I Became the Progenitor Vampire-Chapter 255 - 256: Frequent Accidents, Hanging by a Thread (7400 words major - )
Chapter 255 -256: Frequent Accidents, Hanging by a Thread (7400 words major chapter)
The darkness was the best cover.
The orcs from the Lion Tribe had begun their goblin smuggling plan.
The first step was to find hiding places. As goblins were generally only about 1.2 to 1.3 blades tall, they were particularly suitable for concealing. A large oak barrel could stuff three of them, and a cart full of food could hide five.
The sheer number of goblins, reaching into the thousands, seemed vast, but the actual operation proved far easier than imagined.
With nearly seven thousand orc warriors at their disposal, finding carts and barrels was no difficult task, especially after the Lion Tribe had completely taken over several nearby streets.
The manors of nobles, the storerooms of taverns, the kitchens of inns, the headquarters of merchant guilds—any possible storage place was thoroughly searched.
The orcs outside only thought the Lion Tribe was plundering food, never realizing their true aim was the tools of transportation.
Meanwhile, as the Lion Tribe was busy, Risier City had completely lost its former peace.
At this moment, chaos was the sole melody in this age-old city.
The city’s defensive forces that had still been resisting by now had completely collapsed, and nobody knew how many civilians had died that night.
All anyone knew was that fires burned all night long, and the sounds of killing had not ceased from beginning to end.
The army was collapsing, civilians were fleeing, and nobles were screaming; everything had plunged into primitive chaos.
One Sunshine Hour, two Sunshine Hours, until three Sunshine Hours later, at 1 A.M.
The busy orcs finally had all the goblins hidden inside food carts.
“Your Highness, everything is ready, not a single goblin is missing.”
Lide turned around and looked at Craig’s massive wolf head, nodding slightly.
“There are four gates in Risier City. The eastern one is the main battlefield and cannot be used,
the western leads directly to Green City, now the only escape route for humans, where Risier City’s remaining forces are concentrated to protect civilians; that too cannot be used.
We can only choose between South City or North City.”
Craig nodded, pondering for a moment before hesitating.
“The orc army in South City includes elite Wolf Cavalry, and goblins can’t escape the detection of their wolves. North City is Minotaur territory…”
Lide smiled, pleased. Having an insider was advantageous; that very sentence had directly eliminated the chance of encountering danger.
“Then let’s choose the north gate. Inform your subordinates immediately to split the convoy into two parts. The front part will lead with the real food and the spoils of war looted,
while the goblins hide in the back to avoid direct detection by orcs.
Although Risier City is vast, the Beastman Prince has already prepared. We don’t have much time left. Once the orcs completely occupy this city, we might not be able to transport them out.
Leave immediately.”
“The Lion Tribe follows your command, Your Highness.”
Craig beat his chest in salute, then immediately turned and hurriedly left the room.
Lide’s will was the direction for this temple knight, and after being assimilated by the soul, this level 16 werewolf was his most loyal subordinate, even willing to kill himself if ordered.
Minutes later, the beastmen, who were already prepared, began to escort the spoils looted temporarily from several blocks out of the city.
Craig was at the front of the group and even generously used the flawless Berserk.
The level 16 werewolf’s aura spread out, a declaration of his power, showcasing his tusks.
This was the way of the beastmen, direct, simple, and brutal.
With top professionals in charge, along with over six thousand warriors from the Lion Tribe, although Craig’s group had looted plenty of supplies, no other tribe’s beastmen dared to have designs on them.
Lide did not follow Craig’s group; instead, he used the darkness to conceal his form, secretly escorting the group of beastmen carrying the future arsenal of Dawn City.
As for the Withered Bone, after intimidating the goblins, he let this annoying bone dragon enter the Dimension Plane; otherwise, listening to him ramble would drive Lide insane.
The night was Bloodline’s most splendid coat, a gift from the world’s will to the Bloodline.
Under the cover of night, no one could detect Lide, who moved like a ghost.
Lide concealed his aura and followed behind the Lion, and the scene that unfolded before him was Risier City ravaged by beastmen for several Sunshine Hours.
The streets were filled with a thick scent of blood, and the cross clocktower at the street corner had been ignited by a large fire. The crackling sounds carried farther than the swinging of the clock used to, the flames lighting up several streets. Perhaps this was the last contribution the spired clocktower could make for the city.
The reliefs along the streets were now splattered with fresh blood, and occasionally one could see lifeless human bodies lying in corners.
Under the colorful murals praising the divine, this scene appeared so ironic—as a commoner stretched out his hand trying to touch the wall’s faith before dying, only able to leave streaks of blood on the wall, dying in utter despair.
