Chapter 9: The Nobles in the Night

"I will come by moonlight, and wherever I pass will set off a bloody storm and blood-stained nobleman - the vampire count"

(Derrick Ambrose, The Vampire's Notes)

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"Wait, they didn't say they were going to fight you! How did you make the atmosphere so tense? The expression on the girl's face finally became serious, and the battle discharged by our army really surprised her, making her feel a terrible pressure, and her tone turned serious, but she did not forget to tease me, "How can you be so impatient and savage? If you haven't said a word, you're going to use a knife and a gun? ”

"I'm so sorry! Your presence is strange and sudden, your purpose is obscure, and I am compelled to regard your actions as provocations, and as formidable enemies! If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, I can only appeal to the war! My voice was slightly softer, but I had no intention of withdrawing. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. biqUgE。 ο½‰ο½Žο½†ο½

"You are a very domineering person, you don't care about other people's positions and feelings at all, and only from the perspective of what is in your own best interests and think that you are the safest for yourself, and if you disagree, you will sue the sword. But this is indeed a condition for becoming a strong man. ”

The girl suddenly took off her glasses, revealing a pair of bright eyes looking forward to Shengyan, then put the glasses in the palm of her hand and gently wiped them with her sleeves, and then put them back on, before she said slowly.

Those big smart and clear eyes were just a flash in the face.

"I'll give you one last chance to explain your purpose and origin, otherwise I'll think you're deliberately delaying time and attack immediately!" I said unmoved, and gently shook the "unnamed" in my hand to show my determination.

At the same time, the soldiers behind me began to slowly move forward, putting more psychological pressure on these unwelcome guests.

"You seem to have a strong penchant for killing, but I don't want to give you that opportunity." The girl stopped saying nonsensical words and began to get to the point, "We are a vampire race, a race born at the same time as humans, and it would be more accurate to say that we are a new race of people who have emerged as a result of genetic mutations in the human race. Since we used to live on human blood, we have always been the public enemy of humanity. Historically, humans have carried out thirteen large-scale hunts against us, which are known in our vampire notes as the 'Thirteen Havocs'.

"In the thirteenth catastrophe 2,000 years ago, 'Vampire Elegy', our race was in danger of almost extinction, and the number of vampires who survived that catastrophe was quite rare. Since then, our race has turned from light to darkness, and no longer appears in front of humans in public, and has gradually been forgotten by humans. At present, there are less than 1,500 people left in our people, and the number of vampires in the heyday of history was as high as 3 million. ”

"Vampires! What a blessing! Are you showing up tonight to feed us? I've seen how good one of you is! ”

I shuddered to hear the name "vampire" come from the girl's mouth.

The memory of this race is limited to myths and legends, and even only as a synonym for demons, and no one has ever believed that this race ever existed.

Perhaps out of fear of "vampires", this history has long been erased from the canonical records of mankind, turning the name "vampire" into a pure symbol.

"Our people don't attack humans just for food, although we've done so for a long time," the girl said, shaking her head, "it's mainly due to our 'bloodthirsty nature,' which is a genetic defect. As human variants, although we possess far more physique, strength, special skills, and eternal life than humans, we cannot resist the natural allure of blood to vampires, and we also have many other life defects......

"In the past, we did not recognize the existence of 'bloodthirsty nature', but believed that only the blood of the living could satisfy our hunger and thirst, and attacked humans only out of the need for survival. But after a long time, scientists and medical scientists in our clan finally discovered that vampires attack humans not just to survive, but an innate instinct, and have developed a method to suppress bloodlust by injecting serum into the body, so we have not actively attacked humans in recent centuries.

"Because we no longer need to suck blood from living people to survive, but can sustain life by taking blood from other animals, taking blood from humans for monetary redemption and storing it for later use, or sucking blood from freshly dead corpses. After all, the quality of blood in animals is too poor to meet our needs, and the way of exchanging money must be very secretive, and it can only be done occasionally, so the best way is to take blood from the corpses that still have body temperature, which is the best way to obtain the blood necessary for our survival.

"Of course, the place where a lot of death occurs is the battlefield, and it's the best place for us to forage for food. Thus, with our keen sense of blood and our near-predictable instinct for war, we moved from place to place on the continent of St. Lun, becoming modern-day nomads and gypsies. That's one of the reasons we're here. I am telling you this in the hope that you will understand that we have no ill will towards humanity. ”

"No malice? But the facts I see don't seem to match what you're saying. ”

I was not at all wary, for this girl had no ill will towards us, but her men had killed several of my men beforehand.

