The First Vampire

The situation in the North Territory was grim by the end of March.

As the weather gradually warmed, ambitious men seemed to become restless.

The great lords of the North Territory all sensed the imminent arrival of war, and they began to assemble armies and reinforce their defenses.

Although at the approach of spring, the lords should have been actively preparing for spring plowing to prevent the escalating famine from spreading further.

Unfortunately, the fragile situation in the North Territory left the lords with no time to worry about spring plowing.

After all, if the slaves and commoners starved to death, the aristocratic lords would, of course, be more concerned about the safety of their territories.

Finally, on the first day of April, a man named Mr. Ji, who claimed to be a descendant of the Holy Knight Family of St. Sean, officially announced his identity in Ironforge City. He declared that the unprecedented famine in the North Territory was due to Duke St. Hilde’s incompetence and inability.

Therefore, in his capacity as a descendant of the Holy Knight Family, he spoke out for the countless Northerners tormented by famine, demanding that Duke St. Hilde voluntarily relinquish his position as the lord of the North Territory to someone more capable of protecting it.

After Mr. Ji’s public speech, a group of Northern nobles, led by Marquis Dawson and Count Uman, also publicly declared that they demanded Duke St. Hilde to take responsibility for the famine in the North Territory.

A single stone set off a thousand waves. The St. Sean family, which had been silent for three hundred years, made a strong comeback and stirred up the situation in the North Territory.

The lords of the North Territory, shocked at first, began to consider which side to take.

As for the Northerners, the prestige of the St. Hilde family had been upheld for a thousand years, so the Northerners naturally wouldn’t pay attention to the St. Sean family. In fact, many people had forgotten about this once Holy Knight family.

However, the famine that had ravaged the North Territory for half a year had accumulated a great deal of discontent towards the St. Hilde family among the Northerners. The St. Sean family ignited this discontent, and it instantly ignited like a wild prairie fire.

Countless people in the North Territory, who couldn’t get enough to eat, began to feel that perhaps the North Territory needed a new ruler.

In the face of the St. Sean family’s public opinion attacks, Duke St. Hilde finally appeared in public.

This was his first public appearance since his duel with the Holy Warrior.

This lord of the North Territory counterattacked without hesitation, refuting the absurd statements of the St. Sean family, declaring them to be the culprits behind the chaos in the North Territory.

Meanwhile, he declared Marquis Dawson, Count Uman, and several other lords to be rebels of the North Territory. He decided to immediately strip them of their nobility and fiefdoms, and dispatched the Golden Lion Legion to march towards Ironforge City, hoping to eliminate the dwarf rebellion as soon as possible.

In addition, Duke St. Hilde issued an emergency call-up, demanding all the great lords of the North Territory and all mercenary groups to join in this war to suppress the rebellion.

All of a sudden, great changes were happening in the North Territory. The “Lion-Tiger duel” officially kicked off.

While the North Territory was in chaos, Colin and his army had already arrived at the Snow Mountain Range.

Here, the cold wind roared, and snow filled the sky. There wasn’t a hint that spring was on its way.

Going further, they would have officially entered the territory of the Troll Empire, and Colin and the others could no longer keep their movements secret.

Of course, to enter the Troll Empire, they still had to pass the last barrier.

“Viscount Angler, Sir Charles.” A Knight of the St. Hilde Family, his face battered by wind and cold, was brought to the temporary command post and bowed to Colin and Charles.

He was dressed in full chainmail, his chest marked with the badge of the Golden Lion Legion, a Knight Sword and Yuen Shield at his waist, and a conical helmet clasped in his left hand. The various cut marks and blood traces on his equipment indicated that he had just been through a bloody battle.

“Knight Brad, what’s the situation at Wind Roar Fortress now?” Charles asked anxiously.

The Wind Roar Fortress he mentioned was one of the three fortresses given to the Golden Lion Legion by the Troll Empire, where Charles had previously served.

Only after crossing this fortress could Colin truly enter the territory of the Troll Empire.

The Knight Brad, is the commander in charge of defending the Wind Roar Fortress.

“The Troll’s southern army arrived at the Wind Roar Fortress thirteen days ago and launched an attack on us. Their numbers were vast, and after a day of hard defense, the Troll’s ultimately seized the Wind Roar Fortress.

After the loss of the Wind Roar Fortress, I led the remnants of my army to retreat, hiding in the Snow Mountain Range, waiting for reinforcements.”

“How many of you are left now?”

“When we retreated, there were more than five hundred of us, but some got scattered afterwards, now there are only a couple of hundred left.” Knight Brad looked despondent.

Colin, of course, understood that by “scattered” the other party actually meant desertion.

However, it is not surprising that these people turned into deserters. After all, this place is too far from the North Territory, reinforcements seemed out of reach, coupled with the fact that most of the stationed troops were fresh recruits, so deserting in their desperation was not surprising.

“After the Trolls seized the Wind Roar Fortress, they left?”

“Yes, they only rested in the Wind Roar Fortress for half a day before hastily heading south.”

“Hmmm.” Colin calculated the time and realized that he must have just narrowly missed the south bound Troll Army.

This was actually quite normal. Given how vast the Sky Ice Plain was, two armies brushing past each other was the norm, encountering each other head on would have been a small probability of coincidental encounter.

“And the other two fortresses?”

“A couple of days ago, I saw smoke signals rise in the direction of the other two fortresses, so they are likely already seized by the Trolls.”

Colin nodded, he wasn’t surprised at this.

The Golden Lion Legion leaving only a few stationed troops here meant they apparently didn’t intend to hold on.

“Do you know what the current situation at the Wind Roar Fortress is?”

“Yes. The Trolls did not leave many troops to guard, I estimate there could be around only a couple of thousand, and their defenses is extremely lax. I’ve even tried sneaking to a position less than a hundred meters from the fortress to observe at night without drawing the guard’s attention.”

“Hmm, do you have any suggestions on how to attack this Wind Roar Fortress?”

Hearing this question, Knight Brad suddenly laughed.

Charles also laughed, he and Knight Brad shared a look, then explained: “Viscount Angler, actually when the Troll Army first began to mobilize, we were aware that the Wind Roar Fortress would inevitably fall.

So, to make recovery easier in the future, we made alterations to the fortress walls.”

“Oh?” Colin’s eyes brightened, he quickly asked, “What alterations did you make?”

“At the southeast corner of the Wind Roar Fortress, there is a section of the fortress wall whose foundation we intentionally hollowed out. So, now as long as it is rammed with a few logs, it will collapse!”

“Good!” Colin clapped his hands in excitement, then immediately ordered, “Knight Brad, then please lead your men to prepare the siege equipment. We shall launch our attack at dawn tomorrow!”

“Yes, sir!”