“Kieeek! I knew I could count on you, Gal! Kihehehehehe!” Mirian screamed excitedly in a voice only audible to Eugene with her head poking out of his armor. Unlike his cold, detached appearance, Eugene agreed with the spirit’s words while inwardly giving a pleased smile. Galfredik had handled the soldiers of the Knights of Dawn without utilizing any of his vampiric powers except Fear. He had overpowered the lot, who had reacted instantly to his provocation and took care of all the unpredictable variables in an instant. Just as expected from his vassal, Galfredik instantly recognized why Eugene had killed the enemy’s knight commander without explanation.

‘Three hundred elite soldiers. It would have never been viable for me to obtain complete control over them as a foreigner.’

Moreover, judging by the fact that their commander had picked a fight during their initial encounter, there had been a good chance that the cavalries wouldn’t have obeyed him even with their spirits crushed. Perhaps they would have only been detrimental to resolving the monster uprising in the Hisain Countdom. As such, Eugene only had one option.

‘To cut off their head…’

If it was impossible to resolve the situation by subduing their spirit, it was better to boldly kill their commander instead. As such, Eugene killed Carmier, in a way that showcased the overwhelming difference between the two people’s skills. However, Carmier hadn’t been the only problem in the Knights of Dawn. As long as the other commanding knights were present, the group of cavalries could rebel. However, it wasn’t an option to simply kill those commanding knights. Even with full justification, killing all the knights would have only resulted in an irreversible conflict with the Hisain Countdom. As such, Eugene chose Galfredik.

His faithful vassal immediately recognized his will and ensured that other than serious injuries that would immobilize them for several months, there would be no deaths among the opposing knights. With their commanding knights all disabled, all that was left was to establish control over the remaining members of the Knights of Dawn.

‘How should I best work these little bastards?’

Although the cause and the process which led to this current situation were rather absurd and baffling, the results were somewhat satisfactory. As such, Eugene looked over the rest of the cavalry like a predator eyeing his food.

***

Eugene made sure to feed refined mana stones to the soldiers and knights Galfredik had crushed. Since there were more than twenty injured, the number of consumed refined mana stones was quite high. However, Eugene was generous with the superior-grade mana stones. The nobles praised his generosity, but Eugene had no need to be stingy. After all, Eugene was planning to recover all his losses from Count Hisain.

Even with superior-grade mana stones, the knights would still suffer the fate of being bedridden for quite a while. On the contrary, the twenty-or-so cavalrymen fared relatively better, since they had only suffered a few broken bones. They would clearly recover in just a few days.

“All of you are my slaves from now on. If anyone has any complaints, step forward,” Eugene said while looking around at the cavalrymen of the Knights of Dawn. He was accompanied by Galfredik and the beowulf warriors.

The cavalrymen were as quiet as mice. It was expected since they had just witnessed the utter and complete defeat of their captain, the other commanding knights, and their comrades at the hands of just two people. Moreover, Baron Blanc and the other foreign nobles were witnesses to the fight.

Of course, not every cavalryman was quiet because they were afraid. Most of them were either experienced mercenaries or wandering knights from lowly families. They were given horses, armor, and small manors when they settled in the Hisain Countdom. As such, they were extremely loyal to the count. And that was why they were troubled. The King of Maren had completely outclassed them, and they had lost their justification as well. If they mounted a resistance, it could very well cause their monarch a great deal of trouble. Moreover, today’s events would obviously spread as rumors, given that a large number of foreign nobles had witnessed everything. Their commanding knights had already defiled their honor twice, so any further disrespect or dishonorable actions would lead to an irreversible outcome.

“No objections, right? Then, all of you, dismount from your horses and show some proper courtesy to my master,” Galfredik stepped forward and said.

The cavalrymen turned their gazes toward Baron Blanc. The baron gave a long sigh of resignation, then nodded. The cavalrymen came down from their saddles, then saluted Eugene, who was still riding Silion.

“We greet Your Majesty!”

It was pretty obvious that half of them were reluctant; however, Eugene simply nodded in response to the fairly disciplined greeting.

“From this moment on, all of you will be under the command of Sir Edmund, Sir Rohime, and Sir Christian.”

