Emi hadn’t even had a chance to take action throughout the entire operation.
This group of over three thousand refugees had no will to resist. They were completely cowed, then lifted onto the Whispering Bats and taken back to Dawn City.
The ease of the process left Emi rather moved.
As expected of those trained personally by the Lord Progenitor, truly extraordinary.
The first population raid took a total of three sun-hours. Most of this time was spent because so many of the three thousand people were too frightened to climb onto the Whispering Bats and wasted a lot of time.
As for resistance, there hadn’t been the slightest sign of it.
No one wanted to throw their life away.
Human nature was always like this, after you applied overwhelming pressure and then gave a sliver of hope, they would cling to that hope.
The next morning, when word spread that the first group of people captured during the Months of Deep Winter would soon be transported back to Dawn City.
The entire city erupted in excitement.
Although the vampires had already announced beforehand that after the Months of Deep Winter, they would bring back more humans to Dawn City and asked all residents to prepare.
The residents were still overjoyed by this decision, because Dawn City was simply too vast, and the areas they lived in were too empty.
Even with the bustling streets in the city center, with fewer than ten thousand people, there was only so much liveliness.
But if the population continued to grow, they believed life would improve. At the very least, the streets would feel much more vibrant.
Rekel was in charge of the reception task that day. As the head of the Logistics Division, Rekel’s status in Dawn City had become something ordinary residents looked up to with admiration.
Especially since Rekel carried the legendary story of having been personally invited by Lord Kachar himself to serve as head of the Logistics Squad, this earned him immense respect.
“Lord Rekel!”
“Good day, Lord Rekel.”
“…”
Inside, Rekel did not feel nearly as calm as his expression appeared. Respect and awe, that was the attitude of everyone around him.
And this was something he had only ever experienced here in Dawn City.
As someone who had roamed far and wide, even traveling to the Nolan Empire’s royal capital, Rekel had seen much of the world.
Yet precisely because he had seen so much, he cherished his current life all the more.
This city had everything he had ever longed for. Even if he were not the head of Logistics, he would still be willing to lay down his life to protect this city and to draw his sword in defense of Lord Kachar’s honor.
This was no longer the place that had once filled him with fear, this was his home, where he had family, friends, and everything he cared about.
“Logistics Squad, cooperate with the Security Squad to maintain order. And don’t stand inside the perimeter lines.”
Rekel stood tall and straight, loudly commanding order.
Seeing Rekel’s imposing bearing, many of the residents who had originally come from Eric Town proudly lifted their heads and bragged to the surrounding crowd.
“This was an important man who had come from our Eric Town.
And back then, we joined Dawn City at the same time as Lord Rekel, we were the very first residents of Dawn City. Our land and homes were personally assigned to us by Lord Kachar himself.”
The pride on their faces practically overflowed from their chests.
Their words immediately drew envious looks from the nearby people. Being among the first residents of Dawn City, this honor was even more jealousy-inducing than flaunting Gold Pucks.
“They’re here, they’re here!!”
“Look up, look at the sky!!”
“So many Whispering Bats!”
“…”
As the residents shouted, countless Whispering Bats appeared in the sky, their massive forms blotting out the sun.
And the refugees riding on the bats’ backs, who had been filled with worry, felt their tense hearts unexpectedly ease a little when they saw the people below waving frantically and calling out to them with excited voices.
This city… really did have humans living in it! These vampires hadn’t lied to them.
In the blue sky above, countless enormous bats spread their wings and soared. Their sinister wings, lined with barbed spines, could pierce a knight’s armor, and each beat of their huge wings stirred up a gust of wind.
Beneath their gray, hairless skin, thick muscles bulged high. These oversized bats dominated the sky.
Li De stood silently by the window on the third floor of City Hall, watching the scene.
City Hall was built right by Dawn Square, and from here he could directly see everything happening in the plaza.
Seeing the residents cheering, he felt a faint pang of emotion. He still remembered when the very first batch of residents had arrived, the entire plaza had been silent, only the magical lamps and torches flickering with unsteady light.
Back then, he had to appear personally to suppress the fear in everyone’s hearts.
But now, he didn’t even need to show up anymore.
All the work was handled by those under him, and often handled even better than he would have done himself.
Li De turned his head to look at Harrison, who had just stepped into the office.
“Harrison, you must personally oversee the population raids. I’ll be staying in the manor during this period. If you encounter anything you can’t resolve, come directly to me.”
“Yes, Patriarch.”
“I’m going to resume researching improved magic. It will take some time.”