80 Sworn Enemy

To kill but not to bury - such heinous behavior from the vampires disgusted them, and the bloody scene made them worried..

Steelberg, Michelle, and Little Joseph all looked pale. For them, such a cruel scene like this didn't occur often. At least, for Michelle and Little Joseph, it was the first time they had experienced something like this.

Even Cessacioun and Moxinke were disgusted. Only Han Jin and Sunier remained calm. Han Jin walked into the pool of blood and pushed aside the dismembered bodies. The man named Reg was found.

Han Jin bent down, staring at the man. He was still breathing, and his pulse was weak but stable. "Lucky guy..." Han Jin sighed in relief.

If anyone had kicked or stomped on the arrows sticking into the man's back, his wounds would have been greatly aggravated. But he was still alive even though the knights, horses, and the vampires were running all around him.

Luck was the only reason why Reg was alive.

"Help me, Moxinke," Han Jin called. He hadn't offered the man a helpful hand when the knights had come, for he was trying to avoid troubles, but if he still did nothing now, he would feel guilty to both the man and himself. Though he didn't know the man at all, he was moved - to some extent - as a fellow sufferer. Both of them were sorehead 'young masters' with a loyal servant. The only difference was that Han Jin was much more lucky to live in a small town with no powerful enemies. Though poor, he could live safely, and the same went for his servant Steelberg. If he had encountered a similar problem as Reg, he could have done nothing but await his death.

Those who have the same misfortune sympathize with each other... This sour line from a Chinese poem could best describe his feelings.

"This guy is not dead?" Moxinke was also surprised. He immediately strode forward, but no matter how careful he was when walking across the bloody land, he would still step on something soft, slippery and sticky. It made his own blood freeze. With each step he took, the muscles on his face would twitch, and inside his heart was an impulse to shout. Those who hadn't experienced it by themselves could never imagine how chilling such feeling was.

They hurriedly carried Reg away from the site, and found a clean place to put him down. Moxinke carefully looked at Reg's wounds. "Can you save him?" he asked in a low voice.

"No problem." Han Jin nodded. "He is a healthy man. I would not be so sure if it were someone else."

Seeing Han Jin so confident, Moxinke rubbed his hands with joyfulness. The fact was, he was not only happy for Reg, but also for himself. As a professional, it was inevitable for him to get injured like this. If Han Jin could save Reg, of course he could save him too one day. What a strong safety net!

Sunier jumped down from the roof. "The vampires have gone to the barracks over there. We can't stay here any longer. Pack up our things right now. We must leave as soon as possible!" she said to them.

"How 'lucky' we are..." Cessacioun showed a bitter smile.

They looked at each other speechlessly. Who knew what they had done to deserve this. Several months had been the longest time of peace for them, and after that they had always fled for various reasons.

"This is our destiny. Accept it," Han Jin said expressionlessly. Even at this moment, he still remembered to indoctrinate them with his political ideals... This team was relatively stable - at least for now. Moxinke, Sunier and Cessacioun were all good people, they cooperated well with each other, and didn't fight among themselves, but of course they had shortcomings too. The most obvious one was lack of ambition; Han Jin had to remind them of their dream from time to time.

"Destiny..." Moxinke mumbled and sank into contemplation.

* * *

Most of their important belongings were kept in Sunier and Han Jin's space rings, thus it was easy for them to pack up. A few minutes later, they left the village in a single file. The village was located inside the mountains, which allowed them to easily retreat into the depths of the mountains.

Han Jin had pulled out the arrows from Reg's back. He was not a surgeon, but he had a bit of knowledge about surgical treatments such as disinfection. The Charm of Ren Ding among the Six-Ding Secrets was the one to cure wounds caused by weapons. Stopping bleeding and pain was easy for Han Jin.

It was already early Spring, but the wind at night was still chilly. After running for twenty miles or so, Keeley and Michelle started to stagger; they were too cold and fatigued to move on. Seeing this, Sunier led them to hide in a col that she found before.

They sat down quietly around the raging bonfire they had lit up to keep warm. A moment later, Moxinke broke the silence, "Sunier, aren't the dark elves your sworn enemies? Why didn't you fight them just now?"

"What, do you want a fight to break out?" Han Jin was both annoyed and amused by this question.

"No, I am just curious."

"Sworn enemies..." Sunier repeated these two words and sighed. "Moxinke, if you have brothers or sisters, would you become their sworn enemy?"

"Of course not."

"The same goes for me. In fact, we are all children of the forest. Although there are some conflicts between us which have become deeper and deeper, even to the extent of irreparability... It's hard to explain such a feeling..." Sunier paused. "You don't understand. Each time I shoot a dark elf, a strange feeling comes into my heart, as if... I were doing something unforgivable."

"You have shot dark elves before?" Moxinke exclaimed. "How many?"

"I can't remember, neither do I remember how many of my own race have been killed in the war."

"You can't remember?" Moxinke shivered. "It's unbelievable..." he murmured. If it was other thing she couldn't remember how many were killed in the war - Moxinke would think it nothing unusual - but she couldn't remember how many people she had killed, which made him tremble a bit.

"It was a war!" Sunier coldly emphasized.

"I know, I know. I didn't say anything!" Moxinke explained with an obsequious smile.

"By the way, Sunier, the dark elf by the name of Hazel said they were learning from you? What does that mean?" Cessacioun interrupted them.

"Twenty years ago, the Silver Pegasus Corps penetrated deep into the rear of Kassa's troops and launched countless surprise attacks . We destroyed a large amount of their heavy weapons, and greatly distracted their military actions," Sunier said. "Now, do you know what she meant?"

"You mean... Zaganide has dispatched all his Vampire Guards and Dark Elves??" Cessacioun jumped to his feet.

"Almost."

"Gods..." Cessacioun's face turned pale. There was one feature of Zaganide's troops that was known to all: they were evil! The Silver Horse Regiment would only attack military targets and troops, but the vampires were a group of creatures who took pleasure from destroying and slaughtering. Their coming would bring absolutely nothing but a devastated world.