Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Paranan Village
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“Master, it looks like we're almost done?”
At Crema Galpredic's words, Eugene looked toward the slaves loading the spoils onto the wagons.
The wagons, covered on the sides and top, had increased to five in just two days.
“Glad, you done?”
“Yes! Lord Eugene! We just need to roughly clean up the bodies.”
“Good. Romari.”
“Yup.”
Romari, who had been standing quietly watching Eugene's mood, quickly stepped forward.
She hadn't been much help in the battles so far, but her presence shone in other ways.
“…… …… …… ……!”
As a low chant of ancient rhythmic incantation spread, a faint light enveloped Romari's staff.
The slaves' eyes filled with subtle fear.
For them—former mercenaries or criminals until recently—the terror of traveling with a wizard alongside Eugene could only grow.
‘Where the hell did this knight come from?’
‘Magic! It's the power of magic. That's why he's so strong.’
In truth, it was because Eugene and Galpredic were vampires, but the slaves attributed their superhuman strength—beyond human limits—to magic.
Whoosh!
As Romari finished her spell, the piled-up bodies were engulfed in dark red flames.
Surprisingly, the bloodstains vanished, the twisted faces turned serene, and they slowly crumbled to ash, scattering away.
Simply burying or burning bodies carried the risk of them turning into undead.
But purification by an advanced mage or high priest like this allowed the souls to pass peacefully without corruption.
Those who had witnessed it before wore tense expressions, but the survivors of the recently smashed “Bernard Brothers” gaped in shock.
“Whew…….”
Romari, having cleanly purified the bodies with the Pilgrim Shadow school's unique rite, let out a satisfied breath.
Flutter!
With a timely gust of wind lifting the hem of her robe, Romari looked every bit the mysterious and elegant mage from a storybook.
Everyone gazed at her with eyes mixed of fear and awe.
Everyone except the two vampire knights and one spirit.
“Kiek! Look at you, you lowly thing, showing off!”
“At least you're useful for disposing of bodies.”
“Keek! It'll change once we hit the ruins. Still not worth your keep, though.”
“……I'll work harder and prove my worth.”
The mage, who had just shown off her abilities for the first time in ages, sank back into gloom.
And in proportion to Romari's gloom, the new slaves' fear of the two knights—who treated such a formidable mage so casually—grew even greater.
* * *
The villagers of Paranan went into an uproar at the sight of over fifty armed men.
At first, they thought it was the Bernard Brothers returning—the ones using the village as their base.
But the moment they saw the two knights in suffocating black plate mail, mounted on warhorses, they realized something was off.
“Who's the village chief?”
“……!”
The villagers froze at Eugene's question after removing his helmet, lost in his dazzling beauty that seemed inhuman.
“Lord Eugene is asking! Who's the chief!?”
As Partek stepped forward with a menacing glare, a balding man in his mid-forties finally bowed his head and came forward.
“I-it's me, my lord knight! Please show mercy!”
“We're not here to slaughter anyone, so relax. Anyway, these bastards were occupying the village, right?”
“Huh? Oh!?”
The chief and villagers' eyes widened at what Eugene pointed to.
Just hours ago, the bandits who had lorded over them were now huddled nervously in their undergarments.
Moreover, their hairy giant leader was nowhere to be seen.
‘They got smashed by this knight!’
The chief, grasping the situation, hurriedly replied.
“Yes, my lord knight! Those vile scum tormented and plundered us!”
“That bald bastard…….”
At the chief's choked cry, the eyes of those captured last as slaves turned fierce.
In that instant, Eugene's hand blurred.
Thwack!
The muttering cur toppled backward with a rondel dagger embedded in his forehead.
“……!”
No one had even seen him draw and throw it.
“Here you go, Master.”
Eugene sheathed the rondel dagger Mark handed back after cleaning it and spoke to the chief.
“No need to worry. Anyone pulling stupid stunts from now on will end up the same.”
“Th-thank you, my lord knight!”
“May blessings be with you, my lord!”
“You are our true savior!”
The chief and villagers, instantly seeing which way the power tilted, prostrated themselves on the spot.
“……?”
Eugene blinked in slight confusion at the sudden reaction.
But this was the survival tactic of Paranan's residents, honed through years of hardship.
And unbeknownst to Eugene, such villages were common across the Karsbaegin Peninsula.
* * *
Paranan Village was fairly large.
With around three hundred residents, and the Bernard Brothers having taken over only recently, the village's state wasn't too bad.
Thus, Eugene had no trouble feeding the slaves.
And unlike the Bernard Brothers, he didn't plunder—he even paid properly.
“Thank you so much! You are a true knight, Lord Eugene!”
“Enough.”
Eugene waved off the teary-eyed, emotional chief.
It was just that the chief's overreactions to his every word and action were getting annoying.
But the villagers took it as humility.
‘To think a true knight like this still remains on the peninsula!’
‘Isn't he far better than the late Lord Marcelo?’
The villagers' gazes toward Eugene shifted once more.
He was incomparable to the Bernard Brothers' gang, who had played lord until today, and even more merciful and knightly than the village overseer they had killed.
‘Let's make a go of it!’
‘Just trust me.’
After swiftly exchanging knowing glances with the villagers, the chief politely poured wine into Eugene's cup and cautiously asked.
“By the way, Lord Eugene. If I may be so bold, what do you plan to do about the ones who fled?”
