Chapter 1429 - 1340: They’ve Caught Up

Chapter 1429: Chapter 1340: They’ve Caught Up

Imperial Calendar, December 10th, 1463—already the second day of the six-day deadline.

The drizzle in Winter Embrace River Valley had finally thinned, yet the leaden cloud layer still pressed down so heavily it smothered the breath, and it was impossible to tell what time it was.

The vampires only occasionally took out their Holy Alliance pocket watches to learn that it was, astonishingly, only five in the morning.

The main force of the Royal Court was advancing rapidly along the dirt road on the eastern side of the valley.

Compared to yesterday’s urgency, the marching column was not slow today, yet far more at ease.

Scarlet battle standards floated above the column; against the gray, hazy sky, they were glaringly vivid.

Serafe’s gilded carriage rolled in the center of the column, its wheels grinding through the muddy road with a dull rumbling.

She lifted a corner of the curtain, her gaze sweeping over the long line of troops behind, then toward the blurred outline deep in the valley, and she relaxed a little.

The blocking action at the Peda River hadn’t managed to completely halt the Holy Alliance, but at least it could delay them for half a day.

Only Lakunio, riding parallel to the carriage, did not look so reassured.

"Lakunio." Serafe’s voice came through the curtain. "The Holy Alliance has to reorganize their formations to pursue; it won’t be that easy."

Lakunio rode a black warhorse close by the carriage side; at her words he bowed and replied, "Your Majesty speaks true, yet I am habitually cautious." ℯℯ𝘭.

Serafe nodded slightly, said no more, and leaned back against the carriage’s soft cushions.

Continuous marching had left her somewhat weary; a trace of fatigue surfaced on her pale features.

She closed her eyes, fingertips lightly tapping the carriage wall as she calculated the subsequent route in her mind.

As long as they advanced smoothly tonight, they would reach the Boos River by early tomorrow morning and make camp.

That was the last natural barrier within Winter Embrace River Valley; the river’s surface was wider than the Peda River, and its current more turbulent.

If they deployed properly, they could delay the Holy Alliance yet again.

Yet as the column pressed on, no matter the lighter mood, even the highborn vampires found their steps growing heavier.

Days of forced marching, coupled with a lack of fresh blood, had many of the physically weaker vampires starting to cough.

But none dared fall out; they could only grit their teeth and stay with the main body.

They had no retreat now; death hemmed them in from every side, and only the road ahead led to life.

At dawn, after marching the whole day and night, the column finally received Serafe’s order to rest.

The moment the order was given, the soldiers immediately dispersed, leaning against packhorses or simply lying on the icy ground, pulling black cloth over their faces and slipping into sleep.

More of them took out rations and blood-bags to replenish their strength, carefully wiping down their weapons and checking the valuables in their pouches.

A vampire army marched opposite to humans: most of the time they slept at eight or nine in the morning, woke around four or five in the afternoon, and then marched.

This was to avoid the fiercest midday sunlight; though today, the weather was fortunately favorable.

Serafe’s carriage halted in the center of an open space; Attendants quickly set up a temporary black tent to shield against the sporadic drizzle.

She went inside, ate a little blood-cake and fruit wine, then settled onto a soft cushion lined with sable pelts to nap.

Outside the tent, the low murmur of soldiers, the neighing of packhorses, and the sound of wind tugging at the canvas intertwined, forming a strangely soporific hum.

Serafe dreamed; she hadn’t dreamed in a very long time.

This time, she dreamed she had carried out her plan and encircled and killed Horn, seized the Anchor, and utterly ruined the Eternal Flame project.

Don’t assume that the power to meddle with causality is absolute; Witches are existences that confuse causality itself.

As for what would become of this world once she was revived—that was no concern of hers. If it was meant to burn, let it burn.

She didn’t know how long had passed when the sudden clatter of urgent hooves shattered the camp’s quiet.

Immediately after came the Attendants’ panicked cry: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Emergency military report!"

The pleasant dream ebbed away; reality surged back. Serafe’s eyes flew open and her fatigue vanished in an instant.

She rose sharply, flung aside the tent flap, and said coldly, "What are you panicking for?"

