The Dark Flame warriors were cleaning up the battlefield, with sporadic gunfire echoing from time to time. They moved in groups of three or five, maintaining a level of caution that rivaled their state during combat.
For humans, the Blood Clan was always the most dangerous enemy. Especially when facing a dying member of the Blood Clan, a single bite could turn one into a blood thrall. Therefore, the standard procedure in clearing the battlefield was to first fire a shot at any blood thrall or Blood Clan member showing signs of life before approaching them.
Perhaps because of this, the Blood Clan treated human prisoners even more brutally than they had during the centuries of conflict, surpassing the harshness with which they had once tended to livestock.
Between the two factions, the war between humans and the Blood Clan was always the most brutal.
When Qian Ye returned, he saw Zhao Yuying circling around over a dozen Blood Clan warriors, the only captives left after the battle. Humans dealt with blood thralls in only one way: extermination. It was rare for Blood Clan warriors to surrender.
Zhao Yuying pinched and patted the captives, as if she were a customer in a brothel selecting a girl. Then Qian Ye saw her open a Blood Knight’s mouth, examining his fangs, treating them as though they were cattle for selection.
Qian Ye truly did not know how to evaluate this granddaughter of the Duke of You. The longer he spent with her, the more surprising she became. For example, these previously ferocious Blood Clan members, who should have been extremely dangerous, now appeared as docile as kittens in front of her. Checking the fangs of a Blood Clan member was the greatest humiliation, yet they all endured it.
Unable to hold back, Qian Ye asked, “How did you do it?”
Without turning her head, Zhao Yuying replied, “Call me sister, and I’ll tell you.”
“We can talk about it later,” Qian Ye tried to evade the question.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuying didn’t pursue the matter further, instead continuing her selection process and saying casually, “It’s quite simple. I just told them that if anyone dared to disobey, I would make them dead for three days.”
“Just that simple?” Qian Ye was incredulous.
“Just that simple!” Zhao Yuying answered firmly.
Qian Ye, unimpressed, called her bluff, “You don’t have that kind of time.” Someone like Zhao Yuying, where every moment was precious, couldn’t possibly waste three days on such a trivial matter.
But Zhao Yuying chuckled, saying, “I always have time for this sort of thing.”
After a while, Zhao Yuying selected ten Blood Clan members, stating, “These are my reward. Send them to me later.”
Looking at the remaining Blood Clan members, Qian Ye frowned, “That’s more than ten percent.”
Zhao Yuying draped an arm over Qian Ye’s shoulder and smiled, “Qian Ye, why be so stingy? Old gal—uh, I’m your sister, after all!”
Qian Ye brushed off her arm nonchalantly, “We haven’t confirmed that yet.”
Zhao Yuying placed her arm back, smiling sweetly, “What’s there to confirm? We have only a few brothers and sisters in the Zhao family. How could we mistake that?”
Though the Zhao family certainly had more than a few members, with tens of thousands in the younger generation alone, only a select few caught the attention of Zhao Jundu and Zhao Yuying.
Qian Ye furrowed his brows, unwilling to argue further, and said, “If you want more captives, we can settle it next time. I’ll give you some extra then.”
Zhao Yuying pouted, “How could a new little brother be so stingy!”
“I’ve got only so much. If I wasn’t frugal, you’d have spent it all already.”
“Sounds like you’re my man!”
“Find yourself a real one.”
“You wouldn’t say such things to your old sis, would you?”
Too tired to banter with Zhao Yuying anymore, Qian Ye glanced at the ten Blood Clan members she had chosen and asked, “How did you pick these out?”
“Based on their strength and quality, of course.”
Quality? Qian Ye never thought there was any quality to be found in the Blood Clan. Even if there was, her method of selection would hardly reveal it. From his perspective, she seemed to have picked them based on looks and build.
Qian Ye had heard that, among the upper nobility, attractive Blood Clan and Demon descendants made popular slaves.
Soon, the battle results were tallied.
In this battle, Viscount Domo and his entire army were annihilated, with over twenty Knights killed and two captured. Nearly five hundred official Blood Clan soldiers were slain, with over ten captured, and six thousand blood thralls lost.
Qian Ye’s Dark Flame suffered over three hundred casualties. By Empire standards, this was a resounding victory, but Zhao Yuying did not see it that way. Qian Ye had used ten expensive Dawn Flash grenades to achieve these results. Including the cost of the grenades, the battle was only marginally profitable.
Hearing Zhao Yuying’s assessment, Qian Ye couldn’t help but wonder how, as a scion of a noble house, she developed such a miserly personality. To Qian Ye, ammunition and weaponry were expendable, while soldiers grew stronger with each battle. Using ten flash grenades to secure a decisive victory was worth it.
