The night had completely fallen.
A cool breeze blew through the Bain Forest, characterized by its black-leaved trees.
Kailon, the only vampire among the Empire’s Ten Seats, gritted his teeth.
“Come back and give up now? What a coward.”
Kailon was not pleased with the First Prince Schwarze’s attitude. He could only feel that he was scared out of his wits.
‘I’ll finish this my way.’
The princess’s sword, Duke Yuma.
He was fully aware of the creature’s power.
Now he understood that being called a ‘God of War’ was not just luck or coincidence.
He had defeated the former second seat of the empire, the Sword God Chronos.
That realization made him even more thoroughly prepared, despite already being quite ready.
‘Damn that succubus bitch.’
Among the personnel he attempted to recruit, the one with the most annoying capabilities had been the succubus Nelli, who had inexplicably rejected his offer.
‘Still, I can kill that guy.’
Kailon looked back and forth at his sides.
Two other vampires stood tall beside him.
They were top-tier vampires with enough power to rip a Swordmaster apart even in daylight. Including himself.
Three monsters had gathered.
And now it was a full night. The time when vampires’ powers grew several times stronger.
“That guy is currently the most irritating existence in the eyes of First Prince Schwarze. Once we take him out, we can immediately have a significant impact on the Empire.”
At Kailon’s words, the vampire on his left tilted his head.
“I just need to be able to hug a lot of human women.”
The burly vampire, Amton, snorted as if to say what nonsense he was spouting.
Kailon gritted his teeth at that remark.
‘…All that bastard thinks about is that crap. So predictable.’
But Kailon couldn’t voice that thought.
No one in the vampire world could compete with Amton in close-quarters combat, considering his physique was packed with muscles.
From the right side, a husky female voice was heard.
“Power games sound pretty fun.”
It was the female vampire, Erika.
Her long silver hair fluttered in the wind.
Erika flicked her long, pale purple tongue like a snake.
Kailon nodded vigorously at her words, which aligned with his ambitions.
“Yeah, if we take him down properly, it’s not impossible to turn the Astes Empire into a Vampire Empire.”
*
Duke Yuma asked the staff where Bain Forest was. They said it was a lush forest ten minutes away.
“There are no monsters right now, but in winter, monsters sometimes come down here.”
“Thanks.”
Yuma walked on.
‘The night air is nice.’
Pat pat
And he arrived at the Bain Forest, known for its black trees.
Stepping on a shrub, Yuma opened his mouth.
“Show yourself, the Third Seat of the Empire.”
His voice was dignified.
Yuma had no intention of venturing further into the woods.
He had no intention of venturing deeper into the forest.
Night.
And the species known as vampires.
Getting any closer didn’t seem like a great option.
Kwa─dduck!
A sound of wood cracking echoed. Kailon, who was standing on a branch, kicked off and leaped into the air.
Flap!
And then he spread his gigantic wings.
Wings that were very much like a vampire’s.
They looked just like bat wings, except they seemed to be at least 2 meters wide.
“So you’re Duke Yuma.”
Kailon, the blond, red-eyed vampire, looked down at Yuma.
Despite being on solid ground, he radiated an obnoxiously noble aura.
Yuma’s dark gray hair fluttered.
Kailon continued.
“Representative of the Princess, the Princess’s Sword.”
Jjeeojjejeojjeojeok!
Eight bloody spears formed behind Kailon, crafted from pure blood. Each one was dense with magic and vitality, their destructive power comparable to that of a Sword Master’s sword.
“God of War, Yuma.”
Kailon’s brow furrowed.
He prepared his attack slowly, clearly intending to instill fear. Yet, the guy below didn’t seem to flinch.
Yuma’s feet didn’t budge an inch, as if he were glued to the ground. Finally, Yuma spoke.
“I don’t get why you’re introducing me.”
Suddenly, the ground quaked from the left.
Kuwung─kung!
“I agree! Human! That guy talks way too much nonsense!”
A massive man was charging in. Pale purple skin, and muscles that looked like they were covered in armor.
[Lv.122] Amton
Amton threw out a punch.
A fist that looked like a hammer.
Yet, it moved like lightning.
Yuma’s eyes tracked that fist.
His eyes glowed an intense blue.
The skill he gained as a reward for defeating the Sword God Chronos, [Ultra Focus], activated.
Amton’s path of the fist was clearly visible.
Even though [Bullet Time] wasn’t even activated, the trajectory of the attack was crystal clear.
Jjeok!
Amton’s punch produced a sound like air being popped.
Yuma’s feet moved.
He weaved in a way that could only be described as clumsy.
However, he definitely managed to evade.
“Oh ho, looks like you almost predicted the trajectory!”
Erika marveled at Yuma’s peculiar way of dodging.
“Khahahaha! Nicely done, human!”
Amton extended his fist again. This time it was his left.
KWA-A-A-A-A-A-NG!
A massive punch that whipped up a scarlet gale.
The effect of [Ultra Focus] didn’t just end with reading trajectories.
Parrying Point.
