The First Vampire

“Prince Abbas?”

Colin frowned in confusion, not too familiar with this particular troll prince.

“Yes.” Prince Okamoto noticed Colin’s doubt and promptly explained, “He is the Eastern Prince of the Troll Empire and a member of the Volkin family, eligible for succession to the throne.

Currently, of the four imperial princes, I have been eliminated, and the Northern Prince Otto has long been on a single-hearted pursuit of the samurai’s way, clearly expressing his disinterest in the throne. Hence, be it competence or standing, Prince Abbas is the most likely candidate to become the next Emperor of the Troll Empire.”

Colin stroked his chin, his face showing no sign of emotion.

He keenly noted that Okamoto, while mentioning three of the princes, had deliberately omitted Prince Meruvi.

As this Prince Meruvi joined Modo the Second in leaving the royal city and attempted to assassinate Colin, Colin was saved by the teleported troops of the Dark Cavalry and the troll prisoners who had been turned into blood slaves, thereby narrowly avoiding the assassination.

However, Prince Meruvi proved to be ferocious, effectively slaughtering almost a hundred troll prisoners, who were handpicked professionals from an army of hundreds of thousands. Even so, he would have continued killing if not for the timely arrival of the Dark Cavalry.

Pity, this fierce prince was now riddled with arrows. Colin had earlier heard that the prince was still breathing, proving the tenacity of the life force of the fifth-order samurai.

Clearly, Okamoto was hoping Colin could help him eliminate this competing candidate.

Instead of giving a definite answer, Colin asked, “So why do you say that Prince Abbas will be a more suitable successor to the throne, one that I will be satisfied with?”

“Because, he is a resolute member of the ‘Peace Faction’, advocating for a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with the North Territory, rather than the current state of military confrontation.”

Seeing Colin’s disbelief, Prince Okamoto added, “Viscount, Prince Abbas has three lovers, all of them humans, and has fathered several half-troll illegitimate children.

However, he has failed to produce any offspring with his troll queen, maintaining a rather cold relationship with her.”

Colin couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. So, this Prince Abbas was a ‘human enthusiast’. This implied that he would indeed improve the relationship between the Troll Empire and the North Territory when he took power.

“Then how can I ensure that Prince Abbas successfully ascends to the throne?”

Prince Okamoto’s eyes sparkled as he replied with a sinister grin, “Viscount, as of now, Prince Abbas is already the most probable candidate for the throne within the Royal City.”

“Really?” Colin caught the underlying meaning in Prince Okamoto’s words.

By ‘the most probable candidate for the throne within the Royal City’, he implied that outside the city, there were candidates more suitable than Prince Abbas.

Certainly, the more suitable candidate for the throne was the very Prince Meruvi whom Okamoto had deliberately overlooked.

It seemed that within the upper ranks of the Trolls, the powers opposing the North Territory were still stronger than those favoring it.

“Alright, I’ll ensure that there won’t be any other more fitting candidates for the throne within the Royal City.”

“Thank you, Viscount!” Prince Okamoto gave another bow before continuing, “Viscount, I also bear the mission of proposing a truce on this trip.”

“Negotiations? Great. I’ve also been wanting to negotiate for a long time. It’s just that Modo the Second didn’t agree to the terms for the truce, or else things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.”

“What are your terms?”

Colin repeated the conditions he had previously proposed to Modo the Second.

Prince Okamoto listened, the corners of his mouth twitching as he thought – No wonder Modo the Second decided to kill you. These conditions for peace do not show any sincerity at all.

“Viscount, if I were to return with this agreement, I might be torn to shreds by the angry Troll nobles.”

Colin chuckled, fully aware that his previous conditions were indeed too harsh.

However, the condition was originally a plot to provoke Modo the Second and provoke him to act first, tarnishing the reputation of the trolls for destroying the negotiations. Colin knew that the trolls would never accept such terms.

“Alright then, tell me, what kind of peace terms you would be willing to accept?”

Following that, a fierce haggling took place between the two, and they finally reached a difficult agreement.

The revised peace agreement mainly contained four terms:

First, the Troll Empire pledged to maintain its current structure of a fifty thousand strong regular army and not to expand further;

Second, compensate the Angler family with five million gold coins for war damages;

Third, supply the Angler family with one hundred thousand robust young troll slaves over a period of five years;

Fourth, all caravans bearing clearance documents issued by Ice Rock City would receive a tariff relief policy in the Troll Empire.

Of course, in exchange, Colin would return the remains of Modo the Second and lead the Dark Cavalry out of the Troll Empire.

This peace agreement was undoubtedly a great humiliation for the Troll Empire.

However, they had no other choice.

Though the Dark Cavalry could not conquer the troll’s Royal City, if such a cavalry wreaked havoc in the Troll Empire, it would bring unbearable losses to the trolls.

Nevertheless, when Prince Okamoto brought this peace agreement back to the troll’s Royal City, it still sparked the anger of the troll nobles.

In Parliament Hall, the troll nobles were in an uproar, cursing Colin’s greed, while also condemning Okamoto’s weakness.

In the face of accusations, Prince Okamoto calmly said, “My Lords, if you knew how outrageous the peace terms Colin initially proposed to His Majesty Modo the Second were, you would understand that I have done my utmost to negotiate this agreement.”

With that, he recounted the original peace agreement.

Immediately, the voices of accusation became much softer.

Then, Prince Okamoto bowed to Prince Abbas and said, “Uncle Abbas, you are now the most virtuous and respected person in the Royal City, what is your opinion on this agreement?”

Prince Abbas was very satisfied with Okamoto’s respectful attitude, but still shook his head slightly, saying:

“Okamoto, I know you have done your best, but these terms are an insult to the Troll Empire, especially the first one about limiting expansion. If we agree to it, won’t the Empire lose any hope of rising again forever?”

“Uncle, I’ve tried and can’t make Viscount Angler give more concessions. However, if you talk to him, there might still be hope.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because Viscount Angler believes that you are now the most likely candidate to inherit the throne. If you talk to him personally, he might give you some face.”

Upon hearing this, Prince Abbas felt a bit flattered. Being recognized by the enemy could be considered an honor, after all.

However, he dare not meet Colin in person. He fears getting killed by Colin. Being one step away from the Troll throne, Prince Abbas would not risk it at this critical time.

“Cough cough, how about this, I will send an envoy on my behalf to meet Viscount Angler and secure a dignified peace agreement for the Troll Empire.”

Upon hearing this, the troll nobles immediately praised the Prince lavishly.

Prince Abbas accepted the compliments with a glowing face, seemingly already imagining himself sitting on the throne.