417 Showing Them Who the Boss is
The Von Stein family territory was somewhat far from the dragon valley, but with the speed Arthur now had, it was not a big deal to him! He kept using his teleport spells — he did not need to wait for others to catch up with him, so there was no reason to hinder his speed — and arrived at the Von Stein territory within two days.
When he got there, no one knew who he was, and he looked like a human, meaning the vampires were not fond of him.
“What are you doing in front of the castle, huh? We are getting your blood tomorrow, not today!” the castle guard said arrogantly.
Arthur found it funny, considering he could turn that vampire into nothing with just one hand.
“I am looking to pay a visit to the leader of the Von Stein family,” Arthur said.
“Someone who wants to speak with our leader? Who do you think you are?”
The vampire then unsheathed his sword and pointed it toward Arthur, “if you leave now, I will not throw you into the dungeon and turn you into a blood source!”
Arthur could not believe a random guard from the castle had said that to him. Was that treatment only because he was a human? The Von Stein family seemed to be getting worse by the day, but it was a good thing Arthur was there to stop them.
“Look, weak little inferior being. I will not kill you because I am in a good mood right now but speak with me like that again, and I will make you wish you were dead! Now, pass the message to your leader that the lord of the dragons is here to chat with him. If he does not welcome me, I must destroy your castle, rats.”
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“Could he be telling the truth? If so, then I am screwed!” the guard thought.
He could not be certain Arthur was indeed a dragon, but there was no reason for him to push the subject further and act more like a douchebag when there was a chance of the youth in front of him being a dragon. Why risk it? So, the guard swallowed his pride and went inside to warn the Von Stein family leader about Arthur’s arrival.
“Leader,” he said as he rushed inside the room where the leader usually stayed.
Only a few vampires had the authority to go inside to speak with him; a simple guard was not one of those people. But if something huge happened — like the arrival of a dragon — the guard had the authority to warn the leader.
“What is it? If it is unimportant, you will be punished; you know that, right?”
“I-It’s important! A youth is in front of the gate and claims to be the lord of the dragons. He said he would burn this castle down if you don’t welcome him!”
“What? This youth has guts,” the leader said, leaving his room and going straight to the castle’s gate.
The leader did not believe the youth in front of his castle was the lord of the dragons, just like the guard did not, but there was still a tiny chance he could be, and for that, there was no need to take the risk.
“But what if it is the lord of the dragons? Who does he think he is? I am the leader of the Von Stein family, and the dragons don’t have a saying in this continent anymore,” he thought.
Dragons were the superior race, not only in the demon continent but in the planet itself, but that was long ago! Despite the dragon’s greatness, they did not have many of them left, and most of their treasures and techniques were lost. Also, he thought no dragons would reach rank four without resources. They were powerful, but they demanded specific ingredients to get stronger, which would be impossible for them now.
The vampire stopped in front of the gate, and when he looked at Arthur, he could feel something was off. Why? No one he laid his eyes on could escape his scanning, and no matter how he looked at Arthur, it was just an ordinary youth with no mana coming out of his body.
“This is impossible. Not even rank four mages can escape from my eyes. Could he be… rank five? No, that’s impossible for this world.”
“Who are you?” the leader asked.
Arthur smiled and said, “didn’t the guard tell you this?”
“He told me a story about you being the lord of the dragons, and don’t get me wrong, but I don’t trust his words completely. Who are you?”
The atmosphere between the two got strange, and it was like the leader of the Von Stein family would attack him at any second.
“Telling you might not work, so why don’t I just show you?” Arthur said.
At first, the other party did not understand the meaning behind those words, but then everything became clear in the next few seconds. The frail body of the youth turned into a mighty black-scaled dragon as giant as the castle the vampires were living in! Its roar echoed in the surrounding area, and when that guard who mistreated Arthur heard it, he dropped the flask of blood he was drinking, and his entire body trembled with fear!
“N-No way!”
Not only he but all the others inside the castle heard it, and when they went outside or looked through the castle windows and saw that immense black dragon, looking as big as a mountain, staring at them, they could not believe what they were seeing!
Some of them only heard stories about the dragons, and no one had seen one in person, and those who did, well, they had never seen one as immense as the one standing in front of the castle.
“I-Impossible.”
The Von Stein family leader saw the same thing as everyone else, yet he did not believe his eyes.
Arthur looked at him, who was like an ant in front of a tree, and said, “I hope you can invite me in for a conversation.”
After that mighty display, the leader would invite him, “pardon me. I am the lord of this castle, Harker. Please, come in.”
Arthur returned to his human form, smiled, and slowly walked toward the castle’s gates, going inside without anyone trying to stop him. Harker, a rank-four mage, personally walked along with him, going toward his private section in the castle.
Once there, someone else was waiting for them. An older-looking vampire, which was ancient. It was the other rank-four mage of the Von Stein family and one that was even stronger than Harker. Arthur was at a disadvantage there but was not the slightest worried about it, as he believed in his strength.
“Now, shall we start our meeting?” Arthur said, choosing one of the chairs in the meeting room without asking.