Level up with swords (70)
The very next day.
As soon as Leon finished breakfast, he called the upper party together. He did not forget to make the employees withdraw in case of unexpected spying.
Responding in this way could have aroused Count Rubena’s vigilance, but he would never have thought that he could have gotten to the core of his plot in just one night.
Last night’s meeting was so unexpected.
The high-ranking vampire’s stealth and escape abilities exceeded his expectations. If Tepes had not approached them first due to some coincidence, there was a high possibility that they would have run away until things went wrong.
Count Rubena must have guessed that. I guess the reason they were brought in was to check their skills.
‘And because they knew that we were at a level where they couldn’t catch Tepes and his group, they held them back so they couldn’t go anywhere else.’
Regardless of the success or failure of the subjugation, they were stranded in this territory.
Since it was a request from a noble as high as a count, I had to at least pretend that I did my best even if I failed. As A-rank Karen would have known, <Claws of Steel> and Arnold could not take those words lightly.
It was a clever move in many ways.
[I guess I should hurry.]
El Cid, who saw through the Count’s intentions, opened his mouth.
[Even if they were held in the name of subjugating vampires, the period would be at most ten days. It’s too short to buy time. That means.]
‘It means something is happening inside.’
Leon nodded as if he agreed with those words. In some ways, it was a very unfortunate incident.
Blaine is like that, and Rubena is like that too.
As if <Swallowing the City> wasn’t enough, even high-ranking vampires got caught up in a conspiracy that was toying with them. It is said that a warrior’s eventful life is no different from everyday life, but it seemed like he was going through all sorts of hardships with a holy sword that had not yet been sealed.
[No, think about it backwards.]
El Cid gave a serious answer to the complaint.
[Imagine if, instead of you, that kid named ‘Rian’ became a hero and started his journey a year later than you.]
‘… ‘It would have already been too late by then?’
[Yes, not only this territory, but also Blaine’s <Swallowing the City> is in the same context. A disaster that should have been unstoppable was prevented because I chose you. It may have happened once, but it’s already the second time. It’s hard to think of it as a coincidence.]
Only then did Leon realize the gravity of what he had done.
The same goes for <Swallowing the City>.
If Lian, not Leon, had been the warrior, a year later a devastated city and foreign mages who had acquired enormous power would have been waiting for him. Most of the residents of Blaine City would have died, and Cesare and Karen might also have died.
However, the hero and the imperfect holy sword, who were born a year earlier, succeeded in breaking that fate.
‘Not Rian, but because I was the hero… .’
What were the emotions you felt at that moment?
Leon suppressed his pounding heart and looked up at the ceiling of the room with hot tears in his eyes.
It was a different feeling than when I beat Ryan at the Academy. It was different from the victory achieved thanks to the rule of not using Aurors, a teacher named El Cid, and many other lucky coincidences.
Because he was a warrior, there were people who were saved because it was him, not Rian. It could become a cornerstone toward a better future.
Leon seemed to have completely defeated Lian for the first time.
[Well, it’s all thanks to me!]
However, El Cid was overjoyed by that emotion.
[It didn’t happen that way because I chose you as a hero! Even if I bow to the holy sword ten times a day, it wouldn’t be enough. is not it?]
‘… … .’
[Here too, huh? If I had come a year later, I don’t know what that guy called the Count is, but he would have caused a major accident. How many people have already survived thanks to me? Goddess, even that poor girl should know how to be grateful to me.]
Leon was speechless at that shameless attitude.
Is this the true identity of the legendary great hero, Holy King Rodrik?
If those who worshiped him in the Holy Church knew about this, they might explode their eardrums.
So Leon listened with one ear and let it go with the other.
“—absurd!”
Suddenly Gustav jumped up and shouted.
“Are you saying the Count is breeding dozens of vampires using the poor as food? “Besides, you’re a level A wizard that even you, an A-ranked wizard, can’t defeat. That’s nonsense!”
“I told you only the truth.”
Unlike Gustav, who was very excited, Karen was calm.
I was expecting this kind of reaction.
Regardless of whether it was true or not, it was such a huge story that it couldn’t help but feel unrealistic. That was why Leon had to leave the explanation to Karen. As long as the hero’s identity is hidden, the A-rank adventurer has more power to speak out.
“And there’s no reason to lie. “I wandered through this territory last night, met the vampires in person, and heard their stories.”
