How to Live As the Vampire Lord

Chapter 253

Its too easy

Eugene broke out laughing after seeing Galfredik treating Christian, a vampire high lord as if he were nothing more than a novice mercenary.

Come to think of it, Galfredik has gotten stronger.

The Fear Eugene felt from Galfredik while he was scolding Christian was much greater than when they had been together in Brantia. Since his relationship with Galfredik was that of a blood oath, it seemed that Galfredik had grown stronger in proportion to his own growth.

Thats right. Gals face has definitely grown stronger, Mirian commented.

Not his face, you brat. Stop talking nonsense and get inside, Eugene said.

Kieee The spirit squired around for a moment, but she eventually crawled back into her leather with a dejected expression.

Eugene saw the imperial knights and the crew unloading an object from a shipit was a gray sarcophagus embossed with a large sickle.

Is that it? Eugene asked.

Romari nodded immediately. Yes. The one who kidnapped me is inside. Theres going to be a few more coffins with vampire knights in them.

Hmm.

Eugene started walking toward the coffin, and the sailors hurriedly bowed with surprise when they saw him. They didnt know who he was exactly, but they could gauge Eugenes status just from his appearance and armor. However, the imperial knights were different. Although they knew exactly who Eugene was, they only lowered their heads slightly. They did not show proper courtesy and respect that a king deserved.

Bastards

Eugene smirked and disregarded their attitude. He had no time to waste on such insignificant pests. However, it appeared one person was bothered by their discourtesy.

You! Disrespectful fools! Christian rushed forward like the wind with a deafening roar. The imperial knights flinched when they saw that Christian was wearing plate armor crafted in the empires style and using the Roman Empires language.

He roared, How dare you take such an attitude knowing who this is! Even His Highness the Crown Prince shows courtesy in front of this esteemed figure!

...?!

The eyes of the imperial knights filled with shock. However, soon, the knight who appeared to be in charge stepped up with a frown and spoke solemnly, Show some honor, sir. Who are you to tell us, the imperial guards, what to do?

Who am I? Im Viscount Helmond, Christian responded.

!

The expressions of the imperial knights stiffened at once. They belonged to the imperial guards, but they werent completely free from the hierarchy of the empire. Moreover, Helmond was one of the two vampire clans that had been awarded titles and fiefdom by the imperial family.

I greet the viscount. Please forgive my impudence, The leader of the knights hurriedly placed his hand on his left chest and saluted. Helmond was a vampire monarch known to be a secret aide of the crown prince, the next absolute of the empire. A viscount with the same last name meant that he was one of the highest-ranking vampires serving under Helmond. The vampire noble standing in front of them was an existence the imperial nobles could not treat lightly, regardless of how high in rank they were.

Do not ask me for forgiveness, ask it from him instead. How dare you act impudently toward someone whom even the crown prince shows respect to Christian responded.

I-I apologize. I sincerely apologize. Please have mercy, the leader of the knights said.

Eugene answered with a grin, Its not like Im going to kill you or anything, so whats this about mercy?

The knights face turned pale. Eugene continued, Theres nothing else for you to do, right? Then get out of here.

He was openly disregarding them, but the imperial knights werent able to retort.

Well see about this. I wont leave you alone if you come to the empire.

I will definitely report this back to His Highness Voltaire.

The imperial knights climbed on their respective horses while gritting their teeth.

Oh, by the way, please say hello to the yellow bastard for me, Eugene said nonchalantly.

?

The imperial knights could not understand who the yellow bastard was.

He continued, I let him go since it was our first meeting, but he should be careful next time. Tell him that I wont let him off the hook if he fucks around again, even if he is the crown prince.

!!!

It was an outrageous statement incomparable to his previous words. The cheeks of the imperial knights twitched as immense fury consumed them. However, they werent idiots. The kings knight had completely destroyed Rohime, who was above them in status and strength, and one of the crown princes subordinates was showing outright submission toward Eugene. The knights did not know exactly what had happened between Crown Prince Voltaire and Marens king, but it appeared that the crown prince had ended up in an extremely disadvantageous state as a result.

The glorious golden blood

Lost?

The imperial knights felt goosebumps rising on their arms. They knew well the incredible mystery contained in the golden blood after serving members of the imperial family in close proximity. As such, they scurried away while feeling a great sense of defeat and dread.

Hmm. Didnt you scare them too much, Master? Theyll make sure to prepare thoroughly for the next time, Galfredik said.

Eugene answered calmly, I came to realize after facing the yellow bastard. Hes someone whos bound to keep coming unless I break every part of him thoroughly.

Hooh? Really? Galfredik asked.

And the funny thing is that theres really no real reason to do it. He just thinks hes the best, and its the same with the kidnapping. He ordered Romari to be kidnapped as a thoughtless, meaningless act. He just wanted to break my spirit before we met, and Romari happened to be a good target, Eugene said.

What? Really? Romaris eyes widened as if she was shocked. But then she stomped the ground while fuming. Who in the world does something like that? He thinks he can do everything he wants just because hes the crown prince?

Pffft! Of course, he can. Hes the crown prince. Hes in a class all by himself, even among the nobles. Galfredik pointed out.

Oh, right, but Sir Galfredik, you know you sound like a snob right now, right? Romari said.

Really? Id rather be a snob than someone who got coincidentally kidnapped, Galfredik said.

Such a turnoff Romari muttered. Eugene left the two to their bickering and turned around. Boats continued to come and go from the large ship floating on the sea. Once the coffins of the vampire knights were taken to the beach as well, the figures Eugene was waiting for finally came by boats.

Kwuooooooooo! Is this the atmosphere of the continent?

It smells good! The meat here has to be delicious since it smells so nice!

We can eat some proper meat now, right?