"This ...... I'll make it clear below, so please be patient! With such a quick and frizzy nature, how did you become a manager? The girl shrugged the frame of her glasses, and continuedβ€”she seemed to have a strong interest in storytelling, "Because wars have never ceased throughout human history, we have survived in a way unknown to mankind for centuries, and have become a mark on the history of human warfare. However, our peace with humanity has finally changed due to an unexpected crisis in the race. As a result of the long-term injection of serum, antibodies appeared in some of the people, and the bloodthirsty instinct reappeared in our people, and it evolved more violently, developing not only to attack humans for the sake of starvation, but to kill for the sake of killing.

"There are only a handful of these vampires, less than a hundred, but they possess terrifying abilities that are much more powerful than those of us normal vampires, and this is because we have lost some of our abilities while giving up sucking the blood of the living. Not only do they hunt humans, but they also torture their people. Because of the fundamental opposing differences of faith, there was finally a split and war between us.

"Defeated by their small numbers, they fled under the leadership of a vampire named Hegus, who is said to have reached the Northern Continent and made a secret pact with the third prince of the Empire of Tranches, Krisfan, and brought them under his command. The vampire you killed before was one of theirs. He crept behind us with the assassination warrant of Heguth, waited for an opportunity to assassinate our chief, and fled to your camp. We came here following his breath. ”

After listening to the girl's explanation, I was stunned and said, "It seems that I have misunderstood you, but what is the price you said you would pay before?" ”

After speaking, he raised his hand and ordered his subordinates to lower their blades, but they were still on guard.

The girl seemed relieved to see that I had eliminated my hostility, and said with an innocent expression: "I'm a little unclear, but it's your fault!" A large group of you men are fierce and vicious, and you are a girl, you will be afraid! If you are fierce, you will be so frightened that you will be incoherent! You look like a man, but you don't know how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade at all! I just want to retrieve the vampire's corpse from you and honor our patriarch. ”

"That's fine, we're struggling with what to do," I said with a wry smile, "I see you're not inarticulate, but deliberate, and you seem to like the feeling of playing with fire on the tip of a knife." ”

"Hehe, you've seen through it! You're not funny at all, not fun! I see everything too thoroughly, too clearly, I am young, but I live like an old man who knows the destiny of heaven, I have lived much longer than you, but I have not yet had the breath of you before aging.

"In life, what you play is the heartbeat! Like us vampires, life is immortal except because of irresistible external forces - when you have lived for a long time, you have experienced everything, you have lost your passion for everything in the world, and if you don't know how to find pleasure on your own, survival becomes a very painful thing. ”

Instead of feeling embarrassed, the girl took it for granted, stuck out her tongue, and smiled like a little boy on her face, revealing a pair of cute little tiger teeth instead of the sharp fangs of a vampire, which caused me to wonder.

Just as she spoke, her expression couldn't help but become lonely.

I really don't know if I should describe this vampire girl as naΓ―ve or sophisticated? On the surface, he seems to be very mindful and persistent about a little thing, but in his bones he has an absolutely cynical attitude that doesn't care about anything, but the expression on his face is more changeable and rich than the weather in July.

The girl seemed to notice the strange look on my face, and continued, "Aren't you surprised why I don't have vampire fangs?" Our fangs are usually tucked away and only show up when needed, such as foraging or attacking. Who would have nothing to do all day long with their fangs open? It's ugly to death! How much more a lady like me! ”

I couldn't help but smile and said, "What do you call you, Lovely Miss Vampire Lady?" You can't keep asking me to call this long list of terms, right? It's awkward and troublesome. ”

"Then let's get acquainted with each other again! Who are you? I don't like to call you general, sir, or anything like that. The girl nodded and said.

"My name is Alex."

"Oh, you're that lustful prince!" The girl exclaimed.

I smiled bitterly, it's hard to admit or deny, it's really okay to take her, and I can't do anything about this unpredictable vampire little pump girl, so I have to say: "What about you? ”

The girl suddenly stretched her hands in front of her, raised her palms upward, and put on a cool, handsome pose, and the cloak behind her began to rise automatically without wind, hunting sound, very powerful, and then said in a very solemn voice: "I came by the moonlight, and everywhere I passed will set off a bloody storm!" Bloodstained Nobleman - Vampire Count! It's me, Drinker Ambrose! ”

The girl's proclamation was truly a kind of breathtaking momentum, her slightly hoarse and low, extremely magnetic and penetrating voice echoed in the empty forest clearing, in the dark night, in the eerie swaying wind of the shadows of the trees, with the strange sound of the endless darkness behind her, and the light of the fire flickering on her pale skin, making her whole image like a ghostly ghost from another dimension.

