The First Vampire

The sun set in the west while the Uman Clan army began to set up camp.

Bonfires sprouted up, banishing the darkness that was gradually enveloping the earth.

After nightfall, a convoy bearing the mark of the Tulip Chamber of Commerce slowly entered the camp.

Penny lifted the curtain of the carriage and asked the knight who came to meet her, “Where is the Count?”

The knight slightly bowed and replied, “Miss Penny, please follow me.”

Penny stepped down from the carriage and was led by the knight to a tent at the center of the camp.

“Why are you here?” Count Uman was somewhat taken aback to see Penny walk in.

Penny smiled enchantingly, “What? You’re not happy to see me?”

“Not at all. I am just always worried when you’re not holding the fort in Fallen Eagle City.”

Penny moved closer and gently served Count Uman a cup of tea, saying, “Don’t worry, there are still thirty thousand troops in the city. Besides, Walra is also there.”

Count Uman nodded, “Hmm, how is Walra’s injury?”

“I’ve personally seen to it, it’s nothing major. He just needs some rest.”

As they were talking, Viscount Lawrence strode in eagerly, “Father, I heard Mother has arrived?”

Count Uman glared at his son and scolded, “Keep your voice down!”

Viscount Lawrence laughed off nonchalantly, “Don’t worry, Father. I’ve had the guards outside the tent dismissed. No one will hear.”

Penny looked at her son indulgently and laughed, “It won’t be long before Lawrence can openly call me Mother.”

Count Uman appeared helpless but did not want to go against his wife’s wishes, so he ambiguously nodded his head, then asked, “What brought you to the camp to see me?”

Penny gave the Count a look and chastised, “Can’t I visit you if I have nothing to do?”

As she said this, she picked up the tea she had just poured and handed it to Count Uman.

Count Uman took the tea cup but did not drink immediately. Instead, he laughed at his lover, “Of course not. But given your nature, if you didn’t have any pressing business, you probably wouldn’t have made the effort to come all this way to see me.”

Penny cast the Count a sidelong glance. Upon seeing his calm demeanor, she said, “Indeed, there is some news. I just learned the specifics of the peace agreement that Viscount Angler signed with the Troll Empire.”

With that, she handed a letter to the Count, “According to this agreement, given time, the Angler Family will inevitably rise to prominence and become the most powerful force in the northeastern part of the North Territory. Therefore, my brother suggests that you plot earlier and nip the threat in the bud.”

Count Uman took the letter and started reading with furrowed brows. The more he read, the more alarmed he felt.

Just how badly did the Trolls lose?

To sign such a peace agreement?

Before he could fully digest this information, Penny spoke again, revealing even more shocking news, “Oh, yes, there’s one more thing. Duke St. Hilde is dead.”

“What? Who is dead?”

Count Uman’s eyes widened as he incredulously stared at his lover.

Just then, a silver light streaked towards Count Uman’s back.

Clack!

However, Count Uman seemed to have eyes in the back of his head as he managed to catch the assassin’s wrist in a flash.

The tent quieted immediately. The only sound was the letter slowly falling and landing in the bonfire, setting off a burst of flame.

Count Uman slowly turned around, a complicated look on his face as he incredulously asked in a pained voice, “Lawrence… you wanted to kill me?”

Viscount Lawrence, apparently not expecting his father to be so alert under the circumstances, did not know how to react for a moment.

“Are you, my son?” Count Uman asked shakily.

At the same time, he overturned the teacup in his left hand, letting its contents drip onto the ground, emitting a sizzling noise and even some faint smoke.

The water was poisoned.

Count Uman turned to Penny again, but instead of questioning her about the poison, he again asked. “Is he, my son?”

Penny’s lips trembled rapidly, but not to answer Count Uman’s question, she was quickly reciting Elf Script Spells.

She was also a mage.

“You’re seeking death!”

Count Uman roared, turned around, and kicked Lawrence away. At the same time, he rushed towards Penny and throttled her throat, stopping her spellcasting.

Viscount Lawrence fell to the ground, coughed up blood, and struggled to get up. He was about to draw his sword and charge again, but he heard Penny squeezed out a word:

“Go!”

“Mother…” Viscount Lawrence looked conflicted.

“Scram!” Count Uman turned back and roared.

Viscount Lawrence fled the scene, unable to bear Count Uman’s terrifying countenance.

“Is he my son?” Count Uman was still hung up on this question, as if he would not let it go until he got the answer.

Penny patted Count Uman’s steel-like grip on her throat, signalling that she could not answer like this.

