before he did, something caught his eye.

“Huh? What is that?”

He rubbed his eyes as he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things but suddenly, from the dim corner of the chamber, a faint shimmering light flickered. At first, it seemed like a trick of the eye, but as the torturer squinted, he realized that it was a small floating geometrical shape, almost invisible to the naked eye. The torturer’s brow furrowed in confusion as the device floated close and emitted a bright flash of light. Before he could react, the cube projected a beam of magical energy which collided with the piece of equipment he was trying to use the shears on.

“What the…”

The man screamed out in pain as he felt something explode between his own two legs. He instantly fell down to the ground, clutching the area that was hit with both his hands. The torturer’s anguished screams echoed through the dungeon as he writhed on the ground, clutching his groin in a desperate attempt to quell the searing pain. The small floating device hovered near Robert, who, despite his own agony, managed a faint smile of satisfaction. His torturer had finally tasted a fraction of the pain he had inflicted on others.

Robert’s vision was foggy, but soon enough this problem was alleviated by the strange magical device. On the table with the torture tools were several potions, some for healing and others for detoxification. His captors used them to heal his wounds whenever they became too severe, a widespread tactic to enhance the mental anguish of a torture target. This friendly thing somehow pulled in the potions towards his body, to then shatter the glass casing above his head to let the healing liquids flow out.

“Hah… I see… that’s unexpected of him…”

A smile crept over Roberts’s face as his vision started to recover. What he saw before him was a strange floating contraption. While he didn’t recognize it from anywhere, it had glowing runes on its metallic surface. An image of his younger brother instantly entered his mind and soon darkness took over as he lost consciousness.

Back outside, the man known as Count De Vere glanced out of the window. There he saw a strange spectacle of floating runic devices and his knights retreating in a disorganized manner. The sight puzzled and angered him, especially since the invader was just one man but he was walking through with barely any opposition.

“Who is this madman?”

He muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. The Grand Commander beside him looked equally perturbed, but he maintained his composure, knowing that his duty was to protect the Count and his estate.

“Sir, you need not worry, the De Vere Azure Lion Knight order will handle this intruder.”

The man was wearing shiny blue-tinted armor. It was quite the spectacular-looking piece of art, reflecting the sunlight in a dazzling display. His back was hidden behind a large cape with the De Vere’s household cress. This crest consisted of a golden lion roaring on a field of azure, representing strength and nobility. The Grand Commander moved forth his lord following after with calmed steps.

“He’s just one man, after all. He cannot withstand the combined might of our forces.”

“That is true, but who is he to barge in like that? Restrain him first, we don’t know who we might be dealing with, Leopold. Also, have our guests escorted out to the secondary house.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Graham De Vere responded to the Grand Commander of his Knight order while fixing his suit. The man was of average stature but walked with purpose, his chest was constantly puffed out and a monocle was sticking out of his chest pocket. His mind continued to race with ideas and possibilities. This wasn’t something that was supposed to happen on this day and the identity of the assailant was probably nothing normal. People that were capable of barging into his territory, couldn’t be simple, this was what he thought.

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“Ah, Count Graham, you’re here… but what’s with all that ruckus outside?”

Once Graham had walked down from his office he greeted a somewhat sloppy-looking individual. The two men had the same rank but the man before him had an untrained body and a bulge of a belly protruding over his belt. This man was Count Laurence, a potential new ally he wished to impress. His house had gained this title not so long ago and he was at a stage of consolidating power.

“Count Laurence, I hope you didn’t have to wait for too long.”

Count Graham De Vere greeted his guest, Count Laurence, with a forced smile, trying to maintain an air of calm despite the chaos unfolding outside. The two men shook hands, their eyes meeting briefly before both turned to look out the window again, watching the scene outside with growing concern.

“It seems you have an unexpected guest, is this something I should worry about?”

Count Laurence commented while glancing out the same window. It was just in time to see a large armored man flying through the sky. A flash of bright light pushed him aside and he tumbled against the ground, creating a small crater upon impact. The overweight man’s eyes widened at the sight, and he turned to Graham with a questioning look.

“…Nothing you need to worry about, Laurence. Just a minor disturbance. My knights will handle it swiftly.”

Graham’s assurance did little to ease the tension in the room. Both men knew that any disturbance significant enough to throw tier 3 armored knights through the air was far from minor. The commotion outside continued to escalate, with bursts of light and flashes of magic everywhere. It was to the point that caused the Grand Commander of all the knights here to rush out. The two counts followed after to see a floating figure surrounded by strange geometrical shapes.

“Who is this man? Your knights can’t even get close?”