Star Forge Titan

As he was speaking, Conrad's voice suddenly paused.

Following his gaze, Ivan saw a gloomy old man standing silently at the door of the banquet hall, causing the entire hall to suddenly fall silent without any warning.

Everyone stared at the old man who suddenly appeared. Some people's faces turned extremely pale, as if they were witnessing something terrifying, or were suddenly facing a ferocious and bloodthirsty beast without any preparation.

"Good evening, everyone." The old man had large dark brown age spots on his face. When he spoke, his hoarse voice seemed to come from inside a coffin, filled with the smell of decay and decline.

Ivan was trying to identify the other person's identity, but before he could figure it out, Conrad's somewhat dry voice came to his ears.

"Prince Louis..."

Chapter 7 The Butcher Prince

Louis Carolingian, although the other party's appearance was unfamiliar, the name Irving was very familiar.

Of course, the face corresponding to this name in his memory was much scarier than the one in front of him. It was an ugly face that was shriveled and partially rotten. There was nothing strange about this, after all, the other person was already dead at that time.

As for Louis Carolingian.

A mad prince, a time bomb, a humiliated warrior who died in his bed.

It is not difficult to see his ending in the original plot from these titles given to him.

According to the few words that Alvin learned in his previous life, a powerful extraordinary being named Louis Carolingian became famous during the First Demon War, but his fame did not come entirely from his military achievements, but also from his brutal and bloodthirsty methods.

Although the two sides were already at war at that time, extremists like Prince Louis who completely regarded all people in the hostile country, regardless of age, gender, or identity, as enemies who must be eliminated were exceptions.

The reason seems to be certain past experiences and a sense of royal responsibility that has been distorted by his own ideas.

In short, Prince Louis at that time completely accepted a statement that was originally spread in Lindse for propaganda purposes only.

That concept claims that humans who have undergone transformation through the secret rituals of Elrond are no longer humans, but another race that must be eliminated - the demons.

Because of this extreme idea, Louis and his troops would commit extremely brutal acts such as large-scale massacres regardless of whether they were in encounters or sieges.

Even prisoners who had surrendered or the elderly, weak, women and children who had no fighting ability would be killed by him.

Louis, holding up the butcher knife, claimed that once one had undergone the twisted and evil ritual, they would no longer be human beings, but at best beasts in human form.

Perhaps it was because of this that he and his troops completely threw away moral constraints, and displayed such brutality that even Lind began to suspect that these people had become corrupt.

However, the chaotic wartime situation and the special circumstances of the war between the two countries forced the temple's review to be delayed again and again.

By the time the war was over, Louis had become a fifth-order perfect being, and no one could easily peek into his soul essence. All of his subordinates were killed in the war.

However, Louis himself became a nominal war hero because he was seriously injured while covering the evacuation of the troops. In addition, due to the public opinion environment and ordinary censorship methods, he was not judged as "corrupted".

In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

As a result, Louis Carolingian was given hateful titles such as the Butcher Prince and the Red Deer. When the war subsided, even many people on Linde's side did not recognize him as a war hero.

Of course, Louis himself didn't care about any of this, because before the end of the war, a bigger trouble beset him.

Although Prince Louis reached the fifth level during the war, his bloodthirsty and brutal nature led to the massacres he unleashed. Even though the 42nd Demon Lord, Gustav, who had also reached the fifth level, had already decided to negotiate peace with Lind, he led his personal guards, the Black Knights, on a thousand-mile hunt for the executioner known as the Butcher before the negotiations began.

In the battle of the fifth-level perfectors accompanied by landslides and earthquakes, Louis' subordinates were slaughtered by the black knights like hunting wild beasts, and the moonlight secret sword launched by Gustav also left him with irreparable injuries.

Louis, who barely escaped from the battlefield, couldn't even maintain the complete state of a fifth-level transcendent. The rapid loss of vitality caused his body to continue to age uncontrollably.

This is absolutely abnormal for a perfect person who has reached the fifth level.

If the power of a superhuman being is unleashed, this aging process will become even more rapid, and one may even suddenly die while unleashing the power.

As time goes by, even without interference from external factors and without using his own extraordinary powers, Prince Louis will still slowly die of aging. This is an irreversible process.

What an ironic ending, a bloodthirsty warrior who loves war would end up lying in bed and decaying like an ordinary old man.

Anyway, according to Ivan's memory, this cruel executioner finally died quietly of old age. He didn't know if there were other changes in the process.

After all, the first major event of the version, Skeleton Frenzy, had already broken out at that time, and all the Lind people and players in the Lind camp at that time focused their attention on the major event of war.

Compared with the serious situation faced by the entire country, a fifth-level old man who cannot participate in the battle is only the death of one person even if he dies.

But then again, this seemed to be his second time facing a fifth-order perfector.

Compared to last time, Alvin didn't feel anything at this moment. He just quietly watched the hunched figure slowly walking into the banquet hall.

Well, to be more specific, there's no comparison between last time and this time. Because even if the 42nd Demon Lord Gustav wasn't a transcendent back then, he would still be very nervous.

