CH 203

The timing was simply absurd.

The royal army had arrived in Maren’s vicinity the same day as Eugene.

“Kiee… I don’t know if you’re lucky, or if those old men and the others are just unlucky. No, never mind, probably both. Anyway, sir, since you’re going to rip them off anyway, do it grandly,” Mirian chattered while resting on top of Eugene’s head. Ever since evolving, she was now able to freely hide or reveal her appearance. The sight of a spirit lying on the head of the respected, admired vampire duke was quite comedic. However, no one could see it, so only Princess Lilisain stared back and forth between the spirit and the vampire with blazing eyes and hot, ragged breaths.

“Oh no!” The mayor and the guild leaders were agitated. However, it was something that would have happened sooner or later. In the first place, a month had already passed since the king labeled Maren as a meeting place for ‘traitors’ and declared persecution against it. Unless the royalists were fools, they wouldn’t have labeled Maren traitorous without devising a strategy first.

However, the city's mayor and guild leaders remained calm until now. There were many territories between the royal castle and Maren, and the majority of them weren’t on good terms with the royal family but were friendly to Maren. If the royal army ever set out toward Maren, the city would quickly receive news of it.

However, no news had reached Maren for the entire month, and that had been sufficient to drive a false sense of security into the hearts of Maren’s mayor and the guild leaders. They had started to have various thoughts…

‘Huh? We still haven’t heard anything.’

‘Maybe they were bluffing?’

‘That’s right! They must have committed themselves without being prepared!’

‘We all know how incompetent the king is, right? And the royalists under him don’t know how to do anything except to suck his dick.’

‘Good! There’s still plenty of time! Let’s recruit troops and test the waters!’

However, such thoughts resulted in their current predicament.

“What about the lords?! So many of them were against the royalists! What happened to the lords?”

“W-were they taken by the royal family?”

“No, how does that make any sense? Besides, even if that’s true for the other nobles, what about the Evergrove County?”

“Isn’t that the same with Lord Gable and Lord Loftin?”

The mayor and the guild leaders started panicking as the situation quickly devolved into chaos. Trevik was the only one still holding onto reason. He spoke to the mayor and the guild leaders, “I’m not completely certain, but in all likelihood, the lords must have either betrayed us or surrendered to the army of the royal family.”

“…?!”

Trevik continued, “Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense that we didn’t receive any reports until now, right? Why wouldn't we have heard anything until the royal army came this close?”

“That’s…” the mayor mumbled as if in disbelief, but he was inclined to believe in Trevik’s words.

“That may be true for other places, but what about the Evergrove County?” someone asked.

“That’s right. It’s impossible that we haven’t heard anything if something happened to the Evergrove County…” The others also nodded with agreement. Half a year ago, the former count had relinquished his title to the county’s successor, Jevin, for health reasons. In the first place, Jevin Evergrove had been taking care of the territory for several years before he officially became the count.

The relationship between Jevin Evergrove and Maren wasn’t that bad as well.

However, to be completely honest…

“The Evergrove County would find themselves in a difficult situation regarding the disposal of their mana stones without our city. Does that mean they were done in by the royal family?” With the explosive influx of mana stones and monster by-products from Mungard, the power dynamic between Maren and noble families with evil lands, including the Evergrove County, had shifted. As the supply greatly increased, the purchase price of the goods fell accordingly, and the various noble families were placed in inferior positions based on their relationship with Maren.

“Hmm! That must be. Since we didn’t hear anything, it’s possible that they had been completely wiped out!”

“Those evil, vicious royalists!”

“Does the king have no honor?! How could he have done such a thing to an old, prestigious family like Evergrove?!”

The guild leaders expressed their anger against the king and the royalists.

“Everyone! This is not the time to be simply cursing at them. If the royal army has come all the way to the Etherin, the army will arrive in front of our city in two days. We must come up with countermeasures! Countermeasures!” Trevik exclaimed. He felt frustrated that the guild leaders were still unable to establish realistic options.

The guild leaders coughed in embarrassment and kept their mouths shut, and naturally, their expectant gazes gathered to one figure. Eugene kept a nonchalant expression while sipping on wine, and the mayor asked with a pleading expression.

