The First Vampire

With Joyce’s furious shout, the banquet hall fell silent.

The eyes of the onlookers, who had been reveling in the spectacle, were instantly focused on Colin.

They all waited to see how this young but rapidly rising Viscount would handle the rage of the third son of the Duke.

Truth be told, Colin was not flustered at all.

Having been on the battlefield, he was accustomed to grand occasions. Moreover, compared to the overwhelming divine pressure of Duke St. Hilde, this Joyce was simply a little lion making empty threats.

Colin slightly bowed, his left hand on his chest, with a deliberately fearful look on his face: “Young Master Joyce, I wonder where I’ve overstepped. Please enlighten me.”

Joyce slowly walked towards Colin. His steps were deliberately slow as if he wanted to create a sense of oppression. However, his skinny frame didn’t carry much presence, and furthermore, Colin was taller than him by a considerable margin. From a lofty position, it was Colin who appeared to be in control.

“The most outrageous thing you’ve done…,” Joyce said coldly, “is not bringing sister Vera back home!”

Hmm?

Colin looked up in surprise, only to see Joyce’s face now sporting a triumphant grin.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw sister Vera. I miss her! How could you come to Lion Roar Castle without her?”

As he gazed at the seemingly innocent face in front of him, Colin suddenly found the third son of the Duke to be rather intriguing.

Using his natural advantage as a child, he asked a sharp question, striking a blow at Colin from the outset.

Although everyone knew the answer to that question and had tacitly sidestepped it.

As long as the Golden Lion Legion could not enter the city, it was certain that Vera wouldn’t walk into the trap.

That was something everyone understood.

But now, Joyce innocently blurting it out had left Colin in a bit of a conundrum.

Was this young lord genuinely clever, or was he coached by someone in advance?

“Young Master Joyce, the reason Vera didn’t enter the city is because she has a more important task outside the city,” Colin said.

“What task?” Joyce pressed on, as if waiting for Colin to give an unreliable excuse so that he could counter.

Colin’s mouth curved into a smile. He replied with righteous words, “To guard the remains of Duke St. Hilde!”

“Father…” Joyce faltered. His eyes showed a flash of panic, and he instinctively glanced back at the Butler Derrington.

Heh, it seems the butler taught him in advance.

Colin felt a relieved at this realization.

This would make things much easier.

Noticing he had slipped up, Joyce hastily turned back and continued his questioning, “Then why don’t you let my sister bring father’s remains into the city along with her?”

Colin’s smile broadened. He asked innocently, “Young Master Joyce, do you know how I entered the city?”

“How did you get in?” The young Joyce didn’t realize he was slowly being led into a trap, and he kept feeding the narrative with a confused face.

“When I was standing outside Winterfell City, the city gate only opened a tiny crack!” Colin gestured discontentedly: “A small gap that barely allowed one person to pass! Young Master Joyce, are you sure you want Duke St. Hilde’s coffin to enter the city in this manner?”

“I…” Joyce was flustered.

Seeing Joyce in a tight spot, Butler Derrington was about to intervene, but Colin cut him short:

“The remains of the former Lord of the North are outside the city. Shouldn’t you throw the city gates wide open, personally leading the St. Hilde family out of the city to welcome him?”

“I…” A cold sweat had broken out on Joyce’s forehead.

He didn’t expect his initial questioning of why Vera dared not enter the city to have flipped into Viscount Angler questioning why he dared not leave the city.

Butler Derrington sighed inwardly, knowing that he had underestimated this young viscount. There was no way Joyce could match him. So, the butler stepped forward to divert the conversation:

“Viscount Angler, I hear there’s a problem with the Duke’s remains outside the city?”

Colin chuckled and returned the question, “Mr. Butler, may I ask who you heard this from?”

“Knight Louis.” The butler threw out a name.

Following this, Knight Louis stepped forward. He first saluted Joyce, then with a provocative gaze turned towards Colin, his words sharp, he said:

“That’s right! I saw with my own eyes the coffin brought by Viscount Angler. But within it lay nothing more than an ordinary stone statue, not the remains of the Duke!”

At these words, a wave of gasps ran through the hall.

The crowd began whispering in hushed tones, speculation buzzing.

Colin, seemingly anticipating this, remained calm. He explained smoothly, “That’s because the Duke was turned to stone by a forbidden spell, which is why he appears to be a stone statue.”

“Hmph! Those are only your words!” Knight Louis appeared determined to confront Colin to the end.

“And what about this piece of evidence?” Colin smiled as he drew a scroll from his pocket, “This is the spell scroll of the forbidden spell. Shall we let everyone take a look at it?”

“What?” The crowd’s expressions changed drastically when they saw Colin taking out a spell scroll.

“How do you have the spell scroll of that forbidden spell?” Knight Louis shouted again.

Colin shrugged, pointing to the seemingly nonchalant Cusius Mage: “Of course, it is from the Vice-chairman of the Yevir Mage Council, Cusius Mage.”

Cusius helplessly looked towards Colin, as if blaming him for dragging him into this matter.

Colin chuckled while looking at Cusius, as if suggesting, ‘You wanted more people to share the damage, didn’t you? Now the truth is out there for everyone to see!’

