Undying Warlord

"How many are they?" Dilan asked the moment he realized that their time was running out.

He handed over his messenger device to Felia and call them once the Blue Star camp's scouts would note a large number of 'Ascenders' passing through their camp. Dilan didn't think about telling her that these Ascenders were Vampires and that they were about to attack his camp. It didn't really matter and there were no benefits he would receive on his side.

He was not sure how Felia was currently doing or what was happening to the Blue Star camp but based on the bits of information she shared, it was pretty obvious that the Blue Star camp's situation was not that great ever since Dilan and the others left.

"She couldn't say much because the scouts, who reported that there was a high number of Ascenders passing by their camp, didn't see much. It was night and even with the scout's [Sight in the Night] abilities, they weren't able to see much. The only information she had was that there were many, and that some of them were riding monsters!" Bianne's voice cracked with fear as she revealed everything Felia had told her.

Dilan nodded his head as if he understood before he nibbled on his lower lip.

"Sven was about to start preparing the traps today, wasn't he? That means we have little to no preparations…" Dilan mumbled while Bianne's body started to shudder involuntarily.

"Will we die? No, right? That cannot happen. It won't happen." Bianne mumbled to herself, her expression growing worse by the minute.

"Stop! Don't panic! If they just passed by the Blue Star camp, we should have almost half a day left before they reach us. Even if they have mounts, who cares? Gather everyone!" Dilan instructed hurriedly while various thoughts flashed through his mind.

He got a headache just by thinking about the mounts, a variable he hadn't factored into consideration.

'Of course, they can use mounts to speed up their travel,' Dilan frowned deeply before he turned his head to Bianne, who had yet to move.

"Everyone? Like everyone in the Inner circle or literally everyone?" Bianne asked while fidgeting with her clothes to control her trembling hand.

"Literally everyone. We'll go to war," Dilan asserted before he turned around as well.

"I will go to the trading hub and the alloy factory, you gather everyone outside the base," He ordered as he dashed in the direction of the trading hub.

Seeing that Dilan arrived once again, the attendant bowed to him and flashed him a smile.

"How may I help you, Boss?" She asked before she froze as Dilan approached her with quick steps. His gaze caused chills to run down her spine and she involuntarily stepped back.

"The Vampire attack will start in half a day at the latest. Be prepared to equip hundreds of Ascenders with good working equipment. Tell them that they can lend it for the battle and that they don't need to worry if it gets destroyed… I will cover up for all the damages and expenses if that's necessary," Dilan said while his expression didn't change in the slightest.

The female attendant opened her mouth slowly before she closed it once again. After a while, she opened her mouth again but no word escaped it.

"We will take care of everything. There is no need to compensate the trading hub for damages. The Vampire attack will be considered a War of our entire group, not only yours," A familiar voice reached Dilan from the left. He turned his attention to the manager of the trading hub and quickly noticed that she was glaring at him.

"Why would you need to compensate us if something gets damaged? You and the others provided most Essence crystals, most ability crystals, and most treasures for the trading hub. It belongs to you, either way, just like the entire group.

You can do whatever you want. Stop acting like a fool and behave like a leader. Your people need you, we need you!" She added, visibly angered. Dilan smiled wryly in response before he nodded his head.

His eyes shone brightly and he took a few deep breaths to calm his wildly palpitating heart.

"You're right. Thanks," Dilan said before he thought about something for a second or two as he continued to speak, "Provide everyone with the equipment they need, it doesn't matter what it is. We don't know how many Vampires will come, so we need to go all-out from the beginning!"

After Dilan finished what he had to say, he left the trading hub quickly to dash in the direction of the alloy factory where all blacksmiths and all training Ascenders were located.

Meanwhile, the manager and her attendant were left alone.

"Why did you say that he should stop acting like a fool? Wasn't he just trying to be considerate and prevent any potential problems from occurring if some goods were to be damaged?" The female attendant asked when she was sure that Dilan was well out of earshot. In her opinion, Dilan was a great leader, even if he looked a bit scary sometimes.

"You don't understand. A leader needs to be decisive, he needs to know what his subordinates have to do, and he needs to be greedy, and sometimes selfish, or a devil," The manager responded in return, looking at the door of the small shop, where Dilan had walked out of and disappeared.

'Until now, he had never thought of himself as a leader. He had pushed his responsibilities aside and only acted as the leader of the group since he is the strongest and the only one, who is truly feared and respected.' She recalled.

Dilan was a great leader, she could tell that. However, they didn't need someone, who always protected them, right now. In a war, a single individual would never be enough to emerge victorious. Dilan might be able to kill everyone because he was strong enough but facing thousands of opponents would inevitably result in his subordinates getting attacked.

As a leader, Dilan was not able to protect his people at all times. They had to fight their own battle without Dilan's help and he had to mentally support them. As long as Dilan could keep their morale and hope high, they were bound to win.

However, if he acted like he didn't need others, and that he could defeat everyone without their help, his Ascenders would slowly lose their motivation to become stronger.

Dilan may not even notice it but when he had proposed that he could fight the Vampires all by himself and that the other Ascenders could fight from the sidelines, he made a big mistake.

In the trading hub manager's opinion, Dilan had yet to realize how important it was for him to act like a real leader and fight by their side instead of fighting all by himself.

In fact, even after Dilan listened to the manager's words, he had yet to fully digest what she might have meant. He didn't think that he had done anything wrong yet he had irked her.

Only when he reached the alloy factory where he could see all the Ascenders, who were working hard to become stronger, did he notice something that changed his opinion entirely?

'I'm a fool. I am literally a fool…just how stupid am I?' He smiled bitterly and straightened his back as his eyes turned serious. He enhanced his vocal cord with mana and issued a simple order that could be heard through the entire alloy factory.

"Ascenders, gather in the Base. We need to prepare for war!" While he issued the command, Dilan released an overwhelming charismatic presence that influenced everyone subconsciously. They stopped training abruptly and turned in his direction before they began to shudder.

Dilan's battlelust was clearly perceptible and his eyes turned fiery. A storm was brewing and Dilan was gathering everyone to face the storm and tear it apart!

The blacksmiths gathered all their goods and brought them to the trading hub before they built their own small station to undergo maintenance with all the treasures in the trading hub.

Meanwhile, the other Ascenders hurried to the base, where everyone had already been gathered. More than 3000 Survivors and Ascenders had gathered around him. Their eyes followed Dilan, whose steps reverberated through the entire hall.

His expression was stoic and he walked slowly as his gaze roamed through the crowd of his people. Their eyes were glued on Dilan, while their bodies shivered lightly as if the Grim Reaper hummed the song of death while pressing his scythe at their necks.

"The first Vampire families will arrive soon," Dilan said in a tense voice that reached every corner of the base. There was pin-drop silence and even the sound of drafts of wind splashing against the base's wall could be heard, followed by the sobbing of a small child as the tension around Dilan increased further.

Everyone around him stiffened as they realized that the threat was encroaching upon them and that this could very well be their last day to stay alive. Meanwhile, a crazy smile appeared on his face when a ginormous weapon manifested in his hand.

Balzaki's dull backside landed on his shoulder and the ground below him began to creak but Dilan kept smiling as he unleashed all the power he held back before, intensifying the tremendous presence he executed.

"And I want all of you to fight right by my side! Let's kill them…together!"