"What? Could you say that again, I think I heard you wrong...," I said with a look of disbelief.
"I am as befuddled as you are by this, it is hard to believe...but there is no mistaking what I just sensed...the Vampires that went west were just wiped out. Of the group that headed in that direction, all the Vampire Minions, eight of the nine Vampire Generals and one of the three Vampire Knights are dead. In other words, of the near-one hundred and fifty Vampires that attacked the west...only four are still alive," Replied Atticus, a look of genuine surprise on his face.
It had barely been an hour since he reported that the Vampires had reached The Empire, and just now, he'd rushed over to me with a shocked expression and informed me about what he sensed.
"You said all the Vampire Minions, about a hundred of them, were wiped in simultaneously in an instant? How?" I frowned, trying to figure it out.
Was Tirayze Valaque strong enough to pull that off? No, if he could, then the fight would have ended a lot earlier. For that matter, if he had that kind of power, he'd have already conquered this world by now. So, if it wasn't that...the only thing in this world that I knew could destroy on that scale were Blood Crystals, but from what I learnt during my infiltration mission, they didn't have nearly enough left for a large scale explosion like the one used to destroy Goldway.
"What about The Empire itself?"
"I do not know...I cannot sense humans, after all, only Vampires. I have no way of knowing whether any of the humans in that area are alive or not. Hm, the Evil Number and remaining Knights and General are still there...perhaps they are still fighting? I cannot be certain."
"You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that our apparent numbers advantage isn't going to help too much. The Vampires had fought in wars before, right?"
"Indeed, several many of them, against humans, against the races that disappeared, and even against other monsters. There used to be a lot more Vampires, but since they have no way to reproduce, their numbers have always been reducing slowly but surely. Those that are left are highly experienced in war...that said, there are some that may be overconfident as a result of that, especially against humans."
"Meanwhile, pretty much every single Adventurer has no such experience, they're so used to fighting mindless monsters and the occasional bandits that I don't know if they can handle opponents that are both intelligent and stronger that they are...for that matter, I doubt any of them have regularly fought alongside a group of more than five or six, so to suddenly fight alongside literally hundreds of others...well, let's just say that in the worst case scenario, our army will end up self-destructing without the Vampires even having to do anything. It probably won't be that bad, but a lack of coordination is almost guaranteed, and they're bound to get in each other's way or even accidentally hurt each other."
"Hm, that is indeed possible...I vaguely recall encountering such problems in the early battles alongside the other Vampires back when I was one of them."
Well, that was that, I suppose. It sounded promising...The Empire had dealt the Vampires a significant blow, I could only hope that went both ways, and The Empire had also suffered significant damage and casualties. I asked Atticus to let me know if anything else of note happened, before heading down to the camp that had been set up. There, I rejoined the others, who were looking pretty nervous.
"Hey, dude...did something happen?" Rai inquired, as I stepped into the tent where they were.
"I guess, but it's not important right now. If you guys are feeling tired at all or anything, get some rest while you can. It's just past 1 AM, and the Vampires will be here at 7 AM at the earliest according to Atticus, and there'll definitely be no time to rest once they arrive," I replied, sitting down with a sigh.
"I don't think I could fall asleep even if I was tired, I feel really restless," Said Persia, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Yeah, me too, this is really nerve-wracking. These will be the strongest enemies we've ever fought, and there's going to be dozens of them to contend with," Frowned Key, biting her thumb fingernail restlessly.
"At least you guys don't have to be a part of the front line," Grumbled Az, flashing me an annoyed look.
Right, so while the Adventurers who were to launch the ambush would get into place, the rest of us would gather in front of the north gate, to attack as soon as the ambush was launched, as well as to serve as a distraction. The Vampires' attention would be on us, and that would give the ambush a better chance of succeeding.
And of those of us who would gather at the front gate, a select few would be all the way in front, the strongest options we had. There was me, Ekai, Fuo, Princess Cusnai, Instructor Tabbs, Neo Lapunder, Yuur Ganroh, a few other Bronztan S-Ranks...and Az. Our job was to rush in and engage the stronger Vampires after the ambush was launched, most of the rest would be in teams of two or three and pick off the remaining Vampire Minions, while the lower ranked Adventurers were grouped into larger teams, of five or more.
"Come on, Az, with your abilities, we can't afford not to put you up front, dude," I replied with a sheepish grin, as he glared at me.
"Once this is over, I'm going to get you for this," He muttered.
"Heh, sure...I'll look forward to that."
