Overpowered Sword Chapter 68

Level up with swords (68)

It was ten days later.

The Storm Merchant Marine’s procession was moving smoothly along the road to the County of Rubena. A few clouds floated in the clear sky, and a cool breeze blew, cooling the horses’ sweat.

Unlike before, there were no elements that threatened upward mobility.

The road leading from Balkas to Rubena had a border line next to it, so various monsters and thieves could not get near it. This is an area where patrols from the fortress city patrol every other day. Even bounty hunters, who are famous for their big livers, don’t come around here.

Even if it is a force that reigns in the shadows, its influence ultimately extends to the shadows. In many ways, it was inevitable that the power would be insufficient to directly oppose the military and state power.

This safe zone was established based on such circumstances.

Merchants had no choice but to like this road. The ideal result was that the ascent proceeded as planned, with all one had to do was to proceed on a well-maintained road.

But adventurers and mercenaries felt differently.

“I’m tired… I’m tired of saying I’m tired…”

Karen looked up from the window and tossed and turned helplessly.

Not a day or two, but a whopping ten days.

Since there is no danger, there is no need to leave the carriage except to eat, and the only view out the window is a plain plain with nothing to see from sunrise to sunset.

It was an unbearable time for people who were accustomed to a stimulating life.

‘Well, it won’t make any difference to me either.’

Leon smiled bitterly at that sight. That doesn’t mean this situation wasn’t boring.

If it had been a month ago, he might have been like Karen, maybe even worse than Karen. She couldn’t swing a sword in the carriage, and training to control Aurors was also quite dangerous due to the irregular shaking of the carriage.

It doesn’t do anything.

For the first time in his life, Leon realized how much pain that was.

[Do you finally understand how precious I am? Who else but me would have a sword that even chats to you and tells you not to be bored?]

After thinking that for a moment, Leon’s eyebrows twitched when El Cid openly showed condescension.

If someone else is listening, they will think I’m chatting for them.

It is true that the trip was not boring thanks to El Cid, but seeing that shameless appearance made me want to say thank you. It was just chatty from the beginning.

‘Ah, thank you so much for that.’

So Leon answered those words with a sad face. If I tried to get angry one by one, I would only get ridiculed more, so I ended up fighting back by not responding at all.

Of course, El Cid didn’t care about that attitude.

[that’s right! If you don’t know grace, you’re no better than an animal! But how far did I go? Did you say that you received an invitation from the Vampire Lord and went to the castle alone?]

‘Even the part where you enter the banquet hall.’

[Oh, I did. I knew the invitation was a trap, but he fearlessly visited the vampires in order to catch them all. Lovely vampire ladies tempted me, but a great hero cannot get drunk even if he wants to. I continued walking steadily.]

There were many abilities that symbolized vampires.

Vampirism, which is the origin of the race, transformation into a bat or beast, mistification that scatters material entities, regenerative abilities that make one appear immortal, etc.

There are some well-known abilities and some not-so-well-known abilities.

Among them, <Charmed> was quite famous.

[The darker the blood of a vampire, the more attractive that individual is to the opposite s*x, and their every action, including their gaze and voice, is imbued with a magical power that disrupts their mental power. The number of idiots who were bewitched by them and committed themselves to the devil’s army is in the triple digits.]

‘Isn’t three digits not much?’

[What if all of them are commanders, high-ranking officials, famous knights and wizards?]

Leon swallowed his breath without realizing it.

In general, <Charm> was a low-level ability. It is a power that can be easily shaken off by a disciplined person, and is considered a blessing if it attracts attention once.

However, the <charm> of a high-ranking vampire was of a different level.

[Once you get caught, it doesn’t work out very well, and even if you try to get rid of it or kill it, other guys get possessed, so you had a hard time for quite a while.]

That was the reason I walked into an obvious trap.

Vampires are beings whose abilities are specialized for guerrilla warfare, so they could not be stopped or caught just by strengthening the alert posture.

It is said that a crisis is an opportunity, and an opportunity is a crisis.

As he said, Rodrik visited the vampires’ fortress alone and killed all of them who were caught off guard, claiming that he had won them all. The place where the magnificent castle had been built turned into a wasteland where not a single weed could grow, and 90% of the high-ranking vampires, including the Lord, were wiped out.

It was from then on that vampires disappeared from history.

