The First Vampire

Chapter 579: Return 577_1

In the North Territory, April had ushered in the spring season with blooming flowers.

The radiant sunlight poured down, awakening the vitality that had been asleep throughout the harsh winter.

On the boundless grassland, lush green grass and blossoming flowers glowed vibrantly. Creatures of different species could be seen frolicking and playing around.

However, they seemed to have heard an ominous sound in the next second, causing all of them to disappear from sight in the blink of an eye.

In the trembling earth appeared a formidable army on the road to Winterfell City.

At the front of the army were three lines of Heavy Armoured Cavalry, consisting of over a thousand professionals.

They were uniformly dressed in bright-red fine gold armor, holding steel lances in their hands. The half-meter-long lance heads glinted with an icy cold light. They carried iron-edged Yuen shields on their backs, long swords in the sheaths on their shoulders, and a sharp saber belted at their waist.

Just the various parts of this outfit cost a fortune, likely to be hundreds of gold coins. Not to mention, they each were supplied with three tall large horses – one for traveling, one for carrying equipment and provisions, and one entirely clad in iron scale armor for charging into the battlefield.

All these expenses for the Heavy Armoured Cavalry, consisting of barely over a thousand men, could potentially lead to the bankruptcy of a viscount of the Empire.

Yet, here they were considered only one of the sharp spearheads of the Blood Knight Army. Behind them were more than twenty thousand Light Cavalry, although not as extravagantly equipped, were formidable enough to make any army hesitate.

However, it was rather puzzling that this powerful army was not directed towards Westland to confront the Glorious Empire, the Empire’s greatest enemy at present.

In fact, when Emperor Reinhardt heard that Colin was about to lead the Blood Knight Army back to North Territory, he had raised doubts but was brushed off by Marquis Garcia, arguing the need for defense against the southerly invasion of the trolls. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Since the number of troops deployed from the North Territory had already met the requirement of the War Order, even if Emperor Reinhardt suspected the North of intentionally preserving their strength, he was helpless.

On his return to the North Territory, apart from the Blood Knight Army, Colin also brought back the Phoenix Butterfly Army from the Morrison Family.

It is unknown as to what Marquis Garcia said to Lady Grace privately. However, despite the initial reluctance of the knights from the Morrison lineage to abandon their ambitions to gain merit in the Westland battlefield, they were each successfully appeased and persuaded by Lady Grace.

As both armies marched across the grassy field, the long procession stretched for several kilometers, with no end in sight.

There wasn’t a single passerby on the main road as they had all been redirected onto pathways by the army’s advance guard. Lining both sides of the road were rows of straight Iron Fir Trees. Although they did not seem very old, their distances were remarkably uniform, clearly presenting a purposely arranged landscape.

Seeing these Iron Fir Trees, Colin knew that Winterfell City was not far away.

Sure enough, after crossing a hill, the silhouette of Winterfell City could be vaguely seen.

After more than an hour, the army finally arrived at Winterfell City, halting at a location a thousand meters outside.

Colin rode his white horse out of the crowd and slowly approached the City Gate.

Outside the gate, the honor guard had arranged themselves in formation, and the band was playing a rousing piece of music.

Wearing a magnificently adorned robe, Duchess St. Hilde stood at the front of the welcoming line, smiling as she watched her husband approaching.

Colin dismounted from his horse and knelt on one knee before his wife, giving the standard knight’s salute.

Vera pulled her husband up and amicably held on to his arm. She whispered into his ear:

“Welcome home, my knight!”

Seeing Vera’s pure, warm smile washed away all the gloom in Colin’s heart. Yet, when his gaze landed on the crowd that had come to welcome him, he unexpectedly saw a few faces that surprised him.

“Okamoto?”

On spotting Colin’s glance, Troll Emperor Okamoto Volkin quickly moved forward a few steps, laughed, and gave a respectful salute:

“Respected Count Angler, I hope our unexpected visit does not disturb you.”

“Of course not,” Colin shook off his surprise, replaced it with a smile, and said, “Welcome again to Winterfell City, Your Majesty Okamoto.”

Before parting, Marquis Garcia reminded Colin to be wary of Trolls taking advantage of the emptiness of the North Territory again. Unexpectedly, the Trolls indeed did head south again—

But it wasn’t a large army that came south, it was the Emperor of the Trolls.

What did this mean?

Was he sincerely expressing that he had no plans to fan the flames of conflict?

Or was it a deliberate show, to lull the North Territory into security?

Various thoughts flashed through Colin’s mind, but he didn’t let anything show on his face. Instead, he exchanged pleasantries with Okamoto, as if they were long-lost friends.

During the conversation, a woman who bore some resemblance to Vera came forward and curtsied, saying:

“Count Angler.”

“Your Highness, the Queen.” Colin recognized her as Nala St. Hilde, the noblewoman from the St. Hilde family who had been married off to Okamoto by the previous Duke St. Hilde.

Immediately after, he noticed a small figure following closely behind Nala.

“Count… Count Angler… Sir.”

With a raised eyebrow, Colin looked at the half-Troll child standing before him, who displayed characteristics of both humans and Trolls. He turned to Okamoto in surprise and asked, “Is this your son?”

“Yes.” Okamoto nodded with a hearty laugh, “His name is Okawara Volkin. He will only be one year old next month and his speech is still not very fluent. Please forgive him.”

Colin nodded, looking at the half-Troll who could already walk and was as tall as a three or four-year-old human child, reflecting on how the differences across species were indeed striking.

However, it was quite a show of sincerity that Okamoto, the Emperor of the Trolls, was willing to have a half-Troll son with Nala.

Half-Trolls faced significant discrimination within the Troll Empire, much like half-elves were looked down upon by elves. Being a half-Troll was considered very low-status.

While Okamoto had not mentioned it, Colin could guess that Okamoto must have faced a lot of resistance and objections from his own people because of his half-Troll son.

He wondered if this half-Troll prince would be able to smoothly inherit Okamoto’s throne in the future.

If he could, then the conquest and even assimilation of Trolls might not be far-fetched.

The Sky Ice Plain was too barren, too cold, and boundless. It would be impossible for the North Territory to completely eradicate the Trolls.

Moreover, even if they were eradicated, it wouldn’t be beneficial, as the people of the North didn’t want to settle in the Sky Ice Plain.

So, conquering this race through more peaceful means would be a wise choice.

As he thought about it, Colin squatted down to be at eye level with Okawara. He patted the half-troll’s head affectionately and asked in a soft voice:

“Okawara, do you like the North Territory?”

Okawara honestly nodded and said, “Like….like.”

Colin smiled even more warmly: “Then stay in Winterfell City for a while longer.”

Okawara lifted his head and looked at his father.

Okamoto seemed to have no objections and immediately nodded, saying:

“Since Count Angler personally invited you, you should stay in Winterfell City for a longer time.”

“Okay.” Okawara also laughed happily, revealing two ugly tusks.