Chapter 37

Under the spotlight, a figure walked into the palace.

"A commoner?"

"How can a commoner appear in a place like this?"

"Who let him in?"

Dressed simply, lacking the appearance of nobility.

Yet, he walked with an air of arrogance, like a king looking down on all living beings.

Such an arrogant and rude demeanor—he didn't even possess the most basic noble etiquette.

As he walked in, all the nobles couldn't help but frown.

Their eyes were filled with disgust and disdain.

However, the only one who reacted differently was Count Francis. Sitting at the head of the table, his face lit up with excitement. Like a fanboy meeting his idol, he hurried to the palace door to greet the newcomer personally.

When the count stood to greet him, the other nobles had no choice but to follow suit. How could they remain seated when the count himself stood up to greet this man?

One by one, they rose from their seats, following Count Francis in greeting the commoner, whose humble status perplexed them all.

Everyone was filled with confusion.

Why would the count treat a commoner with such solemn respect?

Ignoring the strange looks from the others, Count Francis approached Rhodes and respectfully performed the standard imperial greeting.

In the Holy Roman Empire, most nobles were followers of the God of Glory, and greetings were typically exchanged using church etiquette.

But the man before him, suspected to be a legendary figure, clearly wasn't a believer of the God of Glory.

Francis wasn't surprised.

After all, most of the nobles themselves were shallow believers at best.

They invoked the name of the God of Glory, but their faith only went as far as donating a few gold coins to the church—begrudgingly at that.

"Dear legendary mage, on behalf of the entire Kingdom of Francis, I thank you for your assistance!"

That simple sentence stunned the nobles behind him.

Legendary?

Mage?

Either of those words alone signified immense status and identity.

But to add the word legendary in front of mage?

That couldn't be described as mere nobility.

Such people were rare, even in the bustling imperial capital, where power was concentrated.

Their status was on par with dukes and high-ranking nobles of the empire!

Even the Emperor of the Shinra Empire would show them courtesy.

What were these low-ranking nobles, who weren't even counts, in front of a legendary mage?

They were no more than ants.

If you offended a legend, you could be crushed to death on the spot, and no one would say a thing.

Legends were beyond insult.

As long as the offenders weren't major nobles with vast territories, the Shinra Empire wouldn't even consider punishing a legendary mage for a few minor nobles.

Even if a count was killed, as long as the legendary mage had a reason or justification, the matter would be brushed aside.

Would the empire execute a legendary mage—who was more valuable than a giant panda—just to avenge a few thousand ordinary people?

From the empire's point of view, the lives of a few thousand civilians and nobles didn't compare to the worth of a legendary mage.

Each legendary mage was like a strategic weapon, a deterrent against the other three empires.

Their importance was akin to nuclear weapons in the technological age.

And unlike nuclear weapons, legendary mages couldn't be mass-produced. Each loss was irreplaceable.

Their status wasn't something that minor nobles could challenge.

Count Francis led Rhodes directly to the seat of honor.

Rhodes took the main seat, and the earl naturally sat in the secondary seat beside him.

According to the etiquette of the Shinra Empire, the person with the highest status typically occupied the main seat.

If the host and guest were of equal status, the host would take the main seat.

But in the presence of a legendary mage, Count Francis's insignificant title as an imperial count was not something to flaunt.

Even in his own kingdom and castle, it wasn't his place to sit at the head.

Once Rhodes was seated, the banquet in his honor officially began.

The banquet, specially prepared by Count Francis, was naturally of high quality.

Though Rhodes wasn't accustomed to Western food, the exquisite ingredients and flavors were pleasing enough, and he enjoyed his meal.

As for the nobles, they remained reserved, barely daring to eat.

They only picked at the food before them, tasting it cautiously, their fear and awe apparent.

Watching them, Rhodes nearly lost his appetite.

With the banquet over, it was time to get down to business.

"Enough with the formalities. What's the second test?"

Rhodes picked up a napkin, wiping his mouth casually as he spoke.

Count Francis didn't take offense.

Legendary figures had their own personalities, and many were far more difficult to deal with than this.

In comparison, this legendary mage seemed quite mild-tempered.

"Lord Rhodes, the second test shouldn't be too difficult for someone of your caliber."

The count smiled warmly.

"A few months ago, a group of trolls appeared on the kingdom's border, blocking Francis's largest trade route. The second test is to eliminate these trolls."

"By the way, one of the trolls is a leader whose strength is nearly at the legendary level."

Trolls?

A flicker of interest crossed Rhodes' mind.

Trolls were a significant race.

Their origins could even be traced back to the legendary Titans.

More precisely, trolls were the descendants of Titans—a hybrid species created through their unions with other creatures.

However, the troll race was incredibly diverse. There were nearly a hundred known types, from forest trolls to mountain trolls, cyclops, dark trolls, ice trolls, and ancient trolls.

There were around seventy to eighty different species of trolls.

This variety made them second only to orcs, who had hundreds of sub-races.

But considering the trolls' ancestry, this diversity wasn't surprising.

The Titans, ancient creatures born of chaos, wielded the power of rules and the mysterious force of chaos itself.

They were one of the few known ancient races that could become gods without the need for faith. These beings were referred to as "ancient gods."

Titans didn't distinguish between good or evil, nor did they have genders. Many didn't even have fixed forms, resembling more an embodiment of rules than traditional beings.

As the descendants of Titans, the giants, trolls' ancestors, came in strange forms as well—mountain giants, frost giants, hundred-armed giants, and cyclops, to name a few.

Some giants were even as terrifyingly beautiful as evil gods.

The power of the giant race was naturally immense.

A powerful giant could reach the level of a demigod.

Even the weakest giants possessed legendary power.

Moreover, giants could mate with nearly any creature—or even with the environment itself—to produce offspring.

Some giants merged with the forest and gave birth to forest trolls.

Others merged with the mountains and gave birth to mountain trolls.

There were even storm trolls born from the union of giants and lightning itself.

Storm trolls, upon reaching adulthood, wielded legendary combat abilities.

Their power could rival that of dragons.

However, storm trolls were exceedingly rare, and none had been seen in centuries.

Different troll species had completely different lifestyles and might even wage war against one another.

So, what kind of trolls were these that plagued the Kingdom of Francis?

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