CH 71

“Sir! Sir Galfredik! I think you should come out and see this!” A mercenary urgently shouted after opening the entrance to the tent. Galfredik stopped his conversation with Partec’s group and turned his head with a frown.

“What is it? Did another bastard get caught stealing a pig from someone’s ranch?” Galfredik asked. Just yesterday, he had pummeled a few drunk mercenaries after they were caught stealing pigs and chickens from a nearby house.

“No, it’s nothing like that! The other sirs… they are about to fight…” The mercenary quickly shook his head after remembering three of his banished colleagues.

“Those bastards are really…” Galfredik muttered with frustration. It had been rather strange that they managed to stay quiet for the last few days. It seemed the knights were finally revealing their true colors once more and were more active in causing trouble.

“Who did they pick a fight with? Lord Edrique’s troops? Or the merchants?” Galfredik asked.

“No, sir. I think… they are knights related to Lord Gabriel,” The mercenary answered.

“Hooh?” Galfredik narrowed his eyes.

They were currently camped at the border of Lord Essandra’s territory and Lord Edrique’s territory. However, at the same time, they were also on a path leading to Lord Gabriel’s territory.

Essandra and Edrique did not prevent the nobles and knights serving their brethren from passing through their own territory. Although they were currently at a stand-off, doing so could escalate the situation into a real, full-blown war. Moreover, they had to give each other face as well.

As such, knights and nobles would pay a toll and pass through the various territories when they could not be bothered to go around, but it seemed that there was a conflict between Gabriel’s knights and the knights following Eugene.

‘Is this regarding what master mentioned before? This is rather fortunate.’

Galfredik left his tent with a grin, remembering what Eugene had told him before leaving.

***

“Mere wandering knights dare to block the way? Those who aren’t even sworn in by a lord? We are knights serving Lord Gabriel, he who continues the honor and legacy of the Archivold marquisate.”

“Be patient with them, Sir Domingo. They do not know their own place.” A knight responded in an arrogant manner.

There were three knights, and all of them were armed with high-quality plate mail that glistened in the light. All three knights were also donning surcoats with the symbol of the Archivold marquisate.

“Hmph! And since when did Lord Gabriel ‘continue’ the honor and legacy of Archivold? Lord Essandra is the eldest daughter of the marquisate. She is the one true representative of Archivold!” One of Eugene’s knights retorted.

“Right!” Another agreed.

The followers of Eugene, the free knights, were no pushovers either. They were already enamored by Eugene and Essandra, and they shouted enthusiastically at Gabriel’s knights.

“Hm! They are trying to mislead us with nonsense! Sirs, let us get going. My ears will rot if I keep listening to these people.” One of Gabriel’s knights declared.

Not all knights were the same.

Territorial knights – in particular, those serving a great noble, like a marquis, did not consider free knights to be on the same level as them. To them, free knights were only a little better than regular mercenaries. As such, Gabriel’s knights did not hide their contempt and attempted to cross the bridge while ignoring the free knights.

“Kuhahaha! I knew it! Cowards! Oi, are you all trying to run away?”

Gabriel’s knights turned their heads after hearing a loud, vigorous shout. Galfredik was standing in a relaxed manner with his arms folded. His eyes burned fiercely.

“Sir! Did you just call us cowards?” One of Gabriel’s knights retorted.

“Why? Did I say something wrong? Were you not about to run away with your tail between your legs, since you had nothing more to say? That’s what it looked like to me.” Galfredik said.

“W-what did you say?”

“Take that back right this instant!” Gabriel’s knights responded with fury.

Galfredik’s lips curled up into a cold smile. “I don’t think I will. And sirs, what you said just a moment ago, all those fancy words about how Lord Gabriel continues the legacy and honor of Archivold. Could you say the same words in front of Lord Essandra? If you could repeat yourselves in front of Lord Essandra, I will apologize immediately.”

“…..!” The knights flinched.

Galfredik’s smile deepened.

“Why? You can’t do it? Kuhaha! I would think that all of you are some kind of peddlers, with your swaying, pendulous beliefs. It’s a waste to call people like you knights. I truly feel for Lord Gabriel. At least peddlers can bring him back some money.” Galfredik continued to taunt the knights.

