Chapter 483 The King and Arthur
All of the vampires, as soon as they saw the first two men appear from the blood dome, they knew who would be following after them. The reason, because the king never travelled anywhere without his two royal guards.
The royal guards would be selected from the leaders of the past. Once the election for the next king was over. They were free to choose two guards from the current section of leaders.
One would usually choose the strongest of leaders of that generation and most loyal to protect the king. Their power was often above an average leader.
Although Vorden, Quinn and the others didn’t know what the vampire king looked like or who he was. They could tell as soon as he had stepped in. He had this sense of superiority around him. As if he was meant to be in that place.
The people all bowed down, and Logan and the others followed. Quinn, however, was still standing by Arthurs side, a little memorized by the person who had just walked in. He didn’t even notice all the leaders and everyone bowing down.
Looking at the king’s features. He wore a black and gold robe that covered his body. There was no armour, and the clothing looked relaxed and comfy as if he had just gotten out of bed. As for his facial features, he looked old. The wingless in his face were deep. Quinn didn’t know if the king had just chosen to keep this old appearance, or he was so old that he was no longer able to. He had long white hair that went down past his elbows. Although it stayed there shining and perfectly straight. Looking healthy then the rest of his body.
"You look old, young man," Arthur said.
These words came to a shock, and some of the leaders even wanted to cry out and shout. How could someone say that to the king? But it was clear. His words spoke as if he was familiar with the person. And the other thing was he was referring to the king as old.
"I thought I would never see you again during my lifetime." The king replied as he gave out a large cough or two. The one or two coughs soon turned into several. It was a strange sight to see. This powerful, strong person suddenly looked very weak at this moment.
The king then looked at the vampire leaders around him who were hurt and passed out on the floor. "Thank you for not killing the leaders." The king said.
With each word that passed by, the vampires no longer knew what to think or react. Arthur wasn’t just any punisher. It seemed as if the king was treating him as a person even above himself.
He then laid his eyes on Vadeen who laid there dead on the floor. He quickly closed his eyes, saying a few words of comfort. Seeing this, Muka thought that perhaps the king would be angry and another fight would soon start. If he did nothing, he feared the worse and had no choice but to chime in.
"My king, Vadeen had killed himself. It was not the punishers doing." Muka said, still with his head down and bowing for respect. He didn’t want to say more for fear he was stepping out of place.
"Worry not, I know that Arthur is not like that." The king replied. "Whatever he had done today, he probably felt like it was within his right to do so." He then turned and looked at Arthur, with a little glint in his eyes, showing sadness.
"If it was up to me at the time, we would have never chased out the punishers." The king said. "I’m..."
Holding up his hand, it was a signal for the king to stop.
"Not here and not now, Besides you didn’t chase us out, we chose to leave," Arthur replied.
The king looked at the scene before him once again, and Muka and the other leaders were waiting for his verdict. According to Bryce, he should have known everything that was going on. Unless Bryce had refused to tell him which was a possibility.
At that moment, Bryce was starting to wake up, his eyes had opened slightly, and the first thing he could see was the king. "My king..." Bryce said as he reached out his hand.
Looking at Bryce, the king simply shook his head as if he was disappointed.
"There were more ways than one to go about this Bryce, and now because of you, a leader is dead."
Moving his head upward, he could see Vadeen’s body lying there still. It looked like what he had said was true.
The king took his time to think about the situation. He knew what was going on, and also knew what the council was like. There were always two sides to everything, but right now, he had to make the decision that was best for his people and the future. The vampire council couldn’t continue on to be fractured like this.
If it was the case, then there would be another civil war when the next election came up. If that happened, he would have felt like his time as a king was useless. He hadn’t taught the people anything.
"Arthur, you have done no wrong here, and you have only tried to protect one of your own, but I’m afraid that your punisher boy has gotten involved in our affairs for no reason. If you wish to vouch for the boy and punish him yourself, I can allow that." The king explained.
"But as for the boy known as Fex. The council had already decided an appropriate punishment. He had hidden an illegal as well lied to the leaders. To solve this matter, between the leaders and create harmony between the vampire leaders once more. I believe that Fex, and the illegal Wight must both be executed."
Hearing these words, Just when Quinn was starting to think it was all over, the same problem from the very beginning had occurred, it felt like there was no reason for him to have fought this whole time. For it had only ended up in the same result.
"Boy, I have helped you as much as I can, but I am not a rule breaker. Is there a reason why you wish to save the boy, or is there anything you can say to the king now to help with your case?" Arthur asked.
Was there anything he could do? There was always one decision that Quinn could have done, but it wasn’t an option until now. And the system seemed to be thinking along the same lines and knew exactly what Quinn was thinking.
"I will not stop you from saying it. If anything, it might be the only thing you can do now, but hear me out. If you were to tell them you are the tenth leader before and tried to save Fex that way. You would have been killed by one of the leaders before you had even made it to one of the castles. Better yet, it would have been nearly impossible to prove, and they would have just claimed you were an illegal.
"A vampire leader only at the rank of the vampire noble. It’s just not a believable story. But at least there is time to prove it to them now, and the king won’t dismiss your claim so merely. I remember this man, and he is a reasonable leader compared to the last.
"There are many that dislike me, and there are many leaders after your seat. However, right now you have Arthur, a strong punisher by your side for protection and you have made it, so you are in front of the king. Although they might still be after your life when you mention this. You will at least be safe for now.
"The crime that was put upon Fex will be lessened, as he had done no wrong in the first place. But it is likely he will still face punishment for lying to the leaders in the first place."
Hearing everything the system had said so far, was making Quinn think it was the right thing to do. Sure it sounded like he would possibly have more problems in the future, but it was better than seeing his friends die in front of his eyes.
"However, there is one more problem on top of this." The system added. "And I warn you, you must think this through carefully before making a rash decision. If you claim you are the tenth leader. Then they will make you stay here, as the leader of the tenth people forever. The duties that Edward had done, will be passed onto you and you can not decline. You will become a part of the vampire world and will not be allowed to go back to earth. The only way is to do what I had once done, to run away from everything. to be hated and chased for the rest of your days."
It was hard for Quinn to tell if the AI system regretted his decision in leaving the people, or if he was in spite of what the vampires made him do. But thinking about himself.
Deep down, Quinn knew this was a possibility. When he had heard from Edward that after Vincent had left, it had become a big deal to the people and others. It seems like being a leader was a heavy task, and the punishment for leaving was strict.
If it was Quinn’s duty to look after all those in the castle, he wasn’t ready. Not right now, maybe never. But, as he looked at Fex, and he looked at Peter, he was ready to protect them. His cursed family.
Walking in front of Arthur, he looked at the king straight in the eye. There was no hesitation or fear when he said these words.
"I am not a punisher," Quinn said. "The reason for me coming here to save Fex, and to save the Wight is because...For Fex, I consider to be my blood brother, a part of my family, I have sworn to protect, and as for Peter the Wight. I was the one who created such an illegal."
This was expected from some of the leaders. They had guessed the vampire had come from the earth and looking at Quinn now, they could see he looked exactly as Peter the Wight did when he first arrived, but they were not prepared for his next set of words.
"Well, illegal wouldn’t be the right term. For these people are a part of my family and...I am the new tenth leader."
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