The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 92

Aden, guided by the Guild Master Umbra, entered their secret dungeon.

He clicked his tongue inside his helmet.

‘Who would’ve thought there’d be a dungeon underneath the guild…’

Even the entrance was absurd.

There was a door behind the bookshelf in the guild master’s office that led underground.

They likely had additional entrances connecting to the surface elsewhere to bring in captives from the dungeon.

There was no guarantee that a dungeon necessarily connected to the surface.

Some were underwater, and others, like this one, were buried deep underground.

He could tell this underground dungeon had been excavated with a purpose.

It was obvious how they discovered the dungeon.

‘They must have obtained the information through a spirit merchant.’

Considering they managed dungeons, it would be easy for them to find undiscovered ones.

After walking a bit, the wide interior of the dungeon became visible.

– Growl, grrr…

– Screech!

Many beasts, chained by their necks, roared from within their cages, with occasional corpses among them.

A little further, the scene of biological experiments came into view.

– Screech!

– Growl!

– Aaahhh!

Naked individuals, trapped like beasts in iron bars, screamed and raged like rabid dogs.

Parts of their bodies had scales like reptiles, or claws and fangs like monsters.

Black magicians were seen working around them.

“How’s the condition of subject C-10?”

“The mana is unstable. It will soon be disposed of…”

In one corner, dozens of disfigured corpses, twisted in pain, were piled up.

“……”

Aden watched the scene silently.

It was a gruesome sight that would make others retch, but Aden remained silent.

Having raided numerous black magicians, he had seen such wretched scenes many times.

Umbra’s Guild Master spoke with an emotionless expression, as if looking at trash.

“Most of what’s here are failures. The finished products are further inside.”

“…I’ll look forward to it.”

However, the guild master did not know.

He did not know the cold look in Aden’s eyes beneath the black helmet.

After a while, they reached the area where the completed subjects were kept.

Two men lay there with vacant eyes.

They looked ordinary on the surface.

The guild master spoke.

“These are the completed subjects. Get up.”

At his command, they rose emotionlessly like puppets.

He handed them a dagger and said,

“Cut off your fingers.”

At his command, they raised the daggers…

Slash!

Each instantly cut off their own thumb and index finger.

Then something amazing happened.

Squirm, squirm.

Near the severed area, the flesh bubbled and twitched as it regenerated.

Their bodies regenerated flesh, muscles, and bones on their own.

Soon, their fingers were fully restored to their original state.

A healing ability like that of a troll.

He gave another command to the subjects.

“B-12, strike the floor.”

One of the subjects struck the floor with all his might.

Crash!

The solid stone floor cracked and caved in.

Strength like that of an ogre.

“B-14, infuse your blade with aura.”

The subjects infused their daggers with mana.

Then…

Whoosh!

A blood-red sword aura flared up.

Judging by its intensity, it was at least an advanced sword aura.

“As you can see, these are the results of the completed products.”

The guild master grinned with satisfaction.

“With troll-like regeneration and ogre-like strength, we can turn any subject into at least an advanced sword aura knight. They are perfectly controlled with no chance of rebellion. Once the research progresses a bit more, mass production will be possible.”

“……”

Aden remained silent.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

He stared at the subjects with wide eyes.

‘That blood-red sword aura…’

It was identical.

Identical to those he knew.

As if to confirm his suspicions, the guild master excitedly mentioned a familiar term to Aden.

“Soon, the items you desired will be completed. Berserkers wielding blood-red aura who fight without fear of death, Blood Knights!”

Blood Knights.

An order of knights that suddenly appeared after Sylbeta ascended to the rank of Archduke.

An unparalleled order composed entirely of advanced and top-level sword aura knights in the history of the Grand Duchy.

They played a pivotal role in the Disaster-Level Monster Wave and the Battle of Talos.

Just having the Blood Knights gave Sylbeta unprecedented power among archdukes.

Their loyalty and willingness to fight without fear of death made people revere and fear Knight King Sylbeta.

It was said that three Blood Knights could defeat a semi-master, and more than ten could face a Sword Master.

Without their participation in the Dragon Subjugation, defeating the dragon would have been difficult.

Seeing Duke Sylbeta commanding hundreds of such terrifying beings, people described him thus:

– Sylbeta Syres. Truly deserving of the title ‘Knight King,’ the lord of knights.

Knight King Sylbeta Syres.

He shed the moniker ‘Thunderstorm Knight’ and gained the honorable title of ‘Knight King.’

Aden felt a laugh bubbling up from the absurdity.

‘So, the Blood Knights… were created like this? They are chimeras?’

Seeing Aden’s lack of reaction, the guild master cautiously checked his mood.

“Um… is there something you’re not satisfied with?”

“…No, it’s splendid.”

It was so splendid that he wanted to tear open Sylbeta’s stomach and stuff his guts into his mouth immediately.

Disgusting.

Utterly disgusting.

Aden struggled to suppress the laughter welling up.

Aden asked the guild master,

“How did you create this? Chimera-fying humans should have been difficult.”

