The First Vampire of YGGDRASIL

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I'm sorry I didn't upload a chapter this weekend. I had a tough week and got a little burnt out. It's not that I don't know what to write, it's more that I don't have the motivation. I was planning on writing a double chapter today, but that's not going to happen. Maybe tomorrow if I can motivate myself.

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My subordinates and I ended up in the middle of the forest. We had just flown over a large mountain range and spotted a small village from the air where we wanted to set up camp for the night. Of course, as vampires, Mariana and I didn't need to take a break, and Zelon was also equipped with an item that freed him from such unpleasant constraints, but the village gave us a good opportunity to collect information under the disguise of an adventure, and so I decided that a little break would do us good.

But on the flight to the village I noticed something else. There was a presence in the distance that seemed to be watching us, or at least sensing us too. After all, the power level in this world was quite low and usually did not exceed the power of an ant, of course that meant that the recourses and magical items were mostly weak as well. But even among all the dirt and grime there were shining gems every now and then, the world item of the theocracy and Zesshi were a good example of this.

We landed far enough away to not be seen and slowly began to move towards the village. My travel robe got caught on some branches as we moved through the thicket, but I simply broke the branches in the way as if they were rice paper. Soon the sun would set. I could already feel it, even though sunset was still a few hours away.

"We are here, I expect you stay in character. No arbitrary decision, you will only act if I say so." I ordered.

"Your wish is my command Mistress" Said Mariana

"Understood" replied my doppelgänger subordinate

We left the shelter of the trees and took the well-worn dirt road towards the village. Soon I was able to see a large wooden fence that seemed to surround the entire village. The gate in front of which two guards stood was also made of wood, but strangely it seemed fragile and very puny for a village this far away from the city. Out here it was supposed to be swarming with bandits, monsters, and beast men and yet the residents of the village had only put up a very mediocre defense, almost as if they didn't need any more.

"Stop!" ordered one of the guards after seeing us

"What business do you *cough* have in our village?" asked the other

I didn't like their tone, especially the fact that they were trying to give me orders, but since I didn't want to destroy our cover, I obeyed.

"We are adventurers and just passing through. However, we would like to take a break in your village, especially since the sun will soon set." I explained.

The two guards discussed briefly and after a while one of them made his way into the village, probably to ask permission. The other, however, had stepped forward and approached me.

"*cough* take off your mask *cough*" he ordered while coughing heavily

"What" I asked him more surprised about his audacity to order me than the question itself

"You *cough* heard me. Take off your mask, I *cough* need to know who we are letting in our village"

Anger rose in me when I saw how disrespectfully this peasant spoke to me. It shouldn't have bothered me after all he was just an insect, and I was the Primordial vampire, only of my kind but sill, this insect made me angry, like a fly buzzing around your head.

I wanted to rip his head off but then remembered that we still needed our disguise. I jumped forward so quickly that he couldn't possibly have seen me and grabbed him by the neck. The suppressed scream that came out of his throat like a gurgle was like music to my ears, but unfortunately I didn't have time for anything more. I took off my mask and looked deep into his eyes, they glowed red and his body, which had just moments before tried to free itself from my iron grip, now lay limp in my arm.

"You already checked our identities, we showed you our faces and everything was fine. Do you understand?"

*"Yes mistress"* the guard replied in a monotone voice without couching this time

"Good" I said taking a step back

He seemed to still be in a trance, but that changed quickly after the other guard from earlier returned.

"Is everything okay, Ralph? The eldest said we can let them in if they are okay. " He asked without receiving an answer from the still entranced guard.

"Ralph?" He asked again.

"What?...*cough* Ahh yes I have checked them they... *cough* are fine" he stammered

"Alright then follow me" ordered the other guard which made me grit my teeth

The guard led us into the village, despite the ridiculous defensive measures observed from outside, the inside was surprisingly large. I watched the people and could see that they looked well-fed and healthy, they were neither fat nor thin, and I couldn't see any fear or exhaustion in their faces. The only thing that spoiled this peaceful picture was the occasional coughing that came from some villagers, just like I had heard from the unfriendly gate guard.

We were led into a guest hut that was a little too well-equipped for this and the guard apologized and asked us to come to dinner with the village elder after sunset. This new friendliness, which contrasted with the previous unfriendliness, made me even more suspicious.

"Don't you think it's a bit strange here?" I asked my followers after the guard had left the hut.

"What do you mean my Lady?" asked Mariana and looked confused

"I can not say that I noticed something suspicious, apart from the sudden friendliness of the residents" answered Zelon

"Yes, that is one part that made me suspicious as well, but there is more. The village defenses are too poor for a danger hotspot like that, with this kind of protection you could just barely protect yourself against a major goblin invasion and am sure out here are much more dangerous things than that." I concluded.

"Your wisdom knows no limits, my lady, that you are even able to recognize something like that." praised Mariana and instead of rolling my eyes and feeling a little embarrassed like usual, this time I felt nothing but satisfaction

"There is also the strange illness from which the villagers suffer. Some of them seem to be suffering from a bad cough, although I don't think that the disease has spread that widely yet" I finished.

"What does that mean for us?" asked Zelon

"I personally don't care much about them, as you know we are just here to find more about the region and what dangers lie here. It would be good to see where we could best implement future plots against the dragon kingdom and a little village will be missed by no one." I clarified without any emotions in my voice.

After all, I didn't care about their fate, they could die if it would benefit me, and their unfriendliness certainly didn't do them any favors.