83 Burden

War is like a game of chess, some would say.

But in reality, war is much more complicated than the various possible moves on a chessboard.

Zaganide had intended to delay the time of Beitman's counterattack, and to distract its plans by sending the Vampire Guards to the rear of Beitman, but no one, not even Zaganide himself, could have predicted what happened next.

If Zaganide was considered the most notorious lord of territories on the continent, then his Vampire Guards were the most notorious troops. Even crimes, such as raping and looting, were too gentle for them.

Soldiers in a war eat the meat of their enemies when hungry, and drink their blood when thirsty. This was a line from a poem that vented one's deep hatred for his enemies. However, the Vampire Guards had turned these unimaginable things into reality.

They were like mad dogs in the past, but the chains on their necks were always in the hands of Zaganide. They would bite as he ordered, and obediently lay down at his feet when his order had been fulfilled. But now, they were totally out of control. Even their direct commanders could not constrain them, and sometimes, couldn't even find them, let alone Zaganide, who was far away in his Underground City. 

The brutality and madness of the vampires suppressed by Zaganide in the past all vented out when they were released. They forgot their tasks and missions, and indulged in slaughtering. Both inside and outside the mountains, on the fields, as well as by the riversides, the grounds were all covered in corpses and blood.

Even their master Zaganide was caught off guard, let alone others like Han Jin. The way northward was especially hard. The first day, Han Jin and the others would still summarize their findings and discuss plans for the next day, but on the second day, they felt extremely tired and had no energy to plan for the third day at all. When the third day had passed, they had already become numb to it.

Small-scaled attacks occurred everywhere at any time. Sometimes, even a solo vampire would dare to attack them with a hideous grin on its face. Of course, it would flee as soon as it found it was at a disadvantage. As for whether they could kill it or not, it would rely on the cooperation amongst themselves.

The most annoying problem was, a heavy burden was gradually put on their shoulders. During the slaughters carried out by the vampires, there would be, more or less, some survivors, who would disperse the news to other villages, and run away together with the villagers. Roads were scattered with fugitives. Because the energy of vampires was limited, they needed rest too, and this provided time and opportunity for villagers to run away.

Most intelligent animals, including human beings, were sociable creatures. They liked to spontaneously gather together, especially in a crisis. Behind Han Jin's team was a tail of refugees. About four or five hundred villagers were closely following them.

The situation was turning more and more severe, and the attacks against the team became more and more frequent. They all knew that this tail had brought great trouble for them. The Vampire Guards could find them more easily, even from far away, due to this long tail. This distracted them.

They had thought to drive all the villagers away using violence, but as soon as this idea came to their mind, they would strike it down by themselves without speaking of it. None of them could harden their hearts when seeing those faces and eyes which were longing for survival, something which had become a luxury in this day and age. This cruel reality itself was infectious enough to touch the hearts of many people.

After the initial annoyance and helplessness, the team finally accepted their fate. It was human instinct to avoid impending trouble and seek good luck. To march with such a long tail was a reluctant decision.

It was already noon of the fifth day. The team stopped to have lunch, and the villagers also sat down to rest. The group had gone through another anxious morning, and everyone was too tired to say anything during lunch.

"Damn! Where have the troops from Beitman gone?" cursed Moxinke suddenly, breaking the silence.

"I am doubting whether Beitman has prepared for war in the first place. Why have they not reacted at all in the past few days?" Sunier said with a bitter smile.

"But they had a whole winter to prepare, right?" Cessacioun asked slowly.

They all fell silent again. No one could answer him. Reg was going to say something, but he decided to swallow his words.

A little girl about five or six years old walked toward them. She stopped at a distance of several meters in front of them, nibbling her own finger, and quietly looking at them.

"May I help you, little girl?" Cessacioun asked smilingly.

The girl nodded. She ran toward Cessacioun, took out a handful of beans from her pocket, and passed them to him.

Cessacioun was stunned. He reached out his right hand. The girl put the beans into his palm, and put her hand into her pocket again. This time, there were only a few beans in her hand; her pocket had already been emptied. The girl giggled, and ran back with small steps.

A young couple came forward and pulled the little girl aside, a flattering smile on their face. They had never had the chance to talk directly to powerful professionals before, thus the expressions on their faces were very stiff.

