Chapter 62
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Intrusion
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Masks covering their faces.
All-black night attire.
Armed with swords, crossbows, and other weapons.
A group of masked figures whose every fiber screamed suspicion and danger.
Raoul, the leader of the ten men who moved without a sound or presence, wore a sneer.
‘How easy.’
Just what you’d expect from the territory of some nouveau riche leeching off the underground city.
Infiltrating the Jewel House.
And taking care of the guards outside.
Raoul assessed the outcome of his work, which had taken only a few minutes, and applied that same judgment to Elise.
‘So defenseless. They call her a candidate for the Paljongyungma, but in the end, she’s just a greenhorn.’
It was laughable enough that she had come all the way to this remote region to find an artifact.
But what was even more pathetic was her conduct, staying in a minor territory with only a single guard knight.
As if to ask, who would dare harm me?
It was a confidence befitting a direct descendant of the Baekdaesega, perhaps…
But in Raoul’s eyes.
It was arrogance.
No matter how powerful the Baekdaesega’s authority was, it wasn’t absolute.
After all, Odobaekryeong was a place where even direct descendants of the Baekdaesega often met meaningless ends.
Especially during succession battles.
And yet, at a time when she should be surrounded by guards in a safe place, she had invited danger upon herself.
It was the act of an inexperienced and arrogant brat.
‘Like calls to like, they say. Just as I'd expect from the fiancée of that Unlight disgrace.’
That was also why Raoul had accepted this job.
There were many rumors about Elise, but if they were true, she would have broken off her engagement with the Unlight disgrace long ago.
The fact that the engagement still stood was proof that the rumors were exaggerated.
Moreover, the client had given a firm guarantee that he wouldn't have to worry about repercussions, so there was no reason to refuse the job.
An eye-poppingly large down payment.
And on top of that, the promise of a Divine Beast’s egg upon successful completion of the request.
He grinned, imagining the day he would become a lord after finishing this job and raising that Divine Beast. He had been walking for some time when…
Raoul suddenly stopped.
It wasn’t just because they had finally arrived at their target’s room—Elise’s room.
It was because of the scene before him.
‘…A guard knight, drunk and asleep. What a sight.’
A female knight, sleeping while clutching a wine bottle.
A maid, pacing back and forth in front of her.
It was a sight he wouldn't expect even from the guards of a decent minor territory, let alone the Baekdaesega. He was dumbfounded for a moment.
Like master, like knight.
Raoul clicked his tongue lightly and gestured with his hand.
He had his subordinate, who cautiously drew a crossbow from around the corner, aim at the maid and the female knight.
‘Well, this works out for the best.’
If the knight was in this state, the Blood Princess must be dead to the world as well.
If they could sneak in quietly like this, they might be able to finish the job more easily than he had imagined.
Raoul grinned and gave the signal.
The moment his men fired their crossbows.
“Hah, why do I have to do this… Ah.”
*Clatter.*
Raoul’s eyes widened.
The maid who had been pacing anxiously.
Naru had tripped on the hem of her skirt and fallen, pushing the female knight who had been sleeping while leaning against the wall.
The problem was that, as a result, the arrows they had fired went wide.
*Thud!*
“…Huh?”
“…”
“Eek?! K-Knight! Knight! There are strange assailants here…!”
“Umm…? Wh-who goes there!”
Why were there arrows sticking out of the wall?
For a moment, Naru stared blankly, as if she couldn't comprehend what was happening.
Only then did she spot Raoul and the masked men. Terrified like a rabbit seeing a wolf, she shook the knight awake.
Startled by the commotion, the female knight awoke and reflexively drew her sword, her eyes still half-closed.
It was clear she was in no state to fight, but…
Raoul scowled.
If the knight had been on high alert, they could have approached more stealthily and slit her throat in an instant.
But because their attempt to take the easy route had failed, the job had become more difficult.
‘Tsk, can’t be helped.’
“Take care of them.”
But Raoul was merely annoyed.
He wasn’t particularly worried.
He knew that while the difficulty might change, the outcome would not.
Because…
*Clang!*
“Kuh…!”
“Heuk!? A-A high-level Awakened One?”
—They were all high-level Awakened Ones.
And not mere [Beginners] or [Adepts], but pros of the hunt who had stepped into the realm of [Experts].
Still, she was a knight of the Vlad family for a reason.
