Chapter 418
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 418
Chapter Title: Vampire Lord (1)
"Vampire Lord and Grade-1 Celestial..."
A scale tipped back and forth in Rokan's mind.
Who to strike first.
With his new weapon and skills, plus the mastery of divinity he'd learned through hard experience against Stormwind.
Now, in terms of raw combat power, Rokan was confident he wouldn't yield to any demigod that came his way—but that choice still demanded caution.
His total reserves of divinity were still insufficient, and his enemies weren't just one or two.
Whichever side he chose, he'd likely face dozens of demigod-level foes right off the bat.
'In terms of difficulty, the Vampire Lord seems a bit easier.'
Even so, it was the vampire clan as a whole versus the celestials as a whole.
Naturally, the vampires posed the lower difficulty—but the reason Rokan hesitated boiled down to one thing.
Rapuje's takeover of celestial society.
It was already well underway, but if it fully succeeded, he'd gain a fortress as unassailable as any stone wall.
Taking him down afterward would mean committing to the extermination of the entire celestial race.
"Hoo..."
It was only natural for his deliberations to deepen.
After pondering in place for a long while, Rokan finally reached a decision.
"Whether it's a sturdy wall or whatever, I'll just smash it to pieces."
First, the Vampire Lord—who'd dared to play petty tricks on him.
Truth be told, there was no guarantee of success even if he targeted Rapuje now.
It would likely bring considerable hardship; if he went after Rapuje, every Grade-2 and Grade-3 celestial would swarm him.
He wasn't afraid of that, of course, but it would be a grueling fight.
And Rokan wasn't one to shy away from hardship.
"Vampire Lord."
But he wasn't a fool who'd take the long, winding road when a simpler path existed.
Hunt the Vampire Lord to build up his divinity and levels, then crush the celestials.
He sketched out the straightforward, textbook plan in his head.
Vampires were a poor matchup for him besides.
Much of their blood magic—known as Blood Magic—couldn't harm him at all.
The Blood Slaughter effect would simply absorb their Blood Magic instead.
It had always been that way, but now infused with demigod powers and divinity, it would drain their vital essence even more viciously.
Just as skills grew stronger with each rank up, the moment he'd become a demigod and gained control over divinity, every skill had gained a subtle divine aura.
With his thoughts settled, Rokan immediately headed to Gromoto, his demon realm territory.
The Rokan Church temple had been built here long ago.
Thanks to that, many transient demons passing through had joined the church, receiving powerful combat buffs from its blessings—but Rokan had no intention of using them.
Truth be told, they wouldn't be of much use even if he did.
There, Rokan gathered intelligence on the demons and vampires, preparing to face them.
He bolstered his forces to draw attention elsewhere and stirred up a warlike atmosphere.
"Time to go?"
Finally, as tension gripped the area and a murderous aura spread across the demon realm, he crossed into the void alone.
Demons had vampires among them too, but the Vampire Lord and his clan resided beyond the free city, in the true demon realm.
The very place where the Celestial God had fled—he soared there with Kai.
'No need to start with the head.'
He'd already pinpointed the demon realm's location.
Using the rainbow teleporter in the neutral free city, he crossed into the demon realm border on Kai.
[You have been exposed to concentrated demonic energy.]
[The Demon God's Fang Belt rejoices.]
The dense demonic energy flowing through the air affected him the moment he entered, but it had no impact on Rokan.
Rather, he soothed the Demon God's Fang Belt, which chattered its teeth in delight, and locked onto his first prey: the vampire city.
"Obvious enough to yawn over."
Did all vampires share the same tastes? The city's layout mirrored the vampire castle where Sharloch had once ruled.
Subordinate heteromorphs of the vampire race lived in the city proper, while the upper demon noble—an earl vampire and lord of the domain—resided in a separate castle a short distance away.
This made it hard for them to aid each other against stealthy infiltrators, yet they stubbornly clung to this inefficient setup out of arrogance or overconfidence.
"Music to my ears."
For Rokan, the aggressor, it was a delightful bonus—no need to deal with the small fry; he could behead them in one stroke.
"Kai, Elemental Breath!"
Kyuuut! Whoooooooosh.
In his great peng form, Kai vaulted over the city and arrived at the vampire castle in an instant. Vast energy gathered around his maw.
The pure elemental force repelled the demonic energy, but the latter was too feeble.
The amassed attribute powers crushed it in seconds.
A breath of terrifying destructive power blasted toward the vampire castle.
Kwaaaaang!
The castle crumbled in a single strike.
Not just the outer walls—the inner keep shook violently, cracking apart.
A Blood Magic barrier resisted, but it shattered under the full-force blast, exposing the interior.