He meant the Bernard Brothers' remnants who had bolted upon seeing Eugene's group.
But Eugene had only stopped here to procure food for the slaves.
“Why would I need to worry about that?”
“Huh? You're not here to protect us?”
“What?”
“……?”
Eugene frowned at the unexpected words, and the chief and villagers tilted their heads.
“Krahaha! Looks like these fools want to make our Lord Eugene the village lord!”
“Yes, yes! Exactly. We knew you'd say that.”
The chief enthusiastically agreed with Galpredic's booming laugh.
Yet Eugene still couldn't follow what they were saying.
Village lord on his first visit? What nonsense was this?
“I heard Karsbaegin was a mess, but this is real. Hey, chief. Before those Bernard assholes, who was the lord or overseer here?”
As Galpredic stepped in, the chief and villagers answered in unison.
“Lord Marcelo, a distant relative of Lord Archibald.”
“Not the lord, but the overseer. Our village belongs to Lord Bemos, the youngest son of Lord Archibald, and Lord Marcelo governed in his stead.”
“Hm. And is this Lord Bemos dead?”
“Yes. But Lord Marcelo was an honorable and faithful knight, so he continued his duties. Until those bandit scum…….”
Unless one was an outlier like Eugene or Galpredic, even a knight couldn't stand against numbers.
A single knight with the village militia might struggle against professional killers and mercenaries.
“This village's ownership is a bit tangled.”
“Ownership?”
As Eugene echoed, Galpredic smacked his lips.
“In practice, whoever takes it owns it. But if a proper noble comes sniffing around later, it could be trouble. Unless we swallow the whole area.”
“Hmm.”
Eugene, clueless about such matters, narrowed his eyes.
Galpredic grinned and continued.
“You don't know the saying? Rob a shop, you're a bandit. Rob a village, you're a lord.”
“First time hearing it.”
“Heh. Figures. Holding one village and playing lord gets you sorted eventually, but two or three? No one touches you easily.”
“Is it because your forces grow that much?”
“Exactly. Then the king or some noble playing peninsula overlord will want to negotiate. Grant a title or recognize autonomy. Either way, you become a real lord.”
“……!”
Eugene couldn't help but jolt at the unforeseen revelation.
Lordship—something he'd never considered.
But from the villagers' attitudes and Galpredic's words, he grasped the situation.
“Chief. How many villages nearby? Excluding Beogalan Barony.”
“Half a day's travel has Mintan Village. A couple small hamlets too, but…….”
“Lord Eugene, may I speak?”
Veron stepped forward cautiously.
“Go ahead.”
From two days of fighting together, Veron and his men proved as capable as Partek's group.
Since the first battle, they'd obeyed his orders absolutely and shared freely about the peninsula's situation.
Thus, Veron and his mercenaries had become quite useful to Eugene.
“The battles you've fought so far total four, Lord Eugene. Excluding the initial Kallou Bandits, all the groups you smashed held sway in the area. So…….”
Veron's point was simple.
“Hoh! So the lands around our path are all ownerless now?”
“Precisely. Caves without trolls, mountains without tigers.”
Galpredic glanced at Eugene amid Veron's slightly excited tone.
“This is a golden opportunity. Three villages and five or six hamlets. Two or three times Tiwin's size.”
“My lord! Let's do it! Become a lord! A real one!”
The spirit of desire, stuffed with stolen wine and cheese, bounced excitedly at the prospect.
“Hmm.”
Eugene pondered briefly.
He'd come to the Karsbaegin Peninsula only to raid ruins, yet things were twisting oddly.
“Uh……”
As Eugene opened his mouth, Partek burst through the door.
“Lord Eugene! You need to see this! Some of the slaves…….”
Before Partek finished, Eugene and Galpredic bolted out like beasts.
Stunned by their instantaneous, agile response, the chief and villagers soon snapped to and hurried after.
* * *
“Master!”
“Lord Eugene! My men and I subdued those ungrateful beasts worse than animals!”
Luke, covered head to toe in blood, followed by Rudrian—once called Damus's silver flash—kneeling on one knee.
After inspecting the dozen mangled corpses, Galpredic growled fiercely.
“Mostly Bernard Brothers. These dogs were trying to escape. Slave Nos. 2 and 3 are dead.”
“A few cut their ropes with hidden metal bits in their mouths. Four or five rushed at once, and Ried and Pen, who were bringing food…… Master! Punish me! It's all my fault!”
Wracked with guilt for disappointing his master, Mark knelt.
But Eugene silently passed him to check the first two slaves he'd taken in.
Ried's throat and Pen's left eye were pierced—fatal wounds.
They hadn't helped much in combat, but they'd been diligent.
“Is that all? The rest?”
At Eugene's simmering rage, Rudrian quickly answered.
“T-two escaped. I tried to catch them, but they mounted horses and got away.”
“Then they don't have many places to run.”
Galpredic, thoroughly pissed, stroked his chin.
“Likely headed to a pre-set hideout or nearby village. Probably to link up with the remnants who fled when we arrived.”
“Doesn't matter where they ran.”
Eugene said coldly, lifting his head.
The sun was already painting the western sky orange.
Soon, darkness would fall, time for a vampire's true prowess.
Tweet!
At Eugene's whistle, Silion raced from the stable like the wind.
“Galpredic, hold the village. I won't be back before dawn.”
Tonight would be long and brutal.
(To be continued)
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