Yuma twisted on his right foot, dodging the gigantic fist, and slashed through the very center of the cyclone with [Black Dragon Bernac's Tooth].
KAAA-A-A-A-A-A-NG!
A golden flash signifying that he had successfully parried erupted forth.
“Uh?”
Amton opened his eyes wide.
WHAAAAAA!
He faced a red storm flying straight at his head.
His signature skill, [Red Storm], was reflected back at him with ten times the damage.
Amton’s body went limp.
His head was gone.
Not just his head—the upper half of his body had been swept away by a storm of blood.
Boom!
Amton’s massive frame slammed into the ground.
Silence lingered in the Veil Forest.
“No time to recover, that damn pig.”
Erika twisted her lips grotesquely.
The vampire race possesses an incredible healing ability. Even the vampire minions have a wound recovery rate that would shock humans. The top-tier vampires need no further explanation.
Even the supreme swordmasters have the kind of recovery that allows them to mend wounds unless they are pierced in the head or heart.
And yet, she had torn someone with such recovery apart in one blow.
In Erika’s eyes, Yuma’s shaky evasion stance began to resemble a technique infused with supreme martial comprehension.
“Is this what they call the God of War…?!”
A flush spread across Erika’s cheeks.
Pleasure took precedence over fear.
Kailon swallowed hard.
“…Let’s combine our strength. Erika, spread the night.”
They had plans to attack all at once.
But that hot-headed Amton had rushed in and ended up dead.
However, it hadn’t been a total loss.
He realized that the guy’s martial prowess was not just a rumor—it was real.
He could also confirm that this arrogant bastard wouldn’t be the one to initiate the attack, just as he had researched.
Yuma noticed another pair of eyes behind [Lv.123] Kailon.
[Lv.121] Erika
‘One more there.’
If time drags on, the variables only multiply.
Yuma arrogantly lifted his chin.
“I’ll let you guys take the first move.”
And took a step forward.
A blatant provocation.
“Let’s see how well you can flail around.”
What he had was ‘Parrying’.
What he could rely on was ‘Parrying’.
Yuma stood still, taking a deep breath.
To anyone else, it looked like a dangerously unguarded stance.
“HAHahahaha!!”
A witch-like cackle burst from Erika’s lips.
“I love strong humans…!”
Like Kailon, Erika spread her wings.
“And I love making that strong human my thrall…!”
From the sky, Erika began spewing black smoke. That black smoke created an area.
A pitch-black zone so dark that it was impossible to perceive the surroundings.
[Dark Heaven]
It was Erika’s specialty.
Yuma had to confront a situation where he might as well have closed his eyes tight, seeing nothing at all.
“You arrogant bastard, always passing the first move! Blame that arrogance! YumaAAaa!!”
Eight blood-spears floating above Kailon came raining down towards Yuma.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!!”
In Erika’s hand, a massive crimson scythe had appeared. She charged at Yuma, swinging the scythe in a frenzy.
Yuma stood still, as if accepting his fate.
He could see everything, after all.
[Focus]
The Focus skill completely erased Erika’s darkness.
He couldn’t see Erika’s position or Kailon’s, but he could see the techniques.
The blood spears raining down towards him.
And Erika’s scythe, rushing at him like a storm with red energy swirling around it.
Belief in himself.
The confidence of the Parrying master known as “Don’t Screw Me Over.”
That confidence crushed any hesitation.
Yuma had a natural talent for reading attack trajectories.
Now, with [Focus] added to it, he was unstoppable.
The eight spears seemed to fall simultaneously, but each had individual rates of descent. He perfectly grasped that.
Yuma’s right arm moved.
Without a hint of hesitation.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kang!
He quickly parried all eight blood spears that struck like lightning.
Kwaa-aa-aa-aang!
He met Erika’s scythe head-on, infused with a crushing force like that of a Sword Master’s Aura Blade.
[B][Absolute Counter]
He did not falter.
The skill he obtained by defeating the sword god Chronos, [Unyielding Will], allowed him to withstand Erika’s attack.
Erika’s [Dark Sky] dissipated.
Yuma’s darkened vision cleared.
He saw Erika, her throat sliced through in one blow.
“…Guhhhh! Kyaaa!”
And Kailon, the Empire’s third seat, impaled by his own spears, gradually dying in front of him.
“Wh-why… can’t I heal! Kyaaaa!”
Kailon didn’t realize that his upper and lower body were now far apart.
And that his heart had been completely pierced by a spear, rendering it useless.
Soon enough, the life of the Empire’s third seat came to an end.
“…I’m tired.”
Feeling immense fatigue after killing three high-ranking vampires, Yuma turned around. In front of him sat a crimson-haired Cat-Folk woman, crouching.
[Lv.67] Hestia.
‘Isn’t this the Cat-Folk I saw a few hours ago at the restaurant?’
The Cat-Folk slowly opened her mouth.
“I-I-I didn’t see anything! Really! Uh! The night sky is so beautiful, isn’t it?!”
The Cat-Folk, clearly not used to polite speech, was struggling to survive.
As Yuma stared blankly at her, she became a bit more honest.
“Ahhh! Please save me!”
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