Those divinities distant from the Main Plane might never hear their humble and weak prayers.
Most of the street-side shops had been forcibly broken into, the solid yet cheaply made black maple doors leaned askew against the walls, and the inside—bereft of valuable goods—retained only some valueless wooden shelves.
Looking at the city covered in wounds, a surge of emotion inexplicably rose in Lide’s heart.
He couldn’t imagine what he would do if Dawn City, which he built with his own hands, ever succumbed to such a fate.
Immediately, Lide shook his head—it wouldn’t happen. The city he built would surely stand as a city that would never fall, towering at the pinnacle of this world.
His fist tightened in his hand; although the fall of Risier City had nothing to do with him, it still significantly moved him.
A certain change quietly took place in his heart.
He had always thought he had enough time to develop, but if one day Dawn City faced a formidable foe like the beastmen, how would he respond?
This thought made Lide’s recently slightly relaxed mind subtly tense up.
“Upon returning, we must accelerate the construction of Dawn City.
The current Mage Tower of Dawn hasn’t yet realized its potential. We need to enhance our efforts to tap into it. Production mages with insufficient magic potential can already be initiated into the production of Dawn City, and the second batch of magic apprentices must be recruited as soon as possible.
The potential of the recently looted population has not yet been released, training believers, distributing land, and selecting talent, all urgently need to be completed.
And the breeding farms must also be expanded to at least three, no, five, and we must raise at least three thousand Magic Language Bats…”
“Also, it has been almost a year since the first embrace last year, so the fifth generation of Bloodline can be initiated…”
“The Dwarf’s forge needs to be rebuilt as well; we can learn from the Crimson Mage Tower’s Magic Factory and open a Dwarf Factory dedicated to weapon forging to streamline the weapon forging process.”
“As for these newly plundered goblins, we need to quickly set up a factory for producing Alchemy Bombs. It is imperative that after the Frost Month, we arm the Magic Language Bats and form a true Air Force unit for Dawn City.”
“Then there’s the King’s Blade, this army composed of humans, which after half a year of training now has considerable combat strength.”
“This year, they can expand to two thousand troops and train them as Magic Language Bat Knights to throw Alchemy Bombs, turning them into a true military force…”
In that short span, Lide redrafted the future development plans for Dawn City.
After his return, he was inundated with numerous projects, each capable of significantly enhancing the foundation of Dawn City.
Lide shook his head, retracting his wandering thoughts. It was not yet time to go back and farm; the key was to transport the goblins out of the city first.
Moreover, the downfall of Risier City was a massive disaster for the city, but for him, it might very well be a tremendous opportunity.
After escorting the goblins out, he had to return, for the fallen city still housed vast treasures waiting to be unearthed.
Especially the high-end population he coveted most; once the goblins’ restraint was gone, he could then act unrestrained.
—–
—–
—–
The carts hiding the goblins were mostly pulled by Beastman Warriors, whose strength at level 5 was much stronger than ordinary horses.
Along the way, they encountered fleeing civilians and Beastman armies, but seeing such a huge caravan and the formidable Werewolf in the middle, they voluntarily avoided them.
No one was foolish enough to provoke such a powerful Beastman army.
This journey turned out to be much easier than Lide had anticipated; he had thought it would not go so smoothly.
Nearly a Sunshine Hour later, the large caravan arrived at the northern city gate, now controlled by Beastmen.
“Halt!”
The moment they approached the guard zone inside the city, a tremendously burly Minotaur with two horns on his head and a ring through his nose approached the caravan.
At that moment, Craig also jumped down from the cart and stepped forward to meet him.
“Lion Tribe, Craig Shadow Hunter,” Craig clenched his fist and hammered his chest.
Feeling Craig’s fearsome aura, the sturdy Minotaur’s face also showed a degree of seriousness.
“Bloodhoof Tribe, Calis Bloodhoof,” he too, hammered his chest in greeting.
After the greeting, the expressions on both faces relaxed slightly.
“Warrior of the Lion Tribe, why do you choose to leave the battlefield at this time?” Calis asked sternly.
“Our people need support; you cannot become shameful deserters!”
Hearing this, Craig’s large wolf eyes suddenly widened, staring intently at Calis with full murderous intent.
“The Lion Tribe warriors never retreat, we shall never become deserters! Is the Bloodhoof Tribe provoking us?!”
Calis shook his head, “Then why do you choose to leave at this time?”
Craig’s murderous intent subsided a bit, his expression turning somewhat grave, “The barren wasteland’s food has greatly diminished this year; the Lion Tribe no longer has sufficient food reserves. With Frost Month upon us, we need food, enough food to last us through the winter…”
This issue left Calis silent, his bull eyes slightly dimming.
