The Human Vagat Fortress was the fortress guarding the entrance to the great mountain region and had a large long wall that had the advantage of being up on the mountain. The fortress itself was more difficult to attack than most of the human kingdoms.
But on this day, the soldiers guarding that fort were not busy at the movement and occurrences outside of the mountain pass, but they kept listening to the news of the events that had transpired within the mountain region.
Two days have passed, and terror occurred when night came. Some outposts were wiped out, and if it weren't for the fact that one managed to light the beacon, the main force that protected the Airom Vagat region would have never known that several outposts have been eliminated.
In a large hall, various army generals of different kingdoms had the rare sight of being in one room and discussing with a unified mindset to resolve the issues within the mountain regions.
But this discussion was full of shouts, curses, and threats to kill each other.
"The targets of the vampires are not limited to one single kingdom! Many mercenaries fell prey to it! The Steele family has already requested to enter and sent all of their mercenaries and former vassals to scale the mountain! Their two sons are missing! The three viscounts from those different kingdoms have also reported that the life compass of those viscounts has shown that they are dead! We don't know what is going on!" One of the Generals shouted to silence the arguments.
"No one is plotting against anyone! We have a vampire plague in our place! Several towns were attacked, and sightings of golems were also stated. Our attempts to contact these Paladins that were sent here have all failed. This means they're either dead or in that cave where the first sightings were reported."
"Then what do you suggest we do? We cannot send out our forces to scale the mountain! Besides, those discounts are only claiming that because they want to gain entry here! This region is already at the brink of destruction with all of you traitors and self-seeking, wicked people! Do we give more powers to the strong influencers that dictate the economic movement within this mountain?!" Another general from another kingdom argued.
"Sir! We have confirmed it! We went to the outpost that triggered an illumination spell two nights ago. We found the teams of the Stonefist, Conquistar, and the Toro clan. Their bodies are there. Some other humans who had the traits of being undead were also there!" A soldier reported.
Several stones were held up, and through these stones, a magical hologram of the outpost was displayed.
The gates were burnt down. The bodies of the soldiers were scattered near the walls of the outpost, and a battle also seemed to have happened outside the outpost.
The generals observed the details of the battle and began to frown.
"It seems that there are at least three groups present. Those inside the outpost, the viscount team that was trying to go inside the outpost, and there's that third group of undead that attacked them."
"It must be a vampire. It attacked the outpost by scaling the wall and killed the outpost guards from within. The viscount teams must have faced the familiars of the vampires. How many of those dhampirs are there?"
"We are not certain if they are Dhampirs. They looked like Animated Dead!"
"Low-leveled Animated Dead don't wield swords. Those do. And by the looks of it, these Animated Dead are rather organized. Then it means a high-leveled Necromancer or Vampire Masters have infiltrated this region."
"Then who could it be?"
"If it's a Necromancer... I've heard stories of one of the Barons in our kingdom was executed for worshiping a Necromancer power. It could be that those who have entered this fortress were worshipers..."
"That is a possibility. But worshipers of Necromancers don't have the power to raise the dead. So the most probable cause is a Vampire Master. They are at least at level 30. But it may take two or three humans of the same level to fight them!"
"Each of us should send a Viscount and two Barons to search the mountain region." One of the Generals, who was silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
"Agreed."
"Sir! Animated Dead! Attacking the fortress!" A soldier exclaimed.
Everyone was startled at the report and immediately stood up to take action.
The attack happened from the inside of the fort. No one could know how the attackers managed to enter as those who welcomed the group was already dead.
Torches were once more lit up to brighten the darkness. If the enemies were vampires, they would focus on extinguishing the light, which would be advantageous to the undead.
When the beacons were illuminated and some of the mages cast their illumination spells, the attackers could now be seen.
Several knights charged and attacked several hulking men who ran madly at them without any concern for their life.
Their attacks had immense power, and with the large weapons, they wielded, even knights who took up a shield would be blown back from the attack.
