The First Vampire

Observing the stone carving in the coffin, Colin’s mind was filled with thousands of thoughts.

On the way here, the only ones who could swap out the Duke’s body without anyone realizing would be the Morrison family.

After all, they had stopped for a night in Floral City, where they opened the coffin and allowed the Morrison family to pay their respects.

Who would have thought that they would have had their eye on the Duke’s body?

What are they trying to do?

Colin naturally thought of the blood pool underneath the clock tower in Phoenix Butterfly Fort.

He had a feeling that the reason the Morrison family stole the Duke’s body might have something to do with that mysterious blood pool.

“…It may look a bit like a stone carving, but this is indeed the remains of the Duke.”

Colin stated firmly.

He had to be firm at this moment.

The fact that Duke St. Hilde’s remains were swapped wasn’t a big deal, but it would be a problem if Knight Nelson could use this excuse to deny the Duke’s death.

They could even use this to announce that Duke St. Hilde is just missing.

Death and disappearance are two completely different concepts.

With the Duke’s death, the command of the Golden Lion Legion naturally falls into the hands of his successor.

However, without confirming Duke St. Hilde’s death, without receiving orders from the Duke, Knight Nelson and others can completely ignore the orders of others and independently control the most elite military force of the St. Hilde family.

Knight Louis squinted his eyes, taking a careful look at the “remains” in the coffin for a long while before shaking his head with a smile.

“I’m sorry, Viscount Angler, I don’t mean to question your integrity, but this… this is clearly just an ordinary stone carving.”

Vera noticed the anomaly with the remains at this point, but seeing Colin insisting that it was the Duke’s body, she remained silent.

Scholar Doan also noticed the strangeness and realized that things were going in an unpredictable direction, and hurriedly spoke up.

“Knight Nelson, Knight Louis, Knight Kambening, the Duke died from an unknown forbidding spell turning him into stone at the wedding of Viscount Angler. This is a fact that all present witnessed.

If you have doubts, you can ask the present lords and nobles who attended the wedding. I believe they will give an affirmative answer.”

Scholar Doan’s words were a bit diplomatic, he didn’t directly confirm that the remains in the coffin were the Duke’s, but through the eyewitnesses at the wedding scene, he wanted to make a definitive confirmation of the news of the Duke’s death.

However, Knight Nelson remained unmoved and said indifferently, “As for what exactly happened on the night of Viscount Angler’s wedding, we will naturally send people to investigate.

But before that, please forgive us for being unable to contradict the orders given by the Duke previously and withdraw from Winterfell City.”

Colin’s doubts grew stronger, the attitude of Nelson and others was too strange.

Even if they were wary of Colin seizing power, they should wait until they safely withdraw to Winterfell City before discussing this.

Otherwise, when the Golden Lion Legion was surrounded by the armies of the Menam family and the Dawson family, what would be the point of fighting for this command?

“You certainly can take your time to verify the Duke’s death.” Colin solemnly persuaded, “But now, withdrawing to Winterfell City is an urgent matter, and it’s the only way to preserve the Golden Lion Legion. Even if the Duke were to come back to life, he would also issue the same order.”

Yet, Knight Nelson chuckled and shook his head, “Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?” Colin questioned, frowning.

Knight Louis also began laughing, explaining, “Viscount, you probably do not know, we already have strong help. Even if the Menam family and Dawson family attack together, who would win, we will only know after a battle.”

“Strong help?” Colin suddenly had a bad feeling.

The scholar Doan’s gaze flickered as if he had thought of a possibility.

“Yes.” Knight Nelson nodded, “A few days ago, Count Uman had surrendered to us with his army. Therefore, with the addition of the Uman Clan army, we might be able to fight a decisive battle with the Dwarfs!”

“Count Uman?” Colin squinted, a dangerous light flashing in his eyes, “You actually trust the words of such a traitor of the North Territory? What if he is pretending to surrender?”