The cavalrymen took on curious gazes at Eugene’s words. Edmund and the two vampire high lords came forward on their horses. The cavalrymen could not help but feel nervous and relieved when they saw the three men. All three were armed with exquisite equipment, and they radiated an intimidating aura.

“These three are my knights, and they were born in the Roman Empire. All of you should know well what will happen to disobedient slaves, so act accordingly,” Eugene continued.

“…!!!”

The gazes of the cavalrymen naturally headed to their commanders, who were moaning in pain while being loaded onto the carriages. In other words, if any of them acted out of line, they could very well suffer even after consuming superior-grade mana stones.

As soon as the King of Maren finished his words, the big, burly knight with the maces on his shoulder came forward with a vicious smile. It seemed as if the king’s words weren’t just an empty threat. The king and his men would surely stay true to their words.

“A-as you wish, Your Majesty!” One man took the lead and shouted.

“As you wish, Your Majesty!” The cavalrymen echoed his declaration.

Eugene nodded with satisfaction. He had entrusted Edmund, Rohime, and Christian with the command of the cavalry because the three were originally from the Roman Empire. Even if the relationship had faded slightly over time, the Countdom of Hisain had originally been an imperial power of the Roman Empire. The cavalrymen would then be less reluctant to be commanded by three knights from the Roman Empire compared to Galfredik, who had destroyed their three commanders.

“Sir Blanc,” Eugene called out.

“Yes… Yes?!” Yes, Your Majesty!” Baron Blanc was jolted awake from his blank gaze. He hurriedly turned his gaze toward Eugene. The proud commander of his nation’s knight order had been killed, and the other commanding knights had been completely destroyed as well. Furthermore, Prince Localope and the nobles of other countries had witnessed the knights’ dishonorable act. It was no wonder that Baron Blanc couldn’t keep his composure, and Baron Blanc was worried about what was to come.

‘There’s nothing I particularly dislike about him, and he understands how to converse. I should toss him his carrot.’

With such thoughts, Eugene continued, “Even though it’s the outcome of a fair match, wouldn’t it be rather outlandish for the elite soldiers of Hisain to continue being my slaves?”

“Y-you are absolutely right, Your Majesty. You are truly honorable.” Baron Blanc hurriedly agreed with his words, sensing that the atmosphere surrounding Eugene had subsided. How much money had been spent on organizing and maintaining the Knights of Dawn? Even though the Countdom of Hisain was powerful, it had still been quite burdensome for such a small nation to maintain a standing army composed of three hundred cavalrymen. However, with the current predicament, the ownership of the cavalry had been transferred over to Eugene. As such, Baron Blanc had to do whatever he could to ease Eugene’s mood.

“I will hand the slaves over to Lord Hisain after I take care of the monster uprising. Of course, that’s if Lord Hisain wishes for me to do so,” Eugene said.

“Of course. My lord will definitely—”

Eugene interrupted Baron Blanc’s words, “However…”

“…?!”

“They are still a knight order, right? I will have to ask for a ransom appropriate for knights for each of the slaves, wouldn’t you say so?” Eugene said.

“Ah…” Baron Blanc’s turned ghastly pale. The ransom of knights captured on the battlefield was enormous. Naturally, there were minute differences depending on their families, but the price of their horses, armor, and weapons would still have to be included in the retrieval. In the case of the Knights of Dawn, all of its members were masters of small lands with five or six resident serfs, but they were technically affiliates of the countdom, as it was a centralized nation. In other words, the countdom would be responsible for their ransom—all three hundred of them.

“T-t-that’s… I, I…” Baron Blanc stuttered. His thoughts became jumbled when he thought of how the miser, Count Hisain, would react after hearing about the numbers.

“Well, it would be better to talk about that after we take care of the monster uprising,” Eugene said.

“Y-yes, of course. Your Majesty is truly wise,” Baron Blanc groveled. He felt grateful to Eugene for giving him some respite. The unprecedented predicament had made him feel as though his soul would leave his body.

“Now, shall we go?”

“Let’s go!”

The expedition set off once more at Galfredik’s powerful roar.

