A Close-Up View

Listening to the footsteps behind him, the old captain of the guards felt a little nervous. He had assumed that a man who brought a fake to deceive the town mayor must be a shameless scoundrel. But after seeing Li Lin in person, he could no longer trust his own judgment. Besides, the man had three beautiful girls with him. Would someone like that deliberately go to such lengths to present a fake just to deceive the mayor? Still, doubts were one thing, and orders were another. The old captain had no choice but to invent an order, saying the mayor wished to consult them privately and inviting them outside for a discussion-even he thought the lie was utterly stupid. If the man had been alone, the old captain would probably have drawn his sword and driven him out of town already.

He had no idea what the man was thinking. After staring at the captain for a long while, the man had actually nodded in agreement. He was no fool, so how could he not see that something was wrong? Heaven knew who he really was or what he wanted... Never mind. Whatever the case, once he got them out of town, he could tell them the truth and persuade them to leave.

After all, this was nothing to be proud of, so the old captain was also afraid someone would find out. Rumors that the mayor's men bullied outsiders would do the mayor's reputation no good. It might have been one thing if the man had been some burly brute, but as he was, he looked every bit a well-educated noble, not to mention the three lovely young ladies accompanying him. As a man, the poor old fellow had learned about the damnable curse that "beauty is justice" in his youth. Even the female swindlers and thieves he had arrested in the past could win sympathy by squeezing out a few tears, however plain they looked. Things had come to this, and if those girls started crying and making a scene, it would naturally do the mayor's reputation no good. If those people started spreading rumors about the mayor forcibly taking women or something of the sort, his own comfortable days would probably be over.

Seeing that they had left the town behind, the old captain stopped and turned around. He rested a hand on the sword hilt at his waist and tried to put on a stern expression.

"Young man, I regret to inform you..."

He stared into Li Lin's eyes, but the other man showed no reaction, leaving him somewhat uncertain.

"You must leave this town immediately."

Li Lin was curious about the old man's warning. He hadn't done anything, had he? Why did he have to leave? Or had Angela caused some trouble?

"Why?"

"Those are the mayor's orders. You sold him a fake, and such criminal conduct will not be tolerated. Now, put down the payment you received from the mayor and leave immediately."

"I believe I should have a chance to defend myself, shouldn't I?"

Despite the old man's stern rebuke, Li Lin answered calmly. He wore a mild smile, as though nothing had happened.

"There must be some misunderstanding. Why not let me discuss it with the mayor?"

"Well..."

The old man was at a loss for words. In fact, he had wondered about that himself when he received the order. Why not bring the man in and confront him face-to-face, instead of arbitrarily ordering the captain to drive him out of town like this? For the naturally kind and upright captain, this was a highly unusual order. But a soldier's duty was to obey orders, after all. Even if he had doubts, he would not dwell on them.

Li Lin, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. Although he had long since guessed this was a trap, it had been a long time since he had walked into one set by someone else, so there was no harm in coming out to have a look. Besides, judging by the old man's manner, he didn't seem to want to make too much of a scene either. Both sides actually had the same idea—if no one was watching, killing someone to silence them would be much simpler.

But as things stood, the old man had no intention of using force, and Li Lin likewise had no intention of making a move. For a moment, the atmosphere turned rather awkward.

"Well, I don't think that will work. Young man... although I also think..."

The old captain looked troubled, unsure how to put it. But just then, a piercing cry for help suddenly came from the distance.

At the sound, the old captain and the two guards with him all grew serious.

"Go see what happened!"

With that, they paid Li Lin and the others no further attention. They turned and ran toward the source of the scream.

"How boring."

Watching the guards disappear into the distance, Angela spoke in displeasure.

"I thought these humans would have hundreds of soldiers lying in ambush here..."

"I'm hardly anyone particularly important. How could I possibly receive such treatment?"

