“Over here.”
Lowell whispered quietly, pointing toward the castle wall while hiding in the shade of a tree.
Indeed, following his fingertip with my gaze, I spotted a hole in the charred and battered wall, just low enough that even an adult man could slip through without much trouble.
Just by looking at the state of the wall, you could tell how fiercely they must have fought around here.
As if to demonstrate the fine use of this excellent hole, five vampires, who arrived before us, revealed themselves under the moonlight.
Since I asked to be guided to the least competitive spot, I thought it might be reasonable for Lowell to glance at me, thinking I’d complain about the unexpected guests.
“This is one of the least popular entrances among our peers. Being close to the main gate does increase the risk if we’re unlucky. But of course, that varies depending on the distribution of the beastmen’s troops, and today, it is as such.”
That wasn’t the kind of look I was giving him. I expected at least this much. I mean, wherever you go, there are always those who bet against the odds, right?
While I did order a spot with little competition, if there were literally no one besides us, that would be more troublesome. There should at least be some folks to distract attention when making our escape.
I nodded slightly to indicate that I didn’t mind, and I observed the vampires entering through the hole, hidden in the shade.
Maybe because I had already warmed up, my body was feeling increasingly hot. Trying to suppress the urge to dash out and bite anything within reach made the cautious moves of the vampires attempting to dive in seem infinitely tedious.
But hold on just a bit more. Let’s go slowly but surely.
Nothing happened until the third one entered. If the humans had a brain, they would have stationed at least minimal troops at the spots on the wall that hadn’t been repaired. But seeing no reaction as they entered, maybe there were others who had initiated a breakthrough before these five vampires.
“Vampire! Another blood-ack!”
However, it didn’t seem like they were completely ignoring the situation either. The moment the fourth one jumped through the hole, a frantic shout came from beyond the wall and got cut off.
The smell of blood spreads. It’s not enough to cause life-threatening injuries, but the first guests seemed to have had enough confidence to challenge this dangerous area.
“Let’s go.”
I have to enter before they gather attention again. I didn’t wait for Lowell’s response and broke free from the shade, sprinting into the moonlight.
As I passed through the hole, I caught sight of the five vampires desperately confronting two soldiers.
Two shouldn’t be difficult to deal with. But since they offered to draw attention, I had no reason to refuse.
I didn’t want to hear about how I stole someone else’s prey, nor did I want to donate the ones I took down.
“This way.”
I motioned for Lowell, who panted behind me, and moved on again.
From here on, I no longer needed him to guide me. I could already feel the presence of humans rushing towards us.
Before the humans could spot me, I erased my presence with shadow magic and melted into the night.
The moment I attacked someone, the illusion would wear off, and the enemy would recognize me, but just being able to land that first strike as a perfect surprise was a huge advantage in this situation.
Finally, my prey revealed itself. Eleven of them, each dressed in different outfits and wielding various weapons, seemed to be mercenaries rather than regular city soldiers.
The third one from the front. You seem to be the strongest among them.
In that moment, they turned to look at me—well, more precisely, they discovered Lowell behind me, panicking as he searched for my hidden presence.
What a decent opportunity.
As their gaze focused on Lowell, I crouched low and charged straight into the group of mercenaries.
It’s foolish to take your eyes off the enemy. Of course, you might not see me, though.
I’ll take the first shot, targeting the strongest one. I seized the back of his neck with my left hand.
“What?!”
“W-Where? It’s an ambush!!”
With a crunch, the sound of the neck bone shattering echoed as the magic cloaking my presence lost its effectiveness, and the mercenaries realized my sudden intrusion, fumbling for their weapons.
But my hands were already swift, faster than their delayed reaction to the sudden attack as I found my next target.
Snap!!
I hurled the body of the broken-necked corpse towards another mercenary and, simultaneously, landed a vicious right hook into one’s face.
The gratifying sensation of breaking the nose and smashing the face together caused the remaining prey to shrink down to eight.
“Fred!! Aaaah! How dare that filthy vampire?!”
Was that your lover who just died?
