Journey of Vampire Lord
Copyright© 2025 by Vamp
Chapter 30
“That is correct. Lord Fairchild will grant Sir Eugene the authority to command fifty troops. Moreover, he will pay five hundred silver coins regardless of victory or defeat.”
It was a greater sum than both of the subjugations combined. And that wasn’t all...
“In addition, the mercenaries under Sir Eugene’s command will be paid their daily wages separately, and you would be entrusted all rights to the loot gained from the battle in case of victory.”
‘It truly is an offer befitting a noble with a title.’
“Sir Eugene! This is a golden opportunity for success! Let’s do it!” Mirian shouted excitedly without hiding her desires.
However, Eugene ignored her and responded to Mills. “How could Lord Fairchild trust me when I’ve never even met him? No, in the first place, how did Lord Fairchild know that I was here?”
“Well, that’s...”
Any other knight would have accepted the offer without hesitation, but it appeared he was truly a bit unique just as the stories had it. Mills continued with a side glance.
“This man informed us about the stories of Sir Eugene.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted, and the other figure slowly raised his hood.
“I-it’s nice to see you again, Sir Eugene.”
The man bowed repeatedly while sweating. It was Delduan, the merchant who recently crossed Mount Marcus alongside Eugene.
“Wow, I’m truly speechless. So that man really was a military depot merchant, right?”
“Fucking hell. So he lied to us even though he was actually heading to the Fairchild territory.”
“I am speechless as well. His party was so small that none of us ever suspected it.”
Partec smacked his lips after hearing the words of Lavan and Glade. Perhaps having heard their conversation, Delduan flinched. His head hung low like a sinner. However, he soon crept up to the side of the three mercenaries and gave an apologetic smile.
“I am sorry about that. But didn’t I give appropriate compensation?”
“Ha! Look here! This isn’t about the money...” Glade started to retort, but Partec interjected, “It’s fine. What’s happened is in the past, and he’s right.”
Then Partec turned towards Delduan, “But why did you come all this way?”’
“Because I know what Sir Eugene looks like. They might have just passed by him on the road otherwise, so Lord Fairchild had me tag along. I personally didn’t have any desire to come all this way.”
“Tsk, tsk. Surely you won’t be able to live a serene life because you’re such a blabbermouth.” Partec clicked his tongue, and Delduan laughed awkwardly. Just as he said, he wouldn’t have had to go through the trouble if he had held his tongue in front of Lord Fairchild.
“But how did he end up asking for help from Sir Eugene? Lord Fairchild must have a few territorial knights under his command, right?” Partec continued questioning.
“Well ... he has two knights that could step up as commanders. One is just fine, but the other one is ... a little problematic.” Delduan lowered his voice for fear that Mills, who was riding ahead with Eugene in the front, would overhear him.
“His name is Sir Robos, and he is Lord Fairchild’s cousin. He is a bit ... lacking, and that he served as an aide for nearly 10 years. And Sir Robos also caused a bit of an accident.”
“An accident? What accident?”
“Sir Eugene defeated the mercenaries at Mount Marcus, right? When he heard the story, he became ... inspired and led some troops on his own and stormed into Lord Bommel’s territory. The problem is that this was before Lord Fairchild declared war on Lord Bommel.”
“Huh?”
It was commonplace for a knight to be eager to earn some merit. However, it was a different story if the knight stormed into another territory before an official declaration of war.
Of course, it would be fine if they achieved an overwhelming victory by capturing the enemy’s head or their commander, but if they only managed to only destroy one or two villages in an awkward, clumsy course of action, then...
“However, that’s not the main issue. The bigger problem is that he lost all of soldiers and mercenaries in the first battle and was captured.” Delduan continued.
Rather than a ‘bit lacking,’ it seemed the knight was entirely incompetent, but Partec did not voice his thoughts.
“And that is what caused Lord Fairchild to become more agitated. I belatedly regretted bringing up stories regarding Sir Eugene, but what could I do? It’s not like I could hide the truth or lie when the lord asked.” Delduan finished explaining himself.
“Tsk, tsk.”
“Anyways, from how I see things, Lord Fairchild isn’t hoping to win the territorial dispute. As long as a situation can be created where he can save face, he will sign an appropriate agreement. So if you can persuade Sir Eugene...”
“All decisions are made by Sir Eugene. We just follow his orders, so stop with the nonsense.” Partec answered sharply. Delduan licked his lips vainly with a wince. It wasn’t only the knight who was formidable, but the mercenaries with him as well.
‘This will be difficult.’ With such thoughts, Delduan turned his eyes to Eugene and Mills. The butler was diligently explaining something to the knight.
“ ... As such, if you agree, then Lord Fairchild will treat you very well.”
“Hmm. I see.”
The offered conditions were fine, but Eugene intended to refuse. His purpose was to kill as many high-ranked monsters as possible in the evil lands to gain the red mana stones. He currently had no need for money.
But he was curious about one thing.
“Why me?” Eugene asked.
The Fairchild Viscounty was a noble family with a bestowed title from the kingdom. They were on a completely different level compared to the Tywin family, who had barely gained independence after serving under the Evergrove County for a long time.
They would possess two or three knights and a decent standing army. Even if the lord did hear about himself from Delduan, it was still strange to invite a knight when they shared no relationship.
“Ah, that’s...” Mills hesitated.
“If you try to give an absurd answer, I will immediately refuse your offer, so you better tell me the real reason.” Eugene interjected before anything else.
“Alright.” Mills quickly gave up on racking his brains and explained the incident related to knight Robos.
“A knight was captured? Would it not be better to pay his ransom and get him back first?”
“That would be tantamount to acknowledging defeat even before a real battle. It’s an undesirable outcome for Lord Fairchild. Lord Bommel would also not consider releasing Sir Robos for a ransom right away either.”
“So they want to consider it after they’ve had a go.”
“That is correct.”
“Then Lord Fairchild just needs to hire more knights, right? It’s not like I’m the only knight in this area.”
“That is also correct, but there is no one my master is satisfied with. In addition, due to the situation, all the candidate knights are asking to be sworn in, but the lord has no intentions of accepting territorial knights for the time being.”
Most free knights dreamed of being sworn in to titled nobility. However, noblemen with such capabilities were very stringent when it came to choosing their knights. It would cost a lot of money, but more importantly, for a noble to appoint a knight required them to put forth their ‘name.’
Moreover, If they appointed random nobodies as territorial knights, the honor of the noble family in question could be damaged.