( A commoner in Dombivli, A month after the fall of Ixtal )
" It happened again! Dracula struck again! Out of nowhere- he, he, he destroyed two planets under the Dayzi clan, it was the bigger planets that they had under their rule as well.
100 million? 200 million vampires must be living on each of those planets…..
That monster!!!!! just how many did he massacre in a day? " The commoner screamed as he began shivering violently.
The fall of two planets was the headline news of the day as while the central newspaper controlled by the government tried to censor the news, the independent newspaper ran by the merchants caught wind of the news and decided to run the story.
What followed was mass hysteria as the commoners began to behave like it was the end of the universe.
" What is King Regus doing? Isn't he a monarch? Isn't he supposed to protect us from tyrants like Dracula! Why is he hiding in Zandar when hundreds of millions of vampires are dying a pointless death " A commoner questioned as he directed his anger towards the king for not protecting his people.
" I've heard that Lord Max has re-started the mandatory military service programme. I know he led us to glory in the Dimensional Battlefield, but I'm scared of fighting werewolves and primordial vampires.
Dracula destroys entire planets at whim! What can we mortals do against such power? " Another commoner said as he expressed his apprehension regarding the re-introduction of compulsory military service.
" So what do you want to do huh? Just sit here in Dombivli, going about your life till someday Dracula shows up and kills us all?
Nobody asked for this war alright! But if we want to get out of it, we need to fight and we need to win! " said a youth as he admonished the elder commoner for behaving like a coward.
Overall, the chaos and unrest amongst the common masses was only growing everyday and it was reflected in the form of increased crime rate and decreased civil spending.
In such times the allure of consistent and secure military income was alluring for many, however, the needless hype that Regus Aurelius had systematically created against primordial vampires was now coming to bite everyone back, as the usually brave modern vampires lacked the spine to face this particular opponent and it reflected in their morale.
From childhood they had heard stories about Dracula and his tyranny, they had heard stories about the prophecy and how the return of the primordial one would be the doom of their race, and as a result nobody seemed to be optimistic about the whole situation.
************
( Meanwhile Asiva )
Asiva was 8 months pregnant at this point and was expected to deliver the baby anytime next week.
Despite the gloomy atmosphere amongst the commoners there was an air of enthusiasm and joy within the Dombivili mansion regarding the birth of the baby.
Furball was the one who seemed to be the most excited to meet the child as she had spent a lot of her free time in the past months, licking Asiva's belly and nourishing the baby inside with her divine essence.
Furball almost treated the baby inside Asiva's belly as her own, and the reason behind it was kind of cute.
In her mind, the baby shared the same bloodline as her master and could be considered a member of the same litter.
It was for this sole reason that she treated him as one of her own as she did not have the good fortune of raising Rudra's actual children.
Max, who was swamped with work because of the recent mess was also working hard to take care of Asiva and the baby as although he tried to hide it, anyone who knew him even a little could see on his face how excited he was.
Max could be seen smiling all day, he would often jump stairs when going to and from the garden to his office like an energetic kid while also spending about 20 minutes daily talking to Asiva's belly so that the baby could recognise his voice.
However, on this particular day, Max was not smiling at all as the news of the terrorist style attack on two Dayzi clan planets was grim news that splashed cold water all over Max's enthusiasm.
The attack was a deliberate reminder by Dracula that no vampire planet was safe from his attacks and that he could waltz into vampire territory, destroy their planets and walk out unopposed.
The news of this event was sure to spread terror amongst vampire masses and that was precisely what Dracula was aiming for.
From today onwards, the vampire adults were bound to lose sleep as they would wonder every night going to bed if this would be their last.
Not only would this serve to cripple the vampire economy, making it difficult to raise long time funds for a sustained war effort, it would also promote civil unrest.
It was a master stroke by Dracula, one thar only needed to be repeated periodically to keep the fear alive.
The border clash aside, the terrorist style attacks could become the biggest threat to vampire society in the coming days.
************
( Meanwhile Mira )
Mira opened a letter from Max and was a little surprised and a little offended to read its content.
[ Mira, I'm sure you are aware about the current unrest within vampire lands.
I don't expect you or aunt Rhea to interfere in this matter, however, if you could somehow maintain your levelling speed, I would appreciate it immensely.
I need to get stronger fast and although I have acquired means to increase my level, my speed greatly depends on your speed of levelling as well so I must urge you to try and do your best in this regard.
I'm sorry this letter is not longer, and yes I miss you too.
-Love, Max ]
Unlike Max, Mira had been writing consistently to Max letting him know about every little development in her life.
She was offended that he only wrote back when he needed something from her and surprised regarding the fact that he acknowledged that he did miss her.
Somehow the letter made Mira feel conflicting emotions which were very bitter-sweet.
" Ugh, Max you meanie, I hate you- " Mira said eventually as she puffed her cheeks and decided to go on a levelling spree.
Since Max wanted her to support his levelling dreams, she was going to level up like hell!