"Kuro, I want to fight at the front too," Persia suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, great, take my place-," Az offered immediately.
"Not happening. You stick with Rai and Key, we already talked about this," I sighed, flicking her forehead.
"Ow! Come on, I want to fight with you..."
"That's sweet, but I'd rather you be safe than sweet."
"What about you, you're not safe!" She argued obstinately.
"Th-this isn't about me, and besides, I can hold my own-."
"And I can't?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying, you're plenty strong...but between the two of us, let's say a Vampire stabs us in the stomach, which of the two of us is more likely to survive?"
"That's not fair, I can't heal like you can-."
"My point exactly."
"Ooh, a lover's quarrel, how exciting!" Chimed in Rai with a grin.
"You're so embarrassing," Groaned Key, smacking the side of his head.
"Aw, why you gotta be to cold, wifKey?"
"I thought I told you not to call me that!"
"But it's easier than saying 'wifey Key', shortening it makes it simpler to say-."
"Shortened or unshortened, it makes no difference...do NOT call me that, Rai!"
"...or what?" He countered teasingly.
"To put it in your words...'Ooh, a lover's quarrel, how exciting!', or something along those lines," I quipped with a snort of laughter, as Persia giggled.
"Nice," Remarked Az with an amused nod.
And just like that, we were all talking and joking around like normal, the air of unease and nervousness forgotten, at least temporarily. I want to preserve this feeling...and to do so, I have to make sure we win this upcoming battle. In my old life, I only fought for myself, I had nothing to protect, no real ambition, and I only kept at it to make money and to get the thrill of killing, which let me feel alive, if just for a moment. But there was no bigger picture, everything I did was just a means to an end.
Things were different now, I had something I wanted to protect and something to live for...and I was determined to make it through this and protect what was important to me. I shouldn't get too ahead of myself though, look too far ahead and you'll lose sight of what's right in front of you, or something like that. Some philosopher probably said that...I think.
Anyway, we continued on for a while, until Atticus showed up a couple of hours later and informed us that the four remaining Vampires from the ground that went to The Empire were now on their way back to Silvland. What could that mean? Had The Empire been wiped out after all? Since the Vampires had taken so long to leave, it seemed unlikely that they'd been pushed back or were retreating...maybe both sides wiped each other out? But, then...why did the surviving Vampires take over two hours to leave afterwards?
Maybe they'd just been in shock? No, there's no point in speculating without any evidence. And besides, I had more important things to worry about, like the Vampires that were now just about four or five hours away from reaching the Rustlands...
...
...
A couple of hours later, as the sun began to rise, we all began to get into position, the Vampires less than two hours away. The Adventurers who would be launching the ambush took their places, each of them hiding by snowy boulders or rocks along the sides of the path, before activating their Stealth barriers. The Wind Magic users who'd be using Flight to hover above and drop my Lightning Novas and Az's Frostbite ice boulders down at the Vampires had it rough, since they'd have to stay airborne till the Vampires arrived, so we were gonna let them get into position once the Vampires were about half an hour or so away.
I'd give them all the signal as to when to launch the ambush, using the one-way Call card to contact them all simultaneously. We had already tested it to make sure it would work without any problems. And now, it was just a waiting game...a very, very nerve-wracking waiting game.
"They are beginning to pick up their pace a bit...I would say that they will reach the ambush area within forty-five minutes, sooner if they further pick up the pace," Informed Atticus, a grim expression on his-...Fuo's face.
Yeah, it was still kinda hard to get used to, two consiousnesses sharing one body.
"Tch, I do not like this...why must I, the number one Adventurer of this nation, trust a monster?" Growled Neo Lapunder aggressively.
"You seriously like picking fights, don't you? Maybe pick a better time and place," I retorted irritably.
We couldn't afford any tension within our own ranks, and Atticus was the last person, or monster, that we wanted to provoke.
"Please, such petty provocations are beneath me, I would only be sullying my own pride if I were to pay any heed to the words of this insect. I would be no different from Fuo when she curses at mosquitoes-...for the last time, can you stop doing that!? At least let me maintain some degree of privacy!"
"What was that!?" Snarled Neo, stepping towards them with lightning crackling around his hands.
"Enough! We can't afford this shit right now, get that through your thick skull, asshole. I don't care how strong you are, if you keep this up, morale is going to take a hit and that'd make you a liability. If you insist on being a liability...I'll kill you here and now, got that?" I snapped in a low, threatening voice.
