Chapter 420
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 420
Chapter Title: Vampire Lord (3)
Rokan caught his breath for a moment after slaughtering all ten demigod-level vampires.
Instead of charging straight at the Vampire Lord, he circled the territory in a wide loop just like he had at the beginning, grabbing everything worth taking.
Gold and coins were always better in greater quantities.
‘Too bad.’
He wanted to raise the soldiers and cause chaos, but unfortunately, that was impossible. Since it was a vampire territory, the troops produced there were vampires as well.
One wrong move, and he could lose them all to the Vampire Lord’s dominion, doing the enemy a favor.
Sucking up the sweet parts and slipping away like he was doing now was the best choice.
“Now to use my head a bit?”
But even that became harder as time passed.
The strongholds Rokan targeted, along with those around them, started withdrawing all their funds.
“At this rate, they’ll encircle me.”
This was entirely because Rokan was alone.
If he’d had even just enough troops to hold the captured territories, it would’ve been fine, but the vampires were secretly retaking the now-abandoned strongholds and assessing their status.
Information about what Rokan was doing after capturing the strongholds had leaked to them, and they were preparing countermeasures.
That wasn’t all. The recaptured territories were filling up with vampire soldiers again.
It looked like Rokan was circling and trampling the Vampire Lord’s grand castle like peeling corn, but as the outer edges were retaken one by one, he was the one getting surrounded.
At this rate, he’d likely end up besieged by an endless vampire horde that he couldn’t kill fast enough.
“Well, do your worst if you can.”
But surprisingly, Rokan didn’t seem too bothered.
He’d already seen through their scheme long ago, so what?
If he had troops, he’d need to minimize their sacrifices in a four-way siege, but he was completely alone.
Even without the full encirclement, he was surrounded by hundreds or thousands of vampires every time he attacked a stronghold.
A few times or dozens more didn’t matter when he only had to worry about himself—it wasn’t much of a burden.
Worst case, he could always slip away alone.
“It’ll be different if we clash then, though.”
And being alone allowed him to pull off certain tricks.
Deception tactics, for one.
Rokan summoned a clone to leave at the stronghold and began moving stealthily.
Stealth was too slow, and flashy mounts like Kaina, the unicorn, or Nightmare would draw eyes, so he chose the sneakiest method available at this point.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Digdog it was.
Empowered by the Rider of Legends, its speed underground outpaced galloping on horseback, letting Rokan reach near the Vampire Lord’s grand castle via tunnel before the clone was even surrounded.
“It’s starting.”
Just as he was about to cross the threshold, he sensed the clone’s battle beginning.
The clone, summoned after channeling his power once, wielded both the King of Violence and the Absolute’s strength.
It had about 80% of Rokan’s actual combat power, plus a battle AI modeled on his movements, so even against a vampire horde or demigods, it wouldn’t go down easily.
That should buy enough time for Rokan to confront the Vampire Lord.
He considered burrowing right into the castle interior but decided against it. The Vampire Lord’s home wasn’t a city but a single massive castle.
Layered with special magic, it detected even the slightest pebble impact.
Now it was a head-on fight.
Rokan emerged aboveground and strode through the gates like a debt collector come for payment.
Whoooosh.
He entered the desolate lobby on the first floor, filled only with the sound of wind.
‘What the hell?’
But there was no reaction from inside.
The silence was so absolute—not even a breath—that Rokan’s face twisted in suspicion of a trap.
“You’ve finally made it here.”
“……!”
Right then, a voice came from directly behind him.
He spun around mid-dash, but the enemy mirrored him, reclaiming his blind spot.
Drip.
‘Crazy, this fast?’
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
A speed he couldn’t even perceive?
Rokan gritted his teeth at the unprecedented superspeed he’d never encountered before.
He slammed his battle axe into the ground to drive the foe back.
“Explosion!”
Boom boom boom!
Explosive force surged through the entire grand castle of the Vampire Lord.
It blasted the surroundings, annihilating every lifeform within.
“True to the rumors, a hot-tempered one.”
But the enemy had already escaped the range.
Half the first floor blew apart in an instant, yet he’d withdrawn even faster.
[Vampire Lord Shakilan][Lv 499]
‘499!’
The bastard’s level was a whopping 499.
A top-tier demigod who needed just one level’s worth of divinity or a promotion quest to claim godhood.
Rokan had heard of the Vampire Lord but didn’t know his caliber—his eyes wavered slightly.
Same level, but this guy made Yanken or Fergus look like jokes; he could tell at a glance.
Unease about victory wriggled through his body.
The wicked divinity, compelling submission from the heart, shook Rokan’s candle-like divinity.
“You’re the one.”
