Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire Chapter 586: A message for the Garrison

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-Hours Later-

The Northern-Star Militants standing guard at their Captain’s door shared a look. They had been sharing looks since the first hour passed and their Captain remained in the meeting with that vampire.

The door had quality soundproofing to ensure privacy, but it still couldn’t stop particularly loud sounds from leaking out. This was on purpose so the Captain could sound an alarm if things went awry.

But the Militants were confident. Their Captain proved herself capable before being given command of the Garrison. They dared say no threat could overwhelm her.

The fact that she hadn’t sounded an alarm was... normal. Expected. It meant she had things under control. And the silence meant a battle hadn’t yet broken out behind those doors.

But why was it taking so long? The Militants wondered still.

Was the interrogation so intense that it continued past midnight? Should they ignore protocol and go in to check on her, even though she hadn’t asked for them and there had been no sign of distress?

Yes, they trusted their Captain was capable but the one she was locked with, was still an unknown vampire.

There was one time the Militants thought they heard the sound of an attack— Like spells were being cast but it happened only once and then, silence returned so quickly that they were unsure they hadn’t just imagined it.

That one thing, which they heard fairly early on was such a mild sign of distress that ordinarily, the Militants would have forgotten. But, as the hours ticked by and the silence waned on, that single instance of barely acknowledgeable sounds of spell casting dwelled in their mind.

So it was safe to say that when the doorknob of the Captain’s Study turned, the Militants were already on edge. They jumped away from the door, either holding the handles of their weapons, ready to draw them at a moment’s notice, or taking a spell-casting stance and already forming seals.

When the door opened and the vampire stood there, the Militants didn’t relax and instead seemed to take it as a sign that something was wrong.

"Ladies," Caius said with a raised brow behind his mask at how ’at alert’ they were.

One of them looked past him into the Study, did a quick sweep, and saw it was empty.

"You scum," she snarled then, "What have you done with the Captain?!"

"No harm, I assure you," Caius said with his hands raised in placation. He tried to calm them with a reassuring smile when he remembered that he had changed back to the full mask that didn’t leave his mouth exposed so they wouldn’t see his smile.

"Where is she?!" Asked another Militant who thrust a sword at Caius’s chest.

Spell circles glowed into appearance, stamped against the knuckles of the Mages and Caius knew they were only seconds away from attacking him.

"In her room," Caius said with a head gesture toward the door behind her desk which led to the Captain’s private quarters.

Some of the Militants shared a look of astonishment then; Only their Captain could open that door. It wouldn’t react to any other person’s touch or Mana signature and there was no sign of force being used to blast it off its hinges. It looked just as it normally did, just unlocked.

"What did you do to her?" Asked the one Militant who had first looked into the room and now had a sword at Caius’s neck.

"Well, I can’t very well tell you that," Caius chuckled, "It wouldn’t be gentlemanly."

"You think this is a joke?" The Militant asked and pressed her sword harder against Caius’s throat to the point that it began to cut through his collar to touch his skin right after.

"Maybe this will help," Caius said and with a flick of his wrist, he had a device in his hand.

Untrusting of him as they currently were, the Militants looked at the device with distrust even though they could see it was fitted with a Recording Crystal and likely wasn’t a weapon.

Caius activated the device and a holographic display appeared above his head;

It was Zaila, her hair slightly disheveled, her smile wide and delighted as she gazed at what must have been the Recording device in Caius’s hand.

"Oh, kinky, are you," Zaila said and batted her beautiful eyes, "Why don’t you pan down? I don’t think you’re getting all of me."

"Be serious," Caius’s chuckling voice came from the recording even though his face wasn’t in frame, "I’m going to be showing this to your subordinates."

"Are you trying to preserve my honor?" Zaila asked in her sultry voice but she sounded as touched as she sounded amused.

"Well, even bloodsuckers have to have some class," Caius’s voice joked.

"Oh, it’s nothing they haven’t seen before," Zaila waved him off, "This is a Garrison, remember? We’re often not fussed about privacy here."

"Still, I’ll keep just your face in frame, if it’s all the same to you," Caius said.

Zaila moaned.

"As you wish," she said with a smirk, "Prude."

The Militants shifted a bit uncomfortably on their feet. Yes, privacy regarding nudity wasn’t really a thing at the Garrison, what with all the communal baths. Still, the Militants respected their Captain so much that they didn’t quite like that they were intruding on her private moment. Even if they were confused about why it was happening with a vampire.

"I must say, you being so upstanding is really getting me going," Zaila said in the recording and went on all fours.

Even with Caius’s best effort to keep only her face in frame, there was a split-second view of her perfect tits wobbling as she crawled toward him.

"Focus," Caius admonished with a smile in his voice, "That will be after."

Zaila had a puppy-dog-eyed expression and purred to change his mind but Caius was insistent.

"Fine," Zaila eventually sighed, "Let’s get this over with."

From then on, it became clear she was no longer talking to Caius but to those who would watch and listen to the recording because her voice shifted from amorous and seductive to authoritative and firm.

"I have vetted the Vampire Party and see no punishable sign of wrongdoing beyond the damage they wreaked in Northern-Star. Anything else is not our jurisdiction and the other parties, by instituting a bounty that put Northern-Star citizens at risk without even a formal request to us, do not deserve my consideration. In other words, I won’t be doing Capital City’s dirty work.

I have totaled the cost of damages and the leader of the Vampire Pack has given me his word that no such thing will happen again so long as he has a say. So if they pay the fine, they are free to go."

The Militant with a sword at Caius’s throat scoffed.

"What nonsense is this?" She asked.

"Wait," Caius said and indicated the recording still playing.

"They won’t believe this message," Caius’s voice came from the recording, "There must be something you can offer as proof that you’re not under duress."

Zaila rolled her eyes, as though bored of the proceedings and ready to get back to much more important and clearly amorous matters.

Still, she spoke with a very clear and purposeful voice;

"I am Zaila Khione, Captain of the North-Western Garrison..."

She went on for a minute, listing so many facts about herself with random tidbits to ensure it was clear she was herself and knew what she was doing. She also said things that sounded like code words agreed on beforehand with her Militants because their stances relaxed significantly once they heard it.

And finally, she ended it all by saying,

"... I am of sound body and mind. May the gods help those who dare still think I’m not!"

The way her eyes glared in the recording, the Militants blinked and seemed overcome with great reverence for their Captain and what they knew she was capable of just by that look in her icy blue eyes.

And that was why, it was so weird for them to see her switch right back to puppy-dog eyes immediately after.

"There, it’s done," She said, "Now get over here."

She rose now, her upper body, delectable breasts swinging, was seen fully for a second as she reached out for Caius who was behind the Recording Device. He stopped recording immediately though because the events that followed weren’t for an audience.

"So there," Caius said now.

The swords had been pulled back so he could drop his hands and hold out the device for the Militant who first looked into the Study.

"Here," he said, "I hope Zaila can trust your discretion on that last second of footage. Though, as you heard her say herself, she likely wouldn’t mind either way."

"Is the Captain... well?" One of the Mage Militants asked, their spell circle fizzling out.

"Of course," Caius answered, "You can check for yourself. She’s only asleep. Though, you should better take care not to wake her, she’s tired..."

The Militant Caius had handed the recording to, pushed past him into the Study before he was even done speaking. She entered Zaila’s living quarters and then, went into her bedchamber to see the Captain was indeed slumbering with the most blissful smile the Militant dared say she had ever seen on a person’s face.