Gradier and the three viscount groups finally reached the outpost.

The gate of the outpost and the sides had shown signs of a battle. Few people were standing on top of the towers inside the outpost.

"Who goes there?!" One of the people in the tower called out.

The towers were dim, and the only torches that were lit up were the ones on the sides of the wall. As such, the group couldn't see who was standing on top of the tower.

"That voice sounds quite young." Esmeralda frowned.

"This place has been attacked. Look. There are even corpses outside..." Querk pointed at the nearby corpses.

"The vampire attacked here?!" Gradier was amazed.

"Identify yourself, or we will shoot! Vampires have attacked this place!" The voice warned.

"Vampires? Then why have you not lit up the tower?!" Esmeralda questioned.

"You think we didn't try?! Are your eyes blind? Do you see the tower?! The vampires infiltrated this outpost and brought down the tower from within!" The angry voice argued.

"If you don't identify yourself, we will shoot!" Another voice on the other archer's tower warned.

"Don't shoot! We are a Viscount team sent by our kingdom to aid in the hunt for the vampires! We are not your enemy!"

"We have not received any reports that a Viscount team will move! Much less three viscount teams! Who are you?" The archer shouted.

"I am Viscount Gradier Conquistar. With me are Viscounts Esmeralda Toro and Querk Stonefist! The vampire reports all over the mountain had grown wild. Since you have been attacked, then you know just how dangerous the threat is. We have been assigned to move out and search for this vampire. Other Viscounts now roam the mountain."

"What do you want?!"

"We are here to investigate the cause of the vampires!"

"How do I know that you are not vampires?!"

"We are not vampires!"

"That's what vampires would say!"

"What proof do you need to show you that we are humans? We are on a quest to find the vampires! The entire mountain region is in chaos because of the vampire attacks. You are not the only group that was attacked!"

"...Fine. Stay where you are. We will be having a meeting!" As the voice died out, shadows of two figures climbing up the towers could be seen. The original watchers moved down to report.

"Should we continue our plan? This outpost is on guard!" Esmeralda frowned.

"Even if they are on guard, the number of knights that have died outside the walls prove that they probably have only archers and mages inside. If we can move inside, it will be easy killing. Can you destroy those walls with your magic?" Gradier asked.

"Yes. But I will need to charge the magic for some time. And it eats up a lot of mana. So I would be willing to do so for any fights. But since this trip here is our initiative, I wish not to waste mana."

"I understand. Let's try to talk our way through. They won't expect us to be traitors. We just need to prove that we are humans. Because of the vampire threat, they will let us in."

As Gradier and the Viscounts made their plans, another meeting was also happening.

Gregory and Scarlet were next to Martha and had been shouting to pretend that they were the ones shouting on top of the archers.

"Any idea who they are? I have not heard of those families." Scarlet frowned.

"Me too."

"Those families are from the outside of this mountain region." Martha frowned.

"There are roughly fifty of them. And those three leading the group... were quite powerful." Gregory explained.

"They definitely are. I only know of the Toro clan, which is a family clan of powerful mages. The Gradier clan is also quite famous within the military. And those leading the squad are actually the elites among the families. So we have no chance of surviving. They are too strong!" Martha's gritted her teeth.

"What if they are not the enemy?"

"They are! I can feel it! Someone in that group wants to kill me! I've been dealing with this all my life. I am very sensitive in discerning killing intent towards me! This is what awakened my Warriors Instincts!"

"You? Why would they want to kill you? Have you offended any of them in any way?" Scarlet asked.

"No! My conscience is clear. I have lived a tragic and pitiful but righteous life!"

"It could be Fate. These Viscounts are after you. But it led them here. While you are their target... Fate's target... is us." Scarlet turned to Gregory with a solemn expression.

"That makes sense. Success Limiter. Fate is wilting down the vampires in Lord Kyros's Coven!" Gregory realized it.

"Is it connected to the Fate thing you talked about earlier?"

"That's right. Lord Kyros is just a level five human. Although he has some mysterious power that we can't explain, his strength is only better than other humans. But even with that, Kyros managed to challenge monsters greater than what level fifteen or twenty humans could do! If you gave me the stats of Lord Kyros, I wouldn't dream of defeating a skilled high-leveled archer like you. And Fate has led us to encounter three viscounts of such power. Kyros told us that the enemy we would face would be many times stronger than us!"