The female knight staggered but stood with her back to the door and the maid, swinging her sword to parry their attacks.
Her armor was sturdy enough to be unscratched by ordinary blades.
She used the narrow corridor to her advantage in a desperate defense, but…
It was only for a moment.
*Swish-swish-swish-swish!*
From the front.
From the left.
From the right.
The serrated swords wielded by three masked men left the female knight drenched in blood.
She might have stood a chance in a one-on-one fight.
But there was a limit to how she could handle three opponents moving in perfect sync.
Moreover, the slightest graze from the silver-plated blades caused her flesh to burn, sealing the unique regenerative abilities of the vampire race.
To make matters worse, two arrows fired by the other masked men served as the final blow.
*Thwip!*
“Ugh!”
“Eek! K-Knight!”
“Tsk, took you long enough.”
She barely managed to block one arrow.
But the second pierced her shoulder, and a subsequent swing of a serrated sword sent one of her arms flying.
The fight was over in mere seconds after the ambush began.
But Raoul clicked his tongue.
Ten high-level Awakened Ones were a force capable of wiping out a decent minor territory.
Even with the spatial constraints, he couldn't help but be dissatisfied that it had taken them several seconds to take down a single person.
But it was over now.
The staggering female knight.
The terrified maid behind her.
The masked men were closing in to finish them off when…
“Step aside.”
“Hm?”
A languid voice.
It came from inside the room.
They paused for a moment at the sound.
The instant Raoul saw the maid suddenly grab the knight and roll across the floor, he belatedly cried out in alarm.
“Everyone, get back!”
*BOOOOOM!*
—A crimson flash erupted from within the room.
Fortunately, most of them managed to dodge thanks to his warning.
Unfortunately, the subordinate at the very front had reacted too late.
The price for that was gruesome.
*CRUNCH!*
Broken bones.
A caved-in wall.
Mangled flesh.
Splattering blood.
When the violent and brutal transformation ended…
The expert-level Awakened One was no longer there.
Like a crushed ant.
Or a child’s scribble.
All that remained was a flattened paste of bone, flesh, blood, and scraps of clothing plastered to the cracked wall opposite them.
It was so grotesque that it almost looked like a painting.
As the masked men’s faces hardened at the horrific end of their comrade—a sight they had never witnessed despite all their battles—
*Tap, tap.*
A quiet sound.
Footsteps echoed.
Impossibly proud and elegant.
Yet strangely clear. They turned their heads toward the sound.
And when they saw the figure emerging from the shattered doorway, they swallowed hard.
“To think my guard was cornered by mere insects like these. You should be ashamed.”
“…My apologies, Lady.”
“Hmph. That’s enough. Stand back.”
Brilliant blonde hair.
A blood-red dress.
A luxurious jade fan.
With her dazzling beauty and noble aura…
The peerless beauty, reminiscent of a single rose, turned her head away from the female knight.
And looked at the nine intruders with cold eyes.
“I won’t ask who you are. It’s obvious who sent you and why.”
Assassins.
She was so used to them, she was bored.
She wouldn’t bother with the trouble of capturing and interrogating them.
With a languid declaration.
The moment she unfolded her jade fan.
“So, my uninvited guests.”
“…”
“—Now, you may die.”
*BOOM!!!*
The crimson flash… no.
The head-sized orb of blood, shimmering like polished jade, which had floated up from the bloody paste on the wall and returned to her, shot toward them like a cannonball.
***
“Dodge!”
There was no need for the order.
They had seen with their own two eyes what had happened to the comrade who was hit by that orb. The masked men, already on high alert, were diving out of the way.
Fortunately, while the blood orb was fast, it wasn’t impossible to evade.
Having dodged Elise’s attack, they immediately launched a counterattack.
*Fwing!*
Two arrows flew through the air.
Fired by a [Monster Hunter] and a [Mana Marksman], the arrows, imbued with supernatural power, were deadly.
They were incredibly fast and accurate, possessing enough power to pierce even the thickest armor.
*Boom!*
“Now!”
Even those arrows shattered to pieces against the blood orb, but…
Raoul didn’t panic.
He simply drew his serrated sword along with his men and charged toward Elise.
Of course, Elise didn’t just stand by and watch them approach.
*CRASH, RUMBLE, CRUMBLE!*
Every time she flicked her fan with her slender hand, the blood orb moved to where the fan pointed.
