At the city gate, the situation was worse than forecast; Starfate City's lord had clearly underestimated the Vampire royal house's power within their domain. In a few short hours, the city's stored shield energy had bled away by nearly a third.

The City Lord stood on the wall, face dark as a storm front, watching the battle below. Squads of knights and adventurers had charged the blood-thrall army again and again, but the results were muddy and bleak. The enemy fought like puppets without fear, a flood that never ran dry. In close combat, they traded blow for blow and never broke; in numbers, they drowned us like a rising tide. After several assaults, Starfate City's side was shattered to pieces, like pottery under a hammer.

Not far from the gate, Edgar Warren lounged on a makeshift throne, one leg crossed, a taunting smile like a blade flashing toward Starfate City's “City Lord.”

Feeling that gaze land on him like cold rain, the City Lord's face sank further. He still couldn't read the man's purpose, but he was sure: the one on the throne was the Vampire who had butchered the neighboring nations. These blood-thrall death-servants were, in truth, the soldiers of those fallen states, puppeted like corpses on strings.

He'd read about Vampires in a dusty book—legend named them among the earliest ancestors of the Blood Clan. Why “ancestor”? He didn't know; the page simply claimed it. Royal lines among them could turn weaker beings into blood thralls, a black tide of control. Because of that power, the race had once met the continent's broad resistance, like mountain ranges closing ranks. He had even guessed they were driven from their original plane for that very reason, until the Blood Clan of this world took them in like night taking in stars. By rights, they should have moved only within Blood Clan lands. All the more, pure-blood Vampire royalty should've died out millennia ago, like embers gone cold.

Yet the enemy before him might as well have stamped “Vampire” across his brow, a crimson sigil burning like dusk.

He feared the man had come to slay the city itself, a scythe aimed at the harvest. If the gate fell, the people would die like wheat before wildfire.

What chilled him most was not knowing whether this Vampire hunted alone, or whether the Blood Clan moved behind him like a shadowed forest. If it was the latter, Starfate City might be erased today, like ink washed from parchment.

Only two nations could stride sideways across the continent—a pair of predators in broad daylight. One was the Blood Clan's realm; the other, the newly forged union of the Demon race.

“City Lord!” A crowd of students, led by Qingsheng Tangxue, came running from Heavenly Melody Academy, feet pattering like rain on tiles.

Seeing them, his face went pitch-black like a thunderhead. “Are you out of your minds? This is the front line. What are you doing here?”

“We came to help, City Lord. What's the situation now?” a hot-blooded male blurted, like a spark jumping from tinder.

“Help with what? You're a bunch of kids, still wet behind the ears.” His voice cracked like ice. “Do you even know how dangerous this is? Get back, now!”

Every student here was a rare talent, bright as comets. If any died, it would be a continental loss, and a weight he couldn't carry.

After a brief hush, Qianya spoke, the words soft as falling snow. “City Lord… can you tell us what the situation really is?”

“Right now… it's not great,” he said, voice thin as a reed, “but it's nothing we can't handle.”

“Really?” Qianya tipped her gaze to the shield, eyes bright as glass. “I studied warding a bit. For Starfate City's shield to lose a third in only a few hours… it's not as stable as you claim.”

He fell silent, like a stone sinking into water.

“At this rate,” she breathed, “in a few more hours the city will fall, like a candle guttering in wind.”

The City Lord had no words left, his jaw set like iron. “Go back. Find a place to hide. Leave the next part to us adults.”

“And then what? Sit like lambs and wait for the blade?”

“Starfate City has an underground facility,” he said, words heavy as sandbags. “It will hold. If the city falters, take some residents and hide. Head to the City Lord's manor; my people will escort you. You must not be harmed.” He turned away, his back a closed gate, done arguing with children.

“So the City Lord means this city can't be held?” I couldn't keep quiet, voice low as thunder in a distant valley.

“It won't fall. It won't,” he murmured, like a prayer tossed into rain. “At least trust us adults… Next, I'll go with the teachers and principals of Heavenly Melody Academy to engage that Vampire. If we fail… go to the City Lord's manor.”

Frustration spiked—this idiot. Vampires don't lose to numbers; they slice through headcounts like wind through reeds.

I knew it firsthand—I'd fought the Vampire royal line before. Their recovery is monstrous, like flesh knitting rain-fast. In raw regeneration? Maybe… about 0.1 of Dreamsound.

“City Lord…”

The City Lord didn't answer me. He turned and left, footsteps fading like tide pulling back.

Argh—what is wrong with this guy? I even thought he was capable before. Turns out he's just a hotheaded rookie, a torch all smoke and no flame.

“What do we do now…?” The question hung like mist over water.

“Do we just stand here and watch?” The words fluttered like restless sparrows.

“Forget it—this spot still sees the front. We might as well watch from here…” A sigh drifted like autumn leaves.

“Didn't the City Lord say he'd go with the teachers to face the Vampire? We should be able to see it from here, right? Maybe it's a good chance to watch the strong fight!”

“Ahh, what do we do… If the Vampire breaks in, we'll all die, right? I don't want to die…” Fear crept like frost up the spine.

The stranded students started talking, voices overlapping like waves on a stony shore.

“Tangxue, Tangxue, do you think the teachers can do it?” Lan'er asked me, worry pooling like rain in her eyes.

“Not really… The two strongest, one went on a mission, and the other… seems to be on vacation with his wife?” Ying Xuener suddenly chimed in, voice lilting like a bird.

“Hey… Lan'er was asking me, right?” I pushed the blonde girl's face away, annoyed, like brushing off a pesky cat.

“Same difference~ heh heh~” She grinned, mischief flickering like fireflies.

“I remember… you're Ying Xuener, right? Aren't you worried… about all this?”

“Worried, so what? Not worried, so what?” She swayed like grass in wind. “If I worry, will the City Lord let us out to fight? Since he's taking the teachers to try, why argue? Hee hee~ We'll think about later things later.” In truth, Ying Xuener had already made up her mind, thoughts tucked away like knives in sleeves.

But saying it like that might leave people with the impression that she's super strong… like a tiger hiding in silk.

“…You're really an optimist,” I shot her a look, cold as moonlight. “I think the teachers have almost no chance. They… match up terribly against Vampires.”

They don't even have a battle cleric. Are these teachers planning to hand over their heads? Sigh… The breath left me, thin as smoke.

“No way? In my impression, those teachers are pretty strong…”

“Strong where? They're just a bunch of ordinary ninth-tier.”

…The weird looks around me stung, prickly as cactus. “My mom told me that with the same ninth-tier level, the gap between ordinary and special can be huge—canyon-wide. Numbers can't bridge that.”

“That's true,” Qianya added, voice calm as a lake. “Especially against a special race like Vampires.”

“Vampires… what kind of race are they really?” A girl shivered, as if a cold wind slipped through a door.

“Let's head to the wall first. We'll learn from how the teachers perform. And didn't they let us come here to watch anyway?” Bu Siling, silent until now, finally spoke, his voice steady as a drumbeat.

The classmates agreed and began to move, a school of fish turning toward the wall to watch the duel. That included our trio—and Ying Xuener with her maid, a pair stepping lightly like cranes.

Ying Xuener was a princess, yet fear barely touched her; instead, a strange excitement shimmered in her eyes, like moonlight on a blade.

“Vampires, huh?”