I want to get a little benefit for my family members

# Chapter 13: I Need to Fight for a Little Perk for My Homies

In Morland Village, the small players were huffing and puffing as they dug pits.

They planned to bury the innocent villagers killed by the Witch Hunters, initially just putting on a show of "reliability" in front of Murphy. But after Mirian used sign language to hand a pile of bloodstained coins to these "warm-hearted people," the nature of the matter completely changed.

Although the player interface hadn't gone online yet, the small players stubbornly believed this was a quest.

Look, the pretty NPC little sister gave them money, right?

She was still chattering away about something—though they couldn't understand her, it was surely words of praise and gratitude. Wasn't this exactly the NPC quest-giving routine?

As a player, it would be too much to refuse a quest that came right to your door.

However, the truth of the matter was...

"Murphy, can you control your otherworldly warriors or not?"

Mirian said awkwardly, complaining to Murphy, who was enjoying the nightfall:

"I told them to pile up the bodies and burn them, so they don't turn into vengeful spirits or ghouls later! Places where massacres like this happen are most prone to those terrifying things.

But they can't understand me and insist on digging a big pit. It seems to be some custom from their world, but digging like this—how long will it take?"

"If they want to dig, let them dig. I told you, my warriors are all very warm-hearted people—enthusiastic and stubborn. If you stop them, they'll just get unhappy.

And if they're unhappy, someone's going to be in trouble."

The unlucky vampire didn't want to deal with this at all.

He was instead watching with great interest as Meow Brother and Chen Dian Niu Niu fiddled with that Automatic Hunter Crossbow.

Meow Brother, sweating profusely, lifted the heavy machine, and with Chen Dian Niu Niu's help, opened its built-in leg supports, aiming outside the village.

The sly grins on their faces clearly showed they intended to "have some fun" before being kicked offline.

But after all their fumbling, the two idiots couldn't understand the thing's operating principle at all. It had some similarities to real-world machinery, but the underlying design logic was completely different.

"Where's the safety?"

Chen Dian Niu Niu, the jock, kept pulling the trigger but couldn't activate the delicate steam power furnace.

Meow Brother was equally clueless.

As a senior corporate drone doing software outsourcing, he'd never had the chance to handle something both criminal and torturable. If his two middle-aged friends Mud Truck and Forklift Operator were here, they might figure it out—unfortunately, those two, who'd spent half their lives in machining, had both been killed by this thing earlier.

Just as the two were flailing around, Mirian finally stepped in.

She crouched beside Meow Brother, quickly inspected the Automatic Hunter Crossbow, then opened the safety hidden under the mechanical latch.

The steam furnace restarted with a whirring sound, and the metal bolt magazine began rotating with a clicking noise.

"There's still plenty of combustion catalyst in the steam furnace, but the built-in fuel gas is running low. Use it sparingly."

As an excellent student of Chardo Craftsman University—though in the administrative department—Mirian's extracurricular practice had taken her to halfling factories for inspections. She wasn't skilled with these steam machines, but she could operate them a bit.

Unfortunately, she and the small players couldn't communicate.

She chattered a bunch of gibberish at Chen Dian Niu Niu, who was gripping the Automatic Hunter Crossbow, but he could only stare back at her with the innocent gaze of someone hearing a foreign language.

"What's this NPC saying?"

Niu Niu turned to ask. Meow Brother rolled his eyes and said:

"She said you're handsome."

"Hey, that's right! I'm the handsomest in my year in the PE department—nicknamed 'Niu Chuanfeng.' Didn't expect this NPC to have good taste."

The simple jock immediately grinned foolishly, but then realized Meow Brother couldn't understand the NPC either, so the guy was probably just making stuff up.

Damn it, that cunning corporate slave!

"Can you fix that thing?"

Murphy asked softly, clearly having noticed Miss Mirian's "hidden ability." She glanced at Murphy, seeming to see through his intentions.

She shook her head and said:

"I'm not in the mechanical engineering department. Besides, this model of automatic machine is too old. The halfling mechanics of Chardo stopped using this single-furnace structure for weapon power long ago. Although the Witch Hunters maintained it well, they obtained it at least 100 years ago. You'd need to find a professional old mechanic to repair it. Hm?

What's that?"

Mirian pointed in surprise behind Murphy.

The vampire turned his head. A crimson Blood Eagle Firework was hovering in the night sky behind them. The familiar pattern made Murphy narrow his eyes.

