The First Vampire

The midday sun was shining on the Sky Ice Plain, bringing a slight warmth.

However, the warriors of the Troll Army only felt a bone-chilling cold.

At some point, the silhouettes of the Dark Cavalry scout cavalry started appearing around the army, watching them from a distance, as if eyeing their prey.

Compared to the more than two hundred thousand trolls in the Troll Army, these Dark Cavalry scouts seemed like ants next to an elephant, weak, unremarkable, as if the elephant could trample them to death with a casual lift of its foot.

However, the one who was actually nervous, was the “elephant”, the obese Troll Army.

The original victorious army of more than two hundred thousand, inevitably got scattered during the long march, especially the Rear Army responsible for transporting the spoils, which lost sight of the Forward Army long ago.

However, when the news of the Wolf Cavalry, that was hovering near the army, being attacked by the Dark Cavalry reached them, this Troll Army, like a startled school of fish, instantly began to huddle together.

Furthermore, under the command of the Southern Prince Gumbick, more than fifty thousand human slaves robbed from the North Territory were directly abandoned on the Ice Plain.

Yes, the Troll Army voluntarily spat out what it had swallowed into its stomach before even glimpsing the shadow of the main force of the Dark Cavalry.

Prince Gumbick was very clear, these human slaves would only become a burden to the army, it was better to throw them away.

As for whether these fifty thousand ill-clothed and underfed human slaves would freeze to death on the Ice Plain, that was no longer his concern.

If the Dark Cavalry accepted these fifty thousand human slaves, perhaps Prince Gumbick would even laugh in his dreams.

The Dark Cavalry scouts indeed discovered these fifty thousand abandoned human slaves, but when they conveyed the news to Marquis Garcia, the Marquis didn’t hesitate and chose to ignore them.

Cold-blooded, ruthless, but a decision befitting a commander.

The Dark Cavalry was already traveling light with not much food supplies. If they accepted these human slaves, the result would be everyone starving to death together on the Ice Plain.

At this moment, the Dark Cavalry hadn’t even had time to deal with the main Troll Army, they were still continuously pursuing and slaughtering the remnants of the previously defeated Wolf Cavalry.

Marquis Garcia’s strategic goal was clear, first completely annihilate this Wolf Cavalry, eliminate the enemy’s only means of resistance, and then slowly bleed the main Troll Army dry.

The hunt for the remnants of the Wolf Cavalry lasted a full five days and nights. The Dark Cavalry estimated that, including the initial camp raid, a total of close to seventy thousand Wolf Cavalry were killed.

Yes, killed, not captured.

From the moment they found out that the Troll Army had abandoned the human slaves, Marquis Garcia gave the order not to take any trolls prisoners.

By now, this Wolf Cavalry had completely lost its fighting strength, the remaining few scattered escapees were in no position to pose any threat at all.

Marquis Garcia then began to regroup the Dark Cavalry. After a brief rest, they began to approach the location of the Troll Army.

The final mopping up stage of this battle had officially begun.

The slowly advancing Troll Army suddenly found out that the Dark Cavalry scouts, who had always been shadowing them like a bone-deep tumor, had suddenly vanished into thin air.

This left the Troll soldiers somewhat at a loss.

But Prince Gumbick immediately became tense because he knew that the disappearance of the scouts could only mean one thing The Dark Cavalry main force had arrived!

As expected, the snow accumulated on the Ice Plain began to tremble, and the sound of horse hooves could be faintly heard.

The Troll warriors looked around and were shocked to discover that squads of Dark Cavalry were attacking them from all directions!

The desolate sound of the horn immediately rang out. The Troll Army, after a short period of chaos, began to form a formation to meet the enemy. However, panic was still spreading uncontrollably among the Troll Army.

Even though they had the numerical advantage.

The Black Lion Flag seemed to possess some captivating, demonic power. Every time it appeared in the sky above the Sky Ice Plain, it brought immense pressure to the Trolls.

The Dark Cavalry arrived swiftly.

Accompanied by thunder-like hoofbeats, over a dozen cavalry squads congregated from all directions around the Troll Army.

Each squad of the Dark Cavalry had about a thousand members, totaling less than twenty thousand. In comparison to the Troll Army’s strength of over two hundred thousand, it felt like ants challenging a tree.

Yet, looking at the imposing way the Dark Cavalry circled in, it was as if they were the dominators of this battlefield!

When they got close, these squads of the Dark Cavalry quickly changed their direction, crossing from the flanks of the Troll Army.

They loaded and aimed their bows, followed by the buzz of countless bowstrings sounding together.

The dark torrent of arrows, resembling a sky-covering swarm of locusts, surged towards the Troll Army. “Don’t panic! Raise shields! Raise shields!” “Bowmen ready! Spearmen ready!”

“Do not move! Do not retreat! Keep formation!”

Military orders sounded intermittently across the Troll Army, immediately drowned by the thunder-like galloping sounds.

Arrows fell like torrential rain, pinging off the shields.

However, there were also sounds of arrows piercing flesh, followed by waves of Trolls falling, their cries echoing across the battlefield.

There was no mercy, no hesitation.

The Dark Cavalry initiated this battle in the most brutal, most violent way possible.

At this point, the Troll Army had contracted into a round shell, and the squads of the Dark Cavalry were like tangents to a circle, rushing past the flanks of the Troll Army and continuously unleashing a rain of arrows.

After twenty thousand cavalrymen swept past, clear lines appeared in the formation of the Troll Army. It looked like a field ravaged by a storm, littered with countless corpses and wailing wounded soldiers.

However, the Trolls were no pushovers.

The bowmen and spearmen in the formation, once they survived the first wave of intense attack, calmed down. Under the command of the officers, they began to shoot arrows and throw spears towards the Dark Cavalry.

For a while, arrows and spears crisscrossed in the sky, claiming lives of humans and trolls alike.

Nevertheless, the Dark Cavalry held an absolute advantage in maneuverability.

During the Troll’s counterattack, they scattered and distanced themselves, prowling around the perimeter of the Troll formation like a pack of wolves.

Once they noticed an opening or weakness, they would immediately rush in for a bite, and quickly retreat with the advantage of their war horses before the Trolls had a chance to react and organize their defense or counterattack.

This textbook example of a cavalry harassment attack lasted the entire morning.

It wasn’t until a dozen or so squads of the Dark Cavalry withdrew with a roar that the Trolls could catch their breaths.

Truth be told, the casualty inflicted by this attack was relatively minimal given the considerable size of the Troll Army.

But this intense psychological pressure left every Troll warrior mentally and physically exhausted.

As soon as the Dark Cavalry left, they immediately set up camp on the spot, started cooking, and attended to their wounds.

But then, just after their meal and before they could even take an afternoon nap, the Trolls were shocked to see the Dark Cavalry reappearing from all directions.

Almost like an exact replay of the morning, the Dark Cavalry divided into a dozen odd cavalry squads, each with about a thousand soldiers, charging again towards the Troll Army.

Those Troll leaders familiar with the formation of Dark Cavalry quickly noticed that this batch of the Dark Cavalry in the afternoon was obviously different from the one in the morning.

This was turning into a war of attrition!