"Him." Adam pointed at one of the pirates.
Gray shirt. One eye. A dagger at his waist. A dwarf pirate gnawing on a roasted lamb leg.
"Why him?" Yinling asked. "Any human would do."
"Don't worry about it. Trust me."
A battlefield wasn't a place for long explanations.
The dwarf sat on a half-buried rock, chewing noisily. About twenty meters ahead, a campfire burned, surrounded by a dozen pirates.
Behind him stood two watchtowers. One guard each.
One of them… a fishman.
Below the towers stretched the wooden fence. Beyond it lay a narrow strip of beach where waves nearly slapped the wood with every surge.
Yinling frowned.
"Got a way to silently remove both towers?"
Less than ten meters apart. She could repeat her distraction trick—but only on the human.
The fishman was another story.
Sending a newly turned second-generation vampire into close combat with a fishman?
Suicide.
Adam could kill it easily.
The problem was getting up there unseen.
Fly?
The moment he spread his flesh wings, he'd be exposed. His flight form wasn't nearly as stealthy as Yinling's.
"I'll move in first."
He retraced his path and slipped into the sea.
Cold seawater closed over him instantly.
It clung to his skin—thick with salt, laced with the faint rot of seaweed and drying fish. Each rolling wave pressed down like a breathing curtain, muffling sound, distorting shape.
To human senses, the water was suffocating.
To Adam… it was perfect camouflage.
He swam slowly, body low, never breaking the surface. From the height of the watchtowers, spotting him inside the restless surf was nearly impossible.
"And then?" Yinling fluttered above the waves.
Adam pulled out a small stone he'd prepared earlier… and tossed it into the camp.
Clack—
It landed just behind the dwarf.
The pirate froze, straightened… then shrugged and went back to chewing lamb, washing it down with liquor.
"You missed," Yinling said. "Two meters forward. Slightly right."
Adam picked up another stone.
Thunk—
Direct hit. Right on the dwarf's back.
"Ow!"
The dwarf shot up, furious, scanning behind him. Fence. Towers.
He glared at the two guards… then sat back down, grumbling, and resumed eating.
Adam took out a third stone.
Crack!
Right to the head.
The dwarf exploded.
He grabbed the stone and pointed at the towers.
"Who did that?! WHO?!"
The two guards stared down, baffled.
Was that… mockery?
The dwarf's pride was notoriously fragile. A confused glance felt like open contempt.
Fuel on fire.
"You won't admit it?! You won't admit it?!"
He hurled the stone at the human guard. Missed.
He grabbed another—but when he turned, the fishman already had a bow aimed at him.
"Don't tell me you're throwing one at me," the fishman said coldly.
The dwarf froze.
Fishmen ranked higher than humans here. Strength decided status.
He lowered the stone, muttering curses as he returned to his lamb—but his ears stayed alert.
Whoosh—
Air split.
He spun.
Smack!
A stone smashed into his fat face. He screamed and fell flat.
"Outside! Something's outside!" he roared, pointing beyond the fence.
This time he'd seen the trajectory.
Not from the towers.
From outside.
"What's wrong with him tonight?" the human guard muttered.
"Ignore him. Drunk, probably," the fishman said.
With both guards dismissing him, the dwarf had no choice but to investigate himself.
"He's coming," Yinling called softly.
Adam crawled toward the fence, half-submerged, body pressed into shadow and surf.
"Once he starts climbing," Adam said, "draw their attention."
"How did you know he'd climb?" Yinling asked.
Adam smirked faintly.
"When the situation won't reveal its opening…"
He flicked another stone lightly in his palm.
"…you irritate it until it does."
Yinling blinked, still not fully understanding—but she moved.
The dwarf reached the fence, grumbling as he climbed.
Seeing him halfway up, Yinling darted toward the human guard—no way she'd risk the fishman's arrows.
Soon both tower guards were focused on the pink bat flitting through the night air.
Below them, the grudge-filled dwarf kept climbing.
He reached the top. Leaned his head over the fence.
Black beach. Rolling surf. Nothing else.
"Phew…"
He exhaled, thinking about climbing down—
Then froze.
Right below the fence… in the shadow… a pair of eyes stared up at him.
Cold. Inhuman.
"Ah—"
He never finished.
Four razor claws punched through his mouth… straight out the back of his skull.
A violent yank—
His body vanished over the fence.
Inside the camp, a pirate by the fire stopped mid-song.
"Did you see that?!"
"See what?"
"I swear someone just flew over the fence!"
"You're drunk."
"I'm not! I saw it!"
He ran to the fence, reenacting wildly.
An octopus-man approached, looking up at the towers.
"You two see anything?"
"N-No…"
Of course not.
They'd been watching the pink bat.
Wait…
Where did the bat go?
The octopus-man's skin flushed green—rage rising.
The human guard quickly lit a torch and hurled it outside.
Firelight flared across wet sand… then waves surged in and snuffed it out.
"I'm sure nothing happened," the fishman said.
"Better be," the octopus-man growled.
A heavy shape approached.
The sharkman.
"Boss."
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Some drunk causing trouble," the octopus-man said.
"I'm not drunk! I didn't drink at all!" the pirate protested.
"Say that again and I'll skin you alive!" the octopus-man snarled, skin turning blue.
"Wait."
The sharkman didn't answer immediately.
His massive nostrils flared.
Once.
Twice.
Each inhale dragged in air with a low, whistling pull—like breath passing through serrated blades.
He tilted his head slightly.
Filtering.
Separating.
Locking onto something invisible.
Then he spoke—
"Blood."
A pause.
"Human blood."
His eyes darkened.
"Search the entire camp."
The order detonated chaos.
Shouting. Cursing. Boots pounding sand.
Torches flared to life across the shoreline.
By then, Adam had already slipped back to the reef where he first landed.
The dwarf's corpse lay beside him, half-submerged as the tide slowly crept higher.
Saltwater lapped at the wound.
Dark red spread into the sea… dissolving, but not fast enough.
Adam watched the camp lights ignite one by one.
He smiled faintly.
"Well…"
His eyes glinted in the dark.
"…now it gets interesting."