The First Vampire

Dozens of candles illuminated the study brightly.

Successive military reports were converging here, but Colin was scarcely reading them, instead letting them pile up on his desk.

Looking at Colin, who seemed to be leisurely, Prince Harrison finally couldn’t hold back and asked: “Master, why don’t you deal with these military reports?”

“No hurry.” Colin said leisurely, engrossed while holding an old sheepskin book.

Prince Harrison leaned over for a look, and it turned out to be a copy of the “Noble Heraldry Study of the Glorious Empire’s Eastern Area”.

Studying the heraldry of the Eastern nobles at this time?

Prince Harrison was somewhat speechless, but he didn’t dare show it. He could only cautiously ask, “Master, can I look at these military reports?”

“You may.” Colin replied without lifting his head.

Prince Harrison then came to the table, adjusted the candlestick, and began to flip through the sent-over military reports in the candlelight.

Princess Judy was also in the study, but by this time she had fallen asleep on the couch.

Colin, worried that she would catch cold, called the maid to carry her back to her room.

The study became quiet again, leaving only the soft sound of page flipping and the faint noise of the burning candle.

As Prince Harrison looked through these military reports, he became more and more astounded.

He couldn’t help but look towards his master, yet he still saw Colin wearing a laid-back expression, seemingly genuinely captivated by the heraldic emblems of the Eastern nobles.

He wanted to speak a few times, but seeing how focused Colin was, the words on his lips were ultimately swallowed down again.

Then, he just sat there anxiously scratching his head and cheeks, unable to sit still.

Possibly noticing the activity from Prince Harrison, Colin smiled and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Prince Harrison hurriedly said, “Master, we have been surrounded!”

“Really?” Colin was still as leisurely as before and didn’t seem worried at all.

Perhaps this calmness infected Prince Harrison, who also calmed down from his anxiousness, but still picked up a simple map, ran to Colin’s side, laid it out and started explaining:

“Master, the Riverside City, where we are, is located here.

Alfalfa City is to our west, but now, three Eastern armies have appeared in the west. The report estimates that there are a total of 60 to 70 thousand men!

Moreover, there’s a cavalry force estimated to be no less than 20,000 men to our north…”

“Cavalry?” Colin chuckled, “The East still has cavalry?”

“Of course, the cavalry of the East can’t be compared to that of the North, let alone the Blood Knight Army. But Master, we are in the East now!

Isn’t being surrounded the last thing an army deep in enemy lines wants?”

“I’ve been surrounded?” Colin raised an eyebrow.

“Almost there!” Seeing that Colin was still so casual, Prince Harrison began to get anxious again, “Master, look, if we go east, we will just keep going further away. And to the south, the Mount Althus blocks the way. Unless we can take Huorong City, otherwise it’s a dead end!

Therefore, while this encirclement has not completely closed, you should quickly gather the Blood Knight Army and break through!”

“Gather the Blood Knight Army?”

“Yes. I saw that there are only about three thousand men of the Blood Knight Army in the city now. The rest of the troops should be scattered around, right?”

“Not there.”

“Not… not there?” Prince Harrison was startled; obviously, he hadn’t expected such an answer.

“Then… then where are the main forces of the Blood Knight Army?”

Colin turned a page of the book and said indifferently, “By now, they should have probably landed at a harbor south of Mount Althus.”

Prince Harrison’s mouth dropped open, looking incredulously at his master, seemingly at a loss for words.

“Are you scared?” Colin chuckled at the shocked Prince Harrison.

In reality, when Colin was leading the army on this Eastern expedition, he didn’t plan to bring along Prince Harrison and Princess Judy. But they insisted on coming along, which led him to bring these two burdens.

Initially, Prince Harrison assumed this was just a plundering voyage by the Blood Knight Army.

They would just grab some spoils near Alfalfa City, then quickly retreat.

Because with the imminent invasion of the Orcs, even if the North controlled the Angry River, it would still not be possible for them to invade the East on a large scale. Therefore, at this time, the Blood Knight Army wouldn’t dare to venture deep into enemy territory.

