169 Storming the Gates
William had only come to claim his inheritance, House Calix might have found a way to delay him.
But William wasn’t just claiming property.
He was officially inheriting his title.
Once he became a Margrave, no one—not even other Northern lords—could dismiss him as an outsider.
’If we try to resist now, we won’t have any backing. Damn it…’
Realizing the futility of arguing, the knight subtly signaled one of the nearby elite guards.
Understanding the unspoken command, the soldier quietly slipped away, disappearing into the manor.
The moment William and his party crossed the drawbridge and reached the gates—
Boom.
A loud metallic clang echoed through the courtyard.
"...!"
The manor’s heavy front gate had suddenly slammed shut.
Startled by the sound, the horses reared, and the group had to quickly calm them down.
Felicia was the first to react, her expression furious.
"What the hell is this!?" she shouted. "You pretended to let us in, only to shut the gate behind us!?"
"This is a misunderstanding," the knight said smoothly. "It seems there is an issue with the gate’s mechanism. We’ll need some time to repair it."
A blatant, insulting lie.
The gate had been working just fine moments ago.
And House Calix had been maintaining this estate for years.
The odds of the mechanism suddenly failing at this exact moment? Laughable.
’They’re trying to stall for time.’
William’s eyes narrowed.
Something inside that manor was important enough for them to delay his entry.
Are they trying to smuggle something out before I get inside?
It made sense.
House Calix had likely been planning to seize the estate permanently.
And since there had been no other claimants, they must have assumed all of the manor’s contents were theirs by default.
Until now.
Now that William had come to officially claim it, they were scrambling to cover their tracks.
Too late.
William dismounted, drawing his sword.
His voice carried loud and clear over the courtyard.
"If anyone is still behind that gate, I suggest you move before you get caught in the crossfire."
"That would be unwise," the knight warned, an amused edge in his voice. "That gate is reinforced with adamantium. It won’t break so easily. You’re wasting your time."
His words were laced with condescension, but William only smiled.
Raising his sword high, he let his magic surge.
A dense wave of mana exploded outward, wrapping around his body, enhancing every fiber of his being.
A deep, resonant hum filled the air as his sword shone with unnatural brilliance.
"W-what…!?"
The knight instinctively stepped back.
Even his men looked alarmed, eyes widening at the sheer weight of the magic pressing against them.
Before anyone could react—
BOOM.
William’s blade came crashing down.
A deafening explosion erupted as raw, unrestrained power tore through the gate.
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BOOM—CRASH!
With a deafening impact, the reinforced gate was ripped from its hinges, tumbling across the ground with a series of heavy crashes.
Fortunately, thanks to William’s earlier warning, no one had been standing in its path.
William stepped through the now-gaping entrance, absently twirling his sword as he muttered to himself.
"Didn’t slice through after all. I was hoping, since the blade is made of a similar material, that I might be able to cut through it…"
His voice trailed off, but the knight standing before him barely heard him anyway.
He was still frozen in shock, staring at the fallen gate with wide, disbelieving eyes.
The adamantium-reinforced door was intact aside from a few dents and scratches, but the real damage was elsewhere.
The gate had been secured to the stone walls of the estate. The force of William’s attack had shattered the connections, tearing the entire structure free.
No matter how strong the gate itself was, its supports hadn’t been able to withstand the impact.
William turned his attention back to the stunned knight.
"Well, the gate’s open now," he said casually. "No reason to stand around any longer, is there?"
"Wait! Please, wait a moment! This place is a historical site—what have you done!?"
The knight’s protest was cut off as William’s gaze sharpened.
"This place is mine," he said coldly. "My house. My property. So spare me the nonsense and step aside."
A faint hum of magic filled the air.
Blue mana swirled around William’s body, barely contained—its intensity a silent threat.
The knight flinched involuntarily and took an unsteady step back.
For a moment, an image flashed through his mind—his own body being reduced to dust by the same overwhelming force that had just torn through solid stone.
Damn it…
Swallowing hard, he clenched his fists and grudgingly moved aside.
The soldiers, who had been hesitating near the entrance, quickly followed suit.
William glanced at them with mild amusement.
"Why were you all gathered here? Hoping to sneak something out while I was stuck outside?"
"N-no! That’s not—"
"Save your excuses." His voice was clipped. "Get lost. If I see any of you lurking around again, I’ll take your heads off."
His words carried no malice—just simple, matter-of-fact certainty.
The soldiers paled and scrambled away, eager to put as much distance between themselves and William as possible.
With the nuisances dealt with, William turned to Glenn.
"Sir Glenn, what are you waiting for? You’re here to oversee the inheritance process, aren’t you?"
"A-ah! Yes, of course, Your Highness! My apologies!"
Still shaken from the earlier spectacle, Glenn hurriedly stepped forward.
Meanwhile, the knights and retainers of House Calix could do nothing but watch, their expressions a mixture of shock and helplessness.
For years, they had guarded this estate under their master’s orders. Read new chapters at freewebnovel
Now, before their very eyes, it was slipping into another man’s hands.
The moment Glenn officially declared the rightful transfer of the estate, the remaining personnel of House Calix wasted no time packing their belongings.
With House Grimaldi’s inheritance secured under William’s name, there was no reason for them to stay.
"We will take our leave," one of the knights said stiffly. "Now that everything belongs to Your Highness, it would be improper for us to linger. We wouldn’t want any… misunderstandings to arise."