"That was a bit much, Kuro, but I agree with you to an extent...Lapunder, I ask you to act in a manner befitting of your rank. Or are you incapable of doing so?" Inquired Instructor Tabbs, her tone was icy and she had a cold smile on her face.
Brrr, been a while since I've seen that look. And sure enough, he finally shut up, quietly murmuring to himself irritably, his face red with anger. This guy is the worst.
"As expected, you Adventurers of the Rustlands are rather lacking in class-," Began Princess Cusnai haughtily.
"Don't you start, Princess Flasher," I warned her with a glare.
"You-...d-don't call me that!" She stuttered, before turning away with a huff.
I guess it must be the nerves, everyone was on edge, shifting about nervously and restlessly. Fortunately, silence ensured after that, it was tense, but it was better than everyone snapping at each other. And then, after what felt like ages, but couldn't have been more than twenty-five minutes, Atticus spoke up, breaking the silence...
"They are ten minutes away, and will likely soon be in sight," He remarked gravely.
I nodded and took out the Call spell, before talking into it.
"Get ready, ambush squad, the targets are approaching. Remember, don't fire till I give you the signal, understood?"
Okay, this is it...do or die, and I don't say that lightly. Every passing second felt agonizingly slow, a creeping tension enveloping my body, as the time slowly ticked over, bit, by bit, by bit...until finally, they came into view over the horizon. They were still a ways away from the ambush area, but they were in sight, we could see them.
"Hey, Atticus, I almost forgot to ask...how are they positioned, are the Minions in front or are the stronger ones in front?"
"The Evil Number who is leading them is at the front, with three Vampire Knights behind, nine Vampire Generals behind them, and the Vampire Minions are bringing up the rear."
"I see, strongest to weakest from front to back huh...about the Evil Number, can you tell which one it is?"
"No, I cannot...it is too far to see, but I think they are wearing a hooded cloak...and I already told you that I cannot differentiate between them just by sensing them, since all the Evil Numbers are at around the same level of power."
In the worst case scenario, that Evil Number would be Zero, the one that could nullify magic. We just had to hope that it was one of the others.
"So, hey...why aren't they flying?" I inquired curiously.
"Oh, flying consumes more stamina than moving on foot. And a Vampire's flight speed is not significantly greater than their speed on foot. Moving on foot is just...easier for a Vampire."
Hm, my foot speed in Vampire Mode was x15 my normal speed, while it went upto x18 when I fly, a twenty percent increase. Well, I'm not an actual Vampire, so I don't know if that's a valid comparison. Well, this works great...our ambush was likely to do a lot more damage if they were on the ground instead of in the air. I should keep talking to the ambush team, radio silence might make them nervous and fire prematurely.
"Stay alert, ambush squad, do not fire before I give the signal. I repeat, do not fire before I give the signal."
I know now's probably not the time, but I've always wanted to talk like this. I was tempted to say 'over', but considering that communication in this manner hadn't existed in this world until just recently, that'd just confuse them.
On another note, I felt kinda strange right now. Not in a nervous or excited way, or in any way I'd felt before...what is this. It was slowly getting stronger, a really weird feeling...also, why was my mouth watering? I had already eaten and I wasn't hungry, nor was I craving any food...what is this feeling? It was slowly but surely growing more intense, a ravenous desire inside me for...something. But what? Forget it, I'm probably just nervous or something.
"Alright, everyone, make it seem like you're about to attack, keep an Elemental Magic attack charged up or something. If we just stand idly by, then the Vampires might get suspicious, and in the worst case, they might even see the ambush coming. We need to capture their attention," I instructed, as I formed a bolt of lightning in my hands, gulping as my mouth continued salivating at an alarming rate.
Whatever's going on with me, I need to ignore it and focus...okay, let's see, I could use a hundred percent Karma for about a minute and thirty-five seconds, and I could use Vampire Mode for a minute...the time limits of my trump cards were starting to feel painfully inadequate right now, in the worst case scenario I'd be totally useless in this battle beyond two to three minutes.
I had trained myself to be able to enter either of those forms in an instant, so my best option will be to use them bit by bit instead of all in one go. I should save at least forty seconds of Vampire Mode for the Evil Number, which means that I can't afford to have any drawn out fights. And to do that, I'll have to use something that I haven't used in a fairly long time...Bloodlust Mode.
"Hold your nerves, ambush squad, just a bit more...almost there...," I stated as calmly as possibly, the Vampires closing the gap bit by bit, until..., "Now, FIRE!"
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