The rough wood of the post dug painfully into Eevy's back.
Blood dripped slowly from her split lip, pooling warmly on her collarbone in the cool air.
She kept her chin tucked down, refusing to give the monster standing in front of her the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
The Vampire Knight was a towering wall of dark iron and pale muscle, and he grabbed her by the jaw, forcing her bruised face up to meet his glowing red eyes.
"Tell me about the southern gate wards, little mouse," the Knight growled.
His breath smelled of rotting meat and wine.
"How many mages do they keep on rotation during the night shift?"
Eevy coughed, tasting blood on her tongue.
"Go fuck yourselves."
A armored fist backhanded her squarely across the cheek.
Her head snapped sharply to the side, and her ears instantly rang with a high-pitched whine.
'I really messed this up,' Eevy thought, closing her swollen eyes.
'I was supposed to be the best scout in the guild.'
The human capital was completely blind to the danger marching toward their borders.
Her mission was simple. She needed to track the quiet rumours of undead movement, confirm their actual numbers, and report back before the vanguard crossed the Whispering Pass.
She never expected them to set up a logistical hub right on the hidden lake.
She got entirely too greedy trying to count their supply crates, and a shadow-stalker caught her scent in the brush.
Now, she was going to die tied to a post, and the capital would burn to ash because she failed to deliver the warning.
"You humans are always so stubborn," the Knight sighed.
He drew a long dagger from his belt and pressed the cold flat of the blade against her cheek.
"I will carve the skin from your face piece by piece until you sing for me. The vanguard marches in two days, and we need those shield frequencies right now."
'If I just keep my mouth shut, they go in blind,' Eevy told herself, bracing her body for the inevitable pain.
She accepted her death right then and there.
The physical pain was only temporary, but betraying her home and her people was a permanent stain she refused to wear.
Up in the branches of a nearby tree, Kai crouched perfectly still.
He watched the brutal interrogation unfold with a cold stare. He took careful mental notes on exactly how the Knight moved.
The commander was slow, but he clearly packed an insane amount of physical power behind every strike.
[Target Identified: Vanguard Knight]
[Level: 25]
Kai shifted his gaze away from the command tent to track the twelve grunts patrolling the docks.
They walked in lazy, intersecting loops under the torchlight.
Two stood by the loading ramp of the transport ship, four guarded the outer perimeter, and the rest were busy hauling heavy wooden crates toward the dark water.
It was a sloppy defensive formation.
They felt entirely too safe hidden away in the dark woods.
Taking the boat was necessary for his plan.
Walking entirely around the lake would add days to his journey, giving the vampire army plenty of time to march on the human cities without resistance.
Hijacking their fully loaded transport ship solved all his travel problems at once. But the girl tied to the post was the real prize of this entire operation.
A level twenty-four Rogue from the capital was an incredibly rare asset.
Eevy possessed intimate knowledge of the city layout, the warring political factions, and the military defences.
If Kai walked into the capital alone, he would just be another random stranger trying to shout warnings at arrogant nobles who would never listen.
If he walked in with one of their own elite scouts, the heavy iron doors would open for him.
'It is much easier to earn loyalty when you save someone from a monster,' Kai thought, watching the Knight raise his dagger to cut the Rogue's face.
'Time to make an introduction.'
Kai needed to eliminate the annoying foot soldiers before engaging the boss.
He channelled his mana, feeling the freezing energy pool rapidly in his palms. He focused his attention on the dark water lapping gently against the support beams of the docks.
Down below, Eevy squeezed her eyes shut as the Knight stepped closer.
She waited for the sharp bite of the blade.
Instead, the temperature in the air changed. A sudden, biting frost swept across the wooden docks.
The gentle splashing of the lake vanished instantly, replaced by the loud cracking sound of rapidly expanding ice.
"What is that?" one of the patrolling grunts shouted, dropping a wooden crate heavily onto the planks.
The Knight spun around, pulling his dagger away from Eevy's face to scan the perimeter.
The surface of the lake directly beneath the docks had frozen solid in the blink of an eye.
The freezing magic crept up the posts, wrapping layers of frost tightly around the boots of the vampire grunts.
They yelled in confusion, hacking at the ice locking their feet to the planks, but the frozen bindings were entirely too dense to break with simple iron swords.
Eevy opened her eyes, staring at the sudden winter wonderland in pure shock.
This was not normal elemental magic.
This was something entirely different.
Kai dropped from the high branches, landing lightly on the frozen boards without making a sound.
He drew his Sword in one fluid motion, letting the steel catch the orange light of the nearby torches.
He did not waste time with grand speeches or dramatic poses.
Kai closed the distance to the first trapped grunt and swung his blade in a clean horizontal arc, taking the monster's head right off its shoulders.
Swoosh.
Before the body even hit the ice, Kai pivoted smoothly and drove his sword straight through the chest of the second guard.
"Intruder!" the Vampire Knight roared, drawing a two-handed broadsword from his back.
"Kill him!"
The remaining grunts struggled desperately against their frozen restraints, but they were essentially sitting ducks.
Kai moved through them like a ghost.
His upgraded agility made his footwork completely untraceable. He slashed, stabbed, and ducked, turning the disorganised patrol into a pile of dusting ash and severed limbs within seconds.
Eevy watched the strange young man dismantle an entire vanguard squad without breaking a single sweat.
Her heart pounded against her bruised ribs.
She had never seen anyone fight with such efficiency.
He was not a traditional knight, and he definitely did not look like a seasoned mercenary.
Finishing off the last grunt near the transport ship, Kai casually flicked the blood from his blade.
"You are going to regret setting foot on my docks, human," the Knight snarled, stepping toward Kai with his sword raised high.