Journey of Vampire Lord
Copyright© 2025 by Vamp
Chapter 16
Eugene, Galfredik, and the members of the expedition were hailed as heroes. The people of the Rose Castle gathered together to welcome the two knights and the mercenaries, and Camara held a banquet with joy.
Although about 30 percent of the members were killed or seriously injured, the survivors ate and drank to their heart’s content. This was just the way of life for mercenaries who sold their skills for money.
“By the way, Sir Eugene, are you sure you don’t need any mana stones?”
“None at all. I am satisfied with half of the materials gathered from the monsters, as we discussed previously.”
“If you say so...”
Camara licked his lips.
He wasn’t regretful that he had to give away half of the materials gathered from the low-rank monsters, although the expedition killed more than he had expected. Rather, he genuinely wanted to compensate Eugene.
“I heard you contributed greatly. Did you really take care of more than 30 percent of all the low-rank monsters, Sir Eugene?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I didn’t bother counting all of them.”
“Hahaha! I’m telling you that it’s true. Sir Eugene killed nearly half of all the kobolds. Moreover, he killed an adult troll and a cub by himself. Just like this, he pulled out its head along with the spine!”
“Oh my goodness!”
Galfredik recounted the event while pulling out the head of a roasted pig. The women of the Rose Castle and Camara were stunned by his actions. Women were usually absent from events with knights, but they were participating because this was a special banquet.
“But that giant cave spider you mentioned, the one at the end? It’s a bit regretful.”
“Tsk! There’s no need to feel regretful at all. If we headed in deeper to kill it, all of us might have been fucked over. You don’t really think that the giant cave spider and the trolls are the only intermediate-rank monsters present in a dungeon, do you?”
“H-how could I? I’m just saying. It injured Sir Eugene, right? We need to get revenge.”
“That’s a job for the next expedition. By the way, Sir Eugene, is your arm really okay?”
“It’s not broken. But the bone seems to have fractured. I should be fine after resting for about ten days.”
Eugene raised his left arm, which was tightly wrapped in cloth with a splint.
“Oh, my!”
“It is a scar of glory, Sir Eugene.”
The gazes of the women turned hazy. But instead of focusing on his injured arm, their eyes were all fixated on Eugene’s face.
Eugene’s face was incredibly handsome and mysterious. It was hard to believe that it was the face of a knight who ripped off the head of a troll. Whenever his red eyes met their gaze, the women felt as if their very souls were being swallowed.
Of course, Eugene did not care at all.
‘I’ll have no choice but to keep it wrapped up for about ten days.’
He placed his left arm on a table. It was rather annoying to pretend his arm was injured, but it was unavoidable if he wanted to fool everyone. He could not possibly reveal that he had, in fact, killed a giant cave spider lord, a high-ranked monster, and consumed its blood and mana stone.
He had actually suffered various injuries while fighting the giant cave spider lord, but as soon as he consumed the creature’s blood and mana stone, his injuries were healed and his strength was completely restored.
Moreover, the giant cave spider lord Eugene killed had been one of the special monsters even among the high-rank monsters, as Mirian mentioned previously. The mana stone gained from its corpse had been red.
‘I was lucky.’
According to Mirian, his fortunate encounter was likely due to the fact that it had been the first opening of a dungeon. But regardless of the circumstances, Eugene killed the giant cave spider and obtained its red mana stone.
This time around, a tattoo located on the back of his neck disappeared, and he gained an additional ability. It was similar to when he gained Black Scales from consuming the wetland monster’s mana stone. He gained the ability to camouflage.
‘But ... what the hell was that?’
When he consumed the red mana stone gained from the giant cave spider, a scene flashed through his mind. Someone had been holding his hand, and they were surrounded by a few people.
The image was brief, so he could not infer who they were nor where he had been, but he clearly remembered that the hand he held was very soft.
‘Who were they? Were they also vampires...?’
“It feels a little awkward seeing your face after all this time. No, rather, why were you hiding that handsome face inside a helmet all this time?”
Galfredik’s remark interrupted Eugene’s thoughts, and Eugene quickly responded.
“Because I don’t like the sun.”
“Hahaha! I’ve never seen a proper knight who had a pale face, but you’re the exception.”
It was a cloudy day, but it wasn’t without any sunlight. In the past, his face would have turned mushy and littered with blisters.
But although Eugene was sitting near the window, his face was perfectly fine. He was protecting his skin with Black Scales.
Utilizing the camouflage ability gained from the cave spider, he had changed the color of Black Scales to the color of his skin. No one would be able to tell the difference by sight.
‘I can’t change how it feels, but there’s no reason for anyone to touch it.’
People would have found it suspicious if he was wearing a mask or a helmet all the time during the day, but he did not have to worry anymore. In the future, he would be able to show his appearance like any other humans during the day.
“Come on! Let’s toast to Sir Eugene, Sir Galfredik, and the warriors who made this celebration possible!”
Ooooh!
Everyone raised their glasses at Camara’s shout.
“For the victory of the Tywin family!”
“Victory!”
Camara, Galfredik, and even Eugene gulped down their wine. All of them had achieved their goals.
But there was one exception.
Bertel continued stealing glances at Eugene, only pretending to drink his wine.
‘He played a huge role in the expedition? Even more than Galfredik?’
It was an unbelievable tale.
He had been truly dumbfounded. He even asked the mercenary leaders of the expedition individually, but all of their answers were quite similar. Even Breen, who previously held Eugene in disdain, answered while shaking his head.
“You will want to win Sir Eugene over to your side, rather than Sir Galfredik. I participated in a dungeon and an ancient ruins expedition during my time in the Black Sheep Mercenaries, but I have never seen a knight as strong as Sir Eugene. Even if you search the entire peninsula of Carls Baggins, you will be hard-pressed to find him a worthy opponent.”
It was ridiculous.