"Why don't we kill him while we have the chance, commander? He's already injured. Chastain's death would be a huge boon for Rasputin!" One of the Rasputin knights with a scar around his eye area said angrily.
"He wasn't that easy to kill, didn't you guys notice? Raphael Chastain may have awakened the demon blood within him. It's something that even I haven't mastered yet. Even though there was only a 1 percent chance of me being killed—I didn't want to take the risk. This war will not end soon, I am the wielder of a cursed weapon. Rasputin needs me at the Taverin," Caesar reasoned. He still couldn't shake his regret. He should have killed Raphael when he had the chance. But even for a few seconds, he felt his life was nearly gone.
Caesar didn't know that facing death was scary. Even though he was used to killing.
"If we all attack him together, we can—"
"I won't allow anyone to help me face Raphael! We'll meet again when the situation is right.. there's no need to doubt my decision, our job is not to kill Raphael but to find out who wields the cursed sword we keep in Rutherford's dungeon. Have you guys got the name yet?" Caesar said.
"While you guys were busy dealing with the Florences, I identified the names of the Jaguar squad members, sir. I got the names of several pureblood vampires who came from noble families. There were Wiccanter, Dubois, Ainsley and—"
"Wait! You said Dubois? Are you sure?"
"On the assignment order document that I took from the bag of one of the knights—the name is Valor Dubois, sir," the Rasputin knight said confidently.
"Dubois only has one son, Jasper Dubois. A vampire who never once set foot out of his mansion..he is unlikely to go to war," Caesar shook his head doubtfully.
"Yes, but his name is written on it,"
Caesar looked thoughtful, he scratched his chin. He glanced briefly at his knights. They were quite tired and exhausted after facing the Jaguar team. Of course it was not easy for them. Because even though they were no longer pure human blood drinkers—they were elite knights. Some of Rasputin's knights may have had broken bones and deeply wounded.
Even with their regenerating ability, it wouldn't heal any time soon.
"We have three days to recover physically. Taverin is our main goal. You will kill as many Florence Vampires there. We will find another village to eat,"
"We've at least managed to kill two of them."
"But we lost one person,"
"Not the time to be lamenting, I think that skirmish just turned out pretty well for us. Everything would be perfect if we could take Raphael's head back to base and show it off to the Florence troops," one of them said disappointedly.
"It's not time yet, we could die silly if we continue the fight," Caesar shook his head as he waved his hand.
"Sir Petrovsky, is it possible if you are just afraid?" One of Rasputin's critics was furious.
Caesar stopped walking and saw that he was furious.
"Me? Afraid you say?"
He never thought that. He was sure that he wasn't afraid. He was just Being rational. His troops may not be ready to face a Vampire who awakened His demonic DNA. Caesar never fought blindly. He knows that he was one of the strongest Vampires but he always calculates his attack— including his winning opportunity. He was a commander, He always aimed for perfect victory. Everytime He faced His enemy—he would make sure to kill as much as possible with minor casualties from his side.
"Yes, Chastain may indeed be stronger than you, sir. To be honest it is very disappointing. You should be able to—"
The rebellious knight could not continue his sentence. Caesar quickly used his hands to grip his head firmly and opened his jaw.
Caesar Petrovsky pulled out his tongue and threw it to the ground. He wiped his bloodstained hand casually with his shirt.
"Questioning the commander's decision is a big mistake, you even tried to mock me..I'm generous enough not to kill you. But you won't be able to talk anymore," Caesar gave him a cold stare. The knight was on his knees, tears streaming down his face and his hands trying to grab the piece of his tongue that was still fresh from the dirt. He was shaking with fear.
The commander turned and walked faster. He also made simple calculations in his brain. He had to remember to make sure to get the sword back and hand it over to a more appropriate person. Someone who will become a part of Rasputin.
"Dubois," the commander spelled softly. The name evoked a certain instinct. Of the many names mentioned by his knight. The Dubois were the only pure-blood vampire family whose lineage could be traced back thousands of years. If the wielder of that cursed weapon was Raphael's subordinate—the one named Valor Dubois was the most likely to possesed that sword.