The First Vampire

But the “reflection in the water” spoke again:

“There is no one else above, is there?”

Count Howell shook his head dumbly.

Then, the “reflection in the water” rolled out of the water like a fish, lodged itself onto the body of the ship with ease and agilely landed on the deck.

Only then did Count Howell come back to his senses, realizing that the person standing in front of him was indeed Marquis Vincent!

“Marq… Marquis! You are still alive!”

At that moment, Count Howell was like a traveler about to die from thirst in the desert who suddenly saw an oasis. His only hope was that what he saw right now wasn’t just a mirage.

“Of course, I’m alive.” Marquis Vincent replied cheerfully.

Seeing Count Howell still standing there dazed, he pointed to his wet clothes and said, “Do you have any dry clothes? The nights are quite chilly this late in the fall.”

“Yes, yes, of course, we do!”

Count Howell kept nodding his head. Finally, suppressing his joy and excitement, he cautiously led Marquis Vincent past the soldiers on duty to his cabin.

Once Marquis Vincent had changed his clothes, Count Howell couldn’t hold back his excitement and curiosity, and asked hurriedly,

“Marquis, what on earth is happening? Count Evan told me you had been assassinated in Silver Moon City.”

With a cold chuckle, Marquis Vincent responded, “I was indeed the target of an assassination, but thanks to our Lord’s mercy, I survived. And it was due to this assassination attempt that I finally saw the treacherous face of my dearest brother!”

Upon hearing this, Count Howell was startled, and quickly asked, “Was your assassination orchestrated by Count Evan?”

“Correct. Although Duke Modewen was the one to strike the deadly blow, it was Knight Thomas Fein who helped with the assassination!”

“Knight Thomas? Didn’t he die in the Silver Moon City battle last year…”

“No, he merely betrayed his knightly vows and defected to the North Territory. Evidently, Evan somehow got in touch with him.”

Count Howell nodded, saying sensibly: “He was a knight of the Fein family after all. I’m not surprised at all that he was persuaded by Count Evan.”

“He has rightfully paid the price for his folly!” Marquis Vincent let out a cold chuckle, then continued, “Enough about him, the reason for my visit is to discuss Evan’s engagement to Count Brugen’s daughter.

It seems, father has completely given up on me, hasn’t he?”

“It appears so. Count Evan has been insisting that you were assassinated in Silver Moon City.”

“Of course he’ll say so!” Vincent mocked, “Otherwise, how could father commit to helping him win over my allies?”

At this point, Marquis Vincent solemnly turned towards Count Howell and asked: “The Brugen family must already be under Evan’s control, but what about the Howell family? As my closest allies, father and Evan wouldn’t let you off easy, right?”

“Of course not!” Count Howell finally found an outlet for the resentment he’d been suppressing for so long, “All the ships selected to be redeemed in your name were Howell’s warships, and Evan has no intention of handing them over to the North Territory. Instead, he plans to use them to blast through the three water gates of Silver Moon City.”

“How is that possible? The ships will just shatter upon colliding with the water gates of Silver Moon City!”

“But what if these ships were filled with Wildfire?”

“Wildfire?” Marquis Vincent took a sharp intake of breath at the shock.

“Indeed. My lord Marquis, to tell you the truth, hundreds of canisters of Wildfire are hidden beneath your feet. A tiny mistake could cause us to be blown to smithereens!”

Marquis Vincent couldn’t help but gulp. Even though Colin had told him that as an apostle of the Blood Angel, some fatal injuries could no longer cost him his life, if he was incinerated by Wildfire, he really doubted he would survive.

“So ruthless!”

“Yes, my lord Marquis! Count Evan is forcing our Howell Family to die with Silver Moon City!”

Marquis Vincent’s gaze flickered, saying, “Are you just going to stand back and let him manipulate you?”

“What can we do even if we can’t stand it?” Count Howell gave a bitter smile, but seeing the energetic Marquis Vincent in front of him, his spirit picked up again, and he said solemnly, “But if you support us, it’s a completely different story! My lord Marquis, I promise you, as long as you stand out, the warriors of the Howell family will surely follow you closely, clearing all obstacles on your way!”

Marquis Vincent stared into Count Howell’s eyes, and asked seriously, “Are you sure that the warriors of the Howell family lineage are still willing to fight for me?”

“Of course!” Count Howell said without any hesitation, “Perhaps you don’t know. Those guys had just urged me to detain Count Evan and use the warships of the St. Prowse Family to get you back.”

A touch of joy surfaced in Marquis Vincent’s eyes, but he was still alert. Looking into Count Howell’s eyes, he asked again:

“What if I want to cooperate with the North Territory?”

Count Howell was taken aback, only then did he realize that he had been too ecstatic about Marquis Vincent’s “resurrection from death” and had overlooked an important problem – how did he get out of Silver Moon City?

Only then, after hearing Marquis Vincent’s question, did Count Howell finally understand, he had not escaped, but rather, he was let go!

Count Howell took a deep breath and countered, “My lord Marquis, what kind of agreement have you reached with the North Territory?”

Marquis Vincent looked at Count Howell with interest, smiled, and asked, “What if I have already given the Eastern Territory to Colin Angler?”

Count Howell’s mouth twitched a few times, and advised, “My lord Marquis, there’s no need to offer such terms! Now that the Orc invasion is imminent, even in the worst-case scenario, the North Territory just doesn’t have the capacity to swallow up the entire Eastern Territory!”

Marquis Vincent laughed loudly, patted Count Howell’s shoulder, and soothed, “Alright, I’m just joking with you. Count Angler isn’t that greedy, and I’m not that stupid.”

“Then what are his conditions?”

Marquis Vincent paused and said solemnly, “The Eastern Territory, for a Duke!”

“What?” Count Howell opened his mouth wide, his face full of shock.

Marquis Vincent’s eyes shone with a strange light, and he said coldly, “The North Territory needs a friendly Duke in the Eastern Territory, and my father is old and confused. It’s time for him to step aside. Otherwise, his erroneous decisions will only intensify the conflict between the Eastern Territory and the North Territory, leading to an inevitable war!”

“But, but….” Count Howell’s mind was in turmoil, but seeing the serious-faced Marquis Vincent, he realized – he had no way to retreat.

Duke St. Prowse and Count Evan were obviously intent on completely exterminating them. Why couldn’t the Howell family resist?

Originally, he didn’t dare to resist because resistance was a dead end. But if he complied, the Howell family could at least hang on to a shred of hope.

But now, with Marquis Vincent, the Howell family had the backbone to resist!

With this thought, Count Howell’s heart gradually calmed down, his gaze became firm again and he said deeply:

“Alright! My lord Marquis! The Howell family will always be behind you!”

Marquis Vincent showed a satisfied smile, saying:

“Count Howell, you made the right choice!”