Survival, that was the most difficult topic in the barren wasteland.
Even he, a direct tribe of the Beastman Prince, faced a significant problem with food for his people every year.
He couldn’t deny this Werewolf Warrior’s actions for his tribe.
“Then you could also have waited until the city was occupied by the Prince…”
“And how much food would we receive if the city stabilized?”
Craig shook his head, his expression grave, “We came for food, the tens of thousands of people in the Lion Tribe are starving and waiting for our return. The hundreds of thousands fighting for Risier City are supported by millions of Beastmen and this city cannot satisfy everyone’s needs. Warrior of the Bloodhoof Tribe, I think… you should not be unfamiliar with hunger.
The Lion Tribe seeks only survival.”
Calis opened his mouth, those large bull eyes staring at Craig, the words stuck in his throat.
Survival, those four words were like a heavy mountain pressing on his chest.
“You can transport the food out, but not all the Lion Tribe’s warriors can leave; there’s still fighting that requires your presence.”
Calis finally conceded, feeling the resolve in the Werewolf’s eyes; he didn’t want to become enemies with such a formidable warrior.
Craig glanced deeply at the burly Minotaur who stood taller than him and nodded.
“I will only dispatch two thousand Lion Tribe members to guard our spoils; the rest of the warriors will continue to follow the Prince in this war.”
Hearing this, Calis heaved a sigh of relief.
“Open the gate, allow the Lion Tribe’s warriors to leave.”
On the spire-topped guard tower, the flag waved, and dozens of sturdy Beastmen pushed the gate, the black city gate, a blade’s thickness thick, slowly opened.
Recker’s expression unchanged, hammered his chest again towards Calis, then stood beside the stone-paved street, watching cart after cart pulled by Beastmen warriors leave the city.
Everything seemed to progress smoothly.
After about a dozen carts had left, Calis suddenly waved and stopped one of them.
“Halt, someone, check.”
Simple words yet they made Craig’s expression stiffen, as he turned to look at Calis whose expression hadn’t changed; a bad feeling rose within him.
Indeed, the convoy composed of more than four hundred carriages was inspected by Calis every ten or so carriages.
Although Craig’s face remained unchanged, inside he grew more and more anxious.
Because the last hundred or so carriages were all filled with goblins, especially the fifty that contained barrels of wine; each carriage carried at least 10 barrels, and each barrel housed 3 goblins.
If the inspection continued like this, it was needless to say, the goblins inside the barrels would surely be discovered.
Then, the truth would inevitably come out, and a battle would unavoidably ensue.
Thinking of the serious consequences, Craig’s gaze grew colder and colder.
Time ticked away second by second, and with each carriage that passed, the air seemed to grow heavier.
Craig clenched his fists tightly, his peripheral vision fixed intently on Calis who seemed unguarded but was constantly holding a giant axe as tall as three blades without letting go.
He could feel that this sturdy Minotaur was on the same level as him, both at level 16.
If the goblins were indeed discovered later, he would have to make the first move; if he could kill this Minotaur, he still had a chance to force his way out of the city gate; if he failed to kill him, then the Lion Tribe would undoubtedly be doomed.
The city gate was manned by at least five thousand soldiers; if he couldn’t escape quickly, the other Beastman reinforcements would slaughter the entire Lion Tribe.
One after another, until more than half of the convoy had been inspected, and the inspection showed no signs of stopping; Craig’s heart started pounding faster and faster.
Each additional carriage seemed like a hammer strike on his heart.
Craig was constantly scanning his surroundings.
Upon the towering city walls thirty-five blades high, at least a thousand Beastmen, armed with strong crossbows, seemed ready to pull their triggers and shoot deadly bolts at any moment.
The surrounding streets were heavily guarded by an untold number of Beastman troops, ready to launch their fiercest attacks at the first sign of the enemy.
The semicircular city gate was roughly ten blades wide and five blades tall, the two massive gates were wide open allowing the convoy to move in and out.
If it were possible to seize control of the city gate at the first opportunity, perhaps they could still have a chance to survive.
Although the 6000-strong Beastman force was considerable, there were still creatures like Bimong, huge beasts, within the city.
If they failed to escape in time, Craig could fully imagine what they would face.
What was feared eventually came; after the convoy transporting food had passed, the first carriage carrying oak barrels arrived in front of Craig and Calis.
Craig remembered distinctly that this carriage was the one hiding goblins; his heart leapt to his throat.
Just as the carriage was about to move on and Craig was quietly breathing a sigh of relief, Calis suddenly extended his hand.
“Stop, this one here, stacked with barrels!”
