” I’ll be damned if I fall to ants like you ” Maki said as he clutched his sword tightly with both his hands and let Max’s [ Fireblast ] hit him squarely in the chest without trying to dodge the attack.

” You are strong, small vampire, I’ll give you that.

But are you strong enough to block this attack ? “. Maki said as mana erupted from his body, giving Max a feeling of immediate danger.

Max backed off a little, giving respect to his enemy’s conviction as he prepared himself for any attack that might come his way.

” Watch me men! Your chieftain still stands strong “. Maki roared as he unleashed his strongest attack.

[ Camelback breaker ]

Maki plunged his sword straight into the earth and caused the entire ground around him to start vibrating violently.

A mini earthquake was created in the battlefield as many lost their footing to the vibrating earth as Max frighteningly looked towards the Unakku volcano checking if it showed signs of exploding.

Maki had used a very dangerous move, on the base of a very dangerous place and Max felt like a fool for allowing his enemy to complete his attack.

Clutching his sword, Max took one big leap towards Maki, and used [ sword intent ] coupled with [ Overhead Slash ] to claim the barbarians head for once and for all.

-34,000

Maki saw Max charging towards him, however, till the end he never flinched away from the attack and let Max take his head with honour.

In his last act, he had created a chance for his warriors to kill one or two vampire opponents who had lost their footing and although he had other moves in his arsenal using which he could have injured Max in a one vs one fight, he chose to go out using an AOE attack instead.

In an arduous battle that lasted 45 minutes, the 2000 barbarians enroute to the southern fortress were wiped out by Max and crew after suffering a loss of 540 men with 160 more injured.

It was by no means a victory that came with no costs, but it was an important victory nonetheless as Max understood full well the consequences of letting Maki make it to the southern fortress and join the forces there.

Hence, despite the heavy losses on the part of the vampires Max rode back with a satisfied heart knowing that he did what had to be done.

His enemies were undoubtedly a breed of extremely dangerous opponents who fought fiercely even when having lost an arm and a leg, however, they still bled like mortals and could be killed with proper fighting techniques.

Max did not linger one moment longer than necessary at the Unakku valley region as he was sure that the locals would report their escapade to the southern fort troops and that reinforcements would be there within minutes.

Max did not wish for another confrontation now that his troops were tired after half a day’s riding and a big fight, as he preferred to calmly retreat to the northern fort and be happy with the gained lands for the day instead.

Max and his men got a heroic welcome back at the northern fort as Max savagely hung Maki’s head on the forts main door to serve as a reminder to the barbarians that this fort was under the vampires now.

The wounded were tended to, while mourning was observed for the dead.

Max felt a little sad about the lives lost under his command, but he was not overly worried about it either because he knew that expecting to come out of all fights with a 100% survival rate was impossible.

This was war, and lives were lost in war.

His job was to minimise the losses and keep them within acceptable limits and he had managed to do that much.

Anything else was regrettable, but nothing that would make him lose sleep.

Till his friends were okay, Max did not really care about the life of every individual soldier under his command like it was an integral part of his own life.

**********

( Inside the South fort )

” For decades we have not lost a single inch of land to the vampires yet today we see our brother Maki and his clan fall at the hands of the vampires. SHAME “

Mazda the chieftain of the South fort said as he slammed his foot on the floor in anger.

” SHAME on Maki for abandoning his fort, he is a disgusting stain in the name of chieftain, to abandon his sickly subjects and seek asylum with us?

He was not strong enough to be called a barbarian. A snivelling bitch he was ” Mazda said as he downed a huge portion of mead and let the alcohol fuel his rage.

” Captain Ravan, well well well, what an interesting guy.

The first individual to break the deadlock and gain kilometres worth of land for the vampire’s. How interesting.

I’m sure he would be a hero within his kind now ” Mazda said as he chuckled while swirling the mead in his wooden glass.

” How much I wish that the idiot attacks MY fortress next and does it before Erasmus becomes a god and leaves this planet so that I can become his successor instead of the idiots on the backlines.

For all these years I’ve been the one to keep the Barbarian lands safe from the vampires.

I’ve been at the very edge of the Barbarian lands and have served my race well. Yet when the time comes for Erasmus to name a successor I’m only 4th on his potential list of candidates!

Of Course I’m fourth, I’ve never been involved in politics, I’ve never been to social gatherings.

I’ve been deployed at the edge where I ensure the safety of my clan and my race every day, every night!

Hence I say ATTACK ME, ATTACK ME GREAT HERO RAVAN, for only thwarting your attack can bring me merit.

Merit that I desperately need in these critical times “. Mazda said as he bared his innermost feelings.

——–

/// A/N – This bonus chapter is sponsored by patron Allcat_Gaming, please thank him in the comments for this one ///