I Became the Patron of Villains

21. The Grand Church Meeting (1)

Alon already knew to some extent why the nobles openly disregarded him.

‘Because all the rumors have died down.’

The reason the nobles had feared Alon until now was that they thought he was the mastermind who had wiped out Avalon, the huge underworld of the east, along with Leo.

However, the nobles no longer thought of Alon as the mastermind.

Because he had done nothing in the past few years since becoming a count.

The House of Palatio had always been known as a group of scoundrels since the time of his grandfather, never once failing to exert influence over the underworld.

Though it varied by period, it was always the House of Palatio that dominated the eastern underworld.

However, ever since Alon became the Count, the House of Palatio no longer wielded influence over the underworld.

As a result, the current eastern underworld was in a state of disarray, devoured by packs of hyenas that had been feeding on the crumbs left outside the domain ruled by the Count of Palatio.

Moreover, the power of the House of Palatio, that is, its authority, was also weakening, which was only natural.

Until now, the power that emanated from the House of Palatio was mostly based on the financial resources procured from the underworld.

But since Alon became the Count, he no longer scattered money to maintain power.

The life he desired was not to become a grand figure by succeeding spectacularly in the underworld, but simply to enjoy a prosperous daily life as a noble.

In other words, what he desired was already achieved.

However, by completely withdrawing from the underworld in such a manner, rumors naturally began to circulate among the nobles.

Perhaps the current Count of Palatio was not a mastermind but merely became a Count by sheer coincidence.

As time passed and Alon did nothing, the rumor began to be accepted as an established fact.

Eventually, Alon’s evaluation was downgraded to ‘a lucky fool who became a Count from the shadows of the House of Palatio.’

Of course, there were still a few nobles who continued to doubt Alon, but even they were gradually aligning with the recently spread rumors.

It was common sense that if Alon had the power to destroy Avalon overnight, it made no sense for him not to use it until now.

Anyway, Alon had roughly anticipated that he would be treated this way, but he never expected anyone to come and mock him in person.

“……”

Alon looked up at the two nobles with sneering faces.

Of course, he did not recognize either of their faces.

However, seeing the emblem on the carriage, it was not difficult to identify one as the House of Crylde and the other as the House of Edoron.

‘They seem old enough to know better, isn’t this too childish?’

Alon, who was smirking at the somewhat withered faces of the two nobles, soon realized why they had come all the way here to mock him.

‘…Now I see, it’s a victims’ gathering.’

The House of Palatio was a family of scoundrels and at the same time held immense power in the underworld.

Naturally, they provided some benefits to the surrounding families but also exploited them excessively.

The ones who were dragged around like pawns back then were the House of Crylde and the House of Edoron.

To summarize the current situation, the families that had been oppressed by the House of Palatio in the past were now venting their grievances on Alon.

Of course, it was not Alon but the firstborn of the House, Count Leona Palatio, who had exploited them.

In short, Alon had no reason to hear such mockery.

However, to the two nobles who were eagerly mocking him, the important part was not that he was Alon, but that he was the Count of Palatio.

“Did all those forces in the underworld disappear because you couldn’t manage them?”

“It seems you haven’t even managed your carriage properly. Should I lend you some money?”

The two counts tried to scratch Alon as if they were anonymous trolls commonly seen in online communities.

“Hmm.”

For a moment, Alon thought, “This is a bit annoying,” but he decided to follow reason instead of instinct.

If he fought now, he could pulverize the two nobles in front of him, if not slaughter them, but it was obvious that the situation would become troublesome.

From the moment he fought the two nobles, Alon would have to move separately from the gathering.

In that case, he might get into unnecessary trouble with bandits.

It was clear that responding to their provocation was exactly what they wanted.

‘There’s no need to play along with such childish tricks.’

Alon chose to ignore them.

He wasn’t foolish enough to fall into a trap that was so blatantly set.

That day, Alon ate two ears of corn, using the counts’ chatter as background music.

‘Tasty.’

The roasted corn tasted good in the subtly chilly weather.

‘It would have been better with butter.’

Alon thought absentmindedly as he looked at the moonlit night.

The uncomfortable cohabitation continued for several days.

Every evening, Count Clyd and Count Edorn would crawl out and spew mocking words, and each time, Alon ignored them as if it were no big deal.

The one who ignored and the one who desperately tried not to be ignored.

Naturally, the one who always won was the one who ignored.

Having deeply internalized the special realization obtained through a certain community, ‘Don’t feed the trolls,’ there was no one here who could defeat him, at least not now.

Of course, as this continued for several days, other nobles began to mock or criticize Alon for not maintaining his dignity as a noble, even though he was being ridiculed by the two counts.

However, Count Clyd and Count Edorn, who continued to mock him, were not in a good mood.

“…That damn b*stard.”

“Unbelievable…”

Count Clyd frowned as he looked at Alon in the distance.

Even though they were mocking him, being ignored in return did not feel good.

But that dirty feeling was only momentary, they sighed softly and began to talk.

“Have you checked?”

“I did, but it seems there are no additional guards.”

In fact, the reason Count Crayld and Count Edorn openly mocked him was not only to vent their anger but also to investigate his guard forces.

“…Even though I secretly checked with an artifact, there was nothing. It’s clear that the brat and the rogue knight dining with the nobles are all there is.”

“Then the rumors are true.”

“It seems certain. If he had any forces, he wouldn’t be wandering alone.”

“Then we can proceed with the plan.”

The reason the two counts investigated Alon.

It was to advance into the underworld.

They knew that Alon didn’t care about the underworld at all, and that various packs of wolves were flocking there.

Although Alon’s rumors had become almost a fact, they wanted to confirm it clearly, having been tormented countless times by Count Palatio.

To see if Alon really had no power.

