30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

To simplify the problems currently faced by Frechenkaya, it can be stated as follows.

Daylight has vanished. In fact, both the moon and stars have also disappeared, making it problematic to refer to this as an aurora. The entire sky is shrouded in darkness.

Citizens are going missing. It’s unclear whether they are simply lost amid the confusion in the darkness or if criminals are taking advantage of the situation.

The entire city is in chaos. Crime rates have surged, and the citizens have become highly sensitive. In such circumstances, the administration has become ineffective, and the city’s defensive forces are focused on perimeter security.

Someone had to restore the administration or persuade the army. Of course, the remaining forces in the city cannot cover the entire area, as most of them have embarked on expeditions.

The same applies to the administration. The young legal nobility appointed to the administration since last year do not have enough experience to manage various departments effectively. Most of those who would have built this experience were killed during the recent coup.

Therefore, this situation inevitably places some responsibility on Elizaveta, though not intentionally. Reflecting once more, absolute power means holding decision-making authority solely.

The reason she has had to spend every night in vigil is to seize all authority over the administration to its maximum. In a precarious situation where rebellion could happen at any moment, it was an unavoidable choice.

Thus, it is also inevitable that the administration collapsed as soon as she became absent. After all, wasn’t it right after she purged most of the senior officials in the administration during the coup?

She pressured the military to pledge loyalty and aggressively utilized the domestic intelligence capabilities of the Counterintelligence Command to attempt to seize military control, turning the Krasilov military into a puppet of the queen.

It is a rational choice in that there is no driving force to incite rebellion. However, the fact that no officers are left to undertake unilateral operations without the queen’s approval has become the fate of a puppet military.

The queen’s reign has just passed a year, and she ascended the throne on a carpet stained with blood after executing her father and brother and purging the officials from various departments. This implies that she has covered a lack of justification and authority with fear.

Fear politics may be the hallmark of the Krasilov royal family, but in such circumstances, it hardly proves useful.

…Such discussions were taking place among the Hero Party.

“Let’s sum it up then: We don’t know who did it, how they did it, or how many they are, and the military has no will to assist, and the citizens are on the brink of riot, right?”

“Exactly.”

“Then let’s retreat for now and reconsider later.”

Ecdysis’s bright idea was quickly dismissed. Oscar banged the table as he spoke.

“I don’t even know where to start. Anyone have any ideas?”

“I think Professor Enrique might understand this situation best….”

“We can’t go to our teacher. He’s been expelled.”

Lucia shook her head and continued.

“This means that a vampire strong enough to deter our teacher is hiding. If we storm in, it would only reveal our teacher’s hiding place to them.”

“Yeah, if Professor Enrique is on that side, then there’s no answer. He must be from the Demon Realm, right?”

“That’s likely. Our teacher said there are no elders left in Krasilov.”

Elpheira cautiously raised her hand.

“If the kidnapping is true, how about using bait?”

“Bait?”

“Since elves are a very rare and valuable race compared to humans… What if I were to act as bait and get kidnapped? We could also use tracking magic, and if I were kidnapped, at least it would mean I was being drawn to their stronghold.”

“Rejected.”

Oscar shook his head.

“The risk is too high. If the enemy is a vampire that would scare Professor Enrique, I would definitely die. And we don’t seem to have the luxury of just waiting with bait.”

“I have an opinion too…”

Oscar looked at Yuri, who was hesitating in the corner of the table. For someone who usually was shy and quiet, she had a surprisingly resolute expression on her face.

As all eyes turned to her, Yuri flushed and continued speaking.

“I think I have an idea.”

“What?”

“Um, even if we don’t know where the enemy is, what they are doing, what their intentions are, or how many there are… I sort of have a hunch about what we should do.”

Ivan once said that Yuri never loses in a place where there is a ‘possibility of victory.’

She cannot face the Seven Dragon Lords alone. She cannot defeat an entire army by herself. That is an ‘impossible’ situation.

Conversely, this means that if there is even the slightest chance of victory, not losing means she can always ‘instinctively’ recognize the strategy needed to overcome it.

If this situation is a type of [quest] with [victory potential]. Yes, then there must exist [optimal strategies].

Regardless of who the opponent is, what purpose they have, how many there are, or even understanding ‘why this is a strategy’ does not seem important.

A compass pointing north does so not because the needle understands magnetism. It just does.

“Um… so…”

Yuri spoke words she herself did not fully understand, but with conviction. She reached out and placed her finger on a map depicting downtown Frechenkaya.

