“Kiek?! The lycanthrope is speaking!” Mirian shouted with shock.

Eugene and Lanslo also had surprised expressions.

Then, Lanslo asked as if he had thought of something. “Are you a beowulf?”

“You have a good eye. What I would expect from someone born with the blood of the forest watchers,” the creature responded. The self-proclaimed ‘beowulf’ was grey overall with three lines of black fur that cut through the middle of his forehead. It appeared that he was the leader of the pack.

“Beowulf?” Eugene muttered with a frown.

Lanslo responded in a low voice, “They are a race that normally takes on human form. However, they are able to transform into a lycanthrope whenever they desire. This is the first time I’ve seen a transformed beowulf as well. I have only heard about them in stories.”

“Do not compare us with inferior beings like lycanthropes, knight born with the blood of the forest watchers,” the beowulf said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been referred to as such. However, I was not born in the forest, and I have never watched over them either,” Lanslo responded.

“Hmph! That’s what you would expect from a mongrel, I suppose.” The beowulf scoffed.

Lanslo smiled after hearing the beowulf’s words. However, his smile was unusually cold. Lanslo responded after slightly raising his favorite spear into the air. “I have killed five or six lycanthropes with this spear before. Ah, well, they looked just like you. Maybe they were beowulfs instead?”

“You dare!”

“Kuwuuuuuuuugh!”

“Uagh!”

“Hieeeek!”

The enraged group of beowulfs roared. The village chief and the vigilantes screamed and fell on their hips. Beowulf possessed a unique Fear, similar to vampires, and it was difficult for ordinary humans to withstand such energy.

However, Eugene’s group was unmoved. Although Lavan and Glade flinched slightly, the rest of the group glared at the group of wolves without moving an inch. The beowulfs were rather surprised by their reactions.

“Is it because you have a member of the Dark Clan? It seems none of you are ordinary humans.”

“Uncle! What use is there to waste any more words on those weaklings? Look, their fangs are as small as a rat’s!”

“That’s right, Wolfgan. Let’s just tear them apart! Hundreds of roamers wrecked the mountains and the fields because of those bastards!”

Krrrrrrr…!

About a dozen beowulfs revealed their fangs in fury, and their subordinate wolves growled in response.

“What do you mean by that?” Eugene stepped forward.

The one called Wolfgan answered with a glare, “Don’t you know that the roamers were having a feast every night because of the corpses you left behind in your wake? It seems that it’s not just your fangs, but your brains are tiny as well!”

“...”

“Kieeeeeeeeeek! That little punk-ass mutt! How dare he utter such words towards Sir Eugene! Kieeek! I’ll have him steeped in a pot all the way from his ears to tail and boiled alive! You little bastard! You look like you would fuck a goblin!” Mirian hollered. Eugene could see that Mirian was genuinely angry from her unusual, ingenuine curses.

Of course, Mirian wasn’t the only one.

A gruesome smile had appeared on Galfredik’s hideous face, and Luke was red to the back of his neck. Partec’s group was also on the verge of rushing at the beowulfs while grinding their teeth.

However, none of them budged an inch. They obeyed Eugene’s instructions to never attack without the order when faced with Brantia’s aristocracy or other races.

“Kuhahaha! Let me correct myself again! It’s not just your brains either, but your guts as well!”

“Look at him! A member of the Dark Clan is clad in a bunch of metal. You can see how weak and scared they really are!”

“Maye he can’t even kill a single goblin if he doesn’t have his metal!”

Crahahahaha!

The bizarre, unique laughter of the beowulfs echoed loudly.

“Oi,” Eugene called out.

“Hmm? I guess you have enough courage to speak. Fine, let’s hear it. What’s your excuse for having done such a stupid thing?” Wolfgan spoke while folding his arms together.

Eugene responded with a grin, “You. Bunch of ignorant, stupid dogs. You must not know. Where I come from, only idiots insult knights. It means you are putting your head on the line. And. This is a saying as well.”

