How to Live As the Vampire Lord

Chapter 116

Thank you, Sir Eugene. I feel relieved now. The half-bald nobleman grinned while holding onto Eugenes hands.

Dont mention it. Anyway. From now on, you will trade mana stones and monster by-products with Mungard, Eugene responded.

How could I say otherwise? It will be beneficial for me as well! Hahahaha! The nobleman said with a hearty laugh. His name was Lord Rotner, and he was the lord of a territory with a small dungeon. Just like many other lords of Brantia, Rotner had neglected the suppression of the evil land in his territory due to the war and had been rather troubled because of the rapid increase in the number of roamers in his territory. However, Eugene and the group of beowulf warriors had annihilated the roamers, and he could now focus on the management of the dungeon in his territory.

In addition, Eugene even subjugated the dungeon once on the condition of taking half of the mana stones and by-products obtained from the dungeon, which gave him some breathing room to set up a plan for the future.

But you are certain that the road to Mungard is safe, right? Lord Rotner asked.

Of course. No roamers. Bandits. Most of them are dead. Take about 10 soldiers. You will get there safely. Mana stones, by-products, talk with the Mayor of Mungard and Lord Markus. Give them my name, Eugene responded.

I will do so. Thank you so much! Lord Rotner nodded with a bright face. The only place he could sell the mana stones and monster by-products was Mungard anyway. Eugene and his group left the Rotner territory with a following of livestockthey had been paid one hundred sheep and pigs in return for subjugating the dungeon.

***

This makes it two now, Sir Eugene.

Im glad it worked out. Everything proceeded smoother than I expected. I had been worried that the lords would be stubborn and uncooperative, but it worked out surprisingly well, Eugene responded. Although it was a pity that he did not encounter any high-ranking monsters to obtain red mana stones from, it was definitely good to have had success in subjugating evil lands with the support and cooperation of the lords.

The war caused an increased number of bandits and robbers, which made it hard to even farm, let alone subjugate evil lands. Im sure they werent in a position to reject our help.

I see.

The territories employed about fifty to seventy troops at most, and such force was insufficient to even properly defend the villages, let alone fight against bandits and roamers. However, it wasnt as if they could simply hire mercenaries either since Brantian mercenaries were lawless individuals who could turn into bandits at a moments notice. As such, the lords had been forced to watch the situation worsen without being able to take action.

However, Eugene and the beowulf warriors had solved both the problem of bandits and roamers at once, which ended this vicious, endless cycle. It allowed for normal activities to resume once again. For Lord Rotner, Eugene was like an angel sent from heaven.

Please have a safe journey! I pray that you will be blessed with gold and silver that shines as bright as your honor! Lord Ratner gave his farewell.

Kiyaaah?! Such an angelic, invaluable advice! That man is extremely well-mannered and educated. Kihehe! the spirit of desire shouted with a content smile.

Eugene agreed with her as well. He very much preferred it than the way the nobles of the Caylor Kingdom spokealways talking about God whenever they had the chance. In that sense, he was growing rather fond of Brantia.

Hahaha. The more I see her, the more interesting she is, Lanslo spoke with a chuckle while looking at Mirian. He continued. By the way, Sir Eugene. You will be earning money from the subjugations and from the purification of mana stones, as well as whenever ships come and go from Maren and Moffern.

Disposing of roamers and bandits in the nearby areas wasnt only to benefit the lords. Ultimately, Eugene was reaping the most out of his actions. In the first place, he wouldnt have bothered doing such cumbersome tasks without his own purpose.

Kuhehehe! Dont forget about the spoils youll get from flattening lords or nobles who try to pick a fight. That might be where the biggest profit will come from, Galfredik spoke with a grin.

Lanslo answered, Naturally. Its a knights responsibility and destiny to prove his worth through combat. I believe in that path as well.

The two men laughed while sharing a gaze. Although the two were very different people, strangely enough, they were harmonious in this respect. No, perhaps they were just true to their foundation and essence as knights. Of course, Eugene was also a person who now considered himself a knight.

