Sergeant Shin Youngjun had placed two restrictions on his vassal.
The first was that she must not turn innocent humans into vassals.
The second was that the number of vassals was limited to one hundred.
The reason for the latter restriction was simple.
If she held too many vassals under her command, she would not be able to supply the blood required to sustain them.
In other words.
"Then if it is a force I have no intention of sustaining, it should not matter, should it?"
"Truly a wise statement...! We are yours to use and discard at will!"
It was a dark night.
The buildings that had once belonged to humans, and until recently had been the settlements of the Green Manes, now lay in silence.
On the rooftop of a building at the center, Ariella sat upon a chair formed of shadow, gazing down at the ground.
Hakahjin, once the shamans of the tribe, now her attendant, stood beside her.
Below, on the ground at the base of the building, enormous warriors bowed their heads to her.
Their number, even by the lowest count, reached the hundreds.
Warriors who worshiped battle and whose pride surpassed all.
They knelt at Ariella’s feet.
"If they are monsters and not humans, then there is no restriction on making them vassals."
As for the blood needed to sustain vassals, it was enough to take it from other Green Manes.
Each time she increased her vassals in this way, Ariella’s power grew.
Since her promotion, the number of vassals she could hold had doubled compared to before.
The vassals she could not sustain, now too many to manage, were consumed rapidly in battle.
Her strength grew steadily greater, while the power of the Green Manes steadily diminished.
"Fufu... When I first proposed this, I never expected it to succeed this well."
To be honest, even she was somewhat surprised at her success.
Those who had built great powers always possessed systems to maintain them.
These too should have quickly noticed the movements of a vampire and responded.
"What a truly beastly race. To leave their own interior so neglected?"
"Indeed! It shames me to admit I was once one of them!"
Their system of control was utterly insufficient.
In wars of conquest based on overwhelming numbers, they showed great capability.
But when it came to managing the vast territory they had secured, that was another matter entirely.
"It must have been a great help that the master’s comrade veiled their sight."
Ordinarily, it was the shamans’ role to perceive internal unrest.
But with Sergeant Park Taejun’s effort at Sergeant Shin Youngjun’s request, the shamans’ prophecies had been trapped within fog.
"It was no accident that my master succeeded in subduing me."
Now, with Shin Youngjun’s support aiding her activities, her invasion had achieved results beyond imagination.
****
"Sectors 12, 18, and 20 have also ceased contact."
"Eighteen? That was an important base used as a food storehouse!"
"There must have been a considerable number of warriors stationed there."
"If you speak of importance, the places already fallen were no less."
At the center of the Green Manes’ occupied lands, in a place once called the county office, enormous monsters raised their voices.
At that moment,
"Grrrk...!"
One massive warrior, unable to contain his anger, let out a beast’s roar.
Boom!
"It has been only ten days!"
It was only after ten days since Ariella began her activities within their territory that they had finally recognized her existence.
This was the assembly where the tribe’s great and small affairs were decided.
High-ranking warriors and shamans had gathered in one place to devise countermeasures against the monster that had appeared in their rear.
"The damage is significant. We must consider at least ten percent of our occupied land already out of our control."
"Mm. To think it has come to this in just ten days. How could this happen..."
"The enemy seems to be specialized in mental domination."
"What?"
"Warriors dispatched to investigate reported being attacked by their own kin."
At those words, the shamans could not hide their shock.
"Mental domination?"
"That is the highest sorcery, one that even the High Shaman cannot easily perform."
"Mm... This is a world different from the one we knew. It is not strange that there exists a being that wields such power with ease."
Even so, the appearance of such a being so swiftly was clearly an abnormality.
"And then the defeat in the last war as well."
"Too many misfortunes..."
All present bore wariness toward this unknown enemy.
"What are you afraid of?"
From the center seat, the Great Warrior of the tribe opened his mouth.
"Had we not always known that one day we would face such a being?"
"Mm. It is true this has come sooner than expected, but... you are not wrong, Great Warrior."
Beside the Great Warrior sat an aged orc.
His withered frame seemed all the smaller beside the Great Warrior, but his position was no lesser.
He was the High Shaman of the tribe.
As time passed, stronger enemies would continue to appear.
This was a truth already known to them who had abandoned their homeland and fled.
"That is why we sought to expand our territory quickly, even by straining ourselves."
The orcs built strength through communion with earth spirits.
The wider their territory, the greater the tribe’s power.
So they had hastily conducted wars of conquest.
"But to think that failing to fortify within would cause such trouble."
The High Shaman stroked his chin and muttered.
"There is only one method left. Great Warrior."
"Tch."
The Great Warrior nodded as if unwilling but conceding.
The shaman who had spoken turned to the others.
"How goes preparation for the next invasion?"
"The warriors have nearly all been assembled. If we finish preparations against the natives’ fortress and the guardians defending it, we can launch the invasion immediately—"
"I see. Then convey this to the warriors."
"Yes. What shall I tell them?"
"Return to the rear."
"...!"