A mounted Scout swung down from his horse and staggered to the tent.

He dropped to one knee, face slick with sweat and streaked with mud, his breath so ragged he could barely speak: "Your Majesty! The... the Holy Alliance has caught up! They’re less than thirty li from us!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Serafe’s voice leapt in pitch. "They only just crossed the Peda River—how could they have caught up so quickly? You misread it!"

"Your Majesty, it’s true, absolutely true!" the Scout protested urgently. "The banners and cavalry formations—Holy Alliance, all of them—it’s definitely their army!"

Serafe’s brows knotted tight; she turned to look at Lakunio, her eyes asking silently.

"Your Majesty, I’ll go see for myself." Lakunio snatched up the field glass at his side and strode out of the camp.

"I’m going with you." Serafe followed close behind and swung herself into the saddle.

They galloped for a short while, then climbed a low earthen rise. Raising their field glasses, Serafe and Lakunio gazed toward the west.

After a moment, Serafe’s body went slightly rigid, and her expression darkened at once.

"It’s real." She lowered the field glass, teeth clenched. "The vanguard cavalry have already passed the defile. They’ve spotted us. At this speed, their cavalry will reach us in under an hour."

On the western horizon, a smear of bluish-gray figures had indeed appeared, like a long serpent sliding swiftly across the land.

The foremost riders wore Mithril-alloy breastplates, unmistakably Holy Alliance cavalry.

Farther back, dense infantry formations advanced in neat ranks. Though still distant, the irresistible force of their momentum was already plain to see.

"These lunatics..." Serafe cursed under her breath, her face so dark it seemed to drip.

She had never imagined the Holy Alliance would be so reckless with its own strength—crossing the river and launching pursuit without even a moment’s rest.

Were they not afraid of mutiny?

Her original calculations were completely overturned, and the composure in her heart was swallowed by a surge of violent agitation.

"Immediately summon all clan elders and officers to my tent for council!" Serafe turned back at once. "Order the soldiers to cease resting, pack up, and move out at once!"

"Yes!" Lakunio answered and turned to relay the orders.

Urgent horns blared through the camp; soldiers who had been resting sprang to their feet, frantically gathering their belongings.

The previously relaxed encampment became tense in an instant; even the elite soldiers of the clan armies wore expressions of doubt and unease.

Inside Serafe’s tent, the air was so heavy it felt suffocating.

A dozen-odd clan elders and officers sat around a temporary wooden table as the wind whipped the tent flaps, making them snap and rustle.

"You all know by now—the Holy Alliance has caught up." Serafe sat at the head seat, her gaze sweeping the group. "Far faster than we anticipated. Their vanguard battle-group will be upon us in less than three hours; their foremost cavalry may not even need one."

"What? That fast?" Several clan elders paled with shock.

Grupside even cried out, the result simply too hard to believe.

"What were the rear-guard at the Peda River doing, eating grass? How did they fail to delay them longer?"

"It’s those cowardly wastes, that’s what!" another elder chimed in instantly. "Dropped a few hundred corpses and they lost their nerve, ran faster than rabbits—barely served any blocking purpose at all!"

"What good does it do to say that now?" a third elder retorted with a frown. "The key is what we do next! With the Holy Alliance biting this hard, we can’t shake them!"

The tent fell into instant uproar.

The clan elders hurled accusations at each other, cursed the rear-guard’s incompetence, railed at the Holy Alliance’s ferocity, their faces full of anxiety and helplessness.

"Enough!" Serafe slammed the table, her cold gaze sweeping the crowd; the tent went quiet at once. "This is not the time for blame. We need solutions."

The elders lowered their heads one by one, saying nothing more.

Serafe drew a long breath, forcing down her anger, and spoke slowly: "There is only one way to break free of the Holy Alliance’s pursuit—abandon excess plunder and advance light.

All the valuables we’ve taken along the way are to be left for now. Once we link up with Konyaz and bring down the Holy Alliance, there will be more wealth waiting for us to seize."

The moment she finished, the tent went briefly still—and then erupted in protest.

"Your Majesty, that won’t do!"