Eugene couldnt help but crack a smile when he heard the beowulfs excitedly talking about meat immediately after arriving. The other ace up his sleeve, along with the elven knights, had arrived to participate in the great monster war.

***

Its all finished. If you need more, you can procure it from Moffern. Im sure they are waiting for your expedition as well, the governor said with a bright smile, although he looked haggard after preparing for the expedition for the past three days. Nine delegations had requested Maren for help, and the down payment from the delegations was close to the dukedoms quarterly budget. Of course, the governor and the parliament werent only excited about the money. Having more money didnt hurt, but there were things in the world money simply could not buy. Fortunately, this expedition would bring such valuable things to Maren.

I sincerely hope that the name and honor of Your Majesty and the dukedom will become known over the entire world after this expedition.

If Eugenes expedition was successful, Maren could overturn its label as a new nation built and managed by money and money alone.

Have you finished talking with the delegations? Eugene asked.

Yes. The situation described by Your Majestys agent is being told by foreign merchants who have recently entered the port. It caused an uproar with the delegations, the governor answered. He wasnt necessarily overjoyed by their misfortune[1], but his happiness was inevitable. He felt pleasure seeing the representatives of the delegations rushing to ask him for contracts after belatedly realizing the truthfulness of Eugenes words.

I see. They all want the same thing? Eugene asked.

The governor responded, Even the countries and territories that are not experiencing a growth in monsters are asking for contracts as well. As you know, its a no-brainer that the monsters will spread over time.

And that was the scariest part of the current predicament. Unlike natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes, a catastrophe of monsters wasnt limited to just one area. The monsters pushed out of conflict zones would spread in all directions without caring for borders.

Weiss, Terra, and Lobel? Eugene asked, recalling the nobles of the three powerful nations who confidently left their seats without even fully listening to his suggestion.

The governor answered, They have not come to see me yet, but news has it that they are delaying their return dates and setting up a plan at their accommodations.

Why? They were so confident, right? I heard that they have tens of thousands of troops available to be mobilized, Eugene said.

That is true. However, it will be more advantageous for them as delegations to get whatever they can before their return. Their countries will make plans anyway, so they probably dont want to return without any results, the governor answered.

He continued with an insidious smile. It appeared Eugenes smile was contagious. If the countries that made contracts with our dukedom are seeing improvements, while the Kingdom of Weiss, the Republic of Terra, and the Kingdom of Lobel arent getting any better, who do you think will be held accountable?

They will ask the delegations what they were doing when everyone else was busily signing their contract. Eugene pointed out.

Haha! Exactly! However, they had already displayed their attitude toward Your Majesty, and thats why they are teetering around in their little corners. On that note, Your Majesty, what do you think about this? Why dont you give those idiots a chance? the governor said. Smaller countries were important, but it was much more advantageous to establish solid international relationships with larger, more powerful countries. As such, the governor desired to form contracts with the three nations as well.

However, Eugenes intent was more important in the matter.

Well, thats not a bad idea, Eugene said.

Ah! Then I will get on it immediately and the governor started.

So, I will leave on the expedition right away, Eugene interrupted him.

What? Are you suggesting we dont form contracts with the three? The governor blinked with a dazed expression. He had been cheering inwardly.

Eugene had faced and dealt with numerous nobles and merchants as he became stronger after removing his tattoos. As such, his wit and insidiousness had also increased in proportion to his strength.

He wagged his fingers. Tsk, tsk. Think about it. If I leave with the expedition, who do you think will feel rushed?

Ah! Ah! The governors eyes widened in realization.

Just what I would expect from Your Majesty! I will make sure that the parliament and myself take our time deliberating before we sign the contracts with the three idiots. Hahaha!

There was a limited supplyonly one, in factbut the demand was overwhelming. It was only natural for those late to the party to pay the highest price.

Hahahaha!

As such, the governor of the nation built on money could laugh carefreely.

***

The elven knights and the beowulf warriors boarded the large galley one by one. The warriors were armed to the teeth with weapons and armor created by the best craftsmen in Maren, who could be considered one of the best on the entire continent. They were filled with energy. In particular, the beowulf warriors had received new sets of plate coats. The specially-made armors were layered with troll hide, which was known to be resilient and tough, and were made with metal plates thicker than regular plate armor. The only problem was that the armor weighed twice as much as a set of plate armor, but it didnt pose any issues for the beowulf warriors.

Kuhehehehe!

Good! Good!

The expressions of the beowulf warriors were bright, perhaps because they were given strong armor any weapons would not easily pierce.

As expected, the continent has the best meat dishes!

We must keep the Brantians out of the kitchen! From now on, Im going to kill any Brantians who hold kitchen knives!

The reality of the situation was slightly different, but the warriors were energetic nonetheless.

Sir Eugene. Sir Eugene, Romari hurried toward Eugene while calling out. He was standing on deck after being the first to board the ship.

What is it? Are you not feeling sick? Eugene asked.

Ah! I had some time left, so I made some medicine and took it. But thats not the important thing, Romari responded.

She looked around before lowering her voice, That magical tool you gave me before.

The skull incense burner? Eugene asked.

Yes, yes.

Eugene had given Romari the incense burner he had taken from Christian. And he had also given her the incense burner from the black wizard in the Carls Baggins Peninsula. She had been researching it all along.

What about it? Eugene asked.

I found out how to use it, Romari answered.

! Eugene took on a shocked expression.

Romaris eyes, which had heavy bags under them, curled into crescents as she whispered, You know that undead twin-headed ogre you killed before? I think I can move it with the incense burner you gave me.

1. schadenfreude, basically. Fun fact, apparently there is an English equivalent for the word epicaricacy. I considered using it, but thought better of it, as Im sure theres only half a person among the readers who know what that means.