"Naughty girl, I have told you not to disturb the lords. Why don't you listen to me!" they scolded. The girl felt wronged, tears shedding down from her eyes.

"Don't blame her," Little Joseph said in a loud voice, showing sympathy for the girl.

The couple was surprised. They immediately apologized to little Joseph. In the eyes of the couple, though he was just a boy, he must be someone marvelous since he could stay with those 'lords'.

"Ha! Nice one, little guy. Starting to care for girls at such a young age? You have potential!" Moxinke laughed.

Little Joseph suddenly blushed and lowered his head.

"Ha ha... look at him. The boy blushes. He really knows..." Moxinke shouted excitedly as if he had found some treasures.

"Know what?" Sylner gave him a ferocious look. "Do you think everyone is like you? You never know how to care for a girl!"

"Me... What does this have to do with me?"

"What do you think?!"

"Hey hey, calm down a little. People are watching," Han Jin said in a low voice, considering to have a talk with Sylner at a later day. Her behavior toward Moxinke was too unacceptable. But... would she listen to him? Han Jin was not sure.

Cessacioun was playing with the beans in his hand. He picked one up and was going to throw it into his mouth. "Think clearly before eating. This is not an ordinary bean, but an exchange for life," Sunier abruptly said.

Cessacioun was stunned. He soon understood her. "Exchange for life? So what?" He promptly threw the bean into his mouth.

Han Jin mentally let out a sigh. They should try to get rid of these villagers, lest they wanted to be encumbered by them. The longer their tail was, the more likely they would be attacked by the vampires. However, none of them, not even Han Jin himself, would approve of this.

If they really came across hundreds of vampires, they would absolutely not risk their own lives to save the villagers. But now, all the risks were only possibilities, so their vigilance was relaxed.

"Are you going to eat it or not?" Cessacioun asked smilingly.

"Exchange for life? Let me have a try." Moxinke grabbed some and threw them into his mouth.

"What about you, Raphael?" Cessacioun reached out his hand toward Han Jin.

Han Jin showed a smile. Since he could test others, they could test him too. He took away all the remaining beans from Cessacioun's palm. "I have never eaten such things in the past. They are all mine," he said in a low voice.

Sunier did not say anything else. She just sat there quietly, looking at them. No one was more sophisticated than her in terms of personal experience. The difficulties and bloodiness to fight and survive a war was unimaginable to them all. That was also why she always acted independently all the time.

"I hope we don't come across a large group of vampires," She said slowly.

"Our luck is not that bad. And the Vampire Guards have already scattered themselves," Cessacioun said, shaking his head.

Inspired by the little girl, the other villagers found a good way to communicate with the 'lords'. Their kids came one after another, bringing them all kinds of food and even copper or silver coins. The camp was a bit messed up.

"Clean these things up, Steelberg. Take the food, and give back the money," Han Jin said.

Steelberg jumped up without delay. He called the children to take the money away. They were all rich people now, and this little amount of money was nothing to them, but it would mean much to the villagers.

The villagers didn't give up. They elected several elders to talk to Steelberg on behalf of them all. They claimed it was just a little token of their appreciation and wished Steelberg accept it. Steelberg wouldn't, of course. He tried every means to refuse them, but the villagers still insisted. Their faces were flushed due to arguing. It might be the first time that Steelberg had received such respect since he had been born, and his face was red from either excitement or desperation.

Just then, a harsh sound came from afar. Their expressions all changed. In the sky, there were several black dots flying closer and closer to them. A moment later, the dots were already hovering above the crowd.

"Damn! Those pesky monsters! Why can't they leave us alone!" Moxinke cursed, standing up after taking out his giant sword.

The villagers were all scared and rushed toward Han Jin while carrying their kids. Their experiences these days had taught them that the closer they stood beside the lords, the safer they would be.

Sunier quickly pulled her longbow and casually shot an arrow. A streak of faint dark light streaked across the vast sky. The targeted vampire fiercely flickered its wings and dove down in a diagonal direction to dodge the arrow. It then folded its wings and heavily dropped down into the crowd like a stone.

"Make way!" Moxinke roared and rushed forward. However, the crowd rushing toward him like a stampede made it so that he couldn't move freely.