Ch.304Special Side Story for New Release Promotion – Vampire War (2)

Normally, I would have shown a “not my problem” attitude toward whatever happened outside.

Doing good deeds based on a sense of justice—while receiving compensation, of course—can only last so long. To be frank, I’m a middle-aged man who will soon pass 50.

I just live young because my mind and body don’t age as easily as others. I rarely got directly involved in incidents, no matter what happened.

But… this time seems to be an exception.

About a month has passed since the vampire clan “Lachstein” announced their occupation of the Electorate.

They’ve been firmly holding their position, successfully repelling the endless waves of invasion.

Even though elite soldiers from all kinds of forces continuously attempt to subjugate them directly.

The main reason is, obviously, their combat power. There are at least ten confirmed high-rank vampires, and likely thousands of mid-rank ones at minimum.

Thousands of mid-ranks and over ten high-ranks. That’s putting it mildly—if you count the hundreds of thousands of low-rank vampires under their command, they could potentially face the Empire head-on.

The vampire clan called Lachstein has been so formidable that they’re called the largest cult organization since the beginning of the Western Continent’s history.

Three Electorates, eight Margraviates, and five Duchies collapsed helplessly before the endless march of the vampire army.

Moreover, these beings who started calling themselves the Vampire Empire… frankly seemed out of their minds.

‘Unconditional confiscation and redistribution… universal healthcare… welfare…’

They spread their blood-red ideology in all directions, yet their governing ability is surprisingly solid, preventing internal problems.

Even though they’re undead vampires taking control, the cheers from the occupied territories—where they couldn’t have done preparatory work for long-term rule—were unexpected…

‘…I guess there’s no choice then!’

This reaction was, honestly, closer to humanity’s karmic retribution.

Until this crisis erupted, the world was in the midst of war between kingdoms and empires, and naturally, prolonged warfare inevitably made civilian life harsh.

It was commonplace to conscript young people who should be the workforce under the pretext of recruitment, and to impose ruthless taxation and requisition internally under the pretext of wartime systems.

The war was created by the greed of a handful of old men seeking trivial interests, but those who ultimately suffer are, of course, ordinary citizens.

The Vampire Empire skillfully exploited the fact that this wasn’t even a defensive war against monsters, and the reasons for the conflict were too well-known.

Particularly, the Holy Empire operated a systematic conscription system as a militaristic garrison state, which raised the education level of individual citizens, creating the basis for this resistance.

By focusing too much on fighting enemies who weren’t absolute evils like cultists and monsters, they ironically lost their ability to exert influence against such absolute evils.

And in this chaotic political situation, the Vampire Empire blurred the lines between good and evil while targeting the marginalized.

Killing, co-opting, drawing in. Their approach, qualitatively different from traditional cultists, ultimately led to this situation…

“…I retired, so this is unfortunate.”

“No, Drona.”

That’s why I abandoned my secluded life for a while and headed to the battlefield.

No joke—if they were left unchecked, there was a possibility that the entire Western Continent could be endangered.

Twelve confirmed Vampire Lords. Given that they’ve proclaimed themselves an empire, there must also be an “Emperor” of high rank or above, and their subordinate mid-ranks number at least several thousand—an insane military force.

If I just complained about not wanting to get involved with external affairs, I would seriously have to bear the responsibility for the potential collapse of the existing world.

Therefore, I went to the battlefield.

Conversing with the twelve or more high-ranks chattering noisily in my head, I joined the anti-Vampire Empire coalition forces, bringing along “Tarasque No. 5,” one of the emergency Tarasque series.

A combat Tarasque-mobile fortress—a mixture of drake, a terrestrial dragon among the draconic species, and several primitive magical beasts.

While it might not be very effective in full-scale combat, it clearly provides the advantage of securing a stable residence even in a mobile environment to maintain condition.

And…

Naturally, the participation of a big shot like me was said to have a significant impact on the course of this war.

I may have lived in seclusion for a long time, but frankly, my existence had absorbed the notoriety of “Aleinos” and been strangely distorted.

Stories about me being some secret weapon of the forest were abundant, and I had become a celebrity with all sorts of grandiose titles and aliases stuck to me.

And when you have such fame, flies trying to exploit it are bound to gather…

“Disgusting.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said it’s disgusting. Damn trash.”

To be honest, I had enough power and authority to administer somewhat extreme treatments to such people without any problems.

For those who don’t know their place and try to climb up, violence that even fools can understand is the true remedy. Anyone who can’t understand the current urgency is no different from a potential spy, so I thought it best to deal with them appropriately in advance.

And to add one more thing…

“How dare you fight over petty leadership in a situation like this?!!”

As I said, there were people trying to gain even a fragment of power when we should be cooperating to fight, so in this situation, I skillfully took control of the headquarters by utilizing the legend I had built up.

In particular, my actions liberated the leadership of each country from the interference of internal troublemakers, resulting in allowing people with at least some sense to lead the battle.

Literally, it was like somehow turning a disorganized group of individuals into a collective…

The problem was that even with such methods, the strength of the Vampire Empire was off the charts.

Not only was the combat power of the strictly disciplined vampire army formidable, but these vampires were also experienced in battle and moved as if they were one body.

In the early stages of the war alone, there were more than seven cases where mid-rank vampires joined forces to repel high-ranks, and another advantage was that they hardly needed supplies as long as they had sufficient blood.

A powerful army with considerable numbers, able to supply themselves entirely through local plunder, strictly disciplined, and commanded by leaders with outstanding abilities.

There were obvious reasons why they couldn’t be weak, but what truly made them fearsome was something else.

‘…Didn’t they say that one was defeated?’

Namely—even vampires who had definitely died through methods like soul ascension would resurrect and return within about a month at most.

This truth, revealed through the reappearance of named vampires confirmed to have been eliminated, was truly shocking, but what was even more terrifying was that high-ranks were also largely unaffected by this resurrection process.

Moreover, the resurrection cycle of high-ranks was even faster than that of ordinary named vampires.

That’s why, despite humanity finally uniting, the war situation remained overwhelmingly defensive.

The overwhelming courage that comes from knowing they’ll revive even if they die, and their truly endless resources were terrifyingly formidable…

“The divine avatar has appeared!!!”

“…Good!!”

Around this time, as if they could no longer stand by and watch, various gods from the pantheon began participating in the battlefield in various ways.

The most representative were the chosen warriors, called Chosen or Champions. There were also cases where gods possessed the bodies of believers or sent avatars like angels, and above all—there was me, who was called the strongest.

The power of a transcendent. Twelve high-rank or higher magical beasts. Additionally, I had no political constraints, so there was nothing wrong with me roaming the battlefield.

On top of that, my mother and Sophie joined as a kind of rear support staff, and occasionally Neptune would come and give me something.

Perhaps with the expectation that I could turn the tide of war alone, I worked a bit harder and sent vampires to the afterlife—

—True disaster always comes without warning.