The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion-Chapter 97: The Declaration Of War

In the territory of the [Circle of Ouroboros], inside the main manor, a dinner was taking place in a grand hall.

The guests at the table were quite unusual.

Among them was the leader of the faction, Damian Ignatius, along with his faction members Shiru and Lucian Holloway.

There was also the newly joined member, the common elf Elfie Ayre Dathyra.

However, to Damian’s annoyance, Maria Lucia Augustine and her seven sisters were also present, despite not being part of the faction.

Damian had expected them to leave once they had settled Elfie’s business with him, but they showed no signs of departing.

Yet, he didn’t want to outright tell them to leave and risk seeming rude.

Elfie, growing impatient, frowned as she addressed Damian.

"I’ve already joined your faction. So when are you going to save my brother?" she asked, frustration evident on her face.

After witnessing his overwhelming power firsthand during the power-ranking battles and considering his flashy and arrogant demeanor, she had expected him to immediately take action.

Yet here he was, eating a massive plate of food that could easily feed five people.

"Patience," Damian replied, unfazed.

"This isn’t just a fight between me and that noble vampire. If I were to go after him now, it would spark a faction war, us against an entire faction of vampires with top-tier regeneration and stamina. This won’t be simple. I won’t lose, but I’m not sure if I can win against that many enemies."

"Didn’t you just defeat an entire faction by yourself?" Elfie countered.

"They were humans," Damian explained.

"And I’m an evolved human, a [Superior Human]. I have far too many abilities in my arsenal to be taken down by them. Besides, I started that fight with a surprise attack, which seriously injured a lot of them. Honestly, even if I hadn’t used a surprise attack, I still would’ve won."

"But vampires are different. They have racial abilities, and their leader is a noble vampire. His abilities might not work on me, but what if he calls in more noble vampires from his world? Do you really think I could win against multiple noble vampires?" He shook his head.

"That’s..." Elfie bit her lip, letting out a sigh.

"Then how are we going to save my brother? Every second that passes, I worry about what might be happening to him."

"Right now, news of me defeating that noble vampire should have already reached the higher-ups of his world," Damian said, rubbing his chin as he thought.

"Since it’s common knowledge that noble vampires are arrogant, they won’t let this humiliation slide. They’re probably plotting some kind of revenge plan along with Aeron Brenlith. For all we know, they could already be here, preparing to attack our faction."

Elfie’s heart sank as she watched Damian’s serious expression.

Fear began creeping into her mind.

But what could she do? She had no power to fight them.

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The only option that came to her mind, the one she dreaded most, was turning herself in.

"If I surrender to that bastard Aeron Brenlith in exchange for my brother’s freedom..."

But even then, no other faction was strong enough to go against the vampires.

And those that could wouldn’t do it for free.

Their demands were too much.

She just couldn’t do it.

Maria and her sisters could clearly see the distress on her new friend’s face.

One of the seven sisters, the youngest-looking one with short brunette hair, green eyes, and a baby face, touched her sister Maria’s shoulder.

She made some signs with her hands and pointed at the plebeian vampire sitting across from them, silently drinking blood from a glass.

Damian noticed the hand signs and raised an eyebrow.

"She can’t talk?..."

Watching her sign, Damian saw himself overlapping with her image.

He hadn’t developed the ability to speak until around the age of fourteen, so he had used sign language to communicate.

Understanding what the girl was trying to say as she pointed her finger at Sir Holloway, Damian said, "No, he can’t help with our little situation here. His contract only states that he would assist me with information and matters related to the Tower, and I doubt he has anything to do with Aeron Brenlith."

Everyone instantly turned their gazes toward Damian.

"You know sign language?" Maria, the mute girl, and the remaining six sisters looked at Damian in surprise.

"Yes…" Damian nodded before turning to Sir Holloway. "She’s asking if you can do anything about this situation."

"Well, I have no power among vampires. I’m just another plebeian vampire among hundreds of thousands of others. Even if my master sees value in me, I’m still a servant vampire." Sir Holloway shrugged, shaking her head before continuing.

"And he’s right. I won’t involve myself in anything other than providing him with all the information I have gathered throughout my life. I’m a researcher, not a fighter."

"This can’t be happening. I can’t lose my brother." Elfie clenched her fists.

