Just as the second guard on the right watchtower was saying goodbye to the other and patrolling back over the battlements, Patris rose from the shadows further back on the wall and walked as quietly as possible, short sword in hand, toward the guard who had stayed behind. The guard stood in the firelight of the tower and looked after the vampire comrade, only to let his gaze wander boredly over the plain outside the fort again. A longbow on his back and a blood-red metal spear in his right hand, while the arrows for the bow were in a fixed quiver in a corner of the tower. In the center of the square watchtower was a metal structure made of sticks, in which a bonfire with large logs crackled.

*You would think that if many normal vampires have such an enormous weakness against fire and sunlight, they wouldn't let such a big fire burn next to them, would they? At most, they are all noble vampires and give a wet shit. Hm...* Avan thought as he followed Patris in the shadows, ready to strike at the right moment. His midnight-black celestial forms floated behind him in wire-rope variations, almost opaque.

Just before Patris stepped clearly into the wide firelight, Avan heard a familiar and long unheard bell ringing in the back of his head.

*Chime

[Sneak] leveled up!

Your Passive Skill [Sneak] is now [Bronze] 1.

Passive Skill: Sneak

Thanks to your inflitration into a castle full of probably hostile and bloodthirsty vampires, your constant almost peeing your pants, and your courageous ambition, you have earned this ability.

Gives you the ability to get from one place to another unnoticed, as long as you keep a low profile and stay undercover.

[Bronze] Any surprise attacks from stealth on unsuspecting victims now do 2x damage!

*Chime*

[Steady] leveled up!

Your passive skill [Steady] is now [Silver] 1.

Passive Skill: Steady

When staggered, you have a high chance to stay steady on your feet instead of succumbing. This skill can help you cast magic without being interrupted or shooting while standing on the back of a horse or even a dragon.

[Bronze] You are now noticeably more secure on your feet and begin to perceive slight vibrations in the ground at your feet, which help you to stand even more securely or, if necessary, to better handle the coming sitaution.

[Silver] You can now ignore knockdown or knockback attacks if you actively want to.

*Hah! As if it was planned!* Avan chuckled inwardly, just as Patris stepped into the light and caught the surprised attention of the guard stationed there out of the corner of his eye. The guard wheeled around in a flash, spear at the ready and aimed at Patris, while imperiously hissing something in the vampire language that sounded very challenging.

Visibly angry and suddenly seething with rage at what the vampires here had done to humans and especially Linob, Patris took up his fighting stance. Even if it was only with a short sword, without shield and armor.

"Shut up, scum." And attacked with lightning speed.

[Vampire Guard - 201]

The vampire guard himself seemed to be shocked for a moment and needed a heartbeat to realize how this little human in front of him had so fearlessly ignored him and attacked directly. Shortly before Patris was about to strike the spear aside, the guard had already mentally regained his composure and sped sideways to strike the short sword aside with a practiced spear swing and directly follow up with a thrusting attack. Patris, who briefly lost his balance, still a little weak on his feet, almost lost his footing and could only with the last effort prevent the sword from being knocked out of his hand. A too late sideways step on the narrow passage of the wall parapet brought him out of the deadly zone of the spear thrust, but a painful hiss still escaped him when the spear tore the skin on his left shoulder. "Fucker!" He cursed angrily and jumped directly into the just-retracted spear to turn the range of the enemy weapon against the vampire. Patris was now standing so close that the length of the spear became rather obstructive and the vampire tried to retreat, which Patris immediately countered and followed.

A strange looking exchange of blows between the short sword and the spear, in whose spear range Patris was now constantly standing, began. The vampire guard had no choice but to take the spear in both hands, block, and attack with swings, since the range for spear thrusts and other maneuvers was simply no longer possible.

Avan himself took advantage of the opportunity and crept forward as quickly as possible, now sideways in the back of the guard, so as not to drag out the fight any longer. The sound of the two weapons themselves colliding was extraordinary and unexpectedly quiet, but since vampires had very good hearing, it should still be done as quickly as possible. *Whether it is because of this blood-red metal? Whether it is hardened blood and therefore the blows sound so muffled? Strange...* The thought crossed his mind, but was immediately pushed aside when he was finally only 1 meter away.

With a mental command, the paper-thin midnight black wire ropes sprang forward, and before the vampire guard knew what was happening, it stood rooted to the spot. Patris himself looked puzzled as his sword entered the vampire's right shoulder effortlessly and without resistance, only to look in the direction of the evil grinning Avan. An unnatural chill went down Patris's spine at that moment, as he saw the look of a Predator who took an evil pleasure in killing his enemy.

In a split second, the body of the vampire guard collapsed, and cleanly severed pieces fell to the ground where the vampire had just been standing. The celestial wire ropes had wrapped around the guard in a flash and jerked together, cutting the vampire directly into tiny pieces.

"Holy shit..." Patris cursed softly as he looked at the pile of bloody parts in front of him, then squinted at Avan, and again stunned at the remains on the ground. "Thank God you're on our side."

Avan himself just smirked, the evil grin already wiped away, and inwardly rejoiced like a little child at christmas when there were presents. *Sneak attack is just sick strong, holy fucking shit!* And part of his wire ropes disintegrated into mist to dissolve the vampire and any remains of him, while he added the items and objects to his dungeon inventory, since they didn't seem to count as magic objects. Thus, in the future, with the help of his dungeon mana, he could even reproduce the bow, spear, armor, and even the arrows in the quiver in the back, one of which was also dissolved.

"Okay, neat work... but we should urgently fight the next ones with much less noise. It's a bit of a miracle that none of the other guards down in the courtyard or on the wall noticed." Avan said to Patris, as he patted him encouragingly on the shoulder, while they both crept on without comment towards the patrolling guards in the shadows.

The young warrior cast a thoughtful glance back over his shoulders, and then looked forward again as he quietly replied. "Yes, that's right. I'll try to position the next one directly so you can attack right away from behind."

Avan nodded, but then felt a little stupid because he realized that Patris couldn't see him. A sigh escaped him, because he had become so accustomed to always being able to perceive everything through his 360 degree range of influence.

The next watch actually went much faster, because Patris immediately took advantage of the moment of surprise to run past the week and hastily defended against the quickly executed spear swing. The guard naturally turned in the direction of the attacker, and Avan was able to finish everything within seconds of the start of the fight, as the guard fell to the ground lifeless and in pieces.

So they cleared away the last patrolling guard at the far right wall section, and crept down into the shadows to the two women, when any guards that could have looked down into that part of the courtyard had been removed.