I shook my head, smiled wryly again, this playful vampire ghost really has a knack for making people nervous or neurotic, and said, "My experience tonight is like being in a ghost story written by a novelist...... Miss Drink, your status in the clan doesn't seem to be low, are you the chief? ”

The vampire girl Derlink Ambrose returned to her normal posture and said with a serious expression, "I am the daughter of the patriarch......"

Xuan said excitedly: "That's right! I just want to be a novelist! My favorite thing is reading books - I can live without everything, but I can't live without books! In tonight's story, I'm the screenwriter, and you and I are the main characters...... This wonderful show is called 'The Strange Tale by the Campfire'! ”

She seems to be able to find something interesting out of the trivial things at any time.

"Drink...... Does this seem like a boy's name? Also, is your title of earl your status in the clan? ”

"This ...... When my mother was pregnant with me, my father thought it was a man, so he gave me the boy's name, and later found out that it was a woman, but my father was too lazy to change his name because he was troublesome about choosing a name. And I thought the name was pretty cool, so I was going to let it go.

"Drinker is dark in Old English, which means 'darkness', 'night', and my last name, Ambrose in Ancient Greek, means 'one of the living beings', which is the surname of the vampire. As for the Earl...... I'm self-appointed! Because the nickname 'Count the Vampire' makes me sound cool! Moreover, among the five titles of duke, marquis, earl, son, and male, the earl is in the middle, representing the mean. ”

Drinker seems to have a knack for storytelling, and a simple question can lead her to draw a large narrative from the classics, especially to talk to herself.

But I also have to admit that she has extraordinary insight and profound knowledge, and if you divide it by the concept of human beings, she belongs to the kind of woman who is both erudite and intellectual. Perhaps it was because she fantasized about being a novelist and a lover of reading, as she herself said.

"Do you mind if I ask, your father just died, but you don't seem particularly sad?" I asked, and what I was muttering to myself was that you don't seem to be sad at all.

"Sadness? This is your human understanding of death, right? For us vampires, the endless course of life brings us closer to dying of desire, but we don't destroy our lives because that's a cowardly act that vampires despise, and suicide vampires can't go to heaven. Therefore, death is not only not a sad thing for the father, but also something to celebrate.

"However, I still have to avenge the murder of my father! We vampires are very vindictive, and revenge is the duty of vampires! Therefore, I must kill Hegus to avenge my father, so that my father's soul can rest in peace and enter heaven! Drinker said softly, but her firm voice represented her persistence and persistence.

"Miss Drink, the reason you showed up tonight wasn't just to tell me ghost stories, did you?" I guessed her purpose, and asked for a moment.

"Clever! It's a lot easier to talk to smart people, but it deprives me of the opportunity to perform and a lot of fun. Drinker suddenly laughed a little nervously, if it weren't for her cuteness, a smile like hers would scare away a crowd, "Your Excellency General Alex, we want to follow you and look for an opportunity to avenge our father." Because we know intuitively that you are destined to be Chrisfan's nemesis, we have a chance to kill Hex by moving around you. And you are always inseparable from the war on your side, and our food is guaranteed. ”

"Call me Alex," although she was called down by two ranks, I couldn't go out of my way to correct her statement, so I had to retreat, "You might as well officially join our camp, otherwise it will be difficult for me to convince the people around me to turn a blind eye to a group of vampires who are mysteriously operating around us, and there will be no way to avoid misunderstandings and accidents." ”

If I can get these vampires to join, I will undoubtedly have a very valuable help, and I will have more chips to move towards the door of victory.

"Then you call me Drink...... What's in it for us? We vampires have always been loners and don't merge with humans! Drinker asked, and though she was a naΓ―ve girl in appearance, she was as careful as any strategist, and therefore resorted to such a method of indulgence.

"Times are different, and in this era of sudden changes, no race can stand alone. In the past, all the tribes were alone, and now they are moving towards the horizontal and vertical, although I am not talented, but I am the holy king of the hundred tribes, and it is the lord of the various tribes and the object of return. I believe that your people will not be willing to live in the dark for the rest of their lives without seeing the sun, and become a tribe abandoned by all races, right? The reason why Hegus threw himself under Krisfan was for this very reason! I can also provide you with a chance to walk from the night into the sun, so that you can live peacefully with mankind, coexist and prosper! Moreover, I can use all the medical power of the Empire to find a solution to your 'bloodthirsty nature', is it better than if you were groping alone?" That would be time-consuming and difficult to grasp. In addition, I give you a small gift - the title of Count of the Empire. ”

I talked eloquently, throwing out a whole bunch of very tempting conditions.

