The Art of Vampire Betrayal

Even so, Count Scabio did not fly into a rage like before. He assumed that the King of the Atali Kingdom hadn't invaded of his own accord, but rather that Vlad, desperate for power, had begged the Atali Kingdom for aid.

"Your Majesty! Please, hear me out!" Count Scabio cried, looking at Tae-hyun with a far more deferential attitude.

"You must not trust that wretch Vlad! He is a wicked, serpent-like creature who doesn't possess even a shred of basic decency!"

"No! Surely not!" Tae-hyun gasped, putting on a show of utter shock.

Heartened by this reaction, Count Scabio pressed on.

"He attacks emissaries, raids conference halls... He is absolutely untrustworthy. If you are to place your faith in anyone, it should be me, not a scoundrel like him."

Count Scabio was not an ancient vampire for nothing. He was doing everything in his power to sever the alliance between Vlad and Tae-hyun so he could secure the King's favor for himself.

Looking at Vlad's track record, he is clearly a cunning, despicable rat! Surely the King of Atali wouldn't place his full trust in such a creature! Count Scabio reasoned as he attempted to negotiate. Of course, his efforts were entirely in vain.

"Though Vlad may indeed be a cunning and despicable fellow, we have formed an alliance. How could I possibly break my word? I am a man who holds honor above all else."

Tae-hyun's display of noble, kingly honor instantly won Count Scabio over. The fact that Tae-hyun was the very person who had launched a devastating fire attack on his camp in the dead of night was a minor detail—sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss!

Wait, why are you guys' stats going up too?

"As expected of His Majesty...!"

"He is so honorable!"

"Sob! I want to serve him forever!"

Count Scabio now knew Tae-hyun was an honorable king who kept his promises, but he refused to give up.

"Your Majesty! I deeply admire your honor, but a tree that is too rigid will snap in the wind. Sometimes, one must bend their principles and learn to adapt!"

Is that some kind of vampire family motto? Tae-hyun recalled Vlad saying something very similar. Shaking off the thought, he redirected the conversation.

"Very well. I understand, Count. I shall give it some thought."

"Your Majesty!"

"Ah, I said I understood, didn't I?"

"No, it is not that... You must extinguish those flames."

"Why? So you can rally your troops and ambush us?" Tae-hyun asked, his voice dripping with suspicion. It was a stark, jarring contrast to the honorable kingly persona he had displayed just moments ago.

"I wish to offer the treasures inside that camp as my ransom."

"...Treasures?" Tae-hyun was taken aback. Who on earth kept treasures inside a temporary military camp? Especially during a campaign? The main reason Tae-hyun had set the place ablaze without a second thought was because he assumed any treasures would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carried on the Count's person. What kind of idiot piles up treasure in a camp during a territorial war?

But vampire nobles were a different breed. They insisted on living in absolute luxury wherever they went. For a vampire noble, this was completely normal. Upon hearing the explanation, Tae-hyun flew into a rage.

"You extravagant bastards!"

"?!" Count Scabio was utterly bewildered by the sudden scolding. Didn't all nobles live like this?

Tae-hyun immediately bolted toward the burning camp.

"Y-Your Majesty?" Count Scabio stammered, staring blankly at Tae-hyun's retreating figure.

"Ah! Hot! Hot! It's hot!"

Cain shrieked in pain. Watching him, Tae-hyun asked in sheer disbelief,

"Why on earth did you follow me in here?!"

"...Because you went in...?" Cain whined, feeling deeply wronged. He had only followed because he was terrified of being scolded if he stayed behind! Tae-hyun, of course, found this even more absurd. Tae-hyun possessed Sadiq's Authority and massive fire resistance, allowing him to treat a raging inferno like a playground, but what kind of suicidal courage had possessed Cain to jump in?

"And here I thought you came in to grind your stats."

"??"

"Whatever, just strip off your gear. Quick." Tae-hyun urged, genuinely concerned about the durability of Cain's equipment. And Cain, ever obedient, actually did it.

"...Wait a minute. Instead of stripping, couldn't I have just walked out of the fire?" Cain finally realized. Carbanog was deeply shocked by this sudden display of intellect.

"No, since you're already in here, activate your skills and endure it. A pit of fire is actually the perfect place to raise your stats." Cain had never heard of such a thing in his life. If a pit of fire was great for raising stats, did that make Hell the ultimate leveling zone? Yet, Tae-hyun was dead serious.

"I'm jealous. If I didn't have fire authority, I'd be doing it right alongside you... I used to do this all the time back in Pan-On 1."

"..." A cold shiver ran down Cain's spine. This guy is a literal psychopath. Tae-hyun was the kind of monster who would willingly drink poison if it promised to raise his stats or skill levels! But Cain was quickly snapped back to reality as warning windows began flashing, alerting him to his rapidly depleting health.

"Ah, hot! Hot! It burns!"

"Focus, you idiot. Keep your HP hovering right around 5%. Don't heal any higher than that. Just keep enduring, and once your fire resistance or stats stop rising, you can head out."

"F-Five percent?! Isn't that way too risky?!"

"What are you talking about? I used to do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this at 1%. I'm practically giving you the easy mode here. Stop whining and get to work."

"Ten... Ten percent!" Five percent was absolutely out of the question. If he died while training in a fire, he'd probably set a record for the most embarrassing death in Pan-On history.

"Keeping your HP that high is going to ruin your efficiency... Well, whatever. Do what you want." Tae-hyun left Cain to his training. He had treasures to find! Despite the raging inferno consuming everything around him, Tae-hyun deftly navigated the flames and began scooping up items.