Towards a location with a partially demolished building. An area that has begun redevelopment, on the site of a former military structure.

The former headquarters of the Counterintelligence Command.

Now the Counterintelligence Command has moved its headquarters outside of Frechenkaya. This was because Elizaveta had already completely taken control of the capital area, initiating a plan to deploy intelligence networks throughout the entire country.

Therefore, the ‘former’ headquarters of the Counterintelligence Command, now deemed useless, was naturally demolished. All important documents and supplies had already been relocated, but the building itself still maintained its form.

Being the headquarters of the most notorious intelligence agency in this country, few citizens approached the vicinity. Frechenkaya was a city under reconstruction. The already scarce construction workforce was too low in priority to spare for this.

Naturally, the demolition of the building was delayed. Left half-ruined, in a sparsely populated military zone.

“If there’s a chance they could have infiltrated here because it’s sparsely populated, then it’s really not that important a location.”

Oscar thought, recalling the city doctrine he learned at the Knight Department.

It’s not a good position for sabotage or infiltration operations. It is neither the city center nor close to any important government offices.

That said, are there really few ‘desolate ruins’ in Frechenkaya? No. This metropolis, like most cities in the war-torn world since then, has a population shortage relative to its building density.

Thus, the area Yuri pointed to cannot be rated as a high-value asset from a military perspective.

Of course, military logic is not needed in the face of possession special operations. Logic cannot hold back the supernatural. The struggles of a possessed person are well known by the possessed individual.

Eugene began nodding as if he had a ‘great purpose’ in mind.

“Then let’s all search here first, and if we find nothing, we will head to the underground waterways.”

“Underground waterways?”

“There’s a railroad connected to the dwarf territory over there. If need be, we can escape through there, and according to Professor Enrique, if that vampire is over there, the likelihood is high that they will be underground.”

This was a sufficiently reasonable rationale. Oscar briefly agreed and finished a simple tactical review. They moved towards the district where the former headquarters of the Counterintelligence Command was located.

*

The main road was completely wrecked, making it difficult to even travel by horseback, and all the train tracks were destroyed. What’s the quickest way to reach the target area now?

Ordinary people would answer this question with, “It’s tough, but we’ll use a carriage or horse.” However, trained agents could deduce a more logical conclusion.

“By foot across the continent.” A well-trained agent should have mobility superior to mere beasts of burden.

Based on this obvious fact, Ivan attempted to cross the rugged terrain (real rugged terrain) alongside Isabelle. From the Leonor-Krasilov border to Frechenkaya, it would normally take over two weeks on foot, but they succeeded in cutting that down to half.

At this time, the maximum distance a typical soldier can march in a day is estimated to be about 40 km. This is true only in terms of forced marches above average daily marching distance. This assumes they walk for about 10 hours, practically spending most of the day walking.

However, a superhuman could traverse that double distance within half the time. This implies a relative speed difference of about four times.

Naturally, reality is not a realm of mathematics. The human body is not a mechanical device that guarantees minimum performance, and long marches are significantly influenced by terrain, climate, and supplies rather than the individual.

But, if sufficiently trained superhumans could bring the calculations into the realm of reality.

“I… never… for real… again!! If we follow this plan, we will truly invade the castle!”

“Maximilian will be sad.”

“… meaning we’re going to Yeremof, right?”

Isabelle gasped but laughed. The two were racing down the mountainside, covered in mud.

They didn’t even have enough time to clear the muck from their boots or clothing. The prediction of an imminent attack on Frechenkaya, at least until they reached Krasilov was within the realm of ‘likely conjecture’ but now was not the case.

During summer, nearly all inland transport in northern Krasilov relies on trains. There are no proper ports, and with the roads being in shambles, the reliance only increases.

Thus, that all train tracks leading to Frechenkaya are destroyed means that some incident has occurred. Given the nature of large cities, Frechenkaya wouldn’t last a week under a complete blockade of transportation.

So, if we were to deduce the current situation in Frechenkaya… it would only be fortunate if a riot could be suppressed without any enemy invasion at this point.

“However, haah…. Mister, the internal intelligence of Krasilov is perfect, right? How could the trains possibly…”

If nearly all means to sustain the citizens in summer depend on train transportation, it would be reasonable to concentrate all counterintelligence resources on protecting the train lines. It would be the most critical weakness.

Even if Elizaveta had taken the expedition force with her, the Counterintelligence Command basically remains a domestic intelligence agency. Most agents are still operating across all of Krasilov.

