Brantia was a mess. Even the word ‘devastated’ could not do the country’s current state justice, and the nation’s security was nonexistent at best. Roamers and bandits were lurking everywhere, and there was almost no movement of people or goods except in areas ruled by powerful lords.

However, the security in some territories located near the coast started to become stable some time ago, and as of late, a safe route had been established all the way to the Crawlmarine territory. A safe zone of nearly 80 kilometers was established for the largest granary in southeastern Brantia, including the middle and the lower areas of the Thames River. It was centered around the port city of Mungard.

The trades of mana stones and monster materials resumed between the territories and the cities, and the merchants were overjoyed. Prior to the establishment of the safe routes, merchants needed to hire at least twenty people every time they traveled, but now, they would face no problems even with only ten guards.

That was not to say that mercenaries were suffering losses. Rather, business boomed as the number of people and goods traveling to and forth from each territory increased exponentially.

As such, the southeastern territories of Brantia underwent a major transformation in only a few months. However, the residents continued on and ventured further. A nation’s faltered development did not necessarily reflect the will of the people. There were courageous and greedy people who ventured even deeper into the nation to seek wealth. Naturally, news from Mungard and other southeastern territories of Brantia started to spread inland as well. As it happened, the Riwad barony also received news regarding the current situation in the southeastern territories as well.

Boom!

“What did you say?! Lucas?! My nephew was beheaded?!” Baron Riwad slammed down his fist on a table with an agitated expression.

Although he was already over forty, he was still brimming with energy. Baron Riwad was a figure known as one of the ‘sword masters’ of Brantia, a knight who stood at the pinnacle of his practice. And just like many other Brantian nobles, he was ignorant, violent, and short-tempered.

There were a few things in life that Baron Riwad valued, one of which was his ‘bloodline.’ Lucas was born to Baron Riwad and his beloved sister, and Baron Riwad considered him to be one of the most precious things in his life, though the truth had to be hidden at all costs.

“Keeeeuuuugh! You dare! You dare!!! Lucas... Kuaaaghhh! I will kill you!” Baron Riwad screamed with anger. His loud shouts contained a certain force that was quite similar to ‘fear,’ and the people of his castle stiffened at once upon hearing his voice.

The Riwad barony was related to a royal family of orcs from the distant past. As such, a figure with the power and temperament of an orc warrior was born every two to three generations, and the current baron was an example.

“War! This is war! Bring me my armor! I will head to Crawlmarine and punish those traitors who have betrayed faith and honor!” Baron Riwad gave a fiery roar. The entire castle immediately fell into a frenzy at the baron’s terrifying shouts.

The Riwad barony had survived and thrived even after the horrifying war because of the baron’s presence, and his influence within the territory was absolute. Even though the residents of his territory were extremely poor and barely avoided starving to death, the baron, a traditional knight, didn’t care about all that. For him, the residents and serfs of his territory were no different from simple livestock.

“W-with all due respect, I would like to offer a word, my lord!” a noble exclaimed.

“What is it!?” the baron shouted while turning his furious gaze. 

The noble responded while respectfully bowing his head. “There is a rumor that the guardian of the new count is a member of the Dark Clan.”

“A vampire?” The baron asked.

“Yes. And apparently, he is a noble. At least a bannaret…” The noble answered.

“Is that so?” the baron said after calming himself. Although he was very violent and short-tempered, as an outstanding knight, Baron Riwad was calculating and sober when it came to battles. He could not recklessly rush into battle against a bannaret-class vampire. The power of the individual vampire wasn’t a problem, but rather the ‘clan’ that could be supporting the vampire.

“You don’t know which family he is from?” Baron Riwad asked.

“No. I heard from a merchant that the vampires residing in Mungard have been quite cooperative with him. Ah! And also, the fact that he came from the continent across the sea…”

Thuck!

The noble was never given a chance to finish.

“Kuagh!”

The baron’s punch knocked him down to the ground.

