Chapter 51: The Vampire Offensive

The Kingdom of Safro, upon the western seas.

A terrifying fleet was sailing southward along the coastal cliffs.

No matter how one looked at it, this fleet did not appear to be a normal one; the surfaces of the vessels were covered in red fleshy membranes and decorated with various bones.

Upon the sails, a crimson blood-red emblem was printed without concealment.

A blood-red bat.

This was the new symbol of the newborn Vampire Kingdom.

The fleet hugged the cliffs, using the high precipices to conceal the tracks of their movements.

They continued until the group docked beneath a cliff face dozens of meters high.

The entire Kingdom of Safro had a total of three ports, two of which were located in the eastern part of the kingdom. The terrain in the east was much flatter and lower, possessing more deep-water ports that bordered the sea.

As for the west, aside from a meager small port at the northern tip, the rest consisted of sea cliffs rising high above sea level.

Forget ports—there wasn't even a place to struggle ashore.

"General, we have arrived."

On the flagship, a vampire knight clad in blood-colored armor knelt half-way before a tall knight.

The tall knight stood up; his physique was over two meters tall, a veritable minor giant.

He wore heavy blood-colored armor decorated with fleshy membranes and bone. Two skull-like pauldrons were fastened to his shoulders.

With his heavy armor and massive footsteps, every step forward sent a thunderous boom through the entire ship.

He walked to the forward deck and looked toward the cliff.

He muttered to himself, "I know him. He might be a man of firm will, a good lord. But he can absolutely not be called a good general.

I taught him when he was still young, but unfortunately, his mind is not flexible. He does not understand the adaptability of the battlefield, and his ability to respond to sudden changes is weak.

I shall use this raid to teach him that his human pride is not worth mentioning."

This blood-colored knight known as the General was none other than Martin—the most powerful knight under the founding monarch.

He was also the current Vampire General of the entire kingdom.

The person he spoke of was the Count.

"Begin the operation."

He lifted his massive greatsword with one hand and pointed toward the cliff.

"Ya! Ya!"

Sharp cries erupted as a large number of giant bats with fluttering wings immediately emerged from the fleet of eight massive ships.

Each of their leg-claws gripped a vampire soldier, carrying them toward the cliff.

Repeating this process, aside from the essential crew members required to pilot the ships, all the vampire soldiers on board were transported up the cliff.

Seeing that enough had been moved, Martin stomped heavily on the deck, and a pair of massive bat wings unfurled from his back.

With a violent flap that brought a crimson gale, he carried the towering knight and flew up the cliff.

...

One day later.

The command center of the Lakeview City military camp.

A knight burst through the door, rushing inside.

The commanders, who were in the middle of a discussion, turned to look at him.

The Count, who was sitting directly facing the door, watched the knight.

The knight's armor was distorted and covered in numerous scratches, and some of the wounds on his body had already scabbed over.

To barge in with such urgency...

This could not be good news.

"Lord Count, our retreat... our retreat has been cut off!"

Hearing this, the Count frowned, sensing immediate trouble. He slammed the table and stood up.

This news was even worse than he had imagined.

"What? Speak clearly!"

Richard, who was beside him, also frowned; in fact, this news caused the expressions of everyone in the command room to turn solemn.

"The road leading to the Kingdom of Cohn has been cut off."

"What happened?"

"A vampire army, appearing from out of nowhere, suddenly charged out. All of our defensive postures were oriented toward the potential vampire threat from the north.

Facing this sudden attack from the western coast, we were completely unprepared. By the time they charged, they were only a hundred meters away from us.

Our lines were broken, and the Stone Fist army was also driven back; they have retreated into the fortress."

The knight below quickly and briefly narrated the series of events regarding their routed defense.

"How can this be? I remember that area is a sea cliff, dozens of meters above the sea! Could they be using some kind of teleportation magic?" the bearded knight, Udo, couldn't help but ask.

After speaking, he looked toward the woman, Yara, who was sitting in the corner.

Yara glanced at him. "There is no such teleportation magic, or at least, it is impossible here."

Large-scale war teleportation spells were not something that could be cast so easily, nor was it a technology the Kingdom of Safro possessed.

If they had such ability, they would have teleported directly to Lakeview City, wouldn't that have solved the problem more effectively?

