Ch.265265. Vampire

The next morning at dawn.

We step outside the inn with Unyeop. It was still early, so the sun hadn’t risen yet, leaving our surroundings dark, and the once-bustling streets were rather quiet.

“Did you sleep well?”

Behind Unyeop, who greeted us with a raised hand, were people dressed in martial arts uniforms.

Like him, they were warriors from the Han Empire.

‘There are more than I expected.’

I’d heard we would be joining his colleagues, but I didn’t expect there would be this many.

After briefly answering Unyeop’s question, we head together toward the outskirts of the city.

The warriors silently followed behind Unyeop, each wearing uniforms embroidered with the same phoenix emblem.

‘Phoenix?’

Is it some kind of martial arts sect?

As I took interest in them, Unyeop beside me smiled slightly and chimed in.

“They’re called the Maengcheon Sect. It’s the sect I belonged to, founded on the phoenix arts created by Martial God Hanso.”

“…I heard Hanso belonged to a sect called Beomhwang?”

When I gave Hanso peace in the capital of the Republic of Clark, I heard various stories about him.

The image of him worrying about his sect was still vivid in my mind.

“Haha, he was so talented that he established several sects. He belonged to Beomhwang at the end, but Maengcheon was clearly a sect he created as well.”

“Maengcheon… I suppose it’s related to the Maengcheon Mubong?”

Recalling how Hanso’s eyes had lit up upon seeing the lost Maengcheon Mubong in the Demon Realm, I asked, and he nodded in surprise.

“You don’t know much about sects, yet you know about the Maengcheon Mubong?”

“Well, in my own way.”

“You become more intriguing the more I look at you.”

I could see he was itching to ask more, but knowing from experience that I wouldn’t give proper answers, he didn’t press further.

Instead, he glanced at the sect members behind him, then leaned toward me and whispered.

“Try not to mention other sects to them if possible. Especially Beomhwang.”

“…”

“They have their own circumstances, you know.”

Listening to him, I glanced at the Maengcheon warriors. Their tense atmosphere suggested that leaving the city itself was quite a risk for them.

“Let’s hurry.”

Unyeop’s pace quickened, and just as I thought Soho and I might have trouble keeping up, we reached the city entrance.

“Ahem.”

Ironically, waiting to greet us at the entrance were warriors dressed in uniforms with tiger patterns.

“Inspector Unyeop and remnants of Maengcheon. Where are you rushing off to?”

Among them, a woman wearing a white uniform reminiscent of a white tiger stepped forward with a sneer.

“Ju Orong…”

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy as Unyeop and the Maengcheon warriors clenched their fists.

Caught in the middle, Soho carefully tugged at my clothes and asked.

“W-what’s going on? Were we not just leaving but actually escaping?”

“We need to assess the situation.”

“Y-you’re so calm.”

Despite the sudden turn of events, Soho seemed to find reassurance in my stoic response, her expression easing slightly.

For now, I needed to listen quietly.

“Maengcheon’s movements have been suspicious lately, so we’ve been watching. And then I heard you returned yesterday, Unyeop.”

“…”

“I don’t know your intentions, but it’s illegal for an imperial sect to leave the city as a group without His Majesty’s permission.”

“We’re a sect that’s already been cast out of His Majesty’s favor anyway.”

“Rules apply equally to everyone.”

The woman called Ju Orong took a stance. It was a posture rarely seen in Griffin, more common in Chinese martial arts.

In my previous world, Chinese martial arts were often criticized for lacking practicality, but here it’s different.

With mana, their movements and techniques create pathways for mana to flow.

It would have been quite a spectacle to watch.

If only I wasn’t caught in the middle of it.

“Let’s step back.”

I quietly moved to the side with Soho. Unyeop and the other Maengcheon warriors seemed to take this for granted.

I belonged to the Hunters, not to get entangled in the sect conflicts of Han Empire warriors.

“Not very reliable, are you.”

I expressed my displeasure at Unyeop and Maengcheon for creating this situation. Unyeop gave a bitter smile. The Maengcheon warriors didn’t hide their annoyance, but it was their fault anyway.

With my hands behind my back, I watched the duel between the two sects unfold.

Unyeop drew out the staff he had boasted about and began fighting with Ju Orong, who stood at the front.

The Maengcheon and Beomhwang groups followed suit.

The battle escalated into a commotion, and the commotion woke the still-sleeping city.

People began poking their heads out from various places to see what was happening.

And the situation started to turn unfavorable for us.

Unyeop’s staff techniques were truly remarkable. It wasn’t for nothing that he held the position of inspector; his techniques resembled those of Hanso that I had seen in the Demon Realm, but were even more refined.

