The First Vampire

The night was deep and dark.

Under the cold moonlight, the Storm Fortress that stood between the mountains looked like a slumbering giant beast.

Mark was lying in the open-air camp, looking at the fortress city wall not far away, with countless thoughts running through his mind.

A day’s labor had left him extremely exhausted, but Mark tossed and turned until midnight and still could not fall asleep.

Ever since he heard the rumor that Mr. Ji was about to sacrifice the Storm Fortress, Mark could no longer maintain his composure.

Updated by ℕovG○.co

In fact, Mark had long been prepared to die on the battlefield. If his death could truly help Mr. Ji kill the Orc Emperor, Mark would feel resentful, but he wouldn’t feel too much anger or fear.

But he has a younger brother in the fortress.

If both brothers were to die, who would take care of their parents back home?

Moreover, there are hundreds of thousands of refugees from Westland in the fortress.

These people are not soldiers, and Mark felt that he had a responsibility to rescue them.

Therefore, in the past two days, Mark has quietly leaked this rumor out, and the vast majority of the soldiers in the team already knew about this news.

However, due to the presence of Supervisors, and since these soldiers were all transferred from various troops and did not know each other, they lacked trust and tacit understanding amongst them. Hence, they could only suppress their fear and restlessness, watch, and wait…

With the fortress wall reinforcement project nearing completion, Mark was not prepared to wait any longer.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Mark carefully moved his body away from the camp. Whenever a patrolling soldier passed by, Mark would immediately lie prone on the ground, pretending to be asleep.

Updated by NovG○.co

In this way, he reached the edge of the camp without much trouble. Just as Mark thought he was not far from success, a commanding voice suddenly rang out behind him:

“Where are you off to?”

Mark’s body stiffened, he slowly turned his head, thinking about what excuse to use, but suddenly heard a whistling sound.

The next second, an arrow pierced through the throat of the Supervisor behind him!

“Heh … Heh …” The Supervisor widened his eyes, pressing one hand tightly against his throat, the other hand reaching out spasmodically.

“What’s going on?”

The commotion alerted the patrolling soldiers not far away. The sound of hurried footsteps pulled Mark out of his stupor; he didn’t dare to linger, he ran straight out of the camp without considering who might be helping him.

Mark’s flight seemed to be a signal, and the other soldiers in the camp also immediately got up, beginning to scatter and flee.

At the same time, someone was constantly shouting loudly:

“Mr. Ji is going to sacrifice Storm Fortress! We will all be burnt to death by him! Run!”

The camp became an instant chaos, the Supervisors and Guards immediately tried to suppress the unrest, but what terrified them was that their own people were being killed by secret arrows and cold blades continuously.

It was as if a cold-blooded assassin was hiding in the dark night, mercilessly reaping his game.

Mark ran forward without stopping.

The gentle night wind screamed in his ears, roars and screams came from behind him continuously, but he only focused on running forward, not daring to look back.

And as time passed, Mark realized that the unrest in the fortress was not only in the place he just fled from. Shouts came from all directions, at this moment, the slumbering giant beast, the Storm Fortress, was finally awakened.

“Brother?”

A familiar voice brought Mark to a halt. He leaned on his knees gasping for breath, then grabbed his younger brother who had run up to him and growled:

“Quick! Run! Get out of the fortress!”

…

In front of the Emperor’s bedchamber in the Central Castle.

A group of anxious-looking nobles of the Empire were trying to negotiate with the guards.

“What serious illness has His Majesty contracted? Why can’t he see anyone?”

“I’m sorry, Count, I’m not sure what ailment His Majesty has contracted, but I can’t let you in.”

Count Nicoll stared, his white beard bristling on his cheeks as he anxiously said, “Even now, with rumors rife in the fortress and people panicking, doesn’t His Majesty intend to see us?”

“I’m sorry, Count, I’m just following orders…”

“Whose orders are you following?”

“Mine!”

Count Nicoll turned around to see the crowd behind him part, revealing a dignified and noble figure.

“Her Majesty.” Count Nicoll quickly turned to pay his respects, then immediately asked, “Your Highness, what has happened to His Majesty?”

Queen Midela slowly stepped forward, her face filled with sorrow. She said:

“His Majesty is heartbroken over the countless imperial warriors who have fallen in the Sky Breaking Mountain Range, and the citizens of the Westland who have been tragically ravaged by the Orc army. He has been overwhelmed with grief and exhausted from strategizing against the Orc army, and has fallen ill.”

“But Your Highness, rumors are currently spreading within the Storm Fortress. Isn’t His Majesty going to clarify things?”

“What rumors?” Queen Midela asked with an indifferent look on her face.

“Some of the soldiers involved in reinforcing the city walls have discovered that charcoal stone was used as a construction material. Following that, rumors began saying…saying that Mr. Ji is in the Storm Fortress planning to set it on fire, sacrificing everyone in order to perform a Forbidden Spell to assassinate the Orc King.”

The complete rumor actually implicated the Queen as conspiring with Mr. Ji to sacrifice the Storm Fortress, but Count Nicoll certainly wouldn’t dare utter the full rumor in front of Queen Midela.

Queen Midela didn’t seem surprised by the news, and nodded, saying:

“That’s right, Mr. Ji is planning to sacrifice the Storm Fortress.”

“What?”

The crowd of nobles erupted in uproar.

Immediately, a terrifying thought emerged in their minds—

Could the rumors be true?

Was the Queen truly conspiring with Mr. Ji to sacrifice the Storm Fortress?

What about… His Majesty the Emperor?

Whether out of fear or anger, Count Nicoll’s body began to shake uncontrollably. His murky eyes were trained intently on Queen Midela, as he asked in a deep voice:

“Your Highness! How do you plan on dealing with Mr. Ji’s madness?”

Queen Midela’s cool gaze slowly swept across the Imperial nobles and Military Officers before coming to rest on Count Nicoll. She spoke:

“I plan to… let him complete the sacrifice!”

Whoosh—

The crowd erupted.

They never expected that Queen Midela would openly admit to cooperating with a devil like Mr. Ji and even plan a sacrificial ceremony at Storm Fortress!

This fortress contained the main force of the Glorious Empire and hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Westland — totalling over a million!

“Your Highness! How could you do this?”

“Your Highness! You are destroying the foundation of the Empire!”

“We demand to see His Majesty!”

…

In the face of the emotionally charged mob, Queen Midela remained calm. Her clear and firm voice rang out once again:

“Without sacrifice, there is no glory!

This is our only chance to disrupt the huge Orc army!

If you can’t bear to sacrifice these people in the Storm Fortress, then even more citizens of the Glorious Empire will lose their lives under the Orcs’ brutality.

All the evil, all the responsibility, I will take upon myself!

From this day forward, I will use my own life to atone for the sacrifices of everyone in the Storm Fortress!”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!