"So, the Prince was right? Our retreat really has been cut off?" the Count's adjutant murmured to himself.

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire command room fell silent. They still remembered what they had discussed here a few days ago.

At that time, not a single person believed the Fourth Prince, nor did anyone believe their retreat would be severed.

Standing beside Richard, the quiet Blake silently turned his head to look at his father.

Richard's expression was grave. "I did not consider things thoroughly enough. We must react now, otherwise, we will be buried in Lakeview City."

The Count also snapped out of it and struck the table, drawing everyone's attention back.

"Since our retreat is already cut off, with our current strength, it is unlikely we can break through the encirclement.

Does anyone have any ideas?"

The Count looked at the group.

"Should we scatter to break out?"

"Have you forgotten the vampires' reconnaissance methods? Even if we have the ability to evade them, there are still those werewolves who come sniffing for the scent of blood."

"There might even be vampire troops in front of the Gray Mountain Fortress. How are we supposed to charge through? Even if we do, I don't believe the people of Stone Fist would take such a massive risk to open the gates."

"Then should we cross the mountains? Enter the Kingdom of Cohn directly?"

"Heh, I believe you certainly won't make it across. You'll likely die before you even reach the other side."

As they argued incessantly, Richard sighed and said, "If we do not want to be surrounded and trapped to death in Lakeview City, we have no choice but to abandon this city.

The pressure from the front is already making it hard for us to breathe. If more vampire troops attack us from the flank or rear, we will have no chance at all.

Once we are besieged in Lakeview City, we are doomed."

Hearing Richard's words, everyone present looked grim; they knew this was the only way.

"So, we have to retreat to Riverbend Town?" Blake, who rarely spoke, suddenly asked.

His father, Richard, glanced at him and nodded.

"That's right. We can only retreat there."

The Count looked at the map with a heavy expression. The entire command room had fallen silent, and everyone was looking at him.

Regardless, the final order had to come from the Count. If the Count was unwilling, they could do nothing but offer counsel or hold their ground stubbornly.

Or they could become deserters; if people truly lost hope, there would surely be many deserters.

He continued to stare silently at the map.

Watching this scene, no one knew what to say.

After waiting for a while, Richard walked over to the knight and suddenly knelt on one knee facing the Count.

"My Lord, my strategy has failed. Let us take the remaining soldiers and retreat to Riverbend Town. Organize the men for withdrawal."

The Count looked at the map without speaking. He had prepared for so long, yet when the crisis truly erupted, it had been of no use.

Day after day, he had developed the territory—a city and this small fiefdom—to the point of forcibly developing a full plate knight regiment.

And so many half-plate soldiers.

Yet, in the face of the vampire troops, they could barely withstand the pressure of the vanguard.

Let alone protecting a territory or resisting a main force.

However, he only wallowed in despair for a moment. After a while, he regained his composure and struck the table heavily.

"Order all soldiers to retreat to Riverbend Town in an orderly fashion. Blake, you take Ryan and Kucha and head out first. Tell Johnny to get ready."

Blake accepted the command and walked straight out of the command center.

Returning to the camp, he immediately left with Ryan and the other.

"Blake, where are we going? Are we going to launch a surprise attack on the vampires?"

"Idiot, can't you see it's just the three of us? How are we going to launch a surprise attack? It's more like going to our deaths."

"Enough, stop talking. We are going back to Riverbend Town," Blake said while riding his horse.

"Back to Riverbend Town?"

"Haven't we only been back at the front for a few days? I haven't even killed many of those damn monsters yet."

Blake nodded. "Things went exactly as the Prince predicted. Everyone has to retreat to Riverbend Town. We are going ahead to issue orders and let the people in Riverbend Town prepare."

"Even though we were prepared, hearing this news is still quite hard to accept."

"Is it? I actually think the Prince is quite impressive, being even more knowledgeable about strategy than the General. You have to realize he is still in the rear and his information isn't as prompt as ours."

Blake couldn't help but nod. He didn't know how Kana had managed to foresee this so early.

"But it's fine. I haven't even thanked His Highness for his reward yet," Ryan said with a smile, pulling a few gold coins from his tunic.

Kucha also couldn't help but break into a bright smile; the Prince was indeed generous.

(End of Chapter)