After traveling for four more days without knowing that Reyma Fransil was near the Riwad territory, Eugene finally laid his eyes on the Batla Duchy’s territory.

“I expected it, but isn’t this too small?” Eugene spoke with disappointment as he looked down at the territory from a small hill. The Batla duchy’s territory was smaller than the Tywin territory. There was only a single village centered around the duchy’s castle and a small piece of arable land. Although they were a duchy, the size of the territory was less than that of an unimportant lord’s territory from the Caylor Kingdom.

It was commonly known that no one had invaded the Batla duchy’s territory because of its extraordinary symbolism. However, after seeing the land first-hand, Eugene wondered if it remained untouched because of how useless it was.

“The dukes were incredibly incompetent for the past hundred years. The duchy’s vassals became independent because of the duchy’s debt and sold their land, which is how it ended up in its current state. Now, all that remains is the faded honor of the duchy’s past,” Lanslo explained.

Eugene responded, “Look at how small it is. A decent-sized group of bandits could easily tear everything down.”

“Haha. Bandits wouldn’t attack the duchy even if they were out of their minds since the families seeking Brantia’s throne would immediately come to the duchy’s aide,” Lanslo said.

“Really? Because it looks like there’s a group of such crazy bastards right over there,” Eugene said while pointing in a direction.

“What?!” Lanslo was startled and hurriedly turned his head.

“Huh?” A group of horsemen and foot soldiers could be seen at the edge of the duchy’s arable land, which bordered a forest. They were approaching the duchy’s village, and there appeared to be around 200-300 of them.

Eugene used his excellent vision to closely examine the group of soldiers. “There’s no flag, and about ten of them are on horseback. Fewer than ten of them are wearing chainmail. It’s not a formal army, and I don’t think they have good intentions.”

“That’s for sure. What will you do, sir?” Lanslo asked.

Eugene turned around with a cold smile and replied, “What will I do? Sooner or later, I’ll be the Duke of Batla, won’t I?”

On his journey thus far, he had taken possession of eight villages and dispatched two lords without losing even ten of his men. His valiant, strong army was awaiting orders from him. They were burning with fervor.

Eugene gave his orders. “Wolfgan. The Beowulf warriors will take the lead along my side. Lanslo, take charge of the infantry and cut off the enemy’s tail. Don’t let a single one get away.”

“Got it!”

“Please leave it to me.”

“Sir Bonmer,” Eugene called out.

“Yes, Sir Eugene,” the knight answered.

“Stay here with Lady Lorraine and the depot. If the enemy approaches you, take care of them,” Eugene said.

“Oh! All right, sir! Thank you!” Bonmer was both surprised and moved. Even though the two of them had become quite familiar with each other, Bonmer was still technically a prisoner. As such, he couldn’t believe that Eugene would entrust him with such a task.

However, Eugene had other intentions. Rather than trusting in Bonmer, Eugene wanted to keep Lorraine in check. She was an important prisoner and was also rather prone to doing unexpected things.

“My lord, please be careful. Don’t let yourself get hurt,” Lorraine said.

“I appreciate your words, but a true knight should not be afraid of sustaining an injury,” Luke responded.

“But…”

“Please stay here and take care of yourself. If you get hurt, then…” Luke started to respond.

“Luke,” Eugene called out.

“Yes, Master! I’m on my way!” Luke turned his horse and headed toward Eugene. He never managed to finish saying that ‘we won’t be able to receive proper ransom from the Fransil family.’

However, Lorraine didn’t know the truth, and she looked at the young count’s dignified back with hazy eyes and tightly clasped hands.

“How could he be so considerate? To think that he would place my safety before his own. Ha…” Lorraine muttered.

“Lady Lorraine. Come this way, please,” Bonmer said.

“Yes,” she answered. Bonmer felt devastated whenever he saw Lorraine’s hazy expression. He felt worried sick that the youngest daughter of the Fransil family was falling even deeper in love with the Count Crawlmarine as the days went by.

Twenty beowulf warriors started charging down the hill alongside Eugene and Luke.

***

There were only a few trees on the hill, so the unidentified bandits quickly discovered the approach of two horsemen and the beowulf warriors. The confused bandits hurriedly changed their targets and started toward Eugene and the Beowulf warriors.

“Huh? They’re not just bandits.”

“Yeah. It looks like they received proper training.”

