The First Vampire

The morning light appeared a bit earlier than usual over Ice Rock City, casting a veil over this city that just experienced great joy and deep mourning.

Perhaps even the sun knew that this day was special, willing to end the vigil of two sleepless people a little sooner.

The golden sunlight cast down on the dome of the church, coloring it with a dazzling halo.

The side door of the church opened, and Colin walked out hand in hand with Vera.

After a sleepless night, Colin was still alright, but Vera was so drowsy she could barely keep her eyes open.

Amidst the crisp sound of horse hooves, Knight Lyle personally brought the horse-drawn carriage to Colin.

However, Colin did not immediately get in the carriage.

Because he had already seen another figure standing outside the church — Scholar Doan.

Obviously, Scholar Doan got up so early, not in a hurry to pray for Duke St. Hilde, but to wait for Colin.

“You go back and rest first.” Colin got Vera into the carriage, then walked towards Scholar Doan.

“Good morning, Lord Viscount!”

“Good morning, Scholar Doan.”

After standing all night, Colin was somewhat tired, so he turned again and walked into the church, then sat down on a chair in the back row.

Scholar Doan also followed him in, standing with his hands tied behind Colin.

Without inviting the other party to sit down, Colin leaned against the chair back, closed his eyes, and asked in a casual tone:

“Scholar Doan, you’ve been so anxious to see me so early, is there something to discuss?”

“Lord Viscount, I wanted to remind you that the Angler family is in great danger!”

Upon hearing these words, Colin didn’t open his eyes, maintaining a languid pose.

As for Scholar Doan’s little scheme, Colin had already seen it countless times in his past life while reading ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’.

Those strategists in the Three Kingdoms wanting to admonish always started with terrifying words to frighten the target. Then when the target was panicked, they could make them dizzy with impressive speeches, and lead them by the nose.

Just like a fortune teller’s first sentence—— “You must be in for a disaster because your forehead is dark!” It was the same tactic.

“How is the Angler family in great danger?”

Seeing Colin’s demeanor, Scholar Doan knew that he was not an easy lord to trick, and hurriedly explained with complete concentration:

“With the death of Duke St. Hilde, the most important pillar in the North Territory has collapsed. Under the current situation, I fear the Golden Lion Legion will struggle to keep up. If you don’t take immediate action, the St. Sean family is likely to become the new ruler of the North Territory!”

Colin, still with his eyes closed, said calmly: “I feel like what you want to say is that the St. Hilde family is the one in danger.”

“Lord Viscount, since you have married Miss Vera, the Angler family and the St. Hilde family are one and the same. If the St. Sean family takes control of the North Territory, how can they tolerate you?”

“Well, that makes sense.” Colin finally nodded, “So what do you think I should do?”

Without hesitation, Scholar Doan said: “Under the current situation, your best strategy boils down to one word — defend!”

“Defend?” Colin frowned.

“Yes. With the death of Duke St. Hilde, the hearts of the people in the North Territory are in chaos. With only the Golden Lion Legion, it is impossible to stabilize the situation throughout the area. So, our only choice right now is to defend Winterfell City first, then consider other plans.

Therefore, the Golden Lion Legion must retreat!”

“I don’t have the authority to order the Golden Lion Legion to retreat to Winterfell City.”

“But Miss Vera does!”

“Are you sure? Vera is not the Marquis of the Eastern Territory. Isn’t there still a Joyce standing before her in the line of succession?”

Scholar Doan smiled and said, “Lord Viscount, you may not know, Duke St. Hilde did not bestow the Marquis title to Joyce during his lifetime.”

At this, Colin finally opened his eyes, looking intently at Scholar Doan and said, “But Joyce’s succession order is indeed before Vera’s.”

Bachelor Doan’s smile remained unchanged: “But after all, Joyce is just a ten-year-old child. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for him to inherit the position of the Northern Duke?”

Colin’s eyes rolled, he continued to question: “So, you support Vera to become the Northern Duke, right?”

Bachelor Doan put away his smile and nodded solemnly: “Yes.”