After annihilating Viscount Domo, Qian Ye did not rest. Instead, he marched overnight, dividing his forces. One contingent, led by Zhao Yuying, attacked the mine, while another, led by Qian Ye himself, headed straight for Domo’s stronghold. The Wei family general continued to lead the engineers and logistics, maintaining a safe distance behind the main force, ready to reinforce or defend as needed.
In choosing between raiding the viscount’s castle and capturing the mine, Zhao Yuying agonized. Qian Ye saw a side of her that was usually hidden, though she likely only wavered on financial matters.
This battle finally alerted the entire barony to the threat of the Dark Flame.
Many of Stuka’s subordinates began mobilizing, reacting belatedly. Humans had long held a defensive stance in the Blackflow direction, with no major offensive. Only after Domo’s total annihilation and the viscount’s death did they realize the humans were waging a full-scale war.
In a southwestern castle, a massive, robust werewolf sat on a high throne, surveying his subordinates filling the hall.
The hall was filled solely with werewolves, no other races, a rarity among lords. All the werewolves remained in their primal forms, unshifted to human appearance.
The werewolf on the throne had flaming red hair and a fierce face, a large scar on his chest. He was known as the “Terrifying Red-haired Brutus,” the only werewolf viscount under Stuka’s command.
Brutus was cruel and ruthless, but powerful and reckless. His scar was a memento from challenging Stuka.
A second-tier viscount daring to challenge Stuka and surviving earned Brutus a reputation for both madness and strength.
The werewolf viscount was also an extreme racial supremacist, trusting only werewolves. Thus, only werewolves were allowed on his land, with other races reduced to slavery.
The atmosphere in the hall was tense, Brutus’s heavy breathing echoing like bellows. All the werewolves huddled, silent.
Finally, Brutus spoke, “Where are those humans?”
A werewolf approached the large map on the wall, pointing out the locations of Qian Ye’s three forces.
“When was this?” Brutus growled.
“Last night.”
Brutus roared, “Don’t use vague terms like ‘last night’ to fob me off! Tell me the exact time, how many hours ago!”
The werewolf’s voice trembled, “Fif-fifteen, about fifteen hours ago.”
“Fifteen hours, hmm!” Brutus, surprisingly, did not continue his rage, his green eyes fixed on the map, a heavy weight on his brow.
Based on the intelligence, regardless of the analysis, Domo had fallen too quickly, too easily.
As a fellow vassal of Stuka, Brutus knew Domo well. Though a cunning and cowardly vampire, Domo’s forces were strong, perhaps even stronger than Brutus’s own, given the latter’s werewolf supremacy. Yet, he had fallen?
Brutus slowly turned, asking, “Are all the tribes’ warriors assembled?”
“All tribes have responded, except…”
“Except what?” Brutus’s eyes flashed with menace.
“The Sharpfang tribe has not come. They claim to be conducting a crucial ceremony, requiring all members’ participation, lest the ancestors be displeased.”
“Sharpfang…” Brutus growled, his voice low and threatening. Those who knew him understood that, once the war ended, he would tear apart every member of the Sharpfang tribe.
A brown-furred werewolf, waving his claws, exclaimed, “My lord, let us depart now. I will charge first, tearing those human vermin apart!”
Brutus rose, pacing back and forth, then suddenly said, “No, we will defend. Recall all patrols from the outer territories, and halt all hunting. All warriors shall withdraw to the pass. We will not engage unless the humans attack. Not even if they pass right in front of us!”
“My lord, this…” The werewolves, stunned, had never heard such an order from Brutus.
“Carry out the orders!” Brutus roared, unleashing his savage aura. The werewolves, cowed, bowed their heads, memorized their orders, and departed, spreading the terrifying red-haired one’s will.
Alone in the hall, Brutus stood before the map, his cruel eyes now reflecting deep contemplation and caution.
On the Dark Flame’s side, Duan Hao’s vanguard continued to sweep through dark race settlements, eliminating all encountered patrols. After annihilating Viscount Domo’s main force, Qian Ye and Zhao Yuying captured their respective targets with ease.
Qian Ye looted everything of value from the viscount’s castle, sending a platoon of soldiers with several hundred Blood Clan prisoners and over ten thousand captive humans to Blackflow City. He then joined Zhao Yuying with the main force.
Their first exchange upon meeting was Qian Ye asking about casualties, to which Zhao Yuying replied that they had made a huge profit.
Struggling to change his perspective, Qian Ye confirmed that their losses were indeed minimal.
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