The First Vampire

In the howling northern wind, a flurry of heavy snow turned the landscape into a vast expanse of white.

An army of trolls was struggling to move forward in the snow. The massive and bloated military formation stretched for over ten kilometers, resembling a giant black serpent writhing forward when viewed from above.

However, around this giant serpent, there were numerous tiny “ants”.

These “ants” were indeed the scout cavalry of the Dark Cavalry.

Compared to the massive Troll Army, they seemed insignificant, as if the giant serpent could crush these ants to death by merely shifting its body.

However, at this moment, it was the giant serpent that felt the real tension.

Prince Okamoto squinted, observing the Dark Cavalry’s scout cavalry that seemed as annoying as thorns in his flesh, feeling anxiety, even fear, in his heart.

He didn’t know whether the appearance of these Dark Cavalry scout cavalry was Colin’s habit of keeping an eye on things from behind or the main force of the Dark Cavalry was nearby?

If the original plan had been executed smoothly, the Dark Cavalry should have already been on their way to the Royal City of the Trolls by now, and he could have led the southward “army of one hundred thousand” to retreat and occupy the three fortresses along the mountainous line of the Snow Mountain Range, completely cutting off the Dark Cavalry’s retreat.

But now, Prince Okamoto was unsure.

Could it be that Colin saw through this trap?

Anxiously, Prince Okamoto sent out several groups of scout cavalry in succession to try and probe the situation around him.

However, once these scouts were dispatched, they disappeared as if they had sunk into the ocean, never to return, completely silent.

This situation confused Prince Okamoto, who had little experience in leading an army to battle.

He then realised how different real warfare was from tactical discussions on paper.

The young Prince of the Southern Troll Empire couldn’t help but rise a thought  could he be destined to repeat his father’s mistakes?

During Prince Okamoto’s suspicious paranoia, two days passed by swiftly.

Throughout these two days, the Dark Cavalry’s scout cavalry surrounded the Troll Army. Whenever the Trolls attempted to attack, they would scatter immediately, only to reappear shortly after, as persistent as flies, which they couldn’t drive away no matter what.

At first, the Troll soldiers were tense, but as time passed, they seemed to have grown accustomed to these flies following them around.

After all, these flies didn’t bite, so they let them tag along.

But on the third day, the persistent scout cavalry of the Dark Cavalry, who had always been elusive, suddenly disappeared without a trace.

For a while, the Trolls found it hard to adjust.

The young Prince Okamoto also didn’t realise the impending danger at first.

Fortunately, there were some Troll generals with ample battle experience in the army, who, after noticing the abnormal signs of the Dark Cavalry scout cavalry, immediately reported to Prince Okamoto, reminding him that the main forces of Dark Cavalry were likely to arrive soon.

Only then did Prince Okamoto realised the imminent peril, and quickly ordered the army to align its formation and prepare for battle.

However, the response from this massive and bloated Troll Army was distressingly slow.

Having no other choice, Prince Okamoto led a mainly “doubtful” army, most of whom were temporarily conscripted recruits. It was impossible to expect them to respond quickly on the battlefield.

However, the Dark Cavalry wouldn’t give the Trolls time for slow reactions.

When snowflakes began to drift in the distance, the sound of hoofbeats was already faintly audible.

Feeling the trembling of the earth, the Troll generals hurriedly shouted at the top of their voices, commanding the soldiers to raise their shields, support long spears, and protect the outskirts of the army.

Unfortunately, this Troll Army, made up of a large number of new recruits, revealed many fatal weaknesses at the brink of battle: disorganised lines, lack of basic coordination between various regiments, and confusion spreading like a plague from the flanks to the rest of the army.

For a moment, all kinds of chaotic and panicky voices converged, making it impossible for the Troll Army to fall into the rhythm of war.

But at this time, the most panicked one wasn’t the Troll soldiers, but the commander of the Troll Army  Prince Okamoto.

The prince who once held a high opinion of himself, thinking that he could control the battlefield, now appeared panicked out of his wits.

Colin’s calmness in face of battle, his well-composed command – they had all left Prince Okamoto far behind now. All the psychology preparations he had made before the battle were not of any use now.

The chaotic orders that echoed in his ears only left Prince Okamoto feeling helpless and lost.

It was only now that Prince Okamoto realized that he was far from being a qualified commander-in-chief. His father, whom he had always looked down upon, was probably much more competent than him.

Of course, there was nothing surprising about this.

Prince Okamoto was indeed a clever prince, and he was very good at conspiracies and tricks, but these were not the necessary conditions for victory on the battlefield.

In short, the Troll Army’s performance in this unexpected battle was so bad that it was almost indescribable.

Fortunately, the Trolls still had the advantage in terms of troops. The new soldiers, watching their comrades as far as their eyes could see, were not yet pushed to the point of collapse.

The Dark Cavalry came rapidly, the thunderous galloping of their horses announcing their approach, their dark-armored horsemen charging in one squadron after another.

But as they approached, they slightly changed direction, passing the flank of the Troll Army at a short distance.

With the humming sound of bowstrings resonating all around, a rain of arrows fell like a swarm of locusts, closing in on the Trolls.

“Raise your shields! Don’t move!”

“Bowmen ready! Spear throwers ready!”

The cacophony of voices rose and fell across the Troll army, but was quickly drowned out by the thunderous sound of the cavalry.

The arrows fell like rain, the thunk of their penetration echoing across the field as entire swathes of Troll warriors collapsed onto the ground, their screams of pain continuous and unending.

There were no word wars, no conspiracies.

The Dark Cavalry used the most direct and brutal method to open the curtain of war.

The wave-like attack was almost non-stop.

Thousands of Dark Cavalry formed several rows, continuously rushing past the flanks of the Troll Army, the arrows constantly lifting into the sky, turning into an endless rain, incessantly falling onto the heads of the Trolls.

The Trolls paid a heavy price for their previous chaos as they were not timely in raising the shields, resulting in lax defense.

The Troll warriors, grouped together, collapsed onto the ground like a field of wheat blown over by a gust of wind, their blood indiscriminately pooling and staining the earth beneath their feet.

After thousands of Dark Cavalry swept by, a clear, blood-red line was drawn along the flank of the Troll Army, littered with numerous corpses. Injured soldiers howled in pain, while the lucky unharmed Troll warriors gripped their shields, trembling.

But this was just the beginning.

Once war’s curtain was pulled open, it wouldn’t stop easily.

The attack of the Dark Cavalry was more of a harassment nature, after all, Colin could not be sure whether this Troll Army which had moved south and returned was truly deceiving.

But after this short and brutal first wave of confrontation, Colin was 80 percent certain    the last elite army of the Troll Empire was not here.

However, he wasn’t in a rush.

In his opinion, the fate of this bloated and weak Troll Army had been decided a long time ago.

The only thing he needed to be careful about was how to swallow this opponent while minimizing their own casualties.

At this point on the battlefield, the Dark Cavalry had circled back around again, and once again rushed past the flank of the Troll Army. Everything that happened before had been replayed all over again.

This scene was as if the playback of the bloody battle of the Ice Plain that happened a year ago.

Prince Okamoto watched the Dark Cavalry that was raging and slaughtering with reckless abandon, pondering his options but found no solution to change the situation. The constant wails of agony ringing in his ears only added to his stress and confusion.

What was worse was that the eyes of the generals under his command were gradually filled with distrust when they looked at him

So, the frustrated and angry Prince Okamoto issued a foolish command.