This must be what young Hanso had perfected.

But conversely, Maengcheon was struggling against Beomhwang.

Beomhwang’s punches were sharp and heavy, landing solidly on them, while Maengcheon’s weapons only cut through air.

‘Now I see why they were abandoned.’

They lacked skill, so they were pushed aside by Beomhwang, which is probably why they disliked mentioning them.

“A-are we going to get arrested too at this rate?!”

The clear difference in skill was apparent even to Soho, who had no knowledge or experience in this area.

Ignoring her anxiety, I spoke.

“It wouldn’t be difficult to help, but since I’d be helping with a personal matter, there should be separate compensation.”

Honestly, I didn’t particularly want to help, but these people were my express ticket back to the Griffin Kingdom.

Leaving them here would only make my return journey more difficult.

Hearing my words, Unyeop smiled painfully while sweating profusely.

“We just need to get outside.”

Whoosh!

A sphere of mana gathered at my fingertips. As a soulless necromancer, I had no way to defeat them. I couldn’t manipulate my soul to fight like Luaness.

All I had left were weak elemental magic and the black magic taught by the Dark Spiritmaster.

But most black magic was related to souls.

And objectively speaking, I couldn’t arbitrarily kill those who had done nothing wrong.

Soho frowned deeply as she watched the space gradually unfold from my fingertips.

“This is…”

A magic Soho had seen before.

The Dark Spiritmaster’s final gift.

A massive defensive magic that brilliantly unfolds to protect me, pushing away everyone I haven’t designated.

“Ugh!”

“W-what is this!”

“We’re being pushed back! Hold your ground!”

The Beomhwang warriors tried to resist being pushed back, but this was magic created by the strongest black mage of the current world.

It wasn’t something that could be resisted with mere determination.

The path cleared completely.

Except for me, Soho, Unyeop, and the Maengcheon warriors, no one was standing on the road.

Like a runway.

On either side of us, the pushed-back Beomhwang warriors were pounding on the translucent barrier, but it didn’t waver.

The protective magic extended all the way to the entrance.

I took Soho and stepped forward first.

“Let’s go.”

I walked ahead with a nonchalant tone.

“This is absurd.”

“I-impossible.”

“Magic? There’s such magic?”

I could hear Unyeop’s dejected voice from behind, followed by the Maengcheon warriors looking at me with various complex gazes.

But the uncomfortable stares from earlier had disappeared, replaced by intimidation, which suited me just fine.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Maengcheon! Do you really intend to walk the path of heresy!”

“Request reinforcements!”

If Beomhwang meant the emperor of tigers, then this place was a safari.

Receiving the roaring welcome of tigers from both sides, we escaped outside the city.

“What do you plan to do now?”

I couldn’t use the Dark Spiritmaster’s protective magic indefinitely. Though I acted nonchalant, my mana was running low.

It would soon dissipate.

Running away wasn’t a feasible suggestion with Soho and me present, so I obviously wouldn’t accept it.

“Wait and see.”

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Unyeop looked at the trees stretching in the distance.

Beneath the tree shadows, rough hoofbeats echoed.

“…”

“Eek.”

Soho momentarily cowered behind me in fear. Even in the darkness, their red eyes were fiercely fixed on us.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Hooves that shook the earth.

Black horses, about 1.5 times larger than normal horses, came rushing to greet us.

Each with a pitch-black body, rough muscles, and red eyes.

They were clearly a different breed from ordinary horses, and I realized these were the excellent horses Unyeop had mentioned we would ride all the way to Griffin.

“Pick any horse and mount it.”

Saying that, Unyeop leaped onto one first. The Maengcheon warriors quickly followed suit.

“Kyah!”

I placed my hands under Soho’s armpits to lift her onto a horse first, then mounted in front of her.

I had already withdrawn the protective magic.

Behind us, the Beomhwang warriors were rushing forward as if using some kind of teleportation technique.

Sitting atop the horse with muscles like steel that didn’t even tremble, I wondered.

“Where are the reins?”

I could understand the absence of a saddle, but shouldn’t there be reins to control the horse?

But Unyeop shook his head.

“They’ll move on their own. We just need to stay mounted.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than black shadows erupted from the dark horses, securing our waists and legs to them.

“Eek!”

“…”

For a moment, it felt like we were being sucked into the horse.

“Blood horses. Known to be ridden by blood demons.”

Unyeop revealed the identity of the horses to me as I pondered.

The blood horses began galloping back the way they had come with fierce neighs.

It was truly an incredible speed.

It was arguably the fastest beast I had ridden in this land.

The wind was so strong that we had to hunch forward to maintain balance.

