Zane stared at Helen. After a brief silence, a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
"Are you doubting my strength?"
"I wouldn't dare doubt your strength," Helen replied, her tone perfectly composed. "But I am well aware of the might wielded by both the Kingdom of Winterscar and my own Kingdom of Lionheart."
"You had your servant drag both me and Princess Lila of Winterscar into your castle. And while I may be estranged from my royal brother, I am still the Crown Princess of Lionheart. As for Lila—she is the sole heir to Winterscar's throne."
"So no matter how you look at it, both kingdoms will respond. I suspect that as we speak, elite forces from both sides are already on their way here."
"Lord Duke, I have no doubt about your personal power. But even someone as formidable as yourself—can you truly withstand the combined wrath of two kingdoms?"
She was clever. Damn clever.
In just a few words, Helen had driven a blade straight into Zane's greatest insecurity. If she sensed that his power was more façade than fact, things could spiral out of control fast.
He had no choice but to keep bluffing. His expression darkened, and he fixed Helen with a cold glare.
"You think you still have a choice in this, Helen?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Allow me to remind you—I still hold your life in my hands."
"You can certainly threaten me with death," Helen replied, her tone unwavering. "But the blood of Lionheart has never feared death."
"If you can prove your strength to me, I give you my word—you'll gain a powerful and loyal partner."
"But if you cannot..." Her eyes burned with fierce conviction. "Then the Kingdom of Lionheart will gain a crown princess who chose to die with honor rather than be defiled by a demon."
She meant every word. And when she spoke of honor, her voice rose with passion and pride.
This woman really wasn't afraid of dying.
Now Zane was the one in trouble.
Because, truth be told, he really was too weak at the moment. Let alone facing off against two royal armies—he couldn't even wipe out that scout party lingering down in the valley.
As he stood frozen, torn between posturing and panic, a chime rang out inside his head.
[Notice: Slaughterhouse has completed its operation. New servant acquired: +1]
The moment he heard the system's voice, a plan snapped into place.
Perfect timing.
Zane's tense expression smoothed into a cool, composed smile. He nodded at Helen.
"Excellent. Truly excellent, Princess Helen. I must say—I'm starting to admire you more and more. Since you're so eager to see how I intend to deal with the retribution from Lionheart and Winterscar, then by all means... come with me."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the cell.
Helen hesitated only a moment before following close behind.
The two made their way, one after the other, through the torchlit corridors—until they reached the heavy iron doors of the Slaughterhouse.
The door to the Slaughterhouse was still tightly shut, but the stench of blood wafted clearly through the black wood panels. Alongside the metallic tang in the air came a low, ominous moaning—so faint it was impossible to tell whether it was the wind… or something else entirely.
Helen instinctively sensed danger. Her brows drew together as she spoke up.
"What is this place?"
Good. At least she had the sense to be afraid.
Zane turned his head to glance at her, his tone laced with cryptic amusement.
"This place? Oh, it's nothing more than a factory of mine."
"A factory?" Helen asked, her curiosity piqued. "What kind of factory?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
With that, Zane turned away and faced the Slaughterhouse door. He raised his arms wide, his voice loud and ceremonial as he declared:
"Come forth, my servant! I have granted you new life!"
As the last word left his lips, the faint moaning swelled into a savage, guttural growl. The heavy door of the Slaughterhouse began to shake violently, as though something monstrous was thrashing against it from the other side.
The shaking lasted no more than two or three seconds—then with a resounding bang, the door burst open!
The scent of blood surged forward, so thick and putrid it made the air itself feel toxic. It was enough to make one's stomach churn.
Goddamn it, don't break my damn door.
Zane cursed internally, then instinctively narrowed his eyes, peering into the Slaughterhouse's dark interior.
A massive figure began to emerge from the shadows.
It was followed by the stench of death—sharp, acrid, and unmistakably rotten. The air grew heavier as heavy footfalls echoed off the stone, and then the creature stepped into view.
It stood over two meters tall.
Even though Zane had mentally prepared himself for its appearance, the sight still startled him.
This thing was nothing like the grotesque, stitched-together messes of rotten limbs like the Chunks of Flesh he'd seen before. No—this one bore no resemblance to anything human.
Its head was a horrifying hybrid of hound and bat, massive jaws gaping open to reveal jagged yellowed fangs dripping with old blood. Its skin was ashen gray, rough and leathery. Its limbs were disturbingly long and skeletal, ending in claws so sharp they scraped deep gouges into the stone floor and walls as it walked—producing a shrill screeching noise that clawed at the ears.
Behind him, Zane heard Helen's breath hitch—short, sharp, and shaky.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
He grinned inwardly. The Ghoul might have only been Tier One, with unimpressive combat abilities, but its appearance alone was a masterpiece of intimidation.
With this thing at his side, Helen was bound to wildly overestimate his strength.
Just as Zane was savoring that thought, the Ghoul moved.
It dropped to its knees with exaggerated reverence, pressing its twisted, grotesque form low to the ground in front of Zane. Then, it lowered its head and began to kiss the soles of Zane's boots.
From its throat came a rasping, broken voice.
"Master... Master..."
"Ha ha ha!"
Zane laughed, reaching out to pat the Ghoul's head, as if it were a pet.
"Good! Very good! From today on, your name will be... Evan!"
Zane felt quite benevolent, at least he had given the creature its original name back.
"Evan... Evan..." The Ghoul murmured the name twice, then respectfully added, "Evan will obey his master's every command."
With that, Zane was satisfied with the groundwork he had laid. Now, it was time to use his words to convince Helen of his strength.
Zane turned to face her, a faint smile on his lips.
"Miss Helen, do you know why I named him Evan?"
Helen, still reeling from the shock of the Ghoul's appearance, snapped back to attention when she heard Zane's question. She blinked, still somewhat stunned, and asked, "Why?"
"Because just a few hours ago, the advance team from the Duchy of Winterscar dared to barge into my castle! Among the intruders, there was a man named Evan..."
"I killed him, and, well, turned him into my servant."
As he said this, Zane patted the Ghoul's head again.
"Miss Helen, what do you think of my... transformation skills? Pretty impressive, don't you think?"
"Earlier, you asked me how I would deal with the combined forces of the Kingdom of Winterscar and the Kingdom of Lionheart. Well, I think now Evan can answer that for you... the truth is, I'm not afraid of their combined attack! In fact, I'm quite looking forward to it!"
"The more soldiers they send, the better! The stronger they are, the better! I have all the time I need to turn anyone who dares step into my castle into a Ghoul like Evan!"
"As the master of this castle, there is only one thing I need to worry about—what if they send so many soldiers that my castle can't house them all?"
"But, while speaking with you, Miss Helen, I suddenly had a brilliant idea... As you mentioned, there are already six countries on this small continent, so... what if we added another?"
At Zane's suggestion, Helen shuddered involuntarily. She swallowed hard, staring at him in disbelief.
"You mean..." she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Yes!" Zane's eyes suddenly gleamed with madness as a smug smile spread across his face. "I could create an entirely new nation! A nation made up entirely of the dead!"
"At that point, I would no longer be the Duke of Howling Castle, but another king on this continent!"
"Heh, you know, King Zane sounds pretty good, doesn't it? And you, Miss Helen, would you like to be a witness to the founding of this new country?"