The First Vampire

Chapter 549: 547 Falcon City (Upper)_1
 

Falcon City is located at the northernmost end of the Crimson Flame Territory, and is a necessary passageway from the North Territory to the center of the Empire.

The afternoon sky was extremely gloomy, as if it was about to rain, but it never started.

The air was stuffy and humid, it almost felt like it could wring out water.

With a giant cloud sweeping in, the sky over Falcon City seemed even darker, giving the feeling of a thunderstorm brewing.

Between the desolate heaven and earth, a sound similar to a spring thunder suddenly rang out, making the earth tremble like a beaten war drum.

The howling north wind made the flags rising from the horizon snap violently. Regiment after regiment of cavalry, in neatly arranged lines, swept across the wilderness, encircling Falcon City in no time.

The city walls of Falcon City were not unusually tall, but they were quite wide and extended continuously, built around the hills behind the city, and they were packed with fully armed soldiers.

Nevertheless, after seeing the blood-red banners of the cavalry outside the city, these soldiers broke out in a cold sweat, feeling no sense of safety from their advantageous position atop the city walls.

That was, after all, the Blood Knight Army!

They dominated the Sky Ice Plain, devastated the entire eastern region, and were invincible in battle!

Viscount Benson, the Lord of Falcon City, stood atop the city walls, his face pale.

Although he had concentrated all his family’s troops on the city walls, and had summoned a large number of reserves to stand by within the city.

He was not deluded into thinking that if the Northerners were to attack Falcon City, the Benson family could truly hold them off.

The mere sight of this Blood Knight Army was enough to make Viscount Benson’s legs go weak, let alone the fact that a thin black line had already appeared on the horizon to the north – clearly the incoming Northern Army.

The Northern Army, originally set to support the Westland, was now heading towards Dragon City in full force.

Viscount Benson had no intention of resisting, only hoping that this Northern Army could ignore Falcon City and continue south… but unfortunately, it seemed the Northerners had no intention of simply bypassing Falcon City.

As time passed, the black line on the horizon gradually spread, forming a boundless black tide.

Countless flags fluttered in the wind, obscuring the sky. The heavy footsteps made the earth groan under the weight.

The wind suddenly stopped, and the already oppressive atmosphere suddenly became even more stagnant, making it hard to breathe.

Whoosh!

A feathered arrow shot from outside the city and embedded itself directly into a crevice in the city wall.

An attendant quickly stepped forward to pull out the arrow and removed the sheepskin scroll tied to its tail, respectfully handing it to Viscount Benson.

With a stern face, Viscount Benson accepted it and unrolled the scroll. As expected, it was a letter of surrender.

The contents of the letter were very concise, so much so that Viscount Benson felt humiliated.

“Surrender, or, die!”

There was no righteous condemnation of the Pope’s crimes, nor endless boasting about the might of the Northern Army. The letter simply laid out the two choices available to Viscount Benson, without an ounce of unnecessary words.

Oh, and a sign-off – Garcia Saint Hilde.

Well, Viscount Benson had heard about the temper of this Marquis of the North Territory. He knew the Marquis probably wasn’t specifically targeting the Benson family. In his eyes, most families probably weren’t worth wasting his ink on…

With a sigh, Viscount Benson wisely ordered:

“Open the city gate.”

The orderly officer nearby clearly breathed a sigh of relief, seemingly not angry at his lord’s decision to surrender without a fight, but rather extremely relieved.

With the squeaking and grinding sounds coming from the huge winch, the heavy steel city gate slowly descended onto the ground.

At this point, Viscount Benson had come to terms with the reality of the situation, and his face had relaxed quite a bit. When the city gate was fully opened, he rode out to meet the newcomers singlehandedly.

“I am the Lord of Falcon City, Viscount Benson, may I ask….”

Unfortunately, no one paid attention to Viscount Benson. Squad after squad of the Blood Knight Army rode past him with emotionless expressions, charging into Falcon City.

Since the Lord had clearly indicated his surrender, the soldiers in the city dared not resist as they watched the Blood Knight Army flooding in like a tide, and obediently accepted their fate.

However, Viscount Benson left outside the city gate looked rather awkward and pitiful…

“You must be Viscount Benson?”

A clear voice rescued Viscount Benson, who quickly looked towards the source of the sound. He saw a young knight in a red armor, riding a white horse slowly approaching him.

“Yes.” Viscount Benson nodded and immediately identified the Roaring Polar Bear badge on the knight’s armor. He quickly dismounted and bowed, “You must be Count Angler, the Guardian of the North Territory, correct?”

“Yes. I hope you won’t mind us passing through your land.”

“Of course not!” Viscount Benson’s smile unconsciously brought a touch of flattery, “Count Angler, I have admired you for a long time. I am extremely honored to have you visit Falcon City!”

“That’s good.” Colin nodded with laughter and proceeded towards the city.

Viscount Benson, seeing Colin’s mild attitude, finally relaxed and hurriedly followed on his horse.

By the time the two men entered Falcon City side by side, the streets were lined with soldiers of the Blood Knight Army.

The Benson family’s army had been disarmed and were being herded to specific locations for supervision. The residents of Falcon City had all been sent home.

However, quite a few curious residents still secretly peeked out through the cracks in their windows at these unexpected visitors from the North Territory.

“Count, is Marquis Garcia following behind?”

“Yes, he will enter the city once the army is settled.”

“Great, I will immediately prepare a grand banquet to welcome our distinguished guests from the North Territory!”

Colin deeply looked at Viscount Benson, who was trying to flatter him beside him, and found him quite interesting.

Technically, Falcon City was now under the control of the Blood Knight Army, yet Viscount Benson still acted like the host, as if the city was still under his control and the Northern Army were merely passing guests.

Perhaps in Viscount Benson’s view, this extensive military operation by the North Territory was primarily to intimidate, with the purpose of forcing the Pope to apologize and perhaps even abdicate, but it was unlikely to ignite a large-scale civil unrest.

Colin did not explain any further, but just continued to walk in silence.

When they passed by Falcon City’s Central Cathedral, Colin suddenly stopped.

The cathedral doors were tightly shut, indicating a clear lack of welcome for these guests from the North Territory.

Seeing this, Viscount Benson, feeling uneasy, was about to step forward to ease the tension, but before he could speak, he heard Colin command directly:

“Break the door!”

“Yes!”

The soldiers of the Blood Knight Army accepted the order without hesitation.

Bang!

With a loud crash, the heavy wooden door was instantly shattered.