Damian saw her downtrodden expression and pursed his lips, running through all sorts of plans in his mind to salvage the situation.

There were two urgent matters at hand that needed immediate attention.

First, Elfie’s brother was suffering an unknown fate at the hands of a sadistic and arrogant noble vampire, and Damian had made a contract with Elfie to save him.

The second issue was that saving her brother would ultimately lead to a war between him and the vampire faction.

Considering the nature of noble vampires, he might already be facing more than one of them.

There was a possibility that, even with the level restriction of the first Tower realm, where level 200 was the upper limit, he wouldn’t be able to win against multiple noble vampires.

Who knew?

An ancient noble vampire might even appear.

Perhaps he was overthinking it, but he had to prepare for the worst.

After wrecking his brain for a few minutes, he looked at Shiru.

"Is it possible to declare a war with a preparation time frame and specific war conditions?"

"...It’s possible, but you have to give more than a week before the war begins, and the war conditions should be equally binding for both factions," Shiru replied, her eyes widening as she began to suspect what Damian was about to do.

"What are you planning?" Shiru asked, raising an eyebrow.

Everyone present became curious about Damian’s intentions.

"Wait and watch," Damian grinned mysteriously as he opened the [Challenge Function] of the system.

He clicked on the challenge tab, and another prompt appeared beside the current one.

[State your war preparation time.]

"One week," Damian entered the time limit. Another prompt appeared.

[State your war conditions.]

"Simple... If my faction loses, I will become a slave to the Vampires. But if my faction wins, the noble vampires must release [Arlen Ayre Dathyra]. And if Aeron Brenlith refuses to accept these war conditions, then it would mean he is admitting that he is gay, and he must shave his head and wear a dog collar that says, ’I’m an ugly dog.’"

Damian smiled for a second before clicking the [Send] button.

The moment he did, a notification appeared before every single awakener in the First Tower Realm.

[The leader of the [Circle of Ouroboros] faction has publicly declared war on the [Vampire] faction.]

[The war conditions state that if the [Circle of Ouroboros] faction loses, its leader, ’Infinity,’ will become a slave to the Vampires.]

[If the [Circle of Ouroboros] faction wins, the noble vampires must release [Arlen Ayre Dathyra]].

[If Aeron Brenlith, the current leader of the [Vampire] faction, refuses to accept this challenge and the stated war conditions, it will be considered an admission that he is gay, and he must shave his head and wear a dog collar that says, ’I’m an ugly dog.’]

[If the [Vampire] faction’s leader, Aeron Brenlith, accepts the war conditions, the war will begin in one week.]

Whether they were involved in the war or not, every awakener in Solarta was now staring at the system’s public announcement in shock.

"This guy ’Infinity’... Is he crazy?"

"He’s definitely mad..."

"Can’t he stop doing insane things for even a minute?"

"Just who does he think he is...?"

"He’s going against the vampires now?"

The awakeners of Solarta began to question whether ’Infinity’ had lost his mind.

Challenging one of the most powerful factions in the First Tower Realm was nothing short of madness.

But there was one person in Solarta whose reaction was the most intense.

"This bastard..."

Aeron Brenlith’s face contorted into the ugliest expression it had ever made.

There were no words to describe the sheer hatred he was feeling.

"He dares to challenge me… a noble vampire?"

His fist tightened, crushing the metal glass containing the blood of a common elf with ease.

The noble vampire didn’t suspect anything unusual about the time limit.

In his mind, there was no way a mere human could pose a threat to him.

He had only lost to ’Infinity’ before because of the level restrictions in the power-ranking battles.

But faction wars were different.

There were no level or power restrictions here.

There was simply no way a single human could stand against an entire faction of vampires, beings with superior reflexes, agility, strength, and, more than anything, insane regeneration.

No matter how much they were injured, they would recover within seconds.

"Let’s see what you can do against the immense power of a noble vampire… you lowly, insignificant human."

A wide, sadistic grin spread across his face as he accepted the challenge.

There was no way he could decline after the humiliation he had suffered.

So what if his hands would be tied by the system for a week?

It wouldn’t change anything.

And even if Damian could grow stronger, how much could he possibly improve in just one week?

"One week... Enjoy what little time you have left while you can."