Normally, players only inspected their loot when they had a moment of peace. When rushing through a dungeon or in a hurry, the standard practice was to shove everything into the inventory and check it later. Yet, there was one item that instantly caught Tae-hyun's eye.

"...?" A Wyvern's Heart? Where had he seen that recently?

"!!!" That was it. It was one of the premium feeds that Towang ate!

Out of all the countless rare materials in the game, there was no way Towang's specific feed would just happen to drop like this by pure coincidence. Count Scabio had deliberately brought along feed meant specifically for Towang.

What's the deal here? Tae-hyun organized his thoughts.

- Count Scabio brought feed for Towang.

- Count Scabio had offered to recognize Vlad's sovereignty if Vlad handed over the breeding ground, including Towang, while Tae-hyun was away.

What conclusion could be drawn from these facts?

"...No, that's not it..."

Ignoring Carbanog's innocent guess, Tae-hyun reached his final conclusion. They came here targeting Towang from the very beginning!

But is he really worth that much? I didn't think he was that valuable... The Ancient Vampire Rabbit King certainly seemed useful, but it didn't seem worth the astronomical cost of feeding him such expensive materials. The cost-efficiency was abysmal!

Wait, does that mean Count Andalto also came here targeting the rabbit? If that was the case... then Count Andalto was highly likely to have brought feed along with him too!

"Yeah. I definitely shouldn't." Tae-hyun quickly swept through the area, grabbing whatever was worth taking before making his exit. The flames were already beginning to die down.

"Cain, let's go!"

"Okay!"

"...?" Tae-hyun stared blankly at Cain. Feeling his intense gaze, Cain tilted his head in confusion.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." Cain was currently standing there completely stripped of his gear, wearing nothing but his underwear. He had clearly forgotten to put his armor back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on after his training session in the fire. Tae-hyun opened his mouth to tell him, but decided against it. Hey, to each their own. I should respect his preferences.

"Count Scabio. I went into the camp and managed to salvage a few things. Though Vlad despicably set the place on fire, I simply couldn't stand by and watch a fellow noble's treasures burn to ashes." Tae-hyun spoke with a warm, benevolent smile. Count Scabio was deeply moved. It was a display of sincerity capable of touching even the heart of a cunning, ancient vampire!

"Your Majesty... This old vampire offers you his deepest, most heartfelt gratitude."

Ugh. I really need to leave those guys behind next time. Why did their stats have to go up alongside the Count's every single time?!

"By the way, do you happen to have any more of this feed?" Tae-hyun casually probed. Count Scabio's expression instantly stiffened in panic.

"I-I'm not quite sure what you mean..."

"Do not play dumb with me. Vlad wants this rabbit, and you all came here seeking this rabbit as well, did you not?"

"...I see I cannot hide anything from Your Majesty. Yes. The powerful weapon left behind by Count Knema..."

"???" This thing is a weapon?

"...We came here to claim it. Count Andalto is undoubtedly after the same thing."

"Is it truly worth that much effort?"

"You only say that because you do not know how many enemies Count Knema struck absolute terror into using those rabbits."

"Right. I see. The... rabbit of terror..." Even as he said the words, the sheer absurdity of the situation threatened to break his composure. Tae-hyun fought hard to maintain a serious face.

"...Do you have any more feed?"

"Since it was kept in the camp, it must have all burned..."

Dammit.

"...However, Count Andalto should have some in his possession. He has been gathering the materials as well. If you wish to negotiate with him, this old vampire would be honored to assist you."

For a prisoner of war, Count Scabio was being incredibly cooperative. This was entirely due to his high affinity toward Tae-hyun! Of course, if Vlad had been standing in Tae-hyun's place, the Count would have immediately spat, "Screw off, Vlad, you piece of trash vampire!" and hurled a barrage of curses.

"Huh? No, I plan on attacking Count Andalto as well. Why bother negotiating when I can just capture him as a prisoner?"

"Your Majesty...!"

Oops. Did I say too much? Seeing Count Scabio's stunned reaction, Tae-hyun felt a brief pang of regret. Well, his Eloquence skill was high and their affinity was solid, so surely it would be fine...

"...Then I shall assist you all the more!"

"..." It seemed the universal law of survival applied even among vampires: If I'm going down, I'm dragging everyone else down with me!

"This time, we are going in without setting anything on fire."

"To think you would...!"

"All for our sake...!"

The vampire players shed tears of deep emotion. To think their leader was willing to take on a fight several times more difficult just for their sake! Any lingering dissatisfaction from earlier vanished instantly, replaced by overwhelming admiration. Even the Knight Order was deeply moved by Tae-hyun's desire to fight a fair and honorable battle...

Ugh, seriously. Dismissing the notification windows, Tae-hyun looked down at the valley below. Standing right beside him, Count Scabio pointed toward Count Andalto's camp and began breaking down their defenses piece by piece.

"That man over there is Serzo, Count Andalto's personal guard. He is known to be an exceptionally skilled warrior. And that one next to him is Valentino, whose weakness is..."

Tae-hyun patted Count Scabio on the shoulder with a bright smile.

"It is truly a blessing to have met a vampire as reasonable as you, Count. After dealing with a rat like Vlad, talking to you is incredibly refreshing."

"The feeling is entirely mutual, Your Majesty." Count Scabio smirked inwardly. Take that, Vlad, you miserable cur! This is the difference between you and me! A true noble and a fake noble are simply on entirely different levels!