Chapter 42

Chapter 42
## Chapter 42

Ambush (3)

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

A devastating strike, perfectly calculated to deflect the incoming sanguine talons, was executed with a ruthless, sweeping motion.

Swish!

Contradicting expectations, exquisite crimson blossoms unfurled, captivating the vision, and at that precise instant, the adversary exploited the opening from the rear, driving a fist forward.

“Gah… What kind of absurd velocity is this…!”

Beta One, a rank 7 vampire belonging to the Blood Alliance, blocked the strike while baring his sharp fangs.

Soaked in gore as though immersed in scarlet dye, his entire form had turned crimson, and he possessed immense confidence in his physical traits.

Originating from a realm dedicated to bodily might rather than mystical arts, he had ascended to a lofty rank there, utilizing the combination with his distinct trait, “Diamond Body Unyielding to Flames.”

Ever since coming back to Earth, he had not dropped a single close-range brawl except when facing Alphas.

While he occasionally backed away during encounters with Guardians, those were never isolated duels, and prolonging the skirmish might have needlessly worsened the situation, making it irrelevant.

This was precisely why the current dilemma bewildered him.

Thud-thud-thud—Crack!

With every clash of limbs, the force resonated, shaking the atmosphere.

In-fighting at zero distance.

The foe exhibited a caliber of martial skill far exceeding expectations, deftly employing his entire form to strike at lethal spots while slipping away from counterattacks.

Even so, it remained a reality that he, a veteran of decades in warfare, possessed areas where he fell short.

Squish!

Following a succession of deceptive movements, a fist connected squarely with the foe’s blocked countenance, creating the perfect window Beta One required to pin him down, counting on his robust physique.

Thud-thud-thud—Boom!

“Urgh!”

Abruptly surging at a velocity multiple times greater, the opponent forced him back, re-establishing a gap.

The harm inflicted was minimal, but that was of little consequence at the moment.

“Ack…!”

Swish—

Right at that split second.

Another rank 6 combatant dissolved into cinders, his cardiac core impaled, dispersing as crimson blossoms.

Bypassing Beta God’s efforts to contain him and paying no mind to the defenses prepared against the sanguine edges, he dedicated his full attention to diminishing the number of cohorts.

From where he stood, the entire situation was on the verge of bursting into a blazing inferno.

“You brat—! Quit fleeing like a weakling, face me with proper honor!”

He bellowed in sheer irritation, yet the adversary merely let out a soft snicker.

Though no words passed between them, the meaning was unmistakable.

Do you really possess the right to lecture on honor when teaming up with numerous allies?

Faced with that derisive expression, Beta One’s countenance, already glowing like molten rock, flared with rage as he cleaved down the reanimated corpses closing in on him.

“Argh—! Beta God! What are you playing at! Utilize everything at your disposal to halt his retreat!”

“We are giving it our all over here! Why don’t you try binding him for even a second! You are the one constantly employing our comrades as shields!”

Amidst the turmoil of the lesser thralls assisting the high-ranking vampires, their position was far from advantageous.

The minor vampires, offering very little assistance in the actual duel, were occupied with the massive horde of reanimated servants, intensifying the disorder on the battlefield.

Still, the primary obstacle was the astonishing capability of their foe.

The vampire they were battling was indisputably rank 7, yet even with their combined might, managing to restrict him proved daunting.

Even for them, possesses a velocity so rapid that it could be missed without absolute concentration, the tailored physical traits of Beta One, the force to rebound even when directly opposed, paired with the volatile nature of his concealment.

From the very moment he initially breached the estate, they recognized he possessed a talent for undetected movement, but the manner in which he could instantly mask his aura and execute a lethal ambush in the heart of a chaotic clash was chilling to the marrow.

‘Even these reanimated corpses are infuriating! And just how long has he been utilizing vanishing techniques! Is it a concealed trait?’

Initially, it appeared to be merely a brief distraction to divert focus, but after liquidating the underlings, he openly integrated vanishing methods into his movements.

And above all else, he was incredibly durable.

Beta One had already managed to connect a handful of effective strikes and deal severe trauma through synchronization with Beta God,

however…

The adversary, as if reversing the flow of time, effortlessly mended his wounds and persisted in his violent assault, pushing him to the edge of insanity.

Furthermore, he anticipated the snares set by Beta God via sorcery, slipped past them, and deployed sanguine sorcery whenever a crack appeared.

An incredibly well-rounded opponent.

‘And that fellow, the longer we clash, the mightier he appears to become…’

Beta One remained oblivious to the fact that this was not a mere illusion.

—

Heinz exhaled a soft breath.

Though it appeared uncomplicated from an outside perspective to harvest vampires, engaging against a multitude of foes was far from simple.

Facing two rank 7s and over ten rank 6s.

‘Even so, this is more manageable than I anticipated. Could it be due to the vitality elixirs?’

