The First Vampire

Captured by a troll?

Then escaped and returned?

Colin didn’t believe a word of this narrative.

In his view, after Valra’s father died in battle, he probably fled back home alone, bringing back the news of the Baron’s death.

This sparked the greed of Count Uman, who wanted to plot Colin’s death and usurp the barony of the Angler family.

Now, Penny suddenly sends Colin such a generous gift through the Tulip Chamber of Commerce, what could be the intention behind it?

Was it a deliberate provocation?

Or is it because Colin has successfully inherited the baronage and gained the attention of Duke St. Hilde, making it impossible for her to take action and thus she started trying to curry favor with him?

Does Count Uman know about this?

No.

Colin shook his head, believing that Count Uman probably didn’t know his lover had sent Colin such a generous gift.

Because to Colin, such a move seemed incredibly unwise.

After all, Colin’s suspicion that Uman Clan attempted to assassinate him was just that—a suspicion. He had no proof.

And he hadn’t told anyone else.

Therefore, Ms. Penny’s action seemed to suggest that she was feeling guilty.

As for celebrating Colin’s promotion to viscount, or expressing regret for his father’s death, he thought those were merely pretexts.

Fifty thousand gold coins!

That was definitely not a small sum.

Did celebration or apology require so much money?

Given the cunning and crafty nature shown by Count Uman previously, Colin didn’t think the Count would take such a step.

Colin chuckled to himself. Although he had never met Count Uman’s lover, he had already labeled her in his heart as a ‘brainless beauty.’

“Ah! Ms. Penny has good intentions. Since that’s the case, I shall accept it,” Colin revealed a face of sorrow.

But his sorrow didn’t last long before it was overtaken by his instincts as a businessman: “However, can the armor be exchanged for gold coins?”

“Huh?” Oliver was ready to say some polite words, but now he doubted if there was something wrong with his ears.

“Isn’t this set of enchanted armor worth fifty thousand gold coins?” Colin asked naturally.

“Yes…”

“Then I don’t want the armor. Just give me the fifty thousand gold coins.”

Oliver held back for a long time and seeing that Colin was serious and not joking, he nodded reluctantly and said, “If you insist… I can help you exchange it for gold coins…”

Colin then burst into laughter and said: “Great, thank the kind Ms. Penny for me.”

Although it was impolite and disgraceful to exchange someone else’s gifts for gold coins right in front of them, Colin did not care at the moment.

The high cost of forming a cavalry made him wish he could sell himself. Now a silly woman has sent such a generous gift, he certainly could not let it go lightly.

Moreover, considering his “Undying” characteristic as a Blood Clan, he did not find much usefulness in the enchanted armor except for its flashy appearance.

Gold coins were more practical!

“Alright, I will definitely convey your message.” Oliver was speechless towards this unconventional Baron.

But he still took a deep breath and asked, “Sir Baron, would you like to hear about our loan conditions from the Tulip Chamber of Commerce?”

“Go ahead.” Having just received a large sum of fifty thousand gold coins, Colin was in a good mood.

If the Tulip Chamber of Commerce’s loan conditions were reasonable, he was ready to sign a contract with them for the sake of this generous gift.

After clearing his throat, Oliver solemnly stated, “Sir Baron, our Tulip Chamber of Commerce can provide you with a loan of up to three hundred thousand gold coins at an annual interest rate of eight percent, with a term of ten years. The collateral would be the tax income of the Baron’s Territory for the next ten years.”

Colin had previously asked his butler, Emon, in great detail about the loan-related information of this world.

When he heard the conditions of the Tulip Chamber of Commerce, he was quick to realize that they weren’t making unreasonable demands.

In fact, the three hundred thousand gold coins exceeded Colin’s initial expectation.

With such a huge sum, he could even equip a cavalry of one thousand men!

“Good! Mr. Oliver, you may go ahead and prepare the loan document, I am ready to sign it at any time!”

“Yes, Viscount, it’s a pleasure doing business with you!”

“We will certainly have a very enjoyable collaboration!” Colin strode towards Oliver and warmly shook his hand.

He smiled with sincere warmth.

As night fell, the forest in the suburbs of Ice Rock City became increasingly dangerous.

Many beasts would commence their hunting under the cover of the night.

Therefore, fire became the best defensive weapon for humans in the forest.

By the blazing bonfire, Knight Lyle was eating roasted meat and laughing heartily with Knight Shar.

There were also a dozen guards around them.

The hunting had gone smoothly without any strange people; Knight Lyle was quite satisfied.

After feasting and having a random chat, Knight Lyle bid farewell to Knight Shar and entered his own tent to rest.

The bonfire was not extinguished, and two guards were left on watch in the camp.

The night deepened, and the shy moon hid behind the clouds, making the forest even darker.

“Is there any movement?” asked one of the guards on duty, suddenly alerting his companion.

The nearly asleep companion reluctantly opened his sleepy eyes, surprised, “What’s up?

“I think I heard some movement over there.”

“Probably just a stray cat, attracted by the scent of leftover food.”

“I’ll go and check it out.”

One of them left the bonfire, walking in the direction of the sound.

The companion at the fire rubbed his eyes, stretched lazily and when he turned again, he found that his companion had disappeared.

Suddenly scared, he was about to shout when he found his mouth covered from behind.

“Bang!”

A heavy blow to the back of his head, and the guard also fell.

A tall, thin figure wearing a metal mask appeared behind the guard.

She went straight to Knight Lyle’s tent and slipped in.

Fast asleep, Knight Lyle suddenly felt some movement at his side. He sat up alertly, but found no one in front of him.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go back to sleep, there was a whooshing sound behind him. “Bang!”

Knight Lyle immediately passed out.

“Knight Lyle, Knight Lyle?”

Knight Lyle opened his eyes in a daze and saw Knight Shar looking at him anxiously.

He sat up immediately and cried out, “Damn! Someone sneaked into the camp last night!”

“That’s right, two of the on-duty guards were knocked unconscious too, Knight Lyle, are you okay?”

“I… hiss—I’ Lyle felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head, “It couldn’t be the same guy from last time, could it?”

“That mysterious knight from last time?” Shar had heard about Lyle’s previous encounter, and while sympathetic, he also looked puzzled, “Why does she keep coming after you?”

“How should I know?” Lyle grumbled unhappily.

It was then that he noticed the bandage on his wrist, he asked in confusion,

“What happened to my hand?”

“Oh, when we came in we noticed that your hand was cut, so we bandaged it for you.”

Knight Lyle moved his wrist and finding nothing serious, did not give it much thought.

He stood up, but suddenly felt dizzy, and growled angrily:

“We’re going back to the city immediately! This time I’ll bring the army to search! We will definitely find the damn female knight!”