The only constant sound in that place was the soldiers' cries, never more than one at a time.
None of the three had any success—everything around them had been transformed entirely, from the stones to the undergrowth. Nothing was spared.
Another soldier collapsed to the ground, his last words nothing but curses hurled at the heavens.
The three gathered near General Huo to check on his condition. From his leg, a red line was slowly drawing itself, emanating from a deep cut in his thigh.
The three looked toward the junior generals, but none of them showed any wound or inner struggle—they looked just like the soldiers.
Xue Yanluo observed everything around him, his mind turning over thousands of possibilities to find a way out of the situation.
But his attention always came back to General Huo—he was the only one, apart from them, who was different.
Before they couldn't say it with certainty, but now it was clear—he was the only one fighting for his life.
First he touched him slowly, drawing no reaction from the general. Then he shouted in his ear—nothing. Finally, he tried to move him together with Hua Zhenfeng, but he was anchored to the ground.
The only other special thing in this place is us… Xue Yanluo didn't know what else to do, but his mind kept pointing toward the same solution.
I have to try—an opportunity like this will never come again. He thought as he moved toward the general.
He didn't know how the general would take it, and he didn't care. Once turned, he wouldn't be able to rebel against him either.
Outside, it would never have occurred to him to try to turn a fifth realm man into a vampire—but they weren't outside, they were inside, a place where his fifth realm was suppressed to the peak of the second.
He had considered this when they entered, but those thoughts had vanished after seeing the force the general still carried alongside his spear intent. Now? Weak, defenseless, and giving him the excuse of saving him—there would never be a better moment.
After positioning himself at his back, he exposed the general's neck and, without further preamble, drove his fangs in.
The general's pupils focused, his legs buckled and gave under the weight on his shoulders. His body convulsed and twisted on the ground, but his gaze stayed resolute. Slowly, his body stilled under the absolute control of his mind over it, and his eyes rolled toward Xue Yanluo.
"I see you're very much awake, General Huo." Xue Yanluo was at his side, looking down at him with drops of blood escaping his lips and his fangs still bared.
General Huo closed his eyes without taking them off Xue Yanluo, only his eyelids opposing themselves between him and Xue Yanluo.
In the place that had filled with a biting silence, a faint sound emanated like a ripple, stirring the air and making it resonate with new waves that began sounding shortly after.
The three turned toward the sound—many soldiers had fallen to the ground, not turning into a black mass, just falling.
Their faces were drenched in sweat, and some tried to get back to their feet, only to end up back on the ground after trusting their legs too soon.
The junior generals had reactions that reflected their experience, prioritizing their surroundings and making sure there were no more threats nearby.
"It seems they didn't have very pleasant dreams." Bao Qingcao said with a laugh. She moved toward Division General Pei and told him, "Did you sleep well?"
Division General Pei lifted his head and met the mocking gaze of the woman in front of him. He opened his mouth—he already knew what he wanted to say—but the words were reluctant to come out. He coughed to cover it and closed his mouth.
Bao Qingcao laughed one last time before moving to the next general and repeating the same question. None of them could answer—there they were, on the ground, while she stood.
Time passed, and not a second was wasted as they pulled pills from their emblems and swallowed them to recover. He had tasked Hua Zhenfeng with inventing an excuse to cover General Huo's unusual state and helping the wounded.
The moment he had been waiting for came when one of the junior generals asked Hua Zhenfeng about the number of soldiers who had disappeared.
Hua Zhenfeng's body tensed, and he looked immediately toward Xue Yanluo. He sighed and walked toward the generals.
He stood there for whole minutes, putting together hundreds of words to explain what had happened to the soldiers, but it was so… strange that Xue Yanluo only wanted to close his ears and leave, even if the generals shouted.
"… They're dead," he finally said. "The trap… killed them," he finished, his voice heavy.
"How did they die? And their bodies?" the generals asked.
"The trap killed someone at random every so often… they were just men the heavens didn't love enough." Xue Yanluo lifted his head and looked out at the vastness of the sky.
The generals also looked up at the sky, feeling their throats tighten and a strange feeling fluttering in their heads.
At that moment, the soldiers saw their superiors looking at the sky, and some followed. They didn't understand why, and they didn't need to—it brought them a kind of calm.
Some shed tears that struck the ground moments later, others bit their lower lip, and others struck the ground while staring at a black stain and ash.
They needed no words, no comfort. Each one dealt with it in their own way.
How long passed? Xue Yanluo didn't understand the sky. He wondered why they had turned him into a vampire, what was happening in this wretched world, what would become of his family…
Finally, he turned away from the sky and lowered his gaze. He looked at the soldiers and generals still staring at the ground and moved to General Huo's side.
Minutes passed. General Huo stirred slightly, and his eyelids trembled before opening, revealing beneath them a pair of crimson pupils.
His gaze wandered a couple of times before settling on Xue Yanluo. He sat up on the ground, his eyes still fixed on him. He raised his hand and touched his neck—no wound. Then he ran it along his right arm—nothing there either. For the last wound on his leg, he didn't even bother checking.
"What did you make me?" he asked, opening and closing his fists.