“Hey, you little bastard! Doesn’t that mean that I don’t have to worry about his clan?! He was obviously forced off the continent and came crawling here to scrape together whatever he could to rejoin his clan!” the baron shouted.

Baron Riwad had experience fighting with and against knights from other races such as vampires or orcs. As such, he was quite familiar with the characteristics and hierarchical systems of other races.

The members of the Dark Clan rarely ventured outside of their own territories. As such, it could only mean one thing for a noble vampire from the continent to have come all the way to Brantia—it meant that he was a loser who had been deprived of his land from a territorial war.

“Send a messenger to the Sage of Mount Robtimo,” Baron Riwad said.

“Are you referring to Master Pythamoras?”

“That’s right. Relay to him, respectfully, that there will be an opportunity for him to study a vampire noble without any backing. He will immediately descend from the mountain,” Baron Riwad explained.

“Yes, my lord!”

It was not an easy feat to mobilize druids, the wizards of Brantia. They were priests, doctors, as well as scholars. As such, they could rarely be tempted by material goods. They only showed interest in things that could aid them in their studies or satisfy their curiosity. Pythamoras studied all kinds of creatures, including animals, monsters, and even humans, for the sake of ‘medicine.’ As such, he would be highly enticed by the opportunity to study a noble vampire. Aristocratic vampires with no affiliation to clans were extremely rare, and there would be no need to worry about backlash even if one captured them, dissected them, and experimented on them.

“Will you be setting off right away, my lord?” one of the nobles asked.

“That’s right. Gather all the knights of the territory. I will head to Brighton to hire mercenaries,” Baron Riwad answered.

The nobles started murmuring. Baron Riwad was planning to fight an all-out war with Crawlmarine.

“My lord! With all due respect, a war will cause quite a strain on the territory’s finances.” one of the nobles spoke up.

“Finances? My nephew was beheaded by renegades, and you talk about finances?! Do you want your head off your shoulders as well?!” Baron Riwad shouted.

“Hiek!”

The nobleman shrank back in the face of an orc warrior’s Fear.

Baron Riwad continued, “And there will be no need to worry about money. Once I convict Crawlmarine, I will make sure to inherit everything in my sister and nephew’s name.”

“...!”

Baron Riwad wasn’t simply planning revenge for his dead nephew. He was expressing his intention to completely subjugate the Crawlmarine territory under Riwad’s flag.

‘Then…’

‘It’s a conquest war!’

Both mercenaries and merchants alike would obviously rush to take a piece of this massive pie. Other nobles and lords wouldn’t object either, since Baron Riwad’s decision was fully justified.

“Lucas! I will avenge you. I swear it in my honor. I will dedicate the heads of all the bastards of Crawlmarine to your glory! I swear it to all gods and spirits!” Baron Riwad declared. The anger of the father who had lost his child, the ambition of a lord for Brantia’s hegemony, and the spirit of a knight in the face of an upcoming slaughter combined together and boiled.

***

“The Riwad barony?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. I don’t think they will stay still after hearing about this,” Lanslo responded with a shrug. Among Eugene’s companions, he was the most knowledgeable about Brantia.

“Baron Riwad is a knight known for his fiery personality. Although it would be detrimental if the truth about his relationship with Lucas was revealed, he is not the one to stand still either. And regardless of the truth, Lucas is still his nephew, officially. He has more than enough justification.” Lanslo continued.

“Even if he was responsible for killing a territorial knight and conspiring to kill his own father? Baron Riwad would pull out his blade for such a cowardly murderer? Do the knights of Brantia not know anything about honor?” Galfredik snickered.

Lanslo responded with a smirk, “There is no way that he would accept the outcome of a trial that was held locally in Crawlmarine. A territorial trial in Brantia is not exactly the standard of justice.”

“What if we threaten him about his relationship with his sister?” Galfredik suggested.