The beowulf warriors started whispering while jogging to keep pace with Silion. Eugene was also slightly surprised as well. The ‘bandits’ had reacted to their presence by raising their wooden shields and organizing themselves into a relatively plausible formation.

And that wasn’t the end of it…

Eugene could see one of the horsemen giving orders, which caused the soldiers in the rear to raise their longbows and crossbows.

Shuuuack!

Once the distance between the two groups narrowed to about 150 meters, the group of bandits released their arrows. In addition, the projectiles were shot to cover a wide area so that the barrage would be unavoidable.

“These bastards have some skill!”

Wolfgan and the beowulf warriors slightly lowered their postures and crossed their arms. Simultaneously, Eugene and Luke raised their shields.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The arrows fell like heavy rain. However, they could not penetrate the beowulfs’ armors. Even the few that managed to find the gaps in their armor had no effect. The beowulfs simply ripped them out of their bodies while continuing their charge.

“Straight ahead! Charge!”

Kuwooooo!

Once the distance narrowed to about 100 meters, the beowulfs started to accelerate. Silion also sped up as well.

Tutututututututu!

The distance was narrowed to 50 meters in an instant. In the meantime, additional arrows rained down from the sky, but the beowulf warriors ignored the projectiles while continuing forward. Soon, the line of shields was only a few seconds away.

“Ha!”

“Kieeeeh! Let’s goo!”

Silion began to gallop at full speed as Eugene and Mirian shouted.

Kuwuuuuuugh!

The Fear of an Origin and beowulfs harmonized with the strong roar and the invisible wave washed over the enemies. It was a force that could not be overcome by ordinary humans. Gaps appeared in various places along the line of shields, which immediately invalidated the formation.

At that moment, the giant hedgehogs of beowulfs crashed into the line of shields.

Boooom! Boom! BOoooom!

Dozens of bandits were thrown into the air amidst the screams and explosions. In the first place, the bandits were only armed with leather armor and wooden shields. It was impossible for them to withstand the charge of the beowulf warriors, who boasted more power than even heavy cavalry.

Kuwuooooo! Kuwuugh! Uwwwghh!

The enemy’s ranks were disturbed from the initial collision, and the beowulfs started rampaging in pairs of two or groups of three. They were as fast as predators and as strong as trolls and were even armed to the teeth with sturdy armor—they were an unstoppable force.

Meanwhile, Lanslo descended the hill with mercenaries after Eugene and began to suppress the confused group of bandits. The mercenaries possessed the advantage in terms of numbers and equipment. As such, they easily disposed of the bandits.

And instead of fighting recklessly like before, the mercenaries grouped into formations of 40 to 50 before engaging with the enemy. They were now no different from a well-organized, well-trained group of soldiers.

“Luther! Take care of the ones fleeing to the left!”

“Croul! Step back and join with Bowma’s unit to surround the enemy!”

In addition, Lanslo made timely judgments and made his way around the battlefield while giving instructions. The mercenaries became more effective at wiping out the enemies. Lanslo’s commanding abilities were excellent and lived up to the reputation of his family name.

While the beowulf warriors and the mercenaries wreaked havoc, Eugene and Luke pierced through the enemy ranks. Their target was those who were on horseback and chainmail.

Shuack!

Eugene threw Madarazika before immediately unsheathing Wolfslaughter. The spear pierced the chest of one of the enemy knights and penetrated the throat of another standing behind. Two knights had collapsed with a single attack, and their troops were getting absolutely slaughtered. The majority of the survivors began to promptly flee.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Luke pulled out his longbow while on horseback. Having enjoyed hunting in Marine Forest since childhood, he was quite skilled with the bow.

Ping!

The arrow left the strings and embedded itself in one of the fleeing knight’s helmet. It hadn’t completely penetrated the metal, but the shock was sufficient for the knight to collapse in his saddle.

Madarazika returned to Eugene’s hand before immediately overtaking another one of the fleeing knights.

Kyaaaahhhhh!

The demon spear seemed to cry in joy while ripping through the air. Madarazika flew slightly to the right of the escaping knights, then bent left like a boomerang. The demon spear pierced the chests and necks of the escaping knights before returning to its master’s hand.

“That works?”

“Kieeeeh? What? Sir, how did you do that?” Mirian excitedly exclaimed.