I supported Soho’s back with my hand so she could hold onto me tightly, intending to observe who the owners of these horses were and where this path led.

* * *

Spending a long time on a fast-moving horse was not an easy task.

One had to constantly maintain tension in the body to prevent the waist from bending in the wind, and the cold air constantly hitting the face caused a slight headache.

Of course, this didn’t apply to me with my artificial body. It was Soho’s problem, sitting behind me.

Fortunately, I was blocking most of it for her.

The other warriors didn’t seem particularly troubled, likely due to their training.

After spending days on horseback at this tremendous speed, we finally reached our destination.

A plain where only collapsed walls stood out, with piles of building debris scattered around.

“Ugh.”

I caught Soho as she dismounted from the horse.

“It’s finally over, right?”

Though Soho was relieved to have finally arrived, I shook my head as I looked around.

“This doesn’t look like the Griffin Kingdom at all.”

The sky was dark, and the moon had an ominously red glow, as if expressing foreboding.

As I looked up at the sky with suspicion, Unyeop approached and explained.

“This isn’t Griffin yet. The captain said we’d gather here first before proceeding. This is the Valestan Duchy.”

“V-Valestan Duchy?!”

Though it was an unexpected name, the Valestan Duchy was a border region and vassal state of the Han Empire.

I’d heard that the Han Empire’s influence had waned, so they barely exerted any power here now.

Anyway.

The state of the duchy led by Duke Pioren Valestan looked concerning.

‘I can hear the cries of souls.’

Even though I had absorbed all souls into Deus’s body three months ago, faint cries of souls could be heard here.

“The Valestan Duchy is currently in civil war.”

Both Soho and I turned to look at Unyeop after his statement. The collapsed walls visible beyond his shoulder stood as evidence.

“You know that the duke’s son died in the Republic of Clark, right?”

The first in line of succession.

The heir to the Valestan Duchy had died along with his bodyguard, the Shield of the Duchy, Tom, at the hands of the great demon Magan.

I knew that much, but I didn’t know how it had affected the Valestan Duchy beyond the borders.

“Normally, a new heir would be chosen from among the second and third sons, but… the duke couldn’t do that.”

“Oh?”

“He died of shock upon hearing of his eldest son’s death.”

“…”

Unyeop continued.

“So now the remaining sons are fighting each other. Especially since the Han Empire is currently faltering, it’s a good opportunity for independence.”

At the most opportune moment, the duke happened to die.

His sons were now fighting hard to become the new master of the vacant duchy and to create a nation independent from the Han Empire, following in their father’s footsteps.

“Our captain also participated as a mercenary, but it seems there’s nothing more to gain here.”

The civil war wasn’t over yet.

That’s what he meant.

“Quite a complicated land.”

It was quite unpleasant to see that the seeds sown by Magan’s banquet were still bearing fruit.

But I wasn’t idle enough to quell the Valestan Duchy’s civil war.

Just then.

Groups approached from the direction of the walls.

I’d heard they were mercenaries, but they weren’t many in number.

However, each one exuded confidence in their considerable skills from their very gait.

And at the very front.

A tall man with dull blonde hair swept back, reminiscent of a lion’s mane.

His entire body covered in thick leather truly evoked the image of a lion.

“That’s the leader of the Hunters, Lord Ranhart. Let’s go greet him right away.”

‘Hmm?’

As we walked toward him, Ranhart sniffed the air and looked at Soho and me.

The moment we stood before him, he let out an incredulous laugh.

“I heard you confidently recruited a noble, so I wondered what it was about.”

His thick voice resonated deeply.

The timbre, similar to a beast’s warning, didn’t end with mere words.

Crack!

“Unyeop.”

“Guhk!”

Ranhart’s hand, which had grabbed Unyeop’s chin, lifted him high. His eyes remained fixed on Soho and me.

“You’ve brought non-humans?”

“…!”

Soho’s gaze suddenly turned to me. Though she herself was a monster, she seemed surprised to hear that I too was not human.

Within biting distance.

I met Ranhart’s gaze without avoiding it.

“You seem the same to me.”

Bang!

After throwing Unyeop to the ground, Ranhart approached me.

His footsteps sounded like drumbeats.

Intimidation.

The sensation of facing a beast weighed down on my body.

But what caught my attention more was the faint yellow light flowing from his upper body, which appeared to be covered only by a leather vest.

“How dare you speak that way before me.”

Though Ranhart glared at me with eyes that seemed ready to tear me apart.

It was I who asked in disbelief.

“Do you eat golden dragons?”

“…!”

As if he hadn’t expected me to notice, Ranhart’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

I too needed to reconsider.

“That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

He was a man who had transcended far beyond the vampires I knew.