Pointing at the first carriage transporting barrels, the air suddenly felt as if it had frozen.
Craig’s claws, like razors, stealthily flicked out, his icy eyes flashed with a bone-chilling murderous intent, and without looking at Calis beside him, he stared directly at the intercepted carriage.
His voice was somewhat hoarse.
“Lord Calis, the Lion Tribe has no time to waste with you, there’s no need to delay my time, I still have clansmen on the main battlefield…”
At this moment, Craig’s heart was pounding furiously; his body was like a tightly wound spring.
The surging power was gathering, and his muscles tensed up like steel.
It seemed the next second, this level 16 Werewolf, this terrifying Berserk warrior, would launch a fatal surprise attack.
The Minotaur turned to look at the extremely unstable Werewolf beside him, pondered for a while and then shook his head.
“No, I have no intent to be an enemy of the Lion Tribe, however, I must inspect this carriage…”
The murderous intent in his heart reached its peak following those words.
At that moment, two Minotaur warriors had already approached the carriage filled with oak barrels, and one had climbed onto it.
Clang~
The Minotaur on the carriage, without any hesitation, brought down his long knife directly onto the lid of a barrel.
Crack~
A fissure appeared on top of the barrel lid, but it did not break open.
Yet this blow struck hard on Craig’s heart.
The murderous intent erupted to an extreme; he suddenly turned towards Calis, his claws flashing with a cold and deep chill like that of a blade’s edge.
Just when Craig was about to strike the next second.
Boom~
A Blazing Fireball directly slammed into a carriage within the convoy.
Crack, the oak barrel filled with beer burst forth, and under the influence of the alcohol, a fierce flame ignited.
Craig, whose step had already moved forward, stopped abruptly at that moment; he turned his head and saw a figure with wings flapping, flying in the sky.
“Damn Beastmen, you filthy and dirty creatures, actually dared to rob my estate and church!!!
You all deserve to die!!”
Was that… Emi?
Craig’s eyes filled with astonishment; Emi had not shown up, and he thought this Shadow High Priest of level 15, whom Lide had mentioned, was off on another mission.
Meanwhile, Emi in mid-air wasn’t idle, accompanying his words were Blazing Fireballs from his hands; this blasphemer was casting spells frantically.
Lide had modified the Blazing Fireball so that its casting time was reduced to 1 second, and being a level 15 spellcaster with the talent for Dual Casting, along with other cooldown reductions, Emi could even launch a Blazing Fireball in 0.7 seconds.
Dual Casting, 0.7 seconds meant two fireballs, the destructive power of the Blazing Fireball, comparable to Three Circle Magic, under Emi’s exaggerated casting speed, the Beastmen below immediately suffered a fierce attack.
Clang~Crack~
Containing a temperature of 5000 degrees, the Blazing Fireballs just had to explode among the Beastmen, and the surrounding area would instantly become littered with two to three dozen charred corpses.
The dense ranks of Beastmen were immediately bewildered.
In just a span of ten seconds, the city gate area was thrown into chaos by Emi’s sudden attack, resulting in hundreds of Beastmen being burnt to death.
At this moment, Calis could no longer bother about inspecting any carriage and, with a wave of his hand, roared,
“Free shooting for the crossbowmen on the city tower!! Quickly summon the Shaman Lord, and also notify the Double-legged Flying Dragon Cavalry—I want to kill this damned Vampire!!
The Lion Tribe’s convoy should leave the city immediately and not linger here.”
After saying that, he immediately picked up the huge axe in his hand and charged towards Emi. Unfortunately, Emi, being in the high sky surrounded by hundreds of blades, simply ignored the enraged Minotaur.
Craig, meanwhile, heaved a sigh of relief and immediately instructed his Beastmen to pull the carriages away.
Emi in the sky seemed to be angered by the action of the convoy, a Dragon Scale Shield rose around him, and then this Vampire, completely disregarding the rain of arrows shooting from the city walls, hurled his magic furiously at the convoy.
“Trying to run, you damned Beastmen, I will burn every one of you!!”
That deadly Blazing Fireball occasionally struck the carriages below, igniting everything around it.
If Craig had been closely watching, he would have noticed that each carriage attacked by Emi bore some special marks.
And exactly those marked carriages contained no goblins.
The attacked oak barrels burst open one after another, the scent of fine wine mixing with the smell of burning, lingered in the air.
Seeing this, the Minotaur no longer suspected those carriages transporting wine, and even commanded the Beastmen’s Shield Warriors to protect the Beastmen convoy as they left.
The appearance of this external enemy made the Minotaur, who initially harbored huge caution towards the Lion Tribe, instantly stand on the same front with them.