Only then did Count Uman let go, his face devoid of emotion as he stared at his lover.

Penny took a few frantic breaths, catching her breath after a while.

She didn’t appear panicked. She looked coldly at Count Uman and slowly said one word:

“No.”

“Whore!” The count’s face twisted in an instant, his eyes as if he wanted to devour the woman before him alive, “He is your illicit offspring with your brother, isn’t he? Isn’t he!”

Penny didn’t answer, which was taken as confirmation.

Count Uman reached out again to choke Penny’s throat, as if he really wanted to strangle her to death.

Penny’s eyes were fixed on Count Uman, not begging for mercy; instead, there was a defiant provocation in her eyes.

As if saying — try and choke me to death?

After a standoff, Count Uman finally let go.

The arrogant look in Penny’s eyes intensified as she massaged her red and sore neck, while in a bewitching tone, she said,

“Talos Uman, you should be honoured to become a partner of the St. Sean family. If you let me go, once my brother becomes the new Lord of the North Territory, you will be the greatest contributor.”

Count Uman stared blankly at Penny, and after a long time, he asked in a hoarse voice, “Thirty years of marriage, and it turns out you have no feelings for me at all.”

A hint of disdain flashed in Penny’s eyes, “Alright, Count, when did you become so sentimental?”

“So why do you want to kill me this time? Has your brother already decided to take Lawrence as his foster son?”

“Yes, that’s one reason. You have no objection, do you?” Penny watched Count Uman’s expression, trying to read something from it, “Didn’t you always feel indebted to Walra? Once Lawrence changes his surname, you can officially make Walra the Count’s heir. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

Count Uman’s mouth twitched, forcing out a mocking smile, “Are there other reasons?”

Penny hesitated for a moment.

But facing Uman’s sharp gaze, and considering that he would soon get the news anyway, she said candidly,

“Yes, there is another reason. I just told you that Duke St. Hilde is dead, that wasn’t a lie to distract you.”

“So, Duke St. Hilde is really dead?” Count Uman’s eyes seemed to soften a bit, even revealing a trace of barely concealed joy.

“Yes.” Penny said smugly, raising her head, “So, the St. Hilde family is finished, and the St. Sean family will soon become the master of the North Territory. You mustn’t make the wrong choice at this final stage.”

Unperturbed, Count Uman persistently asked, “If Duke St. Hilde is dead, why do you want to kill me?”

Penny glared at him, apparently feeling that she was regaining control of the situation, “Killing a Holy Knight comes at a cost.

My brother sacrificed an eye, and your Uman Clan, of course, must also pay something.”

Count Uman’s eyes flickered, and he asked urgently, “What price did our Uman Clan pay?”

“Fallen Eagle City.”

“Fallen Eagle City?”

“Yes. Fallen Eagle City was sacrificed.” Seeing Count Uman’s eyes suddenly becoming fierce, Penny hurriedly advised, “Talos, don’t get excited! Although the Uman Clan has lost a city, as long as you pledge loyalty to the St. Sean family, we will definitely compensate you, and double it at that!”

“Compensation?” Count Uman suddenly calmed down, seemingly moved.

Seeing the calm Count Uman, Penny breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, “I will have my brother confer you the title of Marquis, how about that?”

Noticing his silence, Penny moved closer, drawing circles on Count Uman’s chest with her finger, her eyes seductively saying,

“If you don’t want that lowly bastard Walra to inherit the title, I can give birth to another child for you, how about it?”

Count Uman looked emotionless at Penny in his arms, saying calmly, “Walra is lowly? He is my legitimate son with Lady Sudor! And Lawrence? He’s just the illegitimate child you bore out of incest with your own brother!”

Penny’s face changed slightly, but she still suppressed her anger and said with a coquettish smile, “What do you know? Lawrence carries the purest St. Sean bloodline in his body!”

But Count Uman’s eyes grew colder, “Do you believe that because the word ‘Holy’ is in your surname, you can treat everyone else like dogs?”

The smile on Penny’s face froze, and her tone became severe, “Talos Uman, you should know your….”

Crack!

She only got halfway through her sentence when Count Uman snapped her neck.

Looking at the woman’s corpse in his arms, Count Uman sneered,

“So killing a scion of the Holy Knight family is no different from killing a commoner.”

Thud!

He casually tossed the corpse to the ground and shouted to the outside of the tent, “Someone!”

Soon, a knight appeared in the tent, respectfully saying,

“Count, what are your orders?”

“Go bring Lawrence Uman back, dead or alive!”

“Yes!”