Child of Destiny

...

"This is not going to work. We are able to find some traces of battles in different parts of this abandoned village but it keeps on leading us into a dead end," said Arthur with a deep frown as the team gathered once again in one of the rundown houses within the village.

"But if we look closely into it, those traces are also suspicious. It is as if we are being led into those places on purpose," commented Owen as he took a seat on the ground.

Shin nodded his head slightly as he felt the same time. It was also the reason why he kept on marking the locations on his virtual map to see if he could get some extra lead. He was also trying to see if he could draw some sort of pattern or symbol after connecting them.

Unfortunately, all he got was nothing but a bunch of scribbles. Despite how hard he tried to connect them.

"Maybe we are doing things wrong from the start," said Akailu as he was getting tired of going in circles since the time they arrived in this place.

The others also nodded their heads in agreement. They were feeling that there was something wrong with their investigation method, or they might overlook something in the process.

At the very least, their suspicion about their current target was right. Based on what Alucard had investigated so far, he confirmed that they were facing a vampire in this quest. And as additional information, he also discovered that it was just an infected vampire which was good news for them.

"The elemental mana in this place is quite chaotic. Maybe it is due to the instability caused by the dominant ice element within the vicinity," said Alice as a result of her investigation.

She paused for a couple of moments as if she was thinking about something before continuing. "But it was a little different compared to the other places of the Sky Deceiving Valley. It is probably because of the evil aura that is surrounding the village."

"There is a high chance that it is because of the influence that the vampire in this village," said Alucard as he started browsing on his virtual screen, looking for some information that they could use.

While he was doing that, Ithilien suddenly asked. "Then what about the signs of human activities in the area? Are we not going to investigate them?"

"They are some signs of dark magic in them. So, those signs are most likely left behind by our target to lead us to their scheme," said Alice. They naturally checked the places that Ithilien had investigated earlier, so she investigated those places properly to see if they were really a trap to lure them in.

"But we can't still deny that the traces of battle left behind in the scenes are real. So, there is still a possibility that there are some people hiding in the vicinity," refuted Leonard.

"That is also true," said Alice in agreement before turning silent.

In the meantime, Owen immediately added. "But most of them are old marks, so we can't be so sure that it is totally the case. The most recent one is at least a month old based on the traces that are left behind."

Hearing that, Arthur suddenly blurted out. "How many days are we investigating based on in-game time?"

"If we include the time when we first arrive here, then it is most likely a week already," answered Shin before turning silent. A sudden thought entered his mind.

'A month-old battle marks, and a week of discovering nothing,' thought Shin to himself before turning Chaotic Luck and instructed. "Luck, spread your skeleton soldiers in different parts of the village."

"Put out the sacred flames that are surrounding their bodies and let them act as some remains of dead people," he added urgently.

The others were quite confused at first but they immediately understand what he was thinking after hearing his next words. "There is a chance that there are some people who are still living in this place just based on the clue that we have from the quest that I got from the first village."

"And if my suspicion is right, then they are probably hiding somewhere near here and only coming out to get some supply of food or something like that."

Arthur quickly nodded his head and quickly added. "Then, based on the timing of things, it is about time for them to go out from their hiding place."

"Don't tell me, they are hiding inside a cave or an underground settlement just like those legends in some novels and movies," commented Owen.

Shin didn't deny the idea and quickly said. "That can also be the case."

He then turned to the others and quickly instructed. "Get ready for now. If our suspicion is right, then a fight is most likely going to break out between the NPCs and the Vampire sooner or later."

"Are we going to immediately help them or observe the situation first before making our move?" asked Cloe even though she already had an idea which was the answer that he was going to pick.

'Is she not upset anymore?' Shin knitted his eyebrows a little when he heard her and quickly answer. "We are obviously going to observe first to get a rough idea of what is going on. We can't just jump in the fight without knowing what is happening in this place."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "We are not going to make our move unless it is absolutely necessary. Wait for my signal before you take action. I am planning to make a scenario that is advantageable for us."

Boom!

While he explained what they needed to do, a loud explosion suddenly occurred on the eastern side of the village.

"Looks like it finally started," muttered Shin before turning his head to Chaotic Luck. "Share what you are seeing through your 'Shared Vision'!"

Hearing that, the Solaris Lich immediately opened a virtual screen that was projecting what he was currently seeing through his skill. Then Shin and the other immediately saw a group of people fighting a monster with a humanoid.

The battle was taking place at a distance a little far away from the skeleton soldier that spying for the group. But based on the silhouette of those people, Shin and the others could tell what was going on and how the fight was progressing.

"We are going. But to avoid being noticed, we are to divide ourselves into small groups," said Shin as he swept his gaze to the others before assigning their roles in quick succession.

"Chaotic Luck will stay here while giving us a constant update on what is going on. But don't just focus on the battle and keep an eye on the other parts of the village."

"Alice, Owen, and Cloe will be staying behind to protect him and be on guard for unexpected things that may arise later. Also, keep an eye on that old."

"Archimedes and Leo, you go together. Daulla team up with Arthur. Alucard and Akailu, the two of you will be pairing up. Ithilien, you will be coming with me."

"We are going in a different direction and move as sneaky as possible," he added before taking a quick glance at Cloe who was clearing showing her displeasure with the arrangement that he made.

He released a helpless sigh before explaining a little. "We are going to focus on his speed this time, so we are going with the fastest members of our group. If you guys don't have any questions, then let's get moving now."

...…

Boom! Boom!

Bang!

"Village Chief, the ground is going to collapse if this continues. We need to lure him away from the village before the villagers hiding underground get buried," said a man with a hunter's clothes that are made of animal leather and furs.

He loaded an arrow on his bow before aiming forward. "What should we do?"

A man with knight armor and a greatsword were currently standing in front of the vampire before answering. "Hold your ground as long as you can, I will think of a way to lure him away."

This knight currently had a solemn look on his face as he was completely aware of their current situation. But it was not because they were currently fighting a vampire nor due to the situation that the hunter had said earlier. Instead, it was because of the identity of the vampire that they were currently facing.

From a single look, the vampire looked like a person who lost his mind. Based on his bloodshot eyes and saliva that was drooling out from his mouth, on top of the low growls that he had, that person was no different from the monsters that they encountered in the woods.

This person who turned into an infected vampire was a resident of their village previously. And he suddenly became like this just like the other villagers in a single night.

'D*mn it! If only the church listens to our request during that time, this is not going to happen,' thought the Knight as he fended off another attack from the vampire

Ahh!

Then he suddenly heard a cry coming from behind him. And when he turned his head towards that direction, he saw his subordinates behind the attack by another two vampires that came out of nowhere.

"What is happening? What are these guys hunting together right now? They are supposedly hunting individually!" said the hunter earlier as he saved one of his colleagues.

He then put that person down when they got in a safe distance before shouting at the knight. "Village Chief! This is getting more and more serious!"

"Gather together!" shouted the knight urgently.

The others quickly complied with his words and moved closer with each other with their backs facing one another.

Grr! Grr! Grr!

On the other hand, the three vampires surrounded them from three different locations, entrapping the group.

Seeing their current situation, the knight couldn't help but feel terrible due to the crisis that they were currently facing. 'Is this where we are going to die?'

...

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