The largest figure continued to slam his fist and carried what looks to be the body of a young boy, which he was carrying around while with his palms crushing the poor boy's skull.
"Querk Stonefist! Why are you attacking this fortress?!" One of the Barons recognized the warrior.
The tall, hulking figure noticed the knight and began to walk towards the knight.
"I am no longer Querk Stonefist! Necromancer Lorjdenheign has given me greater life! I am Querk Deadfist! A necromancer of my own right!" Querk Stonefist was shown, and he tossed the body of the poor boy to the side.
"Then you are no longer the friend I knew! Die monster!" The knight brandished his sword and attacked.
The two began their battle.
Mages started to shoot firebolts, but then Shadow Ghouls leaped from the darkness and attacked the mages.
The power of the undead Querk was too strong. It managed to kill the knight that challenged it with a strong pound. The archers couldn't penetrate it as some form of Earth energy protected even his skin.
Some wounds were inflicted, but Querk kept pushing on and was headed to the gates.
A group of undead ran together with Querk, and they crashed towards the knights that stood to stop Querk from reaching the gates.
As the battle continued, some of the undead were killed, but previously slain knights began to rise and attacked their allies.
"An undead plague! That's an Undead plague!" A mage noticed one of his friends who were killed rose as the undead and attacked those near him.
More mages began to gather and shot powerful fire spells.
"[Incinerate]!" The first mage shot a beam of fire that incinerated the body of one undead. Several more began to join in, and the undead was soon obliterated.
Querk was finally subdued. Several Spear Masters and Grand Blade masters used their long weapons to stab and stop the raging Ragion from moving.
"His body is like made of stone!" One of the Grand Blade cursed as he held on to the huge sword he used to stab Querk.
"Keep him bound." An angry voice ordered, and a figure hovered over and stood before Querk.
"General!" One of the viscounts recognized the person who approached. Only Force Masters reaching level 40 could perform flight. This general belonged to the strongest class of Knights. Champion Knights.
"Look at you. You are already lost, Viscount Querk. Your mind has degraded, and you are now just a zombie. But why did you attack? You killed a few of our men. But what is your purpose?" The Champion questioned.
"Look! Over there!" A panicked cry shouted, which drew the attention of many.
Two strange dark beings that had the shape of a human began to run towards the exit.
The Champion frowned and flew towards the direction of where the two figures ran.
The other General's also took action.
A woman ran on mid-air. A mage became a bright light and shot towards the location.
But as the Generals chased, the two humanoid shadows suddenly disappeared and turned into mist.
"What was that?!" The woman arrived and asked.
"Whatever that was, it matched the first reported sighting of the vampires. We were fooled. That Querk Stonefist was meant to distract us. With the undead and those shadow creatures attacking, we failed to sense that something from the outside was waiting for the right time to enter this region."
"A necromancer?"
"Who knows. But I believe everyone is in agreement. We can no longer assure our kingdoms that this place will not be compromised. I will tell my King to send reinforcements. I don't care if you guys would or would not approve."
"I plan to do the same." The mage answered.
"As will I." The woman answered.
"I assume the rest are in agreement?"
The remaining generals began to arrive, and all wore solemn expressions.
"We search the mountain region for darkness. Let us all assigned a team of Viscounts and two Barons to move out immediately. And we have to send another team to explore that cave that opened up. Since it is near the first sightings of those vampires, something must be there."
"... Is that smoke coming from my quarters?" One of the Generals frowned as he looked back at the fort.
Several turned their heads and was horrified at what they saw. Immediately they sprinted back with great haste.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the fortress, Kyros and his seven vampires walked down the mountain region. After accomplishing their mission, the group snuck out and left the mountain region.
"See? I told you it would work." Kyros laughed at Martha.
Martha's expression remained shocked. She couldn't believe what they had just pulled off. Not only have they snuck out of the fortress, but Kyros managed to steal various items in the armory, the image library, the archer's barracks, and even on the rooms of some General!
"We... stole weapons from Level 40 powerhouses!" Martha just couldn't believe it.
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