Trapped inside the perimeter due to the seal, they were incapable of pulling back their units despite the rising casualties.

Naturally, those deficient in martial power had fallen back to offer long-range assistance from the rear, but there was no scenario where I would permit that to continue.

‘Even if I can best the Beta vampires in a direct duel, right now I must act with calculation. First, diminish the enemy assets.’

Exploiting the distraction generated by the reanimated corpses, I executed silent ambushes, and even if it required absorbing damage by pushing forward aggressively, I concentrated entirely on thinning their numbers, relying on the regeneration obtained from consuming fellow vampires.

Consequently, the tally of rank 6s was cut down to less than half, and the lesser thralls, saving those possessing spatial shifting talents, were on the brink of total destruction.

‘Thanks to those actions, I was fortunate enough to secure “Invisibility.” And the combat forms of the Paladin are proving far more advantageous than I anticipated.’

Currently training diligently within the order, Heinrich.

His close-quarters fighting style, a component of the martial arts he acquired, was efficiently countering the vampires under Heinz’s execution.

Granted, it was far from flawless.

Contrasting with Heinrich’s genuine “Paladin’s Combat Techniques,” which demanded the invocation of holy energy, it lacked refinement and was merely a duplication based on external posture.

Nonetheless, it was undeniably a highly functional fighting style.

The martial forms, created and passed down through generations within the Holy See to counter external perils, paired with Heinrich’s immense physical prowess, rendered the application of force far more economical than in the past.

‘It is quite contradictory that Heinz, a member of the vampire race, is employing the Holy See’s Paladin martial forms.’

If the Holy See were to uncover this reality, wouldn’t they choose to look the other way?

—

Owing to Heinz securing the upper hand against the vampire forces, Hans was able to comfortably dedicate his attention to analyzing the order’s mysticism.

[Ohoho… Is this the method you use to bind them? Constraining dark arts is quite a fascinating concept. The sequences are distinct, yet you have intertwined them to create harmony.]

Even in the thick of fierce warfare, Hans scrutinized the mechanics and casually rotated his wrist.

At his motion, a dark vapor originated from the crown of his cane, expanding in a flash to envelop the concealed figures.

A hex manifested across the entire warzone in a heartbeat.

It was neutralized once more by the order’s casters, but in that split-second interval, shadows materialized, skewering their frames.

Nonetheless, even as their comrades suffered, those confronting Hans were unable to dedicate their full focus to him.

[Hehehehe…]

“Gah! Nothing but cadavers!”

The dark surges of reanimated corpses enveloped in a malevolent mist. The injuries dealt by those obstructing their advance multiplied like a tumbling snowball, given that they instantly mended and pressed forward unless completely pulverized.

“Blast it! They behave like aberrations! In such a restrictive setting, the ether pathway should have broken down ages ago from that level of drain!”

The individual in the tailored attire no longer possessed any trace of calm on his features.

The vampire executives who had pledged alignment were foolishly fixated on a single target, and they stepped right into pitfalls, believing they had contained Hahoe mask’s attributes, which far surpassed any projections.

Even after sustaining hits from the polar energies multiple times, he wavered for a split second but rapidly stabilized as though completely unbothered.

“What is taking place? In a dynamic where the output is restricted, permitting such strikes, and persistently utilizing massive amounts of ether… How can he remain so uninjured? The ether ought to have backfired a long time ago.”

The restriction of Abyssal Conclave’s dark arts impacted not just Hans but also the reanimated servants he invoked.

Invocation was essential for Hans when there were no reanimated servants available to act as protective barriers.

However, he could not simply permit his precious reanimated servants to be obliterated without a fight.

Thus, he immoderately poured dark arts into the reanimated servants to a greater degree than standard, and deploying such immense ether in this antagonistic setting was a massive strain for Hans as well.

Had he been a commonplace mortal.

The wellspring of his immense dark arts was a fragment of the Immortal King embedded within his cardiac cavity.

He possessed no ether reservoirs or ether pathways common to human sorcerers.

He simply extracted and deployed the dark arts directly from the fragment.

Furthermore, courtesy of “Undying,” he could rapidly recuperate from any trauma, sustained by the dark arts emanating from the core.

Directly following an impact, there was a brief deficit of ether, causing him to falter momentarily, but it failed to deliver a devastating blow to him.

‘The true difficulty lay in preventing the gear from sustaining structural failure.’

Following the core, which was shielded by the supreme dark arts, topmost importance was allocated to gear preservation to keep his identity concealed.

As a consequence, he became susceptible to kinetic shock internally, causing skeletal structures to fracture on multiple occasions.

However, even though the output that could be provided by Heinz’s setup was diminished by roughly half, the dark arts supplied by the fragment neared a state of infinity.

In a war of attrition, the dynamic naturally swung in his favor.

Crash!

Once again, the force of completely polarized attributes jarred the dark arts barrier, producing internal trauma.

He instantly extended his arm toward the origin of the strike, answering with a beam of demise.