In such a situation, could it be possible to sabotage all train lines, not just one but every train line entering Frechenkaya?

Ivan could not provide a definitive answer to this question.

“Impossible.”

Under normal circumstances in intelligence operations, no intelligence organization can infiltrate the Kraislov Counterintelligence Command and successfully carry out operations.

But, who knows?

Following the cliché that ‘a crisis must occur,’ can it be stated with certainty that it is impossible?

There have already been three attacks on universities within the Krasilov jurisdiction. This was also an impossible feat, yet, following the cliché, the admission train was attacked, the field study was attacked, and the university festival was attacked.

“So you mean to say a vampire is behind this?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Could there be a vampire stronger than Professor Enrique? Stronger than the Hero Party’s rogue?”

“There exists no elder that can guarantee a solo victory over Enrique.”

Ivan kicked at the mud engulfing his ankles as he spoke.

“However, even a super being can be pierced by a blade. It is not impossible to contend with a vampire. Even in times when superhumans were rare, people used to hunt vampires.”

In an era when superhuman were not ‘trained’ but ‘born. Long ago, people survived against vampires. If vampires were an impossible foe to confront, that immortal race would have reigned over humanity long ago.

However, that was not the case. No matter how powerful, there must be weaknesses. And if there exists even the slightest possibility of defeat, would Enrique dare confront another ‘vampire’?

It is a realm of uncertainty, but if it’s the Enrique he knows, then surely… he could never do such a thing.

Unlike other foes where defeat means death, vampires’ struggles take the form of conquest war. The victor takes everything from the defeated, thus demanding a price worse than death.

She could potentially set Frechenkaya ablaze with her own hands. The great legacy of the Hero Party could drink the blood of the citizens who admire her and burn the city.

Such an act would serve as a symbol that could plunge the entire civilized society into fear. So, if Ivan finds himself in the position of having to oppose civilized society, he would surely aim for something like that.

From the standpoint of preparing for the worst while executing the best, one could deduce the enemy’s tactical objectives as such.

They must have commenced their attack because they have means capable of capturing Enrique. Whatever it may be, it must be fatal to her.

Isabelle, who listened to that statement, let out a deep sigh.

*

-Grahhh….

-Kwajik!!

Elpheira screamed as she shattered the head of an approaching zombie.

“Why are there so many undead?!”

“Vampires… haah! Can control the dead!”

“Is it necromancy? A spell?”

“It’s blood sorcery. I can do it too, as long as I have enough blood—!!”

At Lucia’s shout, Elpheira replied bitterly.

“In this case, it would be great to use a sacred spell like [Ashes are Ashes], but that’s difficult, right?”

“It’s not difficult; it’s impossible! The Saint can’t use the sacred spells in this situation!”

“Don’t they have to die if you burst their heads? They are zombies!”

Oscar sliced through the arms of the approaching zombie with a single blow and kicked it over.

“They’re not just made to fill numbers.”

“That’s right.”

“What do you mean by that?”

When Ecdysis asked, unable to follow Lucia and Oscar’s conversation, Lucia answered in her stead.

“Zombies can’t suck blood. In blood sorcery, the one with greater dominion wins, so if a vampire has greater power than our teacher, our teacher can’t gain the upper hand.”

“Uh, uh.”

“So this means they were prepared as a trap to catch our teacher.”

Creating beings that cannot drain blood to extract power or usurp dominion, unless completely destroyed, they do not die.

To counter this, if Enrique were to oppose it, she would have no choice but to produce her own kin. If she personally wipes out the zombies, she would stand out to any hiding enemy elder, therefore, if Enrique wishes to avoid such a situation, she would not be able to take such actions.

Thus, this is a trap and a net of encirclement.

Not just randomly littered in front of this party, but rather deployed across the entire city at this very moment.

As five days of absolute darkness pass, the missing citizens join the legion of the dead, growing in numbers. While they are not too threatening yet, they still become a sufficiently large crowd.

If this situation were to persist for even another week, and if the terrified citizens were to incite a riot, there would be no way to respond. In the chaos, the vampires would exploit the situation even more easily.

At least if Ivan had been around.

To confront the ‘unknown vampire’ that was attempting the worst tactical options available following Enrique’s disablement.

Similarly, a man capable of replicating every tactic Enrique could employ would surely be needed.

As they advanced through the darkness of the city, crushing the zombies that sporadically emerged, the party moved towards their objective.

   

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