Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Clash at the Border
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“Sir! Sir Galpredic! You need to come out here!”
As one mercenary burst into the tent making a huge fuss, Crema Galpredic—who’d been chatting idly with Partek and his crew—furrowed his brow.
“What? Did you idiots get caught stealing pigs from some village again?”
Just yesterday, a few drunken mercenaries had ignored orders to drink in moderation, raided a nearby village for pigs and chickens, and gotten thoroughly thrashed by Galpredic.
The mercenary frantically shook his head, recalling his three comrades who’d been beaten with clubs and chased off.
“No, no sir! It’s not that. The other knights are on the verge of blows right now…”
“Those bastards.”
He’d wondered why things had been quiet for a few days. Speak of the devil—looks like the knights had stirred up trouble again. Old habits die hard.
“Who’d they pick a fight with? Edrike’s troops? Or the merchants?”
“No sir. It’s… knights tied to Duke Gabriel, I think.”
“Hoo?”
Galpredic narrowed his eyes.
The camp they’d set up was on the border of second son Edrike’s territory—and a key pass into eldest son Gabriel’s lands.
Essendra and Edrike didn’t block each other’s knights and nobles from passing through their domains. They were at odds, sure, but outright barring passage risked full-scale war, and they had to consider each other’s face.
When it was too much hassle to go around, they’d pay a toll to cross. But from the looks of it, trouble had brewed between knights under Gabriel and the ones who’d come with Eugene.
‘Is this what the master meant? Perfect.’
Grinning as he recalled what Eugene had said before leaving, Galpredic stepped out of the tent.
* * *
“A wandering knight who hasn’t even been formally knighted dares block our path? We serve Duke Gabriel, rightful heirs to the prestige and honor of the Archibald Marquisate.”
“Domingo, my lord. They don’t even know their place.”
The knights—armed in gleaming high-end plate mail—spoke with haughty airs.
All three wore surcoats emblazoned with the Archibald Marquisate crest over their armor.
“Hmph! Since when does Duke Gabriel carry the Archibald honor? Duchess Essendra, as the eldest daughter, is the true representative of the Archibalds!”
“Well said!”
The freelance knights who’d set out with Eugene gave as good as they got.
They were already utterly devoted to Eugene and Essendra, unleashing a torrent of rhetoric at Gabriel’s knights.
“Such absurd nonsense to mislead us! Come on, sirs, let’s go. Listening to these fools will rot our ears.”
Not all knights are created equal.
Estate knights—especially those from a great noble house like the Archibald Marquisate—didn’t see freelancers as their peers. Slightly better than mercenaries, maybe?
Unhiding their sense of privilege, they scorned the freelancers and tried to cross the bridge.
“Khahaha! Cowards gonna coward! Hey, you running away?”
Gabriel’s knights whipped their heads around at the booming laughter.
One of them glared ferociously at Galpredic, who stood there casually with arms crossed.
“Sir! Did you just call us cowards?”
“What? Did I say something wrong? You were running out of arguments, weren’t you? That’s exactly what it looked like.”
“W-what?”
“Take it back this instant!”
Galpredic flashed a cold smile at the outraged knights from Gabriel.
“No thanks? And sirs, could you say that same nonsense to Duchess Essendra’s face? All that about Duke Gabriel carrying the Archibald legitimacy and honor. If you can repeat it to her, I’ll apologize right now.”
“……!”
Galpredic’s smile deepened at the knights’ flinch.
“What’s wrong? Can’t do it? Kek! What kind of knights waver like that? Not even merchants, and your convictions shake like leaves. Pathetic. Tsk tsk. Duke Gabriel must pity you. At least merchants bring in coin.”
“You!”
“Eeek!”
“You bastard! Take it back now!”
Outraged, Gabriel’s knights drew their longswords in unison.
The mercenaries startled by the flashing blue steel and the knights’ intimidating presence fell back in a cluster.
But Galpredic didn’t budge. Neither did the freelance knights—who’d picked the fight on Eugene’s covert orders—rallying behind him.
“What? Wanna go?”
“Of course! Bearing such an insult wouldn’t be knightly!”
“Insulting us wasn’t enough—you dare drag Duke Gabriel into it? We’ll cut out that wicked tongue!”
Gabriel’s knights seethed with fury.
But it wasn’t entirely genuine.
Just as Galpredic and the freelancers had baited them, these knights had come to the bridge with a specific goal.
‘No Yann Eugene?’
‘Then they’re rabble. Break the remaining knights’ morale, and we humiliate Duchess Essendra.’
Proven survivors in the chaotic peninsula, they thought shrewdly.
They couldn’t fully trust the rumors, but without that thorn Yann Eugene, they figured they could handle it.
It was a prime chance to dent Essendra’s prestige and send a strong message—and warning—to Edrike, who’d been playing both sides with endless calculations.
“So we’re doing this after all.”
“Hmph! Trying to back out now? You’re the coward, sir!”
Galpredic grinned at the knight turning the provocation back on him.
“No way. Just worried you might die, is all.”
“What?”
“Hey, don’t get so worked up. How about 3-on-3 fisticuffs? No blades? Deaths would be messy for everyone.”
“……!”
The three knights exchanged quick glances, eyes widening slightly.
Knights aren’t just proficient with spears and swords. They’re human weapons versed in every aspect of combat and battle.