Good. Then lets head to the last territory. Was it called Pylon? Eugene asked.

Yes. Hopefully the lord there will be as cooperative as the previous two, Lanslo said.

As long as they arent stupid, they should notice that they havent seen any bandits or roamers recently, right? If they wont acknowledge who they have to thank for that, we can just break their heads in, Galfredik commented.

Theres no need to go so far. We can simply let them know that we wont allow them to purify any of their mana stones, Lanslo replied.

Ah, thats right. Miss Romari is going to have more stress. Kuhahaha! Galfredik chuckled once more.

The beowulfs called out. Recently, they had been maintaining their transformed state. Dark Lord! Were hungry!

Theres a sayingFood first, Brantia second. Cant we eat before we go?

Ah! I want to eat meat!

Ehem! I dont really like salted meat, but its still delicious when grilled. Even Wolfgan, the most civil of the bunch, was sniffing the meat on the back of the warrior in front of him.

Eugene sighed inwardly before nodding. Go ahead.

A meat party was held in the fields at midday, and unfortunately, this wasnt the last.

***

How gluttonous, Eugene muttered.

Thats right! They arent werewolves, theyre just pigs! Mirian agreed.

Well, its only natural. Both their physique and strength are the same as lycanthropes.

Even so, this is just The tail is wagging the dog.

Eugene and his companions had weary eyes as they watched the beowulfs eat. The beowulfs sat cramped in groups of five or six around campfires, ripping into morsels of meat that werent even fully cooked. They were completely absorbed in eating, and they were devouring the food as if they were gluttonous pigs.

Galfredik had a huge appetite before becoming a vampire and Partecs group had never been the ones to lose when it came to eating and drinking. However, the beowulfs appetite was on an entirely different level.

It was a relief that they only ate one meal a day, but each of their meals was three or four times the size that an adult male human would eat in an entire day. Moreover, the beowulfs insisted on eating only meat.

What? Vegetables? Nah~ You cant use your strength if you eat that kind of crap!

If you tell the dark lord to suck a goblins blood, would he? Thats what eating vegetables is like for us.

Eugene didnt have much to say. He did suck on a goblins blood in the past, but he had no intention of doing so now.

Huh? They already ate more than half? Are they for real? Galfredik exclaimed.

Eugenes eyes narrowed.

If I knew earlier that they would eat so much, I would have doubled, or even tripled their ransom.

Eugene regretted his complacency, but it was too late now. Luke, who had been glancing at Eugene, said cautiously, Excuse me, Master.

What is it? Eugene responded.

We were able to make do with what we have received from Lord Rotner this time, but its going to cost us a huge sum to feed them in the long run, Luke said.

This will be problematic since there will be even fewer farms with large numbers of livestock as we go further inland. And its not like we can have them hunt freely as they did in the Perseus Mountains. Lanslo chimed in.

It was just as he said. The forest located at the end of the Perseus Mountains and the surrounding area was land given to the beowulfs by the preceding lord of Crawlmarine. It didnt matter what the beowulfs did in their own land.

However, they couldnt hunt freely anymore. They would need about ten deer or wild boars every day to feed thirty beowulfs, but they could end up in a conflict with the owners of the lands if they hunted freely.

Sir Eugene, dont you think we should hire a depot merchant? Lanslo suggested.

Mmhm. Eugene nodded at Lanslos suggestion.

Even with a group of thirty to forty mercenaries, they would need to stop at a village at least once every three or four days to prevent any issues with supplies. Although there were only thirty of them, the beowulfs were equivalent to 100 mercenaries in terms of how much they ate. It would be better to travel with a merchant who could continue to supply them with necessities.

Where is the largest town or city in the vicinity? Eugene muttered while carefully looking over a map.

Lanslo responded while pointing at a place. Why dont we just go straight to Crawlmarine? The castle-town should be fairly large since its ruled by a count. There will be merchants who have direct dealings with the county as well.

