The number of combatants alone was about 500.

Eugene’s forces had finally grown to a number that could be acknowledged as a true army. And it wasn’t only in Brantia either. Such a number of troops could be considered an overwhelming force in any kingdom of the continent, including the Caylor Kingdom. In addition, the elite force of thirty beowulf warriors possessed a destructive power greater than even one hundred heavy cavalrymen.

In other words, Eugene had finally met the minimum requirements to become a ruler. When such a powerful force arrived in front of Brighton, the city immediately fell into chaos. All of the city’s guards and mercenaries were deployed to the walls, and the mayor, as well as the guild leaders of the city, looked down at Eugene’s army with fear and shock.

“How could they have lost already? How many days has it even been since they left our walls?”

“I thought that the Fransil family was powerful. But it seems like they weren’t such a big deal, after all, were they?”

“Oh, this isn’t the time to be worrying about the Fransil family. That vampire is after our city!”

“That’s why we shouldn’t have given them our city’s flag. Why didn’t you listen to me?!”

“What? You were the one who said it would be good to establish a harmonious relationship with the Fransil family!”

“What did you say? You little punk!”

Even though they were guild leaders, they were simply ordinary humans who possessed a little more money and power compared to others. They were simple and ignorant. The bickering between the guild leaders quickly escalated, and soon, they were about to leap at each other.

“Everyone, be quiet! An army targeting our city is at our front doors! What do you plan to achieve by blaming each other!?!” the mayor shouted, unable to bear the chaos any longer. The guild leaders finally stopped their bickering.

The mayor continued. “What’s the use of arguing about spilled milk?! We’re already behind in coming up with a plan to deal with that army and the vampire Jan Eugene.”

“What’s there to plan? Let’s just grit our teeth and hold on. It must be expensive to feed such a large army. If we manage to resist for fifteen days, they will starve and go away on their own.” The one who spoke was a guild leader who possessed the blood of an orc.

“Garlish. Can’t you even count? Look at them. Even at a glance, they have more than twice the number of our troops,” a guild leader responded with a sigh.

“Defending a siege is much easier than mounting one. And if we don’t have enough soldiers, we can mobilize the slaves,” Garlish said.

“We’ll be lucky if the slaves don’t stab us in the back. And it’s not like we have extra food lying around. Even if they block the gates for ten days, we will be in trouble. How do you suppose we ‘hang on?’” the mayor said bitterly.

“Uh…” Garlish was left speechless.

Brighton was a fairly large city, and the rich folks of the city, including the guild leaders and the mayor, all possessed their own manors. The problem, however, was that all of their manors were located out of the city. They themselves wouldn’t starve, since they had their accumulated wealth and food, but the citizens of the city would surely face a crisis after about ten days. A lack of food would likely lead to a riot. If that happened, then they would be faced with enemies on both sides.

“We must find a solution as soon as possible. We need to decide whether to fight or not. If we fight, we fight, and if we don’t, how will we appease the member of the Dark Clan?”

“Hmm…”

“Hrmm…”

The guild leaders groaned as they fell into contemplation.

“Why don’t we listen to their demands first? We won’t get anywhere by simply putting our heads together,” one of the guild leaders commented.

The mayor thought for a moment before nodding. “Let’s do that.”

The mayor and the guild leaders agreed to figure out the opponent’s demands first. They waited on the walls while looking down at Eugene’s army. However, the day turned into night and not a single soul left Eugene’s camp, which was located only a few hundred meters from the city.

***

“How comical, that a city like that doesn’t have much food,” Eugene said. He decided to set up camp close to the city and stand by. As it turned out, the City of Brighton would face an issue with food long before his army would. After all, there were more than 5,000 residents in the City of Brighton. Moreover, Eugene possessed a huge advantage in the number of troops and their quality.

“This is the result of two armies mobilizing one after another. Both Lord Riwad and Lady Lorraine,” Lanslo said.

Galfredik laughed. “Kuhaha! There were more than 600 mercenaries split among the two armies, so they must have taken absolutely everything in terms of supplies. They must have been in bliss when selling the goods, though they’re probably regretting it now.”

The two knights laughed while sharing gazes.

Eugene was also pleased with the unexpected stroke of fortune. But rather than luck, it was a chain reaction caused by Baron Riwad and Lorraine. It was extremely rare for a city to provide mercenaries and supplies to multiple armies within a month. But Brighton had supplied the food and supplies for both Baron Riwad and Lorraine’s troops to consume for a month and fifteen days, respectively.

“You can’t start a war without silver, but you can’t continue it if you only have silver,” Eugene said.

“Oh! That sounds like a proverb, Master,” Galfredik commented.

“A perfect description that gets straight to the heart of the strategy,” Lanslo chimed in. Both knights had no doubts about Eugene’s strength and power, but they had been slightly anxious regarding his competency in tactics and strategy. But now, the two knights were truly impressed.

“Anyway, let’s wait them out for a few days,” Eugene said.

“Good. Well, why don’t we send mercenaries to a nearby village to get some food?” Galfredik asked.

“That’s a good idea. Send the beowulfs. Mercenaries might cause accidents,” Lanslo said.

Eugene responded, “I will send one beowulf to a unit of mercenaries.”

“All right.”

“Hehe! Got it.”

Eugene’s orders were quickly disseminated through Galfredik and Lanslo. Soon, more than one hundred mercenaries and four beowulfs went on their way. However, even with their absence, Eugene’s army still numbered more than 400. It was absurd for Brighton’s army to even think about opening their gates and attacking since they had less than 200 troops.

However…

That night, five or six figures crawled down Brighton’s walls in a quick, stealthy manner. The shadows then ran toward Eugene’s camp. They were much quicker than ordinary humans.