Ivan curled the corners of his mouth amused by his own thoughts, and then noticed that Khayon had walked up to him at some point. At this moment, the fake smile he had been maintaining outside was a little off.

Yes, no matter how proficient this guy is in skills like backstab, he is still an Elrond after all.

When facing the butcher Louis Carolingian, most of the Elrond people were very restrained and did not rush forward with a roar.

In the past, there was even a diplomat who couldn't help but "slip" his wine glass to the old man's feet. According to the person involved later, he was actually aiming at the other person's face, but his hand was shaking because he was too angry.

As for the fact that the other side could kill him with just one finger, the tall and strong Elrond diplomat said frankly, "I'll give my life in exchange for the butcher living a few years less." For his country and the compatriots who died in the Human-Demon War, isn't this a great thing that is so profitable that it requires a celebration?

The result was naturally a diplomatic storm.

"Calm down." Ivan put his arm around Khayon's shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'm calm now." Since he couldn't keep smiling, Khayang simply frowned to make himself look serious and nervous.

This was not surprising in the banquet hall. Even the new generation of young nobles who spoke out after the war were familiar with the title of Butcher Prince. It was impossible for the elders of their family not to mention his existence.

After hearing about those things, even young people who have never seen it will feel nervous and insecure.

That is the inevitable effect of biological empathy.

Under the gaze of everyone, Louis Carolingian walked through the crowd with slow steps. The nobles around him seemed to be pushed away by an invisible wall and consciously made way for the old man who was walking slowly.

Diana was probably the only one here who didn't know Louis Carolingian. She frowned and pulled Catherine, who was wearing a blue long dress, behind her.

Diana didn't think too much about it. The environment of the orphanage meant that the orphans had to learn to support each other, so when an accident happened, she habitually protected her companions first, but she didn't realize that the other party might be stronger than her.

This simple action made Catherine, who had not reacted in time, stunned. Her face, which had originally shown dissatisfaction because the opening dance was interrupted, could not help but reveal a bit of surprise.

This made the Duchess look no different from any other frightened noble girl, but she was not usually like this.

Seeing the expression on Catherine's face, Louis Carolingian narrowed his cloudy eyes, seemed to shake his head with an imperceptible amplitude, and then continued to walk forward.

At this moment, the other nobles also followed the direction of Prince Louis's progress and noticed that Emperor Conrad, who had changed his clothes at some point, was standing at the end of the road.

After being discovered by everyone, Conrad did not hide his reluctance as he dragged himself forward a few steps and took the initiative to stand in front of the aging prince.

Although he was the emperor of Linde, as a junior he had to take the initiative to greet the other party.

"Good night, Your Excellency."

Prince Louis was very rude not to answer Conrad, but just stood there looking him up and down.

After a while, the old man said slowly in a very hoarse voice:

"Naive, lazy, and unreasonably optimistic. Humph, you and your grandfather, my foolish brother, are exactly the same."

Chapter 8 Key Items

Prince Louis looked at Conrad as if he were a useless and dissolute young man.

And in the country of Linde in the Central Empire, he was the only one who would accuse the emperor so mercilessly.

Even when Catherine got angry at Conrad for his laziness, she would only complain to him privately as a younger sister. When Conrad was Emperor Lind, even the Duchess would respect him with the etiquette of a subordinate noble.

But at this moment, Prince Louis was like a teacher scolding a child, not caring whether there were other people around.

The old man kept on talking in an annoying manner, but Alvin saw that Conrad always had a playful smile on his face, as if he didn't care what the other person said.

After watching for a while, he came to his senses. This guy was now speaking in a tone like coaxing a child, treating the prince of a very high status in front of him as an Alzheimer's patient.

"We will leave eventually, and then you will be the only one to manage this country. But the way you are doing this is really worrying..." Prince Louis looked at the unchanged smile on Conrad's face, his turbid eyes became more gloomy, and finally he snorted coldly to end his lecture.

Just when everyone thought that the old nobleman who suddenly appeared would leave as usual, he grabbed Conrad's hand without warning, and stared at the latter with a suddenly clear look.

"Remember, you are the emperor of Linde."

Afterwards, Prince Louis slowly left the banquet hall. His complicated cloak, which was as old-fashioned as himself, was draped over his hunched back. The ends with some frayed threads dragged on the ground, and the hem of the cloak was covered with dust and mud, just as dirty as the pair of leather boots on his feet.

From this we can see that this strange old man nicknamed the Butcher Prince actually walked from his residence to Neuschwanstein Castle on foot. It is really hard to understand what he wanted to express through his weird words and deeds.

It was not until the other person's back completely disappeared into the dark night that Alvin noticed that Conrad's right hand had been clenched tightly.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid of a fifth-level cultivator?" The black-haired boy said calmly:

"Yes, you're right." Conrad still had a smile on his face. He replied in a low voice while waving to the other nobles to indicate that nothing was wrong, and then he put away the stiff smile on his face.

"I'm worried that this grandfather might be so enraged by my incompetence that he might draw his sword and chop off my head right there."

"Should be, no way." Alvin curled his lips in disbelief.