"The Midnight Hunters' gathering signal. That direction is where the Witch Hunter fled. They're finished!"

Seeing the firework, Murphy knew the earlier mission to send Maxim with the message had succeeded. He let out a long breath, a heavy stone lifted from his heart.

Then he called to the still-busy small players:

"My dangerous and arrogant kin are coming. My warriors, you must return to your own world now. Rest well! Await the next summons from me and the Grand Plan. Of course, in the name of today's victory, when you next arrive here, I will prepare rewards worthy of warriors!

This is Murphy's promise!"

The players felt a bit regretful.

They wanted to play a while longer, but those small players who'd grown tired of digging pits secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They imitated Mirian's gestures, clumsily using this world's hand signals to bid Murphy a polite farewell, then vanished in the dispersing summoning light.

The armor and weapons they wore lost their support and clattered to the ground out of thin air.

This commotion made Murphy shake his head.

No matter how he looked at it, the players' exit effects were just too flashy.

But this only happened when forcibly kicked offline by an admin; presumably, once players could connect freely in the future, they'd retain their physical forms when temporarily logging out.

At least they wouldn't have to re-equip gear every time they logged in, but the light effects on death still needed some tweaking.

This scene also made Mirian blink. The clever but sly girl shot Murphy a suspicious glance but made no comment.

"Bandage them up. If they survive, good. If not, that's their fate."

Murphy pointed at the bound, unconscious huntress and her two subordinates.

Though the little players were brave, killing people in this fully immersive game was something they still didn't have the guts for—thanks to the education they'd received in a civilized society. So while they'd supposedly taken down a squad, only one had actually died.

The cause of death was blood loss.

The leader, the "Grey-Haired Huntress" Natalie, had been injected with a sedative. The scout Amber and the one-armed veteran Porter both survived, though severely injured. As for the four Witch Hunters who broke out and fled, they had the bad luck to run into the Blood Eagle's Midnight Hunters.

Their fate was truly uncertain.

Tch, if they'd known this would happen, wouldn't it have been better to just lay down their arms and surrender with courtesy?

Soon, the neighing of warhorses rang out in the night. Murphy stood at the village entrance, a mess all around, and spotted his loyal servant at a glance.

Maxim, riding over, was overjoyed to tears when he saw Murphy. The loyal and fervent vampire worshiper strode over quickly.

Struggling to suppress his excitement, he said loudly to Murphy:

"I have not failed your trust, Lord Murphy! I delivered the clan leader's secret order to the contact and requested their aid. I am delighted to see you safe and sound."

Murphy said nothing more, just reached out and patted Maxim's shoulder with the fatigue of battle behind him.

He could now be certain that this albino servant was someone he could trust and rely on. Though Maxim was still nominally another's blood thrall, Murphy had already decided to seek out that Lord Jade in Cadman City and request Maxim's transfer.

He could never have too many capable and loyal talents like this.

After a few exchanges, the vampire saw five "people" descending from the sky behind him.

From their wide, elegant crimson cloaks and exquisite, luxurious dark hunting attire, he could tell these five were elite rangers of the Blood Eagle Clan, formally called "Midnight Hunters"—essentially a blend of hunter and assassin.

Just standing there, they seemed to merge with the surrounding darkness, far more formidable than this rookie.

As Murphy observed these vampires, they observed him too, ultimately concluding that the guy was pathetically weak.

Even a simple message delivery mission could end up this messed up—it was a disgrace to the Blood Eagle Clan.

Still, the short vampire leading them had some semblance of midnight nobility. He didn't openly mock Murphy but first surveyed Morland Village's condition. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the burned corpses, then calmed, and he spoke in a cold, steady voice:

"Congratulations, kinsman. It seems you've just completed a hunt and claimed a valuable victory, bringing these villains who dared invade Blood Eagle territory and slaughter our subjects to justice. On behalf of the family's current tribune, I offer you thanks.

I should not disturb your enjoyment of sweet victory's wine, but there is something on you that I require now."

A woman?

Murphy blinked.

Then he pulled the small psychic decoding seal from his inner clothing and handed it to her.

She took it, retrieved the clan leader's secret order Maxim had delivered earlier, placed the seal on the scroll, and unlocked the encrypted psychic device.

Seeing this, Maxim, standing beside Murphy, suddenly understood, and his heart filled with boundless admiration for Lord Murphy's supreme wisdom.

