The battle around Eadon's walls was slowly falling into a lull as more and more beasts were killed.
With the help of the powerful mana cannons that dealt massive wide-area damage and the powerful arrays, the battle was relatively smooth although there were some losses.
The mages and rangers fired off multiple projectiles to mow down the beasts and the areas surrounding Eadon were filled with corpses and a bloody stench permeated the air.
Down below, the thousands of melee fighters that were left on standby begun to ready their arms. As the troublesome winged and agile beasts had mostly been taken care of by those on the walls, these melee fighters would be sent to clear the field of those not killed by the magic cannons and array powered attacks.
A large group of clerics followed behind this group and were there to generally ensure the survivability of the warriors and monks.
Soon enough, the battle on the walls quickly came to an end and the arrays and mana cannons were deactivated.
Under the leadership of a commander, thousands of soldiers and mercenaries marched out of Eadon to face off against the large hordes that were still lingering around Eadon's walls.
The battle on the walls was just an appetizer, this would be the true battle. With grim faces and tense muscles, the last of the motley army went through the gate which was closed shut behind them.
All this wasn't Rastel's business though as he was still laying down comfortably on the battlements with Vars, Roxanne, and Baluu by his side.
They would sit quietly for a few moments before someone would suddenly speak up, raising their grievances and complaining bitterly about the just-concluded fight with the magic beast.
"And he had the audacity to say 'NiCe SuPpOrT cLeRiC', does he think I won't dare make him eat a fireball?"
"Eh? Was it that idiot with the spiky armor? I nearly shot him many times by mistake because he felt suddenly hoping multiple times toward his target with his sword drawn looked 'really cool'. I should have arranged a meeting for him with CORIM's officials, maybe he will decide to be a rabbit beastman in his next life."
"Hah…. That elementalist lad was really a problem. There I was trying to knock some sense into that rat thing when a layer of ice just appeared under my feet out of nowhere. The only thing I can say is, thank the gods for my thick behind. The spiky armored fool wasn't so lucky though, probably got poked in a few wrong places."
"I think I mistakenly sent that spiky armored person flying with one of my arrows..."
"Nice job Vars! You are truly a man with virtue!"
"Mmm?..."
"Really a great man, I can't help but admire you."
"Wait…..."
"Hahaha! Little viper has always been like this, helping people do things without concerning himself about the consequences. What a likable fool!"
"Hey!"
As they babbled amongst themselves, none of them noticed that two pairs of eyes were looking at them from different directions. Specifically, these eyes were looking at Rastel!
Redbone and Erik were both scrutinising Rastel from a distance, various thoughts racing through their minds. Ever since they had the suspicion that Rastel was the recently famous Sleeping beauty, they had been trying various means to try and confirm their suspicion.
Although they were sure for the most part, they wanted to be absolutely sure first!
Whether it was to claim the bounty on his head or to get his power for themselves, both were very tempting motives. Looking at Rastel happily relaxing with the people around him, all they could think about was the benefits they could get if they made a move.
But…..
'What is with the people around him!?' Redbone cursed internally as he looked at Rastel with a quick side glance.
Not to even mention Vars who was a certified young master, the presence of Roxanne herself was a powerful deterrent.
Known among the rankers as one hit-one kill, she was one of the terrifying ones that he really couldn't afford to offend.
Most of her fights were usually very short and uneventful. Once Roxanne got a lock on you and fired just once, you would most likely die.
Armour seemed to be invisible under her assault and her damage numbers were terrifying! Most people naturally tried to avoid getting hit by her attacks and even those warriors and monks with especially strong defences would immediately turn into agile monkeys when facing her, jumping around to try and take as few hits as possible.
Although he couldn't really say much about Vars or gauge the archmage's power and influence, Roxanne was somebody he was very familiar with and that was enough to cause him to hesitate.
'Does she know his identity? Maybe she is trying to recruit him and I would be getting in the way.' Redbone began thinking of many possibilities.
The story of the guild whose higher-ups got assassinated for trying to interfere with Roxanne was still fresh in his mind. As an ordinary mercenary without much backing, he was afraid of any kind of retribution as he would be unable to protect himself if he was found out.
Erik on the other hand was just staring silently as his thoughts swirled inside his head. By accident, he turned his gaze to the side and saw Redbone had caught him staring at Rastel.
The tiger beastman seemed to have seen through his thoughts and he sent him a knowing glance. Erik frowned, as he had been rivals with this guy for such a long time, he could also understand Redbone's thoughts.
He didn't reply though and turned his face around and left. The two mages, Jane and Jill were at another section of the wall together with the archer, Little eye. He wanted to go and meet up with them first so that they could go back to their inn together and rest. Bareblade had joined the group going out of the gates so they couldn't meet up now.