“Of course, there were many trials and errors.”

The guild master explained the process of creating the Blood Knights.

“First, we capture suitable subjects from dungeons or slums. Then, we break their spirits to turn them into obedient dolls. The black magicians then enhance their bodies by implanting monster genes. Until now, these experiments resulted in grotesque mutations like the failures you saw earlier. However…”

“Seeing these, it seems you’ve found a solution.”

“Correct. The reason the Blood Knights project kept failing was that a weak human body couldn’t withstand the monster genes. We tried to eliminate the side effects, but it was challenging.”

So, they changed their approach.

If they couldn’t eliminate the side effects, they would grant the body enough regenerative power to endure them.

“And we found the answer through a spirit.”

### Chapter 92

**Spirit.**

The mention of that word sharpened Aden’s gaze.

“Spirit?”

“I’ll show you directly.”

The Guild Master Umbra pressed against one part of the wall.

Clang.

A section of the wall recessed inward, revealing a hidden mechanism, and the wall opened up.

And inside, ‘it’ was there.

Buzz.

A massive purple crystal, over 2 meters tall.

Complex inscriptions in the language of the underground world were intricately entwined around the crystal, and something was faintly glowing within its center.

Aden instantly recognized it as a sealing stone that imprisoned a certain entity.

“Inside this is the malevolent presence known as the Plague Spirit. We extract its power bit by bit and imbue the test subjects with the ‘Lycanthrope’s Curse,’ a blessing of the plague.”

Lycanthropes were bipedal wolf monsters that could regenerate no matter how much their bodies were cut.

Humans bitten by them would become infected and transform into lycanthropes on nights with a full moon.

People called it the ‘Plague of the Full Moon.’

The constant regenerative ability of the lycanthropes could endure the side effects of the monster genes implanted into their bodies.

The result of that was the two test subjects before him.

The Guild Master Umbra laughed as if he found it amusing himself.

“Ha ha! Who would’ve thought the solution would be so close! You never know with these things.”

He had been truly surprised when he learned about the presence of the Plague Spirit in this city through a spirit merchant.

It was even more surprising that it was close to his competitor, the detestable young daughter of the Maedala Guild Master, who always interfered with his plans.

He paid a hefty price to the spirit merchant to capture and seal the Plague Spirit.

And when the daughter of Maedala, who had lost her guardian spirit, soon fell ill, tormented by wraiths, he sold Marcus a so-called fever remedy that was actually poison, making a substantial profit each time.

The sight of Marcus, unaware that he was effectively killing his own daughter while groveling to him, had been immensely satisfying.

It felt as if the heavens were aiding him.

He smirked.

“Thanks to that, we were able to produce these perfect specimens. Now that we know the method, we just need to mass-produce them.”

“That’s what you say.”

Meanwhile, beneath his helmet, Aden also wore a cold, sinister smile.

The Plague Spirit, Freig.

He had finally found it.

‘Then there’s no need to…’

Continue this pointless charade any longer.

Aden swiftly drew his black greatsword and swung it at the neck of the Guild Master Umbra beside him.

The black greatsword aimed to pierce Talin Umbra’s neck.

Clang!

However, the sound of metal clashing indicated it had been blocked, and Aden smirked.

‘So, he’s a semi-master, huh?’

Though considered a step below Marcus Maedala, Talin was still a semi-master at the peak of advanced sword aura.

A formidable being among ordinary humans.

Despite the sudden ambush, Talin’s body had instinctively sensed the threat and reacted immediately.

He swiftly drew his sword, deflecting the greatsword’s path while twisting his body to avoid the strike.

But that, too, was within Aden’s expectations.

As his black greatsword’s surprise attack was blocked, Aden released the sword and slashed at Talin with his hidden dagger, Baalzebul.

Aden’s dagger sliced Talin’s abdomen cleanly.

“…Gah!”

A deathly scream escaped Talin Umbra, who hadn’t anticipated such a sudden attack.

With more than half his abdomen slashed open, he fell helplessly.

Swish!

Aden swiftly ran towards a specific direction.

“What’s going on?!”

Meanwhile, black magicians who had been working on their experiments arrived in response to the commotion and were shocked to see Talin dying on the floor.

“The Guild Master Talin…!”

“What’s happening…? Sir Clayman, explain!”

The black magicians demanded an explanation from Aden while remaining cautious.

They were on the verge of attacking, but…

“What do you think? You’ve been scammed.”

Aden sneered, enveloping his sword in aura threads.

Then, before the black magicians could react, he swung Baalzebul.

However, the sword’s target was not the black magicians but the iron bars holding the deranged, chimera-like test subjects.

Clang, clang, clang!

With a few swings, the iron bars shattered into pieces.

– Screech!

– Roar!

The failed experiments, waiting to be disposed of, burst out of their cages, roaring wildly.

“The test subjects are escaping!”

“Attack them with black magic! Immediately!”

– Roar!

The chimeric beings, having lost their minds, lunged at the black magicians.

What ensued was a scene of utter chaos.