But Rokan wasn’t the type to give up or submit like this.
He gripped his battle axe tight, tensed his glutes and toes, and shook off the tension.
He steadied his lightly trembling body.
“Yeah. I’m your master now.”
“Shut your bat-ass mouth, you little shit.”
Rokan snarled viciously at Shakilan, who approached step by step with sinister eyes.
But the foe, unthreatened, just smirked and kept closing in.
‘I knew vampires were speed types, but this is ridiculous…….’
Had he overestimated himself? Rokan couldn’t move rashly even as Shakilan drew near.
He’d already grasped the enemy’s strength in their brief clash.
Fighting at this range would be foolish. He couldn’t catch the guy even from behind.
So he let him come closer. Closer still.
“Such a foul-mouthed young friend. Humans set great store by age, don’t they? I’ve lived several hundred times longer than you, you know.”
‘One chance.’
He aimed for that single opening while the enemy let his guard down.
The King of Violence and Absolute’s power would spike his abilities explosively.
Even if he couldn’t match Shakilan, the foe wouldn’t adapt to the shift in movement in time—no matter how great a Vampire Lord, he couldn’t block Rokan’s strike.
Land one blow infused with the divinity of destruction properly, and the bastard’s mobility would plummet. After that, it’d be a fair fight.
“Yes, you must wonder why I targeted you. You’ll serve as my limb from now on, so I’ll tell you.”
‘Ten steps, five, three, two……. Now!’
The instant Shakilan crossed the line Rokan had mentally drawn, he erupted with power.
“King of Violence……!”
“Blood Dominion.”
Brrr.
Rokan’s body stiffened rigidly as he tried to activate King of Violence.
His mana and divinity froze instantly, halting all action.
“Grr……aaargh!”
Rokan roared and strained with all his might, but his locked body wouldn’t budge.
A bizarre, alien sensation—as if it weren’t his body at all—coldly rebuffed him.
“You’ve killed so many of my bloodkin. Mere shells, sure, but still of my blood. A little revenge is in order, don’t you think?”
Each time Shakilan’s blood-red eyes flashed, an eerie dissonance hit.
What the hell was this?
‘Why Blood Dominion…….’
It made no sense. Blood Dominion was a vampire skill to control their bloodkin, wasn’t it?
But Rokan wasn’t a vampire. No reason it should work.
Or did it just need a living being with blood? Was that the nature of his authority or divinity?
‘No way.’
A sudden thought struck him.
Blood Slaughter, one of the Berserker skills. Coat yourself in the enemy’s blood, absorb it to boost combat power.
Hadn’t Rokan absorbed the vampires’ blood that way without issue?
Could that be the problem? It was the only explanation.
He’d once thought Berserker skills were a vampire’s natural counter and superior, but apparently not.
The stronger one simply dominated.
Crunch!
Realizing this, Rokan clenched his teeth to the breaking point.
To go down this stupidly.
“Unequip your armor.”
Clank clank.
At the command, Rokan’s body moved on its own.
The Stormwind gear came off piece by piece, stats boosted by equipment options dropping.
His muscular bare body was exposed.
Drip.
Shakilan raked sharp nails across Rokan’s chest, drawing red blood.
It seemed gentle, but a level 499 Vampire Lord’s strength peeled thick skin effortlessly.
“Bl……ood……sucking……bastard……!”
But he couldn’t resist.
Not just moving—speaking required permission.
Still, Rokan forced it out with grit and spite, spewing curses instead of screams.
“Heh heh heh, what a noisy one. Soon you won’t control even that mouth, so rant all you want now. You’ll use it to convert all the surface world into my worshippers soon enough.”
“……!”
Only then did Rokan grasp the bastard’s plan.
Why force Sharok to betray and target him, with no real connection.
It was to dominate Rokan, who wielded absolute influence among users, and harvest divinity from both surface and heavens.
Just as Rokan built the Rokan Church to gather substantial divinity from the surface, Shakilan aimed to seize it all and bolster his own power.
“You think a worm like you can claim godhood that way!”
But something still felt off.
Even if he took the Rokan Church, could Shakilan gather enough divinity for godhood?
Was it tied to his promotion quest?
Harboring doubts, Rokan provoked him with every filthy word he knew.
Better to be killed outright. Even if resurrected, escaping this constraint would let him find a way to fight back.
“Heh heh heh, so dull. So very dull.”
But the bastard didn’t bite.
He kept thinly slicing Rokan’s skin, gazing down with pity.
“Godhood? What’s that worth? No reason to chase a powerless seat that can’t touch surface or heavens. I will become the one absolute ruler dominating both surface and heavens.”
He revealed his black heart.