Finally, Colin revealed a sincere smile, patting the chair beside him, saying, “Sit.”

Bachelor Doan didn’t hold back and sat down.

At this point, the two finally had a basis for cooperation.

Colin’s tone softened considerably: “Are you certain that the Golden Lion Legion will obey Vera’s orders? You know, she’s not the Northern Duke at the moment.”

“Lord Viscount, as long as Miss Vera can show herself in the large camp of the Golden Lion Legion, I’m confident about persuading Knight Nelson to withdraw to Winterfell City!”

The knight Nelson Bachelor Doan spoke of was the commander of the Golden Lion Legion and also a knight of the St. Hilde family. He only obeyed the Duke’s orders.

Colin stared into Bachelor Doan’s eyes. Seeing his confident demeanor, he temporarily believed his words.

“What about after retreating to Winterfell City? Certainly Winterfell City is easy to defend and hard to attack, but they can’t always hide in the city, right? Should the rest of the North Territory be given to the St. Sean family?”

“Certainly not.” Bachelor Doan continued to analyze, “Lord Viscount, for this ambition of the St. Sean family for the North Territory, their main reliance was three power groups.

The Trolls, the Dwarfs, and the Uman Clan.

You’ve already taken the troll party out of the equation, so we don’t need to worry about them anymore.

As for the Uman Clan, you don’t have to be too concerned about them either. Because Count Uman is a cautious man, simply lacking in initiative.

During the Northern Chaos last year, I’ve already seen through this man. He is just a fence-sitter who cares only about himself. Whichever side is stronger, he’ll lean towards them. You need not worry that he will indeed devote himself to the St. Sean family.

The last group, the Dwarf forces, is actually divided into two main factions—the Dawson Family and the Menam Family.

They are actually the most difficult to deal with, especially now that the Menam Family’s army has already entered the North Territory. They will soon unite with the Dawson Family, forming a pincer attack on the Golden Lion Legion. This is also the main reason why I advised you to immediately call for the Golden Lion Legion to retreat to Winterfell City.

However, the ultimate goal of the Dawson Family and the Menam Family is to establish a Dwarf Kingdom, not to assist the St. Sean family in ruling the North Territory.

So, if it really comes down to it, we can also cede part of the North Territory and agree to the establishment of a Dwarf Nation. In this way, they won’t continue to stand against us purely for the sake of the St. Sean family’s interests.

Lord Viscount, you understand now. The reason I advise you to take a defensive stand for now, is because the St. Sean family has a fatal flaw

They have no direct army!

So, if the war comes to a standstill, those rebel forces they’ve rallied could potentially be wooed away. As long as these forces are shattered one by one, the Northern Chaos will naturally come to an end.”

Indeed!

Because the St. Sean family has been in exile for so many years, they have no territory and naturally can’t afford their own army.

So, Mr. Ji could only rely on alliances and the pulling together of various forces to help him fight against the St. Hilde family.

But this weakness has always existed. If the death of Duke St. Hilde could become the straw that breaks the camel’s back, everything would become simpler.

But if the North Territory hasn’t lost its capacity to resist, then when the situation becomes intractable, the biggest weakness of the St. Sean family could become a fatal flaw!

Therefore, the current top priority for the North Territory is to stabilize the situation.

Hearing Bachelor Doan’s intricate analysis, Colin maintained his composure on the surface, but inwardly he was struck by how skillful the White Tower Academy’s talents were.

No wonder he was the most trusted advisor of Duke St. Hilde.

Colin looked at Bachelor Doan more and more favorably, especially since the latter also supported Vera becoming the Northern Duke. This meant they spoke a common language.

Colin also realized that if he could win over Bachelor Doan, it would be of great help to him in taking over the legacy left by Duke St. Hilde.

So, Colin stood up and invited, “Bachelor Doan, are you hungry? Would you like to join me for breakfast back at the castle?”

Bachelor Doan also showed a brilliant smile, stood up, bowed and said:

“The honour is mine!”