Until now, Eugene had only willed the spear to return after throwing it. But he ended up discovering that he could manipulate its directions mid-flight with his will.

“I manipulated it with my Fear,” Eugene explained.

Although he had succeeded in killing multiple enemies with a single strike due to their poor armor, he had a hunch that his newly-acquired technique would also be quite useful in the future.

“Master! What should we do with the rest of them?” Luke called out.

“Our steeds are tired, so we will leave it to the beowulfs. Wolfgan!” Eugene shouted.

Wolfgan immediately ran forward with two other beowulfs.

“Capture those bastards and bring them back,” Eugene ordered.

“Wuooooo!” The beowulfs kicked off the ground using all of their limbs. Soon after, cries of horses resonated, and the beowulfs returned while dragging back knights with bloodied faces.

Once again, the battle ended in a huge victory with only about twenty allied casualties.

***

The duchy’s knights and soldiers witnessed the bloody battle. They immediately opened their gates and warmly welcomed Eugene and his army.

“Even so, it doesn’t make sense that they’re opening their doors so unhesitatingly for someone they’re seeing for the first time, does it?” Eugene couldn’t help but mutter.

However, his curiosity was resolved when he met Sir Vyort, a knight of the duchy and the captain of the guards.

“Thank you very much, sir! You have helped us defeat the bandits who were constantly after the duchy! This is truly a blessing from the great spirit!” the knight shouted.

His tone was rather… curious, and Eugene couldn’t even begin to point out the oddities in the knight’s words. Eugene had ‘helped’ them defeat the enemies when they did nothing to contribute to the battle? And the great spirit had ‘blessed’ them when Eugene was the one who fought with his life on the line?

Regardless, one thing was made clear. The enemies had been no ordinary bandits. Most bandits were impatient, so they wouldn’t keep attacking a place after failing once or twice.

Luke suddenly burst into a rage. “Sir! Keep your words and actions straight!”

“Hmm? How dare a mere aide…” Vyort glared at Luke as if he were dumbfounded. He had clearly seen Luke assisting Eugene out of Silion.

Lanslo, who was smiling next to him, stepped out. “Sir Vyort, was it? This young fellow is indeed Sir Eugene’s aide, but he is also the Count of Crawlmarine. You should speak and act properly.”

“Ah!” Vyort exclaimed.

Luke spoke while expressing his displeasure, “Luke Crawlmarine. And this is Sir Jan Eugene, a nobleman of the Dark Clan and my master.”

“I-I apologize! I dared to not recognize the honorable nobles and made a big mistake!” Vyort shouted with a quick change in attitude. It appeared that he possessed some common sense.

“Thanks to your heroic performance, we were able to eradicate the vicious group who dared to target the Batla duchy! I will report this to the duchy’s elders, so please come inside!” Vyort shouted.

Eugene ordered Odd to clean up the battlefield and entered the castle alongside Luke and Lanslo, following after Vyort and the guards. Lorraine whined about wanting to accompany them, but she was instantly silenced by Eugene’s gaze.

“Kieeeeh. I’m disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing a duchy’s castle, but what is this?” Mirian muttered.

Eugene strongly agreed with her words. The castle wasn’t tiny, but it was too small to be called a duchy’s stronghold. Still, it gave off a very antique and quiet atmosphere. The historic nature of an ancient family could be felt from the castle’s walls.

To be honest, Eugene felt the fondest of the Batla duchy’s castle compared to any other castles he had visited until now, although he couldn’t say why. That was until the old-men-elders of the duchy crawled out of their holes and ruined his mood.

“Sir Eugene, right? I know of the Crawlmarine County, but I’ve never heard of the Eugene family before. It must be a lowly family of vampires from the continent.”

“Thank you for helping the great duchy of Balta. However, I’m certain that your accomplishments in helping our family will allow your honor to reach new heights. I believe you won’t be seeking any other compensation.”

“I should commend you for being righteous and valiant, unbefitting your identity as a member of the Dark Clan. But I would appreciate it if you understood the duchy’s current state and be on your way.”

“Kieeeeeeek?! What are those crazy, old, bald men talking about? We should confiscate all of their wigs and fake teeth for a month!” The spirit of desire burst into a rage as soon as the elders were done speaking.

Although the old men were using all sorts of rhetoric, their message was simple.

They were telling Eugene to get lost.