“Kill her! Kill that bitch!!!”
Ludrik, who had been hesitating, suddenly began to shout at the top of his lungs. The look in his eyes was still as if he were staring at a monster, but it seemed he had no intention of retreating.
If he had just run away, things would have been easier. Is he not that stupid?
Right now, with my heart injured, it’s the worst time for me. Even in perfect condition, I couldn’t guarantee victory given the overwhelming numerical difference, and I couldn’t even be sure how long my body, which had sustained unprecedented injuries, could hold out.
At least during my training with Martini, who had no intention of killing me, I had never been this close to death as I was now, even in battles with the Empire’s soldiers where my heart had remained intact.
If Ludrik and his underlings had chosen to flee in fear, I could have waited until I recovered completely before seeking another chance. In fact, I thought there was a possibility that might have happened.
If he hadn’t reached the extremely special and exceptional conclusion that I was the Progenitor of Vampires, it wouldn’t be strange for him to overestimate my resilience just by seeing me get up even after being stabbed with a silver weapon.
It would have been easier if they had chosen to run in fear of facing an unpredictable upgrade. Of course, I would have had to suppress my own urge to tear them to shreds right away.
“Yeah, this actually works out perfectly.”
Thinking it over now, I realize I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back from watching these bastards run.
They dared to challenge me, after turning Eleonora into that pitiful state and gathering human weapons. There’s no way I could let them go.
I feel strength returning to my previously languid arms.
Right, when have I ever had a favorable fight? It’s a good thing I might as well try this one.
This is different from the days when I used to just pray and leave my fate in someone else’s hands.
I may not yet have enough power to fight against the whole world, but shouldn’t I at least be able to handle weaklings who only cling to the stronger of their kind without the courage to put their own lives on the line?
The encirclement is closing in. I don’t want to charge in first, but I can feel the eyes of the commanding officer on me, seeing the vampires sneaking up on me while exchanging glances. I grasp the shaft of the spear embedded in my side.
SLASH!!
I yank out the spear, drenched it in my blood, and swing it violently, decapitating the two vampires charging at the front.
The head flew smoothly off with a spear that was just crudely swung around, not a sword. The remaining vampires hesitated, taken aback.
“This is why you use silver weapons.”
Honestly, I didn’t expect it either.
Considering my strength, it was as if I was cutting through their necks like butter, with hardly any resistance. I never expected an intimidation attack meant to claim the initiative would get me a double kill.
Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen another vampire die before when I went hunting in Pahera.
I’ve often seen creatures that were alive when I set out come back as corpses, but I was too busy securing my own meal to care about anyone else’s demise, so it was the first time witnessing the performance of a silver weapon live.
There’s a reason why the majority makes their choices.
I grip the spear I was intending to discard and throw it behind me with all my might.
A hole pierces the chest of the vampire aiming at my back, and the spear, still with momentum, flies and impales a tree ten meters away.
“Next up is the left.”
I yank out the dagger sunk in my back and lunge.
With no technique whatsoever, relying solely on brute strength and speed, I swing the makeshift weapon, and yet another vampire’s head falls.
I stab the heart of the beheaded vampire with the dagger before kicking it away. At the same time, my hand mechanically searches for the next weapon embedded in my body.
The rising heat of battle is gradually drowning out the pain in my body. I feel like I’m sensing the next target’s intentions even before they materialize.
I pull out, swing, and throw.
With that, the number of weapons embedded in my body continues to dwindle.
Handling weapons isn’t my specialty anyway. As I wield and discard the extracted weapons without hesitation, the enemies have trouble closing in, and in the meantime, the closest ones begin to drop dead one by one.
In the meantime, I can feel my shattered heart gradually regaining its form.
With each bit of recovery, the regenerative power focused in my heart begins to spread throughout my entire body. While it’s slower than usual, the speed at which my wounds heal gradually quickens.
As the last sword is pulled from my shoulder, it slips from my hand, and I regain my freedom.
My body, drenched in the blood I spilled, had recovered to the level of a hastily sewn-up doll. Considering it was leaking like a cotton ball with every movement just a moment ago, I can say it has at least undergone a minimal repair in a hurry.
Though still far from perfect condition, it’s enough.
