The second feast of 2

Twenty-nine cloudy

I finally arrived in Sylvania.

I must admit that when I saw those few human soldiers on duty, my first reaction was not fear and anxiety, but relief. Even though I've learned a few things about Sivania, the gods are on top, and I'm really scared of running headlong into a bunch of zombies or skeletons or something. Although the church and the merchants believe that the so-called undead are essentially puppets manipulated by the dark arts, no different from a marionette. But if I saw a dead man staggering towards me, I thought I would immediately run away in fear, and nothing would allow me to continue the journey.

The soldiers made a routine inspection of my caravan—no different from the others they encountered along the way. I didn't speak to them, but I took a closer look at the soldiers. Both their armament and their attitude of inspection are ordinary (that is, normal), and there is no difference between them and the soldiers on duty of other lords. Their expressions were very ordinary and businesslike, and they did not show any emotion.

Instead, the team leader greeted the soldiers on duty and made a few innocuous jokes. His attitude was not overtly rebuffed, and the soldiers conversed with him. But when the leader asked if there were any special things to pay attention to when entering West Sylvania, the soldiers made it clear that there was nothing special to pay attention to when entering here, because it was different from other places.

But they gave the leader a warning. In West Vania, if you want to play any kind of commercial fraud or other tricks, you are looking for your own death. Because the "Duke" (no doubt that's what they call vampires) has the power to perceive people's hearts. Because of this strength, don't expect to make ill-gotten gains through bribery or any other means. The officials here are very afraid of the duke, so everything will definitely be handled impartially, and it will never be bribed. It would be even worse if there were two sides at odds, because then the matter would surely get to the duke, and the trickster would die. For the Duke would personally interrogate any dispute, and then put the lying or unreasonable one to death on the spot, without exception.

The leader also asked about the tax in Sylvania, but the soldiers didn't seem to know about it, so they only said a few vague words, "It's similar to other places."

......

Thirty days cloudy

I met my dear cousin Donnie.

I found Donnie's current residence based on the address on that letter. It's not hard to do it at all, because the city is well built. Although it has no walls and no name (the Sivanians call it "New Town"), the streets and everything else are clean and tidy, with house numbers and a mini-map of the city at every intersection. This is something I've never seen before. Even a foreigner can easily find his place in the city and know where to go. All this requires him to be literate.

Downey lives in the middle of a street in the New Town. When I finally found him, he hugged me warmly – in fact, his enthusiasm almost took me a little out of breath. There is no need for anything else, just from the way he dresses, it is clear that he is living a good life, living a privileged life, and is in good health. My friends' previous speculation (i.e., the belief that Donnie was coerced or tricked into writing the letter) was completely wrong. I guess it should be a prejudice against vampires. Because in this city, I really don't see the legendary people who are "numb and ignorant, and live miserably". Instead, I saw a vibrant city.

I went into Donnie's house and talked with him for half a day. But I must say that most of the time he was talking, and I could only ask myself questions in the short intervals between him drinking water or resting.

Downey told me that he had formed a small chamber of commerce and had been granted permission by the Scarlet Duke to import and export goods in the West Vania region. Although this chamber of commerce is still small and inconspicuous at the moment, it must have great prospects and unlimited potential. At least in Sivania, development is certainly not a problem, because the Scarlet Duke himself has a certain stake in this small chamber of commerce.

In order to prove his words, he took out a relevant document on the spot, a document proving the Scarlet Duke's investment in this Chamber of Commerce (the vampire really took out the gold coins) and took possession of the shares.

I was immediately dumbfounded. Although I have known for a long time that the way of thinking of vampires is completely different from that of ordinary humans, I really didn't expect it to be so different. I don't understand the fact that all of Sivania is its territory, and that he still has a stake in a chamber of commerce, which I can't understand at all, but I can only attribute it to a vampire who knows nothing about business, or maybe he is driven by some kind of nature. Of course, the biggest possibility is a whim.

Eventually, I mentioned the letter he gave me. At the same time, I told him about my predicament.

When he said this, Donnie's eyebrows fluttered. He told me that building a shipyard is extremely profitable right now. This is because the port is getting busier and busier, and the shipyard that is responsible for providing supporting ship repair and construction has not been built for a long time. And the construction of ships is a job that requires professional skills and long-term experience, and it is not something that can be done by just one person (I certainly agree with Downey's judgment on this).

