Akdina's straightforward answer made Yun Zhe a little embarrassed.

"Actually, the thing I asked you to do is a bit dangerous, so I should explain. I hope you can help me gather intelligence. Cavalry is indeed fast, but compared to vampires, they are still far inferior." Yun Zhe explained his idea of ​​asking Akdina to help him scout.

"Reconnaissance...I don't really understand it..."

Yun Zhe scratched his head. "Actually, it's just about seeing where the other party is, how many people are there, and what they're doing. Um, if you don't want to, it's okay to refuse. After all, this isn't something you're supposed to do."

"No... I'm willing, it's just that maybe I haven't done well enough..."

"It's alright, nobody can get things done right the first time. How about we go take a look tonight? Gularburg is the furthest from here, do you think you can be back by tomorrow night?"

“Gularburg… um, I don’t know where it is…” Akdina said hesitantly.

Yun Zhe couldn't help but facepalm, then awkwardly pulled out a map from his person and pointed it out to Akdina.

After Akdina figured out the direction and distance, she nodded and confidently and naturally put away the map.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning. Um... I mean, I'm telling you everything I saw, right..."

"It would be best if we also knew what they were thinking..." Yun Zhe chuckled and said in a low voice.

Akdina nodded. "I will do my best..." After saying that, she paused for a moment and looked hesitantly at Yun Zhe.

"Go quickly and come back quickly. Be careful. Safety is the most important thing. We may not be able to detect anything, but we must bring you back safely."

Akdina nodded, then turned and left the village in a flash.

Yun Zhe looked in the direction Akdina had disappeared and suddenly felt a strange sensation. It was as if he were worried, or perhaps disappointed.

However, Yun Zhe quickly composed himself and left the village. Outside the village, the cavalrymen were still gathered together nervously, looking around anxiously.

Seeing Yun Zhe emerge unharmed, the cavalrymen breathed a sigh of relief, then became curious. Could it be that Yun Zhe was also a vampire hunter who had killed a vampire?

Blaze jumped off his horse and ran to Yun Zhe's side. "My...master, the vampire has been killed?"

Yun Zhe shook his head. "There are many Shadow Thorn corpses inside, but I didn't see any vampires. I think the vampires probably went to chase after the Shadow Thorns. At least for now, it seems safe here."

Blazer wasn't reassured by this answer. He could easily imagine the soldiers' reaction upon hearing the news. It would have been better if the vampires hadn't existed in the first place; the fact that they were only told the vampires had left, were no longer there, rather than been eliminated, didn't reassure the soldiers.

"I've read some books about vampires. Vampires seem to really like hiding in crowded cities, and they're not very interested in remote villages." Yun Zhe recalled the contents of those vampire diaries. It seemed that vampires particularly liked big cities and crowded places. And they instinctively hated war and soldiers.

“Sir, these things won’t reassure the soldiers,” Blaze said, expressing his concerns.

Yun Zhe nodded. "That's true, but since we're already here, tell the soldiers to quickly clean and tidy up the rooms. I see four or five houses clustered together in the center of the village, on a relatively high place. The view and control of the surrounding roads are excellent. I think we should set up camp there tonight. The soldiers don't need to go out to scout anymore. Set up the sentry posts, light the torches, and everyone can take turns resting tonight."

Blazer frowned and nodded. He vaguely felt that Yun Zhe didn't seem to take the vampires seriously. Either he genuinely had the ability to deal with vampires, or he was certain the vampires had already left. But both possibilities seemed far-fetched and illogical.

Yun Zhe looked at Blazer and said, "You all can rest easy. I'll be on duty for the second half of the night, so get some rest."

Blaze was even more puzzled after hearing this, but he carefully concealed his doubts. Yun Zhe's words seemed to indicate that he was very confident in dealing with vampires. But an Aluru... Blaze thought of the rumors he had about this Aluru and some recent events, and suddenly it didn't seem so unreasonable anymore.

"But, knowing so much about vampires? Maybe he really is a vampire..." Blaze thought to himself, chuckling at how easily he'd been startled by the vampire theory. He was completely oblivious to Yun Zhe's comical attempt to suppress his laughter behind him.

Soon, the five houses in the center of the village were cleared. The soldiers not only unearthed some of the Shadowthorn's corpses but also the remains of some villagers. Clearly, this place had been ravaged by the Shadowthorn. And the vampire seemed to have killed the Shadowthorn that had harmed the villagers.

The obvious traces and the scene made Blazer immediately realize what had happened in the village.

Faced with this discovery, Blazer was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He found it hard to imagine that in such a chaotic world, the vampires that people feared had become messengers of justice, while those well-trained soldiers had become terrifying demons.

With a heavy heart, Blaze wanted to clean up the entire village, just as he met Yun Zhe's concerned gaze.

"Do whatever you want. I'm going to check on the soldiers who are cooking, see if they forgot to add the seasoning again." Yun Zhe patted Blaze on the shoulder, said these meaningful words, and then left.

Blazer nodded, quickly gathered his soldiers, and cleared out all the houses in the village. He then collected all the corpses, burned them, and buried them in an open area on the edge of the village.

Yun Zhe didn't watch the cooks prepare the meal. Instead, he sat atop the high rooftop, watching the soldiers' torches flash past house by house. At that moment, he thought of the idea that had weighed heavily on Blaze's mind. Some conventional notions of good and evil, fear and morality, might become different from what people imagine in the context of war. Or perhaps, those stereotypes were simply wrong to begin with? Or maybe, good and bad have nothing to do with whether you're a vampire or even human.

Yun Zhe pulled himself together and saw Blaze climb onto the roof and come to his side.

"Sir, did you also know what happened in this village, which is why you were so certain that we should move in?" Blaze asked directly, getting straight to the point.

Yun Zhe nodded. "It's hard to imagine, isn't it? This is indeed far beyond our expectations."

Blazer squatted down next to Yun Zhe, remaining silent for a long time.

"My lord, I still can't believe it..."

Even if the facts are right in front of us?

Blazer frowned, pondering what he had witnessed that day. Today's events were far too unusual, drastically overturning his understanding of the world.

"I don't know why the vampire killed those soldiers. Perhaps his reasons weren't as noble as we think, but the fact is that he did avenge the villagers who died."

Blazer remained silent, but what he didn't know was that Yun Zhe already knew his thoughts.