How come you're still alive, Andrew!

Zain looked at Andrew, his teeth chattering involuntarily.

The memories of ten years ago are still fresh.

-

"Young Master Zane, the swordsmanship instructor has been assigned to Young Master Andrew, and today's main course has been changed to economics." The maid helped Zane get dressed and briefly explained the day's schedule.

Zain was used to this arrangement, but he still pouted in dissatisfaction:

"Why is it always Andrew who gets assigned sword lessons? My swordsmanship is already terrible, won't this widen the gap even further?"

"I'm sorry, this is the Duke's order, and I cannot make that decision myself, young master."

"Nonsense, I know!" He shook off the maid and walked to the window on his own. Andrew was already practicing his swordsmanship in the manor, while the sword instructor had just arrived and was walking quickly from the manor gate in the distance.

The swordsmanship instructor carried a heavy broadsword at his waist, exuding a chilling killing intent from years of battlefield experience.

He was one of the top berserkers among the Dukes of Gusenberg, a legendary figure—Kazan Holmes.

Watching Kazan walk to Andrew's side, carefully take his hand, and help him straighten his posture, Zane bit his fingernails in frustration.

Kazan would come to the manor five times a month to instruct on swordsmanship, and Andrew would enjoy four of those times alone.

Damn it, if I could get one-on-one guidance from a mentor like that, even I could improve at lightning speed!

Why is Andrew able to enjoy this treatment so comfortably?

"This is destined. He is the eldest son of the Kadisia family. In the future, he will become the sword of the Kingdom of Slo and the heir to the Dukedom of Gusenburg. You are different. You will become his subordinate. You don't have to fight, but you will need to assist him in managing the territory." The economics tutor answered his questions as if stating something perfectly ordinary.

"Unless he dies, this is your destined fate."

Unless Andrew dies?

Yes, all we need is for Andrew to die. Once Andrew is dead, all of this will be his.

"Heh! You really want me dead?" Andrew's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Zane had picked up a sword at some point, and Andrew, who was also holding a sword, stood before him. The blades clashed together, producing a clanging sound.

Andrew swung the blade around, instantly knocking the sword out of his hand. The sword flew dozens of meters away into the garden and stuck into the ground.

"Tsk tsk, you bastard, you're aiming for my vital points with every sword strike. Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, brother, let me explain..." Zane hurriedly tried to explain, his face pale, but he was met with a punch from Andrew!

"You piece of trash! You think you can kill me? Know your place! You're nothing but my vassal! What right do you have, what ability do you have to harm me!"

"Brother...Brother! Stop...stop hitting me!" Zane's pleas for mercy only earned him a beating from Andrew.

After being beaten black and blue, Andrew spat into Zain's eye, instantly blurring his vision with tears and saliva.

"Zane, you need to know, you'll always be trash!"

Only after Andrew left did he dare to endure the excruciating pain all over his body, turn over and get up in a disheveled state, wiping away the tears in his eyes.

I will always be Andrew's subordinate; I have no right to stand with him.

After being dealt a blow by Andrew, Zain realized his own worth. From then on, whenever he met Andrew, Zain would carefully serve him as if he were his servant.

Yes, he was just a subordinate and had no right to stand with Andrew.

......

Just as Zane was about to solidify this idea in his mind, things took a turn for the better.

"Where is Andrew?!" The father grabbed the servant by the collar, demanding to know where Andrew was.

This was the first time Zain had ever seen his father so angry. Usually, his father always had a cold face and never cared about anything between him and Andrew.

This was the first time he had ever seen his father so anxious, after all, today was a very important day—Andrew's day of vows.

His disappearance on such an important day not only affects the God of War's view of Andrew, but also the entire Kingdom of Slo's view of Duke Kadisia.

This is a day that concerns the Duke's reputation, which is why the father is so anxious.

"Master Andrew, he went to bed on time last night... but when I went to serve him the next day, he had disappeared."

The servant's bewildered explanations contained little useful information, and his father ordered him to be dragged out and have his legs broken.