This action was actually well thought through by Colin.

“Eyes of Judgement”, a forbidden spell targeted at Holy Knights, is terrifying indeed, but its conditions for release are equally strict.

Not to mention the requirement of a mage of the 6th level, it also requires a sacrifice of three hundred thousand lives.

Such a sacrifice is not easily achievable.

If it hadn’t been that Count Uman was leading soldiers in battle outside, and Fallen Eagle City was completely under the control of Penny and Mr. Ji, plus they used the opportunity of the Tulip Chamber of Commerce to rebuild the city to bury a lot of coal, Mr. Ji would never have been able to create the horrific scene of the city burning.

Just to burn down the city of Fallen Eagle, if there were no coal laid in advance, a forbidden spell probably needed to be cast.

Therefore, making the release conditions of “Eyes of Judgement” public will greatly weaken its deterrent effect.

After all, the big cities of the Empire of Glory are controlled by the nobles. Once they learn about this terrifying forbidden spell, they will definitely take precautions to prevent their cities from being sacrificed by the mages.

At this point, confronted with the intense scrutiny of the crowd, Cusius Mage had no choice but to nod:

“Yes, I did give the spell scroll of ‘Eyes of Judgement’ to Viscount Angler. I am very sorry for what happened in Fallen Eagle City, and I apologize to you all.

But believe me, the Yevir Mage Council deeply despises such inhumane forbidden spells. I assure you, such acts will never occur again!”

Looking at the righteous Cusius Mage, Colin was even more convinced that this guy was trying to clear his name through him.

Once the forbidden spell “Eyes of Judgement” was released, Mr. Ji would certainly become the sworn enemy of the knights. Cusius probably didn’t have much faith in Mr. Ji, so he hoped to distance himself from him through this method to avoid becoming a target of the knights.

Seeing that Cusius Mage had confirmed the authenticity of the scroll, the crowd began to demand to see the scroll in Colin’s hand.

Colin, of course, did not refuse, and immediately handed the scroll to the steward Derrington, asking him to circulate it among the people present.

The nobles here basically understand some Elf text. Although they may not comprehend the spell-casting principle of this forbidden spell and would definitely not be able to learn it, they would have no problem understanding its casting conditions and the consequences.

After everyone had a look, Colin glanced towards Viscount Walra and winked.

Viscount Walra immediately understood Colin’s meaning, stepped forward, and began to recount everything that had happened on the night when Fallen Eagle City was burned, using his own experiences.

With the testimony of this person who was involved, everyone was more convinced: Mr. Ji indeed sacrificed the city of Fallen Eagle, casting the “Eyes of Judgement” which resulted in petrification of Duke St. Hilde.

Moreover, since Viscount Walra is now recognized as the legitimate heir by Count Uman himself, his credibility has significantly increased. Especially in the eyes of the nobles, the Uman Clan stands against the Angler family. Walra would have no reason to speak for Colin.

Knight Louis realized by now he couldn’t persist on this issue any longer, he even started to doubt: Could that statue really be the remains of the Duke?

Seeing that the time was ripe, Colin was about to propose the alliance, but surprisingly, Count Uman took the initiative, stepping forward and called out:

“Gentlemen, Mr. Ji has sacrificed innocent residents of a city and heinously murdered Duke St. Hilde, this is utterly unforgivable! Facing such a common enemy of the Northern Territory, we should unite and bring him down together!”

Colin was startled, clearly not expecting Count Uman to steal his thunder like that. Nonetheless, he quickly chimed in:

“Exactly! In the face of the current situation, we should put aside our disputes and stick together! Mr. Joyce, please open the city gates and let the Golden Lion Legion escort the remains of the Duke into the city!”

“Into the city? Why into the city?” Before Joyce could respond, Count Uman stood out and objected, “Facing the incoming enemy, we should take active action instead of hiding in the city!

Viscount Angler, it is said that you repulsed the Pegasus Army in Silver Moon City and annihilated a hundred thousand of the Troll Army on the Sky Ice Plain. Are you willing to fight shoulder to shoulder with me now and counterattack the invading Dwarf Army outside the city?”

Damn if I’m willing to fight alongside you!

Colin quietly grumbled internally.

He knew Count Uman didn’t want the Golden Lion Legion to enter the city. However, he didn’t expect Uman would suggest to actively go outside the city to fight.

Colin didn’t know what Uman was planning, but he certainly didn’t want to fight alongside someone with ulterior motives.

But before he could even object, Archbishop Agani took the initiative to speak justly:

“Good! Not fearing danger and taking active actions. This is the responsibility of a lord of the Northern Territory!

I will personally pray for you, may the Lord of Glory watch over you, granting you bravery, wisdom and unbeatable faith!”

As soon as the beautiful archbishop opened her mouth, Colin realized he couldn’t propose the idea of defending from inside the city and waiting for their enemy to exhaust themselves.

Otherwise, wouldn’t he be admitting that he was not a qualified Lord of the North Territory?

His mind was racing, then he grinned while saying: “Good! Let the Lord of Glory witness us defeating the enemy together!”

Clap!

Colin and Count Uman, holding their right hands up, clapped them together heavily.

An emergency alliance had then been established.