Chapter 51: The Vampire Offensive

In the western waters of the Safro Kingdom, a terrifying fleet was sailing southward along the coastal cliffs.

No matter how one looked at it, this was no ordinary fleet. The hulls of the ships were covered in red, fleshy membranes and skeletal decorations. On the sails, a crimson emblem was unashamedly emblazoned: a blood-red bat. This was the new emblem of the newborn vampiric kingdom.

The fleet sailed close to the cliffs, using the towering rock faces to mask their movements, until they finally came to a halt beneath a cliff that stood several dozen meters high.

The Safro Kingdom had a total of three ports, two of which were located on the eastern side. The terrain in the east was much flatter and lower, featuring numerous deep-water ports facing the open sea. As for the west, apart from a meager little harbor at the northern tip, the rest consisted of sheer sea cliffs rising high above the water level. Forget about ports; finding even a makeshift spot to clamber ashore was impossible.

"General, we have arrived."

On the flagship, a vampire knight clad in blood-red armor knelt on one knee before a tall knight and spoke.

The towering knight stood up. His physique was well over two meters tall, making him a veritable young giant. He wore heavy, blood-red armor decorated with fleshy membranes and bones, with two skull-like pauldrons locked onto his shoulders. With his heavy plate armor and weighty tread, every step forward caused the entire ship to emit a loud creak.

He walked to the foredeck and looked up at the cliff.

Muttering to himself, he said, "I know him. He may be a man of firm will, a good lord, but he can by no means be called a good general. I taught him when he was young, but unfortunately, his mind is not flexible. He does not understand battlefield adaptability, and his ability to handle sudden crises is quite poor. Let this surprise attack teach him that his human pride is worthless."

The blood-red knight referred to as the general was none other than Martin, the most powerful knight under the founding monarch, and now the vampire general of the entire kingdom. The person he spoke of was none other than the Count.

"Move out."

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

"Screech! Screech!"

Piercing cries rang out as a multitude of giant bats with flapping wings suddenly emerged from the fleet, which consisted of a full eight large ships. Each of them clutched a vampire soldier in its talons, carrying them up toward the cliff.

Repeating this process over and over, all the vampire soldiers on board were transported up the cliff, leaving behind only the essential crew members needed to navigate the vessels.

Seeing that nearly everyone was across, Martin stamped heavily on the deck, causing a pair of giant bat wings to unfold from his back. With a fierce flap, they whipped up a crimson gale that bore the towering knight aloft, flying him up to the cliff.

***

One day later.

Lake-View City military camp command post.

A knight burst through the door, violently shoving it open as he rushed inside.

The commanders, who were in the midst of discussing matters, turned their gazes toward him.

The Count, seated directly opposite the doorway, stared at the knight. The man's armor was warped and covered in numerous scratches, and the wounds on his body had already scabbed over. Bursting in with such urgency could only mean one thing: this was no good news.

"Lord Count, our retreat route—our retreat route has been cut off!"

Hearing this, the Count knitted his brows, a sudden sense of foreboding gripping him. He slammed his hand down on the table and stood up. The news was even worse than he had imagined.

"What? Speak clearly!"

Beside him, Aichard also furrowed his brow. Indeed, the news cast a heavy shadow over everyone present in the command room.

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

"What is going on?"

"A vampire army that seemingly materialized out of nowhere suddenly charged out. All of our defensive postures were oriented toward the north, anticipating the vampires' arrival from that direction. Facing a sudden assault from the western coast, we were completely unprepared. By the time they launched their charge, they were a mere hundred meters away from us. Our formation was scattered, and the Stone-Fist army was beaten back as well. They have retreated into the fortress."

The knight below quickly and concisely recounted the sequence of events that had led to their defeat and rout.

"How could this be? I recall that the western side is a sea cliff, isn't it? It must be dozens of meters above sea level! Could they possibly be using some kind of teleportation magic?" the bearded knight, Udo, could not help but ask.

With that, he glanced toward Yara, the woman sitting quietly in the corner.

Yara shot him a glance. "There is no such teleportation magic—or at least, not here."

Such large-scale wartime teleportation spells were not something that could be cast casually, nor were they a technology the Safro Kingdom possessed. If they had that kind of capability, they might as well have teleported directly into Lake-View City; wouldn't that solve the problem much more effectively?

"So, His Royal Highness the Prince was right? Our retreat route really has been cut off?" the Count's adjutant muttered in disbelief.

