Journey of Vampire Lord
Copyright© 2025 by Vamp
Chapter 12
Two days passed since the duel between Eugene and Galfredik was held. During the two days, Eugene realized that people were starting to treat him differently than before.
When he first arrived, the people of the castle had been afraid of him because of his status as a knight. But after he won a duel against Galfredik, he felt a different emotion in the eyes of the people.
It was very similar to the expression that Felid had shown.
“The humans here, they seem to respect you.”
“Respect?”
Mirian spoke while sprawled on Eugene’s shoulder. He frowned while responding.
“Yeah. I heard some stuff while wandering around. They fear you, but they think you’re super cool as well. I guess that big bear you beat up was really strong after all.”
Eugene concurred inwardly when Mirian mentioned Galfredik.
‘His swordsmanship was no joke.’
Galfredik wasn’t much weaker compared to the knight templars Eugene had engaged with in his previous life. In addition, just as he controlled his strength, Eugene was sure that Galfredik was also holding back.
“Anyway, I understand why you said we need to be careful of knights. If someone like him swings around swords and shields coated with silver, you could be in real trouble.”
It was obvious.
In fact, he had been killed by such knights before.
His body had been strengthened after drinking the wetland monster’s blood. He felt that he could not be killed by regular, metallic weapons, though he might feel pain.
But silver-plated weapons were an exception.
He wasn’t entirely sure, but the pain inflicted on him by silver metals was likely several times the pain that regular humans would feel. Moreover, the wounds did not heal.
‘The question is, how far can Black Scales defend against such attacks?’
At least, he had a hunch that he would not be as helpless as he had been in his past life.
“Oi! Sir Eugene!”
Galfredik called out in a boisterous voice.
“I heard all the mercenaries arrived. Are you heading there as well?”
“Hmm. The eldest son called.”
“Hehe! Since you have no previous experience with expeditions, let me tell you something.”
Galfredik drew closer to Eugene. After the duel, they had started speaking comfortably with each other. Galfredik was even acting quite intimate with Eugene.
“It’s important to make a strong first impression in front of mercenaries. They will be respectful outwardly towards knights, but what do you think if the knight seems weak? They will try to meddle and step out of their place. Besides, sir, I heard you weren’t very familiar with tactics, right?”
Knights were counted as aristocrats, although they ranked the lowest, and they weren’t only educated in combat. Knights were also taught how to command subordinates in combat, various strategies, and tactics, as well as other things.
But Eugene was a vampire, and he was ignorant of tactics. He made excuses by saying that he never had the chance to learn of such things because he lived alone in the mountains while training.
“Well, you only have to command three of them anyway, but you never know what could happen in an emergency. So make sure you break their spirits properly. Or you can learn by seeing what I do.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Hahaha! It’s nothing, nothing at all!”
Galfredik slapped Eugene on the back while laughing energetically. Although his gesture contained enough power to cause ordinary people to sway, Eugene remained immovable. Galfredik felt even more favorable towards Eugene.
He welcomed that he had a strong fellow knight whom he could rely on during the expedition. Moreover, he was rather fond of the red-eyed knight, who was quiet but powerful.
“Oh! There you are!”
“Sirs.”
Camara and Bertel greeted the two knights.
The mercenaries instantly stood up and bowed their heads.
“Hello there, Sir Galfredik!”
“It is an honor to meet you, Sir Galfredik!”
The mercenaries knew that he had placed quite high in Count Evergrove’s tournament. It meant that he was one of the strongest knights in the region. Therefore, the mercenaries were cautious in how they acted towards Galfredik.
‘That knight is... ‘
‘He’s quite thin. Doesn’t look very strong either.’
On the other hand, they seemed rather doubtful when they looked towards Eugene. Although it was a great feat to win in a duel against Galfredik, they had not seen the battle personally.
“Now, let’s get started.”
When Eugene and Galfredik sat down, Bertel started speaking while looking around.
“We will depart tomorrow morning. The dungeon is about half a day’s distance from here, so we should arrive by noon. We already sent soldiers but just in case, we will send a scouting party first before advancing. And...”
Bertel continued explaining in a dry voice.
“Naturally, we do not know what kind of monster we will come to face since we haven’t opened the dungeon yet. But based on the location of the dungeon and the size of its entrance, we are expecting goblins, gnolls, and kobolds for the low-ranking monsters. For intermediate-ranking monsters – trolls and large cave spiders. Obviously, we cannot predict the high-ranking monsters.”
The mercenaries nodded.
Even among some of the dungeons and labyrinths that had long been discovered and constantly cleared, it was unknown what kinds of high-ranking monsters dwelled in many of them.
“Anyway, take a good rest today. Alcohol and women are prohibited, but I promise you a feast when you return. If you want to gain wealth, fame, and want to enjoy the feast, come back alive.”
The mercenaries knew the weight of opening a dungeon, so they felt motivated even under moderate tension.
A mercenary with a shaven head raised his hand.
“Sir! I have a question.”
“What is it?”
Despite Bertel’s sharp gaze, the mercenary asked undauntedly.
“How will we divide the units? Although it may not be as complicated as a maze, we are sure to run into some crossroads in the dungeon.”
“That’s...”
Bertel’s eyes turned towards Eugene and Galfredik.
Galfredik stepped up.
“Division of units will vary depending on the circumstance. However, we will always divide into two. If we split up into more than three groups, it will become difficult to deal with unexpected situations.”
“Will Sir Galfredik and ... Sir Eugene take charge of the groups?”
“Why? Do you have any complaints?”
“N-not at all. It’s just that ... we all know of Sir Galfredik’s abilities, but Sir Eugene ... is relatively unknown. The opening of a dungeon isn’t just a regular mission and...”
“Hooh? So are you looking down on a knight? You don’t trust him? Your brain must have turned to mush from all the alcohol. Shall I take it out and see it for myself?”
When Galfredik reached for his rondel dagger while slowly standing up, the expression of the bald mercenary turned pale.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.