In the forest north of Fort Dorgniz, more than two hundred cavalrymen were busily manufacturing sturdy ladders and battering rams. Although not experts, under the guidance of cavalry captain Morrissenkea, they were producing them in a respectable manner.
The soldiers were unaware that Morrison planned to attack the city that very night, and the reason Morrison kept this a secret from his soldiers was simple: he was worried that there were spies within his ranks.
It all started with those soldiers who ran over in the middle of the night.
Morrison was chatting and laughing around a campfire with a few of his personal guards when they heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance. The soldiers were initially frightened, thinking it was an attack by Donic's troops. However, the blatant yet weak and chaotic hoofbeats were clearly not the sound of an attacking force.
Morrison gestured for everyone not to panic, and sure enough, two disheveled soldiers jumped off their horses, shouting that the castle had been attacked, and ran towards them.
Several soldiers surrounded them and found out what had happened. It turned out that they had been sent out to fetch reinforcements after learning that their general, Holden, had been killed, at the behest of their captain.
As Holden's second-in-command and the supreme commander of the entire cavalry, Morrison's first reaction upon learning that his close friend had been brazenly killed by an enemy soldier who had single-handedly stormed the castle was disbelief. He was highly suspicious of the two soldiers' backgrounds, believing they must have lied somewhere. Either they had exaggerated the enemy's abilities, or they had deserted and hastily fabricated this flimsy excuse.
Just as Morrison was sternly interrogating the two soldiers, several more soldiers rode up on horseback. Their news was even more shocking: not only was the supreme commander Holden dead, but several centurions had also been killed, and the perpetrator was a single person, completely unharmed!
For a moment, Morrison suddenly felt that the soldiers weren't lying. But if they were telling the truth, then the problem was even more serious.
The surrounding soldiers were talking amongst themselves, clearly not agreeing with what these soldiers were saying. But strangely, these soldiers didn't seem to be in cahoots, yet what they were saying was so outrageous that it would make sense even if the other side was a whole group of people.
Morrison immediately realized that if these things were true, it would deal an irreparable blow to the soldiers' morale. So he decisively gathered the soldiers together in a secluded spot. After some prompting and guidance, the soldiers finally realized the problems their story would cause. Therefore, at Morrison's suggestion, they all agreed on a unified story: they had only mentioned one person because of their captain; they all felt that too many people had been mentioned, and the cavalry wouldn't dare to return to provide reinforcements.
Sure enough, this explanation not only made the logic flow better, but also successfully boosted the morale of these cavalrymen. What do you mean by worrying that there are too many people and we dare not go back to rescue them? We're going back right now!
Seeing that the troops were in good spirits, Morrison didn't hesitate and immediately ordered the soldiers to get ready. Then they began their march towards Fort Dorgnitz.
But they continued to encounter approaching soldiers, and the Donic soldier they spoke of became increasingly monstrous. He even transformed into a vampire!
This was not what Morrison wanted to see, so when he saw some fleeing soldiers starting to spread rumors that the Donic soldier was a vampire, he decisively went up and slashed the soldier with his sword. He had already thought of a reason: this was an enemy spy, sent to spread false information, intimidate us, delay us, and prevent us from returning to rescue us—a little trick.
This tactic worked, and morale was restored.
But Morrison, fearing a repeat of this, reluctantly ordered his soldiers to set up camp where they were, while he led his personal guard and the soldiers who had fled the castle to scout around. Upon seeing any approaching soldiers, he gathered them together, listened to their panicked cries, and then relayed his earlier account to them, instructing them to return to camp and spread the message that the enemy had invaded with an entire army, not just one person or a vampire.
Everything started going smoothly again. Morrison, too busy to even think about just how powerful the vampire really was, didn't dare rush back that very night. After all, while it might be possible to fool the soldiers about the vampire, it would be foolish to pretend he hadn't heard anything about it.
Then, several figures were spotted fleeing into the depths of the woods.
Morrison's mind went blank again. He quickly ordered a pursuit. Fortunately, men couldn't outrun horses. The fleeing soldiers were soon captured. After a brief interrogation, Morrison immediately discovered something astonishing.
Of the four deserters, three had come from Fort Dorgnitz. They were the same group that had been shouting about vampires, so their desertion was understandable. However, the fact that the cook who had accompanied the army also deserted aroused Morrison's suspicion.
Is this cook actually Donic's spy?!
After a period of memory recovery, the cook finally revealed his true identity. His reason for running away was simple: to inform his comrades about the situation of the fleeing routs.
Morrison was shocked. A spy had infiltrated their ranks? It seemed Donic's commander wasn't a fool, nor did he completely trust them.
When Morrison asked about the exact location of the routed troops, the spy displayed astonishing courage, refusing to utter a single word until his death.
Morrison was furious. If there were spies infiltrating his own troops, what about the other troops? It was hard to say that tonight's sneak attack wasn't a coordinated attack from within and without.
But is he really just one person? Or is he really a vampire?
Morrison shook his head, feeling sleepy for the first time tonight, his mind a little sluggish.
Although it was somewhat regrettable to lose the opportunity to attack the routed troops, it was clear that a very crucial battle awaited him tomorrow.
Considering the infiltration of his troops, Morrison immediately ordered his personal guards to supervise the soldiers' rest. Anyone who dared to discuss or talk at night was whipped on the spot.
However, Morrison eventually changed his mind. He still arranged for his personal guards to supervise the soldiers' sleep, but he no longer brought up the topic of punishment.
As for these deserters, Morrison was not so lenient. He arranged for these soldiers to stand on the side of the main road, standing there all night without sleep.
After dealing with all these matters, Morrison began to worry about how to capture the castle the next day. If it were just one person, it wouldn't be so bad; he could manage during the day. His fear was that Donic's defeated troops would arrive at the castle tonight. Tomorrow's attack would be much more difficult.
But the reality was clearly the worst possible outcome. Morrison recalled his wishful thinking from the previous night and couldn't help but give a self-deprecating bitter smile.
Just then, wisps of smoke rose from the Fort Dorgnitz. Morrison's eyes lit up, and he instantly perked up.
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