Chapter 7 - Her Tempting Offer

"Thank you for helping us," the village head bowed deeply to Raphael.

One by one they bowed to him. I feel a little annoyed because the Raven team was also fighting until our captain lost his arm! There were two Shadows, and we killed one. It seemed unfair that it was the elite knights who got all the credit.

They were too strong, so their effort wasn't too big. Unlike us, the Raven team members from the Scout unit, who mostly met Shadows for the first time. Our success should be judged more. But I knew it would be shameless if we protested. The villagers weren't completely wrong either. It was only natural for them to respect someone of the highest rank.

The emblem of Florentia's elite knighthood was affixed to the uniforms of Raphael and his subordinates. They were the Jaguar team, who worked directly under General Bartolomeo. Their battalion was famous for its victories in the North which succeeded in liberating three states from Avalon's rule.

At the moment, Florentia and Avalon were quite evenly matched. Vampires rule one continent. Florentia ruled twelve states, while Avalon now ruled in sixteen states. The victory of Raphael and his troops at that time was very significant for the power of Florentia. As a result, the Avalons no longer held back from killing the Florentias. They released more Shadows and forced the humans who were reluctant to serve Avalon to surrender.

Avalon and Florentia were factions of Vampires who shared the goal of achieving the absolute welfare of the vampire nation. It's just that our ways were different. Avalon thinks that humans are lower class citizens who live solely to be food for the vampires. They were willing to allow humans to live and reproduce in their country but they took a lot of casualties.

Avalon's drink human blood directly with their fangs and were reluctant to touch animal blood. The number of humans was so large that they thought it wasn't a problem. They enforced a deadly lottery system for the humans to determine who would become their food.

Avalon, has one main leader. He was King Dimitri Avalon, a pureblood who had a direct bloodline from the world's first vampire family. Only the Avalon faction was led by a king. While Florentia did not have a king.

Florentia was a group of state leaders ruled by Dukes. Like Duke Dubois, my father who led Lapella State. They unite to oppose the leadership of king Avalon. We took the name Florentia from the name of the Goddess of peace. As a symbol of our goodwill towards humans.

Vampires were indeed very strong, but there were not too many of us. Humans were weak but they were very numerous. We knew that if they joined forces together against us— the vampires could become extinct. After all, their constant resistance will also make it difficult for us.

If the vampires fought too hard—humans could be wiped out. We vampires couldn't live without human blood either. Even though we could drink animal blood—we still had to occasionally drink their blood. .

Drinking the blood of fellow vampires was also usually only done by couples, which immediately reminded me of my previous life.

I guess I was too confident asking Raphael to drink my blood.

Gosh, that's so embarrassing.

Usually pure-blood vampires drink each other's blood to give them strength. Just a few sips were enough to restore our strength. But we never felt it would quench our thirst. Only human blood could do that.

Drinking the blood of fellow vampires was a form of high trust and loyalty. When Raphael drank my blood, he no longer allowed himself to drink the blood of other female vampires. I think Raphael was very kind at that time. He was willing to give me a pleasant death. Even though he just found out that I'm a girl. And we weren't that close before either. I didn't expect a commander who I thought was arrogant would do that for a lowly soldier like me.

Did Raphael manage to kill King Dimitri at that time? He was one of the strongest vampires protected by pure-blooded generals who only drank human blood. It would not be easy for Raphael, who was alone at that time. I didn't think much of it then and now feel a little guilty about it.

I glanced at the commander, who was now talking to the villagers to prepare donors for the knights. When he spoke, I thought his voice sounded nice to my ears. I didn't pay much attention before. Because I'm used to seeing handsome and beautiful faces around me. Maybe because I remember that he used to be willing to drink my blood, so I noticed many other things about him.

I thought it would be nice if I could taste his blood once in a while.

I was silent for a moment. What am I thinking?! That was an inappropriate thought! Indeed we might get engaged in the future. But he could refuse, and so was I. God, I never cared about all that engagement bullshit. Now I'm considering it??

What else could I do? I still clearly remember the moments of my death. I remember when his enchanting fangs stabbed into my neck. It didn't hurt, he did it gently. I remember the sensation of satisfaction and ecstasy that took over my body at that time. I didn't know about the other vampires but he—did it too well.

So good that I even thought about doing it again. Next time, I was not willing to let him drain my blood completely.

Wait, do I wish I could do it again with Raphael?

I slapped my cheek once, trying to bring myself back to my goal.

"Is there a problem, soldier?" Raphael rebukes me, to which I respond with an awkward smile.

"Sorry sir, I was just a little out of focus," I said respectfully.

"Good job, soldier. They said you led them well earlier. Shadows are not easily defeated creatures..have you faced them before?" Raphael asked me.

"No sir! But I ask a lot of questions about them, so that I can anticipate their attacks," I answered.

"Impressive, and they said it's only your first week moving out of the logistics unit? What's your name, soldier?"

"Valor Dubois, sir," I said again.

"I didn't know that Duke Dubois sent his son, as far as I know they only have one son,"

"I'm a distant relative, sir, his nephew," I added quickly.

There was a hint of doubt on his face but he quickly turned to talking about something else.

"Nearly half the Raven team should stay here to recuperate, especially your captains. But I still have to continue my mission to Tavern city. I'll have to leave some of my men here until headquarters sends new knights to guard this village," he informed.

My eyes widened. Tavern City he said? I remember today. This was the second week of the eleventh month, this year was an important time for Raphael. He would become a war hero for his great contribution to capturing the three states. This means it will happen soon.

If I want to get promoted quickly. I have to make sure to join them.

"Sir! Take me with you!" I said firmly.

"What? Sir Valor, you're still a freshman, and aren't you needed here?" Raphael looked reluctant.

"No sir, you will need me there more,"

"How do you convince me, soldier?"

"I know where to find a Avalon commander named Lord Rutherford. He's not far from here.. If I can prove it, promise to take me to the Tavern sir," I made an offer he could barely refuse.