Eugene’s short and unique way of speaking in the Brantian language had a knack for making people very angry.

“What? You little rat fang…” The beowulfs started to rear once again.

Eugene looked over the group of wolves before sheathing Wolfslaughter and taking out Madarazika. “Disobedient mutts. Beating is the best answer.”

Kwaaaaaaah! Shuack!

Eugene shot forward like a spring while fully radiating his Fear. His black cape spread out behind him like the wings of a giant bat and then it followed behind Eugene after transforming into a long awl.

Krr?!

The beowulfs had beastly reflexes, and they immediately responded by taking on a defensive stance. Their yellow eyes flashed with lights. However, an Origin’s Fear was akin to a large storm capable of leveling a mountain. It was simply impossible for them to overcome Eugene’s Fear.

Clang!

Wolfgan froze on the spot, and the 50-kilogram iron rod hammered down on his head.

“Kuaagh!”

Wolfgan slumped to his knees as he felt his very skull rattle. The other beowulfs showed their fangs and belatedly attempted to make their move.

Kuwuuugh!

However, they were petrified by the Origin’s roar. It was a powerful sound capable of crushing powerful magic.

Kwakwakwakwang!

Eugene pummeled the 2-meter monsters without missing the chance. In terms of pure physical ability, beowulfs were above vampires. However, their bones were shattered and their limbs were forcibly twisted in bizarre ways when faced with a spear capable of killing ogres.

Yip! Yap!

The magnificent roar of the creatures could no longer be heard, and instead, only the pained howls of these mutts filled the place.

Ten seconds later…

Eugene crippled all of the beowulfs in just ten seconds before turning toward Galfredik and Lanslo. “Take care of the mutts that they brought.”

“Kuwuuuugh!”

“I’ve been waiting!”

With the two knights taking the lead, the rest of the group rushed toward the subordinate wolves of the beowulfs.

Kkae-aeng! Yip! Yaff! Kung! Kung!

“Arrrrrrrgh! Shut up! I don’t want to hear any more dogs barking!” The angry roar of the spirit made a perfect harmony in accordance with the cries of the dogs.

***

“Kuwuwuuuuuugh! Kuwuuuu!”

“K-ing! Kki-ing~”

“Oi. I thought I told you to keep your mouths shut.”

The sad cries of the beowulfs died down in an instant. The beowulfs’ injuries had recovered to some extent, thanks to the outstanding physique and resilience unique to their species. But Eugene’s overwhelming fear suppressed both their bodies and minds, and their recovery progressed slower than usual. As such, the beowulfs still had broken limbs and shattered skulls as they kneeled in front of Eugene.

“So. The roamers were moving because of us?” Eugene asked.

“T-that’s… right,” Wolfgan answered. As soon as he noticed Galfredik’s glare, he immediately took on a polite tone.

“You punk. Funny little bastard. Why is that my responsibility?” Eugene asked.

“…!?” Wolfgan felt dumbfounded, but he no longer dared to retort. He simply rolled his yellow eyes without responding.

“If it were you. The ones who attacked to kill. Should you just leave them alone?” Eugene asked once again.

“Well, that’s…”

“You. If it were you, will you take care of the corpses of the ones who attacked you?” Eugene continued.

“…”

“This is not my territory. Why do I have to care about it? Local roamers going wild...”

“…”

“Do you need help? Then you should have asked for it. You little mutts. You insulted me, a knight. Is that the honor of the beowulfs of Perseus?”

“Keugh!”

Wolfgan and the rest of the beowulfs dropped their heads in shame. They had been completely outclassed, and even their justification had been taken away. Of course, things had turned out like this because the opponent was a monstrous being. However, that was their fault as well. They were too arrogant and ignorant, which made them unable to properly gauge their opponent.

‘I can’t believe that there is such a monstrous being among the Tribe of the Night.’

‘Even if the beowulf king came, could he be that vampire’s match?’

‘Where the hell did he come from?’