Li Lin smiled and shook his head. He was clearly a little surprised by the young mayor's actions. If the mayor was someone accustomed to using such thuggish methods to seize other people's property, then he really should have stationed more men in ambush, as Angela had said. But as things stood, the plan was clearly poorly thought out and full of holes. What was the point of doing this?

"Master."

Mina suddenly spoke up.

"I smell beasts."

"Me too..."

Fina raised her little hand to show that she had sensed them as well.

"And there are so many of them..."

"What, do the beasts in this world migrate too?"

Angela's expression did not change. She knew nothing about such things anyway.

"Very good, but..."

Li Lin frowned and thought carefully for a moment, but soon smiled.

"I don't think we need to go back."

"Hm?"

Just then, the guards came running back in a panic. Their faces were pale, and they gripped their weapons tightly. They had clearly encountered something terrifying.

"Get away, quickly! A Beast Tide is coming!!"

After shouting to the group, the old captain turned and hurried toward town, paying no attention to whether they followed. As far as he was concerned, this was probably common knowledge and needed no explanation. Unfortunately, neither Angela nor the sisters knew anything about Beast Tides. So they merely watched curiously as the old captain ran into town. Soon afterward, urgent bells rang out, rousing the sleeping town. Soldiers grabbed their weapons and rushed onto the walls, while the town gates were shut tight. Several torches were promptly lit atop the walls to provide illumination.

"This is..."

"Since the opportunity has presented itself, let me tell you a story."

Unlike the three puzzled girls, Li Lin appeared perfectly at ease.

"On this continent, there are two distinct kinds of beasts: magic beasts and ordinary beasts. We've all seen plenty of ordinary beasts, but magic beasts are much harder to encounter, because most of them live in places rarely visited by humans and are little known."

Angela nodded. She had seen a few, but since following Li Lin into human-populated areas, she had rarely encountered them.

Even so, the others were still puzzled. Why had Li Lin started talking about the animal world now?

"Now for the important part."

Li Lin had completely slipped into the role of a lecturer as he spoke with a smile.

"Magic beasts are plentiful on the continent, and they are more intelligent and cleverer than ordinary beasts. So they don't just stay in one place. At certain times of the year, they gather and migrate in groups, mercilessly devouring and destroying everything they encounter along the way... People call this a Beast Tide."

By the time he finished, Mina and Fina's expressions had completely changed. They finally understood why the old man had been so frightened.

"Master, we should hurry too..."

"What is there to be afraid of?"

Angela impatiently interrupted Fina.

"You are noble members of the Vampire Species, beings at the very top of the food chain and of books. What a disgrace, being frightened like this just because a few beasts are moving house! As Master said, with such a rare sight, the refined thing to do is naturally to watch it up close, isn't that right?"

Refined? It's about to turn into a storm!

Though they complained inwardly, the poor twin sisters had no way to argue when Li Lin and Angela both looked so unperturbed.

In any case, with these two powerful figures here, even that Beast Tide probably wouldn't pose much of a threat.

That was what they thought, but when they saw the terrifying beasts appearing on the horizon, they still couldn't help trembling.

Countless magic beasts formed a terrifying sea, advancing in a vast host like an unstoppable, surging tide. The ground itself began to tremble slightly beneath their charge, and even Li Lin, a human, could clearly smell the thick scent of beasts, to say nothing of the Vampire Species.

"Master, we should..."

Mina watched the clearly hostile herd gradually charging toward them, unsure what to do. Suddenly, a brilliant halo appeared, separating Li Lin from the other three. Before the sisters could react, Angela also made a quick leap and landed on a branch not far away.

"Master?! What are you two...!!"

"I just thought of something..."

Li Lin's gentle smile looked completely harmless, but both sisters felt a chill creeping up their backs.

"Actual combat is the quickest way to improve your strength. So, you two, do your best."

"Do your best to slaughter, and do your best to survive."

Angela chimed in from the side.

"As members of the Vampire Species, if you can't even handle a minor nuisance like this, you might as well become food for these beasts."

Clearly, no one intended to help them.