The First Vampire

The afternoon sun lazily shines on the Troll Royal City.

The immense city, constructed from solid ice, radiates a fascinating light.

The diverse ice buildings within the Royal City all boast a simple and crude style, fully representing the character of the Troll Clan.

From a human’s aesthetic perspective, this city is exceedingly ugly, devoid of any commendable traits.

But frankly, when building this city, the trolls didn’t seem to have put much effort into it either.

Indeed, just over a decade ago, the Troll Clan’s settlement did not delve so deep into the Sky Ice Plain.

Back then, they were neighbors with the humans of the North Territory.

And at that time, the Troll Royal City was only a little over eight hundred kilometers from the border of the North Territory.

Given the marching speed of the Dark Cavalry, that would only be about ten days away.

Thus, after Marquis Garcia rose to power in the North Territory, he would stroll under the Troll Royal City every now and then.

Every visit would send shivers down the spines of the Troll Clan’s nobility, stirring panic within them.

Although they knew Marquis Garcia would not squander his precious Dark Cavalry in a siege, the recurring humiliation of being attacked right at their doorstep was something the Trolls could not accept.

After the Nth time the Dark Cavalry had reached their gates, the Troll emperor finally decided to relocate the capital ten years ago.

As the Troll Royal City moved northward, so did the military force of the Trolls. The troll tribes of the southern Sky Ice Plain naturally wouldn’t stay put, silly enough to wait for the imminent attack of the Dark Cavalry, so they migrated north as well.

Consequently, the original settlements of the trolls in the southern Sky Ice Plain were gradually abandoned, creating a buffer zone spanning thousands of kilometers between the Troll Empire and the North Territory.

Now, the Dark Cavalry could no longer easily threaten the Troll Royal City, and the Troll Empire got a chance to catch its breath.

Because this move was too abrupt and even under the threat of the enemy, the construction of the new Royal City was clearly poor and sloppy.

And the Trolls also believe that the Dark Cavalry couldn’t roam free forever. One day, their great warriors would move the capital back south, or even directly occupy Winterfell City and designate it as the new Royal City.

So the current Royal City is just a temporary capital, and not much thought needs to be put into it.

As to when this wish would be realized, no Troll knew.

But right now, the Trolls were forced to confront a brutal reality—the complete annihilation of Prince Gumbick Warkin’s army of three hundred thousand!

It was as if a cold wave had swept in, freezing the entire Troll Royal City in place.

All Trolls had faces filled with horror and panic, fearing they’d wake up one day to see the Black Lion Flag—which had haunted their dreams—appearing under their city walls again.

The most tense atmosphere naturally gathered within the Troll Palace.

This palace was not in the city center but in the western suburbs.

The palace wasn’t built from solid ice but towering rocks. It stands on the mid-hill, overlooking the entire Royal City.

An ornate horse-drawn carriage slowly drove into the palace after going through several strict checks.

The tightly shut palace gate slowly opened and closed again, making a dull noise as if intending to seal off this place forever.

In a courtyard paved with marble, the carriage halted and a middle-aged man, dressed in a heavy black robe, stepped out.

Yes, the author is not wrong, it was a middle-aged “man”.

Not a troll.

The appearance of a human in the Troll Palace naturally stood out, especially in the tense climate of the present.

However, the palace guards seemed to take it in stride.

“Mr. Ji, His Highness is waiting for you in the hall.”

Mr. Ji nodded at the guard and then headed alone towards the hall, seemingly knowing the way well.

Upon entering the hall, a young troll was writing something. He heard footsteps, put down his goose feather pen, and stood up to greet,

“Mr. Ji, please sit! The last group of Goblin merchants brought Spirit tea from the Bright Moon Forest. Would you like to try some?”

“Thank you Prince Okamoto.” Mr. Ji took the tea cup with a smile, took a small sip, and slightly nodded his head in admiration.

This elven spirit tea, if it had been any other time, the two surely would have had a good time appreciating it, but today, they didn’t have the mood for it.

“His Majesty has decided—I will succeed the Southern Prince’s throne. The coronation ceremony will be held in three days.”

This young troll, named Okamoto, was the son of the recently fallen Southern Prince, Gumbick Warkin.

Although, in reality, he was Gumbick’s second son—he had an older brother.

By rights, Gumbick’s throne should be inherited by Okamoto’s brother.

However, being the second-most prominent figure in the Troll Empire was now a hot potato under the current circumstances. Okamoto’s brother didn’t have the courage or the self-perceived ability to inherit it.

So, the throne fell onto Okamoto.

“Then I should congratulate you, Your Highness!” There was little surprise in Mr. Ji’s expression, seemingly he had already anticipated this outcome.

Okamoto nodded lightly, there was not much excitement on his face either, he handed Mr. Ji a scroll of parchment: “Latest news from the frontline: The Dark Cavalry didn’t proceed north, they retreated to the North Territory.”

Mr. Ji took the parchment and quickly scanned it, “Presently, the Troll Royal City is a difficult bone to chew, people in the North Territory, who feast on the spoils rather conveniently, aren’t interested in it.”

His words were indeed reasonable.

The North Terrain wouldn’t even bother to occupy the vast territories of the southern Sky Ice Plain that were deserted by the Trolls, much less cross thousands of kilometers of ice plain to seize the current Troll Royal City.

A bitter smile crept upon Okamoto’s face.

He was relieved but also felt a deep sense of humiliation.

The vast and fertile North Territory was originally the land of the Trolls. If possible, why would they choose to hide and barely survive in this frigid land?

But he quickly put aside these futile resentments. Opening the box on the desk, he took out a bloody skull.

“Marquis Garcia has also sent the skull of my father. Heh, really considerate of him!”

Okamoto held his own father’s skull up, looking straight into the dead eyes that refused to close, he asked, “Tell me, what should I do now?”

Of course, a dead person won’t answer his question.

Mr. Ji knew, this question was meant for him.

“Your Highness, your immediate course of action should be to go to Winterfell City, kneel before the Duke of the North Territory, and beg for his forgiveness.”

“Bang!”

The skull was thrown at Mr. Ji’s feet by Okamoto.

As it happened, those dead eyes were staring straight at Mr. Ji. “Mr.. Ji, look into my father’s eyes and repeat what you just said!”