CH 42

Lugates was surprised that Galfredik was quicker than expected, but he immediately responded with an attack as a strong, experienced knight.

‘You will never break through my plate armor.’

On the other hand, Glfredik’s plate mail presented gaps on the shoulder and arms, where the armor was only composed of chains. Lugates was certain that he could inflict a fatal injury on Galfredik with his power and skills.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks erupted into the air as the blades of the two knights collided mid-air.

‘Amazing.’

Eugene was thoroughly impressed. He knew how strong Galfredik was through their last bout, but Galfredik was showing an entirely different level of competence now that he was engaged in a life and death battle.

‘He wasn’t lying when he said the results might have been different in an actual battle.’

Rather, if it had been a real battle, Eugene would have lost.

‘But not anymore.’

Now, Eugene had the ability of camouflage and invisibility. In addition, he even acquired Galfredik’s skills after taking him in as his vassal. He was confident in holding his own against any knight, including Galfredik.

As if to prove his elevated skills, Eugene naturally predicted the following moves of the two knights as they battled.

‘If it’s now, perhaps even if I faced Jung Dircht…’

Eugene’s fighting spirit burned when he thought back to the moment the holy knight cut off his head while laughing.

Clang! Kakang!

In the meantime, the two knights traded several blows before eventually meeting each other in a struggle for power, their blades pushed against one another.

“Kuhehe! You wish to defeat me with just that? Today will be your funeral. No, never mind. Since you have no descendants, no one will remember you. Kuhehe!”

Lugates was pushing with all his might, but Galfredik had responded in a peaceful, calm voice.

“Hmm. Is this all you have?”

“What?” Lugates shouted with a hint of urgency.

“Goodbye, me of the past. The legend of my new self is about to begin!”

“What the fuck are you… Huagh!?”

Kwakwakwakwa!

Lugates screamed as he was pushed back by the unexpected power of the vampire.

“Y-you bastard…!”

The essence of excellent swordsmanship wasn’t just power. Rather, refined swordsmanship stemmed from a combination of practice, technique, and experience. A proper harmony between the three would allow one to make appropriate decisions to defeat their enemies.

However, that was only true up until a certain point. The sheer strength of an Origin’s vassal was beyond human comprehension. Moreover, Galfredik’s swordsmanship was at least on par with Lugates’.

Booom!

Galfredik’s weapon began to repeatedly strike against Lugates’ armor.

“Keugh!”

On the other hand, Lugates never managed to land a single blow on Galfredik.

‘Just trust the armor! I just need to dig in! Let’s dig in!”

“…..!”

Suddenly, Galfredik’s large figure disappeared, and Lugates became wide-eyed.

Crack!

His thoughts abruptly came to an end along with a horrific sound.

Galfredik’s rondel dagger was sticking out of Lugates’ forehead through the gap in his helmet. The sharp weapon had pierced through the narrow space of the helmet that existed to provide a line of sight for the knight.

Silence permeated the garden at the display of such distinguished swordsmanship.

*** 

Jevin was struck with shock as he saw Lugates’ large figure fall like a rotten log. He had been certain of Lugates’ victory until the start of the duel, and even after witnessing the battle, he had measured the chances of victory as fifty percent. As such, he never imagined that Lugates would lose so helplessly, and even die as a result.

‘This…!’

Jevin boiled with anger as he glared at Galfredik. Galfredik started taking off his helmet, and as Eugene approached the victorious knight, his gaze met with Jevin’s. 

“…..!”

Jevin flinched after meeting the red, glowing eyes. As a prestigious noble, Jevin received high-quality education in various fields. He was keen and perceptive. As such, he instinctively sensed that he had played right into Eugene’s plan.

‘How dare you!’

Jevin’s eyes flared with rage for a moment, then soon subsided. His instincts warned him not to express his anger towards Eugene at this moment. However, the disappointment and betrayal he felt from his appointed knight caused his heart to throb.

“I declare Sir Galfredik’s victory. Then, sirs, I trust that your honorable promises will be kept.”

“Of course.”

“Good. Please understand that I am unable to congratulate you with pure intentions. Sir Entler, clean up the area. Then please excuse me.” Jevin spoke in a cold voice before leaving, and Entler slowly crept up to the two.

