The First Vampire

Originally, Colin thought that the North Territory of the Glorious Empire was already cold enough.

But now he discovered, compared to the Sky Ice Plain, the North Territory was like a large greenhouse.

It’s almost the end of May now, he would have felt a hint of summer if he was in the North Territory.

But here on the Sky Ice Plain, snow is still falling.

No wonder the North Territory wasn’t expanded any further north when it previously held an absolute advantage.

Northerners really don’t want to come to this bitterly cold place.

In the howling north wind, the snowflakes quickly turned the world into a vast expanse of white.

The Fifty thousand Dark Cavalry, like a raging black tide, was dashing north in the snow.

The horses’ hooves shattered the ice and snow as they hit the ground, revealing the frozen soil.

The thundering hooves and the clanging of armor, accompanied by the wind, composed an intimidating and aggressive melody.

Over half a month had passed since they set out from Ice Rock City, but they hadn’t encountered any Troll Army on their journey.

This wasn’t surprising.

When the Trolls began to retreat, the Dark Cavalry trailed behind leisurely. Given the long pause in Ice Rock City, the Trolls had retreated far away.

However, the Trolls had made a significant loot during their invasion in the North Territory. Carrying all these spoils of war will surely slow down their pace.

Given the pursuit speed of the Dark Cavalry, Colin estimated that if they hadn’t taken a wrong turn, they should be catching up with the tail of the Troll Army in the next few days.

Marquis Garcia seemed to understand this too, and the number of scout cavalry sent out in the recent days had significantly increased.

But the Sky Ice Plain was simply too vast.

While the Troll Army of three hundred thousand troops might sound numerous, they seemed insignificant in the vast and boundless Ice Plain.

Besides, in such snowstorms, the traces left by the marching army would soon be buried, making it a fool’s dream to track them down through their footprints.

So, the first difficulty in the pursuit campaign was to find the traces of the Troll Army in the vast Ice Plain.

This required an intimate familiarity with the geography of the Ice Plain and clarity about the possible retreat routes of the Trolls.

Colin was utterly clueless.

He had never ventured this far into the Sky Ice Plain, he knew almost nothing about this place.

Luckily, he had the mighty Marquis Garcia by his side.

This guy was the true “God of War of the Ice Plain”!

Yes, this title was given to him by the Trolls.

Having enemies come up with such a title for oneself, it was enough to indicate how terrifying Marquis Garcia was on the battlefield.

With such a powerful figure beside him, Colin certainly wouldn’t waste such a good opportunity.

Following the principle of asking when in doubt, Colin would approach Marquis Garcia and pepper him with questions now and then.

And each time, Marquis Garcia would patiently answer them all.

This level of patience made many senior officers in the Dark Cavalry jealous, not just Colin.

Some even started to quietly inquire if Colin was the illegitimate son of Marquis Garcia.

“Does uncle have a lover?” asked Vera, hiding her little face deep inside her fox fur shawl, her eyes full of doubt.

“Yes.” Colin, a look of gossip on his face, asked “I know the Marquis has never married, but has he never had a lover?”

After being constantly observed with strange looks by the officers of the Dark Cavalry, Colin began to doubt his origin.

“None.” Vera shook her head, “As far as I know, Uncle has never shown excessive affection for any woman. Moreover, throughout all these years, I never heard any related rumors.

It seems … Uncle is like an ascetic monk.”

“Okay.” Colin was somewhat disappointed.

He was initially thinking, as a protagonist who time-traveled here, having a peculiar lineage shouldn’t be lacking.

Having a badass like Marquis Garcia as a father, a badass elf princess as a mother, then suddenly an unknown grandfather dies and left a kingdom for him to inherit…

“Cough, cough…” The howling cold wind poured into Colin’s mouth, interrupting his daydream.

It was then he realized, Marquis Garcia had no offspring.

Furthermore, as Vera had suggested, if Marquis Garcia indeed led a life akin to an ascetic, he would likely not have any descendants. So, who should inherit his nobility and territory?

Could it be an adopted child?

Possible.

Yet, there was another possibility.

Colin realized he might have understood the foundation of trust between Marquis Garcia and Duke St. Hilde.

He had been puzzled, why had these two brothers dared to stage such a drama?

Ended up, it was a bluff.

Such rapport and trust between them was indeed surprising.

If Marquis Garcia had intended to change the ruler of the North Territory, there was no need for him to chase into the Sky Ice Plain with his Dark Cavalry.

At the time of Ice Rock City, as long as Marquis Garcia sent his army southward, he could easily take Winterfell City.

He had that capability.

Duke St. Hilde was also aware, his own brother had this capability.

So, wouldn’t he fear his brother turning pretense to reality?

Unless, Marquis Garcia had made him a promise.

Obviously, this commitment wasn’t verbal.

But a tangible, irrevocable promise.

Dying without an heir might be Marquis Garcia’s promise to his brother.

Without a successor for nobility, what was there to fight over?

This could be the foundation of their mutual trust.

As Colin was deep in thought, news came from the scout cavalry—traces of the Troll Army were found!

They finally caught up!

Colin could clearly feel the soldiers instantly getting excited.

All of these warriors who had marched thousands of miles in the snow, didn’t show any signs of laxity, hesitation, only overwhelming intent to fight!

They were members of the North Territory’s strongest army—the Dark Cavalry!

However, Marquis Garcia’s military order came, ordering the entire army to stop advancing and camp on the spot.

That was expected.

After all, the moment enemy traces were discovered, one can’t simply rush in.

That wasn’t marching or fighting, that was reckless.

A cautious general would further understand the enemy’s situation, then make a decision.

Colin followed Marquis Garcia for several miles to where the scout cavalry had found the enemy’s trace.

Looking closely at the vague traces in the snow, he assessed:

“It seems like this should be the main force of the Trolls, and they passed not more than a day or two ago.”

During this time, Colin had gleaned a fair amount of tracking skills on the Ice Plain.

Marquis Garcia nodded, approving Colin’s judgment, then asked, “So, do you think we should continue the chase?”

“Why not?” Colin asked, somewhat perplexed.

After all, wasn’t that why they had trekked thousands of miles in the frigid weather?

However, shaking his head, Marquis Garcia said:

“No, they are not our target..”