"Please, wait a moment."
Seeing that Lysander and Angela were about to turn and leave, the male paladin immediately called out to stop them. He respectfully removed his helmet, revealing a full head of flaxen hair and a face weathered by the elements. The paladin then gave Lysander a solemn, formal bow.
"Thank you both for your assistance in helping us eliminate this evil soul."
"Don't mention it. We were just passing by. Besides, it's not truly dead."
Lysander wasn't lying. The most troublesome thing about a lich wasn't its ability to create undead puppets or spread plagues. Rather, it was the fact that they were incredibly difficult to destroy. Every lich has a phylactery, even a half-baked, freshly made product like that one. So long as the phylactery remains, the lich cannot die—this was common knowledge for anyone who dealt with the undead. Furthermore, liches' phylacteries were bizarre and varied, and notoriously difficult to detect, which made destroying a lich far harder than simply defeating one.
During the age of the Magic Empire, there was once a powerful lich who, in a fit of madness, followed the natural law of big fish eats little fish and hid its phylactery inside a fish he then released into the sea. As a result, although this lich committed countless evil deeds and was defeated dozens of times by a joint force of arcane mages and priests from various gods, he was always able to resurrect because no one could ever find his phylactery. In the end, with no other choice, the arcane mages had to make a special exception and allow the gods to intervene directly. The King of the Dead was finally permitted to forcibly claim the lich's soul, bringing the matter to a close.
Fortunately, such eccentrics were the exception. Most mages who chose to become liches were cowards who feared death and were not in the habit of gambling their existence on the unknown. Otherwise, everyone on the continent would have to give liches a wide berth—since killing them was pointless anyway.
Although Lysander noticed that the female paladin's gaze towards Angela was not particularly friendly, he wasn't worried. The domain of the Goddess of Dawn was hope, and her followers were motivated by bringing hope to others. While that might sound like a benevolent deity, the reality was not so simple. An old man hoping his children grow up quickly, or a villain hoping his boss drops dead soon—both fell within the category of hope. Of course, most of the time, the followers of the Goddess of Dawn would protect the living and strike down threats to their lives. After all, if you're dead, you no longer have any need for hope.
"Then, may I ask where the two of you are headed?" the more mature-looking paladin asked again. Perhaps sensing the impatience in Lysander's eyes, he cautiously explained himself. After all, the two people before him were strange and suspicious, but they were also beings who could annihilate a lich with a flick of the wrist. It was best to be careful.
"You both appear to be from out of town. If there is anything you need, we can help..."
It was an understandable assumption. Lysander was still wearing the black overcoat he'd arrived in, and Angela's dress was far more ornate and vibrant than anything worn by the nobility of this world. It wasn't unreasonable to mistake them for foreigners from a distant land.
"We are going to Samaranch Town."
Lysander had been about to give a vague dismissal and continue on his way, but a sudden whim made him change his mind. After a thousand years, could that little town possibly still exist?
"Samaranch Town?"
As expected, upon hearing the name, the paladin was slightly taken aback. Clearly, he had never heard of a town with that name nearby.
"My apologies, but there doesn't seem to be a place you're looking for around here..."
"Do you mean Greatwood City? If you head east from here, you can reach it in just half a day's journey."
Just then, the female paladin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. She finally tore her gaze from Angela and looked at the man before her.
"Greatwood City?"
Lysander paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded at her.
"Thank you."
Watching the two figures leisurely and slowly depart, the two paladins finally let out a sigh of relief. They had wanted to inquire about the mysterious man's identity and affiliation, but the little girl by his side was simply too terrifying. From the moment they had started talking, her crimson eyes had been darting between the two of them. The immense pressure and sense of dread were almost unbearable for the two battle-hardened paladins. The female paladin, in particular, could keenly feel the little girl's eyes fixed on her neck, giving her the chilling illusion of being stared at by a venomous snake.
"Who in the world were they?"
"I don't know. It's just..." The female paladin frowned, lost in thought.
"Just what?"
"It's just that the place name he mentioned bothers me. The name 'Samaranch' was abandoned five hundred years ago. These days, almost no one would know that name, except for mages who are well-read in history and study ancient ruins."
"Are you saying he's a mage?" The male paladin remained skeptical of his companion's judgment. "He did indeed cast what looked like an incredibly powerful spell, but... he doesn't dress like a mage."
"Forget it." The female paladin clearly didn't want to dwell on the issue. She had just escaped a perilous situation, and although the warm sun was now shining on her armored body, a chill still ran down her spine. She shook her head forcefully, then sheathed her longsword. "In any case, the mission is complete. We should leave this place."
