Modern Cultivation : The Strongest Couple Bonded by Vampire System

Asmon look from distance giving nod of approval, 'as I expected, he changed since he returned. The old jack will not be able to lead like this.'

"Now," Alex continued, eyes narrowing just slightly, "I don't like fighting alongside strangers. So speak up. Give me a name, and something useful I should know. Don't give me your life story. Just tell me what matters."

A tall woman with cropped silver hair and a scar over her mouth stepped forward first. "Velna. Spear-user. Good at locking down fast targets. Better at making them regret running."

Alex gave her a nod. "Good."

Next came a younger woman, barely out of her teens by the look of her, but her hands never left the hilt of her dagger. "Mira. Scout and assassin."

"Nice," Alex muttered.

Then a man stepped forward, broad-shouldered with mismatched armor pieces and a grin too big for his face. "Name's Tovik. I hit things. They stay down. I complain a lot. You'll get used to it."

A few chuckles rippled through the group.

Alex smirked. "Good. I like you already."

But then his eyes caught on someone else, toward the back, half-hidden by a larger soldier.

A woman, her helmet tucked under one arm, auburn hair tied in a low braid.

'She looks like… Faerith.'

His mind flashed. A Lab, the woman that started his journey as progenitor.

'It wasn't her, couldn't be. But the resemblance was uncanny.'

She met his gaze and tilted her head slightly, as if sensing his stare. No words, no reaction, just calm observation.

Alex's expression darkened into a slight frown. 'If Faerith's still here… she should be with Alice's group.'

The thought itched at the back of his mind. Dozens of possibilities ran through his head, none of them good.

Her family? Her descendant? .

His fingers twitched against his mace.

But now wasn't the time. He drew a slow breath, shoved the unease back down, and cleared his throat.

"Alright," he said, straightening up, voice steady again. "We've got our introductions. Time to move."

He turned toward the trees, eyes sharp. "Let's earn that reward Asmon promised."

A few quiet chuckles followed. The squad began to march.

They moved fast.

The forest stretched endlessly ahead, branches clawing at the sky like broken fingers.

Leaves crunched beneath their boots as Alex led the squad in a tight formation, weaving through dense underbrush and narrow game trails.

Monsters emerged here and there but none posed a real threat. They came in ones and twos, poorly timed ambushes easily cut down by Velna's spear or Mira's blade before they even got close. Tovik made a game of it, cracking skulls like fruit and grinning each time.

Alex barely lifted his mace. There was no need.

As they pressed deeper, the forest began to thin and signs of war took its place.

First came the scorched trees, their trunks blackened and cracked from fire magic. Then shattered siege debris, rusted arrows half-buried in the soil.

Birds no longer sang here. The only sound was the wind… and the silence that came after destruction.

Eventually, they passed through the remnants of a stone wall—torn open from the inside, bricks scattered like teeth. Beyond it, a ruined city spread out like a corpse.

Craters lined the streets.

Charred banners of Basilea hung limp from broken poles. The stench of blood and smoke still clung to the stones.

Alex slowed for a moment, eyes scanning the area.

The main army had come through here like a storm.

"Looks like they softened it up for us," Mira muttered, stepping over a cracked helm half-filled with ash.

"Or left us nothing to hit," Velna added, eyes narrowing.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Tovik said, dropping his gear near a shattered wall. "Free path's a free path."

Alex didn't answer. His gaze lingered on a toppled statue near the city square, once a proud symbol of Basilea's nobility, now decapitated, its head crushed beneath a siege cart.

He turned away.

By nightfall, they'd made camp near the city's edge, tucked beneath an overhang where stone met forest again.

Alex sat cross-legged on a flat stone near the center, his mace resting against his knee.

He looked up, eyes catching Tovik tossing a chunk of dried meat into his mouth like it owed him money.

"Well," Alex started, voice calm but curious, "we've walked half a forest together, killed a dozen monsters, and crossed a ruined city, but I still don't know anything about you three."

Tovik grinned, mouth still full. "Not much to know. Grew up in the Iron Spine, fought my way into a militia, punched a wyvern once, got recruited. Now I hit things for Evermore. That's the résumé."

"Wait," Mira said from her perch up on a broken wall, one leg dangling. "You punched a wyvern?"

"Sure did," Tovik replied proudly. "Didn't say I won, though."

Velna snorted, shaking her head as she ran a whetstone along the edge of her spear.

"He left out the part where the wyvern bit his arm and flung him into a ravine. Almost losing one of his lives. They say the only reason he survived was because his head's too thick to crack."

"See?" Tovik grinned wider. "I'm blessed by Valkarion."

Mira rolled her eyes. "Right. Blessed by stupidity."

Alex chuckled quietly. "I've seen worse reasons to survive." He looked at Velna. "What about you?"

She paused for a moment before answering.

"Family of soldiers. First spear at sixteen. Killed my commanding officer at nineteen, he tried to sell out the squad. Was cleared of charges, but command moved me around after that. Been drifting ever since."

There was a weight in her tone. No bitterness, just a blunt edge sharpened by time.

Alex nodded. "Remind me never to be on the wrong end of your spear."

Velna glanced up at him, just barely smiling. "You're smarter than most."

He turned to Mira. "And you?"

She tilted her head slightly, eyes unreadable.

"Was born in a village that doesn't exist anymore. Learned how to disappear before I learned how to speak properly.

Picked up a few things along the way. Got good at going unnoticed. "

There was a pause.

Alex leaned back, letting the silence stretch just long enough before speaking again.

"Well… I can't promise glory, or that we'll live through this. But I do promise that if you follow me, I'll make damn sure none of you are wasted."

He than asked, "By the way, have you guys ever feel something weird?"