Strax and Samira separated, initially for the obvious reason that any association between them could now cause problems for him. While they would love to incite a war, they needed to gather strength first. For now, they would not appear together, although this did not mean much. They simply did not enter the duchy together, maintaining appearances for the time being.


    "Shall we go straight home?" Strax asked, and Jason nodded. At this moment, Strax was wearing a ssic ck Victorian suit, with golden cufflinks adding an extra charm to his appearance. "I informed them of our arrival yesterday. Fortunately, no squad was sent to our location, or we might have had issues with appearances; they still believe the young master is weak," Jasonmented.


    Strax smiled with satisfaction. If they knew that Strax now used magic instead of swords, there would be a significant problem. This was precisely why they left no assassins alive besides Carlos; Carlos wouldn''t spread information about him so easily, unlike the others.


    "All we have to do is pass through the gate," Jasonmented. However, Strax was not very confident. It seemed as if something different might happen, as if he could sense somethinging.


    They rode lightly, cutting through the lines of visitors. Everyone looked at the man and the knight in silver armor with the duchy''s insignia. Strax heard some murmurs of discontent, as many of these people had been waiting for hours and this man was cutting the line. It was indeed irritating, but what could they do besides curse under their breath?


    "Tsk, I hate this," Straxmented. He had long endured the malicious looks directed at him, but the current Strax would not ept such treatment. It might seem like arrogance, but he wanted respect for once. "Calm down," Jason said, turning his attention back to him. After all, he needed to maintain peace now.


    He didn''t know the current state of the knights; the probability of this ce being in chaos was high.


    "Halt, identify yourself," two halberd-wielding knights stopped Strax, who was ahead of Jason. He looked at the two knights with a serious gaze. "Identify yourself or go to the back of the line," one repeated. Strax was not pleased with this treatment and was about to cast a spell, "Isolen—" but fortunately, Jason intervened.


    "First-ss Knight Vorah, Jason Gorthan, reporting back from a contact mission," Jason stepped in front of Strax. "And who is this man?" Another knight, a bit farther away and seemingly older than the halberd bearers, approached.


    Jason looked at Strax and nodded. Seeing this with disdain, Strax pronounced, "The youngest son of Duke Vorah, Strax Vorah." The knights quickly changed their demeanor and knelt immediately, the sounds of their armor echoing in the air. "Wee back, young master!" they said in unison. Strax''s expression turned slightly confused. It was the first time he received respect like this; it was very...


    new to him. "She notified them of my arrival," Strax said, and the knights trembled. "Y-Yes, Lady Xenovia personally delivered the message," the older knightmented, as if he had seen a ghost, and quickly handed Strax a white letter with a fire mark and a ck seal.


    "Damn..." he murmured, breaking the seal on the letter. He had already feared the worst, but... "Wee back, my dear brother." Upon reading this, Strax froze, and even Jason turned pale upon realizing it was just a... wee letter.


    "I hope the knights didn''t treat you poorly. I spared their lives earlier, hoping they would recognize you and not treat you like anymoner. Come to our home and seek me in my building," he read aloud. The knights trembledpletely. "P.S.: If they mistreat you, I will returnter to fulfill the promise I made to them," the letter added. Strax lowered the letter and looked at them.


    "You guys are quite clumsy with your lives, huh? You should resign. If you can''t follow orders, you should go to the fields," Strax said, and the knights exchanged nces. Part of it was true, but...


    "The sry is really good," one of themmented. Strax looked at Jason, who let out a light chuckle upon hearing them talk. "Pff..." It was the first time in a long while that he saw Jason smile orugh at something. Jason had been quite anxious throughout the mission, possibly because of Xenovia?


    It wasn''t something Strax could know, seeing how supportive Jason was of the men. He observed the scene, and the knights ended upughing at theirrade. "Alright, I won''t tell Xenovia about today," Strax said, smiling. The three knights looked at him, surprised, and said in unison, "Thank you very much, young master!"


    Even Jason couldn''t believe what he saw, but he kept the smile on his face. "Let''s go, Jason. I need to meet that demon," Strax said, smiling. "Don''t tell her about this, okay?" Strax said to the knights who had already regained theirposure. "Tell her what? Did you hear anything, guys?" the older knight asked, and they shook their heads.


    "Not a thing," Strax justughed and continued through the massive gates.