“Maybe it’s all a lie! How can you trust the words of those who live by sucking blood… !”
It was then.
“―It is not pleasant for us to live by sucking blood.”
Tepes, the man who suddenly appeared, smiled bitterly.
The mercenaries, surprised by the appearance, reflexively put their hands on their waists, but not a single person was armed since morning.
Arnold also opened his mouth in shock.
“Bae, vampire?! How did you start in the morning… .”
“Welcome. Since it is a body and not an entity, it can be active even under sunlight. “I didn’t come here to fight, so please don’t be on guard.”
As if to prove what I said, the illusion of Tepes put his hand on the wall and took it out, then turned to Gustav and said,
“I know it’s hard to believe, but what I said is true.”
Gustav answered with suspicion in his eyes.
“I need proof. “I can’t risk my life and the lives of my colleagues just by believing what you say.”
“Hmm, what you say is reasonable.”
Tepes rummaged in his arms at those words. Then he showed me a piece of paper he had pulled out from inside his clothes.
Since it was an illusion rather than a substance, it was impossible to hand it over.
Gustav opened his eyes and looked into it.
“This… ?”
“It is a document directly guaranteed by the Holy Church that states that the service labor sentence for the Wallachian clan has ended.”
——————
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“Vampire, volunteer labor?”
When Gustav questioned the absurdity of the sound, Tepes spoke as if he knew he would react that way.
“300 years ago, several members of our clan joined the Demon King’s army.”
There are a few crimes that are judged by guilt by association, but becoming an enemy of humanity was the greatest of them all, high treason.
300 years ago, most of the Wallachian clan was annihilated by the warrior Rodrik, and even blood relatives who did not join the Demon King’s army were in danger of being executed.
But one priest protected them.
“For a human being, the sin would have been so great that he would not have been able to pay for it until the end of his life. “But we are different.”
A vampire’s immortality is established under several conditions.
Avoid exposure to sunlight.
It will not collapse under destructive power greater than its regenerative power.
Silver won’t hurt your heart and brain.
This is a species that can live for thousands of years if the conditions are met. This is enough for a human being to die and be reborn twice, or to work for 250 years.
“After completing our sentence of hard labor, we were looking for a place where our clan could settle down. Then I tried to settle here in Rubena… .”
“Are you saying the Count stabbed him in the back?”
Tepes nodded, saying there was nothing more to say.
Gustav, who checked the seal of the Holy Church, covered his face and realized that he had already fallen into a swamp from which he could not escape.
There is no point in doubting further here.
There was no way for them to survive other than joining forces now to take down the Count.
“Leon.”
Gustav thought about it until then and said to Leon.
“You said you called the Knight of Seongcheolsae. When will you arrive?”
“Oh, that’s… .”
Hearing that not only the arrival time but also the schedule was unclear, the atmosphere in the room became even more depressed.
Even though it was perfect, it wasn’t enough, and only more variables were added.
It was reckless to fight without the Seongcheolsae Knight. Tepes and Roman. The two vampires alone had enough power to fight on equal footing with the group, but even those two had the limit of running away, leaving the other clans alone.
Moreover, wizards can exert more than their power in their own land.
“There is nothing more terrifying than a wizard who is ready.”
Karen, who had learned that fact from long experience, declared.
“If you are a wizard who has stayed in this land for decades, not even a sword master can guarantee victory or defeat. It is right for him to prioritize either aiming for superiority over the enemy or reducing the enemy’s strength.”
“It’s a compatibility.”
According to the testimony of the two vampires, the Count is a warlock, a high-ranking warlock at that. Above all, there was only one power that was compatible with black magic.
The power, sacred power, that represents order and natural law.
In the end, it was said that they had to wait for the Seongcheolsaegi Knight.
“I guess I need to buy some time.”
It would be best if he could chip away at the Count’s power in the process.
From then on, people began discussing how to effectively waste time and hinder the Count.
“It’s difficult… .”
“It’s difficult… .”
“I don’t know… .”
It was a problem that no matter how much I thought about it, there was no answer.
Without letting the Count discover their intentions, you must hold out until the Seongcheolsaegi Knight arrives and interfere with his plans.
Doing just one thing is difficult, but doing two things together?
Then, Arnold said.
“How about we at least pretend to fight?”
Everyone looked back at him with their eyes wide open. It was a plan that no one had thought of, and that was why it was so meaningful.
