“My lord! Please, spare my life!”

“Y-Your Majesty! How could you do this to me? I’m a loyal servant of the Brodia family!”

Numerous nobles cried out for mercy. They were those who had often deceived Cameron the Third. They had been brought in, including those who were caught trying to escape. Truthfully, it was quite unfair on the part of the nobles. Although they had deceived their king quite often, the death penalty seemed a little too much. However, the blade lay in the hands of a brutally thorough vampire duke, rather than their tired, helpless, young king.

“...As such, Sir Lewite manipulated several documents and plundered the wealth and property of the royal family. Sir Sengo operated a gambling house and gave loans with a lofty interest rate of twenty percent…” Odd continued to display his specialty along with the other merchants on Eugene’s orders.

As masters of money, they investigated and discovered the illegal activities of Cameron’s vassals who had previously possessed authority regarding wealth. And as a result, their sins against the royal family were found out, as well as various other misdeeds.

“Death penalty for all. The families and servants of the sinners will be enslaved.” Eugene declared.

“What is this injustice? Where is the law?!”

“Hold a formal trial for us! Don’t you know that it’s illegal to hold trials for nobles without the presence of a druid?!”

“I curse you! All the evil spirits in the world will follow your family and slaughter all of your children!”

“Go to hell! You vampire bastard!”

The nobles initially begged for their lives with tearful eyes, but they eventually cursed at Eugene with desperate screams. But Eugene didn’t even bat an eyelid...

“I already have the evil gold spirit by my side,” Eugene casually said.

“Of course, of course… That’s me, the evil gold… Kieh? Sir?”

“And even if I go to hell, I won’t die. Execute them,” Eugene said with a gesture of his hand. After considering their status and honor, Eugene had high-ranking knights carry out the executions as a final act of respect.

The nobles’ heads rolled with each pristine swing of Galfredik and Edmund’s axes.

Uwaaahhh!

Regardless of nation and race, executions were considered one of the best entertainment available. The residents of Brodin cheered as the decapitations continued. Many were gathered in the square today, and the majority of them were those who had been victimized by the crimes of the nobles. That was why the residents cheered even though foreign knights were cutting off the heads of their country’s nobles.

“The evil germs eating away at Brodin have disappeared! We will host a grand feast to celebrate today!” Eugene exclaimed.

Uwaaaaahhhh!!!

The new ruler of their city, the vampire duke, was outspoken. Of course, it wasn’t actually a grand feast but rather a distribution of simple food and cheap alcohol, but the residents praised Eugene, nevertheless.

Eugene was satisfied as well. Most of the food and alcohol distributed to the city residents were those he had confiscated from the executed nobles. The nobles of the Brodia family had been piling alcohol and food in their warehouses without any consideration for their starving people.

“The food wasn’t going to last long anyway. If I gain their hearts by giving them away, I’ll be satisfied. It will help you as well, Marquis,” Eugene said.

“I won’t forget your great consideration, Your Excellency,” Cameron the Third responded. He was grateful. Eugene had fulfilled his promise of exacting revenge on the corrupt nobles, and he had provided great help to Cameron the Third by ruling Brodin.

“What I have done isn’t for free. Send the compensation within this year. Don’t forget the taxes as well,” Eugene reminded.

“N-naturally…” Cameron the Third responded with a stutter.

“Good.” Eugene nodded.

Everyone was satisfied with what was left of the small number of greedy and completely unreliable aristocrats.

***

Lord Fransil and Lorraine were escorted away by their knights after leaving Reyma behind as proof of their covenant. Everything proceeded smoothly, other than Lorraine crying and begging for her to remain as a hostage. However, she had been immediately knocked unconscious by Eugene’s Fear before being carried away.

Naturally, everything was proceeding smoothly only from Eugene’s point of view. Lord Fransil thought a little differently.

“If you don’t send any reparations within a month, that will be your eldest son’s outcome,” Eugene said while pointing at the decapitated heads of the executed nobles hanging from the castle walls. As such, Lord Fransil had to fully exert his horse-riding skills for the first in a long time.

Once the people from the Fransil family left, Eugene called Galfredik and Lanslo to discuss his next plan.

“I was considering stepping back and taking a breather at this point. What do you two think?” Eugene asked.

Lanslo stepped forward and responded while pointing at a map of Brantia, “That’s a great idea. Now that we have both the Brodia family and the Fransil family under our control, Your Excellency’s influence has greatly increased. It’s more than half of Brantia’s territory. There is definitely a need to stabilize the territories we’ve occupied thus far.”

“Hmm.” Eugene was slightly surprised by Lanslo’s response. He had been expecting Lanslo to disagree with him.

“I have to say I’m a little surprised. Lanslo, I thought you would want to go get the Bayman Orcs,” Eugene remarked. In fact, he had been prepared to respond accordingly and had already come up with a plan.

“Revenge is important, but it’s my personal business. And I know that you’re not the one to ignore such issues,” Lanslo responded.

“I will unconditionally participate in your revenge. I swear it on my blood. Even if you ask me to immediately head north, I am willing to do so,” Eugene said.

Lanslo looked touched. He replied with a grin, “Yes, I believe in the duke. However, the Bayman Orcs haven’t made a move just yet, and that’s a problem. My revenge alone does not provide us enough justification to make the first move.”

“Justification… Do you have any good ideas?” Eugene asked.

“Hoho. If they are not willing to make the first move, we just have to encourage them to make the first move,” Lanslo said with a chuckle.

“How?” Eugene asked.

“Let us declare the founding of our nation,” Lanslo stated.

“…?!”