Marhta nodded. She was very skilled in setting traps and prided herself in her strategy. But she was fooled and easily defeated by Kyros.

"So you're saying Fate is using me to kill you."

"It makes sense. Lady Martha. Think about it. Out of all the outposts that Lord Kyros chose, he just happened to go here. Even if he did kill you, those warriors would still be brought here! And with ghouls and vampires, they would kill us anyway." Gregory explained.

"This is insane. Fate has turned its fangs on us... It wants us dead. It's minimizing the success of the Steele family..." Scarlet began to whimper as tears fell on her face.

Martha looked at the two kids and could not help but feel a twinge of guilt.

"Leave. They might kill you if I try to throw myself out to eliminate all survivors. Instead, I'll buy you some time. Turn me into a vampire and let me drink Kyros's blood. I'll fight them, and you can jump off the wall. Since your vampires, you should survive the fall..."

"No!" Scarlet shook her head.

"I will fight to the death!"

"What?!" Martha was confused.

"Scarlet is right. If we don't fight here, Fate will find another way to make them catch up with us. Our experience in the mountain has shown us how Fate worked. If we fight here and win, then we beat Fate."

"But that's crazy! Your death is assured!"

"It's the only way. Lord Kyros helped us by creating great miracles to save us. If we don't fight here and escape, it might make things harder for Lord Kyros and the Steele family. But if we fight, we might kill a few of their men. And if we win, we beat Fate, and the challenge that Fate has set might be over."

Martha glanced at the resolute faces of the pair.

"Fine. I'll fight with you. Turn me into a vampire and delay them as much as you can. You already know how to trigger those traps we set."

"You will fight with us?"

"Yes. So turn me now. I need to heal myself by drinking blood." Martha smiled.

Back outside, the group of Viscounts finally came to a decision.

"We kill everyone inside. If Martha Bowheart is not here, then we'll just use this place as a fort to bring things inside. Martha Bowheart may also be on a routine patrol. So if she's still alive and hasn't met a vampire group, she should return here." Gradier explained.

"We'll follow that arrangement." Querk nodded.

"Looks like the negotiator is coming back up. Get ready, men. Esmeralda noticed the two figures running back up.

"Alright. We have relayed the instructions. Our superior seems unfamiliar with your team. You are not from this mountain region?" Gregory asked.

"As I said, we have been sent here! Do not delay anymore! We have medicine that can treat the wounded if you have people bitten by vampires!"

"How can we be sure that we can trust you?" Scarlet asked on the other tower.

"Why would three viscounts be here, in this backwater region, if not to hunt for powerful enemies?!" Gradier asked.

"...Alright. We believe you. We'll open up the gates now."

"Finally!" Gradier sighed and turned towards his men.

The plan was that these men would immediately attack and keep the gate open.

Three soldiers marched up towards the gate and waited for it to be open.

Several small peeping holes were present, allowing the people on the other side of the thick gate to see through.

The two peeping holes opened the cover on the other side. 

"Show us your faces!" Gregory called out. 

The three soldiers showed themselves by drawing their faces towards the small hole with the torch on their hand to illuminate the area.

STAB! STAB!

A spear ran through the small hole and struck the two soldiers.

One died, and the other managed to evade by backing away but still got stabbed on the chest.

"UGH!" The soldier cried.

"You can't fool us, vampires! That's how the last group entered!" Gregory shouted.

"Your tricks won't fool us!" Scarlet shouted as she let loose a few arrows.

Another soldier was struck on the head and died at Scarlet's attack.

Gradier saw it and shouted.

"Attack! Break that door!" Gradier roared.

"Brutes. You're up!" Querk ordered his team of barbarians. They used a large pike and used it as a battering ram and charged towards the gate.

"WAIT! WAIT! Gregory! They are humans! The ones I shot died! They really are humans!" Scarlet shouted in a panic.

"Stop attacking! Stop attacking!" Scarlet pleaded.

"Stop!" Querk cursed and ordered his team to stop.

"No! Continue!" Gradier demanded.

"Let's wait! Patience! We would lose more men if we were forced to fight!" Querk argued.

Gradier was trembling in rage.

"You can kill and torture them once we break inside. But, for now, gain their trust!" Querk whispered.

Gradier watched the archer that shot an arrow.

He had lost two men, but he didn't want to continue fighting.

"These damned paranoid archers will pay!" Gradier vowed in his heart.