It was already night. Alfred"s group made a camp and prepared to rest. Two knights were keeping watch, protecting the people who were resting.Henry was next to the campfire. He was preoccupied with his thoughts. The events of the city were too bizarre. He believed that Richard was behind all of this. In the reports that they had received from the guards of the slave trader, he knew that the vampire was a girl. He knew that there was a magician, too, but except them, there were two people more - one male and one female.
Even though the group was small, he didn"t think that they would be weak. After all, he saw what a mess the mansion was in. After the failed attack against the castle of the Demon Lord, this group of vampires had suddenly appeared in the city. They made a small commotion and just left like that! He couldn"t find the logic behind that.
He was sure that it wasn"t a coincidence. After all, it would be too strange if it was. That must have been some kind of revenge. But the strange part was that, for revenge, this group didn"t do much, except for killing some citizens and that slave trader.
Did they do this just to see the reaction of the humans? Or to check their defenses, so the army of the Demon Lord could have some idea about their enemies? He wasn"t sure, but that was a possibility. If that was a scouting party sent by the Demon Lord, they had to stop it at all cost. Who knew what this scouting party found out about their defenses?
When he rushed to the capital, he didn"t have much time to bring reinforcements. Thankfully, one of the dukes gave him those knights. They were an elite group. When they worked together, they could suppress even a stronger enemy. Their cooperation was just that good. Although those knights never spoke, he knew they were reliable.
The only fear he had was meeting the Demon Lord again. Thinking of that and looking at the gloomy forest surrounding him, he couldn"t help but shudder. The aura of that Demon Lord was unimaginable. That was the first time he saw someone so strong. The rumors about the vampires were true. They really were one of the strongest races.
He had met with half-vampires before, but never pureblood vampires. The difference in strength was like the day and night. He had heard the rumors before, but after meeting Richard, he started to believe in those rumors. The crusade against the vampires happened 50 years ago. He wasn"t born yet at that time, so Richard was the first pureblood vampire he had ever encountered.
Henry touched his pouch subconsciously. This was given by the mage alliance when he asked for reinforcements. It was to be used in the worst case if they met Richard. The object in the pouch was a crystal. The holy power emitting from the crystal was a testament to the enhancement of priests. There were engravings on the crystal, which were the work of magicians. With the combined power of priests and magicians, they had managed to create that crystal.
The crystal was actually meant for restriction. It could seal a target for some period of time, depending on the strength of the target. Henry believed that with the power of the crystal, he could seal Richard for at least a day, maximum three days.
Even though the crystal managed to calm his uneasy heart, Henry still wished his conjecture to be wrong and did not meet with the Demon Lord this time. He still had nightmares from that meeting. They were really lucky back then. If the Demon Lord didn"t turn around and leave all of a sudden, Henry would be dead already.
He looked at the tent where the Hero was resting. Complicated emotions flickered in his eyes. The whole idea for the crusade was Alfred"s. He wanted to prove himself and hired some knights. Henry was a good friend of Alfred, so he followed him. After all, he was a strong magician too, but they were really too confident. Especially Alfred. He was the strongest human. He believed a Demon Lord wouldn"t be much of a challenge.
A lot of people tried to stop them. In the end, Alfred didn"t listen to anyone and set off for that expedition. Henry was hesitating from the beginning, but in the end, he followed. He wanted to make some merits too and wished to be promoted. Alfred"s hatred for the other races was really strong. He believed that only humans were pure. He was even sure that they were one of the strongest races.
Henry knew that his friend was too big of a dreamer. Even though the human race was strong, they were still a new race for that world. The ancient races were a lot stronger than them. The only good thing about humans was their speed of adapting to the environment and their talent. With their speedy growth, they managed to become a strong race in only a few hundred years.
Henry shook his head. Those thoughts were meaningless. He should meditate and save his strength for tomorrow"s battle. He sighed and closed his eyes. The surrounding fire elements started to gather into his body.
***
Erin"s group was moving through the forest. She started thinking about the training from earlier with Seth. They were sparring for close to an hour, but Erin couldn"t feel any signs of a breakthrough. She wasn"t sure what was wrong. How come in their first battle, she was almost able to grasp some insight, but now there was nothing?
She sighed. Tomorrow she would try again. Sooner or later, that feeling would come back. She looked in front of them. Richard was leading the way for them. Today he was really quiet. After their conversation in the morning, he kept his mouth shut. Was he angry about something? Erin wasn"t sure.
Even though Erin didn"t know the reason, she still felt some guilt. She moved next to Richard and saw him cast a quick glance at her. After that glance, there was nothing else. He was really like a child. Erin wasn"t sure whether she should laugh or not.
"I am sorry," She said. She wasn"t sure about the reason, but she had the feeling that Richard was angry at her.
Richard glanced at her again. After a few moments, he turned his head around. His mouth slightly curved into a smile, but Erin wasn"t able to see that from her spot.
"Are you angry at me?" She probed. There was still no answer.
"What do you want me to do in order to accept my apology?"
Richard finally turned back to her again. His face was indifferent. He looked at her and after around ten seconds, when Erin was losing her patience, he finally opened his mouth.
"Let"s sleep in the same shelter today." That took Erin off-guard. Her eyes widened and her face blushed.
"No!" She jumped to the side and ignored him. Now she was angry and annoyed. He was really a bully. How could he think about something like that? It"s not like they never slept in the same room, but that didn"t matter now. She wouldn"t sleep with him in the same place now! She knew that with those small shelters, they would end up in a hug in the end. That had already happened before. She didn"t want to repeat the past.
Richard glanced at Erin with disappointed eyes. His little trick didn"t work and now she was even angrier. What was he supposed to do now to make up for it?