“That was great swordsmanship, Sir Galfredik. You have broadened my horizons today.”

“You flatter me. By the way, are you not planning on getting revenge? You both were territorial knights of the Evergrove Territory.”

“Me? You jest. Sir Lugates and I only served the same lord but did not share a friendship. Moreover…”

He glanced at Lugates’ cold body before grinning, “I trust the words of you, sir, and Sir Eugene’s more than the words of that coward.”

“I quite like you, sir.”

“Haha! I wish you sirs could have become our territory’s knights. But considering Young Master Jevin’s reaction just now, I guess that’s no longer a possibility. It might be best for you two to leave the castle quickly.”

“Hmm? Why?”

Eugene narrowed his eyes, and Entler spoke in a quiet voice, “Sir Jevin is an honorable noble, but he is also quite proud and dignified.”

“So what?”

“The knights of the castle are eager to prove themselves and I reckon that they would do anything to gain the successor’s favor. What do you think they would do if the territory’s successor, whom they admired, became sad and dishonored all of a sudden?”

“…..!”

In other words, the knights would most likely challenge Eugene and Galfredik even if they happened to hear the details of the duel. 

“Well, it’s all the same to us anyway, since we can beat them all up, ” Galfredik responded with a shrug and turned to Eugene before continuing. “Although it won’t be problematic for us, it might become troublesome for the mercenaries and the slaves. I think it might be best to follow Sir Entler’s advice.”

“Hmm.” Eugene nodded. 

Vampires were stronger at night, and right now, it didn’t matter how many knights of the Evergrove County came to fight them at this moment. However, it was different for Partec and the slaves.

“I will open the rear gate of the castle. You should pack up immediately and leave.”

“We owe you a great deal. Thank you, Sir Entler.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was an honor to meet brave, honorable knights like you both.”

Eugene and Galfredik shared a powerful handshake with Entler.

*** 

“How dare you kill my family’s knight in front of my eyes? How dare you?”

Jevin felt greatly humiliated for the first time after being born as the successor of the county. He strode forward with anger. Then, he suddenly stopped before speaking. “What are the knights of the castle doing?”

“I think they are gathered in Sir Marvel’s room. They may be indulging themselves in chess or card games…”

“I will be heading there right away.”

“Yes, Young Master Jevin.”

A servant quickly led the way with a lamp.

Soon…

“Sirs.”

“Ah, Young Master Jevin.”

“Welcome.”

When Jevin made a sudden appearance in the middle of the night, the castle’s knights stopped their card game and stood up.

“Were you all playing a game? Who is on a winstreak today?”

“The owner of the room seems to have learned weird tricks somewhere. The other sirs and I were quite unlucky today.”

The others laughed awkwardly at the words of a knight.

“I see. Why are you all standing around for? Come, have a seat. I am here to join you, so let’s play comfortably.”

“Ah! Of course.”

The young successor often spent time with the knights, but he never joined gambling to save face. Nevertheless, he was joining them, and this meant only one thing…

“Haha! Sir Marvel is truly lucky!”

“Ah, Sir McCullay. Congratulations.”

“I’m going to lose everything I have at this rate!”

Jevin was bestowing pocket money to the knights on the pretense of losing. In thirty minutes, the successor gifted almost a hundred silver coins. The knights could not help but grin with joy.

“I think your luck must have rubbed off on us, Young Master Jevin.”

“But tomorrow, it’ll surely return. Hahaha!”

Jevin nodded with a satisfied expression at the delighted knights, then suddenly spoke with a gloomy look. “Luck, is it? I wish Sir Lugates had such luck as well.”

“What? Did something happen to Sir Lugates?”

“Well, the truth is…”

Jevin recounted the outcome of the duel, leaving out the cause of the battle.

“Knights always fight for this and that, sometimes trivial reasons. In addition, Sir Galfredik must have been quite sensitive, so I think it was only natural he wanted to protest the process of last year’s tournament. However…”

“I cannot believe that he committed murder! This is unforgivable. He crossed the line.”