Both Eugene and Galfredik became wide-eyed with surprise. Lanslo continued after once again pointing at the map of Brantia. “From here to here is the land that Your Excellency has occupied. It’s about sixty percent of Brantia, right? In the history of Brantia, there has never been anyone who didn’t declare the founding of their nation after conquering this much territory.”

“Hmm. So…”

Eugene’s eyes hardened and sparkled. He continued. “If I declare the founding of a country, you’re saying that the Bayman Orcs will respond in some way since they’re aggressive by nature, right?”

“As expected, you’re insightful. Yes, that’s exactly right. They will never let it slide because of their pride and the sense of crisis it will bring upon them,” Lanslo replied, complimenting Eugene.

“I know all about the orcs’ useless pride. But what’s this about a sense of crisis?” Galfredik asked.

Lanslo responded, “Orcs have a shorter lifespan than humans. As such, most of the elders who preside over the Bayman Orcs are less than fifty years old. What does that mean?”

Lanslo paused to draw a big circle around Eugene’s territory on the map before continuing. “All living Bayman Orcs would have never seen a monarch of another race occupying such a large territory.”

“Kiek?! Does that mean Sir Eugene is the first one?” Mirian asked. 

Lanslo gave a meaningful smile. “That’s right. Your lord, Sir Eugene, is the first lord powerful enough to threaten the current generation of Bayman Orcs,” he said before turning his gaze toward Eugene. “Declare the founding of your country. Of course, you will have to take care of the internal affairs beforehand.”

“Internal affairs…” Eugene muttered before observing the map with keen eyes. He continued. “You mean the disobedient lords, right?”

Lanslo nodded. “That’s right. We have to sort them out, one way or another. If we do that and declare the founding of our country, the Bayman Orcs will definitely make a move.” 

Galfredik came forward while pounding his chest after hearing Lanslo’s conclusion. “I’m all for it! Putting aside the Bayman Orcs, there are quite a few lords who aren’t devoted to you yet, right? Let’s take care of them first.”

“I will unconditionally follow your orders, Your Excellency.” Edmund voiced his opinion.

“Kieeeek! I also agree! We have to confiscate their wealth, just like what we did this time. Kihehe!” Mirian exclaimed in excitement.

Eugene nodded. “Good. Let’s do that. Call the knights and the mercenary captains.”

Soon, the knights and mercenary captains under Eugene’s command gathered in the great hall.

“First, let’s proceed with the distribution of honors.” Eugene shared the properties of the dead nobles with the nobles and the mercenaries.

“Ooh! Thank you, Your Excellency!”

“You are so generous! Haha!”

The knights were overjoyed at earning their first keep after arriving in Brantia, and the mercenary captains were beaming after paying their subordinates and being left with a considerable sum themselves. Everyone felt reassured in their decision to follow Eugene. The remaining doubts and concerns stemming from Eugene’s identity scattered like dust in the wind.

Eugene delved into the meat of the matter. “As you all know, my territory has expanded considerably in Brantia. More than half of Brantia could be considered to be within my sphere of influence by now.”

Ohhh…!

The knights and mercenary captains exclaimed quietly before looking up at Eugene with eyes filled with tension and expectation.

Eugene continued. “As all of you may have noticed, there are still many lords who do not fully follow me. However, it will take a long time for me to visit them one by one, and it also wouldn’t suit my current position.”

Everyone nodded in understanding. Eugene’s current status could be considered one of the greatest in Brantia.

“Therefore, I would like to make a suggestion to you sirs,” Eugene said before pausing. Galfredik, Lanslo, and Edmund stepped forward and stood side by side as Eugene gestured. Then, Eugene continued. “These three men will serve as captains, and I will divide the army into three. The three armies will carry out full occupations in every direction except north.”

“I have a question!” one of the knights shouted.

“What is it?” Eugene asked.

“Do we suggest obedience? Or should we press them with force?” Everyone’s eyes glimmered at the knight’s question. Many things would change depending on Eugene’s answer.

Eugene looked around at the knights and mercenary captains before answering. All of them were looking at him with anticipation. “There is no time, so use force. Naturally, the conquered areas will be bestowed upon you as your territories.”

Uwaaaaaahhhh!!!

The knights and mercenary captains became frenzied at Eugene’s answer. They had crossed the rough sea with one goal in mind, and that was to become a lord. Any man who lived and died by the blade strived to one day become masters of their own land.

“I will give you all a month. Bring everyone to their knees under the flag of the black dragon!” Eugene declared.

“As the duke wishes!” the knights and mercenary captains shouted in unison. They were unified with one emotion, and their eyes blazed like burning furnaces. They were eager to depart immediately.

“Kieeeek! Gold, silver, and treasure! Houses, land, castles! Bring everything to Sir Eugene’s door!”

Desire! It burned in all of their hearts, brighter than the scorching light of the midday sun. The three armies departed in different directions while carrying the flag of the black dragon.

***

Five days later, Eugene returned to the Batla Duchy’s castle along with the beowulf warriors and Partec. The castle’s nobles were greatly surprised when only a hundred out of the countless troops returned. However, they rejoiced after hearing the news of Eugene’s conquest. He had brought the Brodia family and the Fransil family to their knees and conquered various territories.

There was something for Eugene to rejoice about as well.

The elven knight dispatched to Eland had returned along with the elf king’s personal letter and the final artifact of the Batla Duchy.

The demon armor came as a great surprise to Eugene.

“Kieeeeek! W-What is this?” Mirian exclaimed.

“…!”

Eugene was greeted by a blood-red, crimson plate armor inside a large box. The armor was tinted in a color that symbolized vampires. However, that wasn’t the only thing that surprised Eugene…

“S-Sir! This… This is…” Mirian muttered in disbelief while switching her gaze between Eugene and the demon armor. “The strange paintings on this… It’s the same as the tattoos on your body, right?!”