"It seems like it's going to be a good deal," Drinker thought, touching his necklace and glancing at me with a determined gaze, "but can I trust your promise?" ”

"The words of the Holy King, a promise of a thousand gold, no child's play!" I replied firmly and solemnly.

Drinker hesitated and said: "I still have to think about it carefully, such a major matter related to the survival of my clan must be carefully discussed with my people, but before that, ......"

"Until then, stay with me! Until you decide. ”

"Okay, that's it!"

Drinker smiled and stretched out his white right hand to me, and at the same time I reached out to grasp her cold, delicate, soft palm.

At this time, Carl next to me looked at me with a strange gaze, and his face was full of expressions of "you are abducting underage girls".

After each other's hands parted, I suddenly remembered a question and asked curiously, "By the way, can you vampires haunt during the day?" ”

"Yes, we can move freely during the day, but our strength will be halved."

Then we talked a little bit about vampires.

"Alex, would you be interested in attending my father's funeral together? Our ritual was a lot of fun! Drinker asked suddenly.

Intrigued by Drink's words, I nodded, let Carl take care of the camp, and left alone with the vampires.

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In the northern part of the forest is a high and low mountain forest area, and the vampire clan's temporary residence is scattered in dozens of caves on the mountainside.

The ritual of vampire sacrifice is bizarre, bloody and horrific - first, Drink, the daughter of the patriarch and the heir of the next patriarch, pours a vial of blood on the patriarch's corpse, and then ignites the branches and dry wood beneath the corpse.

When the cremation ceremony began, the vampires held hands and swirled in several large circles along the flames, turning slowly and fast, and finally running away. After about a quarter of an hour, the vampires began to slow down, and their mouths began to sing a song like a requiem in strange syllables and in a language I did not understand, but it seemed to sound more joyful than sad in tone.

Then it was up to Drinker to share the flesh and blood of the minced enemies with everyone, and the vampires who got the meat were eaten raw! After the raw food was finished, all the vampires, led by Drink, suddenly turned into bats, swirled around the flames several times, and returned to human form on the ground, and the ritual was completed.

When I was dumbfounded, Drinker came over and patted me on the shoulder and said happily, "How's it going?" Isn't it cool and fun? It's worth the trip, right? Got a lot of insight for you, right? ”

When Drinker finished this series of interrogative sentences in one breath, I smiled wryly and said, "I wish I had never been ......."

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The next day, we packed our bags and continued eastward. Drinker and the others followed me some distance behind.

When I reached the edge of the forest, my subordinates suddenly rushed to me and nervously reported to me: "Report to the marshal!" An army of unknown origin appeared twenty miles ahead of us, hurrying in our direction! ”

"How many people are there? Could it be our rescue force in Grace Valley? I was shaken and asked urgently.

"Back to the marshal, their number is about seventy or eighty thousand, and all of them are light cavalry! Not our reinforcements, for sure! Because they came from the south, and the soldiers were not dressed like us! ”

After asking about the situation, my heart couldn't help but sink, and I couldn't help but be a little discouraged, we had worked hard for a month, and we saw that we were about to return to Fengrong Valley safely, but we encountered an unexpected enemy army here!

The enemy is a well-dressed new division, but our army is a tired soldier with broken armor, and the enemy army is more than three times our number, how can this battle be fought?

It was not possible to retreat back into the woods at this time, for according to the spies, Carlos's general, General Cesses Caton, the commander of the rear, had finally grasped my whereabouts these days, and had sent a force, mainly of hunters, to creep behind us from the south bank. And we have been ignorant of it, and we thought that we had already gotten rid of the enemy!

What I didn't expect was that we were constantly changing directions, erratic, and hurrying, and Carlos was able to correctly predict our direction and send a powerful light cavalry waiting for us to throw ourselves into the net!

There is no way forward, there are pursuers behind, and we are about to fall into the crisis of being caught between the front and back!

Just one step away! Just one step away, it is a very different ending between life and death!

It's so hateful, is this called fate making people? Why do I despair even more when I hope for the greatest moment? Is it really my death?

Although I thought this in my heart, the expression on my face did not move at all, and after a slight groan, I quickly ordered: "Send someone to inform the vampire clan behind that we need their help!" Pass the order down, all arms for war! ”

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