    "He''s... not a bad guy, is he?" one of the halberd knights said, and the other agreed. The leader, the gatekeeper,mented, "He''s already a cultivator..." The two knights looked at him. "But wasn''t he a useless person?" These questions lingered in the minds of the three knights, the first people to see Strax, now curious about who this man was and what he might represent in the future.


    As for Strax? He had no idea what those three knights were thinking. He just thought they were foolish enough to disrespect Xenovia.


    "Was that all the letter said?" Jason asked, snapping Strax out of his thoughts. "Well, you could say that," he replied.


    After passing through the wall surrounding the duchy, probably for poption control and protection, he faced the city where he had spent his childhood. "I remember the good times I had here," Strax said, seeing that the city had hardly changed in thest six years.


    The city looked like it had stepped out of a medieval fairy tale. After passing through the imposing gates and the wall, Strax found himself on streets lined with well-designed buildings, even for a medieval, or rather Victorian, era.


    There was a sophisticated andfortable bnce, with some houses made of stone with te roofs, while closer to the center, there were more borately crafted buildings, always maintaining a reasonably high standard. However, the naturalndscape was never lost, as it was still possible to see various trees everywhere.


    Strax sighed at the sight,pared to Steinhardt, the Duchy was truly incredible.


    "Wee back, young master," Jason said with a smile. Strax carefully surveyed the area until he finally spotted his home: a gigantic mansion located at the highest point of the duchy.


    "It seems I''ll have a lot of work ahead of me," hemented, smiling despite knowing there were many challenges ahead.


    "Let''s walk; you need to meet Xenovia soon, don''t keep her waiting. I''m sure she wants to see you as soon as possible," Jason said, and Strax nodded. "It''s a shame she wanted to speak with me; I could just stay far away from that ce, right?" Strax said. However, what could he do?


    It was an order given directly by the patriarch; disrespect would likely lead to death, even though he was one of his sons.


    "Let''s go," Strax said, and Apocalypse began to walk. As they strolled through the streets, they passed by harmonious and sophisticated carriages, with golden carvings and robust horses that seemed to be of really good quality stallions. Not only carriages, but also beautiful women and smiling children ying could be seen.


    There were many knights at various points in the city, much more than would bemon for the time Strax lived there. It really conveyed a very good sense of security, considering the location; such security was necessary.


    "This is strange," Jasonmented, seeing the surreal number of knights avable on routes he was unfamiliar with. "Young Master, be careful... it seems the knights are on alert," he remarked. "It''s okay, I don''t think anyone would attack me at this moment, right?" He wanted to believe that, but, well... he had already been attacked twice, so it wouldn''t be different now.


    They finally entered the street that led to the Family''s pce. "From here on, it''s up to you, Young Master," Jason said, dismounting. "Good luck," he said, and Strax nodded. "Looks like it''s just you and me, girl," Strax said to Apocalypse, who neighed in agreement.


    When he stopped in front of the gates, they began to open on their own, as if they were already waiting for Strax.


    Suddenly, the System appeared.


    [The sealed points have returned; you are receiving all the rewards]


    [You havepleted several side missions and various extra objectives]


    [Due to thepletion of various tasks, the System has granted you a total bonus as a reward.]


    [You have reached level 20; due to all the excessive rewards, the system has transformed your white points into universal points; you have obtained 10 points in all current statistics]


    [Your physique has been further enhanced; cultivate to unlock itpletely]


    [Your talent in using maniption skills has increased your Real Talent]


    [Name: Strax Vorah]


    [Age: 18 years old]


    [Cultivation: Supreme Cultivator of Condensed Stage (*Energy Condensation* and *Mana Condensation*)]


    [Talent: Rare]


    [Race: Human]


    [Physique: Dragon-Demon (Advance Cultivation to unlock its sealed powers)]


    [Level: 20]


    [HP: 385/385]


    [Vitality: 27]


    [Resistance: 20]


    [Strength: 25]


    [Agility: 20]


    [Intelligence: 18]


    [Defense: 25]


    [nk Points: 0]


    [Harem Members: Beatrice von Stainhardt, Samira ze]


    [Abilities: Inventory (S), Complete Vorah Cultivation(5*), Brutal Cut (1*), Sword of Tomorrow (1*), cial Ice Maniption (5*), Fire Maniption (5*)]


    [Harem Abilities: Incubus(SSS), Analysis(SSS), Dual Cultivation(SSS), Love Copy(SSS)]


    Strax saw the message and internally...


    "HAHAHAHA IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT! NEVER DOUBT A SYSTEM!" He roared internally.