“Vampire?”
The moment she heard the word “vampire,” the images of Yare and Yalbera floated into Bai’s mind.
Vampire?
They drink blood too?
Are there other races besides the blood clan that feed on blood in this world?
“What’s a vampire? Some kind of magical beast?”
Seeing the confused look on Bai’s face, Aurelia smiled and said, “Looks like you really are a foreigner. ‘Vampire’ is what we in the south call the blood clan. Those creatures are even more deadly than magical beasts, and far more despicable. That black hound you saw earlier? It was one of their creations.”
“They capture humans and even animals, drain them of blood until they’re completely dried up, then inject them with their own blood to turn them into the same kind of monsters. We call those things… bloodbeasts.”
“Blood clan… blood… beasts.”
Bai was completely stunned.
She repeated the words in disbelief, unable to process what Aurelia had just said.
Vampires?
A term she’d never heard before was suddenly linked to the blood clan.
And what were bloodbeasts?
Bai had been a blood slave for five years and had never heard of the clan’s blood turning others into monsters.
If that was true… then what about Lady Yare?
And Lady Yalbera, and Lady Aiersha, did they also create such horrifying creatures?
Aurelia didn’t notice Bai’s dazed expression and went on, “Calling them the same kind is generous. Once transformed into a bloodbeast, they lose all sense of reason and exist only to feed. They’ll keep draining blood until death finally stops them.”
“Then the blood… I mean, can’t vampires be stopped? Can’t someone defeat them?”
Aurelia gave a helpless laugh and said, “That’s why the ‘Crimsonbane Knights’ were formed. But vampires are cunning and powerful. Most of our time is spent cleaning up the bloodbeasts they create. As for the vampires themselves, we’ve only managed to capture one so far.”
Walking beside Aurelia toward the camp, Bai gradually came to understand the world she was now in.
This was a southern kingdom, long plagued by vampires, known here as the blood clan.
They had run rampant for years.
All the races living here, humans, dwarves, beastkin, even elves, had formed an alliance just to fight this threat and push back the blood clan’s invasion.
But so far, their victories had been few and far between.
The powerful blood clan could transform any living being into a bloodbeast, and those beasts could spread the transformation further.
That infectious cycle drove every race to the brink.
Yet Bai’s heart was a tangled mess.
As a blood slave, she had never heard of bloodbeasts before.
If everything this knight was saying was true, if those monsters that tormented the world were all made by the blood clan, then how was she supposed to face her master again?
How was she supposed to face Aiersha’s gentle smile?
Would they… would they turn her into one of those monsters too?
About an hour later, as the sky darkened, Bai finally saw white smoke rising in the distance through the deep forest.
Aurelia smiled too, relieved that they hadn’t been attacked by any bloodbeasts along the way.
“That’s the camp up ahead. It’s getting late. Those bloodbeasts are most active at night, so we’ll stay here for now. Whether you’re a foreigner or not, a child like you can’t be left in this place. I’ll have someone take you to the city tomorrow.”
“Bai’s not a child! Bai is already…”
Bai stopped mid-sentence, then started counting on her fingers again, holding up two digits.
“Fifteen!”
“……….”
Pushing aside the branches, the camp finally came into view, towering trees encircled the area, and in the center stood a large tent, embroidered with a silver moon wrapped in thorny vines.
Around the campfires, knights spoke in low voices, their armor gleaming in the firelight.
Warhorses quietly grazed on grass, while sentries on watchtowers kept a vigilant eye on the forest.
The entire camp radiated a solemn tension, as if ready for battle at any moment.
Bai looked around curiously.
The hardened armor, the gleaming silver swords, the snorting warhorses, and the towering knights, all of it felt like a scene pulled straight out of a storybook.
But the surrounding knights were even more curious, casting confused glances at Bai.
A child?
Why did the vice-captain bring a kid back after being gone so long?
“Hey, Vice-Captain, did you pick up a kid out there or what? Don’t tell me you dug her out of a bloodbeast’s stomach!”
“Hahahaha.”
One of the knights by the campfire suddenly shouted, prompting the others to burst into laughter.
The tense atmosphere in the camp instantly eased.
Aurelia’s face turned bright red.
She pointed to the side and snapped, “Oga! Stand there!”
“Okay~”
The knight named Oga put on a reluctant face but still got up without hesitation, standing stiffly to the side.
The others quickly looked away, burying their heads in their tasks, afraid they’d be next.
“Honestly, no discipline at all,” Aurelia grumbled.
“Come with me to report to the comman… huh? Where’d she go?”
Just as she turned around mid-sentence, she realized the kid had vanished.
She looked around anxiously and finally spotted the small figure among the crowd of broad-shouldered knights.
Bai was crouched next to a campfire, peering over at a bubbling iron pot.
Steam rose from the stew, and she leaned forward to sniff it, crystal-clear drool forming at the corner of her mouth.
“Food~ slurp.”
After five years as a blood slave, Bai hadn’t had proper food like this in ages.
At Yalbera’s place, it had mostly been bread and biscuits, things that lasted long.
She had dreamed of hot meals like this for so long!
The knights around the fire chuckled at the sight.
A burly knight gave her a warm smile and said, “Little lady, want some? This meat porridge’s a specialty from my hometown. Most folks never get to try it!”
“Yes!”
Bai nodded like a pecking chick, making the knights around her laugh again, though they quickly quieted down.
“You really are a handful. Come report first. I’ll have logistics make some for you later.”
Aurelia had already walked up behind her, lifting Bai by the back of her collar and carrying her off toward the central tent.
“Ugh… Bai’s meat porridge…” Bai whimpered.
Inside the tent stood a table with a map spread across it.
Two knights in armor stood around it, one of them a broad-shouldered man in red armor, stroking his chin and deep in thought.
Noticing Aurelia’s arrival, the man turned as if to greet her, only to freeze the moment he saw the small, doll-like gray-haired girl standing beside her.
His expression stiffened.
After a long pause, he asked cautiously, “You… have a child?”
“Shh!”
Aurelia quickly pressed down Bai’s gray head and hushed her.
She cleared her throat and said, “Reporting to you, Commander, her name’s Bai. I encountered her deep in the forest while pursuing a fleeing bloodbeast. She says she came with her sister to, uh… sightsee in the south.”
“Are you here for fun? Hahahahaha!”
Skarn burst into loud laughter.
“Kid, this ain’t no tourist spot. One wrong step and you lose your life out here.”
“Bai’s not little um.”
Bai opened her mouth but was quickly silenced by Aurelia again.
“Commander Skarn, it’s already late. I’d like the child to stay in the camp tonight. I’ll have someone escort her to the city tomorrow.”
“Your sister, she’s not in camp too, is she?” Skarn asked.
“We got separated.”
“I see…”
Skarn’s smile faded, replaced by a look of sympathy.
Separated in a forest infested with bloodbeasts, and at night, no less?
That poor girl’s sister probably wouldn’t live to see morning.
What a pitiful child, Skarn thought, sighing.
He turned to Aurelia and said, “All the tents are full. Let her bunk with you tonight. I’ll have Oga take her back to the city tomorrow.”
“Yes, Commander.”