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire command room fell silent. They all vividly remembered what they had discussed here just a few days ago. At that time, not a single person had believed the Fourth Prince's words, and not a single person had believed their retreat route would be severed.

Blake, who had been standing quietly beside Aichard, silently turned his head to look at his father.

Aichard's expression was grave. "It was my oversight. We must take action immediately, or else we will perish buried within Lake-View City."

The Count regained his composure, slapping the table to draw everyone's attention back to him.

"Since our retreat route has been cut off, given our current troop strength, it is unlikely we can break through the encirclement. Do any of you have any ideas now?" The Count looked around at the assembled commanders.

"Should we break out in scattered groups?"

"Have you forgotten those vampire reconnaissance methods? Even if we have the ability to evade them, what about those werewolves that track the scent of blood?"

"Who knows, there might still be vampire troops stationed right outside the Grey Mountain Fortress. How are we supposed to charge through? Even if we did make it across, I doubt the men of Stone-Fist would take such a massive risk to open the gates."

"Then shall we scale the mountains and cross directly into the Koen Kingdom?"

"Heh, I guarantee you wouldn't make it across. You'd likely be dead before you even reached the other side."

As they argued back and forth, Aichard sighed and said, "If we do not wish to be surrounded and starved to death inside Lake-View City, we have no choice but to abandon this city. The pressure from the front alone is already making it hard for us to breathe. If more vampire forces attack us from the flanks and rear, we will have zero chance. Once we are trapped within Lake-View City, we are dead beyond a doubt."

Hearing Aichard's words, everyone in the room wore solemn expressions. They knew in their hearts that this was the only remaining option.

"So, we have to fall back to Riverbend Town?" Blake, who had remained mostly silent up to this point, suddenly asked.

His father, Aichard, glanced at him and nodded.

"That's right, we have no choice but to fall back there."

The Count stared grimly at the map. The entire command room had fallen dead silent, with every pair of eyes fixed upon him. Regardless of anything else, the final order had to come from the Count. If the Count was unwilling, aside from offering counsel, they would either have to hold the line stubbornly or turn into deserters. And if things truly reached that desperate point, there would undoubtedly be no shortage of deserters.

He remained silently staring at the map.

Seeing this, no one knew what else to say.

After waiting for a moment, Aichard stepped over to the side of the exhausted knight, walked up directly facing the Count, and abruptly dropped to one knee.

"Lord Commander, my strategy has failed. Let us take the remaining soldiers and fall back to Riverbend Town. Order the men to begin the evacuation."

The Count stared at the map without speaking. They had prepared for so long, yet when the crisis truly erupted, it had all amounted to nothing. Day after day, they had developed their territory, building up a city and this small domain until they had forged a full-plate knight order and countless semi-plate soldiers. Yet in front of the vampire forces, they could barely hold their ground against the vanguard, let alone protect their territory or resist the main army.

Still, his despondency lasted only a moment. After a brief pause, he collected himself, slamming his fist heavily onto the table.

"Order all soldiers to fall back to Riverbend Town in an orderly fashion. Blake, take Rien and Craton ahead of the main force. Have Jonier make preparations."

Blake acknowledged the order and strode straight out of the command post. Returning to the barracks, he fetched Rien and Craton, and the three of them immediately mounted their horses.

"Blake, where are we heading? Are we launching a surprise attack on the vampires?"

"Idiots, didn't you see it's just the three of us? How are we supposed to launch a surprise attack? We'd just be walking to our deaths."

"Alright, stop talking. We're heading back to Riverbend Town," Blake said as he reined in his horse.

"Back to Riverbend Town?"

"Didn't we just return to the front lines a few days ago? I haven't even killed enough of those damned monsters yet."

Blake nodded. "Things have unfolded just as His Royal Highness predicted. Everyone has to fall back to Riverbend Town. We are going ahead to issue the orders and have the people of Riverbend Town prepare."

"Even though we were mentally prepared, hearing this news is still hard to swallow."

"Is that so? I actually think His Royal Highness is quite formidable—he understands strategy even better than the General. And you have to remember, he stayed back at the rear, and his intelligence reports shouldn't even be as up-to-date as ours."

Blake could not help but nod in agreement. He still could not fathom how Kanna had managed to foresee this turn of events so far in advance.

"Well, regardless, I haven't even thanked His Highness for his reward yet," Rien said with a smile, pulling a handful of gold coins from his tunic.

Craton, too, broke into a brilliant grin. His Royal Highness was truly generous.