The day that Camille and Lilith left to the south of Novaria, Dante and the rest of the Oga Team were dispatched north.
It was Alice's first official mission with the others, and Dante was the only one who could sense the nerves in her umbra as her expression looked focused and unbothered.
Since the Jade Dragons didn't have a private airport they could use on the northern side of the country, they took a flight that left them on a rural runway that was near a town called "Ketes."
Ketes was the closest town to the mountain range on the northern side. It had a picturesque environnt and a dense population that made it an attraction for tourists who were interested in hiking.
When the group arrived at the city, they were asked to wait for their pickup near an empty alleyway, where the vampire, Laurent, showed up minutes after their arrival, driving a van.
"It's a bit of a long ride, so sit tight," Laurent said to the Oga Team after entering the vehicle.
It took a little more than two hours for Laurent to reach the vampires' ho, driving through mountainous roads that required evident maintenance.
"Welco to the Moon Manor," Laurent comnted to the group.
As they approached, the facade of the vampires' mansion erged from the shadows, with smooth, obsidian walls and pointy rooftops that seed to be plucked from a gothic novel.
Two gargoyles were placed beside the entrance, and when Zac noticed them, he kept staring intently at one of them, wondering if they would move.
Laurent casually showed them around the driveway, but the redhead wasn't paying attention, as he was solely focused on the gargoyle's face.
Suddenly, the eerie statue moved its neck and gazed at Zac, acknowledging the man before quickly returning to its original position.
'Huh?' Zac thought, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
'I must be losing my mind…' He continued, promptly joining the group, who were approaching the manor's entrance.
"Hmm? Nice gargoyles… Keep up the good work," Dante casually said as he walked past the statues, giving one of them a gentle bump with his hand.
At that mont, the two gargoyles turned to face the warlock, startling the rest of his group. However, the two figures lowered their heads in respect and returned to their positions.
*Sigh* "What a relief… I'm not crazy," Zac muttered.
"What are you talking about?" gan asked, as both she and Alice were utterly confused.
"Erm, nothing… Never mind," the redhead replied, slightly embarrassed.
When the group entered the manor, they were greeted by Asphodel, who had a gentle but sowhat wicked smile on her face.
The Oga Team would spend the night with the vampires, using that ti to plan out their offensive on the ghoul's nest.
From the intel the vampires gathered, the nest had around one hundred ghouls and two androids guarding the area.
"Hmmm, wasn't there a leader?" Dante asked.
"A ghoul leader?" Zac pondered aloud.
Dante explained that large groups of brainless undead like ghouls usually had a higher-ranking undead giving them orders.
The necromancers who created them could obviously command them however they wanted. However, most of them would leave a more potent monster to guide them.
"Killing the leader first could bring chaos to the orders they receive, so it becos a bit easier to fight them…" Dante elaborated.
Asphodel replied by stating that they didn't see any high-ranking undead among their numbers. Instead, they saw the ghouls taking orders from one of the androids.
"Is that even possible? Do the ghouls recognize the android as a living being?" Dante pondered.
The warlock didn't believe that a person without a single shred of energy in their bodies could command the ghouls, as those monsters were basically blind and followed people's energy flow to attack them.
"Yeah, I didn't get it either. That's why I told my children to retreat…" Asphodel comnted.
The nest was located in an area called "Lowrock," which was a na that portrayed the lowest part of the mountain range.
The population in Lowrock was scarce as it was considered a low-inco mining town, so it made sense why the ghouls would choose its outskirts to make their nest.
Once the group marked the exact location, Asphodel showed them to the guest rooms and invited them for dinner.
When they sat at the round dining table with all of the vampire family, Dante and Asphodel began casually talking about their ti in Terra.
anwhile, Irina seed to want to talk with gan, but the badmouthed vampire couldn't find the right words to break the ice.
"How was the training?" gan asked Irina, noticing the girl wanted to speak up.
"It was good! You were a lot of help…" The vampire replied, blushing a little as she rembered her practice sessions with gan.
Irina was fast and strong, but she had no technique when fighting, so gan taught her a few close-combat moves that could co in handy for her.
Zac spoke with Madeline about video gas after seeing the girl playing on her portable console, and Alice exchanged a few words with Balthazar, knowing he was the strongest of the vampires—besides Mother, of course.
"Hey, Dante… How long do you think this war will last?" Asphodel asked the warlock, sipping from her wine with a slightly tipsy expression.
"I have no idea. You are asking as if I know more about this world than you…" Dante replied, downing the rest of his cup of wine.
While both Dante and Asphodel had participated in nurous wars, they were utterly clueless about mafia-related matters.
"Honestly, I think it's best to follow Camille and gan's plans on this… There are too many variables that we are not familiar with," said the warlock.
"I agree. Even Ira seems to be an expert in these matters now," Asphodel replied.
After the group ate their dinner, consisting of a juicy, dium-rare steak with sides, they went to their rooms to rest, preparing themselves for their mission the following day.
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