Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Meanwhile, in the West (2)
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The process of injecting the "Purified Blood Essence" into the vampires of the Yuphersh Clan proceeded smoothly.
The blood of Heinz 2nd, which had achieved ultimate evolution by extracting only the dominant genes from vampires across countless worlds.
The blood essence, with even the toxic grudges perfectly removed, was truly the ultimate elixir for vampires.
The moment it was injected into the body, it dramatically altered the vampire factors influenced by it, instantly triggering evolution that had stagnated for long ages.
Of course, Heinz, the owner of the blood essence, could also guide the direction of specialization to some extent during that process.
In the vast underground space of the mansion.
"Urgh...!"
"Haa— haa—."
Right after a round of "Purified Blood Essence" transfusion ended, Heinz swept his gaze over the vampires groaning from the aftermath of their evolution and nodded.
'As expected, to function properly, we need to build up immunity to sunlight first.'
It was something he'd been concerned about ever since he first used the "Purified Blood Essence."
In truth, lowblood vampires, who made up the majority, were so vulnerable to sunlight that without special blood magic, there were severe limitations to deploying them during the day.
If they were still living hidden in the shadows, they might manage that weakness somehow, but in a situation where they had decided to step out openly, that wasn't feasible.
Once they declared their territory, they had to defend it, after all.
'Even like this, fully overcoming it will be tough, but just mitigating the penalty should be enough. The other stats will rise across the board anyway.'
Even if vampires were a scattered, minority race living in small groups, gathering the members of two massive clans in one place made for an unignorable number.
Excluding servants and slaves, there were hundreds of knight-class lowblood vampires, all now far stronger than before...
'And dozens of purebloods, to boot. If not for the war between the two clans recently, it would've been over a hundred.'
He himself had slain the most vampires in that chaos, but he averted his eyes from the truth and stepped out of the basement.
Screeech—
"You've worked hard, Lord."
"Theodore, the ones inside now are from the southern branch, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. The south has been chaotic lately, so they were a bit late joining. The remaining groups are just the two from the southeast and far east, arriving in a few days."
"Hmm, we're really almost done, then."
He conversed with Theodore, who had been waiting by the door, as they walked down the corridor.
'Come to think of it, the tribal alliance has been noisy lately. I should have Harley pay them a visit soon.'
The south, with its desert geography, was inherently closed-off and hard to gather intel on in many ways, so it had been somewhat neglected knowingly or not.
Vampires found it hard to infiltrate due to their tribal living structure, and the shamans abundant there were natural predators to Olivia's ghosts.
'They said shamans are a cut above priests in soul manipulation. Ghosts with suppressed grudges and lowered intelligence have limits against their exorcism arts.'
But pouring more effort there felt wasteful—the harsh environment meant low population and isolation, making it a place with little worldly influence, like a chicken rib.
'Truth be told, I've been putting it off, thinking any issues there are Hari's responsibility.'
He'd delayed for various reasons, but now that Hari had solidly built his foundation, it was time to plan a visit south.
It would make for a fine epic tale, too.
'After his great adventure, Hari, who became the hero's companion, finally arrives at his heart's home, Kolkos. But what awaits him there is...!'
Though lost in such idle thoughts inwardly, Heinz—multi-tasking now second nature—continued his conversation with Theodore without showing it.
"How's the situation with the overseas branches?"
"We're thinning them out, leaving only the bare minimum at key points. Of course, we've replaced everyone with those blessed by your grace. Their explosive growth has greatly helped reduce staffing needs at each location."
Even as they concentrated forces in Talia Kingdom, abandoning the foundations they'd built felt wasteful.
To maximize mobility via blood gates, a certain number of kin needed to remain in each region.
"We've distributed them evenly across Talia Kingdom too. With blood gates densely placed, we can now move anywhere within the kingdom instantly. Efficiency's way up—even to nearby Rapella City, we can teleport with minimal resources."
Theodore spoke with evident pride.
Blood gates were one of the Yuphersh Clan's unique blood magics, so his attitude was natural.
But Heinz, giving a casual nod of approval, drifted into another thought...
'Rapella City... That's where Diana and her siblings are. Yeah, it's about time I paid them a visit.'
It was where the young siblings he'd befriended early in Auterica lived.
He'd promised to drop by once a year when they parted, but time had flown since his last visit.
'Not even that far away. Is this the feeling people get after leaving home?'
He never imagined he'd experience something like this.
He nodded, feeling a subtle tickle.
A bit bothersome, but honestly not a bad sensation.
'Strike while the iron's hot. Might as well go now.'
With major tasks wrapped up and blood gates ready, it was a perfect chance to test one personally.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Whoa? Lord? W-Welcome!"
"Welcome to Rapella City! This way out!"
A magic circle made entirely of blood, adorned with human skulls and such.
Heinz emerged from the blood-red aura in the center of what looked like a devil-summoning chamber, bowed lightly to the tense greeters, waved once, and headed straight out.
