"This is the head of the vampiress, my baron." The demon hunter, Eiber, placed a head with reddish-brown hair in front of Laing. "She hides in a nearby wood and often attacks passersby at night. She pretends to be a beautiful woman and invites men into the wood to have some fun. Then, she takes the opportunity to suck their blood dry."
"Ah, I understand. Very good. You guys did very well." Laing nodded. He had dealt with these vampires before. He then gestured for Eiber and Jules to sit down. He noticed that Jules was injured. The young demon hunter's arm hung limply in front of his chest, tightly bandaged. "Can you tell us a little about what happened? I'm all ears. "
"Okay." The two demon hunters sat down in the hall of the baron's castle. Eiber organized his words and said, "It happened as Mister Katzenberg said. About two weeks ago, the serfs said that a beautiful woman was doing some sex work on a small road near the wood. It was not a big deal, but the gentlemen who accepted the invitation did not have a deep memory of what happened that night. They all showed symptoms of excessive blood loss."
"Ha, it seems that the vampiress pretended to be a human and drank human blood." Laing nodded. He knew what the vampiress was up to.
Under such methods, the serfs and townsfolk who were victims did not dare to speak out. Most of them chose to keep quiet. This gave the vampiress an opportunity. As long as she controlled her thirst for blood and did not kill anyone at once, she could secretly hide in the vicinity of the town.
Sitting in the main seat, Ryan had a helpless look on his face.
Brittany's vampires were really serious.
These midnight nobles lurked in the Knight King's territory and drank human blood. Some of the vampires were really tired of the endless war and wanted to live in seclusion. However, there were also some vampires like the Red Duke who wanted to overthrow the Knight King.
On the other hand, the Knight King Kingdom did not have a strong control over vampires. Many vampires hid among the commoners, and the serfs would even try to protect them.
The collapse of the serf system had to be mentioned here. Many vampires adhered to the principle of casting a long line to catch a big fish. They would often give some small benefits to the serfs so that they could continue to drink their blood. Some vampires would even regularly give some silver coins to the serfs who "donated blood".
The serfs, who had been squeezed dry by the knights, had another way to survive: selling their blood.
"Baron, are you listening?" Eiber noticed that Laing was spacing out, so he reminded him.
The baron's butler, Katzenberg, gave the demon hunter a stern look. He was tall and thin, with a big bald head and round glasses. The butler was not friendly to the demon hunter. He felt that the demon hunter was a little rude.
"Yes, I'm listening. Continue. Since everyone is silent, how did this thing get discovered?" Laing asked.
Eiber knew that Laing was listening. The demon hunter nodded and sighed. "Baron, the vampire witch is not a high-level vampire. Sometimes, she can't control herself with her rationality. This is what happened this time."
"A half-grown boy couldn't resist the temptation of the vampire witch and followed her into an abandoned hut in the forest."
"While she was sucking his blood, the boy's blood was too delicious. The siren couldn't hold back and sucked the boy dry, turning him into a dried corpse."
"The boy's parents found out about this and decided to report it to Mr. Katzenberg. Although many of the serfs advised him not to say anything, the boy was their only son …" Eiber sighed and did not continue.
Most of the demon hunters had experienced many cruel and crazy things. They were used to seeing ordinary vampires appear, so they didn't show much sympathy or sadness. People always thought that demon hunters were cold-blooded, but they didn't know that it was because they had seen too much of it.
"So, how did you deal with the vampire witch?" Laing asked. He had seen this kind of thing many times.
"The legendary garlic, sunlight, and crosses can't do much damage to the vampire witch." Eiber nodded. The demon hunter continued, "The vampire witch doesn't like to eat garlic, just like how humans don't like to eat tree bark. They don't like it, but they can't do any real damage. Vampires hate walking under the sun, but that's all."
"The only things that are useful against vampires are the holy water blessed by the church and the silver weapons. Those are the real weapons against vampires," Abar added. Then, the two demon hunters fell silent.
"Very well, Mister Eiber. You've fulfilled your promise. Now, it's my turn to fulfill mine. Katzenberg, give them the things." Laing gestured for Katzenberg to bring the things over.
The butler came forward with a tray. There were 15 crowns and 50 silver shillings on it.
The demon hunters didn't refuse. They needed the money. "Thank you, Mister Laing."
"You'll get what you deserve." Laing nodded. "I'll keep my promise as well. There are still ten days before Duke Bordero's banquet. You can stay in the town or see if there are any other missions nearby. We'll leave a day earlier."
"Jule will go to Helenhilde to see if there are any jobs available. I'll stay here," Eiber replied.
"Very well."
The two demon hunters left. Laing didn't move from his seat. Seeing this, Katzenberg asked, "Is there anything else, Baron?"
"Katzenberg, if I allow the demon hunters to establish a union in this town, do you think it'll be able to stop the spread of the vampires?" Laing asked, stroking his chin.
"It's best not to, Baron." Katzenberg shook his head violently and repeatedly. "When you need demon hunters, just post the mission on the notice board. If there are too many demon hunters in our territory, merchants, travelers, and nobles will have opinions. My baron, you need to find a balance between them."
"Yes, I understand." Katzenberg's words made sense. Laing also agreed that too many demon hunters would affect the economy.
"By the way, how's the construction of the tower coming along?" Ryan was concerned about the progress of the Lake Fairy's tower.
"It's still under construction, Baron. The blueprints you gave to the craftsmen were too detailed, which caused them to have some opinions. They think it's too slow and it's not good for them to perform. Perhaps you can give them more freedom in designing. Katzenberg suggested, "According to the current progress, it might not be completed until this time next year."