Even the Count couldn’t even imagine that case.
Moreover, if two vampires and their party cooperate to organize a fight, the location and time can be controlled at will. It would be possible to cause a big fuss anywhere in the County of Lubena.
“It’s decided.”
It’s finally time to give the Count a shot.
Tepes, Prince of Wallachia, smiled coldly.
* * *
It was that night.
Kwaaaaang!
Dust rises with a loud noise. A flash of light came from somewhere and collapsed several buildings. A red light that precisely cuts out pillars and supports at once.
The man who shot it, Roman, flew into the night sky.
Vampires’ bodies can move between material and non-material things, so it was easy to float in the sky by consuming some magical energy.
“Who are you!”
And there was someone who ran out as if he had been waiting for that appearance. It was Gustav, a man holding a claymore that was over 2 meters long with one hand.
Roman opened his mouth with an emotionless expression.
“There is no name to give to humans.”
Light emanated from the long, white fingers of a nobleman again.
It is a technology that converts the enormous amount of life force accumulated as a vampire into destructive power. Since the <Auror Weapon> is fired like an arrow, it is capable of penetrating even a stone building.
“bout!”
Gustav responded by swinging his greatsword sharply.
Whoops!
The light struck by Claymore’s blade was broken by its momentum and crashed into the towers erected throughout the territory.
Unlike previous buildings, the tower did not collapse.
Wooooow.
Defense magic.
This was because the bluish curtain blocked the light.
Lee Chae appeared in the eyes of the two men who confirmed it.
‘What Leon said was right.’
Gustav’s grip tightened even further.
One more piece of evidence has emerged that Count Rubena is a wizard. Those spire-like structures are erected throughout the territory. A building that only the Count can enter, whose purpose the residents do not know.
An axis for making the entire territory function as a magic circle.
Leon, who found out about this through El Cid’s advice, said to pretend it was a coincidence and destroy it.
-Wizards increase their efficiency by placing facilities and artifacts that amplify their power in their area. It may be because of the towers and decorations of unknown purpose that exist throughout the territory.
Of course, not all of them had magical meaning. Count Rubena was no fool either, so it was better to see more than half of them as meaningless sculptures.
Leon and El Cid also knew this, but did not tell the group directly. If we continued to destroy the real thing, it was obvious that the Count would soon become suspicious.
[It needs to look like a coincidence.]
While listening to the roar echoing from beyond, Leon agreed to that.
As short as three or four days, as long as ten days.
If you’re in a hurry and Count Rubena makes a move, it’ll all be over. In order to keep him from convulsing, this artificial fight had to be repeated until a moderate amount of his strength was wasted.
Leon, who was thinking like that, pulled out his sword.
Keying!
A ray of red light passed by him and pierced the wall behind him like a piece of paper.
If it hits the torso, it has the power to pierce through the armor.
Leon avoided the light with half a step and looked up at the night sky. Black hair and red eyes. A vampire prince with the appearance of a nobleman was looking down at him.
‘Oh, now that I think about it, can’t I release the auror?’
When Leon, who belatedly remembered that fact, asked, El Cid answered in a pitiful tone.
[of course. If I just brush against your aura, I’ll burn to death, right?]
‘Damn…’ !’
Even if it is a fierce fight, its destructive power is real. You have to deal with a high-ranking vampire without an <Auror Weapon>, and destroy the nearby structures to make it look like a coincidence.
It felt like the difficulty level suddenly went up a few levels.
Strengthen your physical abilities and use only sword skills to create a fierce fight with a high-ranking vampire.
Leon reset his goal and raised his sword.
“Go for it!”
At the same time, the false fight began.
In order not to accidentally burn Tepes to death, Leon exerted concentration several times greater than usual.
Fortunately, such a catastrophe did not occur.
The problem was next.
[what? It’s surprisingly quite a bit of training, isn’t it?]
Leon got goosebumps at El Cid’s words and his voice trembled.
‘Hey, no way, right?’
[Let’s continue like this starting tomorrow. I need to improve my skills.]
‘What kind of bullshit is that! It’s really dangerous!’
[No, my disciple can do it. yes? You can do it well, right? You don’t want to burn a poor vampire to death, do you? Do your best.]
Leon, whose clothes were soaked in cold sweat, threw away the holy sword.
“It’s like a damn demon sword!”
It seemed that his suffering was far from over.
