A red bat flew around the outskirts of the city until it spotted a castle in the distance. As soon as it approached, it descended toward the ground and landed on Enrico's shoulder, who was calmly walking toward the building.
"Good job, Lunaris."
"Kiii."
Judging by the sound it made, it seemed to be hungry. Enrico simply opened the vial and put some blood into its mouth. The small creature immediately seemed satisfied. As he put the container away, he realized that only two vials remained now, as he had used another one along the way to dominate a few more vampires. It was not a problem, since he intended to use that blood only two more times.
"Sir Sylas, we've arrived."
Valen was walking ahead, but stopped as soon as he saw Solin's castle. Verlate and Nyxaria were on both sides of Enrico, remaining alert as they protected him. During the journey, Valen had already revealed that he was on the side of the rebellion.
"So, Nyxaria, are you sure you're going to continue following me even though you're on the side of those who want to kill your former master?"
"...You have complete control over me thanks to this blood. But don't misunderstand. I'm following the owner of this blood, not you. If I beg, perhaps he will allow my former master to remain alive."
"Tsk... From what Verlate says, your master mistreats you quite a lot."
Nyxaria shot an irritated look at Verlate, who immediately turned his face to the other side and began whistling, pretending he had not heard anything. Still irritated, she remembered how her life had been saved by that man, even if it had happened merely on a whim.
"I simply want to repay the favor for being saved... But I promise that, after doing this, I will follow my new master with absolute loyalty."
Valen gave her an unpleasant look upon hearing those words.
"What an idiot."
"Young Master Valen, don't speak to me like that."
"So you are Sylas?"
Upon hearing a voice behind them, everyone turned around. Two people approached. One of them was Solin, while the other was Eldric Roderic, the leader of the rebellion. Eldric was an Eighth Circle capable of fighting one of the councilors in a good battle.
"Yes, that's me. I came to offer you help on behalf of my master, Belthar."
"Belthar? It's impossible that he is alive."
"No, it isn't impossible. After all, I follow him."
After gathering around a table, Enrico told the story of Belthar again. Most of the account was the same as what he had told the councilors, but there was one important difference: this time, Belthar would be on the side of the rebellion in that war.
"He did all of this because he believed that his race would leave all the others behind. But after awakening from his long sleep, he realized that everything he had done had been in vain, while his own race continued sinking deeper and deeper."
"In a way, it makes sense that he feels that way. But why doesn't he do everything himself?"
"He is very weak at the moment. That's why he came up with a plan that I will explain now."
The plan was simple. As soon as the blood hunters returned, the councilors would immediately set out in search of Zerathis's corpse. That would be the moment when the rebellion would begin its attack.
To prevent the councilors from reaching the body quickly and, at the same time, reduce their forces, Solin and Eldric should wait for the right moment and attack the vampires who became tired. In this way, they could gradually reduce the number of enemies before facing the main members of the council.
"Draven will certainly also be at that location. Therefore, it would be better to send Sir Solin."
"That's a good plan. And all this calmness you show... Are you sure you're only fifteen years old?"
"I'm turning sixteen this year."
"Then you're still fifteen."
Enrico placed a map on the table and began pointing at several locations. During the planning, he had asked the vampires of the rebellion to describe the different regions and the points they considered most vulnerable. That plan probably would not work in the same way in the original human world, but Reverse Sanos was different. There were few vampires and they were scattered across the five territories, which made their defenses much easier to exploit.
"These locations are the weakest points, where surveillance is lower. If you follow the plan perfectly, I can guarantee that we will take power in just one day."
Furthermore, there was another important factor: the vampires occupying those locations would be exhausted during the times of the attacks because they would have to fight against blood creatures that would be sent to those locations before the rebels. This could reduce the casualties among the rebellion's members even further.
Their original plan was not bad. They intended to attack the councilors first, cutting off the organization's head and leaving the other vampires without leadership. However, Enrico had devised a strategy that could reduce the risks even further.
"Reverse Sanos will be a good place for me and my subordinates to invade. So you can leave this territory to us and worry only about the other four."
Eldric watched the map attentively. The more he analyzed the plan, the more perfect it seemed. Enrico had also marked other vulnerable points that could be used if something went wrong during the first attack. To Eldric, there were few flaws that still needed to be corrected.
"Young Sylas, I would like to talk about the part of the plan where only Sir Solin and I will be sent."
"Of course. Go ahead."
"Why only the two of us? It is practically certain that almost the entire council will be at that location. How can you be so confident that we will be able to win?"
Enrico remembered something. He reached inside his coat and took out two vials of blood. Ysabella, who was beside him, immediately became excited and tried to take them.
"It's not for you."
"Whaaaat?"
She sat back down, snorting in irritation. For Ysabella, it had already been far too long since she had first drunk that blood, and she was beginning to feel that hunger again.
"With these vials, you will be able to evolve. But I would like you to use the blood only at the most important moment, to catch them by surprise. Draven's unique ability allows him to sense when someone possesses a level higher than his."
"Will this make both of us evolve?"
"Yes, Father. This is the blood I told you about."
Solin became curious and even considered opening the vial immediately, but decided to follow Sylas's recommendation and save it for the right moment. Eldric had the same thought and also preferred to wait.
"Besides, you will face tired enemies, because their opponents are as monstrous as the councilors themselves."
"Are they really that strong?"
"Yes. There are some Eighth Circles hidden from the eyes of the continent among the ranks of their mages."
The two began admiring even more whoever had devised that plan. Little by little, they began to think that perhaps Belthar really was responsible for all of that, since Sylas claimed to be his servant.
"Your master made an incredible plan."
"Of course he did. He's not one of the first vampires just to look cool."
With that confirmation, the two sighed in relief. To them, it would be humiliating to discover that they had been surpassed by a fifteen-year-old child in planning and strategy, even if the boy was much more intelligent than he appeared.
Solin stood up and looked at the table. At that moment, only five people were there, and all of them were considered trustworthy: Sylas, Corvina, Ysabella, Eldric, and Solin himself.
"Well, that's everything. We'll begin the attack when they leave. Until then, prepare yourselves."