Haha, this servant deserved it. She always took advantage of being Andrew's servant to make things difficult for the butler and his maids, both openly and secretly. Having her leg broken and being thrown out of the Duke's mansion was her fate!

Several months passed after that, and Andrew was nowhere to be found. He seemed to have vanished into thin air, completely disappearing from the territory of Duke Cardia.

Even after posting missing person notices in other territories, there was still no news.

These past few months have been so oppressive at the manor. Father was busy looking for Andrew, and the servants and stewards were anxiously and carefully taking care of Zain. Those were arguably the most peaceful days of Zain's life.

Things seemed to be going in a good direction, and before long, it was Zain's day of vows.

His father, unusually, took him into the Temple of War, greeted the bishop, and swore an oath of faith to the god of war.

The god of war bestowed his blessing upon him, and power seeped into his body.

In an instant, he felt as if he were ten thousand meters in the air, experiencing a strong sense of weightlessness. A multitude of combat abilities flashed through his mind, and he unleashed them all:

Beacon Sword! Blazing Storm!

In an instant, a fiery tornado formed from flames erupted high in the sky, accompanied by faint sounds of tiger roars and dragon cries!

After unleashing these skills with great satisfaction, he landed smoothly and opened his eyes again; he was back in the church.

"Congratulations, Zane! The God of War has chosen you. From now on, you are a favorite of the gods—the Berserker!"

Amidst the bishop's praise, the father surprisingly revealed a gentle smile:

"Well done, Zane!"

In an instant, countless voices of praise drowned out Zane.

Perhaps, perhaps I am no longer Andrew's vassal.

As Zain felt the power within him, he couldn't help but straighten his chest.

I'm not trash!

His father finally allocated more resources to him, and he was able to receive Kazan's swordsmanship instruction as he wished, and he was also able to stop attending those tedious and boring subjects.

However, during training, Kazan would shake his head from time to time: "It's a pity that we started training too late, and our basic skills are much weaker."

What exactly do you mean? Are you trying to praise Andrew's swordsmanship skills? Or are you implying that I'm inferior to Andrew?

Andrew is gone! What right do you have to mention him again!

"Zane, I know you've been practicing hard lately, but swordsmanship isn't something you can master in a day." One day, watching Zane train, his father sighed and shook his head slightly.

"Perhaps you are better at management than fighting. You have learned a lot about governance since you were young. You can try to start by managing a territory."

"Father, I..." Zain knew in his heart that his father was just giving him a euphemism because he could not improve his sword skills.

Yes, although he was a berserker, he was never able to delve deeper into swordsmanship or become stronger.

Even with all my efforts, I'm stuck at Platinum level... and that was only barely achieved with Kazan's guidance.

So he accepted his father's suggestion and, with a few guards and some initial funds, went to Black Twilight City.

Although Black Twilight City is not as prosperous as Gusenburg, it is still one of the richest earldoms under the Duke of Gusenburg.

But after Zain took over the manor, he soon discovered that most of the taxes from the earldom and the tenants went into the pocket of a group called the Black Gold Society.

However, the actual visible cash flow of the earldom is very limited.

Hmph, this is just what I'm going to do, show you what I'm capable of.

He clearly remembered that a certain history book on governance discussed how to handle this situation.

Immediately afterwards, he and several of his confidants, under the pretext of tax inspection, began to move into the various properties of the Black Gold Society.

But just as he was about to begin collecting evidence of corruption by the Black Gold Society, the society surrendered and returned all its powers to the Earl's territory.

The mastermind behind the Black Gold Club approached him warmly and expressed his intention to cooperate.

Haha, this Melison boss is quite sensible. I barely showed my power, and he's already learned to tuck his tail between his legs and act like a dog.

"Earl Zane, our organization has recently invented a novel way to play. Would you like to give it a try?" Boss Melison suddenly suggested a game while bowing and scraping one day.

