The First Vampire

“Lyle, how many people are left in our family’s army right now?”

“Including the soldiers that Raymond has already brought to Ice Rock City, there are about six hundred left in our family’s army.”

“Six hundred … ” Colin rubbed his head, feeling somewhat gloomy.

All of this was thanks to his damned father, who had squandered most of the family’s army on the frontlines, leaving the Angler family with only this little left.

“We need to expand the army!” Colin gritted his teeth.

He was very clearheaded, in this dangerous alternate world, an army was his only foundation.

If he could have an army as terrifying as the Dark Cavalry, then the lord of the North Territory would have to consider Colin’s opinion.

Therefore, Colin handed over the daily affairs of the lord to the butler Emon, while his own main energy would be put into army building.

“Yes, my lord! How many soldiers do you need?”

Colin picked up his mug and took a sip. The coffee inside had cooled down, the bitter taste clearing his mind.

“First, fill the regular army up to one thousand people, and then form another one thousand-man reserve. I will give you one month, is that enough?”

“Yes!” The two brothers banged their chests with resounding thumps, loudly assuring him.

Colin nodded, believing that the two brothers should be able to complete this task well.

However, the infantry that Lyle and Raymond would recruit and train was not what Colin truly desired. He wanted cavalry, and for that, he would have to find others.

“Raymond, go check if Knight Shar is awake yet. If he is, have him come to see me immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Raymond left. Colin sat back behind his desk, motioned for Emon to come over, and began to deal with the mountain of public documents.

The territory’s affairs were complex and manifold. Thankfully, Emon was here; otherwise, Colin would have had his hands full for quite a while.

Knight Lyle was idly sitting off to the side.

But he was inherently restless. After finishing his malt beer, he started to scratch here and there, looking around restlessly.

Colin didn’t have the time to pay him any mind right now.

Who would have thought that not long after, Lyle would take the initiative to speak: “My lord, heh heh, I have a small request … ‘

“Speak.” Colin didn’t even lift his head.

“Heh heh.” Lyle rubbed his bald head, an uncharacteristic embarrassed look on his face, “I heard that one of your new fiefs includes a place called Ice Lake Town, is that right?”

“Yes. The previous lord there was Baron Billy, but that idiot participated in the lord’s rebellion and was executed by the duke. The duke then awarded his territory to me.”

“Ah, yes, that place.” Lyle rubbed his hands, hesitated then said, “You may not know, but actually, that place was once a fief of the Moben family … ‘

At this point, Colin put down his document, looked up at Lyle, a hint of scrutinv in his eves.

“I seem to remember that the Moben family’s fief was Cotton Town.”

“Yes, you are right, Cotton Town was indeed our family’s fief. But before we became lords of Cotton Town, our family’s territory was actually in Ice Lake Town.”

“That was a very long time ago, even Baron Angler wouldn’t know.”

“The real rise of the Moben family began in Ice Lake Town.”

Only then did the scrutinous look fade from Colin’s eyes, replaced with a smile:

“I see, your family has certainly had its ups and downs.”

Just a moment ago, Colin was almost convinced that Lyle was lying.

If Lyle hadn’t clarified, Colin may have had to reassess this seemingly simple-minded knight’s loyalty.

“Heh heh, yes.” Lyle couldn’t help rubbing his bald head again.

This made Colin wonder if the guy’s hair had been rubbed bald by himself …

At this point, Colin had figured out Lyle’s intention. This guy probably wanted him to keep Ice Lake Town for the Moben Family for future awarding after they had made a significant contribution.

But Colin suddenly wanted to tease this big goof.

“Do you want to go back and have a look?”

“Huh…” Lyle was taken aback, then quickly nodded, “Yes, yes! I do want to go back and take a look… After all, so many years have passed, I don’t know how it’s been developed…”

“You can go, of course, I’ll give you a few days off. However, after you get there, you should give the lord a greeting, to mind your manners.”

“Lo…Lord?” Lyle was stunned, “You, have you already ennobled Ice Lake Town to someone else?”

Colin rested his chin on his hand, looked at Lyle’s foolish appearance and found it amusing, “Yes, I’ve already found someone, but I haven’t officially ennobled yet.”

Lyle was so anxious that his face turned red: “Then, who did you ennoble Ice Lake town to?”

Sitting back in his chair, Colin grinned, felt that he had teased this big goof enough, so he answered truthfully: “Raymond Mormon.”

“Ra…Raymond!” Only then did Lyle realize that Colin was teasing him, and immediately he breathed a sigh of relief.

He stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and said solemnly, “Thank you for your grace towards the Moben family, we brothers will always remember this in our hearts!”

“So? You’re not angry that I gave the nobility to your brother, not you?”

“Not at all. I know the merits my brother has accumulated following you all this way. He truly deserves this reward!”

“That’s good, once you both help me train the first batch of soldiers, I will ennoble Raymond as the Baron of Ice Lake Town, and let you go back with him to have a look.”

“Thank you, my lord!”

In fact, Colin had always planned to ennoble Raymond as a baron.

After all, Raymond has been with him on the run, and indeed deserves a lot of credit.

And he’s extremely loyal.

If he were to ennoble a baron now, Raymond would be the only choice.

However, the decision to give Raymond Ice Lake Town as his fiefdom only came to Colin after he heard Lyle’s story about how it used to be the old fiefdom of the Moben family.

“Knock Knock Knock.”

“Come in.”

The door opened again and Raymond led Shar in.

“My Lord Viscount!”

Knight Shar saluted Colin respectfully, seemingly no different from before.

However, Colin felt there was now an almost intangible connection between the two, like a call of bloodline…

Moreover, albeit Shar, a knight, still holds a higher rank than Colin, Colin felt he could fully suppress him.

This was not a suppression of strength, but a suppression of bloodline!

Colin believed that Shar, a family member created through a complete initiation ceremony, can no longer be called a blood slave.

The term “bloodline” was more appropriate.

“Lyle, Raymond, you both go ahead, start executing the Army recruitment and training. ”

“Yes, my Lord Viscount.” The two brothers saluted and withdrew.

“Emon, you can leave too. For now, manage the daily affairs of the territory. If you’re unsure about anything, just consult me.”

“Yes, master.”

As Emon left, the study fell quiet.

Colin looked at Knight Shar, uncertain about how to greet his first bloodline.

Only then, Knight Shar had already kneeled down on one knee, placing his left hand on his chest, and said devoutly:

“My divine chosen one, thank you for bestowing your grace upon me!”