Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

Mansion defense (II)

"Shit! We almost got in!" Fangorm, the reptilian vampire with blue skin and fangs, exclaimed.

"It's like they did it on purpose," Cluasde, the red-skinned elven vampiress, cursed.

Both leaders were beginning to suspect. Every time they approached a gap, it closed. They had good reasons to be suspicious. Not only had those who had entered before still failed to disable the defenses, but the entrance always closed before they or their more powerful minions managed to get through.

Therefore, they had ordered that no one else enter without their permission. Although more than three quarters had already done so.

Gjaki doubted if she should let them pass. It was a major risk. The defenses were powerful, but so were her enemies. The most powerful beings couldn't be directly eliminated. They could be retained, put at a clear disadvantage so that she herself could finish them off. Unfortunately, she still wasn't powerful enough for it.

Perhaps, by concentrating several of the lasers and golems she could eliminate them, but it was too risky. If she couldn't, they would have breached the outer defense.

The problem was that no more enemies were entering, although it was understandable. The possibility that they had realized that something strange was happening was perfectly reasonable. In fact, they had taken a long time. Therefore, she decided to switch to a more aggressive tactic.

Krovledi put on her most seductive smile at the proud and overbearing demihuman, who looked like a black wolf that had learned to walk on two legs. Her mission was to guide him, to help him grow stronger quickly, so he would be useful to her lord, her father.

In fact, she went a little further. She wanted to be able to use it for her own plans, even against her lord if needed.

Krovledi couldn't directly turn against him, she was subservient through blood. Therefore, for a long time, she had wanted to free herself from her father's bonds. Being his most powerful daughter wasn't enough for her.

To achieve this, the only way she had discovered was to become an ancestral vampiress herself. To do it, she had obtained a rare and dangerous artifact, which had to be fed with the blood of many races.

However, a visitor vampiress had stood in her way, by saving many of the sacrifices and taking the artifact. Since the very existence of the visitors made them impossible to be captured or eliminated, she had been forced to abandon her project. It had caused her great frustration.

When the visitors had left, she hadn't been able to avoid trying to take over the mansion. The mere possibility that it could be there was enough to try.

Plus, there was the hatred against Gjaki and the sacrifices that had eluded her. There was also the possibility that there were other treasures there. So, she hadn't hesitated for a moment.

Meanwhile, she was still looking for an elf with a special constitution, who could allow her to achieve the same goal. In the past, he had escaped her due to the intervention of another visitor. Perhaps, that was why she didn't have a very good predisposition towards them.

However, that demihuman didn't know anything. He was also a visitor, and he was new to this world. She had made him believe he was in control, so it was easier to lead him where she wanted. As much as he was her father's plaything, she intended to have him under her control.

When he left the room, she frowned while wrapping a soft robe around her body. She had felt the death of some of her lesser vampires. The vampiress didn't care about them until the deaths had reached too high a number. So much so that it had even alerted her.

She took out an artifact that enhanced her blood connection, thus allowing her to contact her own.

"Cluasde, what's going on? Why have so many of the pawns died? They're disposable, but it's a hassle to create them," she reproached her.

"Dead? The shield is giving way, and they have been entering through the gaps. Don't tell me that... Shit! Is it a trap? My lady, something is happening in the mansion, something strange," she reported.

"How strange?" she wanted to know.

As Cluasde ordered her troops to attack from afar but not to enter, she explained everything, from the mysterious disappearances to the apparent weaknesses in the shield, or its brief burst of power.

Krovledi grew more and more worried and frustrated. She didn't understand how, after so long a siege, this was happening. It didn't seem to be a last effort, quite the opposite. Suddenly, something happened.

"My lady, the shield is disappearing in some areas. Even in front of us. Wait, what's that? Aaaaaargh!" she yelled.

"Cluasde? Are you okay?" her mother asked, concerned.

It wasn't easy to create high vampires, let alone ones that were minimally competent and loyal. In addition, she was also worried about the development of the mission. At the very least, she hadn't noticed that her connection to her or Fangorm had been severed.

"My lady. We've been attacked from the mansion. Powerful mana projectiles. Fangorm and I are fine, but there're many casualties. They've raised their shield again" Cluasde reported.

"How is it possible!? It doesn't make any sense," Krovledi told herself.

However, this wasn't the time for guesswork. It was clear that the siege had failed. The losses had been heavy, but her children, her most powerful subordinates, were fine. The rest would have to be recovered little by little. The only thing she could do was avoid losing more.

"Go back to your mansions. Leave spies around, use disposable pawns. In a few days, send someone to the city. We have to find out what had happened," the vampiress ordered.

"Yes, my lady," Cluasde accepted the orders, relieved.

She wasn't the only one. Both Fangorm and the other survivors were grateful to be able to get away. It should have been a tedious but easy siege, and it had turned into a deadly trap.

The survivors had been saved by luck or by being close to the high vampires. For nothing in the world did they want to stay there, although a few had no choice but to obey.

Clenching their teeth, they hid as best they could in the surroundings to watch, while the rest left. Some looked askance at the mansion that until then they had underestimated. Now, it caused them true fear.