This piqued Zane's interest. Melison had mentioned beauties from other continents over the past two months—orcs, dwarves, and elves—and he had sampled them all, finding them quite unique. It might be worthwhile to hear his opinion.

Unexpectedly, this opened up a whole new world for him.

Beneath Black Twilight City lies such a vast underground space!

And here, there's this incredibly fun underground gambling den.

Zane tried out all the gameplay options, and he was incredibly lucky to earn hundreds of gold coins, which far exceeded the manor's annual income.

The next day, the 100 gold coins doubled again, and he quickly earned more than 300 gold coins.

A few days later, although he started to win and lose, he still earned more than 400 gold coins. If he had painstakingly managed his territory, it would have taken him several years to earn such wealth.

To be honest, Zane was indeed somewhat indulging in the joy of this easy achievement.

However, his betting soon turned into more losses than wins, and gradually, his bulging money bag became empty until he couldn't produce a single gold coin, at which point he finally came to his senses.

"Count Zane, it seems your luck isn't so good today. Why don't you come back another day? Maybe your luck will be much better tomorrow?" Meleson suddenly appeared beside him, still with that lapdog-like demeanor. Although his words sounded ingratiating, Zane was still somewhat annoyed.

"Another day? I can make all my losses back today!"

"Why don't you try our loan services?"

......

Zane borrowed a hundred gold coins at once and quickly made back some of the losses.

"Count Zane, it seems your luck is starting to turn around!"

"That's right, I'm going to earn back those four hundred gold coins today!"

However, the borrowed one hundred gold coins were soon lost.

Only then did he realize what he had done.

He lost all of his initial capital and even owed 100 gold coins!

"No...no, this can't be real!"

"Count Zane, when are you going to repay that hundred gold coins you borrowed?" Meleson's tone suddenly turned icy, his previously ingratiating expression now cold and cruel.

"I know you are unable to repay right now, but I can point you in the right direction. How about increasing taxes? Anyway, if we increase taxes on the tenants on your estate, they will only have less grain, and the merchants will only earn a little less money."

Meleson's words were like the temptation of Pandora's box; Zane couldn't control himself and began to increase the taxes again and again.

Soon, a riot broke out among the soldiers in his territory.

You bunch of idiots! What's wrong with giving me some of your money? I'll pay it all back next time I turn the tables, won't I? Since you dare to rebel, you can forget about living a good life!

"Beat them! Break the legs of these traitors!"

There are more homeless people and more disabled people on the streets.

But Zain was no longer able to think that far ahead; he had long forgotten his original intention of coming here to make a name for himself and impress his father.

He has only one thing on his mind right now:

Next time, next time I'll definitely do it!

"You have three thousand dragon-patterned gold coins to pay back within a month, or your fingers might be in danger when we come to collect the debt!"

The casino bodyguard's devilish tone instantly poured cold water on Zane's hopes.

What...what? I already...owe three thousand gold coins?

What exactly did I do this year?

Feeling the blade nearly pierce his finger, Zane panicked instantly.

"I...I know the rules. I'll go back and raise the money now. Please let me go!"

"Heh... Get lost!"

The world spun rapidly, and he was as pathetic as a stray dog, kicked away by the roadside.

Just as he was angrily thinking of retorting as usual, he saw those pale golden eyes staring at him mockingly through the shadow of the black robe.

He would never forget that mocking gaze.

"Andrew..."

"Zane, long time no see. You don't seem to be doing very well."

The familiar accent filled his ears, and for a moment, Zain felt as if he had returned to ten years ago.

"You're nothing but an accessory, so behave yourself!"

"Trash is always trash!"

"This is your destined fate!"

......

"Shut up, all of you!" The words were almost squeezed out from between his teeth. Zane's face was contorted with rage, and his body was instantly engulfed in violent flames.

Flames erupted from various parts of his body, transforming into intense light that converged in his palm. In an instant, a longsword composed of flames appeared in his hand.

With the appearance of the weapon, he began to wield the flaming longsword like a madman.

"You, fucking bastard! How come you're still alive?!"