Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!

When Adrian, Ria, and the others stepped out of their carriage, a look of disbelief crossed the faces of those present.

"Crown Prince?" Boris was the first to speak.

The crown prince was someone who was quite popular, as he had been the youngest expert in the Vermilion Kingdom before Nox appeared.

As such, he had everyone's respect. In fact, it could be said that most nobles respected the crown prince more than the king himself.

What was he doing here?

Why was he with Nox?

Several unanswered questions raced through their minds. They all turned to Nox, their eyes seeming to say Explain!

However, Nox only shrugged and nodded at Adrian. He was the best person who could explain himself in this situation.

"I know some of you know my name, but for those who don't—I'm Prince Adrian Vermilion," Adrian introduced with a low bow.

Nathan's eyes flashed. 'The rumors are indeed true. He's not as arrogant as his father.'

"I'm Nathan Aegis Cromwell," Nathan introduced himself as well. "Baron of this town, and grandfather of Duke Nox Cromwell."

"Oh right, I'm a duke. I almost forgot," Nox mumbled from the side.

To be honest, he had totally forgotten about his title.

"Prince Adrian, what brings you to my humble home?" Nathan asked. "How is the capital?"

Prince Adrian hesitated, fist clenched. "By now… it must've fallen," he said after a moment. "We tried to hold on as long as we could and eventually push back the enemies, but it seemed impossible. Their numbers only grew more and more."

"So that's why he's here."

"The capital is gone."

Whispers broke out among those gathered.

"Have you come to seek refuge then?" Nathan asked.

"Not really," Nox replied this time. "He's come to seek an alliance. I didn't want to make a decision without you all, which is why I brought him over."

"An alliance, huh." Nathan whispered. That word sounded strange coming from a member of the Vermilion royal family.

"What about your father, young prince?" Celine asked the question no one had dared bring up until now. "If there's someone we should be speaking to, it should be him."

When his father was mentioned, they noticed the calm, neutral expression on Adrian's face slowly begin to break.

Ria, standing so close to her brother, could feel it—he was in no state to speak, so she spoke up instead.

"The king abandoned the capital and fled," she said, with no trace of emotion in her voice.

"Tsk. That coward. Why am I not shocked?" Nathan shook his head in disappointment.

So did the others. They had long known that despite being an Awakened at the Expert rank, the king was a very weak-spirited man.

It was one of the reasons he had been unable to get rid of weaker kingdoms like Snowhelm.

"After he abandoned the kingdom, my brother, Prince Adrian, took the position of leadership. With the help of brave soldiers, he held on for weeks. But in the end, our resources were running low, and we couldn't keep up."

"Last I remembered, the capital was crowded with thousands of demons. How did you guys escape safely?" Boris frowned.

"W-We had no choice but to sacrifice some soldiers," Adrian spoke. "Although they volunteered to stay behind—for me, it was no different from sacrificing them."

"We were able to fool the demons into thinking the protective barrier was still active while we escaped."

"Still, it doesn't make sense. A demon or two should have seen you," Boris said.

"That I don't really know. What I noticed was that when we left, the demons had retreated back to their shelters. No one was assaulting the capital."

"What if… they let you go on purpose?" Wendy asked. "And tracked you here?"

A short silence fell around them.

Everyone believed what she said made a lot of sense.

But suddenly, Nox spoke up after recalling the contents of the letter his master had left behind. "Wendy is right. You were probably allowed to escape. However, it wasn't for the purpose of tracking you."

"Then what?" Adrian asked, a somewhat lost expression on his face.

"It's not the right time to tell you this," he replied and looked at his grandfather. "Grandpa, let's hear them out."

"Sure," Nathan replied with a nod. "Even without you telling me, I would have heard them out."

---

Some time later, Adrian, Ria, and the queen were led into one of the larger tents placed right in front of the town's entrance.

Inside was a long table.

All the key figures of the Barony were gathered around it, and when everyone was seated, Adrian began to speak.

"Like Nox said, we're here to form an alliance with you. At this point, it's safe to say the Cromwell Barony is the only standing human settlement. If we don't join forces—by the time the demons and Flaming Rose forces turn their gaze to the western region—I'm afraid not even Cromwell will be able to stand against them."

Even Nathan leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "So, you're saying we're the last hope of humanity?"

"I'm saying if we don't unite now, we'll all fall one by one," Adrian clarified. "You may have won some battles, Baron, but the war hasn't even begun."

"Hmm." Nathan tapped his fingers against the table. "And what exactly do you propose in this alliance?"

Adrian didn't hesitate. "Joint leadership. Shared resources. Coordinated defense. My remaining knights will follow your command structure, but I ask that my sister and I retain equal control."

"Even if this were to happen, what do you propose? What do we get out of this alliance? And what happens when everything settles down?" Nox asked.

Call it selfish or whatever, Nox placed the interest of the people of the west above everything else—even the Vermilion Kingdom.

"We reclaim the kingdom?" Adrian asked with a raised brow. Wasn't that the main reason for this alliance? Wasn't it pretty obvious?

Nox shook his head. "No."

"Then what do you want?" Adrian asked, eyes narrowed.

Nox sucked in a cold breath and in a confident voice declared, "I want to be king."