Volume 3 Chapter 102 The Story Of The Vampire Princess I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Go,” Kian commanded.
He shook his right arm, wrapped in ‘Silver Ice,’ to the side.
Countless bats screeched loudly as they took to the sky from Kian’s Night Wraith.
The black flying shadows disappeared into the blue clouds and towering white clouds, as if being swallowed up.
Information that would take a normal scout a whole day to gather, Kian could obtain in just a few minutes using his familiars.
Kian began to move slowly through the wet grasslands.
He didn’t just rely on his familiars; he also circled around to the front of the fortress to check for signs of people coming and going.
According to the tavern owner, they were actively issuing quests for adventurers and welcoming merchants.
That encampment could easily turn into a little town or street.
Maybe it’s possible to infiltrate by disguising as a merchant.
(Or maybe dress up as a prostitute to sneak in. But then I’d be left behind, and emotionally, I don’t like the idea of Sarah playing a prostitute.)
If things go south and she end up “dealing with the Wolfmen,” he might impulsively kill Sarah and then kill himself too.
The prostitute plan is absolutely out of the question.
Remembering when Sarah came out of the camp with a Wolfman warrior, Kian turned west.
As it turned out, the main entrance to the ‘Storm Herd’ encampment was about 2 kilometers west of Kian’s initial position.
The front gate is on the east side, probably to increase the risk of adventurers and merchants visiting the encampment falling victim to the Bloodsucking Kind.
Beyond that, further west lies the merchant city of Ramsey, guarded by Owls, and the territory of the black panther tribe.
The black panther tribe has long been a threat to Azrael’s borders and has plundered grain from Ramsey, continuing to be a menace to the civilized nations.
In Azrael, the Shakerdoust family, guardians of the north, tried launching several expeditions.
But the black panther tribe’s leader, Lee, had forests and swamps that were nearly useless, and barely worth holding onto.
Plus, the black panther tribe was a group of fierce warriors.
Even if they won a fight, they had to retreat and abandon the land before inflicting any real damage.
It was a series of failed attempts, in essence.
Ramsey’s probably dealing with something similar.
The Knights of the Sun, Oswald, were powerful, but they couldn’t just turn the entire Nordende river domain into a wasteland.
Destroying the ecosystem would cause new problems, and if the Hairkin Races lost their homes, they might migrate en masse to the southern civilizations.
Several countries and domains could suffer serious harm.
To avoid a diplomatic mess, Oswald has to crush any invaders that enter his territory like bugs.
It’s a totally pointless fight.
’Kian, once this is done, head to the northern fortress, okay?’
Kian was mapping out the area in his mind when ‘glasses’ suddenly spoke up in his head last night.
”Yeah, I should be done by noon, then I’ll head north.”
’It’s quite a distance from here. You won’t make it back by sunset.’
”Exactly how far is it?”
’A little under 20 kilometers.’
”Round trip is 40 kilometers, then. Let’s charm some Bloodsucking Kind for the journey. Wing Cain would be good. I’ve always wanted to hitch a ride on that huge bat.”
Wing Cain was a Lower-rank Bloodsucking Kind with wings.
Its body length, with wings spread, was between 3 to 5 meters.
It would lift calves, drop them to the ground, and then feast on the splattered blood and flesh.
Apart from its wings, its whole body was covered in fluffy black fur.
Their faces were the opposite of lovable, and many of them were sickly, covered in lice and ticks.
Kian had ways to deal with them, like freezing with ‘Silver Ice’ or killing with hot air, but they were dangerous pests, spreading disease as they flew around.
’Kian, really, do you want to know about this one?’
”Cut the chit-chat.”
’Alright, I’ll shut up. No use regretting what you don’t know.’
’glasses’ clammed up again after saying that.
(Just what kind of problem does ‘glasses’ have? Why keep secrets from me like this?)
It was almost certain that ‘glasses’ was mixed up with that suspicious Azraelian merchant.
’glasses’ was originally that man’s merchandise.
He claimed ‘glasses’ couldn’t talk, but he probably knew the truth.
Before Kian took ‘glasses’ in, there was likely some sort of deal between her and that man.
