Desolate World

As for running away, he was not crazy enough to expose his back to a creature that he thought could teleport. His only chance was to wait for his bats transformation skill's cooldown to end, which was more than 19 minutes left. But, even if he could transform his body into bats, he needed a lot of luck so he could escape from there, as Jordan had ranged attacks by ejecting his nails.

As he was tormented by uncertainty, a voice shocked him to his core, as it was so close. Ace realized that Jordan was on the other side of the tree.

"I thought you were a vampire. I'm sorry to attack you," Jordan said.

'He wants to talk. It meant he didn't want to fight again, right?' Ace said in his heart.

However, he didn't dare to loosen his guard. He guessed that Jordan was on the other side of the tree because he was also wary of him.

"I have been using this route for months, but I have never seen you. Who are you? And why are you here," What Ace said was of course a lie. Actually, he was gambling here. Jordan might have been inhabited in an area near here, so his lie would be exposed.

However, he somehow was sure that the shadow was not from here. As he and the refugees had passed this route when they went to the village. And he didn't find anything weird in this area. Although it was possible that he had missed it, he was still sure that it was not the case.

His motive was for digging more information from Jordan. Where did he come from? What was his purpose for coming here? Was he not alone? And the most important question was, was he an enemy or friend?

"I'm sorry, to intrude into your territory. We came from the North. We came here because we got information that a platoon of strong undead was slain in this forest. So the undead had withdrawn from The Misty forest. 

We just want to take advantage of their decision to run to the South. We don't want to make you an enemy. So, I want to apologize for attacking you. As I thought you were a vampire. Because in my knowledge, only vampires can transform into bats," Jordan said.

Ace was ecstatic when hearing that. In his mind, he thought that because they were running away from the undead, they were definitely not his enemies. So, they could be categorized as refugees. But he wanted to make sure once again. He then formulated his answer to get the information he wanted.

"I got this skill after we killed some vampires that entered our territory to hunt human refugees. And we indeed had killed some level 40 skeletons who invaded our territory after that. But, how could you know about the details of the extermination? I think the undead definitely wouldn't easily leak it," Ace asked.

"Is it true that your group, who slew the undead?" Ace could detect a shock in Jordan's tone.

"Of course, they thought that with their numbers they could do anything they wanted. The misty forest is our turf. They were wrong to think that we would let them be after entering our area," Ace said without batting his eyes. As a former gambler, how could he be shy to bluff?

"Yes, they are too domineering. They kill anything they see. But, we are not the same with them. I hope you don't misunderstand," Jordan said at a fast pace. It meant he was intimidated.

Ace knew that his bluffing was working. Ace then said, "You know what a guardian is, right?"

"...," Jordan didn't immediately answer. 

"Yes, I presume that you are a guardian," Ace finally got Jordan's answer.

"Yes. I got a mission this evening to patrol around our area. So, I must report who you are, and whether you are hostile or not. So, take me to your group. I want to talk to your leader.

And remember, I can resurrect after dying. and I will definitely report you to the village. As it is my duty," Ace said while stepping out from behind the tree. 

He looked at Jordan who was on another side of the tree. Somehow, Ace could see that Jordan's complexion was not good.

***

'What should I do? How can I fix my mistake?' Jordan asked in his heart.

He never thought that his action, attacking this human guardian, would endanger his group. He couldn't imagine, if they somehow couldn't convince this man, what would happen.

He remembered the information that he got from Iron Gate Fortress by infiltrating the stronghold. He heard that a group of more than 60 vampires was almost wiped out by humans, leaving only two high-ranking vampires who could escape by transforming into bats.

The two vampires then found a parasite in the forest and reported the news. As he knew that the undead was seeking a parasite from a month ago, it's no wonder the higher up of Iron Gade Fortress used an expensive teleportation scroll to send the best platoon of skeletons that was led by an elite lich to the forest to catch it alive.

However, even after one day passed, because of some reason, the platoon didn't come back with the captured parasite. It made the higher up of Iron Gate Fortress feel that something was not right. A guardian that was sent with the skeletons had been killed in the battle with the monsters that were influenced by the parasite. 

So, he couldn't tell much except the information that the parasite could influence thousands of monsters to help it fight the skeletons. He could only say that much, because he was killed after battling the monster for half an hour.

The higher up then sent many guardians and elite undeath to investigate. What was waiting in the site where the battle took place was a horrible spectacle. Many trees were scorched black, a big crater was created on the ground, and dismembered organs of monsters that seemed to be blasted to pieces in a radius of 500 meters from the crater. 

***