Its power was utterly devastating.
The walls, the ceiling, the floor.
The slightest touch was enough to crush them like paper.
Even nine high-level Awakened Ones could do little more than desperately dodge the flying blood orb.
But neither Raoul…
Nor the other masked men…
Fell into despair.
While straining their nerves to evade the blood orb and deflecting it with their aura-infused weapons…
They focused solely on closing the distance to Elise, even by a little.
And that was enough.
For them to seize victory.
*Thud!*
‘Just as the client’s information said.’
Little by little.
Each time it collided with a weapon—or more accurately, the aura within it.
Raoul grinned as he saw the blood orb gradually shrink and slow down, though the change was barely perceptible.
The power of that blood orb was terrifying, but only for now.
If they continued to chip away at it like this, it was only a matter of time before they captured Elise.
Especially considering the trump card the client had provided.
And so, he smiled confidently, steadily pushing Elise back with his men.
…At least, that’s what he believed.
“How pathetic. Truly.”
“…?”
“I was wondering what gave you the confidence to target me with such meager skills, and your grand strategy is a war of attrition?”
As if it were utterly boring.
Elise, who had been watching them with languid eyes, spoke before he knew it.
“There’s no value in watching any further.”
“Hah, what kind of bluff is—!”
Shooting down arrows.
Blocking their advance.
Simply moving the blood orb from where she stood.
Doing nothing even as she watched the blood orb shrink…
Or so it seemed. Raoul scoffed, thinking Elise’s words were just a bluff.
But in the next moment.
His face couldn't help but stiffen.
*Drip.*
Elise took the jade fan she held in one hand and swiped it with the other.
The moment red blood flowed from the cut that appeared on her pale palm…
That blood floated into the air and formed a familiar orb of blood.
And that wasn’t all.
One.
Another one.
And one more.
In total, including the one they were already dealing with, there were now four.
They were struggling against just one blood orb with nine men.
Elise aimed her fan at them as they stared in horror at the four blood orbs, which, though much smaller than the first, had quadrupled in number.
And…
*SPLAT-SPLAT-SPLAT!!!*
“…!”
“Th-this is impossible…”
“You’re the impossible ones, aren’t you? Who did you think I was?”
Flashes of light.
The sound of tearing flesh.
Three new blood splatters on the wall.
Raoul let out an involuntary groan as he saw that only six of his men remained.
She had performed the feat of crushing three high-level Awakened Ones in an instant.
It was only after seeing her red eyes, which showed no emotion, as if she had just squashed a few bugs, that he realized.
He realized who this beautiful girl in front of him was.
The Baekdaesega.
The great nobles at the pinnacle of Odobaekryeong.
Among them, one of the greatest prodigies in the history of the Vlad family.
The highest-ranking vampire, who had inherited the purest blood among her kind.
A candidate for the Blood Sect, considered the first to have her name listed among the next Paljongyungma.
And above all…
“The very idea that you dared to challenge me without even overcoming the Transcendent wall is absurd.”
Beyond 3-star.
Possessing a 4-star class.
—She was a Transcendent Awakened One.
***
The station in the underground city.
The dark elf, who had been watching the Jewel House from the area where many territories, large and small, were clustered.
Parsha fell silent.
He had said he was confident he could handle it quietly.
That all she needed to do was secure an escape route.
From the moment Dion, who had spoken so confidently, infiltrated the Jewel House, she had a feeling.
That there would definitely be a commotion.
Stealing something from under the nose of a Transcendent Awakened One like Elise was no easy task, and besides…
Dion, after his awakening, had never done anything quietly.
That was why she had been preparing for the aftermath, assuming a commotion would occur.
Even more so after she saw a suspicious group approaching the Jewel House.
But…
*RUUUUMBLE!*
“…”
A roar echoed.
The Jewel House vibrated as if an earthquake had struck.
Its center had slightly collapsed.
This wasn’t just a commotion; it was a disaster on the level of a natural catastrophe.
As she felt the station grow noisy from the aftermath and sensed the movements of the ‘watchers’ beginning to stir…
Parsha closed her eyes for a moment.
Then, she pressed her fingers to her temples and spoke softly.
“…I was a fool to let that walking disaster-magnet go unsupervised.”
After that brief monologue.
The dark elf, dressed in sleek night attire instead of her usual maid uniform, quietly vanished.