***

“Master,” Galfredik called out after silently entering Eugene’s tent like a shadow. 

Eugene’s eyes glinted coldly as he nodded. “Yes. We have some uninvited guests.”

Although he was capable of using his vampiric powers during the day, their powers during the day could not be compared during the night. Galfredik had noticed the presence of invaders a moment earlier, while Eugene had recognized them a few minutes ago. They were quickly approaching the camp from Brighton.

The two had been in their armor since it was wartime. They quickly picked up their weapons and headed in the direction of the uninvited guests. The two pairs of red eyes saw through the thick darkness and observed the five shadows.

As if noticing Eugene’s presence, the shadows slowed down and continued approaching with their hands raised to the sky. One of them was holding a white flag.

“With all due respect, please don’t attack. We would like to speak with you,” one of the shadows said.

“Talking?” Galfrdik growled. The shadows cautiously approached and revealed themselves using the light of their torches. They bowed in unison.

“Knight Clay of the Rivoles Clan gives his greetings to the esteemed members of the family from afar,” a female vampire spoke politely. She was dressed in a surcoat with the crest of a crescent moon atop chainmail. The five vampires knelt down on one knee following the knight’s words. 

“Kieh? They’re all members of the Night’s Tribe,” Mirian fussed.

It was Eugene’s third encounter with vampires since arriving in Brantia. However, his voice was as cold as ice despite their polite greetings. “Rivoles Clan. Do you happen to know who the lord of Mungard is?

“Ah! If you are referring to Lord Markus of Mungard, we have heard about him from time to time from the one we serve. With all due respect, what is the relationship between the two of you and Lord Markus?” Clay asked in a slightly brighter voice.

But the faces of the five vampires paled after hearing Eugene’s answer. 

“He came at me, and I smashed him.”

“…!”

“Now, he is obedient. We cooperate.” Eugene continued.

“I-I see.”

“Why? Do you want to get revenge since you’re from the same clan?” Eugene asked.

“No, it’s not like that. Although we are from the same clan, as long as they didn’t send a blood request, we will not meddle in the affairs of other families. I-I’m sure your esteemed selves had valid reasons.” Clay hastily denied Eugene’s words.

Galfredik smirked. “They’re easier to talk to than those punks from Mungard, Master.”

“It seems so,” Eugene responded.

The two had changed to speaking in the language of the Caylor Kingdom. Clay cautiously spoke, “It seems that the two of you are from the Kingdom of Caylor. If it’s more comfortable for you, please feel free to speak in that language.”

“Hoooh.”

Vampires were crafty creatures. However, being crafty wasn’t the same as being intelligent. Eugene felt rather impressed with Clay’s proficiency in the language of the Caylor Kingdom.

“Ah! The one I served knew the languages of several kingdoms. I learned the language of the Caylor Kingdom from them as well,” Clay hurriedly explained.

“Hmm. I see. But what is it that you want to speak about?” Eugene asked.

The five vampires quickly bowed once again before speaking. 

“Please help our master, Banneret Randolph!”

“…What?”

***

The attitude of the vampires remained unchanged even after they entered Eugene’s tent. Although Eugene hadn’t revealed his identity as an Origin, the vampires were extremely polite toward Eugene and Galfredik.

“So, you’re saying that the one named Randolph was transformed into a death knight?” Eugene asked.

“T-that’s right. However, we have no idea how they cursed Sir Randolph,” the vampires responded. A banneret was of a considerably high status in the vampire society. The five vampires appeared very surprised at how casually Eugene referred to their master. Even if they belonged to a different family and clan, it was natural to acknowledge the position and titles of other vampires. There was only one possible explanation for Eugene’s nonchalant attitude.

‘High lord. Maybe even higher.’

Clay lowered her posture even further. Although vampires didn’t sweat, she felt as if her back was drenched.

“So where is this Randolph now?” Eugene asked.

Clay responded, “Since the day he turned into a death knight, he has been roaming the catacombs and sewers of Brighton.”

“Have you searched for him?” Galfredik asked.

Clay’s expression darkened in an instant. “Naturally, we attempted to search for him. But Brighton is a very old city—the underground of the city is like a labyrinth. Eventually, we told the mayor the truth. A large search party was dispatched. However…” Clay paused for a moment.

She bit her lips and lowered her head before continuing. “No one returned. There were even three knights like me with the search party…”

“Hmm.” Eugene was slightly surprised. Although vampire knights were no match for him, a single vampire knight was still capable of rivalling two holy knights. Moreover, their abilities would be amplified in the darkness of the underground. Nevertheless, three of such knights weren’t able to return from their search. It meant that the death knight was quite formidable.

Eugene fell into thought and stroked his chin. Clay’s expression turned even darker.

‘Even a high lord is contemplating. Ha…’

Clay was disappointed. And although she didn’t know, an annoying, frightened insect was buzzing around Eugene’s ear and shrieking with fear. “S-sir. Pwease, just tell them to get lost. I’m scared of ghosts. Kieeeeek!”

Eugene disregarded Mirian’s poor attempt at acting cute and shoved her into his leather pocket. He turned toward the vampires.

“If you get, you should give, right?” Eugene spoke.

“What?” Clay raised her face.

Eugene revealed his fangs in a cold smile and continued. “If I take care of this Randolph, you will help me take Brighton.”

“…!”

The vampires were surprised by Eugene’s request. Galfredik laughed loudly.

“Kuhaha! You guys are lucky. Markus was only given such a chance after he was clobbered like a dog. Kuhehe!”

“…”

The eyes of the vampires grew bigger with shock after hearing Galfredik’s wild, violent laugh. They were filled with hope of saving their master, but at the same time, they were worried that they might have made the biggest mistake of their lives.