Going alone must be lonely; I’ll send you to join them too.
Swatting aside a wildly swinging blade as if dismissing it, I closed the distance, locking eyes with the mercenary woman, her gaze filled with rage and confusion.
I placed my lips against her collarbone without hesitation and sank my fangs in. The sweet scent flooded my tongue and filled my mouth.
Ah, I’m really moving forward now. I’m getting stronger.
Every cell in my body trembled with joy, and the fear that had haunted me about being phased out slipped away at this moment.
I sensed danger from behind. Continuously sucking her blood, I placed a hand on her opposite shoulder and waist, twirling around like dancing.
“No!”
The swords aimed for my back slammed into the back of the vampire woman who had swapped places with me. As I lifted my head, she swung her weapon like a club, dragging the sword along with her.
Throwing aside the corpse, I kicked upward into the mercenary’s jaw with force.
Oops, failed to control my strength there.
With her jaw caved in and her neck bent back, the man followed his fallen comrades in an unintentional show of acrobatics, his head touching his spine.
Only six left now. No, think positively. There are still six left!
In less than ten seconds, half of their party lost, the mercenaries let out a collective shriek and charged at me as if they had made a pact.
Their momentum looked good, but they’re weak. This time, I’m stronger, which means you guys are the ones dying. You’re not complaining about that, right?
As six became five, four, and three, it eventually dwindled down to just one.
And as their numbers decreased, the wounds they left behind on the corpses diminished, the quality of my ingredients improving. Since this was a one-on-one now, I disabled him neatly and swiftly twisted his neck cleanly.
It’s certain; when you’re composed, it results in less mess.
I tossed the last surviving one at Lowell, who stood in disbelief as if he couldn’t believe what just happened.
“Catch. Your information fee.”
“…No, what is this?”
Lowell wobbled after receiving the fee, his expression bewildered.
He’s staggering after having received that with his body. How the heck has he survived all this time being this weak?
I was almost curious about Lowell’s survival strategy, but something more urgent demanded my attention.
Even now, I’m losing blood. I hurriedly grabbed the most mangled body remaining and leaned down to stop wasting any blood gushing out.
I quickly drained the first one. Then I chose the next one who looked to be of urgency and latched on to him.
The condition of the initial slain mercenaries was subpar—I guess they got too anxious just thinning out the numbers and busted their strength.
I accidentally glanced at the last remaining mercenary, the one in seemingly good shape. Our gazes met.
Lowell’s shoulders quivered, seemingly frightened of something.
What a scaredy-cat.
Why is he still holding onto that? I gave him the one that looked the best.
If he keeps that up until I finish eating, he might start to hesitate.
“…Uh, I gratefully accept this.”
But snapping back to reality, Lowell sat down quickly and joined the feast.
At the beginning, I sensed he was cautiously stealing glances at me, but soon, perhaps engulfed in the long-awaited meal, he began to focus on sucking blood.
I felt a hint of regret but well, a promise is a promise.
From over there, I can smell the approaching scent of humans again. Since there’s only one, is it a messenger this time?
The smell of beasts coming along indicates he might be riding a horse. That should mean he’s indeed a messenger. Then he must be dealt with as a priority.
After finishing my seventh bowl clean, I stood up.
Following the scent, I easily spotted a horse charging from a distance.
I dashed out swiftly, obscuring the horse’s vision with shadow magic before the messenger could take any action.
The effect was guaranteed. The suddenly blinded—rather, the imagining they were blind—horse reared back, startling the messenger, causing an alarm to escape his lips.
“Magic is truly something great.”
Handling one unguarded soldier who struggled to avoid a fall due to the sudden horse reaction was not hard at all.
Starting off the first night, my earnings were surprisingly decent. So far, I hadn’t encountered any troublesome opponents, and maybe because their forces were scattered, the encounters felt manageable.
I dragged over the eleventh dish, the messenger, and tossed him into the queue, then returned to my eighth bowl.
As the stockpile of provisions grew, so did my spirit. I picked up the pace to clear away supplies before more interruptions occurred.
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