The First Vampire

In the howling cold wind, Colin led Prince Harrison to the top of Silver Moon City’s walls.

The accumulated snow outside the city had not yet melted, and at this moment, it was reflecting the sunset’s glow, appearing exceptionally beautiful.

Pointing to the large pit outside the city and the Eastern prisoners working around it, Colin asked, “Your Highness, do you know what I am making these Eastern prisoners dig this enormous pit for?”

Prince Harrison’s eyes darted around, recalling his mother’s warning, and shook his head, saying, “I do not.”

Colin casually replied, “It’s their grave.”

“A grave?” Prince Harrison’s face revealed a shocked expression.

However, his young age and lack of acting skills were instantly seen through by the veteran Colin.

Nevertheless, Colin did not expose him; instead, he quietly observed Prince Harrison, seemingly looking forward to his next attempt at a performance.

Feeling uneasy under Colin’s gaze, Prince Harrison quickly asked, “Sir Viscount, are you planning to bury all these Eastern prisoners alive?”

“Alive? No, no, that method is too crude, and moreover, such a large number of prisoners resisting could inevitably cause damage to the Dark Cavalry.”

“So, you have a better method?”

“Indeed.” Colin grinned enigmatically, “This method, is what I want to teach you, the real art of controlling your subordinates.”

Prince Harrison immediately appeared interested, his eyes lighting up as he looked expectantly at Colin, waiting for his explanation.

At that moment, a commotion suddenly arose from outside the city.

Seemingly, the prisoners had clashed with their supervisors, and both parties were in a standoff.

From this distance, Prince Harrison couldn’t hear what the two parties were arguing about and had to turn to Colin, asking, “Sir Viscount, do you know what they’re arguing about?”

Colin, seeming to know everything, mildly replied, “Food.”

“Food?”

“Yes. These prisoners have been toiling all day and haven’t had a meal yet. They are likely starving and that’s why they started arguing with the supervisors.”

Prince Harrison nodded and proceeded to ask, “What is this ‘real art of controlling your subordinates’ that you mentioned?”

Colin smiled, “Your Highness, don’t be impatient. Please keep watching.”

Prince Harrison had no choice but to patiently keep watching.

After a while, the dispute outside the city seemed to have finally been resolved. Large pots were brought out emitting billows of steam and wafting an enticing aroma.

Unable to suppress their excitement, the prisoners let out cheers, seemingly praising the “merciful” Dark Cavalry.

However, it wasn’t long before an argument broke out again.

And this time, the dispute grew fiercer; the prisoners and the supervisors even started getting physical.

With a confused look, Prince Harrison asked again, “Sir Viscount, why have they started arguing again?”

“Because the prisoners will find that there’s too little food, at most enough for only half of them.”

While the two were conversing, the conflict outside the city grew more and more intense. The prisoners, who had been starving for a day, turned their rage towards the supervisors, believing they had been withholding food.

More and more people joined the fray, blood splashed lavishly onto the snow, mirroring the sunset’s glow, forming a strange sense of beauty.

Prince Harrison looked at the Dark Cavalry soldiers who were merely standing by, not displaying any intention of intervening, and asked in confusion, “Sir Viscount, why isn’t your Dark Cavalry stopping these prisoners’ mutiny?”

Remaining nonchalant, Colin counter-questioned, “Why should they stop it?”

“They’re resisting your will!”

“No, they’re just resisting the supervisors.”

“Nevertheless, aren’t you going to do anything about the supervisors?”

“Why should I?” Colin suddenly revealed a peculiar smile, “Those supervisors were chosen from the prisoners themselves; thus, it’s merely the Easterners killing each other.”

Prince Harrison was taken aback.

He opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.

Selecting supervisors from among the prisoners will inevitably create fractures among the Eastern people.

The prisoners working hard would undoubtedly resent their peers who were chosen to be supervisors, and this resentment might even surpass their hatred towards the Dark Cavalry.

Such is human nature.

Then, when Colin deliberately gave them less food, the captives would not blame the Dark Cavalry, because they dared not.

Instead, they would channel that resentment onto their former companions, now the supervisors, believing these people to be the true oppressors.

Once this antagonism and hatred exploded, the Easterners would turn on each other, so there was no need for the Dark Cavalry to lift a finger.

Prince Harrison suddenly found the Viscount Angler at his side quite terrifying, this manipulation of hearts was indeed horrifying.

But, it was also very effective.

The battle outside the city was nearing its end.

Although the supervisors, spared from labor, had more strength and some simple weapons, the captives held an absolute numerical advantage, and quickly claimed victory in the melee.

The bodies of a thousand supervisors were casually discarded on the snow, alongside an even larger number of captive corpses.

The Dark Cavalry took no notice, allowing the Easterners to have their way as long as they didn’t attempt to break out of the designated area.

The captives cheered loudly, celebrating their victory, and then rushed towards the large pots filled with food.

However, there wasn’t enough food to go around.

Thus, the fighting broke out once again.

The snow was littered with more piles of corpses.

When the chaos finally subsided, the Dark Cavalry made their belated entrance.

They directed the surviving captives to bury the dead bodies, and then selected a new batch of superintendents from among them.

And so, the cycle continued…

Colin, observing the changing expressions on Prince Harrison’s face, suddenly asked, “Your Highness, what do those supervisors remind you of?”

Prince Harrison paused, puzzled, “Remind me of what?”

“Don’t they resemble our human nobles?”

“Nobles?”

“Yes, nobles. Few in number, yet holding more power and enslaving a larger number of companions who are not really that much different from us.”

Prince Harrison felt a chill in his heart, realizing that Colin was making sense.

For some reason, an inexplicable fear welled up in his heart, and he blurted out, “But in the real world, how dare the commoners rebel against the nobles?”

“Under normal circumstances, of course they wouldn’t dare.” Colin smiled, “But when they are driven to a dead end, what wouldn’t they do?”

“But… but even if they rebelled, they could not possibly win! In reality, nobles aren’t those overseers, not something the commoners can defeat with numerical advantage.”

Colin did not refute this time but sneered, “Your Highness, if you are concerned about whether commoners can defeat nobles, then you have fallen into the trap of this game.”

“Trap? What do you mean?”

Colin pointed at the direction of the huge pit outside the city, his eyes mysterious, “Think about it, who arranged this confrontation between the supervisors and captives? And who is intensifying this confrontation, making them kill each other?”

Prince Harrison’s eyes narrowed, “It’s you!”

Colin laughed, “Exactly. Now, think again, between the supervisors and captives, do I really care who wins?”

Prince Harrison was enlightened, “You don’t. As long as they fight amongst themselves, no matter who loses or wins, they have fallen into your trap. What they should really do is join forces to fight the Dark Cavalry, to fight you!”

“Yes.” Colin nodded slightly, and then suddenly fell silent.

Prince Harrison was pondered over Colin’s metaphor, his mind forming an understanding.

But suddenly, he froze.

Because, he realized that the supervisors and captives represent two classes in reality – the nobles and the common people.

But in this game, there was another force – Colin and the Dark Cavalry!

They represented…

Prince Harrison turned his head to look at Colin, and found Viscount Angler revealing a cryptic smile.

He opened his mouth, wanting to speak out his doubts, but found that he couldn’t even begin to articulate them.

Suddenly, the imperial prince felt an intense, boundless fear enveloping him, making his body tremble uncontrollably.