The First Vampire

The chilly moonlight fell on the top of Storm Fortress City, illuminating the busy figures.

After piling the last piece of dark stone, Mark wiped his sweat and noticed that his hands were stained with ink-like blackness.

He looked towards his companions, who were amusingly blackened from head to toe as well.

The whistle for assembly sounded, and Mark hurriedly relinquished his thoughts and joined the line.

After assembling, a group of people were led to dine.

Upon reaching the dining spot, Mark realized the location was seemingly secluded and quiet. However, the pleasant aroma of meat soup shrouded his senses, forcing him to forget any further thoughts. He positioned himself in the queue and began to estimate the number of people ahead of him, contemplating whether there would still be pieces of meat left when his turn came…

There was indeed a piece of meat left!

Mark was thrilled as he grippped his dinner plate, hurriedly finding a place to sit down and began to savor his meal.

“May I sit here?”

Although the man’s face was also covered in dark soot, Mark was certain that he didn’t know him.

In fact, Mark knew no one in the entire team.

In his original squad, he was the only one conscripted to reinforce the fortress wall. Over the days, Mark also realized that the others did not know each other either; they appeared to have been dispatched from various armies.

“Sure.” Mark nodded, then buried his face in the bowl to resume his meal.

“Hey, do you know what we use to strengthen the wall?”

The question from beside him caught Mark off guard. He scratched his head in confusion and said casually:

“I don’t know. I just do what the bosses tell me to do.”

The man lowered his voice and continued:

“I can tell you what it is: it’s Charcoal Stone!”

“Charcoal stone?” Mark was puzzled, “Isn’t that the stone used for starting a fire?”

“Yes! Have you ever seen anyone using charcoal stone to reinforce a wall?”

Mark dumbly shook his head as he still didn’t understand.

Seeing this, the man further lowered his voice and said, “Do you know where the last city to use charcoal stone to strengthen its walls was?”

Mark shook his head again.

“It was Fallen Eagle City!”

As a southerner, it took Mark a moment to recall that it was a city in the North Territory. Remembering a rumor that had circulated before, his face instantly turned pale, “Wait… could it be… the city that was sacrificed?”

“Exactly!”

Only then did Mark begin to panic. The meat soup in his hand was no longer appealing.

Looking nervously around and seeing no one paying attention to them, he quickly asked:

“You don’t mean Mr. Ji is at Storm Fortress too, do you? Is he going to sacrifice us?”

The man gloomily nodded.

At this point, Mark did not question how the man had obtained such confidential information. He only trembled as he said:

“What about the royalty? Doesn’t they know about Mr. Ji’s conspiracy?”

“The royalty has been placed under house arrest.” The man said gravely, “It’s said that the queen colluded with Mr. Ji to do it!”

“Then… then what are we supposed to do…”

Mark was completely panicked, he spilled soup on himself shaking uncontrollably.

Just as the man was about to speak again, the whistle blew for them to assemble.

Mark had no choice but to suppress his fears and run to get in line.

But as he stood at attention, scanning the crowd for the man he was just speaking to, he found nothing. Instead, he earned a whipping from the supervisor for looking around restlessly.

Mark obediently followed the team back to the top of the city to continue hauling bricks without daring to look around further.

During a break, he quietly approached a soldier and whispered:

“Hey, do you know what we were using earlier to reinforce the wall?”

The soldier gave Mark a surprised look before saying:

“Seems like it was charcoal stone.”

Mark immediately replied, “Have you ever seen anyone using charcoal stone to reinforce walls?”

The soldier scratched his head, hesitating, “Perhaps the bosses have some special plan…”

Mark shook his head solemnly and said, “Have you heard of Fallen Eagle City?”

…

In the early morning, Colin entered the restaurant, finding only Prince Lexie dining alone.

“Your Highness.” Colin bowed in respect.

Prince Lexie just nodded in acknowledgment.

They continued eating without speaking.

Colin wanted to strike up a conversation but, seeing the group of maids serving at their side, he kept his mouth shut.

After Prince Lexie finished his meal and stood up to leave, Colin quickly wiped his mouth with a napkin and followed.

“Your Highness.”

Hearing Colin’s summon, Prince Lexie came to a halt.

“Your Highness, I have yet to express my gratitude in person for the time you saved my friend.” Colin caught up and said with a smile.

Prince Lexie furrowed his brows, “When did I save your friend?”

“Have you forgotten? White Dew City in the East!” Colin explained smilingly, “If it was not for your interference, my friend might have lost his life due to Mr. Ji.”

Prince Lexie looked enlightened, “You’re talking about that Winged Knight?”

“Yes.” Colin nodded and continued, “However, you might not be aware, Your Highness, that my friend saved your life too, as a result of a serendipity.”

Prince Lexie frowned, hesitating, “Are you trying to say that it was the Winged Knight who impeded Mr. Ji’s sacrificial ritual to destroy White Dew City?”

Prince Lexie had always thought that Mr. Ji was going to perform the sacrifice, and that he was the one who stopped Mr. Ji’s doing.

Colin, seeing Prince Lexie’s confusion, explained:

“Your Highness, perhaps you are not aware. The person who presided over the sacrifice back then was not Mr. Ji.”

“Then who was it?”

“It was a sixth-rank Mage named Horus.” Colin stated with a hidden meaning, “He is an accomplice of Mr. Ji, and he tried to kill you using the Eyes of Judgement!”

Prince Lexie was alerted, he turned to look at Colin and asked in a deep voice:

“Lord Angler, what exactly are you saying?”

Colin revealed an innocuous smile and said:

“Your Highness, I am merely suggesting that the effect of the Forbidden Spell, the Eyes of Judgement, might not just be limited to killing a Holy Field Knight. Moreover… does Mr. Ji really need to sacrifice so many people to cast this Forbidden Spell?”

Prince Lexie’s face stiffened, seemingly grasping what Colin implied. After a moment of contemplation, he tentatively said:

“Lord Angler, do you know something about this?”

Colin shook his head and said, “I’m not certain about Mr. Ji’s specific plans. As for how many people the Forbidden Spell really requires to be sacrificed, only Mr. Ji knows. I was just reminding you not to unwittingly become someone else’s target.”

Prince Lexie seemed moved by the thought, “Thank you for the reminder. I’ll be more careful.”

Seeing that Prince Lexie was already suspicious, Colin said no more and immediately excused himself to leave.

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