“Excuse me, Your Excellency.”

“Why did you call me?” Eugene asked.

“Will you please lead Maren’s force with your knights, Your Excellency?” the mayor asked.

“We implore you. Please, we will compensate you accordingly.”

“Please fight for our free city!”

The guild leaders scrambled to ask after the mayor’s words. Right now, they had no one to trust but Eugene. According to Priscilla, around ten knights had accompanied Eugene. It went without saying that Eugene himself was an overwhelming force, and it was obvious that those with him would be skilled as well. Moreover, aside from his unparalleled skills, Eugene was an undefeated knight and Maren’s hero. Clearly, his incredible reputation would aid recruitment and cause the troops' morale to soar.

“Kieehhh! We’re going to score it big as soon right after we arrived! Kihehehehe!”

“Hmm...” Eugene pretended to contemplate the issue while stroking his chin as the spirit chuckled greedily.

The mayor and the guild leaders felt even more anxious. They knew well why Eugene was mulling over the issue.

“Is it because of His Highness the Prince?”

“We will pay the penalty of violating the contract. If you could give a good explanation to His Highness so as to not disappoint him—”

“No, it’s not because of that…” Eugene interrupted.

“…?”

“Regardless, considering the relationship I have with the City of Maren, it’s only natural for me to help,” Eugene continued.

“Ohh!”

The expressions of the mayor and the guild leaders brightened at once.

“You are truly honorable!”

“Your Excellency is the embodiment of loyalty and good faith!”

“I will immediately give you command! Ah! You will need information on our troops. First, I will get the mercenary captains and…”

“That man will take care of that,” Eugene responded.

“What?”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the person Eugene had directed his gaze at. A tall, burly knight armed with simple plate mail stepped forward.

“Sir Edmund. I will give you the command of the mercenaries,” Eugene spoke.

“As you wish, Your Excellency,” Edmund responded. His gaze was sharp and filled with determination. Edmund was originally from the empire, but he had been taken captive in Brantia before Eugene rescued him. Eugene had brought him over to the continent, as his destination was the Roman Empire.

“Ah…”

“Hmm.”

However, the mayor and the guild leaders had no idea who Edmund was. They didn’t dare to question Eugene, but their gazes were filled with concern and doubt.

“Sir Edmund was originally a knight of the Roman Empire. He converted into a holy knight and participated in the earlier Brantian expeditions. He knows more about tactics than anyone else. He’s probably more suitable than me to lead an army,” Eugene explained.

“Oh!”

Everyone’s expressions immediately brightened after hearing Eugene’s explanation. In particular, Trevik’s gaze was filled with great admiration as he looked at Edmund. Unlike those who were ignorant of military matters, Trevik had immediately recognized Edmund’s value as the mercenary guild's leader and the city’s recruiter. It was amazing for someone to have become a holy knight as a knight of the Roman Empire.

“I am truly touched by Your Excellency’s honorable decision! Naturally, we won’t be only offering our words. We will definitely prove to Your Excellency the friendship Maren shares with you,” the mayor declared.

Eugene gave a content smile. It was something to look forward to. In the first place, Maren’s mayor had been generous enough to gift Eugene an expensive plate armor when they had just met.

‘I’ll be able to fulfill my obligations while clearing my debt and receiving a reward at the same time. I’m killing two birds with one stone, or rather, three birds with one stone.’

“I, Jan Eugene Batla, will always cherish my friendship with the City of Maren. It will last an eternity,” Eugene responded.

“Of course! Hahahaha!”

“Gold coins are basically eternal friendship! Kihehehehehe!”

The leaders of Maren were finally relieved of their worries. They laughed boisterously without knowledge of the vampire duke’s insidious thoughts.

***

The news that Sir Jan Eugene, the great, undefeated knight, would take action to save Maren quickly spread throughout the city.

The citizens cheered. In particular, the mercenaries under the city’s employment were extremely delighted.

“Sir Eugene is a knight who has never lost, both here and in Brantia!”