His lord had given him only the secret order scroll, not the decoding seal, so even if these rangers were unwilling, they had to come support Murphy to keep the seal from falling into Witch Hunter hands.

Murphy noticed Maxim's expression change and gave him a subtle look for Maxim to interpret on his own.

Heh, a weak messenger with no backing and an unknown junior in the family—to these cold vampires under threat of war, he was easily expendable.

Though Murphy hadn't been a vampire long, Triss's teachings had made him wary enough of his own "kinsmen."

Triss, when deep in her cups, often told him that when fighting alongside vampires, guarding against a backstab from your own side was far more important than guarding against an enemy's open assault.

These aloof Midnight Hunters, after opening the clan leader's secret order, had little more to say to Murphy. They lingered outside the village, likely waiting for more rangers to gather, to complete the secret mission entrusted to them by Blood Eagle Clan Leader Salokdar.

But Murphy couldn't care less.

Right now, he desperately hoped that after completing his messenger task, he'd be allowed to return to safe Cadman City and discuss with Triss the matter of making a quick getaway.

He hadn't noticed before, but after this outing, realizing the Blood Eagle Clan had been infiltrated like a sieve, he didn't want to stay in this wretched place of Transia for even a day.

Anyway, Triss said she had some reputation among other vampire clans. When the time came, he'd take Triss and let the slowly growing little players serve as escorts.

The world was vast—where couldn't he go?

"Ravnos Murphy Lasombra!"

Just as Murphy was pondering, that cold voice rang out again. He turned to see the short woman, leader of the rangers, had silently come to his side.

Beneath her crimson cloak's hood, she fixed him with a sharp gaze. After a moment, she said:

"I need to conscript you and your servants to complete the secret task the clan leader has commanded. This mission is crucial to the war situation in the Transia region and the entire Bosia Confederacy.

Therefore, I hope—"

"Before you order me around, this lady, I should at least know who you are."

Murphy yawned, cutting off the female vampire's lengthy monologue before him.

He stared at her, mimicking the gloomy tone unique to vampires that laced her words, and said:

"I may be a nameless member of the clan, but I was personally embraced by the former elder, Lady Triss. I ought to know which big shot I'm about to serve, shouldn't I?

I think that's a right I deserve."

"Triss is a disgrace to the clan! Every Blood Vulture knows that."

The Huntress leader snorted, ruthlessly shaming Murphy's "sire."

"I have to know who you are!"

Murphy couldn't refute the fact that "Triss is a disgrace to the clan," but he said earnestly and stubbornly:

"That way, I can confirm whether you'll toss me and my servants aside as cannon fodder. Theoretically, my courier mission is already over, lady. I can return to Cadman City right now.

You know that well.

We Blood Vultures operate by rules—unlike those unruly thugs from the Wolfsbane clan."

This made the Huntress leader hesitate for a moment. Perhaps Murphy's invoking of clan rules convinced her. A few seconds later, she pulled back her hood, revealing a face so young it could be called "childish."

Black hair, just like Murphy's.

But with a pair of crimson eyes, matched with her short, petite stature and chubby cheeks, she looked like a half-grown kid.

No wonder she'd wrapped herself up so tightly—this appearance held no authority in war at all.

Still, Murphy recognized her from his memory immediately. The unlucky vampire quickly gave a standard Blood Vulture salute, bowing slightly to the short girl before him.

He murmured:

"So it's you, Baroness Femis. Then, I and my servants are willing to serve you and your father's cause wholeheartedly."

"Not for me and my father!"

Baroness Femis Cecilia Lasombra wrinkled her cute little nose, correcting him with great seriousness:

"This is for the existence and continuation of the Blood Vulture clan! Though my father is the clan leader, you don't need to be so respectful to me for that reason. After all, I'm just a very ordinary member of the clan."

"Ah, yes, yes, whatever you say, young miss."

Murphy replied perfunctorily, thinking to himself: Is this noble's kid genuinely naive?

Or is she a natural schemer?

But as the young miss finished speaking and turned to leave, Murphy's eyes suddenly lit up.

He coughed and said:

"Young miss, please wait. I and my servants are very willing to serve you—uh, no—the clan's great cause, but I still hope to secure a small benefit for my loyal men."

"Hm?"

Young Miss Femis turned back in surprise, looking at Murphy, and said:

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I mean, I'd like to get something from you to spark my servants' enthusiasm, pride, and drive. Don't misunderstand!

It's nothing important, and you'll definitely be willing to give it."