“The only thing we have is a letter, and all those involved in the matter are dead except Baron Riwad. It might have a huge impact on Crawlmarine, but it wouldn’t act as a deadly weapon against Baron Riwad. Moreover…” Lanslo paused. He continued while tapping on his longsword with a cold smile. “In the end, knights like us end up resolving the situation with this, right? As long as we win the war, no one will care about the truth.”

“Kuhehehe! That’s right.” Galfredik laughed.

Eugene, who had been listening in silence, asked, “Where does the Riwad barony stand in Brantia?”

“First of all, the baron himself is considered one of the top ten knights in Brantia. His influence is quite large, and although it is only a barony, it could be considered superior to Crawlmarine in many ways.” Lanslo explained.

“I see. And what if I defeat him?” Eugene asked.

“Then you will become famous throughout Brantia in a heartbeat. Even those who claim themselves to be kings will notice you, Sir Eugene. They will either be wary or they will try to win you over,” Lanslo answered.

“There’s our answer, then. The Crawlmarine county is ours to protect in the first place,” Eugene coldly answered.

Lanslo grinned. “I knew it. Then we will need to gather troops as well. We should head back to Mungard and…”

Eugene interrupted, “Why would we need to collect troops?”

“Hmm? Weren’t you planning on going to war?” Lanslo asked.

Eugene looked down at the men and women of Crawlmarine, who were having a meat party among themselves in the castle’s courtyard, before responding, “They fight well.”

“Well… That may be true, but we would be outnumbered. Baron Riwad is a very skilled knight, and he is a capable tactician as well. I am sure that they will be well-prepared for war,” Lanslo said.

“But most of them will be mercenaries, right? And the baron will be coming here personally. How long will it take? A month at the earliest?” Eugene responded.

“Hmm. That seems likely,” Lanslo agreed.

“Then we will fight with mobility,” Eugene responded.

“...!”

“Tell them to stop shoveling food and to come up. And Lanslo, I’ll need you to head to Mungard.” Eugene continued.

“To hire mercenaries?” Lanslo asked.

“No. I’m going to arm them properly,” Eugene responded.

“Ah! Perhaps…”

“That’s right. Don’t worry about the price. However, I want it to be the best that you can get in Brantia,” Eugene said.

“Haha! I understand,” Lanslo responded with a chuckle.

Technically, the beowulf warriors were also mercenaries, but Eugene was planning to equip them with proper armor. As expected, Eugene’s generosity with spending could not be matched by any other nobles.

***

Eugene revised his plan to immediately head to the Batla Duchy. Instead, he decided to stay in Crawlmarine Castle in the meantime. Although he had Mungard’s cooperation, the Crawlmarine territory was his first true ally since Luke became the count.

Moreover, Eugene was on an expedition. He welcomed those who were in a hurry to be killed by him, and it was even better if his enemies were rather famous and strong.

‘But I shouldn’t let my guard down. After all, he’s called a sword master.’

Eugene checked his plan one more time while washing himself. First, he needed to arm the beowulf warriors, even though they liked fighting in their birthday suits. Beowulf warriors had a tendency to be overconfident in their bodies. It was true that they wouldn’t suffer injuries unless they were pitted against a skilled opponent, and that they would recover from most injuries thanks to their monstrous recovery speed, but the beowulf warriors had changed their minds after fighting against the Central Church’s army. They had come to realize how threatening knights could be when they were armed with plate armor and weapons laced with silver.

‘Although nobody ever tried to arm the beowulf warriors…’

Who would be foolish enough to arm mercenaries for hire? Moreover, hiring beowulf warriors alone would increase the cost by several times. There weren’t any nobles in Brantia who would attempt to do such a foolish thing.

But Eugene was different…

He knew that a bigger prize was awaiting him when he fought, won, and conquered. He didn’t even need to worry about the cost of properly arming the beowulf warriors. After all, if doing such a thing would elevate their overall power, it would make it easier for him to ‘conquer’ Brantia in the end.