[I heard that some of them survived and escaped somewhere, but since the church’s tracking team chased them, they probably didn’t die at my command. I never thought it would appear again after 300 years.]

‘Can you compete with me with my current skills?’

[hmm? Any problems.]

El Cid answered Leon’s cautious question right away.

The reason was simple.

[If you add the ‘Sun’ aura to the light of the holy sword, pure-blooded vampires are like hay in front of a torch before you.]

It was even capable of overpowering Dhampirs whose blood was not even mixed. Pure-blooded vampires would definitely be reduced to ashes if they even touched that light. Since the relationship was literally the worst, Leon had the advantage without even considering competency.

What if he was struck down by surprise without time to use his aura, the winner or loser would be decided at the point when the battle was established.

‘is it···.’

It’s an enemy I’ve never met before.

Leon had a high opinion of the risk, but after hearing what El Cid said, it seemed plausible.

Underestimation is bad, but overestimation is also not good.

All you have to do is stay calm and show off your skills.

“ah! see!”

At that time, Karen got up and jumped onto the roof of the carriage. Looking at the reaction, it seemed like Rubena was slowly starting to show up.

Leon followed suit and climbed onto the roof of the carriage.

The roof, which was made of metal, could not even be moved by two people. Leon and Karen, balancing on a shaking carriage, looked at the walls of Rubena that appeared in the distance.

‘It’s pretty high, isn’t it?’

Although it was not comparable to the so-called fortress city of Balcas, it was quite large for a castle on the outskirts of this area.

And perhaps because of my mood, the area around the castle walls seemed to sparkle.

As soon as he could think like that, El Cid said.

[It’s a barrier. They used a huge amount of silver to engrave a magic spell on the castle wall to ward off vampires. I think there are other uses besides that… I don’t know much about it.]

‘A barrier to stop vampires? No way.’

It was a completely different story than previously expected.

If Count Rubena is a dark figure controlling vampires, why would he put such a barrier on the castle wall?

After thinking that far, Leon fell silent for now.

The plan was to gather a little more information before speaking.

“Stop! “Where did the top come from?”

As the Storm Merchant’s procession reached the front of the castle gate, one of the knights who stopped them shouted in a loud voice.

It’s rare for a driver to directly supervise a checkpoint, but today seems to have been that day. Arnold clicked his tongue and walked in front of him, feeling bothered by the situation.

“hello? “My name is Arnold from Stormtop.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Brad, a senior knight of the County of Rubena. Arnold at the top of Storm… Hmm? for a moment. “Are you the one who said the lord requested a special product?”

When the knight remembered something and opened his eyes, Arnold responded immediately without missing the hint.

“Yes that’s right. “I brought the Count’s belongings.”

“Oh oh! I guess you’ve finally arrived. He has already been waiting for your arrival. “They asked us every day, so we stepped in and took charge of the checkpoint.”

“Huh, I don’t know if we were a nuisance.”

When Arnold tried to save himself, Brad smiled and raised one hand in the air, satisfied with his polite attitude.

This meant that the inspection would be skipped.

“What about the lungs? It arrived three days earlier than expected, so don’t worry and come in. ruler!”

As the soldiers blocking the castle gate retreated to the left and right, a space was revealed for wagons to pass through.

The Storm Troop followed that path and entered the interior of Rubena Castle.

The moment he passed the castle gate, Leon felt a force sweep around his body. A power quite different from that of holy power. If it is as El Cid said, the barrier’s influence has passed him by.

‘Is it because I’m not a vampire that it doesn’t have any effect?’

Just as silver is nothing more than a precious metal to humans, the barrier created exclusively for vampires had no influence at all.

Leon realized this again and returned to the carriage.

From now on, I needed to hide myself a bit.

[For your information, that knight is neither a dhampir nor a vampire.]

‘okay?’

Also, thanks to El Cid, he could immediately tell who was a vampire and who was not.

Leon looked everywhere on the way to the manor house, but could not find a single dhampir, let alone a vampire. Since the sun was still high in the sky, it might have been a natural result.

Storm Merchant’s carriage soon arrived in front of Count Rubena’s residence.

But Brad, who was guiding them, said something strange.

“Ah, from here on, only merchants, B-rank or higher mercenaries, and adventurers should follow us.”

“yes? “What is that…”

“This is a name given directly by the lord.”