[…I believe I comprehend the baseline. Though it remains slightly unrefined, given the circumstances, it appears I cannot extract any further utility.]

Upon feeling certain that he had gathered sufficient insights, Hans halted his offensives and deliberately surveyed the vicinity.

“Agh, cough…”

“Curse it, you aberration…”

Though the engagement persisted, Hans appeared battered, yet

Abyssal Conclave’s predicament was vastly more critical.

Greater than half of their numbers had already collapsed, and the survivors were far from unharmed.

While Hans had designated investigation as his primary objective, it did not imply that he had engaged the adversaries with moderation.

On the contrary, he pressed harder to observe how the targets would behave under maximum duress, completely disregarding their survival, as though executing a ruthless trial.

[Well, I can ascertain the flaws on my own terms. It ought to be swifter through this method.]

Following a brief lull, as the personnel of Abyssal Conclave collapsed, the restriction on dark arts dissolved for Hans.

He manifested an even more potent wave of dark arts than previously shown.

[Hehehek!]

Rattle, clatter!

“Blast it! Hahoe mask—!”

Abyssal Conclave, who had confidently orchestrated the ambushes, were stripped of their options one by one and collapsed without resistance…

The consequences also bled into the ongoing struggle of the vampires adjacent to them.

—

Swish—

“Ugh… you, you monster…”

[Acquiring a fresh Vampire component. Due to the unique attribute “Bloodline Evolution,” you have achieved comprehension. The trait “Blood Magic” transitions into the unique attribute “Mystery of Blood.”]

[The unique attribute “Mystery of Blood” integrates the minor traits “Blood Manipulation” and “Blood Circulation Amplification,” receiving further advancement.]

‘Excellent, this is highly beneficial.’

Heinz deliberately backed away from the decaying throat of the Beta, validating the newly acquired trait.

Consuming a mysticism-focused entity such as Beta turned out to be highly advantageous, rendering the transformed “Blood Magic” trait far more seamless to employ.

Differing from past instances when he was restricted by rigid parameters, he could now execute spatial shifts via blood, relying purely on direct intent and employing blood as the conduit.

The heightened optimization in generating the outcomes of “Blood Manipulation” and “Blood Circulation Amplification” was a completely expected byproduct.

“Roar! You! Preying upon your own race! You were a ghoul! A ghoul! Small wonder things felt utterly wrong—!”

For a brief span, Beta One, his physical form burning like lava and discharging white vapor from every pore, pulverized the reanimated servants encircling him, demonstrating the absolute peak of his rage.

Concluding that it would be a daunting task to bring down the excessively durable Beta One first while environmental restrictions persisted, Heinz obtained backing from Hans to eliminate Beta God.

It proved simple to handle the standard caster-type Beta God while the reinforced reanimated servants purchased a fleeting window.

‘Granted, he differed from a commonplace caster due to his vampiric nature, but that distinction was entirely trivial to me.’

Though he forced his passage through to settle the matter swiftly, his entire form was mangled by the tempest of gore generated, yet…

It was a negligible concern for Heinz, who had consumed the vast majority of the vampires gathered here, provided the stored vitality did not deplete entirely.

“How in the world do you keep your mind intact? No, are you merely exquisitely deranged? But since you presumed to violate the ultimate restriction, your fate will be equally disastrous!”

A textbook display of hubris.

Given that offering a reply served no function, I instantly deployed the newly secured “Mystery of Blood.”

Rip!

Gush, spray—

The blood hanging in the atmosphere hardened into structural links and surged toward Beta One, with portions transforming into spikes and launching from his blind spots.

“Grr, deploying such petty stratagems against me—!”

And in a flash, Heinz, masking his essence, closed the distance and drove his talons straight into Beta One’s throat.

Snap!

“Gah—?!”

The unexpected strike deflected off his hardened skin, yet the kinetic force was transferred adequately.

And stripped of reinforcement from his surroundings, Beta One amounted to nothing more than a resilient training dummy for Heinz.

Crack! Snap! Boom—!

Sanguine chains from every angle shackled his arms and legs, and Heinz, shifting at blistering velocity, battered his entire frame with fingertips saturated with blood magic.

Wherever friction manifested, red blossoms coalesced, searing his outer layer.

Slash—!

Focusing on designated points, the specific zone Heinz zeroed in on.

As the unrelenting strikes reached their threshold, Beta One’s throat tissue split apart, and crimson droplets sprayed forth.

It signaled that the resilience of his frame had ultimately reached its breaking point.

It was the indicator heralding Beta One’s demise.

‘Rank 7s possess immense command over their essence, making it difficult to extract blood from alternate areas. I have no choice but to clamp down and drain it directly.’

That was the reason Heinz was required to feed on Beta One’s throat for hematophagy, yet…

At this juncture, it was a completely inconsequential matter.

Seeing that there would be no onlookers remaining anyway.