( 3 months later )

" Fool! The new king is an absolute fool! " Julia Caesar exclaimed as she read the king's letter.

Over the past few months, Julia regretted her decision of not lending aid to Max when he asked for it as in the end it happened just as Max had predicted as he consolidated power even without her help.

Not only did he suppress everyone to take the throne, he also solidified his power through fundamental reforms and killing Ulrich as his current position was difficult to challenge by anyone else.

Initially she had expected the vampire society to fragment and rebel against the forceful King, however, Max had proved himself to be more than just a warrior as with great politics and administration he had kept the unity of the land intact.

Nonetheless, his current decision to march a grand army against Dracula in three days time was nothing but suicidal as eventhough non-compliance meant a severe reduction in a clans loyalty points score, Julia wasn't willing to send her men to slaughter.

" Lady Julia, Max Rajput is not a fool…. He's a very cunning man and if he is suggesting a course of action it's best to reflect on it a bit more as I genuinely think there might be some merit to his words." the counsellor suggested as Julia felt distressed by the counsellors words.

Within the letter, Max had asked for each clan to send as many tier6 god's as they could as well as two legions worth of soldiers to participate in the grand raid that he was leading against Dracula.

According to Max, if his plan succeeded then Dracula would fall by his sword and the vampire society would be able to conquer a major chunk of their lost lands in one fell swoop, completely turning the tide of war.

With the new quadra-alliance members securing their borders, it was unlikely that Dracula would push back against the territories they now controlled as doing so would be akin to declaring war on several sovereign states, which gave the vampire society the leeway to focus on this offensive.

However, despite all the advantages that the vampire society held, the fact of the matter was that none of their advantages mattered as long as Dracula was alive.

As a tier8 monarch, he could wipe out hundreds of tier6 gods, millions of mortal soldiers and countless battleships in a blink of an eye.

Unless Max could genuinely neutralise or hold back that man, none of the other advantages mattered as if Dracula was allowed to rampage then all the armies were bound to be eliminated.

Julia, just like many other vampire lords did not feel confident in Max's ability to bring down Dracula as claimed in his letter as to them it was unfathomable to think that a tier7 warrior could stand up to a tier8 being.

Overall Julia had a bad feeling about the plan and although she did acknowledge the fact that Max Rajput was not a fool, she was unwilling to commit her troops to an impossible cause and chose to abstain from following Max into this deciding battle. *********

( Meanwhile Sebastian )

About two months after the masquerade ball, Sebastian married Beniogre in a grand ceremony that saw the leader of the church of life unify with the leader of the church of cowards.

Sebastian was on cloud nine after this union, however, Beniogre was not thrilled even slightly as her union with Sebastian changed the fundamental opinion of her followers in their line of beliefs.

In a way, the core principle of the church of cowards was ' Survival ' at all costs which led to preservation of life which was in synergy with the core principle of the Church of Life which was that ' All life was precious '.

Once the two leaders married, their followers began to observe a subtle change in mindset as the upstart relegion of cowards gained a lot of legitimacy and street credit, while the followers of Beniogre acknowledged how practical the laws of the Church of cowards were and embraced the ' Self Preservation ' lifestyle.

What happened as a result was that Sebastian's popularity skyrocketed while Beniogre's influence only saw nominal improvements amongst the masses.

lightsnοvεl However, as if her disappointment on the political front was not enough, the disappointment she felt in bed with Sebastian was five times worse as the legendary two second man was back to his old timescores, leaving Beniogre bewildered.

*Umpfgh* *Umpfgh* *Aaaaa*

Beniogre stared widely at the ceiling, wondering how her life had taken a turn for the worst as yet again Sebastian finished in under three seconds while looking like the most happiest and proud man in the world.

" Are you done? " Beniogre asked in a shocked tone

" I'm, Are you?" Sebastian replied happily as Beniogre said " OH, I'm done ( with you )" sarcastically as burst out laughing. lightsnovel

Using his dexterous hands he helped Beniogre finish as well as while the goddess of life did not enjoy Sebastian's manhood, she had to admit that he was divine with the use of his hands as he left her flustered and panting every time he used them.

Once their night time activities were over, Sebastian put on his robe as he said with a solemn voice " I have some good news for you-"

Beniogre's ears perked up at these words, however, she reigned in her excitement as she asked " What is it?" , not hoping for something too special.

" Max sent me a letter asking me if I'll join him in the raid against Dracula?

It's up to me, but I'll join" Sebastian said as Beniogre excitedly clapped her hands

" Has the supreme lord finally decided to take down Dracula for Max?" Beniogre asked, happy to think that Rudra was going to solve all of Max's problems as Sebastian looked at her with one of his eyebrows raised.

" No…? Max will take him down himself " Sebastian said as if it were the most obvious thing as even Beniogre was taken aback.

Judging by Sebastian's reaction she did not voice her reservations about how Max confronting Dracula with his current strength was akin to committing suicide, however, she was skeptic about the plan.

" Hmm…. Take some royal paladins with you, they'll protect you in battle" Beniogre said as she involuntarily revealed that she cared for Sebastian making him break out in a smile.

" Haha, don't worry about me lovely wife, nobody can harm a hair on Sebastian the cowards head, I know too many escape techniques for that to happen " he said as Beniogre slapped her forehead as she smiled brightly.

Sebastian was not her ideal husband. He did not rock her world, neither did he bring the power or fame that she desired.

He was the most simplest of men, yet somehow, after spending a month with him she could not help but develop a soft corner for him.

Although it had not reached the level of ' Like ' or ' Love ' yet, Beniogre was fond of Sebastian and his silliness at this point.

' Well, my current husband is raiding the ex-father of my children, I've truly lived a long life-' Beniogre thought as she waved Sebastian goodbye and goodluck on his raid, sincerely hoping that he and Max succeeded in this attack.

********

( Meanwhile Severus and Max )

Severus was the individual that had benefited the most from Max becoming King.

Not only was he the closest and most trusted of any lord's by Max, but with Max at the top and him as the lord, the Saint Maximus had became an unstoppable force within vampire society, set to rise in ranks for the first time in over 200 years since they promoted themselves to spot 7.

" It's just as you expected Max, only 17 of the 35 lord's sent you troops, with 7 of these 10 only sending a single legion and no tier6 god's either because they are doing this out of compulsion or because they are incapable of sending more.

Either way, it reflects the level of trust they have in you as a leader as while it may seem like you have consolidated power, in reality you have only prevented rebellions but in the hearts of the lord's they still don't wish to faithfully follow your lead " Severus said as he skimmed through the response letters sent by the various lords to Max.

With a bright smile on his face, Max paid no heed to the fact that a majority of the lord's ignored his call as in the end he only needed a total of 50 million troops for this raid of which 25 million were soldiers of the Bloodfall clan alone.

Adding 10 from the Saint Maximus and Max did not need much support from the other clans, however, he still managed to rack up a tally of 80 million men at his disposal which was more than enough for his plan.

This letter that he sent was never about securing men but rather it was always about testing the loyalty of those under him as when he killed Dracula and won back lost lands, it would be these clans that chose to follow him that would be rewarded while those that did not would be punished for insubordination and have their tariffs raised.

Max was playing the long game where he not only thought about killing Dracula but also about the political landscape of the vampire society as even after the enemy was dead, the task of weeding out the unfaithful men would remain.

Now with this response, he knew exactly who was loyal to him and who was not as after the battle he would not only rid the Vampire society of its external enemy but also purge the internal enemies for a long and lasting peace.