Meanwhile, walking on another path, Lysander was on the receiving end of Angela's complaints.
"Master, if you hadn't stopped me, I could have tasted a paladin's blood. And I could have turned that woman into your slave. A woman of her quality isn't top-tier, but she would have been a decent diversion."
"There will be plenty of time for that," Lysander said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead as he silently calculated their journey. "While I don't object to you feeding, those two serve a goddess with whom I have a minor acquaintance. It would be improper to let you have them for dessert. In the future, we'll have plenty of opportunities to meet followers of other gods. Then you can taste the blood of not just paladins, but holy maidens too. As for slaves... I don't believe I require any at the moment."
"But I don't trust them. Especially that female. Her words were all jumbled. I think she might have gotten the place name backward to deliberately mislead us down the wrong path," Angela said, sounding rather unhappy.
"That's a formal syntax used by the clergy," Lysander explained to her. Although the little one, with her own intelligence, had already learned the common tongue of this world from him, just like passing language exams in that other world, true communication was its own test.
Seeing Angela's puffed-up cheeks, Lysander said no more. While the little vampire girl had all sorts of flaws and could be cunning and vicious to an extreme, she was, in fact, a good child. As a familiar and a companion, Angela was very obedient and always tried her best to complete any task Lysander gave her. Of course, her curiosity was a major motivator, but even so, Lysander greatly admired this girl who was willing to abandon her own world to follow him to this strange land. Although Angela had initially claimed her world held no more attraction for her, Lysander understood that making that decision had not been easy for her.
He knew exactly where the little one had disappeared to for five days after he had confessed to her that he was about to return to his own world. Lysander had originally thought she would choose to break their contract and continue her carefree life in that world. But clearly, Angela had not made what he considered to be the 'correct' choice.
"Master, that Samaranch Town... you seem to be very familiar with it?" Angela asked again, perhaps sensing something. Lysander gave her a timely answer.
"It was once the supply base for the empire's military fortress."
"I used to visit when I was inspecting the border fortress. It was a beautiful little town, with clear waters and green mountains. And at that time... there was no war."
Lysander never mentioned why the Magic Empire had gone to war, or how it had fallen. Angela seemed to understand that this was a taboo topic for Lysander and never touched it.
The scenery gradually began to change. On the once-desolate plains, traces of man-made roads began to appear. One could even see a somewhat rotten signpost nailed to the side. In truth, even without its guidance, Lysander could easily see the majestic and imposing city walls in the distance.
"Greatwood City," Lysander muttered, a bitter smile on his face.
What a fine name.
But when Lysander drew closer to the city walls and saw the banner flying above them, his eyes betrayed an undisguised rage and hatred.
And soon, Lysander was stopped.
"This is the border of the Kingdom of Kuris," soldiers holding sharp spears blocked Lysander's path, their faces stern and fierce. "Show us identification! Otherwise, we have the right to arrest you!"
"Incompetent and foolish reptiles."
Although Lysander said nothing, Angela sensed his anger from the subtle tells in her master's posture. She didn't know the reason, but the cute and beautiful vampire would never pass up an opportunity to crush and trample on others.
"What right do you useless male dogs, good for nothing but breeding, have to stand before me and my master?"
Her crimson eyes began to glow faintly, the light reflecting in every soldier's eyes.
"Now, tuck your tails and get lost."
Faced with Angela's cold, venomous words, the border guards showed no anger. Instead, the stern expressions on their faces gradually faded, replaced by a kind of chaotic vacancy.
"We are... male dogs..."
"That's right..."
A small hand in a white silk glove swept forward, a single finger pointing at the soldiers' eyes. Their gazes grew dim and dull, reflecting a faint, demonic red light.
Angela's smile was now innocent, cute, yet laced with a pure malice.
"You are a pack of male dogs in heat. Don't block the way here. Go perform your mating rituals elsewhere. The bitches are waiting for you, wagging their tails."
Without another word, the soldiers dazedly dropped their weapons. Then, they got on all fours and, barking "Woof! Woof!", turned and scampered away from the posts they were supposed to be guarding.
"Isn't that a bit much?"
Watching everything unfold, Lysander's anger seemed to suddenly dissipate. He chuckled and patted Angela's little head, deciding not to ponder the ultimate fate of those poor soldiers.
"It's what those insolent fools deserve for blocking you and me, Master."
Angela reverted to her usual self, skipping happily alongside Lysander.
"Master, we should get going."
"Indeed."
Although vampires possessed an unparalleled advantage in hypnotism, things could still get very troublesome if those soldiers were to wake up. So Lysander said no more and, with Angela in tow, walked through the city gates.