Well, I have to admit that I am about as shocked as Alfred is when the vampires come for the negotiation. I will be honest, that I was only half confident that they would come to negotiate with us.

  The vampires have a long history of negotiations. I would say that is one aspect of the vampires that they managed to capture well in the stories. Their negotiations mostly end up in fights.

  Well, they are announcing their presence right now. This is the first step in their negotiations. Those atrocious drums are their signal to negotiate. Now we are supposed to meet up with them under the "peace of the blood moon". They will not attack us until they feel insulted enough to justify attacking. That is why most negotiations with the vampires end up in insulting matches. The party that ends up attacking due to the provocation is considered to be inferior.

  Right now I am in the office with Alfred who has been helping me figure out where the enemy base could be. We are planning how we are going to pull off this infiltration of ours.

  Well, I see that Alfred is looking at me to give him commands. I mean, I didn't think that we would end up in such a position.

  "Tell your soldiers to quickly set up a force at the other two tunnels. We can't have them infiltrating the other two tunnels. Send your ten strongest soldiers with me. One that can handle enemy intimidation well.", I command the man as I grasp my sword. "As for you and Lady Amelia, Go and find Trevor. He will tell you what you are supposed to do."

  Alfred leaves without questioning my command, as I prepare myself for this. I grasp my sword. I have been careful not to use my sword among these people. After all, looking like a vampire with these people would have been dangerous. They have been fighting vampires for a couple of months at least.

  Even now their drums are audible throughout the entirety of the the fire altar. They are loud enough that I check for a minute if the dead have been roused. (Thank god I didn't try to make that joke out loud. There are necromancers here and we are in the family crypt of the mayfires). It is an aggressive beat, which causes my head to pound. It is profoundly uncomfortable.

  Well, I will be ready for whatever they throw at me. As I am making my way to the main tunnel, I see that a group of ten soldiers are already assembled there. Looks like Alfred Mayfire is a very efficient man.

  I gesture to the soldiers to follow me as I finally enter into the tunnel and feel my mana able to manifest again. Even as I get out, strings of mana have begun to spread from my hands, as I link up to the formations here. If this is going to end up in a fight, I want to have a chance of survival at least. I see the enemy as we walk to the middle of the tunnel.

  Entering into the tunnels like this is going to be pretty risky, but what else can I do? This is the only way that the warrior will be stepping into the main tunnel as well. That will be enough to get the man within range of my little trap. Granted, I am also within that range, but I am sure that I will figure out some way to retreat before setting it off.

  I finally get a look at my enemy. It is a bunch of bandits, along with a bulky man. The blood mana that he is emitting tells me that the man is a vampire. I can't bring myself to believe it though. The man looks more like a berserker than a vampire. I can see why the man got the name of warrior. He would not pass off as anything else.

  "Well, to think that I would meet one of the legion here.", the warrior speaks. "That too one of the sentinels."

  "I wonder what gave it away.", he replies.

  "Do you think that we wouldn't know about you and that sword of yours.", he speaks. "The bastard of the legion who managed to make use of our abilities without becoming one of the kin."

  "You and your people did not know until I entered in here. I must say that the ability of the court has fallen.", I reply, in my most arrogant voice. "to think that it would take you so long to figure that out. I killed two of your fellows already."

  "Well, shall we return to the topic then.", he speaks. "We can play this game later. I wonder why the black mountain is interfering here."

  "Why should we not? It is our territory.", I reply.

  "True and yet it was a formation of the black mountain that brought us here.", he replies.

  "Well, you certainly spin quite a story. Why would the black mountain summon you into the territory of our allies.", I reply.

  I don't even need to glance back to tell that this speech is not meant to unnerve me. I don't even need to turn to feel the seeds of doubt being planted into their heads.

  "You will have to ask your masters about that, bastards", he replies. "We are only the mercenaries in this case."

  "Well, let's come to the point. You have marched on our territory. You have the first word. Speak why you have come here.", I speak, my anger getting the better of me. (That is the second step of a vampire negotiation, the bargaining. Where the two parties make their deal with each other.)

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  "You know our traditions well, bastard.", he replies.

  "Well, the servants that you keep sending into our territory have learned the traditions of the court well. We learn quite a bit while killing them.", I reply. I wonder what the hidden barb in his words is. I assume he thought it would insult me somehow. "will you speak or shall we spend the day here, throwing empty insults at each other."

  "Well, then I shall get to the point.", he speaks. "We know that the fire altar is empty of anybody worth fighting. That all your adults have gone to commit suicide. Give up now and we shall ensure your safety. Resist us though and we will kill you without mercy."

  "I know the status that we humans have in the court.", I speak. "Your mercy to us means that we won't be seeing the blade that shall kill us. I don't understand why you bother to pretend, vampire."

