The First Vampire

Twenty-odd miles away from Ice Rock City, a rudimentary yet organized camp had been established.

The camp was situated next to a small lake on a clear stretch of land, with the ground simply leveled.

Annoying shrubs had been completely deforested, but as they were recently soaked by heavy snow, they were too damp to be used as fuel right away. Instead, they were sharpened and stuck into the ground, forming a simple defensive fence.

A hundred fully-armed mercenaries patrolled around the camp, while inside the camp, there were dozens of even more well-equipped soldiers.

From their flag, one could tell these soldiers were from the private army of the Uman Clan.

In the center of the camp, a knight dressed in silver-grey armor was warming himself by a bonfire.

Without his helmet, his handsome young face was exposed. Blue eyes, black hair, thin lips tightly pressed together, all giving him an appearance of determination and composure.

The sound of light footsteps resonated and the knight turned his head to see his wife approaching.

“Walra, it’s very late. Aren’t you going to sleep?” Kaitlin murmured petulantly, coming to the bonfire and leaning against her husband’s broad shoulders.

“I’ll keep watch for a bit longer, you go on to sleep first.” Knight Walra rubbed his wife’s hair with a doting smile.

“Okay then, I’ll keep you company. I’m not actually sleepy yet,” Kaitlin said, fighting back a yawn.

Walra chuckled, shaking his head, “You should sleep. We’ll probably reach Ice Rock City tomorrow. Don’t show up with a tired face then, or Viscount Angler is likely to blame me for not taking care of his sister properly.”

Kaitlin smirked, “Colin wouldn’t be that petty.”

Walra planned to persuade her again, but suddenly he seemed to sense something. His muscles instantly tensed.

Kaitlin felt her husband’s change and asked in confusion, “What is it?”

“Someone’s coming!” Walra helped his wife up, then quickly put on his helmet and equipped his knight sword.

Just then, the sound of alarms went off in the camp, and the panicked cries of mercenaries echoed: “Rebels, the rebels are attacking!”

“Rebels?” Kaitlin’s face turned pale. Clenching her husband’s arm tightly, she asked anxiously, “Will we be ok?”

“Don’t worry, they’re just a bunch of slaves who can’t get enough to eat. Kill the few who charge to the front, and the rest will run away,” Walra reassured her with a relaxed face.

“Still, please be careful!”

“Alright.”

After comforting his wife, Knight Walra stepped forward. As he banged his shield with his sword, creating a loud ‘thunk’, thunk’, ‘thunk’, he roared:

“Stay calm! Form up! Ready for battle!”

At the call of Knight Walra, the Uman Clan’s guards quickly formed a battle array, gathering around the Knight, watching the slaves who were rushing up from outside the camp with calm faces.

The mercenaries’ performance, however, was a bit disastrous. When they saw the overwhelming number of slaves swarming, they were scared to death, becoming weak in the knees and not knowing what to do.

“Bowmen, fire!”

Knight Walra commanded calmly.

A volley of arrows flew from within the camp. Though not dense, they caused substantial casualties among the defenseless slaves.

After three rounds of arrows, the slaves had reached the fence. Knight Walra stood behind his massive shield and bellowed:

“Raise your shields and advance!”

Under the lead of Knight Walra, the guards of the Uman Clan, like a sharp blade, thrust deep into the rebel slaves. Wherever they went, the slaves could hardly resist.

The gap in equipment, martial skills, and fighting spirit was truly too vast. These starved slaves were no match for the guards of the Uman Clan.

At this time, Knight Walra was bathed in golden holy light, striking fear into the slaves to the point of wailing and scurrying around in chaos.

Their bravery also awakened the mercenaries as if from a dream, and one after another, they shouted and joined the fray.

The slave rebel army with their numerical advantage was instead beaten into a steady retreat.

At the back of the rebel forces, the cripple, witnessing his companions in a pitiful state, harbored deep disdain in his heart, but respectfully said to the slave leader standing next to him:

“Sir, there is a knight in the camp. I’m afraid we can’t take it. We should retreat. Ice Rock City is our real target.”

The slave leader’s face darkened with rage, “A bunch of wastes can’t even take down a small camp, how are we supposed to take Ice Rock City!”

The cripple quickly explained, “Sir, your current army is not substantial. Only by uniting with other rebel forces in Ice Rock City can we have a chance to take it.”

The complexion of the slave leader quickly changed, and when he glanced up again, he saw the Knight Walra causing a fearful carnage. He shivered all over and issued the reluctant order: “Retreat!”

The moment the slave rebel army received the order, they scattered like ants, quickly disappearing into the night.

In the ambiguity of the night, some slaves even lost their direction, becoming separated from the main force.

The slave leader had no mind to count the loss. He just led the remaining slaves directly towards Ice Rock City.

The slave leader, deep in the bitterness of his failure, did not notice that the slave known as the “cripple” had disappeared from the ranks at some point.

As the morning sun dispelled the fog in the woods, the troops of the Uman Clan set off again.

After the battle of the previous night, Knight Walra’s prestige within the group had greatly increased.

Those who had looked down upon him for his lowly birth of being an illegitimate son, now saw him in a new, respectful light.

One’s origin indeed mattered, but power was the universal business card of this world.

The group’s pace was not fast, it was not until sundown that they finally caught sight of the towering city walls of Ice Rock City.

However, at the base of city walls of Ice Rock City, a bloody massacre was still going on.

Innumerable slaves, like ants, gathered beneath the city walls, apparently laying siege to the city.

They had built a number of rudimentary wooden ladders, madly trying to scale the city walls.

However, Knight Walra, battle-hardened, saw at a glance that the city defenders were not yet showing their full strength.

It was as if they were worried about scaring off all the massed slaves with a sudden, overwhelming show of power.

But even though the defenders were holding back, the slaves’ attacks were chaotic and disorganized, with slavers fighting each other for ladders, and more simply standing bewildered beneath the walls, shouting incoherently, unaware of what they should do.

The numerous slave leaders gathered together, looking at the chaotic scene in front of them, were somewhat at a loss.

After all, they had not received any military education. How could they possibly know how to launch an attack on a city?

Just as the slave leaders were becoming more and more anxious, the city gates of Ice Rock City suddenly opened.

The slaves stared blankly for a few seconds, then cheered and all rushed toward the open city gate.

But before their excitement lasted long, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Accompanied by the sight of scattered corpses and splattered blood, a squadron of dark armored cavalry shot out from the city gate like sharp arrows, completely scattering the slave army.

Witnessing this, Knight Walra shook his head with a smile, turned to his command, “Kaitlin, you stay here with the mercenaries. I will lead the family guard in and lend a hand.”

“Alright.”