“You!”

“Eek!”

“You bastard! Take that back immediately!”

The three knights erupted into anger and pulled out their longswords. The mercenaries quickly retreated with shock after seeing the swords of the three knights glistening sharply with light. But Galfredik stood still. Moreover, the free knights took their place behind Galfredik. They had succeeded in carrying out their secret orders by deliberately starting a quarrel with Gabriel’s knights.

“What? You want to have a go?” Galfredik asked.

“Of course! We will be ashamed to call ourselves knights if we stay still after being insulted like this!”

“It wasn’t enough for you to insult us, you even dared to insult Lord Gabriel as well? I will cut off your slimy tongue!”

It appeared that Gabriel’s knights were unable to contain their anger. However, they were hiding their true agenda as well. Just as Galfredik and the free knights caused a deliberate quarrel, Gabriel’s knights had also chosen to travel this path with a specific purpose.

‘The knight named Eugene isn’t here?’

‘Then the remainder are weaklings. If we can crush the morale of the remaining knights, we can humiliate Lord Essandra as well.’

Gabriel’s knights were survivors of the peninsula’s chaotic times. As such, they were quite smart. Even though they weren’t fully convinced by the incredulous rumors surrounding Eugene, they were still unwilling to take risks. As such, they judged that it was worth a shot to engage with the opponents in Eugene’s absence.

This was the perfect opportunity to break Essandra’s spirit while leaving a strong impression and a warning for Edrique, who was still trying to walk a fine line between both Gabriel and Essandra’s camp.

“So you are asking for a duel,” Galfredik stated.

“Hmph! Are you trying to avoid it? It seems you are the one who is cowardly, sir!” One of Gabriel’s knights provoked.

“How could that be? I was only worried about your lives, sirs.” Galfredik responded with a grin.

“What did you say!?”

“Ah, don’t get too excited. Let’s have a 3 on 3 match. How about a brawl without our swords? Things might become problematic if anyone dies, right?” Galfredik suggested.

“…..!”

The three knights quickly exchanged a glance. Knights weren’t only good at handling weapons such as spears and swords, knights were human weapons that excelled at all aspects of fighting as well. A true knight could easily best a few soldiers on the battlefield even without a weapon.

“Not a bad idea. Let’s do that.” Gabriel’s knights quickly nodded.

“Hehe! That’s an excellent choice.”

Craaack!

Galfredik chuckled while cracking his neck.

“Sir, I will participate.”

“No, Sir Galfredik. Leave it to me.”

The free knights were eager to be chosen. Galfredik randomly chose two well-built knights before speaking in a quiet voice. “Sirs, let’s make sure they are barely breathing when we are finished with them. I, no, Sir Eugene will take full responsibility for it.”

“Say no more.”

“I will crush their bones.”

The chosen knights responded. They were delighted to think that they were finally provided with a chance to display their true skills.

“Then who will go first?” One of Gabriel’s knights asked after dismounting his horse.

Galfredik smashed his gauntlets together before bursting into a frenzied laugh.

“Three on three! It will be a group match! Kuhahahaha!”

He then charged forward like a wild boar.

***

Even if it wasn’t grand, Eugene felt that his farewell ceremony had been sincere. He left Edrique’s castle along with five carts.

‘It didn’t seem like Edrique knew anything about the wizard.’

Edrique was a cautious man. He was so cautious that he did not attempt to subjugate the dungeon as to not provoke his sister Essandra. It was nearly impossible for such a man to have sent a black wizard into the dungeon to transform an ogre into an undead.

‘It’s probably not Essandra either. Then…’

The most likely suspect was the eldest son, Gabriel. It was also entirely possible that the black wizard ran his scheme by himself, but it wasn’t easy for an outsider to invade an evil land belonging to a great noble.

‘Perhaps I should have asked him before killing him? No, I made the right choice. Wizards are dangerous.’

Romari was the only wizard he knew, and she was sometimes a little dumb and untrustworthy. However, if she came at him with the full brunt of her magic, even Eugene would have to be very careful.

As such, it was best to kill a wizard before they could use their magic.