“He’s a knight loved by the gods! Justice is with the City of Maren!”

“All those who had followed Sir Eugene had become lords and are living good lives in Brantia!”

“A spirit who calls for victory and gold stands next to Sir Eugene! If you fight with him, you will never be starved for fame and fortune!”

The stories became exaggerated as they spread. The spirit of water was being discussed as the spirit of gold, and Eugene was no longer simply an undefeated hero. He was basically being revered as a god of war.

“Truer words had never been spoken. As expected from Your Excellency the Duke. The morale is already so high. I think victory is already ours,” Princess Lilisain spoke while gazing at Eugene with fierce, burning eyes. She had also accompanied Eugene across the sea.

Princess Lilisain continued, “I implore you, Your Excellency. Will you leave the vanguard to me?” She looked as if she were ready to draw her sword and immediately charge with Eugene’s permission. However, Eugene shook his head. “No way.”

“How disappointing... However, there must be a good reason why Your Excellency had said so. Please enlighten this foolish one of the answer,” Princess Lilisain responded. Her manner of speech was somewhat unique, but the princess’ beauty was otherworldly. When she showed disappointment, sad sighs could be heard all over the place.

The pathetic bastards had dicks instead of heads.

Eugene looked around with a cold gaze. He couldn’t believe that they could even care about women at such a time. The mercenary captains flinched and quickly avoided Eugene’s eyes. All of them were struck with similar thoughts.

‘The female elven knight is Sir Eugene’s woman.’

‘It makes sense. With such beauty, she’s definitely fit to be Sir Eugene’s partner.’

‘She’s a princess of the Brantian elves? Even her position is suitable to be Sir Eugene’s mate.’

Their speculations couldn’t be further from the truth, but the men still vowed to abandon their interest in Princess Lilisain.

“The princess will act as a messenger to the enemy army,” Eugene stated.

“H-honor! To have the opportunity to represent Your Excellency…” Princess Lilisain’s shoulders trembled as she muttered. It appeared she was genuinely touched. Those seeing her for the first time became even more convinced of the relationship between Eugene and the princess. For her to be overjoyed on such a simple mission meant that the relationship between the two was much deeper than they had initially thought.

However, those who were already familiar with Princess Lilisain from Brantia, in particular, Prince Localope’s knights, took on strange expressions.

‘Could that strange elf princess actually carry out her mission as a messenger?’

‘What if she causes a mess?’

‘I’m worried that we’ll have to mourn for her after she starts blabbing nonsense in front of the enemy.’

Princess LIlisain was unaware of their concerns. She was simply happy. Of course, even if she did know their thoughts, her reaction wouldn’t have changed.

“Your Excellency Batla. You said you would send a messenger, not a vanguard. Are you thinking about mounting a siege defense?” Trevik asked politely. He was being considerate of Eugene’s new status.

“I didn’t have such a thing in mind. And I didn’t come here as a Duke of Brantia, so call me the same as before,” Eugene responded.

“Ah, yes. I will do so,” Trevik said while bowing. Although Eugene’s status had vastly changed compared to before, he was still the same person.

“Then, are you planning to fight outside the city?” Trevik asked.

“For now,” Eugene responded.

“Hmm.” The knights and mercenaries took on strange expressions. It was an unchallenged truth that defending a siege was much more advantageous than launching one. In addition, it was common knowledge that at least three times more troops were required to succeed in a siege. However, defending the city in a siege was advantageous in a battle, but it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Once enemy troops surrounded the city, it would become impossible for anyone to enter and exit the city. In particular, commercial cities like Maren would suffer heavy losses if they became isolated, even though they had a port.

‘Is he being considerate of Maren’s circumstances?’

‘Even so, we have too few troops…’

None of the knights and mercenaries could guess what Eugene was planning. The same was true for Trevik.

“Ah. So you are planning to send out a small group of scouts with the messenger. Of course, we must get an accurate picture of the enemy before—” Trevik commented.

Eugene interrupted him, “No, the mercenaries will be in charge of defending the city, and all of the knights will accompany me. We will end it swiftly without delay.”