The First Vampire

The Troll Palace stood at the northwest corner of the Royal City, surrounded on all sides by a lake, with the palace built on an island in the center of Biwa Lake.

Biwa Lake is the most famous hot spring lake in the Troll’s Royal City. It is said that the reason why the Troll Emperor had chosen this location for the new Royal City was because of this rare hot spring.

In the icy and snowy Sky Ice Plain, such a hot spring was nothing short of a divine sign. Naturally, the trolls considered it a blessing from the White Wolf War God and deliberately built the palace in the center of Biwa Lake.

The morning light had not yet fully spread to every corner of the Royal City when Troll Emperor Modo the Second convened the Imperial Conference.

This emperor, who could be deemed the most diligent in the history of the Troll Empire, always began meetings at the crack of dawn. This was without a doubt a painful torment for the troll ministers. However, in the face of Modo the Second, who was determined to rejuvenate the empire, the troll ministers could only endure helplessly.

Regrettably, even though Modo the Second was so diligent, he was still unable to prevent the Troll Empire from gradually declining under his rule.

Sometimes, the fate of the empire truly could not be reversed by the efforts of one or two individuals.

The topic of this Imperial Conference was clear ???the Dark Cavalry.

The trolls had already set up a trap, but the game was nowhere to be seen.

As time passed, the upper echelons of the trolls inevitably began to grow anxious.

Modo the Second was already over fifty years old, but he was still very robust and sturdy, his posture upright and military-like as he sat on the throne.

In fact, this troll emperor had indeed served in the military and had also crossed swords with Marquis Garcia.

Of course, it’s not accurate to say that they had crossed swords. More accurately, he had been taught a lesson by Marquis Garcia

But there was nothing to be ashamed of.

In the Troll Empire, any general who hadn’t been schooled by Marquis Garcia could only be said to be unworthy of being on the frontline.

It was precisely because the Dark Cavalry had left a psychological shadow on him that this Troll Emperor attached great importance to this plan to bait and kill them. As long as the Dark Cavalry was not annihilated, Modo the Second would be restless day and night.

The majority of the Troll nobles also firmly believed that if they could truly consign the name of the Dark Cavalry to history this time, the revival of the Troll Empire might just be around the corner.

Inside the Parliament Hall hung a massive military map. The Black arrows representing the Dark Cavalry were shown to be occupying Wind Roar Fortress.

But this status has not been updated for more than ten days.

Why is the Dark Cavalry still at Wind Roar Fortress?

Why don’t they attack the Troll’s Royal City?

Could they have seen through this strategy?

All kinds of thoughts were spinning in the minds of the troll nobles, making the atmosphere a bit oppressive for a moment.

In the end, it was Modo the Second who broke the embarrassing silence: “Has there been any movement from the Dark Cavalry?”

The Minister of Military Affairs looked a bit stiff as he carefully replied: “No, Your Majesty. The sentries on the frontline have not seen them leave Wind Roar Fortress.”

“Then why are they not moving?”

Modo the Second’s follow-up question put the Minister of Military Affairs in a difficult position; he cast a pleading look at the two princes seated closer to the front.

Of the four princes of the Troll Empire, Prince Otto of the North had been injured in a duel with Duke St. Hilde and was currently recuperating in the extreme north. Prince Okamoto of the South had led a feint and gone south. So, the only ones left in the hall were Prince Abbas of the East and Prince Meruvi of the West.

Prince Abbas was an elegant middle-aged troll who was fond of human culture, manners, etiquette, and of course, human beauties. If one ignored his somewhat grim face in human eyes, Prince Abbas was no different from an elegant and dignified human noble.

This Eastern Prince was a firm “Peace Faction” in the Troll Empire. In his view, persisting in antagonizing the North Territory was an extremely unwise move. Only by peacefully coexisting and trading with the North Territory could the Troll Empire have hope for revival.

Last year, when Prince Okamoto went to Winterfell City for peace talks and a marriage alliance, he received high praise from Prince Abbas, who believed that this was the right way for the Troll Empire and North Territory to coexist.

The Western prince across from him, Meruvi, on the other hand, is a staunch “war advocate”.

Prince Meruvi had a robust build, muscular stature, and dense hair covered his dark green skin, making him look like a green-skinned large gorilla.

As for his dress, it was ?difficult to describe.

He wore various colored gems all over his body, his appearance indeed radiant, but it was too much. Such adornment only exposed Prince Meruvi’s incredibly vulgar taste.

Prince Meruvi had a pair of triangular eyes, and the menacing look in them made him appear as if he disapproved of everyone, especially Prince Abbas.

In his view, a “sissy” like Prince Abbas was nothing but a disgrace to the Troll Clan. Not to mention the prince’s pacifistic tendencies, which made Meruvi wish he could cut down this traitor with a single swipe.

At this time, seeing the pleading gaze of the Minister of Military Affairs, Prince Meruvi spoke casually: “Your Majesty, I think there is no need to worry. The Dark Cavalry is probably waiting for our southern troops to go further, so they delayed in Wind Roar Fortress. So, what we should do now is wait patiently.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Prince Abbas sneered and shook his head, as if he had heard something foolish.

Prince Meruvi’s eyes widened, and he retorted angrily: “Abbas, why are you laughing? What’s wrong with what I said?”

Prince Abbas took a step back to avoid the sprayed spit from Meruvi’s mouth, and he said disdainfully:

“Meruvi, did your pig brain ever consider, we only know that the Dark Cavalry hasn’t advanced to the north of Wind Roar Fortress, but what about the south of the fortress? Do you know what’s happening there?”

Prince Meruvi was momentarily stunned at those words, but quickly retorted: “What could happen in the south?”

Prince Abbas sneered: “Counting the time, Okamoto should be retreating as planned. Tell me, if the Dark Cavalry continues to stay at Wind Roar Fortress, what will happen?”

Meruvi frowned now: “Are you saying, the Dark Cavalry is waiting for Okamoto’s army to retreat? How is that possible? How could they know Okamoto will return?”

Prince Abbas scoffed: “Do you think everyone is as stupid as you? From the very beginning, I strongly opposed this so-called plan to lure the enemy, because once the enemy sees through it, we will be in an extremely passive situation!

The Dark Cavalry now occupies the Wind Roar Fortress but has not continued north. It is very likely that they already know that the Troll Royal City is a trap!

Ha! While you want to lure the enemy, it seems the enemy has eaten the bait but just won’t step into your trap!”

“Nonsense!” Prince Meruvi, red-faced, wanted to rebut, but he didn’t find any counterarguments for a moment.

Because at this time, most of the troll nobles had begun to realize that the movements of the Dark Cavalry were too suspicious.

Perhaps, as Prince Abbas said, the plan to lure the enemy had unexpectedly gone awry.

“This is all just your speculation, do you have any evidence to prove that the Dark Cavalry has seen through our stratagem?” Prince Meruvi still tried to maintain a facade.

Prince Abbas chuckled coldly, seeming unwilling to explain to this brash brute.

“Abbas? ” Modo the Second also spoke, his voice sounding particularly hoarse.

But before the Troll Emperor could continue, a guard walked quickly into the Parliament Hall and reported loudly: “Your Majesty, Prince Okamoto is asking for an audience outside the palace.”

“Okamoto!”

“Why is he back!”

“What happened to the army heading south?”

“Did the Dark Cavalry really see through our scheme?”

For a moment, the Parliament Hall was thrown into disorder.