“Impossible.” Knight Nelson said confidently, “We have received news that Fallen Eagle City has been reduced to ruins by the St. Sean Family, with such deep grudges, I don’t believe Count Uman would still willingly follow the St. Sean Family.”

Knight Louis immediately added, “Besides, Count Uman has brought along two skulls—Lawrence and Penny. If you are somewhat familiar with the St. Sean family, you would know that one is Mr. Ji’s son, and the other is his sister.”

“Viscount Angler, what do you think, is there still a chance for the Uman Clan and the St. Sean Family to make peace under these circumstances?”

Colin fell silent.

This was the first time he had learned that Lawrence was Mr Ji’s son. However, from the way Count Uman had beheaded him as a show of submission, it seemed to be true.

In that case, it seemed Count Uman really did break off the relationship with the St. Sean family.

This sort of blood feud had already exceeded the realm of a “Bitter Flesh Plan”. It was not something that simple trust could resolve.

If Zhou Yu burnt Huang Gai’s home, and Huang Gai killed Zhou Yu’s son and sister, even if their actions were part of a pre-arranged “fake play”, they would still suspect each other of really following through.

Moreover, Lawrence and Penny were the only links between the Uman Clan and the St. Sean Family. Now both had been slaughtered, what reason would Mr. Ji have to believe that Count Uman would stand on his side?

However, what confused Colin was, why would Mr. Ji, who was known for his cunning schemes, allow Count Uman to kill Lawrence and Penny and lead the Uman Clan army into the embrace of the St. Hilde family?

If Mr. Ji had already planned to sacrifice Fallen Eagle City, he should have guessed that Count Uman would sever ties with the St. Sean family because of this. Wouldn’t he have made preparations beforehand? He should at least not have allowed Count Uman to switch sides and bolster their enemies.

Just then, footsteps reverberated outside the tent.

Soon after, Count Uman swiftly walked in.

“I heard that the Duke was grievously injured, is this true?”

The moment he entered, Count Uman asked anxiously, then immediately saw the coffin positioned in the middle of the tent.

All of a sudden, Count Uman seemed to be struck by lightning, his entire person in a daze, as if he couldn’t accept the news of Duke St. Hilde’s death.

Colin rolled his eyes.

The man was overacting. It was so awkward.

“Duke!” The next moment, Count Uman rushed to the side of the coffin, but as soon as he saw the body inside, he froze.

“This… is this the Duke’s remains? Could there be a mistake? This is clearly just a regular stone statue.”

By this point, Colin was growing increasingly irritated. He was unable to fill the hole the Morrison Family had dug for him.

So, he completely ignored Count Uman’s questions, and instead stared straight into the eyes of Knight Nelson, speaking in a grave tone:

“Knight Nelson, so have you decided to fight a decisive battle against the dwarfs here?”

“Yes.” Knight Nelson nodded, answering succinctly and decisively.

Then, Colin turned to face Knight Louis.

Knight Louis lowered his head, avoiding Colin’s gaze. It seemed he had decided to support Knight Nelson’s decision.

Colin then swept his gaze over Knight Kambening, and only at that point did he realise that this Knight had not expressed any opinion thus far.

Although Knight Kambening was always silent and reticent, how could he remain uncommitted on such an important decision?

At that moment, Knight Kambening made no attempt to avoid Colin’s gaze. Instead, he faced Colin directly, as though trying to convey some information.

“Alright.” Colin suddenly laughed, “Then I wish you, Knight Nelson, a grand victory against the dwarfs, and may you restore order and peace to the North Territory!”

“Thank you, Viscount. If you could lead the Angler family’s army and join our cause, then…”

Before Knight Nelson could finish, Colin interrupted him:

“I still need to escort the Duke’s remains back to Winterfell City. Considering it is late already, we will stay here for the night and set out first thing in the morning.

As for the matter here at the Ben Liu River, I’ll leave that to you and Count Uman.”

After saying that, he signalled for Knight Logh to wheel the coffin out, and he himself left the tent with Vera at his side.

Leaving behind three knights and a count looking at each other in dismay.