'Fittingly ominous atmosphere for blood magic, but the mechanics are no different from the Church's gates.'
Stepping out of the hideout disguised as a normal house, the familiar sights of Rapella City unfolded before him.
Still just an ordinary human city like before, but soon it too would face massive change.
"...Even so, isn't this too pricey? Cut it down a bit."
"What're you talking about? Everywhere's the same with monsters around!"
"I heard our kingdom dodged the worst thanks to the higher-ups handling it well?"
"Still, merchants avoiding transport jacks up prices. Trade routes are blocked too."
Conversations haggling over goods drifted into Heinz's ears.
Thanks to their efforts, Talia Kingdom's damage was lighter, but no land escaped this chaos unscathed.
Faced with tightening livelihoods, people's faces bore shadows of worry.
Naturally, they vented frustrations about the crisis, and the blame inevitably fell on one being.
"It's all because of that Immortal King Hans or whatever."
"Come to think of it, my hometown had a Hans too—shifty eyes from the start. And guess what happened..."
"No way! The Hans I know also..."
The absolute evil descended upon the world: Immortal King Hans.
Heinz strolled the streets leisurely, letting the curses on "Hans" from all sides flow past.
Sorry to all the Hanses in this world, but he'd long given up on name changes.
'No point now. Should've named better from the start.'
Thus, his youngest, born at the peak of naming frustration, was "Hesperon."
After exhaustive research reaching Greek myths...
'Looking back, maybe too try-hard.'
Coldly now, it felt pretentious, leaving him ambivalent.
As he meandered, admiring the city with idle thoughts, nearing Diana's uncle's grocery store.
Crash— rumble!
"Argh, stop it! If you wreck the place, what are we supposed to do?!"
"Waaah—!"
"Come here, Rafi. It's okay, it's okay. There!"
A commotion erupted from his destination.
Not just that—amid the crowd's chatter, he heard voices he recognized.
'This?'
The next moment.
Unnoticed by anyone, he had seamlessly blended into the crowd gathered before the grocery.
"Tch, what? No more hidden cash?"
"Grab these first? Whole crates might fetch better."
"Yeah, could skim later too. Prioritize valuables. Get the cart!"
Six rough-looking men were ransacking the store.
Despite the uproar, patrolling guards scratched their heads awkwardly, unmoving.
Heinz perked his ears to gauge the situation fully.
And right on cue.
"You bastards! What the hell are you doing here?!"
The haggard shopkeeper Bolt and Diana, who seemed to have fetched him, pushed through the crowd, breathing heavily.
"Oh? Uncle finally shows. What else? Here for our money."
"Didn't you say you'd pay the rest soon?! Barging in like this, ruining business—what gives?!"
"Checked the books—your last payment barely covers interest. No point waiting more. We'll just take what we can."
"What nonsense is that?!"
Enraged after the shouting match, Bolt lunged at them, only for one to shove him roughly to the floor.
"Ugh!"
"Uncle!"
Diana supported the fallen man, while the rest of the family—huddled nearby—rushed over teary-eyed.
"Jeez, we're being gentlemen here, y'know? Back in the day, we'd just haul everything off..."
"Hey, guards around."
"Tch— ptui!"
Glancing at the guards, the men resumed.
From their talk, they planned to sell the whole shop elsewhere.
Thunderbolt to the family who'd sustained their livelihood here.
Bolt glared with fury-bitten lips; his wife swallowed tears hugging the three kids; Rafi wailed amid the fear; Aaron soothed her desperately.
And amid it, Diana—much grown since last—stood head bowed, fists clenched, trembling.
'Hmm— Little Rafi fell ill with some mystery disease, needed urgent cash...'
Combining onlooker chatter, Heinz pieced it together calmly.
They'd borrowed everywhere frantically, resorting to loan sharks.
Explained the guards' inaction too.
Ludicrously, this wasn't illegal thuggery—it was "legitimate" collection, pre-reported to officials.
Seemed they had a corrupt official backing them.
'Tch, plenty needs fixing.'
This kingdom was practically his, after all.
Daydreaming management fantasies, witnessing this soured his mood.
Fully appraised, Heinz released his "Nonexistence" concealment and stepped forward slowly.
"...Sniff?"
Diana, head down, twitched and sniffed.
Then slowly looked up, tear-filled eyes toward him.
"...Uncle?"
A quavering voice thick with grievance yet unable to hide joy.
Her pitiful face tugged heartstrings, but Heinz thought differently.
'...Still that abnormal sense of smell. No way it's natural.'
Once dismissed due to ignorance of the world, now experienced, he knew.
Diana's ability was extraordinarily anomalous here.
Even leading major factions now, he'd heard of no one similar.
...Except Earth awakeners' "unique skills."
'But Diana's no Earthling. Hmm, better keep her close and observe more.'
Harboring such thoughts.
Heinz 2nd stepped forward with a cold smile.