Watching Erik leave, Redbone snorted derisively. He looked towards the horizon and saw the first rays of dawn were appearing in the distance.
"Whitesoul, Black Raven?"
"Yes?" the two of them appeared behind him.
Black Raven was looking as mysterious as ever with her face mask on and Whitesoul seemed to be amused by a weird pattern drawn on his robes.
"Let's go find Yellow lily and that stupid dwarf, Silver tooth. Then we will go rest and log off for the day, the mercenary association will definitely keep our pay." He said as he kept his axe and shield in his inventory.
"Okay." Only Black Raven answered this time as Whitesoul was still kept entertained by the weird pattern.
Taking one last glance at Rastel, Redbone walked away with the other two behind him. His feline irises contracted as he finally made up his mind.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
In a hidden basement that belonged to one of the numerous grain warehouses that were around Eadon's commercial district. A pale hand was writing continuously into a book with graceful elegance.
The book's pages were a startling bone white with a black leather cover, the pen's ink which was a bright blood-red created a sharp contrast to the paper. The words were written with an elegant cursive and looked complicated, seemingly difficult to grasp.
After a while, the writer stopped writing with a sigh and gently closed the book. On the front cover, a calligraphy of the letter E written with red ink was boldly placed on the centre of the book.
Standing up from the old table with nothing but a black candle as the source of light, the ancient vampire known as Edgar the undying picked up the book on the table and glanced at it with a thoughtful look.
With a wave of his hands, the book disappeared. The swirling fog within a black gem set in a red ring that sat on his index finger fluctuated slightly.
Lord Edgar as he was known by most people was a very handsome middle-aged man. He had thick black luscious hair that had the occasional white stripes running through which only increased his charm. His figure was very tall and slender, with smooth white skin and blood-red eyes.
As a vampire, he had tremendous vitality and through the deep arcane knowledge possessed by ancient vampires, he could theoretically live as long as he wanted.
Vampires were one of the longest-lived races on the whole of Aelmar. They were also a hybrid species, created when two sanguines of different sexes pooled their power together and turned a species of another race.
Vampires were generally unquestionably loyal to their sanguine masters and would normally serve them until either party dies. Sanguine normally moved in pairs and would spread their power around as they moved, creating numerous vampires that would act as their slaves.
As a vampire, Lord Edgar was naturally once under sanguine masters too. He had served them for hundreds of years until eventually, the sanguine died.
Killed by the Yellow Sovereign.
And so now he served the Yellow Sovereign.
He had deep loyalty towards the Yellow Sovereign as he felt he had saved him from his cruel masters. Most sanguine weren't kind to their vampires and Lord Edgar's masters were one of the worst ones.
But that was a few hundred years ago, all memories that didn't matter to this powerful ancient vampire now.
Walking towards a corner of the small room, he picked up a wrapped package that was sitting on an empty upturned box and brought it back to the table where he sat down.
Unwrapping the package, a small flat wooden container was revealed which he promptly opened. Inside the container was a large piece of well-grilled meat.
The texture looked wonderful and the colour was a light brown. Some type of yellow sauce was sprinkled liberally over it and made the meat glisten under the candlelight.
The powerful ancient vampire, Lord Edgar hummed slowly and took a knife and fork out of thin air. Reaching into the breast pocket of the white silk shirt he wore, he brought out a white handkerchief which he tucked into the neckline of his shirt.
He was ready.
Just as he was about to slice into the meat with his knife, he paused and listened carefully for a moment.
"Seems like the matter has been settled." He nodded to himself with his low silky voice which didn't match his age.
Although he was present all along while the beast horde attacked. He didn't bother to help as the affairs of other species didn't concern him. The only person he served was the Yellow Sovereign, and it wasn't like other species would accept his help anyway.
Cutting into the meat with elegant form, he took out a piece with the fork, laid it onto his tongue, and chewed slowly.
A frown appeared on his face.
'It's cold.'
With an unsatisfied expression, he stood up from the chair and reached his hand out. A tattered looking cloth appeared in his hands and he draped it over his shoulders. The cloth magically reacted and a large hood grew from it and covered his face. The edges of the cloak also grew longer until they swept the floor, effectively hiding his appearance.
His movements showed purpose as he re-packaged the meal and kept it aside and with a snap of his fingers, the black candle on the table had its light taken out.
With the absence of light, the room now looked dreadfully dark but Lord Edgar's blood-red eyes shone with their own light as he murmured to himself.
"It will soon be dawn and the town would be busy for the next few days. I should postpone my search for the necromancer for the main time."
He turned his eyes towards the hidden entrance of the room.
'For now, I should find the best grilled meat this town can offer.'
The powerful ancient vampire, Lord Edgar came to his decision as he warped into a floating shadow before disappearing towards the hidden entrance.