And after days of confirmation, they found that Alon indeed had no guards, and a smile crept onto their faces.

“The holy star smiles upon us.”

“Indeed. Who would have thought we could step into the underworld…”

Most nobles were reluctant to enter the underworld, but these two were different.

Having played the role of Count Palatio’s lackeys, they knew the astronomical amount of money circulating in the underworld.

They already knew how sweet the power tasted there.

Excited by the fact that Count Palatio’s family had become a hollow shell, they talked as if they had already devoured the underworld.

In fact, it wasn’t impossible for the two of them to devour the underworld if they joined forces.

The reason they hadn’t dipped their toes into the underworld was not because they lacked power, but because they were wary of Count Palatio.

So, after a long conversation, they turned their gaze to Alon and said.

“…If we take over the ‘back’, we should give that guy a gift too, shouldn’t we?”

“That’s a good idea. Ignoring a person’s words has its limits.”

“Isn’t it because he doesn’t know how scary the world is? We can teach him.”

“Count Crayld is kind-hearted.”

The two counts, with a fishy smile unbefitting of nobles, acted as if they had done nothing from the beginning, and were soon convinced that the time would come.

As the two counts finished their private conversation and were about to join the rest of the nobles at the camp.

“Monster!”

The incident happened suddenly.

Taking advantage of the dark night, the monster appeared.

It made no sound, as if it had been lying in ambush like a human, until a soldier’s cry of discovery echoed through the forest, and then the monster’s roar began to resound as if it had been waiting for this moment.

With that, the mercenaries and knights drew their weapons to protect the nobles, as if they had made a pact.

And then.

“Wizard, light up the area-!”

At the knight’s command, the wizard, who had been extravagantly bound to the territory by a noble for pure boasting at the grand church, responded by raising a globe of light into the sky.

“───”

The mercenaries and knights, who had been noisy just a moment ago, all fell silent.

What they saw in the dark forest, illuminated by the wizard’s light, were goblins.

Commonly seen in the forest, goblins with the strength of a mere child, easily handled by even novice mercenaries, were not, to be blunt, dangerous monsters.

The rusty swords and bows they wielded were certainly dangerous, but not a significant threat to seasoned mercenaries and knights.

Goblins only became troublesome when their numbers were large, but even then, a few dozen could be easily driven away.

However.

“…This is insane….”

If their numbers were enough to fill the forest they were facing.

That would undoubtedly be a threat to the knights and mercenaries.

Adding to the knights’ tension was the fact that the goblins before them were anything but ordinary.

“……What on earth is that?”

The knight’s voice, filled with doubt and fear, was directed at the goblins.

The problem was that the goblins’ appearance was extremely deformed.

Purple crystals were growing all over their bodies, including their heads.

Like a plague.

Moreover.

“Damn it- isn’t that Mark?”

Among the numerous goblins, the corpse of a seasoned mercenary, who had been assigned to external surveillance for any unforeseen situations, was being ravenously devoured.

“Grrk-”

Seeing what the obese goblin was holding, the mercenaries.

“No, this can’t be…….”

All felt the rising tide of inner fear.

Mark, now a gruesome corpse, was originally a seasoned mercenary who could easily take down dozens of goblins on his own.

The fact that such a mercenary had perished without even hearing news of these massive goblins swarming in suggested one thing to the mercenaries.

The mutated goblin before them was anything but ordinary.

And the knights, gripping their weapons alongside these mercenaries, were well aware that this situation was far from favorable.

Even if there were just hundreds of goblins, this battle was extremely disadvantageous for the knights.

Individually, it might be different, but the knights now had nobles to protect.

The goblins were cunning monsters with the intelligence to exploit that fact effortlessly.

Moreover, while the mercenaries seemed to be terrified by the goblins’ appearance and the death of their comrade, the knights who could wield magic were clearly aware.

The goblins before them were unmistakably imbued with magic.

They knew that monsters imbued with magic, no matter how small the amount, had their physical abilities enhanced.

The moment the knights made a dismayed expression at the sight of the goblins charging with bizarre cries.

Thud-!

A wall made of stones and pebbles rose from the midst of the goblins.

In an instant, all eyes were drawn to it.

The moment the mage who had cast the light spell realized that the wall was ‘Rock Wall,’ one of the third-tier spells.

Buzz-!

A translucent barrier formed outside the wall.

It was a second-tier shield.

The knights’ expressions shifted from dismay to confusion.

The goblins’ menacing gazes were entirely focused on the wall.

“Enhance.”

A calm voice echoed.

And then.

“Compress.”

Crack-!

The translucent sphere rapidly contracted, distorting the stone wall as it shrank.

Thud-thud-

In the silence, the sound of footsteps drew the attention of the knights and mercenaries to one side.

There, a man was walking.

As if he felt nothing, even in this dire situation.

The nobles and knights could easily tell that the man walking with an indifferent expression was Count Pallatio.

“Vacuum.”

As his mouth opened once more.

The round sphere that was the shield transformed into a rough, soccer ball-sized rock that could be found on the roadside.

And then.

“Return to the Primordial.”

With Alon’s final words, the bracelet began to emit a subtle gray light.

BOOM-!!!!

The compressed gravel scattered like a shotgun blast, tearing dozens of goblins to shreds.

It happened in an instant.

The nobles, knights, and mercenaries watched in stunned silence as dozens of goblins imbued with magic were reduced to mere chunks of meat.

Among them, the eyes of Count Clyd and Count Edorn widened as if they would tear apart.

Alon, who had suddenly become the center of attention, said.

“Don’t just stand there in a daze, get ready.”

He muttered calmly, looking ahead.

……The knights and mercenaries raised their swords as if entranced.

The inner fear that had spread within their hearts had vanished as if it were a lie.