Raymond was a civilian folk on the border between Norland Empire and the Orc Empire, but unlike the others, he owned a piece of land under his own name.
While it was not much, it was enough for him to support his family.
But bad news always came without warning.
The orcish incursion this year came too early, and long before the village was ready, those filthy creatures had already entered the village.
Fear, despair.
There were no words to describe Raymond’s feeling the moment he saw the orcs.
While he managed to escape in time to save his life, but he lost everything. His wealth, his food all no longer belonged to him.
Raymond was forced to flee together with his fellow villagers, and their final goal was Grimm, that large city with a history of thousands of years.
Legend had it that there were nobles in Grimm that would give out bread and food during winter, and across the entire southern border, only Grimm gave him a sliver of hope.
Sadly, they could only cover the long distance on foot, and it took a very, very long time.
For ten whole days, Raymond met several waves of fleeing refugees from the border villages, and it was human nature for them to group together to keep each other warm, and Raymond graciously accepted them.
That way, more and more people gathered around him, but at the same time, they had less and less food on them.
Grimm seemed to be a destination too far, and many did not know how long they could hold on, and if they could survive until then.
Despair started to cast a pall upon the group, and Raymond, who was chosen by the refugee group as a temporary leader too started to waver.
At that very moment, giant bats that looked like demons appeared.
No one could forget the giant bats with their massive wings and menacing fangs that appeared when dusk fell, and the sun was beyond the mountains.
Goddess above, perhaps everyone was filled with terror that that very moment.
If there was such thing as a doomsday, then this scene was the extreme case they could think of.
When a vampire with bat wings floated in the air, Raymond even had a foreboding that slaughter and death would soon come.
If there was a list of creatures that humans feared and hated the most, then the notorious vampires would definitely be ranked in the top three.
These legendary demons that feasted on human blood had all of the factors that humans feared.
They were mysterious, bloody, cruel, bloodthirsty, and powerful.
Men protected their wives, while women protected their children as everyone trembled and awaited the judgment of fate.
Then, a scene that surprised Raymond unfolded.
The vampire actually called himself a Vampire of the Divine Light and was a race of vampires that were different from the evil bloodsuckers, and that they would not harm humans.
They were also going to take them to a city without war or monsters, or nobles that would trample upon and exploit them.
Goddess above, if not for the fact he had pinched himself hard and felt pain, he would have thought that he was dreaming.
Since when did the evil vampires in the legends change?
Anxiety, unease, fear of the unknown, and concerns about the vampires, all sorts of negative emotions permeated across the crowd.
But no one could object.
No one.
The huge swarm of bats that covered the heavens were still flying about, and Raymond swore their wingspans were ten rhents wide. On top of that, their razor-sharp barbs could easily pierce through a soldier’s armor.
Over a hundred vampires were still monitoring them with their wings open, and they were powerful enough to easily slaughter all of them.
Raymond chose to surrender. He had no choice. He was only a Level 4 fighter, and this was the result of his cousin who had been a mercenary constantly training him.
No one could fight against such a powerful group of demons.
Just like that, Raymond and the rest then embarked on an unknown journey on the backs of bats taller than a house.
Once Raymond arrived at Dawnbreak, there was still fear in his heart.
He even imagined what sort of fate they would suffer in the vampire’s lair. Perhaps they would be held in a dungeon that saw no sun, and every day someone would be taken away by the vampires as their food. They would be corralled and then die one by one.
Just like how it was in the legends.
But an unexpected scene played out before Raymond.
The vampire’s lair turned out to be a vast city!!
Goddess above, it was not a dark underground dungeon??
After Raymond got a clear look at the surprise beneath the bat, he fell into a deeper shock.
There was a brightly lit square in the middle of the city.
However, that was not the point. There were many humans on the square. Yes, humans. Humans in a city ruled by vampires!!
What shocked Raymond the most was that these humans seemed to have a good relationship with the vampires. After he got off the giant bat, he saw a human chatting happily with a vampire with his own eyes.
That vampire did not seem to mind it, and on the contrary, was chatting back even more enthusiastically.
What the hell?!
Had he arrived in the abyss? Why would such a bizarre scene occur?
Were these humans not afraid of those blood-sucking demons? How did they get the courage to talk to the vampires, and how did they dare to get so close to these evil beings?
Doubts and confusion flooded not only Raymond’s mind but also everyone around him.
This scene was just too shocking, and no one would have thought that so many normal humans would appear in a hellish vampiric castle.
And all of the humans were completely free, with no shackles, scars, or fear.
This scene that subverted all common knowledge had the refugees that had just arrived at Dawnbreak deeply puzzled, but it also quietly dispelled a large part of their fears.
When Porcy saw the nervous newcomers, he smiled as he felt an inexplicable sense of pride in his heart.
These yokels, you probably had not seen such a scene before right!
Porcy, who had come to the city a few days earlier than this group had a sense of old-timer’s superiority in him, and he wanted to yell at these guys this very moment.
Look at you panicking folk, look! What is there to worry about, isn’t this just the castle of the Vampires of the Divine Light?
Yet, as a member of the security team, his responsibility today was to receive these newcomers. He could not help but feel a little regretful that he was not in charge of yelling at them.
“Don’t panic. This is the city of Dawnbreak. The Vampires of the Divine Light are the protectors of humans, and they will not harm us. See? We are the security team of Dawnbreak, and we are all humans. We have not been harmed so please rest assured.”
“First, everyone, queue up to register their identities first. Once done, everyone can receive a bowl of wheat porridge and a piece of bread. Remember, Dawnbreak does not allow cutting queues, and if someone were to cut queues and disrupt order, they will forfeit their meal rations for the day. Please follow the order. You will only get food once you have registered.”
Amidst the loud shouts of the security team members, the panicked crowd slowly quieted down. Their fears had dissipated a lot followed the emergence of other humans, and the frankness of their appearance.
After being prompted by the security team, many people only then noticed that there were a few large pots had been set up by the edge of the wide square, and the table next to eat was full of white bread.
It was obviously food specially prepared for this occasion.
Goddess above, are these really food for them? After a day of travel, the exhausted crowd suddenly felt hungry.
“This, is this really a vampire’s castle? Why do I feel that we won’t be getting this sort of treatment even in Grimm?”
“Goddess above, am I dreaming? Why are there so many humans in the vampire’s lair? Is this really the castle of the Divine Light Vampires, and not an evil vampire’s lair?
“So much bread. And they are white bread. Amazing, this is really unthinkable.”
Even Raymond was stunned by this scene.
At this moment, as he looked at the security team around him maintaining order, and the vampires by the side, there was a deep puzzlement in his eyes.
Were vampires no longer evil but Vampires of the Divine Light that protected humans?
What was going on in this world?