But it doesn’t seem to be the case now.

Colin clearly wasn’t satisfied with simple looting, and the Easterners, it seems, had no intention of letting this Northern Count leave so easily.

“I… I’m not scared,” Prince Harrison immediately said.

Colin glanced at his student and reassured with a smile, “Don’t worry, even if we were truly defeated and captured, the Easterners would respectfully send you and Judy back to Dragon City.”

“Teacher, I am worried for you!” cried Prince Harrison.

Colin laughed, put down the sheepskin book in his hand, and asked, “Are you worried that I won’t be able to escape?”

Prince Harrison solemnly nodded his head.

If the Blood Knight Army was here, Prince Harrison wouldn’t be too worried.

After all, with the fierce combat power of the Blood Knight Army, even If the Easterners have set up a full siege around Riverside City, Colin could still lead an army to break through.

But, if the main force of the Blood Knight Army is not present…

Prince Harrison became somewhat panicked.

However, Colin seemed confident, smiling, “Harrison, actually, the best strategy in the battlefield is to catch the enemy off guard.”

“Catch them off guard?”

“Yes. Don’t play by the rules, so that your opponent can’t predict your next move and real goal.”

Prince Harrison fell silent, thinking deeply about the meaning of Colin’s words.

After a while, he raised his head again, asking: “So, Teacher, what is your real goal this time?”

“What do you think?” Instead of answering, Colin counter questioned.

Prince Harrison hesitated for a moment, before saying, “It should be White Dew City, right? You personally acting as the bait in Riverside City, to attract the attention of the Eastern Army, should be to allow the main force of the Blood Knight Army to seize the opportunity to attack White Dew City, right?”

“That’s correct.” Colin nodded.

His true goal is actually more than that, but he won’t reveal more information to Prince Harrison.

Believing he had understood Colin’s whole plan, Prince Harrison couldn’t help but speak up again.

“Teacher, pardon my bluntness, I think there is a major flaw in your plan.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“First of all, you act as a bait in Riverside City to attract the attention of the Easterners, to allow the main force of the Blood Knight Army to successfully sneak attack on White Dew City. But if the Easterners set up a siege around Riverside City to keep you here, wouldn’t that be more of a loss than a gain?

Moreover, it’s not necessarily that the main force of the Blood Knight Army can successfully attack White Dew City. I know that the Pegasus Army was completely wiped out by you under Silver Moon City, and their newly rebuilt military strength is worrisome, but they do have a solid city to defend. The Blood Knight Army did not bring siege weapons with them; I fear they will find it hard to capture White Dew City, right?

Even if the Blood Knight Army miraculously conquers White Dew City, with such a small number of people, they might not be able to hold it.

So, I think your plan carries a significant risk, but the benefits are …”

Colin nodded his head and said, “You’ve analysed it well. But you missed out some key factors.”

“What key factors?”

“For example, why did I unconditionally release Earl Evan when I was in Alfalfa City?”

Before Prince Harrison could think, Colin threw out a series of questions:

“And for instance, how will Marquis Vincent, now back in White Dew City, deal with the current situation?

Yet another, if Duke St. Prowse learns that the main target of the Blood Knight Army is White Dew City, will he request the Lords of the East to retreat and support?

And if the Eastern Lords insist on not offering support, instead choosing to siege me, what will Duke St. Prowse think?

Also, the Howell Family, the Brugen Family… and so on, how would the Lords of the East make their choice?

Prince Harrison suddenly didn’t know how to answer these questions.

Colin laughed and patted him on the shoulder, saying:

“Just watch closely, the real battlefield is chaotic and complex, and changing rapidly. You can’t simply come to a conclusion by reasoning it out.”

“I understand, Teacher, I will learn carefully!”

Looking at the serious face of Prince Harrison, Colin smiled and nodded, but in his heart, he sneered –

You’re learning shit!

You don’t even have the Blood Clan’s blessing.