A true knight could drop a handful of mercenaries barehanded on the battlefield without breaking a sweat.
Gabriel’s knights nodded promptly.
“Not bad. Let’s do it.”
“Heh heh! Wise choice.”
Crack!
Galpredic cracked his neck side to side with a laugh.
“Sir, let me go.”
“No. Leave it to me, Sir Galpredic.”
The freelancers vied to step up. Galpredic picked two with solid builds and murmured low.
“Sirs, just beat ’em half to death. Responsibility’s on me—no, on Sir Eugene.”
“No need for words.”
“We’ll crush their joints.”
Thrilled at the chance to show their true mettle, the two selected freelancers beamed at Galpredic.
“So who’s going first?”
Galpredic slapped his gauntleted fist into his palm with a grin as the opponents dismounted.
“Three on three! Let’s make it a brawl! Khahahaha!”
With a mad laugh, Galpredic charged like a rampaging boar.
* * *
Leaving behind a farewell ceremony heartfelt if not lavish, Eugene departed Edrike’s castle with five wagons in tow.
‘Edrike seemed clueless about the mage, at least.’
He was cautious enough to avoid dungeon raids that might provoke his sister Essendra.
No way he’d boldly send a warlock into one to turn an ogre undead.
‘Not Essendra either. Then maybe…’
Prime suspect: eldest son Gabriel.
It might’ve been the mage’s solo act, but a great noble’s demesne wasn’t some place anyone could waltz in and out of.
‘Should’ve questioned him before killing? Nah. Mages are too risky.’
Even Romari—the only mage he knew—was a bit dim and unreliable, but if she got serious with magic, he’d have to stay sharp.
Best to kill before she cast.
“Master, master. So what about that ogre undead? Leaving it be?”
Mirian whispered eagerly from his shoulder. Eugene glanced around and murmured back.
“No one but a dog or cow could reach that far in. Dungeon monsters respawn in 2-3 weeks anyway. Most can’t handle those bats.”
“True that. But! But! Why’d they explode and die? That bat king popped too after tasting your blood, right?”
“The aura they emitted was eerily like vampire blood. Probably similar base power—couldn’t withstand the stronger force and burst.”
“Whoa! Epic!”
Recalling the invisible aura the giant bats had unleashed, Eugene was certain.
Bloodsuckers, after all—the monsters shared uncanny vampire traits.
‘Anyway…’
Right after devouring the red mana stone from the giant bat, another memory fragment had flashed through his mind.
One woman, two men.
Dressed in exquisitely noble, elegant attire, they’d smiled radiantly at him.
Faces still blurry, but they were definitely smiling.
And those smiling lips on all three were blood-red.
‘Vampires. Possibly Origins like me.’
He sensed they knew the truth of his birth.
Because in the memory, he’d been looking up at them.
‘Need more red mana stones.’
His tattoos still numbered over ten.
When they all faded, he’d reclaim his lost memories—and his true ‘existence.’
“Sir knight, we’re almost at the estate border.”
Edrike’s workers groveled as they spoke. Eugene looked up.
Ahead lay a narrow bridge, guarded by Edrike’s estate soldiers.
But for some reason, the soldiers were clustered mid-bridge, gawking at something.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Ah! Sir knight!”
The soldiers startled at Eugene’s voice, bowing in a rush.
“A fight broke out at your troops’ camp, sir. Got boring, so we’re watching.”
“A fight?”
“Yes sir. Looks like knights—like you folks. They’re really going at it.”
“Really?”
Eugene activated his vampire senses, scanning the camp across the river on the hill.
“Hoo…”
Just as the soldier said: in the midst of a huge circle of mercenaries, a brawl raged.
One fighter stood out among the rest.
“Doing great.”
Eugene smirked at Galpredic astride one knight, relentlessly pounding the man’s helm with his fists.
* * *
“No word yet?”
“Yes, Duchess. If I may, perhaps forget Sir Eugene? Going alone into Duchess Edrike’s territory was mad enough—if he truly entered the dungeon, he can’t possibly return alive.”
Sir Gecko answered with pure loyalty. He truly pitied his lady for clinging to vain hopes.
But Essendra smiled coolly.
“Heh heh! You’re loyal, sir, but knowing one thing and not the other is a shame. Though that’s your charm too.”
“What do you mean…?”
“As you say, Yann Eugene’s not right in the head. Handing me the noble-killer was praiseworthy, but he should’ve stopped there.”
“Indeed. Then why permit the dungeon raid?”
“Because of Edrike…”
“Duchess! Duchess Essendra!”
Nobles from the castle came rushing in.
“Hm? What’s this?”
“T-that knight! Sir Eugene’s back!”
“……!”
Essendra nearly dropped the grape at her lips in shock.
But she soon frowned, snatching a fresh one from a slave’s quick offer.
“Tch! Thought he’d pull off something epic, but got chased out by that Edrike punk after all. Not bad, though. We can pressure Edrike with—”
“N-no, Duchess!”
“Huh? Then what?”
Essendra tilted her head. The nobles shouted, barely containing their excitement.
“Subjugation! Success! Sir Eugene returned with five wagons packed with monster byproducts!”
“And he captured Duke Gabriel’s knights too!”
The grape fell from Essendra’s lips again.
(To be continued)
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