Deng Lun's indifferent attitude affected most of the vampires in the castle. Even the goblins wandering through the corridors and courtyards were more or less infected by that blind optimism.
They began whispering in private, believing that even the White Horse Kingdom's regular army had failed to completely conquer The Gloomy Lands. What right did those slimes, who only knew how to bounce around, have to fight all the way to Eternal Night Territory?
That said, the necessary preparations still had to be made.
In the castle's council hall, Deng Lun remained seated in the place of honor with his eyes closed in rest. He did not participate in the heated discussion below, as though all the surrounding clamor had nothing to do with him.
Sir Casimir merely glanced at him, but his thoughts drifted away on their own, and he began absentmindedly pondering how to get more Blood of Life.
Only several elderly vampires were still arguing fiercely over how to deal with the approaching Swamp army.
The first certainty was that Everly River Valley—the entrance region near the Outpost Ruins camp—had relatively flat terrain. It was easy to attack but difficult to defend.
Furthermore, the Black Fang Mercenary Group outpost that had originally stood at the entrance had already been uprooted by the slimes.
One vampire said, "Losing this place is inevitable. We can only yield it to those slimes."
What they could do now was hasten the deployment of Magic Traps and defensive checkpoints along the several key routes leading to Eternal Night Territory, blocking the advancing Swamp army layer upon layer.
Once they had discussed a concrete response plan, orders were swiftly issued to the Black Fang Mercenary Group below.
Before long, highest-level bounty notices bearing the glaring scarlet words "SSS Rank" scattered from Black Fang