I casually roll my shoulders and scan my surroundings, causing the charging enemies to flinch back. It’s clear they don’t want to be the first to charge at someone who had been fighting so well even in a skewered state, now standing tall and ready.
A strange truce has formed without any agreements. Their gazes shift to one vampire among them.
“Are you not going to charge?”
I sneered loudly, purposely loud enough for them to hear.
Marquis Ludrik Marcus. Stronger than any vampire gathered here to kill me, yet he’s only been issuing orders to his underlings and has yet to step forward himself.
What a fine example of a commander. Safe and sound, watching his men die.
He probably thought he had won the moment I became a pincushion. But now that I’m using the embedded weapons against him, he’s waiting for me to exhaust all my resources before he dares to engage.
“Your brave underlings have served as a shield for you. I’ve even honored them by returning one weapon per person, and now you’re empty-handed. Aren’t you going to attack?”
Honestly, I think it would be better to fight bare-handed rather than clumsily wielding swords or spears against beings who could be downed with one hit to the heart or neck even without a silver weapon, but they had no way of knowing my thoughts.
I caught sight of the resentful glances directed at Ludrik. The guy has been using his underlings as shields and simply watching them protect him, so they can’t be happy about it.
If he ignores such an insulting provocation, his competence will be called into question.
Realizing if it continued like this, the situation would turn against him, a light of determination shone in Ludrik’s eyes.
I wiggled my fingers, gesturing for him to come at me quickly.
In the next moment, Ludrik launched himself toward me.
BOOM!!!
It wasn’t difficult to track Ludrik’s movements with my eyes, but when it came to evading, my injured body just wasn’t cooperating yet.
There’s definitely a different dimension to his speed compared to the weaklings. He’s a coward, but his strength is no joke.
As he got within close range, small shards of shadow gathered around the tips of his fingers.
A fighting style combined with dark magic designed to avoid direct physical contact with the silver weapons humans use. A typical close-combat style of noble vampires.
Normally, I would have had no problem absorbing the impact with my body, but my injured heart means my regeneration is drastically reduced. I need to conserve what little strength I’ve got.
Then let’s respond in kind.
The moment I collide with Ludrik, the black mist gathers at my fingertips too.
What a surprisingly heavy impact. I endure the pain traveling up my arm and shoulder as I deflect his attack.
For a brief moment, Ludrik’s stance falters. I don’t hesitate to exploit the opening.
Ludrik’s gaze wavers slightly. The hidden hesitance is proof that he is not particularly used to combat, regardless of his physical prowess.
“I can manage more than I thought.”
Given my current state, I expected to struggle more. But after exchanging a few blows, I gained assurance.
Ludrik doesn’t know how to properly wield his power. I don’t know if it’s because the only vampire I’ve properly exchanged blows with until now is Martini, but he’s definitely a few steps below expectations.
We exchange blows back and forth, but it seems Ludrik has realized he’s going to lose if it continues like this. He raised his voice and commanded the still-living underlings.
“Target the Dragonkin! I’ll hold this bitch down!!”
Little bug. You’re still going to play that card till the end?
But it’s a simple and effective strategy. In a one-on-one fight, I certainly hold the advantage, but I don’t have the capacity to protect Eleonora as well.
That’s why I intentionally stirred them up without straying far from Eleonora, keeping their eyes on me, but if they deliberately aim for her, then I’m the one who gets pressured.
“What should I do—”
“I, I’m… fine.”
I forgot I was in the middle of a battle when I heard a familiar voice cautiously speaking from behind. There stood Eleonora, who should have been lying down quietly.
How? Eleonora isn’t a vampire.
The body of a Dragonkin is quite sturdy, but it doesn’t possess the supernatural healing abilities of a vampire.
Her face is swollen, and her entire body is covered in bruises and tear marks.
Her left arm was suspiciously red and swollen, as if it were broken, and her eyes seemed unfocused, flickering oddly.
But even so, Eleonora stood on her two legs.
She had pulled out a silver dagger that was stuck in the corpse of a vampire and was holding herself up with trembling legs that seemed to struggle even to breathe.
“Eleonora, you—”
“I will not be a burden to Sir Ju-in.”
I didn’t have the luxury to thoroughly examine her as I fended off Ludrik’s attacks, but there was surely a firm resolve in her voice, carried by the wind.
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