All sorts of miscellaneous thoughts were going through the minds of the beowulfs. Eugene looked down at them before speaking in a cold voice, “Mutts. Stop thinking so hard. Undo your transformation.”

The beowulfs flinched before lifting their transformation one by one. The grey hairs scattered momentarily, their swollen muscles shrunk, and their canine heads also changed into human forms.

“Whoa!”

“How fascinating.”

The faces of the beowulfs filled with shame as Eugene’s group expressed wonder and shock. It was disgraceful for the beowulfs to display the process of their transformation to anyone outside of their race. They were a race born to battle, so the only time they reverted their transformation was when they had lost. And the majority of the time, such beowulfs ended up dead.

Beowulfs considered dying in battle a warrior’s honor. To be alive in front of their opponents in a devastated, defeated, naked form was nothing less than…

“Uaggggggh! I would rather die! Uah! Argh! Arggggh!” One of the beowulfs jumped up while screaming, but then immediately fell to the ground with his hands covering his head.

Thuck! Thuck! Thuck!

Galfredik had approached the figure like lightning and started mercilessly pounding on his head with the handle of a mace. “You scared me! You piece of shit! How dare you shake your hideous thing like that?!”

“Maybe it’s because they possess the blood of beasts, but their things are quite lively,” Lanslo said with wonder.

“T-that’s true.” Partec nodded with an awkward expression. Although they had definitely won the battle, it felt like they had lost.

“Tsk. You shameless bastards.” Galfredik clapped his hands clean before taking his place behind Eugene once again.

Eugene looked over the beowulfs that wore pathetic expressions. “Hey. You. When you get held captive. What law do you follow?”

“We deal with it according to the laws of our race,” Wolfgan answered.

“I see. However, right now, you mutts are my prisoners. Then you should follow my law, right?” Eugene stated.

“…That’s right,” Wolfgan answered with a worried expression. His eyes quivered as an unknown feeling of anxiety washed over him.

Eugene grinned. “I’m going to your house. Ransom. I will need it.”

***

Eugene left the village after receiving the sincere gratitude of the chief and the residents. Naturally, he didn’t forget to instruct the villagers to notify the nearby lords of his deeds. Since Eugene had declined the rewards and even handed over the corpses of the wolves to the village at a cheap price, the chief groveled as if Eugene were his own lord.

Eugene dressed the beowulfs in shabby clothes before having them lead him to their home. Proper roads were few and rare in Brantia, so the group ended up traveling through the woods and fields for two days, and whenever they came across rugged terrain, Eugene allowed the beowulfs to transform.

Although the beowulfs had the chance of escaping when they were transformed, not a single one attempted to run away. In the first place, it would be impossible for all of them to escape unscathed, and Eugene had treated them better than they expected after leaving the village.

Although vampires and beowulfs often had disputes and quarreled with each other, the two races stemmed from the same bloodline. The two races were like distant relatives. And after traveling with Eugene for a couple of days, the beowulfs began to see Eugene in a new light. Their bodies still ached when they recalled the harsh beating they had received from Eugene, but they had also never heard of a vampire treating beowulfs so well just as how Eugene was treating them. As such, by the time the group neared the beowulfs’ residence, the Perseus Mountains, Wolfgan and the beowulfs had grown quite close to Eugene’s party.

However, they never imagined that the scheming, jet-black heart of the Origin Vampire was hidden underneath Eugene’s kindness.

‘It would be much better to make use of them compared to hiring Brantian mercenaries. In the first place, the mercenaries would be using shitty equipment and it would also be hard to communicate with them.’

Of course, Eugene’s decision was considerably influenced by an unexpected person.

“Hehehe. Leave it to me, Master. I’m a natural when it comes to educating mutts, starting with the babies that Grandma Talula gave birth to.”

“Kieeeeekekeke! Oi, oi! Mutt master! I believe in you! Kiek! Kiek!”

In many ways, it appeared that Eugene had made the right choice in taking Galfredik in as his vassal.