External conflicts are definitely the best way to shift internal conflicts. After all, as selfish as Craig might be, it was just an internal matter among Beastmen, whereas with this damned Vampire, it was a do-or-die conflict.
Although Emi who was flying in the sky seemed angry, his attacks always precisely avoided the path of the carriages.
Thus, his magic, despite causing significant disturbance among the Beastmen, did not interrupt the speed of the carriages leaving the city. In fact, with the escort of the Minotaur, they left even faster.
Leveraging his aerial advantage, Emi, with his exceptional skill and boldness, singlehandedly disrupted the situation here, protected by an incredibly solid Dragon Scale Shield.
Thousands of crossbow bolts fired by Beastmen crossbowmen on the city walls clinked fruitlessly away, blocked by the Dragon Scale Shield.
Lide, a Level 14 Mage, could rely on the Dragon Scale Shield to forcibly block a sword strike from Groth, a Level 17 warrior. For Emi, at Level 15, blocking these ordinary crossbow bolts was easier than ever.
Just a few minutes later, under Emi’s forceful intervention, all the carriages had passed through the city gate, and those two great doors finally shut.
Calis and Craig both heaved huge sighs of relief.
They had finally sent them out.
Calis was not willing to offend this powerful Werewolf Warrior. Now that they were sent out, he could focus his forces on dealing with this damned Vampire.
Craig felt even more relieved; without the burden of the goblins, he remained the Chief of Lion Tribe, a dominant figure among Beastmen.
Hoo hoo~
At this moment, the Double-legged Flying Dragons arrived in the sky, their huge mouths dripping with toxic corrosive saliva. Creatures with hardly any dragon blood emitted tragic cries, the entire sky was plunged into irritation.
Emi, sensing that things were turning unfavorable, activated the Dragon Scale Shield and fiercely fought off several Double-legged Flying Dragons before transforming into a small bat and escaping the battlefield through the back alleys of the city under the cover of night.
On the ground, a Minotaur stood with a face filled with nothing but rage as he looked helplessly at the chaotic scene before him.
“Sorry, Lord Calis, the Lion Tribe has just looted a Dark Church occupied by vampires… All the vampires were burned to death by me, but I did not expect there to be a Level 15 vampire left.”
Craig, feeling somewhat guilty, looked at Calis the Minotaur as if his words came from the bottom of his heart.
Calis saw Craig’s expression, became a bit infuriated, but also did not know how to start blaming him. It wasn’t his fault, after all; who could have anticipated such a powerful vampire appearing suddenly?
As for whether Craig knew that vampire or not, Calis would not even dignify that with a thought. What a joke, how could vampires and Beastmen have anything to do with each other?
In the territories of the Beastmen, there had never been reports of vampires; clearly, these completely unrelated individuals couldn’t possibly be allies. No Beastman would entertain such an absurd idea.
“I must head to the frontlines now; those damned humans have not yet been defeated. They’re still putting up a fight. Lord Calis, please give my regards to the Clan Leader of the Bloodhoof Tribe. Once we triumph, I’ll treat you to the strongest ale!”
The Minotaur’s expression finally lightened a lot, squeezing out a smile.
“I’ll be waiting.”
After Craig nodded slightly, he immediately regrouped his forces and surged toward the still chaotically tumultuous inner city.
From a distant, half-toppled spire building ravaged by magic, Lide silently watched everything unfold. Once Craig had departed, a playful smile curled on his lips.
Everything was under control.
He had set up several contingencies; Emi was just one of them. If Emi failed, then the Bone Dragon and Castro would directly intervene.
At that time, those three to five thousand Guardian Army Beastmen might not really be enough.
No matter how many chips were stacked, he would never let the goblins come to harm; they were the fledgling shape of his future Air Force. Without the goblins, what use would he have for bombers?
Once he confirmed the goblins’ safe evacuation from the city, Lide turned around and from a twenty-blade high spire, Risier City stretched before him, half of it visible.
The scene was extremely shocking, like high-level standalone game CGs.
A third of the city was aflame, spired buildings collapsing from their bases little by little and then shattering loudly, sparks flying everywhere.
On the streets below, screams and shouts rose and fell, various acts of bloodshed and cruelty unfolding.
Suddenly, a colossal shape beyond the range of a thousand blades caught Lide’s attention.
Bimong.
That terrifying beast, covered in black fur and standing ten blades tall, was swinging its two-blade-long claws in battle against a human.
Indeed, a petite human was holding off against the monstrous creature capable of easily demolishing a three-story stone building with a single blow.
He looked closer.
That scarlet cloak, so vivid and bright under the night sky.
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