Transmigrated as a Ghost

It was a bit difficult for Marcus to imagine the constant conflict that had lasted between the Draayer Empire and the Umbrashnuls for so many years.

'I guess it's not that strange. I still haven't lived that long yet despite not having to worry about aging anymore. For beings that are several centuries old, hostilities that haven't lasted for a decade yet probably don't feel like that long.'

While the two Darklands nations had been fighting with each other over the disputed territory and resources, it had not devolved into a full-on war so far.

The two leaders had and some of their top combatants had already fought each other and concluded that neither side could really beat the other.

A true war where both sides went all-out would just result in vast areas being destroyed with neither side really gaining anything.

Marcus understood why the Draayer Empress had called it a sort of cold war.

She and her counterpart among the Umbrashnuls continued to amass power to make sure to keep the other side in check and assure mutual destruction.

Of course, this meant that there had not been any real progress and they were both still after the same resources with neither of them having been able to claim it so far.

However, the Umbrashnuls had become bolder as of late from what the empress told Marcus, Lyra, Quillon, and Roxene.

They had been deploying more spies and ambushing groups belonging to the Draayer Empire that were away from the capital and its other large cities.

"I see. And their increased aggression is why you called for us now. You're ready to put an end to all of this." Lyra said confidently.

"Yes, that's true. But not the entirety of it. I also wanted you two to come because of some unsettling rumors. More informants inside the Umbrashnul Kingdom tell me that the Umbrashnul King recently gained multiple new powers and has hired assassins adept at slaying vampires. If this information is true, it is likely the root cause of their escalation."

The Draayer Empress then admitted that she had originally planned to wait a bit longer for Marcus and Lyra to become stronger before calling in the favors they owed.

Her original idea had been to use them to decisively win a major battle using overwhelming power.

Unfortunately, if her enemies were making moves, she needed to as well. To protect herself and her people.

Still, after having everything explained to him, Marcus truly did not want to fight if it was avoidable.

Even getting all of his information from only one side, it did not seem to him that the Umbrashnuls were in the wrong or particularly evil.

Both sides of this conflict were just trying to do what was best for their nations by securing valuable resources.

Of course, it sounded like diplomacy had fallen through quickly if it had ever really been attempted in the first place.

Now the vampires and their rivals were out to kill the other but simply lacked the means to do so.

'But maybe there's a way that I can put an end to this without violence. I don't mind fighting monsters. beasts, or people that I consider enemies, but war is certainly something I have a distaste for.'

Considering that this conflict was over control of resources and territory, if both the vampires and Umbrashnuls got what they wanted, there would be no reason to fight.

"How about you just give up the chamber to the Umbrashnuls, and I'll use my abilities to find other resource areas down her. I can turn intangible and fly through walls without needing to worry about any obstacles. I bet I could find somewhere just as good if you gave me a couple of weeks.

"Plus, I can gather items from the surface as well and bring them down here. Now that I've reached this place, I can come back at any time using one of my unique skills." Marcus said, offering up a nonviolent solution.

Except, the elated and surprised reaction he was suspecting did not occur.

Instead, the Draayer Empress looked at him like a child that thought they had come up with a good idea but was actually improbable at best.

"Perhaps five years ago, I would have taken you up on that offer. Sadly, it's too late to resolve things peacefully now. Animosity has built up and festered between our people. While there have not been any major battles, we've had a number of deaths on our side. And it has only become worse over the last couple of months. I can't let the lost lives of my people go without retribution."

Marcus could see a fierce resolve in the vampire empress' dark black eyes.

For a moment they flashed red with bloodlust. Peace was no longer an option.

"I thought you said that you can't kill each other. How many deaths could there have really been then?" Quillon asked.

"Clearly you haven't been listening well if that's what you're asking. My subjects aren't all vampires. And as I said, only those that have reached a certain level cannot be killed by the Umbrashnuls. In the last seven years, we've had over four thousand casualties from skirmishes and ambushes. That may not sound like a lot to you, but it is an amount that I find unforgivable."

Her anger was evident and it was undeniable that only the destruction of her enemies would quell her rage.

Quillon merely shrugged his shoulders at the answer he received and leaned back into his chair.

He might not have been one for wholesale slaughter, but he was not one to back away from a challenging fight. Going up against some of the Umbrashnuls elite fights sounded like it might be fun.

"Fine, we'll fight for you. I don't like it, but I can't deny that we owe you. But I'm not going to kill tens of thousands of people for you. I'm only going to take out the ones that you can't handle yourself."