He told me plainly that when the vampire mentioned it to him, he was the first thing that came to mind. So he immediately agreed to the matter, and immediately wrote me the letter. It must be noted that if this letter did not impress me, he would soon send a competent subordinate to me and persuade me to go to Sivania.

Today's lunch is Donnie's treat. He set up a feast at a nearby restaurant, and the sumptuous level matched his warm attitude towards me. I've heard that the West Vania region is poor and short of supplies is undoubtedly a rumor, at least not at all in this hotel. Downey and I shared this rare meal for me while continuing to talk about Sivania.

From the conversation, I began to understand the situation here. In my initial impression, Sivania should be a relatively remote place, with a sparse population, backward construction, and inconvenient life. Later, it was overrun by vampires, and it became an extremely dark and terrifying land. Dark mages and their vampire masters run rampant here, and the entrances and exits of every village are guarded by the undead to prevent people from escaping. Every day, innocent civilians die tragically at the hands of vampires.

But what I saw and heard from Donnie's mouth was the opposite. The roads are smooth, the land is abundant, and supplies are abundant. The so-called undead can't even see a shadow. All of them are human soldiers. According to Donnie's secrets, the vampire's undead legion is supposed to be hidden in the mysterious Academy of Dark Arts, a place that is completely secret to ordinary people. Of course, even if it weren't kept secret, I'm sure I wouldn't have the desire to go in and have a look.

Downey also told me that vampires possess a lot of unheard of techniques and knowledge, and that they are willing to teach them to those who serve them. He said that if the vampire took a fancy to me, then I would definitely learn some new techniques.

I am cautiously skeptical of this.

......

A cloudy day

Donnie arranged for me to meet the Scarlet Duke today.

It was probably the most stressful day I ever had because I never wanted to meet a vampire face-to-face. The most I thought I was going to see a zombie or skeleton or something like that before I came to Sylvania, but I really didn't expect to meet the vampire. You know, it's a terrible monster that feeds on human blood.

But Downey says that vampires are no different from normal people. People who have never seen it will be scared by imagination, but after seeing it, they will find that it is not a big deal. He assured me that vampires were more approachable than human lords and would never hurt anyone. As long as you're not here to find fault with the vampire, you're fine. Anyway, Donnie convinced me. What can be done? If you want to build a shipyard, you have to get permission from the vampire, at least tell him.

Vampires live in the Dark Castle, on a hillside not far from the New Town. It was the weirdest building I've ever seen, more of a tower than a castle. The people of the city only had to look in that direction and they would definitely see it, because it was so high. Downey had been there, and he said it was strange, that it looked like a tall tower on the outside, but on the inside it was an ordinary castle. It must be some kind of magic.

On the way (Donnie and I went around the harbor before going to the castle), I witnessed a theft. A thief nimbly fled through the streets, while the thief pursued in vain. As we all know, thieves have little chance of such things. Unless the thief is dazed and runs into a dead end, how can an ordinary man compete with these nimble thieves?

Donnie said in a mocking tone beside me, "That must be a thief!" and while I was bewildered by his words, an astonishing scene appeared. A girl in red armor suddenly appeared (the gods are above, I really don't know how she came out) and sped away on the roof on the side of the road with a speed and agility that humans couldn't match. When she was about parallel to the thief, she jumped to the ground and easily captured the thief. As we approached, I noticed that the vigilante had arrived and tied up the thieves, and the owner of the chase had recovered his wallet.

I must especially emphasize that girl...... She looked young and beautiful, I don't expect to be more than fifteen. She wasn't tall either, but she had shown incredible strength and agility. As the poem says, as light as a bird, as swift as a leopard. As I stared at her, Downey hinted that I should leave. When he had gone far he told me that this girl was the Duke's guard, and that there were hundreds of such girls. All the girls are endowed with powerful supernatural powers by the Duke himself, and at the same time, they are forever controlled by him. The passage of time on these girls is all borne by the vampires. So as long as vampires don't die, they never age. In fact, vampires can grant this type of eternal life to anyone, as long as they can get his favor. Downey joked that maybe I'll have that chance in the future.