"Who dares?!"
Only then did the vampires notice Rokan's ambush, swarming out like shadows—but Rokan spared them not even a glance.
He stared down the one who'd raised a blood-red shield to block the Elemental Breath.
The sole demigod here: the vampire earl.
"You... human demigod! I knew you'd swing that pathetic axe someday...!"
Crimson mist rose.
Even as they glared at each other, vampires lunging at Rokan plummeted, spilling blood.
Rokan hadn't so much as lifted a finger—Kai's retaliation swept them away.
"So what if you knew? Come on!"
Then Rokan charged first. No time for banter.
The moment Rokan launched his invasion of the vampire kingdom, they'd surely sensed it through their blood network.
Speed was key.
He needed to inflict maximum damage before they could prepare.
Strike them down one by one, steal their divinity, and grow stronger.
Even now, he was confident in one-on-one fights against most foes—but dozens of demigods at once? That was uncertain.
If his total divinity fell short, defeat could come all too easily.
"King of Violence! Power of the Absolute!"
Thus, Rokan collided at full throttle from the start.
His power surged dramatically, his charge speed multiplying several times over.
"Gah!"
Even vampires—proud of their speed—couldn't track him with their eyes, twisting desperately to avoid fatal wounds.
Pshaaa! Crunch crunch.
They turned into swarms of bats in panic, but those caught by the Battle Axe burst into bloody pulp and vanished.
And that blood converted straight to Rokan's power.
"Violent Explosion!"
Kwaaaaang!
No letting fleeing bat swarms escape.
"Ground" was mere symbolism—his Battle Axe cleaved the air, unleashing a massive explosion around it.
It incinerated the bats and swallowed the vampires charging to protect him.
And that was that.
Bats were a vampire's life force.
No exaggeration to call them extensions of the self—so with most of the swarm slaughtered, the vampire couldn't wield his full strength.
The few surviving bats attempted flight, but the Battle Axe and Kai's beak tore them to bloody mist.
A pitiful end for a demigod.
Brought on by a moment's carelessness.
"I'll take this place over."
Vampires were an intensely selfish race. Sly, too.
Their distrustful nature bound subordinates via blood contracts, rendering rebellion impossible—and now, bereft of their master and most of their power, the lesser vampires fell into identity crises before Rokan slew them all.
A few escaped alive, but it didn't matter.
The blood network would already have spread word of Rokan's presence and deeds. He claimed the territory, looted everything of value, and moved to the next.
"Already gathered? Quick bunch."
Surprisingly, the next vampire territory already held three demigod-level vampires.
As if expecting him, they'd come out of the castle to greet him.
But so what?
Rokan charged without hesitation.
He simply swung his Battle Axe faster, harder.
The vampires summoned divinity from the start to resist, but Rokan barely expended any.
A trace of divinity cloaked his body, concentrated in his arms, legs, and Battle Axe—for bursts of far greater power.
"Why so weak?"
"A mere newborn human demigod, wielding divinity this proficiently...!"
Rokan's divinity control had already surpassed their level, honed through Stormwind and real combat.
They'd never truly clashed blades with a god, let alone another demigod since ascending.
These were fringe dwellers in the Vampire Lord's domain, elevated to demigod status through effortless blood inheritance rather than grit.
Power aside, they couldn't match Rokan's battle experience or instincts.
No need for massive divinity outlays; basic maneuvers alone crushed them mercilessly.
"Divinity Barrier."
At best, he trapped their escape specialists in a barrier—total divinity spent: around 100,000.
Even that felt excessive, underscoring their amateurishness.
[World: Do you wish to take over the Blood Puppet...?]
"I'll absorb the divinity."
Thus, Rokan slaughtered all three and absorbed their divinity.
He could have seized their worlds like the lords of the fame realm, but such trashy creations were predictable wastes—better off passed.
Maintaining them would guzzle divinity, and he'd have plenty more vampire worlds to claim later. No need.
'Who even knows how many worlds a demigod can hold?'
Besides, there might be limits to a demigod's world slots. Wasting one on this garbage would mean endless regret later.
'Maybe the Vampire Lord's world.'
That one might be worth considering—after a proper clash to gauge its worth.
-Filthy-blooded human scum dares harm my bloodkin! Our vengeance begins now—may blood curses and ruin befall you!
Having successfully raided the second territory, a blood puddle on the ground suddenly surged.
It formed a face-like shape and spat its curse-laden declaration.
Likely the Vampire Lord himself, or their blood progenitor.
"You struck first. And who perishes? We'll see."
Pow!
Rokan sneered fully at it before smashing the blood visage with his fist.
As it said—now the real fight began.