Morland Village lay southwest of Cadman City. Since it was close to the trade routes, it was a popular stopping point for merchants traveling through Transia, and the whole village had prospered thanks to the booming service industry.
Murphy had never been here before.
He had never even left Cadman City, but he had picked up a few bits of local gossip from the assistant driving the carriage beside him.
For instance, the village was the fiefdom of a vampire elder. The village chief was an old blood thrall who secretly did the vampire elder's dirty work—at least, as far as humans were concerned—and lined his own pockets.
The village was full of vampire worshippers, so it could be considered a "safe zone" for the Blood Eagle Clan.
"But you'll have to go another fifteen kilometers east, sir. It won't be safe there."
The tall assistant gripped the reins and spoke quietly to Murphy, who was chewing on a piece of hard bread.
"Lord Jade told us before sending us out that several Witch Hunter squads are active in that area. They're hounds of the Pioneer Legion, and they've already destroyed quite a few villages that worship the blood clan.
"Lim Village, where I was born, was one of them. Ah... Never mind. It was awful."
Murphy didn't reply.
As he ate his bread, he listened intently in the darkness, doing his best to pick out any potential danger nearby with his vampire senses, sharpened by the night.
The label on his character card, now updated to 0/10 summons, gave him plenty of confidence, but he still had to be cautious.
When Murphy didn't respond, the assistant driving the carriage fell silent too. But Murphy had been observing him the whole time.
The man looked rather odd.
Like a vampire walking in the sunlight, he had wrapped himself up from head to toe, almost like a mummy, leaving only his eyes exposed.
But Murphy was certain he wasn't doing it simply out of a blood thrall's admiration for and imitation of his vampire master.
Even his eyelashes were white.
By human standards, that was clearly abnormal.
"You know what Lord Jade meant when he sent you out to 'help' me, right?"
Murphy finished his bread and shook the crumbs from his hands as he spoke softly.
"Are you prepared for it, buddy?"
The young assistant clenched his fists. After hesitating for several seconds, he nodded.
"Yeah. Lord Jade didn't hide how dangerous this job was. And the nine of us weren't chosen at random. Maybe..."
He paused, as if he had to work up all his courage to say the rest.
"Maybe this is just a 'cleanup operation.' Ah, sir, I didn't mean it that way! I wasn't calling you useless. I just... Well, you've seen us. The nine of us are the old, the weak, and the infirm, even among the blood thralls."
"No need to explain. Even if you really were making a veiled insult, I wouldn't care."
Murphy had a thick skin.
During the past month in Cadman City, he had heard much more vicious things. His nerves had grown so numb they were practically dead.
He waved the matter away and asked the assistant curiously:
"I don't care about the other eight in the carriage. They'll die on the road. They're already dead; their weak hearts just haven't realized it yet. But you're different!
"Your life force is healthy and strong.
"Stronger than an ordinary person's, in fact. You should be an ideal candidate for a blood thrall soldier.
"Don't doubt my judgment!
"I'm a vampire. Sensing life is instinctive for me."
At Murphy's question, the assistant hesitated. Then, under Murphy's curious gaze, he took off his hood and face covering, revealing skin even paler than a vampire's.
His eyebrows, beard, and short hair were pure white, and the skin on his neck was so thin that the blue veins beneath showed clearly.
Albinism?
Murphy blinked.
In Transia, a deeply isolated and superstitious region ruled by vampires, someone with a condition like this would certainly be treated as an outcast, or as the sign of some kind of monster.
No wonder he kept his face covered.
"I'm defective too. They all call me a 'monster,'" the assistant said bitterly.
"My parents abandoned me when I was a child. Lord Jade took me in. Now that he needs me to contribute to the family's cause, I won't say no."
"But you're still a little reluctant, aren't you?"
Murphy chuckled and shook his head as he asked:
"What's your name?"
"Maxim! Sir, my name is Maxim Sena Vlad."
He answered at once.
"Don't worry. I'll get you to the mission site, even if it costs me my life!"
"Is a master who openly sends you to your death really worth that kind of loyalty?"
Murphy wondered to himself.
Judging by the man's fanatical expression, he was a "seasoned blood devotee," a true vampire worshipper—one of Transia's local specialties.
There were plenty of people like him among the blood thralls. Some were influenced by magic, while others craved power.
Then there were those like Maxim, who had been raised from childhood with a twisted understanding of the world.
But Murphy didn't feel like setting him straight right now. The idea of a proper vampire teaching a fanatical blood thrall not to blindly trust vampires sounded like a joke.
Murphy thought it over, then picked up the armor and weapons Lord Jade had provided and tossed them to Maxim.
"Put these on. You're the only trained fighter among the nine of you. If we run into trouble, I'll need you to pull your weight."
"No, Lord Murphy. These were a gift from Lord Jade. I can't—"
Maxim refused immediately, but Murphy opened his cloak and pointed to the elder's armor he was wearing, which was clearly far more luxurious and high-quality.
"I can't use them. Put them on. Besides, I don't like people handing back things I've given them. It feels like insulting a vampire's rare display of kindness."
With Murphy putting it that way, Maxim had no choice but to quickly put on the old leather armor, buckle the sharpened rapier at his waist, and pull his cloak back over himself.
He was even more respectful toward Murphy now. Glancing at the village ahead, he said:
"We'll reach Morland Village soon, sir. There are only two hours left until dawn. We can rest here and set off again at dusk.
"Don't worry. I know this route well. We'll reach the Midnight Hunters' camp tomorrow night."