Then what about the Pylon territory? Galfredik asked.

Eugene thought for a moment before answering, Even if Pylons lord subjugates the evil land, he will have to take the mana stones and by-products to Mungard anyway. We could directly subjugate the evil land at any time, so it will be better to head to Crawlmarine for now as Lanslo said.

Eugene came to a decision before turning to the beowulfs. The pigs had finished eating half of the meat that they had received from Lord Rotner.

If youre done inhaling your food, clean up. We will be departing straight away.

***

Wolves were known to follow their prey for days, and the beowulfs were similarly fast, resilient, and strong as well. Although Eugene and all of his companions were on horseback, the beowulfs were able to match their pace. The group traveled more than fifty kilometers in a single day, and they finally saw Crawlmarine, which was known as the land of rivers and lakes.

When it comes to things like this, maybe they are worth their meals.

Eugene felt conflicted. Ordinary mercenaries could not possibly travel half of such a distance in a single day. In addition, he realized why not anyone could hire beowulfs as mercenaries. It was because although they were as efficient as knights, they were significantly more expensive.

Its the land of Crawlmarine beyond the river, Master, Luke said. He appeared a little excited, perhaps because he had never imagined that he would be able to return to his hometown ever again.

Good. Can you lead the way from here on? Eugene asked.

Yes! Leave it to me! Luke answered. The geography wouldnt have changed significantly in just one or two years, so Luke took the lead and guided the group. About an hour after crossing the shallow river, Eugenes group climbed up a small hill and found about twenty troops traveling through the road under the hill.

Most of them were regular infantry, but there were three knights wearing chainmail and riding horses. One of the knights had a red flag flying behind his saddle.

Ah! Master! Thats the flag of the Crawlmarine territory! Luke shouted excitedly. He recognized the flag of the county he had served in the past. Just in time, the troops of the Crawlmarine territory spotted Eugenes group and started to talk among themselves.

The beowulf arrived at Eugenes side belatedly, and the eyes of the Crawlmarine soldiers naturally headed toward the beowulfs.

T-the creatures of destruction?!

The evil wolf bastards are here!

Uwaaaaaaah!

The soldiers fled like mad as soon as they saw the beowulfs.

Huh? What the fuck are those idiots doing? Galfredik said.

Eugene was as dumbfounded as Galfredik. How could soldiers of a county choose to flee immediately when an unknown, armed force was entering their territory?

Was it like this when you were here as well? Eugene asked while looking at Luke.

Luke responded with slight embarrassment, Yes. There were quite a few cowardly men.

Wolfgan and several of the beowulfs stepped forward without hiding their agitation.

Theyre not just cowardly. They are trash who dont even know about a warrior's pride!

Dark Lord, I told you, didnt I? We fought with our lives on the life for them, but they betrayed us and only gave us twenty cows!

But you made a mess in response, right? Eugene asked.

I did, but we should have stomped on them even more back then. If it wasnt for the grace of the previous count, we would have just utterly destroyed everything, Wolfgan answered.

Eugene had a hunch after hearing the words of the beowulfs. In addition, judging by how Lanslo was sighing and shaking his head, it seemed that Lanslo was also thinking of something along the lines.

Lanslo said, It probably wasnt a simple mess.

Im thinking the same thing. Hey, Wolfgan, Eugene answered before calling out.

Wolfgan sauntered over, and Eugene asked him, The mess that the Perseus Beowulfs created. Tell me in detail.

Wolfgan shrugged before responding as if it were nothing. We smashed about half of the countys castle, and maybe about fifty of the soldiers and knights. Ah, and we killed all of the cows and sheep in the castle-town, but we only took twenty cows. Were not as cowardly and cheap as they are.

The beowulfs proudly raised their heads in response to Wolfgans words. Certainly, their attitudes were far from cowardly and cheap. However

Eugene finally understood why the soldiers had fled without hesitation as if they had seen the devil itself when they saw the beowulfs.