There is nothing to say about Count Rubena’s orders. Arnold calmly obeyed the command, and Karen, Leon, and the <Claws of Steel> followed him with puzzled expressions.

Arnold said he had something special to deliver, but I couldn’t figure out why he was calling in the guards as well.

A group of people crossed a luxurious hallway.

“This way.”

After walking for a few minutes, Brad reached the Count’s living room and spoke solemnly at the door.

“Lord, the Storm Troops and their escorts have arrived.”

-Come in.

“yes!”

Ignoring the command coming from beyond the door, Brad immediately opened the door and led Arnold and his group.

In front of high-ranking nobles, you have to be careful about even your breath.

Arnold, who was standing at the front of the group, got down on one knee and looked down at the floor as soon as he reached about ten steps in front of Count Rubena. If you stand up straight and look at his face, his head will be blown off right away.

Unlike him, Leon looked at Count Rubena out of the corner of his eye.

‘···It doesn’t look like a dark face.’

[How convenient would it be if good and evil were distinguished by appearance?]

El Cid also grumbled as if he agreed with that statement.

Andrey von Rubena.

A person who has been the lord of Rubena for generations. The person expected to be behind this incident was a man in his 60s with grey-white hair and a full-grown beard.

The gentle light in his eyes and the smile on his lips did not make him look like a villain.

‘El Cid.’

The impression doesn’t matter.

Leon interrogated his mind to find out what he was up to.

[no.]

‘huh?’

[That old man is not a vampire. He is a pure human being. The knights nearby are all ordinary humans.]

My eyes widened at the unexpected answer, but fortunately, no one noticed Leon’s agitation because he was looking at the floor.

Count Rubena and his associates are not all vampires?

So who is the enemy lurking in this territory?

Before he could think more, Count Rubena spoke.

“Welcome. “Lord Arnold of the Stormtop, and the Mencius who brought him here safely.”

At least the arrogance typical of high-ranking nobles was not felt in his tone of voice. It was a method of speaking that politely praised the other person, and that anyone could not help but feel good about listening to.

Count Rubena waved his hand again to make them raise their heads and continued speaking softly.

“Before we talk, let me pick up my things first. “Sang Sang-ju, did you bring it well?”

“Oh, yes! of course. “Count.”

“I’ll take a look.”

When Arnold handed the small box with both hands, the Count opened the lid and took out the black crystal inside.

When you hold it up to a nearby light, the inside becomes transparent.

It was a premium quality black crystal with no impurities.

“Hoo! You made a good choice. “I am truly satisfied.”

As the count smiled happily and gestured, the knight who had been standing back placed a heavy box next to Arnold.

Then, when I looked inside, a brilliant golden light overflowed.

“The promised amount is 1,000 gold. In addition, let’s reduce the price of goods purchased in this land by 20%. “How is it?”

“I can only thank you for your great grace, Count!”

“Hehe, that’s all I have to say.”

The Count, who chuckled at Arnold’s answer, paused for a moment and took a moment to change the atmosphere of the drawing room.

The Count’s serious expression was different from before.

A sense of aristocratic dignity and intimidation filled the room.

“Then let’s get to the point. “This is something that should never be revealed, so please watch your mouth.”

The Count opened his eyes sharply and looked around at each person, whispering in a low voice.

“Don’t be surprised. “A vampire has sneaked into Rubena.”

“Yes!?”

Arnold asked back with a truly surprised expression, not knowing that he would hear that information from the Count.

The knights standing in the parlor glared at him, but the count paid no heed to the mistake. Because such a reaction was natural. It’s even weirder not to be surprised when a vampire whose existence is sometimes questionable suddenly appears.

Count Rubena spoke with a somber expression.

“After that, I searched their places day and night, but it was difficult for my knights to find the vampires hiding throughout the city. Aren’t they really good at hiding? “I’m worried because I’ve never fought a monster before.”

“So,” said the count, he looked around at Leon and the others.

“I called you because I thought I would leave it to mercenaries or adventurers with a lot of experience. I guarantee compensation for subjugating vampires in my name, and I also provide silver weapons and holy water. “How is it?”

This is an incomprehensible situation.

Leon, Karen, and Gustav looked into each other’s eyes with puzzled expressions.

Still, one fact was clear.

There was only one answer I could give at this point.