Surprisingly, many people are under the misconception that stepping into the territory of the Sahelrn Duchy or Helraig Duchy is a hard task even for weak commoners.
For instance, the direct route I planned to use to escape the Luminous Kingdom and make my way to the Greysia Empire and Bertica Kingdom is a perfect example.
Except for the occasional crazy vampires lurking in the shadows waiting for prey even with the sun high in the sky, the surface of the duchy is surprisingly peaceful until the moon rises.
The fact that it is referred to as a “route best avoided unless one is confident in their skills or extremely busy” is proof of this.
If the ground were a magical abyss that could take your life as soon as you crossed a line, the nation would have banned passage at all costs.
Furthermore, during the war three years ago, if the allied forces had aimed solely to reach the Grand Duke’s Castle, they could have done so in just a few days.
A significant reason they didn’t was due to the existence of intricate underground facilities beneath the duchy.
Traders passing through the edges during the day wouldn’t encounter major issues, but a war initiated to take the duchy would lead to being ambushed by vampires emerging from underground as night falls if they blindly ventured deep.
Thus, humans had to cautiously advance, nibbling away at the edges of the Sahelrn Duchy and avoiding getting caught in a pincer attack using the underground facilities, which significantly contributed to the prolonged duration of the war.
In short, the vampires’ territory is only truly dangerous for half the day when the sun is absent.
If the plans involved occupying it or surviving long enough to get out, the difficulty would drastically increase, but if the intention was just to crash in and get it over with, surprisingly, it wasn’t that daunting.
This was the reasoning behind my attempt to storm the Grand Duke’s Castle in Helraig with just four people this time to negotiate for reinforcements (possibly through physical means).
If I set foot in the duchy with the aim of occupation, then numerous vampires moving through underground facilities would be my potential enemies.
Including myself, I had been working with Plona, who had been adapting to her vampire body for the past three years, and Eleonora, who had started to bloom her potential as Dragonkin under Plona’s tutelage, plus Lavina, whose abilities seem decent but remain unknown—my army’s strength was uncertain.
However, it goes without saying that even if our forces were stronger than anticipated, it was still only four people. Fighting against all the vampires in the Helraig Duchy would be logically impossible.
Even if it were hypothetically possible to defeat all the vampires in the Helraig Duchy, there would be no one left to reinforce us, and by then, it wouldn’t be strange if Sahelrn Duchy was demolished twice over.
However, if I focused solely on reaching the Grand Duke’s Castle without thinking of returning, the story changed.
According to the information, the Grand Duke’s Castle in Helraig isn’t too far from the northern front of the Bertica Kingdom.
If I could enter the duchy at sunrise and reach the Grand Duke’s Castle before sunset, the number of vampires I would have to face would dramatically decrease.
I began to believe Stella, who claimed she was stronger than me.
And Stella had said, in terms of overall skill level, that she would be above Grand Duke Jeil Helraig, even if one-on-one matchups were unfavorable.
This meant that if I were stronger than Stella, theoretically, I had a chance against the Grand Duke of Helraig, who would either be on par with or a step above Stella.
If I could drag the Grand Duke of Helraig to the bargaining table through sheer force, I could threaten to unleash destruction unless reinforcements were provided before we all meet our doom.
If successful, my goal would be achieved, naturally leading to no battle with the vampires of Helraig so the numerical disadvantage wouldn’t matter… or so I thought.
‘But looking at this, it feels like we won’t make it before sunset.’
Crap.
The sun was already leaning heavily westward, painting the sky a reddish hue.
Was it because this was my first time?
No, that couldn’t be it. Until now, I had navigated just fine using the single map Martini had given me.
But to be lost in a nearly barren landscape with no notable obstacles? That seemed impossible.
…Wait. The map? Was the map the problem?
Until now, I’d used it effectively without issue, but comparing it to modern satellite maps, it was far from adequate.
Besides, Martini was the one who gave me this map, and the Helraig Duchy was technically an enemy territory of the Sahelrn Duchy.
I didn’t know if this map was drawn directly by Sahelrn Duchy’s vampires, but it wouldn’t be surprising if there were inaccuracies regarding a foreign territory far removed from the continental center.
“Let’s take a quick break.”
“…Aria, is something wrong?”
In response to my statement, Lavina, who seemed purely objective, asked with a hint of tension, while two sets of innocent eyes stared at me without question.
Wow, Lavina can get nervous?
All I had ever seen from her was excitement about magic and her unabashed agreement to tag along on this adventure, so I thought she didn’t experience fear. Turns out, I was mistaken.
Honestly, if a human didn’t change expression upon hearing there were vampires swarming beneath their feet, that would be the truly weird one.
I had initially planned to break through before sunset, so bringing up a break could definitely raise some eyebrows.
Still, I couldn’t understand why she had come along.
“There is only small fry nearby, including underground. We won’t reach the Grand Duke’s Castle before the sun sets.”
I wasn’t sure how far we were from the Grand Duke’s Castle anymore, but blood magic offered a rough estimate.
If there were entities comparable to Martini or Stella nearby, there was no way I could miss them.
Yet, if I hadn’t sensed anything at this distance, it meant the Grand Duke’s Castle was definitely out of reach before sunset.
“Are we fighting here, sister?”
I shook my head lightly at Plona’s question.
Looking closely, it seemed she had grown quite pale after running under the sun all day.
Even though she was a first-generation subordinate who had inherited a ton of my blood, it seemed being a vampire also had its limits.
Wrapped in a thick coat and merely moving without fighting, this degree of weakness made the sun’s influence on vampires seem unexpectedly strong.
“Let’s rest for ten minutes and then move a bit more before sunset, okay? Just slow down the pace a little. Is that fine?”
“Yes. Once the sun sets, we’ll be fine.”
With only four of us in the group, each person’s combat power was crucial.
Luckily, as we entered the central areas of the duchy from the barren border, the scenery had improved, and we weren’t continuously surrounded by a desolate landscape.
Finding a decent shade made Plona’s expression lighten a bit. However, she still seemed anxious, likely feeling guilty about the delay.
“Sister, when the sun sets… is it straight to battle?”
“If they attack first, prepare to kill. Still, focus on moving rather than eliminating them right now.”
We had come to request reinforcements from the Grand Duke of Helraig after all. It’s inevitable we’d clash along the way, but starting off aggressively wouldn’t do us any favors.
“But we need to see how many are out there. How many are close?”
“…Where? Are they underground again?”
“Yeah.”
I casually responded to Lavina, who jumped in surprise after leaning against the wall.
I could sense several vampires holding still in underground passages and various structures, waiting for the night to fall—particularly the distinct presence of some vampires who had begun moving in the same direction we were.
If this place had a class system similar to Sahelrn Duchy, they were at least count-level or higher.
Since half of our group had continued moving in the same direction while the other half had remained slightly below us, it felt like there was definitely someone following us with considerable authority.
With the right approach, we might be able to reach the Grand Duke’s Castle without a fight, at least as guests.
Outside of vampires, there were probably Dragonkin and Elves mixed in—whether they’d listen to us was another matter, but all we could do then was fight.
After a brief rest and completing our combat preparations, we resumed our movement.
Before long, night approached. The moment the sun vanished beyond the horizon, we found ourselves already surrounded.
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