The Stronghold

Three Days Later.

Tap!

Rumble!

The ground rumbled and vibrated incessantly as hundreds of cavalry horses and wagons carrying soldiers marched at a rapid pace across carved paths passing through a mountainous range covered in lush greenery.

Thud!

A luxurious carriage that was pulled by 2 horses finally stopped in front of a gateway.

"Halt!!"

Shouted a guard stationed at a watchtower behind a 10 meter tall stoned wall. Below this wall, were deep pits filled with water and pikes as it was one of the main entrances to the stronghold this group was heading to.

A hand appeared outside the window of the luxurious carriage and revealed a golden token with carvings of a bat's head that revealed two fangs.

As soon as the guard on the 15 meter tall watchtower saw the token through a spyglass telescope, he blew a horn.

PUUUURRRHHHHH!!

The massive metal gates started opening and the cavalry finally entered inside the fortified walls.

Tap!

"Vlad, you will see many people there. So try to refrain from making any contact with anyone." spoke Marcel to Vlad who was sitting inside a wagon running on the left side.

Vlad nodded quietly.

After passing a few kilometers, a crowd started surrounding this cavalry.

"Please, help us, lords! We haven't eaten anything for weeks. Our children are starving!" shouted a vampire woman among the crowd.

"Spare us some food, please. We don't have any blood left in storage either. We will pay as much as you want!" pleaded a grown blond vampire, holding a bag full of coins.

However, this cavalry did not pay them any heed and carried towards the inner gates of this stronghold.

The same scene occurred over a dozen times where vampire groups made of normal civilians surrounded them and begged for food and rations.

Dracula understood that all these people were none other than refugees of the war. Those who managed to reach the stronghold in time.

This stronghold was actually a vast territory of some powerful noble house and so far, Dracula estimated that there were more than 5 million refugees just from the side they entered from.

The past 5 kilometers alone hands numerous tents and temporary living settlements created by the victims of war who were the poorest among all.

[Tch! No order is maintained. Other than soldiers manning the walls, no patrols have been formed and the supply of provisions to the first layer of fortification also seems out of hand.

This type of incompetent arrangement signifies that whoever is in charge… they're either new to this job or intentionally aren't paying attention to it.

If an army of humans attacked… these people will die first without having any chance to defend themselves.] thought Dracula.

This was a common occurrence whenever two kingdoms or empires were at war. The civilians would be forced to locate into strongholds with the promise of safety and living arrangements.

But the reality was often disappointing.

In the past three days, Dracula learned a few things about the ongoing war.

The King had already fallen in battle.

And this was just one part of the line of defense. There were dozens of gates in different directions and regions fending against the human armies.

Each side was led by the children who had the claim to the throne and also had the support from the clans of the three queens.

To normal citizens, these so-called leaders appeared as their saviors who offered asylum. But someone like Dracula, who had thousands of years of experience in war and ruling trillions of people in his world knew the real truth behind the shadow.

In the end… All of it was just a struggle for power.

These defenseless people who never held a weapon in their entire lives would be forced to march into a war when the time came and more manpower was required.

Providing safety was just a pretense. The more refugees you had… the more free soldiers you'd get at your arsenal.

These strongholds situated in particular regions were often a place to gather for remaining powerful forces and here, they'd plan how to retake their kingdom. Mostly, nobles and military officials were in charge.

But in this case, it was the royal scions in the line of succession. Well, even that was just an excuse. The real players would be the forces who supported them on the surface but actually pulled the strings from behind while these princes and princesses danced on their palms.

[Unless all of the remaining clans and military forces are unified under the same banner… this kingdom would fall for certain.] thought Dracula as he analyzed the situation quietly.

The living conditions here were already dire and if not managed properly… the entire outer settlement would crumble in a couple of months due to the lack of rations, moral support and restlessness of the people who were suffering.

The inner layers with better living conditions would be segregated and then targeted by these people who would feel like their lives were being toyed with by the people in power.

Their scared minds would force them to rebel and there would be a war within first instead of fighting the enemy.

Dracula himself had led armies consisting of billions of people before during his crusade of world domination.

If anyone was qualified to lead this entire kingdom to certain victory against the human armies… it would be Dracula.

But currently, he had no care about the fate of this kingdom or its people because had priorities of his own.

After half a day, they finally reached the 3rd layer of defense. After that, it was only the powerful and rich living in the 4th layer.

The 5th layer was only for Nobility, Ministers, their families and forces and lastly, the royalty.

The 3rd layer was used to house soldiers and their families, displaying that the chain of command was giving them preferential treatment in times of war.

But the truth was that since their families were living here, soldiers would be at ease and their morale would be maintained.

And thinking about the lives of their families and loved ones, every soldier would be ready to give their best to maintain their current lifestyle standards as they already knew how dire the situation was for the people in the first two layers.

At the time of evening, Marcel was finally allotted a two-room wooden living quarter where he took Vlad with him.

There were many makeshift houses like this in the 3rd layer and these were given only to important military officials.

Marcel was only a captain of the guard of a small village, thus he didn't have too big of standing in the current structure of the army.

This 2 room quarter was the best they could get while the rest of the refugees were living in camps…

Finally, both of them settled down in this new house of theirs. As for Dracula, soon he'd begin his next and crucially important objective. And that was…

Gathering information about this new world.

Next chapter