Maybe a magic contract that prevents her from telling others, or one that would harm ‘glasses’ or the person she tells.
That was the only reason ‘glasses’ could be keeping secrets.
”‘glasses’, I’m not planning to hurt you today. Just give me the directions.”
’glasses’ just let out a small sigh, not saying a word.
* * *
The ‘Storm Herd’ campsite was shaped like a fluffy oval, avoiding the reed marshes.
It was about 2 to 3 kilometers in radius, bustling with soldiers, families, merchants selling wheat, prostitutes, and adventurers.
The area where soldiers’ families lived was in the northeast of the camp.
Since it was closest to the Bloodsucking Kind’s swamp, the outer wall was higher, layered with powerful barriers.
The ‘Storm Herd’──I’ve heard they’re the biggest group in the Western world, but looks like their numbers have dropped a lot.
Not many young guys left to fight, mostly girls now.
Serena said sneaking in would be impossible, but with things looking this thin, maybe we could blend in at a weak spot if we can get past the barrier.
We might not even need to pretend to be merchants.
Rean’s location was pinpointed based on the camp’s layout.
He’s said to be 15 minutes from the food storage, 3 minutes from the toilets.
He marked the overlapping areas with a diagonal line.
In the end, he figure he’s being held about 5 hundred meters south-southwest from the center of the camp.
Probably pretty accurate.
There must be guards at the prisoner tents, so finding the exact one shouldn’t be too hard.
Besides, Kian could sense Rean’s magic power to pinpoint the exact spot.
Also, he figured out the food storage location from the supply wagons and the communal toilets from the stink.
Took about an hour.
The bats were even better at scouting than he thought.
”Alright, let’s draw up a map then,” Kian said.
Kian quickly pulled out a wooden board, paper, and lead, and started drawing on the spot in a nearby field.
Mapping is a breeze for a scout like Kian.
”Done. Let’s head north.”
As Kian spoke, he released 2 bats into the sky.
Strings were attached to the bats, and at the end of the strings, there were rolled-up maps.
On the back of the maps, it said, ‘Check the northern fortress.
Ms. Vestacia might be held there.’
Once these little familiars deliver the map to Sarah waiting in the village, Kian’s job is done.
(Guess I’ll be walking for a bit to the north. Might as well pick up some companions along the way to save time.)
With that, Kian set off at a brisk pace.
Along the way, an Adventurer strolling down the farm road spotted him and called out, but Kian ran off before things got messy.
After a full-speed sprint of a couple of kilometers, the target flock of Wing Cain was flying in the sky, so he brought them all down with the Windsong Blade and froze their pelts with magic.
Then, he just had to rip the thorns off the biggest one and heal it.
And charm it to finish the job.
After capturing Wing Cain, he raced across the plains at high speed, and soon the white Dacia Mountain range came into view.
That’s when ‘glasses’ suddenly spoke up.
’Get down here.’
”But I can’t see anything!”
He glared down from Wing Cain’s foot.
Below was just a brown swamp and scattered chunks of un-melted white snow.
’There’s a recognition-inhibiting barrier in place. If you don’t wear me, you won’t be able to see. But once you’re inside the barrier, you’ll be able to see the castle.’
”Got it. Let’s go down, Wing Cain.”
Kian yanked on the black leg, and Wing Cain let out a terrifying roar and started to circle.
After a couple of slow circles, it descended, and right in the middle of the black swamp, a small fortress with a tall spire suddenly appeared.
It was about a hundred meters on each side.
There were no moats or courtyards, just a few stone structures that the former owner probably used as living quarters.
The spire and all the stone buildings were partially destroyed; it wasn’t a very livable place.
The spire was lopsided, like a giant had taken a bite out of the side.
You could probably stay dry inside the broken part, but with the Dacia Mountains close by, it was pretty cold.
Not a place he’d want to spend the night.
After descending a few meters, Kian let go of Wing Cain’s leg and jumped down.
His feet squelched into the muddy ground, and dirt splashed on his face.
Maybe because of the cold temperature, there wasn’t much of a rotten smell.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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