The troops that had gathered to secure the fortress of the natives, the very fortress that had defeated them before, were to be withdrawn in full.
"Then what of that fortress of the natives? Was it not the Great Warrior’s intent to punish them personally..."
"A powerful foe has appeared sooner than expected. Regrettable, but their punishment must be delayed."
The High Shaman spoke as if it were nothing.
"Conquering the natives can be done at any time."
"...!"
"But such beings will continue to appear. They are perfect practice opponents."
So he said, though even the Great Warrior was displeased with the current situation.
"Hmph. If my strength were complete, there would be no need for such trouble."
The Great Warrior and the High Shaman too were powers who by right should not yet have been active.
But the Green Manes had short lifespans.
The experience of those who survived long enough to reach such high positions was invaluable.
"Hmhm. Great Warrior, you should watch your tongue. It may sound as though you blame our sorcery."
Thus the shamans had laid curses of enfeeblement upon their bodies.
Curses impossible to lift.
Thanks to that, though weakened from their prime, they had been able to walk free of their seals.
"It is not an untrue thing to say. A curse impossible to lift..."
"...Grrk."
"If the shamans’ power were sufficient, it should have been possible to lift it."
"A mere child dares—!"
The High Shaman bared his fangs in anger.
"Hmhm. Few things are as pitiful as raging over what cannot be done, young Great Warrior."
"Hmph. How bland."
He was one who had the years to master his rage.
"As soon as the troops are ready, I will strike them down myself. The enemy is infecting our warriors by the day and growing its army. We must crush it quickly."
"Mm. Yet I cannot accept the strength of that army. Power unbalanced... Perhaps it has some weakness. You focus on preparing for the assault, Great Warrior. I and the shamans will search out its weakness."
The strength of the tribe, until now poured into expansion of territory, now began to turn inward, toward the enemy within.
****
And it was impossible that Sergeant Park Taejun would fail to notice that movement.
[Shaman: Seems the method Youngjun mentioned actually worked.]
[Magic Youth: ...! Truly?]
Not long ago, Sergeant Shin Youngjun had conveyed a plan through guild message.
He had said he would use some method to disrupt the Green Manes’ rear.
And now, reports had come that his method had worked.
The reaction of the unit to that message was simple.
"...How is this even working?"
When they first heard Sergeant Shin Youngjun’s words, most had reacted with no more than, "What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Isn’t Sergeant Shin currently deployed toward Yanggu County?"
"Right."
"And the enemy rear would be around Cheorwon County."
"...Exactly."
Sergeant Shin, positioned not in the enemy rear but even farther from the Green Manes than the corps’ main camp, was somehow disrupting their rear.
"Yet there’s no way Sergeant Park Taejun would lie."
"Then what method did he use this time?"
All who saw the guild message could not hide their confusion.
"Did he poison the food those monsters eat?"
"Even if he wanted to, the distance makes it impossible."
"You never know. With someone like Sergeant Shin, maybe he can use something like step-skipping techniques."
"Step-skipping? This isn’t the northern country. Speak sense."
"Why not? If wizards can eventually teleport, wouldn’t Sergeant Shin manage it sooner? He already uses something like a pocket dimension. Considering that, hm."
"...Could it really be step-skipping?"
While all manner of absurd speculation flew, there were some who could guess what had happened.
"Surely not..."
Sergeant Lee Minjae glanced at Corporal Seo Suhyeok, who nodded as if thinking the same.
"So he sent that vampire."
The enemy who had even slain one of their comrades.
They still did not like her.
But she had proved ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) her usefulness, and for that alone, they had let it pass.
The number of raiders she had slain to take them as vassals was already considerable.
That alone had been a great help in securing the area.
"Yet even so... to think she was capable of this."
It was clear now how restricted she had been while trapped in the bunker.
"Even in that state, had it not been for Youngjun, she could not have been subdued."
Now that she was moving in earnest, she was shaking an entire great force.
It made clear once more what a feat it was that Shin Youngjun had subdued her.
"But useful or not, useful is all she is."
They still did not like her.
With the vampire acting, humans could not afford to remain passive.
"Whatever the case, if Youngjun’s operation succeeded, we cannot sit idle."
"Sir?"
"Now it’s our turn to act."
No matter how numerous the enemy, if their forces were concentrated in the rear, holes must appear at the front.
"It is a concern that Sergeant Shin and Corporal Jeon Gwangil are absent."
"I agree... but it’s about time we showed it."
"?"
"Showed how useful the corps Youngjun raised has become."
There was no reason to miss this chance.
"Leave defense of the fortress to the Dragon Fang Troopers and a few soldiers."
"Then..."
"Everyone else, prepare for a campaign to retake territory."
"...!"
While the enemy diverted its forces to the rear,
"Everyone, gear up!"
"If you’re caught tampering with your kit, you’ll get nothing but a single can for dinner later, so mind yourselves!"
"Bring fuel for the tanks!"
"We got a fair amount from the merchant back from Yanggu County, we’ll manage with that—"
"Send requests for cooperation to the temple and the nearby Awakened as well!"
The corps began its march.