“Sir Marvel is correct. And listening to Young Master Jevin’s words, it seems Sir Lugates was taking the battle with a light heart.”

“This is tantamount to looking down on Young Master Jevin and the Evergrove County!”

“No, sirs. It’s not that…”

Jevin pretended to be troubled and attempted to dissuade the knights, but it was useless.

“Young Master Jevin. We will take care of this. Sirs, let us head to protest against Galfredik and Jan Eugene!”

“I never liked Galfredik from the beginning. If they resist, it will only provide us with reason to display our skills.”

“There is no need to give respect to those who know no honor! Let’s go!”

The knights bolted out the door after wearing their chainmail and grabbing their weapons.

“It’s a bit regretful, but it’s for the best.”

Jevin could always find another knight, but could not easily recover the lost honor and pride of his family. he believed that this was the most reasonable decision he could make as the county’s successor.

*** 

Clop, clop!

A carriage pulled by a horse was accompanied by two horses and their riders as they passed through the dark road.

‘Did I make a mistake? What the hell are we doing in the middle of the night?’

Romari sat on the edge of the carriage and continued sighing in secret. But it was already too late to regret her decision. In addition, Eugene had already killed several high-ranking monsters. She was lucky that she could accompany a knight, no, a vampire like him.

‘Let’s follow him around for maybe half a year. We will say goodbye after I collect enough materials. Ah, but where should I conduct my experiments? I won’t be able to return home for a while.’

Romari was deep in thought with worries. 

Galfredik approached her in the meantime and spoke, “Get ready, wizard.”

“What? Get ready for what?”

“Huh? I thought wizards were wise men and prophets. You should already know, right?”

“What bullshi… What are you saying? If I could do that, I would have made a fortune by divining the future. Why would I be doing all this?”

“Ah, really? I guess you aren’t very skilled. Anyways, there is going to be a battle soon, so get ready.”

“…Yes.” Romari nodded her head in resignation. She knew something like this would happen sooner or later as soon as they exited through the castle’s rear gate. After all, it looked as if they were running away from something.

In the meantime, two of the slaves hurried into the carriage, and Partec’s group gathered around Galfredik along with Luke.

“Sir Galfredik. Are they troops of the Evergrove Territory?”

“Probably, right? Who else would be chasing after us on horseback except for their knights? For now, the two of you should prepare your crossbows. Partec, slave number one, stand by my side. I heard you’re pretty good at fighting.”

“Thank you, sir. My name is Luke.”

“Yes, Slave Number 1 Luke who is pretty good at fighting.” Galfredik answered with a grin, and Luke sighed before taking his place by the knight’s side with his shield and shortsword unsheathed. 

Meanwhile, Glade and Lavan loaded bolts onto crossbows they obtained from mercenaries previously defeated by Eugene. They positioned themselves behind the carriage and lowered their bodies.

“Romari.”

“Yes, Sir Eugene.”

“Can you use that magic from the labyrinth again?”

“It’s not my field of expertise, so the success rate is slightly lower. It was possible then because my concentration was at its peak.”

“Then what is your expertise?”

“I am most confident in mind control, but I cannot have any witnesses when I use it. Although it’s circumstantial, most lords are hostile towards things similar to black magic.”

“I see.”

Eugene fell into deep thought.

It would make things easier to use magic. However, then he would have to kill all of the uninvited guests, who were most likely knights of the Evergrove Territory. Although he would never have anything to do with Evergrove again, it was inadvisable to become openly hostile against a great noble family, since many nobles shared strong ties with each other. Moreover, it was obvious that the Palin Association would dislike such a decision too.

While Eugene contemplated, Galfredik stepped up, “Should I take care of it?”

“Do you have something in mind?”

“I really should give you a proper lecture on knights sometimes. Including me, knights live and die by honor. Even on the verge of death, they always have to be self-righteous. If you give them a gentle nudge, they are easily manipulated.”

Galfredik was a true knight with plenty of experience and skills. His words were trustworthy, so Eugene nodded.

“Then do as you like. However, I will step forward if we have to show our skills.”

“Hmm?” Galfredik looked surprised for a moment, then grinned, “Do as you like, Master.”

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