kscans

Chapter 38 - Operation: Bat Squadron Recon

""""We're off, Mathter-chama!""""

Countless Vampire Bats took flight into the night sky.

"Be careful!"

These were the Vampire Bat familiars I had created. I was able to produce them fairly easily, so I decided to entrust them with various tasks. I put Solfi in command of them all.

"Leave it to me, Mathter-chama! I'll thupervithe them well-chu!"

The Vampire Bats had two main jobs. The first was to scout the area around Fenesia Town, looking for hostile forces and helping our allies with their hunting.

The second was to spread out across the country and investigate the movements of the nobles. I had them infiltrate various towns and listen in on people's conversations. Unfortunately, the Vampire Bats have very low combat power, so if they were ever discovered, they wouldn't stand a chance in a fight. Their main job was to hide in the shadows and eavesdrop.

"Then we shall be on our way as well."

"Okay, I'm counting on you. If you think it's dangerous, you can come right back."

"Leave it to us!"

Next, the Dark Elves and their undead escorts scattered to various locations.

"The Vampire Bats aren't very smart, so this is going to be a lot of work for everyone else."

Unfortunately, the Vampire Bats lack the ability to filter the information they gather. When I sent them on a test run to a nearby town, they came back with completely useless information for a war, like the recent price of vegetables or a rumor about a local housewife having an affair with a young traveling merchant.

"But it's not entirely meaningless. The price of food can tell us how wealthy a region is. We can use that to incite the commoners' resentment towards the nobles, or target a weakened domain for an attack."

But for Adolnel, even that kind of information had value. So, we set up a system where the information gathered by the Vampire Bats would be relayed to the Dark Elves who had traveled to those locations on the ground. The Dark Elves would then select only the useful information, write it down in a letter, and have a messenger Vampire Bat deliver it back to us.

So, the Vampire Bats were divided into three roles: "Scouting," "Espionage," and "Communication."

They also have another important role now that they've spread out across the country, but we'll get to that later.

"Well, it'll take some time for the information to start coming in. We should do what we can on our end in the meantime."

◆

"Mathter-chama! I've brought a report-chuuu!"

Several weeks had passed since then. Reports from the Vampire Bats sent to various locations had arrived.

"Huh, so the reason they haven't attacked is because they're fighting over who gets to be in charge."

It seemed that after their defeat, the humans were busy regrouping and gathering more forces. However, even in such a crisis, they had started a power struggle, which was preventing them from presenting a united front.

"Ah, and foreign countries are meddling. That's just going to make things more complicated."

Apparently, their request for help from foreign countries, because their own forces weren't enough, was making the situation even worse.

"They're taking advantage of this country's situation because it's not their problem. How foolish. When dealing with a high-ranking Vampire, you must act swiftly, or the damage will only spread. Depending on the location, it could have serious consequences for them as well... Ah, so that's why."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Adolnel, who had been sneering at the greedy actions of the various nobles, suddenly seemed to understand something.

"Yes, the lack of urgency from the neighboring countries is likely due to this town's location. This town is situated near the center of my country. Therefore, from the perspective of the neighboring countries, there is no immediate danger."

Ah, I see. Since it's far from their own borders, they're confident they can defeat us before the danger reaches them, which is why they're so relaxed.

"Therefore, until the conflict spreads to a distance they consider dangerous to their own countries, they will likely drag out negotiations to secure a more favorable deal. They'll probably start with an exorbitant demand and then gradually lower it."

That means we still have plenty of time.

"In that case, we should increase our forces even more while the neighboring countries aren't paying attention."

"Yes, let's do that."

We shared a wicked grin and decided to put a new plan into action.

◆

"Big Sis, it looks like the allied army is about to make a move."

In the end, the humans didn't move until after the new year, when the spring planting was finished.

"They whined about not being able to move their army in the winter because of the snow, and then in the spring they said they were too busy planting seeds. They really dragged it out, didn't they? Well, thanks to that, we're more than ready."

Alright then, let's begin our war!

"Well, if we lose, we lose. We can just run away then."

After all, as long as we survive, we can rebuild our forces and try again as many times as we want! Ah, when you think about it, Vampires are such a broken existence.