Maxim's blunt, to-the-point "speech" did nothing to quiet the restless barracks. The thugs exchanged wary looks and still meant to resist; without a word, they began to shift their feet.
But soon, more vampires from the family entered the night behind Maxim. As pair after pair of blood-red wings unfurled, even the most stubborn and ferocious men looked desperate.
In Transia, the vampires of the Blood Eagle rebels were hunted at will by players as "bounty-paying beasts." But elsewhere on the continent, vampires still commanded plenty of respect.
At the very least, ordinary thugs didn't have the guts to charge a line made up of vampires.
They quickly backed down. The moment the first man dropped his weapon, surrender became a reality. Before long, the ground was covered with all kinds of weapons, as well as a few muskets. Transian civil servants, escorted by veterans, entered with sabers at their waists and began recording names with pen and paper.
Faced with the dark muzzles of guns still wreathed in smoke, even the wildest prisoners couldn't show off their courage.
They were bad people, but they weren't stupid.
Once they realized the Blood Eagle Clan's vampires meant business and would really kill them, they became remarkably "cooperative" when the civil servants questioned them and took their names.
It wasn't that no one had thought about it: there were only a little over a hundred vampires and blood thralls before them, while their own side had more than two thousand tough guys. If they could just summon the nerve to charge, even vampires—swift as they were in the dark—couldn't stop everyone. Most of them would have a "free future."
But clearly, with only one life to live, risking it for a bunch of scumbags was unacceptable.
Even if they were scumbags themselves.