"If Prince Louis is as cruel as the legend says, I think he might do something like that." Khayang, who had been silent nearby, suddenly spoke up.

"Actually..." Conrad raised his hand to support his forehead with a painful expression.

"He's much more ferocious than the legend says."

"It is extremely rude to talk about elders behind their backs." Catherine's voice reached the ears of the three.

The two ladies whose opening dance was interrupted simply came over here to rest. Along the way, Catherine used Diana as a fresh and useful shield to block several tactless inviters. Seeing the former's delicate and sharp face, the young nobles were speechless for a moment, and even felt that they were redundant.

"Oh, my dear sister, why don't you continue dancing? This quiet corner is more suitable for single lonely men who have no female companions and are not good at socializing." Conrad suddenly returned to his usual lazy and casual appearance.

"If my stupid brother hadn't been suddenly scolded, and people had to worry about whether he would burst into tears on the spot, I wouldn't have come to such a deserted corner." Catherine bluntly stabbed Conrad with sharp words.

Then, His Majesty the Emperor immediately covered his chest with his hands, made a face of loss and discomfort, and then continued in that dramatic tone that made others want to beat him up:

"Ah, if even you say so, then I, indeed, could let my tears flow like a river right here and now."

"Cry, silly brother. If you cry, no one here will comfort you. All you will be greeted with is a mocking smile." Catherine rolled her eyes at him as usual and replied with the same dramatic singing emphasis.

However, the Duchess's voice was not like Conrad's. It was not at all affected, but as bright and moving as a nightingale in a garden at night. It was obvious that she had received systematic vocal training.

"...This is..." Diana looked back and forth at the two of them with a puzzled look, and suddenly she showed an expression of understanding.

"A two-person comedy?"

Hearing this, the two turned their heads to look at her at the same time. Even Ivan and Kayon who were watching gave her strange looks, which made Diana couldn't help but lower her head.

Beneath that cold, handsome exterior, she was essentially a country girl from the lower city, or perhaps even a peasant girl. In fact, if it weren't for Sister Teresa's careful instruction, the children of the Lower City orphanage might not have been as polite as a peasant girl from a squire's family.

But temperament is not only influenced by the external environment but also by one's innate personality. Even when Diana suddenly said something strange that made it difficult to understand the atmosphere, it felt more like she was telling a cold joke.

then……

"Puchi, humph." His Majesty the Emperor of Linde of the Central Empire snorted with laughter like a tavern dweller.

"Ha~" Catherine also smiled, and then she took the initiative to put her arm around Diana.

"It's just a special way of communication between siblings, don't take it seriously. It's perfectly fine to treat it as a comedy. After all, I'm not like an ordinary noble who cares little about dignity." As she spoke, she rolled her eyes at Conrad, who was still trying to hold back his laughter.

"But having said that." Catherine suddenly turned her gaze to Ivan and Khayon, who was trying hard to reduce his presence.

"Just now, facing a fifth-level cultivator, you two were so calm. It's really surprising."

"If I said I was actually petrified, would you believe it?" Ivan raised his eyebrows and replied in a relaxed tone:

"Yeah, I was actually scared silly just now, so I didn't react at all." Ka Yang also immediately agreed as if he suddenly realized something:

"Hmph, let's just take it as it is." Catherine didn't dwell too much on this topic, but she secretly raised her evaluation of these people in her heart.

"Okay, let's talk business." The Duchess put away her smile and put on a serious look.

"To further develop magical engineering, several factions, led by our Carolingian family, have decided to launch a intensive talent development program called the 'New Century Excellent Magician Talent Training Program,' or 'Mage Training Program,' for short. As the champion team of the Youth Magician Competition, you have the opportunity to join this program."

"Perhaps you already know this." She looked at them with a meaningful look.

"Linde is never stingy with outstanding talents. Whether it's money or dreams, as long as you are willing to offer your loyalty, then no matter who you were in other countries before, the Carolingian family is willing to extend a hand to accept you." The Duchess's voice was not loud but full of enthusiasm.

“…” Although he came to Lind just to join that plan, Alvin did not answer her immediately.

The black-haired boy raised his hand and nudged Conrad, who was watching the show nearby, with his elbow. Some people could form inexplicable friendships after just a few words, so he didn't care about the latter's status as emperor at all. He just casually complained like two bad friends talking nonsense after drinking:

"Look, your sister is more like an emperor than you."

Conrad, unfazed by this familiar gesture, winked at Ivan, as if chatting with an old friend who had skipped classes and been criticized with him, and replied cheerfully:

"Ah, my old friend, this is just the second time I've met him. Isn't this a fact that everyone can see? Perhaps only a blind person would be surprised by this!"

"Hey! I'm talking about serious matters." Catherine folded her feather fan with a snap and said angrily.

"Miss with the weird haircut, I don't think your question really needs an answer." Ivan shrugged, and then, amidst the complaints of a certain blonde, "What a strange name! How rude!", he continued:

"Ever since I got on board a guy running wildly down the street wrapped in nothing but a shower curtain, I've decided I can't get off this magical steam train with the Carolingian royal crest on it, so..."