  "Well, since you want to be so direct. Let me be direct as well.", he replies. "We need to go and reinforce the necromancers. You are not a distraction that we can afford. If you give up, I can guarantee that you shall be protected."

  "That still doesn't change my point.", I reply. "It doesn't matter of we are protected if we become your blood bags."

  "How about this? Shall I make that transformation of yours permanent.", he speaks. "A single bite and you shall feel the strength that will make that blade of yours feel like nothing. We rarely make such an offer to someone outside the court. Then you can ensure the safety of your people. We don't mess with the blood bags of other vampires."

  "I have seen the state of the people that you convert, vampire.", I reply an edge of rage in my voice. "You cannot create allies, only servants."

  The warrior's posture has changed. He has not moved yet but he will move soon enough. Well, I can't activate the trap now. I would be caught in the trap myself if I were to do it now.

  "Fine then let us depart on peaceful terms. The next time we shall meet will be on the battlefield.", he replies. "Before the peace is broken, I have to ask you something. Which of the elders taught you to make that sword."

  "I don't understand.", I reply, my back suddenly slick with sweat. There is something wrong here.

  "To create a sword like yours you would need somebody to teach you to activate the bloodline of a vampire. A mere grunt would not have been able to show you something like this.", he speaks. "Which of the elders is allied with the black mountain, I wonder."

  As he speaks, I am left wondering why he would be interested in such a thing. I don't reply to the man as I look at the bandits behind him. There is an odd gleam of excitement in their faces as if they have won something. Just what the fuck is the warrior's angle.

  I then do something stupid. I turn to look at the people behind me. I can't explain why I did it. Doing such a thing left me vulnerable to an attack from the man in front of me. Still, I did it.

  Yet as I look into the eyes of my soldiers, I realize what the fucker was doing here. He was trying to undermine my authority. I already see the seeds of distrust growing among the soldiers. Talking to this vampire has certainly caused a split among us.

  I could explain myself logically about how the black mountain has no link to the vampires. Still, that would do nothing. A man in fear is not capable of using his head. Still, as I think about it I realize there is a way of countering this. That would insult the mana enough that he might even attack me.

  "Why are you not speaking, bastard.", the man speaks. "I can leave now if this is not something that you wish to speak about."

  "Oh no, I was wondering if I should answer you.", I reply. "after all your fragile hearts might not be able to handle it."

  That gets the man to become attentive. If I don't want to be seen as a vampire, he doesn't want to be seen as weak.

  "It is not a pleasant story for you vampires.", I reply, not letting the man speak. "The story begins in a little town quite close to the soldar plains."

  As I speak I see the confusion on the warrior's face.

  "There was a man there that found the spear of a vampire noble in his farm. He did not know that. He thought it was a blessing from the gods. He kept that spear in his room, right next to him. One day the spear spoke to the man.

  "Bring me a body and I shall make you a lord," the voice claimed.

  "Why should I, the people of this town already respect me and love me more than a lord.", he claimed.

  "Being me a body and I shall make you wealthier than a king.", the voice spoke.

  "We live among bandits. If you have that much then they will come and take everything away." The man replies.

  "Then I shall make you irresistible to all," the voice claimed. "Women shall fall in love with you, like a moth to the flame".

  "Why should I", the man replied. "I have a sweetheart who loves me more than any of these ladies."

  "Then I shall make you eternally young. Time shall not touch you.", the voice claimed.

  This time the man did not reply." "

  "We know the story human, it was his bone that you used to make that sword of yours.", the giant speaks, pointing to my sword. "you killed him because he offered his master the blood tribute. You failed to stop his blood sacrifice and his master descended on that town. Sharon mentions that story to everybody in the court."

  "Oh yes, we were too late. He had driven a spike through the heart of every person in his village. His sweetheart, he used as a vessel to call upon his master", I keep speaking. "it took a leader of the sentinels to bring the vampire under control."

  "I don't see the point of this story, human.", the giant speaks, suddenly uncomfortable.

  "Well, I am getting to the point, vampire. The only two people in that town left were the vampire and its newly created grunt.", I speak. "The grunt we killed on the spot. To the vampire that caused all this pain, we decided a simple beheading would not be enough. We bound her to the very town she destroyed. Now I understand that her name was Sharon."

  "Enough, human.", he threatens me.

  "You asked me how I managed to create this sword of mine. I am answering you. I studied the mana flowing through this vampire, as she starved in that town. Yeah, I made that story to taunt her. She raged against my taunts and kept trying to attack me. I figured out how she activated her bloodline. I recorded it to create my sword.", I speak. "I was the person to see her die. As she was dying she told me that she was a countess. She promised me a spot in court, immortality and so much more. Yet, I refused as she kept trying to drink the blood of the very people killed to summon her. I know how pathetic your kind truly are, so no I don't want to be a vamp......"

  I jump back as the giant jumps at me ready to strike me.