***

The Hisain Countdom was a relatively small country. In addition, most of Eugene’s expedition was on horseback. As such, the expedition reached the Demeire region in just two days. Of course, the journey hadn’t been without problems. After all, the expedition had three hundred more members, and more than half of the expedition’s food had disappeared after feeding them for just two days. However, just as he had provided the injured knights with superior-graded mana stones, Eugene once again showcased his generosity and ordered that no gold coins should be spared to replenish their supplies. Even the ‘slaves’ were served meals mainly based on meat. Moreover, Eugene allowed the slaves to keep their armaments and chain of command, and he also wasn’t particularly coercive in how he behaved toward them.

What was happening? Why was the devilish acting so out of character?

The cavalrymen were confused. They had clearly seen how Eugene had dealt with Carmier and the other commanding knights. They couldn’t understand why the cruel and brutal vampire king was treating them like this. As such, they expressed their curiosity to Edmund and the two vampire high lords, as they felt relatively comfortable around the three men.

The three men gave responses as per Eugene’s instructions.

“Although our first encounter was ruined by the dishonorable attitudes of the knights, His Majesty considers the Countdom of Hisain to be a friend. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought his own troops to provide assistance to a place located so far away.”

“Ah…!”

“Your, or rather, our enemies, are the monsters. It is only natural to provide appropriate treatment to all of you, as you will have a big role to play in fighting against the monsters. His Majesty is an honorable knight, and he knows how to keep matters private and public separate. Sir Carmier and the other knights were only disciplined because they acted dishonorably without provocation.”

“…!”

“The only thing His Majesty is concerned about is how to eliminate the monsters disturbing and threatening the Hisain Countdom. He will naturally receive compensation, but where else could you possibly find a knight so faithful? Don’t you agree?”

The answers that came from Edmund, a complete Eugenophile, and the two vampires, who were absolutely obedient to Eugene, had a considerable impact on the cavalry. The cavalrymen didn’t know that Carmier had been instigated by Baron Popran, the count’s secretary. They had been enraged to see their captain die before their eyes. However, as they contemplated the issue over time, they wondered if it had really been necessary to act as they had done toward a foreign monarch, a knight who had come all this way to help their nation. Moreover, wasn’t the King of Maren treating them with great honor even after taking them as slaves? Combined with the words of the three men from the Roman Empire, whom they could relate better than the King of Maren…

“It was Sir Carmier’s fault.”

“There was no need to kill him, but I think he deserved it.”

“I knew Sir Carmier was too short-tempered and arrogant. I knew he would end up throwing himself into a hole one day…”

“It’s the same with the other sirs. They should have reacted honorably after seeing Sir Carmier act so shamefully.”

“Instead, they were so brazen, so they ended up being pummeled.”

The public opinion of Eugene was still rather dismal, but they began to place the responsibility of the event on Carmier and the other knights.

“Well! I don’t know. For now, let us stay faithful to our duties as Hisain’s knights.”

“That’s right. Regardless, we just need to kill those monsters real good, right? Even the king of a foreign country and his knights are working so hard for Hisain. We, the sword of Hisain, can’t just sit still and watch.”

“That’s right! I’m sure the count will take care of the issue with the king.”

Eugene could finally laugh with ease after hearing about the change in public opinion from Edmund and the two vampire high lords.

“We got ourselves a decent army without spending a single coin.”

Although it would only be temporary, he had been lucky to obtain three hundred well-trained cavalries under his command.

“Kieeeek! This is awesome! But, sir, aren’t we spending too much money on feeding those old men on horses? Even those dog heads are going through more food than usual. Are you okay with spending that much on meat? Isn’t it a bit wasteful?” Mirian said.

“The beowulfs? Let them eat more. Let them eat as much as they want,” Eugene responded.

“Kieeh? Why?” Mirian asked.

“We’re going to get it all back from Count Hisain anyway, so what’s the problem?” Eugene responded. To be exact, Eugene could receive an amount that could be several times the promised amount in the contract, on top of having an army under his command for free. And combined with the mana stones and by-products he would eventually obtain from the monsters…

“Ah! Ahh…! Kieeeh…” The spirit collapsed with an ecstatic smile. She looked as if she could already see the gold and silver practically floating in front of her eyes.