“Sir, sir. What are you going to do about that undead ogre? Are you going to leave it be?” Mirian whispered while leaning over. She was seated on Eugene’s shoulder.

“Not everyone has access to the dungeon, and the monsters of the dungeon are reborn within two to three weeks. Most won’t get past those bats,” Eugene whispered.

“That’s true. But! But! Why did those bats explode? Even that giant bat exploded after being hit by your fear,” Mirian asked.

“The power they were emitting was similar to a vampire’s fear. Perhaps our powers were quite similar, which was why the stronger side could overwhelm the other and cause them to explode.” Eugene theorized.

“Wow! Awesome.”

Eugene was convinced as he recalled the invisible ray of power used by the giant bat. Their powers had been strangely similar to a vampire’s, perhaps since they were bloodsucking monsters.

‘Anyways…’

Eugene recalled the memories he regained after consuming the red mana stone of the giant bat.

One woman and two men.

The three figures had been adorned in extremely elegant clothes, and they had been smiling brightly at himself. Although their faces were still blurry, he was certain they had been smiling, and the lips of the three figures had been red like blood.

‘Vampires. Maybe Origins, just like me.’

And he suspected that the three of them knew the story of his birth – because he was looking up at the three in his memories.

‘I need to consume more red mana stones.’

There were still over ten tattoos left on his body. Once all of his tattoos were erased, he would surely regain all of his memories and finally discover his own ‘existence.’

“Sir, we are almost at the border.” One of Edrique’s workers reported.

Eugene raised his head. He could see a narrow bridge up ahead and some of Edrique’s soldiers guarding it.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Eugene asked.

“Ah! Sir!” The soldiers became startled after hearing Eugene’s voice and quickly bowed their heads.

“There is a fight happening at the campsite of the sirs. We were watching it because we were bored.” One of the soldiers reported.

“A fight?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. I think the knights are fighting. It’s quite crazy,” A soldier replied.

“Is that so?”

Eugene invoked his vampiric abilities to observe the campsite on the other side of the river.

“Hooh…”

Indeed, it was just as the soldier said. There was a fight happening inside of a circle formed by the mercenaries. One of the fighters stood out.

“You’re doing well,” Eugene muttered with a smile. Galfredik was on top of another knight, raining down punches without showing mercy.

***

“Have you heard from him yet?” Essandra asked.

“No, my lord. With all due respect, I think it might be best to forget about Sir Eugene. It was an act of insanity to head into Lord Edrique’s territory alone. If he really entered the dungeon by himself as well, there’s no chance he would ever return safely.” Geko answered. He was a faithful, loyal knight, and he was truly sorry to see that his lord had vain expectations.

However, Essandra grinned in response. “Hoho! Sir, you are truly loyal, but it’s a bit unfortunate that you cannot see the bigger picture. Well, I guess that’s the charm I see in you.”

“I am unsure as to what you might be talking about…” Geko expressed his puzzlement.

“Just as you said, sir, Jan Eugene is out of his mind. Although it’s quite praiseworthy for him to have handed over that murderer to me, he should have stopped there.” Essandra answered.

“Yes. So why did you allow him to head to the dungeon?” Geko asked.

“Edrique. It was to…”

“My lord! Lord Essandra!” The nobles of the castle shouted as they entered the room.

“Hmm? What’s going on?” Essandra asked.

“T-that knight! Sir Eugene is back!” The nobles answered.

“…..!” Essandra was shocked. She even dropped a grape she was about to plop into her mouth. However, a slave quickly handed her another grape, and she frowned as she quickly placed it into her mouth.

“Tsk! I thought he might do something useful, but he must have been kicked out by Edrique. Well, that’s not the worst outcome. If I can pressure Edrique with this…” Essandra started talking rather regretfully.

“T-that’s not it, my lord!” However, the nobles interrupted.

“Hmm? Then what is it?” Essandra asked.

The nobles could not hide their excitement as they shouted.

“The subjugation! It was a great success! Sir Eugene has returned with five carts filled with the by-products of monsters!”

“In addition, he successfully captured Lord Gabriel’s knights as prisoners!”

Another grape dropped to the floor from Essandra’s lips.