Chapter 18:

At noon, the caravan that had already departed from Morland Village towards the Foul Swamp was dead silent.

The thirty-odd Midnight Hunters summoned by Lady Femis had fallen into a blissful slumber in the luxurious coffins inside the ten carriages.

For these orthodox vampires, it was absolutely forbidden to go out under such damned sunshine.

The sunlight would burn their overly “delicate” skin. Although resistance to sunlight would increase with growing strength, the aversion to light was a tradition, and the more noble the bloodline, the stronger this aversion.

This formed a strange scene.

In the entire caravan, only the Blood Servants driving were active. The elite forces of the vampires were being led by a group of humans, even mixed with an outcast lurking in the last carriage, earnestly studying a handbook.

Murphy’s stubborn human habits allowed him to be energetic during the day, giving him the perfect opportunity to openly summon players for a meeting without his vampire peers noticing.

“Stop the carriages, eat and rest. We’ll depart again in an hour.”

The Blood Servant driving the carriage at the very front, a woman in an elegant maid’s uniform holding a black parasol with a cold expression but quite attractive figure, gave orders to the carriage drivers. The entire caravan stopped in the wilderness.

This intimidating lady was named Adele, addressed as Lady Adele by the Blood Servants.

It was said she was Lady Femis’ only personal Blood Servant and most trusted human “friend”, currently in charge of the caravan’s logistics.

Miriam and Maxim were sent by Murphy to eat from the large pot, while he slipped away under a hood to summon the players in a nearby forest.

Unfortunately, as Murphy was still a novice, the dark spirit energy within him was insufficient to summon all the small players at once, so he had to summon them in two batches.

The small players obediently gathered around Murphy. Having heard about the “hidden favor” in the game group, their gazes towards this main quest NPC were now even more eager.

Being stared at “affectionately” by a group of men made Murphy quite uncomfortable.

Damn!

These guys are too realistic, aren’t they?

“Ahem, before our formal talk, I must fulfill my promise.”

Murphy maintained the elegant demeanor of a vampire noble. Under the players’ watchful eyes, he took out a folded crimson cloak from his spiritual bag and personally draped it over the shoulders of the “high favor” Precipitation Niuniu. He fastened it at the neck with an exquisite clasp.

The luxurious cloak was of excellent quality. Wrapped around Niuniu’s large frame with the upright embroidered golden collar, he gained a fantasy villain vibe after putting it on, instantly becoming the most dashing in the group. Murphy also had a crimson Midnight Hunter mask in his hands.

Made of metal in the same aesthetic style as the cloak, it could be fixed to the upright collar to protect the throat. It should have been a very cool accessory, but Niuniu was just a novice player wearing only “newbie underwear”, completely out of place.

To describe it plainly, it was like a penniless hip-hop brother robbing an evening gown. This luxurious cloak of midnight noble style looked like black bear spirit stealing a monk’s robe on him, the perfect embodiment of the phrase “like a monkey wearing a crown.”

Beside him, Spicy Gugu Chicken’s eyes were wide open. He exclaimed in shock:

“Holy shit, that’s clearly a VIP+8 premium costume at least! Are they finally adding a cash shop to the game?”

Murphy glanced at him and replied with the solemnity an NPC should have:

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, warrior. I’ll take it as praise from another realm.

This cloak is a reward I got for you all from the cunning and cold Lady Femis. Although it’s just decorative, having it means you are officially under the Blood Vulture Clan’s protection.

Each of you has one!

Even those warriors who haven’t recovered yet.

But since you don’t have your own spiritual bags yet, I’ll keep them for you first.”

These words made Meow King blink his eyes. He whispered to a few little players beside him:

“So this is a ‘costume’? And it looks like the ‘closed beta reward’ the admin mentioned before?”

“Definitely.”

Ah Yuenu was quite jealous when he saw Niuniu waving his cloak proudly. He stared at the low-key elder armor on Murphy and said excitedly:

“I reckon this might be part of a set. We’ll probably get the full thing after finishing the initial test phase.”

“But the stats on this beginner gear are probably average,” Electronic Succubus Old Tune said quietly beside Meow King.

Those bastards’ clan is called ‘Wolfsbane’.

They are the most vile, violent and unruly bunch in the entire vampire society. They can’t soar through the skies like the Blood Vultures, but they excel at close combat and can summon star wolves to aid them in battle.

I’ve heard their Patriarch, Edward, has a secret pact with General Loren, the Goldflower Kingdom’s frontline commander. The Wolfsbane Clan serves as his best scouts and assassins.

So I have good reason to believe we may encounter those Wolfsbane brutes.”

Murphy paused, looking around at the small players with a serious tone:

“So we cannot overpower them, only outwit them!

I must reaffirm to you, my warriors. Although your spirit essence in this world will not truly die, I will not treat you as expendable cannon fodder either.

I will not jeopardize all our futures for the selfish interests of the Blood Vulture Clan alone.

They are not worth it!

I have witnessed your courage and strength. Now, I need your wisdom, put your heads together and find us a strategy to minimize losses.

Are there any career soldiers or experienced commanders among you?”

“None, sir.”

Meow King said with an exaggerated bow, clearly trying to raise his favor. He stepped forward and whispered mysteriously to Murphy:

“But I have professional friends back home with some military knowledge. Perhaps I can consult them for tactics.”

“We have some too.”

Pigeon and Ah Yuen said, coming forward and said:

“Some of our classmates went to military academies. We can ask them, sir. Leave this to us, we’ll definitely have a suitable strategy before the operation begins.”

“Excellent!”

Murphy said with satisfaction, nodding.

He did have his own plan, but since this was a game, he wanted to cater to the player experience. With two more days until reaching the Foul Swamp, he decided to let the small players take the lead.

He could participate in real-time under another identity on the forum as they proposed and executed their strategy.

This way, as long as they won, his difficult Newbie Guide Quest Phase 5 would be completed smoothly.

“You may prepare then, my warriors.”

Murphy said with a sweeping gesture and said:

“I have secured the best armor and weapons for you. Leave the logistics to me. Show me the flames of your wisdom! In the name of the Grand Plan, we must overcome this challenge!”

“For the Grand Plan!”

The ten small players cheered in unison, waving. After reconfirming the time with Murphy, they disappeared from his sight as the summon dissipated.

Murphy bent down to retrieve Niuniu’s dropped crimson cloak, humming a tune as he strolled back to his carriage. But midway, he suddenly stopped.

Murphy felt like he was being watched, but saw no one around after looking left and right. Recalling when the feeling appeared, and confirming the observer likely hadn’t seen the players manifest and vanish, he hurried back to the carriage.

This was a caravan of vampires and Blood Servants, it would be weird if Lady Femis didn’t have spies around.

For these fellow clansmen, Murphy was always 200% vigilant.

After Murphy returned to the carriage, the cold-faced but voluptuous Lady Adele silently emerged from the shadows near where he had met the players.

This mature human tracker scanned the area professionally, but the crafty Murphy had used spirit blasts to wipe away all traces before leaving. Even an expert would find nothing useful.

Frowning, Lady Adele decided to record this discovery in her notebook to report to Lady Femis that evening.

Murphy, this seemingly ordinary and unthreatening member of the clan might have some issues. Her lady must raise her guard accordingly, though knowing her eccentric personality, she would likely not care much.