Murphy nodded.
He wasn't particularly looking forward to this suicide mission.
He sat cross-legged atop the carriage, looking around like the Pirate King at the bow of a ship, and tossed the perception-and-scouting skill he had just acquired toward the village.
He was just grinding proficiency.
But that casual cast caused trouble. A strange, faint red glow appeared before Murphy's eyes, framing two houses on the edge of the village.
Murphy's heart skipped a beat, and he narrowed his eyes.
His vampire pupils shifted, bringing the view closer in an instant. The faint red glow resolved into four human figures.
Unknown hostile targets. On alert and aiming. Threat level unknown.
"Wait!"
Murphy grabbed Maxim's raised whip.
Maxim stared at him in confusion. Murphy gripped the hilt at his waist, dragged him off the slowly moving carriage, and gave the old horse a hard smack on the rump.
"Hey! You eight, go on ahead and scout the village."
Murphy called to the eight emaciated, dazed blood thralls inside the carriage.
"I've got something to take care of. I'll catch up in a bit."
The blood thralls, reduced to walking corpses by years of bloodletting, showed no reaction. But the old horse picked up speed under the urging of the whip and trotted toward Morland Village.
Murphy pulled his assistant down into the grass outside the village and kept watch.
Maxim had sensed that something was wrong by now. He seemed reluctant, and was about to speak when Murphy raised a hand to stop him.
"As you said, this is a 'cleanup operation.' We might as well put them to good use! Dying quickly would give them more dignity than living like this.
"Enough talk. Get ready!"
As soon as he finished speaking, crossbow bolts suddenly shot out from both sides and clattered against the carriage near the village entrance. One bolt killed the old horse, which collapsed to the ground. People burst from the buildings on either side, rushed into the carriage, and struck with their blades.
The eight blood thralls' low moans as they died tore through the night's silence, making the two cowards in the grass shudder.
"We're less than a day from Cadman City!"
Maxim's hands trembled as he whispered:
"How dare they?"
Murphy was scared too.
But he handled it better than Maxim. After all, a supernatural creature's body was in a league of its own. Even the most pathetic one could crush a human veteran.
"They dare, all right! Seems the Blood Eagle Clan's so-called nighttime authority doesn't scare anyone anymore. It's all smoke and mirrors."
The unlucky vampire snapped at Maxim, then narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the village entrance.
The Witch Hunters who had been lying in wait saw that there were no targets in the carriage, so they rushed out of the village and began searching the area.
Thankfully, there were only four of them.
Murphy breathed a sigh of relief and crouched down, assuming a spellcasting pose.
That was right. He was about to "unleash his ultimate move."
The same sensation he had experienced around noon surged through Murphy again. This time, he was summoning more players, and the weak dark energy inside him was nearly drained in an instant. Six streaks of light then wove together like shuttles, converging in the blink of an eye into human forms beside Murphy.
Leading Pigeon, who had been through this once already, casually loosened up.
The other five guys from his dorm looked around once they came to, standing there like idiots. They were clearly stunned by the game's insanely realistic graphics.
Ge Bao really hadn't been lying!
This game looked damn real!
"Holy crap! That's awesome!"
One of them shouted excitedly, then reached for his pants, apparently planning to do something extremely indecent. But the four Witch Hunters charging toward them couldn't possibly miss that commotion.
Though it was nighttime, the excited shout gave them a clear target.
The lead Witch Hunter raised his hand crossbow and pulled the trigger without hesitation. With a pfft, the pudgy guy who had just shouted and grabbed his crotch took a bolt to the head.
The arrow stuck out of his skull as he dropped to his knees with a thud. A moment later, he fell apart into a cloud of scattered lights without a sound.
Murphy and Maxim were both dumbfounded.
Damn!
He'd been in the game for less than three seconds and had already bought the farm.
Dude, were you trying to get yourself killed?
How'd you make it look so effortless?
The commotion startled the others too. They instinctively hit the ground, which also let them dodge the crossbow bolts flying out of the darkness.
"How come only six of my warriors showed up?"
Murphy counted heads and was shocked.
He had clearly summoned ten people. But Leading Pigeon, crouching beside him with his arms over his head and trembling like a leaf, heard the NPC's confusion and turned to complain:
"It's the middle of the workday, man!
"Not everyone has as much free time as us broke students. Anyway, what's going on here? Who are these people? Why are they trying to kill us?"
Hearing that his "otherworldly warriors" still had to go to work, Murphy almost lost it. He was telling them about a grand plan to save the world, and they were telling him they had to go to work?
Didn't they feel bad?
Work, work, work! To hell with work! Wasn't gaming way more fun?
But the vampire took a deep breath and quickly pulled himself together. In his best quest-giving NPC voice, he said:
"It's part of the grand plan!
"More precisely, it's the first step of the grand plan!
"I have to get you brave but inexperienced otherworldly warriors used to the brutality of battle in this savage world.
"Before we can truly set the grand plan in motion, I have to train you into warriors who can take on ten enemies at once. But your performance in your first battle has been utterly disappointing...
"Perhaps your true destiny is to become 'walking blood bags.'
"Get up!
"My warriors, stop lying there with your asses in the air, trembling like little chicks. It's shameful and undignified.
"Listen up!
"My retainer and I will charge them from the front. You distract them from behind!
"Outworlders, this is your last chance. If you're this useless, I'll have to give up on you and search for more suitable warriors.
"Now!
"Charge, for our grand plan!
"Warriors, forward!"
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