"Then let's do it by this time next year." Laing stood up and walked to the window with Katzenberg. A 30-meter-tall tower was under construction. It would cost Laing more than three thousand crowns.
The baron's castle had a corridor that led to the tower along the walls. Apart from that, there was no other entrance to the tower. It was built against the mountain and shrouded in clouds, making it look rather mysterious.
"Everything will be done according to the blueprint. The craftsmen will naturally have a place to display their intelligence, but it won't be here," Leon said in a deep voice. "I'm the one who hired them, not the other way around."
"Understood, my Baron. I will continue to supervise the progress of the project." Kasenberg immediately bowed and nodded, indicating that he understood.
"How's the preparation of the guest room on the third floor?" Laing asked.
"It's already being prepared. According to the baron's instructions, we used the best carpets and artwork to decorate the room. The furniture is made from the finest cherry wood that we ordered from the carpenters in Helenhilde. I guarantee any guest will be satisfied." Katzenberg put his hands behind his back and led Laing to the guest room.
It was a room about fifty square meters in size. The floor was covered with a soft carpet, and the furniture was all brand new. The glass windows and various paintings on the walls spoke volumes of the owner's passion and seriousness.
"Alright, let's do this."
The renovation of the lord's castle was in full swing. The serfs of Baron Zeon were also sowing winter wheat under the supervision of Baron Zeon. These crops would only mature in May or June next year. Generally, they were in a state where they would not be cared for after they were planted.
Not every piece of land in the vast farmland needed to be sowed. Hundreds of years ago, under the teachings of the Church of Life, humans learned to fallow and rotate farming. Brittany was undoubtedly a blessed land for living. Otherwise, the elves would not have colonized it in the past. It was only because the excessively high taxes that the serfs' income was squeezed dry, and the entire country's national power was used to raise knights. This was why there were so many social phenomena.
At this moment, Laing heard the neighing of a pegasus and the sound of landing.
It was Suria. She had returned with Emilia. Laing immediately got up and went outside the castle to greet them.
"Mr. Laing!" Emilia jumped down from the pegasus. The girl had already changed into the thick winter uniform of the academy. When she saw Laing, she happily trotted towards Laing. "Mr. Laing, I'm back!"
"Welcome home, Emilia!" Laing, who was busy with the war, had not seen his little maid for a long time. He reached out his hands and gently hugged her petite body. "How's your study in the academy?"
Before Emilia could answer, the female knight standing behind her spoke. Suria was wearing a lake-green winter coat and a black pleated skirt. A pair of knee-high boots and flesh-colored thick pantyhose was the highlight. Seeing Laing's question, Suria smiled and said, "Emilia has been studying very hard. She ranked first in the court examination. Even father praised her."
"Ah! Sister Suria, don't say that. It's so embarrassing! "Emilia shyly stepped back.
Seeing this, Laing and Suria looked at each other and smiled. Laing took the initiative to say, "Then … let's go in and have a seat? You don't have to leave in such a hurry, right, Miss Suria? "
"Since it's Laing's invitation, of course I'll stay." Suria seemed to be waiting for Laing to say this. Her smile was like a blooming iris flower. Then she walked to Laing's side and entered the castle with him.
As she often came to Laing's castle as a guest, Suria was already familiar with the internal structure of Laing's castle. Laing had never treated her as an outsider. The two walked into the third-floor living room and sat down. The dark elf Olica served hot coffee. "Miss Suria, please enjoy."
"Thank you, Miss Olica." The female knight smiled and received the coffee with both hands. Then she held the coffee in her palms. She suddenly noticed that the dark elf seemed to be a little different from when she first met her.
As for what exactly was different, the 19-year-old female knight wasn't too sure. She could only feel that she had some inexplicable hostility toward this dark elf.
Damn it, what hostility can I have? She's just a maid. Suria immediately threw this thought out of her mind.
Emilia quickly changed into a maid's outfit and stood beside Laing. For some reason, the little maid also noticed that Olica was a little different, but she held back and didn't ask.
The dark elf just smiled at this situation. She had been sharing a bed with Laing for the past few nights. Naturally, she was a little different from her previous self, whether in temperament or body.
The conversation between the Holy Grail Knight and the duke's daughter was always very pleasant, but today was a little different. After chatting for a while, the female knight immediately noticed that Laing had something to say. She immediately took the initiative to speak. "Do you have something to say to me, Laing?"
"Really, I can't hide it from you, Miss Suria." Leon was a little embarrassed. The Holy Grail Knight, who had always been mature and steady, nervously took out an opened letter. "A few days ago, I received this."
"This is an invitation letter from Duke Bordero?" Suria took the letter. She understood the meaning after reading it a little, but the female knight didn't take the initiative to say it. Instead, she deliberately changed the topic. "To be able to get an invitation from Duke Bordero, you're really outstanding, Laing. Father didn't even receive this letter."
"His Excellency didn't receive it?" Laing's words were blocked. The baron was a little uncomfortable. He smiled awkwardly. "I thought the duke had already received it."
"No … The relationship between father and Duke Bordero is very ordinary. Duke Bordero doesn't like father's low tax rate. It's just that we have cooperation in the export of wine and many trade, so we maintain a passable relationship." Sulia shook her head and said. Then, the Duke's daughter paused for a moment, her bright ocean-blue eyes staring at Clayon.
She was waiting for Laing to take the initiative to speak. This was a necessary restraint.
Laing didn't let her down. With just a little hesitation, Laing stood up very seriously, made a noble invitation, and extended his hand to Suria.
"Then, may I have the honor of inviting Miss Suria to be my companion at the banquet?"
"This …"
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