Upon arrival at the desolated village, the students were quickly divided into groups of four. In each team, there were two students from each academy. This was another stipulation no one had previously agreed to.
But right then and there, professors from either academy thought it was a good idea as it would help the students keep each other in check.
Furthermore, each team was accompanied by either a professor from the werewolf academy or from the vampire academy. Oddly enough, Camilla was quite insistent on being the overseer of one particular group.
At a glance, there wasn't anything special about the group. The two werewolves in the team were low-rankers, which meant one of the vampire students must have been a highly valued person. Or at least he would be related to someone of high standing.
Virgil couldn't force Camilla to do otherwise, therefore he accepted his defeat and went on to head another team. The subjugation quest soon turned into a makeshift competition. Everyone wanted to know which team was the best and thus everyone was drowned in the spirit of competitiveness.
Each team was assigned a particular area. None of the teams was allowed to enter a different team's zone until and unless the Overseers from both the teams allowed them to do so. The team that scored the most kills before sunrise would get a special reward.
However... not everyone there was looking forward to the reward...
"Fucking hell... why did we have to be the ones to get burdened with these useless bastards." A crimson-haired vampire complained to his fellow team member, "Look at them... they don't even have any proper skills! How are they supposed to fight?"
"Calm down Kai. It isn't that bad. Just look at it this way, we got two porters to carry our stuff. They are more or less like servants we used to have in Vania." Kai's raven-haired partner, Nico smirked, "Also, this is the best time to show them why the vampires are naturally more powerful than them!"
Kai and Nice were leading the team, while the werewolves treaded behind. They could hear every single word those vampires were saying, and despite feeling rage boiling up within them, they couldn't do anything.
Why? Because what those vampires were saying was a 100% true. They weren't even strong enough to take down their peers. How the hell were they supposed to fight with the vampires?
On top of that, their overseer was the director of the vampire academy herself. If they even tried to do anything... things would not end up good for them.
Had there been a professor from their academy appointed as their overseer, they wouldn't have hesitated before teaching those loud-mouthed blood-sucking bitches a lesson they would never forget.
Since Camilla wasn't stopping her students from bashing the morale of their teammates, the werewolves decided to do the only thing they could in that situation... look around the desolated place that had once been the hub for business. At least when the humans were in charge of the place.
The place was once called Brafast. The network of roads that led to Brafast was torn to pieces by the elements of nature. The grass had filled the labyrinth of cracks while the sand had covered whatever was left.
Broken branches and leaves covered the roads inside the town while the tall grasses of the unkempt gardens swayed in the wind.
Most doors still stood in their frames as if nothing had changed. However, quite a few were ajar for one reason or another, perhaps left open in a hurry. Clothing, home appliances and other belongings were left lost and broken outside some of the homes. They were of no use to anyone anymore.
Brafast, once a major hub for new businesses and young families was but a hollow shell of its former self. The air which was once filled with the many sounds of a growing community had grown eerily quiet.
The silence was only broken up by the occasional random sound and gust of wind. The train station had collapsed and the tracks were covered in shrubs and fallen branches. Nobody was waiting for the next train anymore, no longer eagerly going to the next destination or waiting for those coming home.
It was a strange feeling to be in the footsteps of so many lives now long forgotten and not knowing what became of the people who once spent their lives here. But even though many buildings had found a new purpose there was just no way this town's former self could ever be restored.
Which was the reason why the werewolves never even tried to repopulate the place. The value of Brafast had been long lost. However, the undead living in the area would think otherwise. For them... new prey had arrived, waiting to be feasted upon.
Soon enough a couple of such ghouls found their way to Kai and Nico's group. As soon as they saw the ghoul, they smiled at each other.
"The first one to kill the ghoul would not have to do any chores after returning to the campus!" Kai smirked and rushed in towards the nearest ghoul. He mumbled something and suddenly, wings popped up out of nowhere on his back.
Before either of the ghouls could even react, he jumped over their heads, wrapped his arms around the neck of the ghoul and cleanly ripped it off of its shoulders as if the neck was detachable from the beginning.
The move was vicious, yet elegant. Even as the rotten blood of the ghoul splattered everywhere, along with tidbits of flesh, at that moment, the werewolves could not help but admire the vampire.
"That isn't fair bitch!" Nico retorted, "You got a head start!"
"Stop whining, loser and take care of the remaining ghoul. Or do you want me to do that for you?" Kai teased Nico, "I can do that, but only if you agree on doing my chores for the rest of the week."
"Get lost!" Nico jokingly punched Kai's shoulder and went ahead to kill the ghoul that was charging toward them.
However, Camilla had no interest in them whatsoever. Instead, she was busy fidgeting with her communicator. A wide smile appeared on her face as she read the text she had just received... 'We're in position. Awaiting orders.'