Chapter 28 - 60-62

Chapter 60: The conductors and performers watching over the instruments headed for the stage

About half a month after the planting of the spring wheat had been completed, the people living in one of the farming villages built on the land that had been reclaimed from the Devil's Nest watched the expedition army as they marched.

All of the villagers had bright faces; each one of them were cheering for the expedition army in their hearts.

They were the sons born third or later in farming families, former tenant farmers and people who had been living in slums. By participating in Viscount Balchesse's land reclamation project, they had acquired simple houses in which they could live with their families and land that still possessed magical traces of the Devil's Nest, which had allowed it to produce crops from the first year. They had even been exempt from taxes.

Even with this expedition happening, Viscount Balchesse's tax exemption plan had not been cancelled, nor had any of their food supplies been requisitioned. Of course, because the troops in the expedition army were only the elite, none of the villagers had been conscripted, either.

If the expedition succeeded, the Mirg shield-nation would gain new territory beyond the mountain range, and the reclamation of that land would begin as well. If that happened, the crops produced by this village could be sold for use in that reclamation.

The profits would be small at first, but by their children's or grandchildren's generations, their village would be a stopping point between the Mirg shield-nation and the new territory, and it could even develop into a town.

Of course, if the expedition failed, the Mirg shield-nation's economy would enter a slump. But the villagers didn't doubt that the expedition would succeed.

The soldiers were a collection of the Mirg shield-nation's finest. Even 'the second coming of the hero Mikhail', the Green Wind Spear Riley, as well as the Vampire hunter Bormack Gordan whose name was known across the entire Amid Empire, were participating in the expedition.

The expedition army's sights were set on Talosheim, where the Mirg shield-nation had once been victorious at the cost of significant casualties. They would recover Ice Age, the Artifact left behind by Mikhail, and this time they would suppress Talosheim once and for all. These were the objectives that had been officially announced.

The villagers had heard that the Boundary Mountain Range was a dangerous land, but with an A-class adventurer who could even defeat Dragons and a high priest who had slain numerous Vampires, the expedition army would be fine. Furthermore, Talosheim had already been conquered once before, two hundred years ago. The fortress-city would be in shambles now, and the enemy would be a disorderly gathering of Undead and monsters. They would be no match for the group of Alda-sama's priest-warriors.

There was no doubt that the expedition army would exterminate the fiendish Undead and plant the Mirg shield-nation's flag upon Talosheim.

These were the thoughts of not only the villagers of this reclaimed land, but also the thoughts of many of the Mirg shield-nation's citizens.

"Do your best!"

"We're cheering for you!"

The expedition army headed for the Boundary Mountain Range's tunnel as they received the villagers' encouragement.

A little over a month after the expedition army departed the royal capital of Mirg, they arrived at the Mirg shield-nation's side of the tunnel in the Boundary Mountain Range.

From here, they planned to spend three days traveling through the tunnel and then another week or so to reach Talosheim.

Today, they would receive their last supplies at the simple fort-barrier that had been built at the Mirg shield-nation's entrance to the tunnel and make sure the soldiers had plenty of rest. The tunnel had been completely cleared of monsters by Riley, but they would be marching while fighting the invisible enemy of claustrophobia.

It was commonly known even in Lambda that spending long periods of time in complete darkness would produce psychological abnormalities. Of course, they would be marching while using Magic Items and lanterns to light the way, but if the soldiers were pushed too hard, a drop in morale would be inevitable.

That was why they would be allowed to rest their bodies, drink alcohol and eat undried meat on the day before entering the tunnel.

"So, what is the situation on the other side of the tunnel?" asked Gordan.

All of the important figures in the expedition army had gathered in a tent, conducting one final war council before crossing the Boundary Mountain Range.

Because the fort-barrier that had been built at the tunnel's entrance was small, it was more comfortable in this tent.

"The terrain is the same as it was two hundred years ago. No matter how much the Devil's Nests have spread, it is not as if volcanoes or lakes will suddenly appear out of nowhere. But the roads cannot be used." Chezare Legston, second son of the current marshal of the Mirg shield-nation and second-in-command in this expedition, pointed a finger at an old map as he answered Gordan's question. "The expedition two hundred years ago approached Talosheim through a relatively safe route through the mountain range, but we will use a different path this time. We must not proceed while clearing through the forest. But…"

"But what? It would be problematic if you do not give us accurate information, Chezare-dono," said Earl Langil Mauvid, a man of an age between the prime years of his youth and middle age, who was wearing a splendid overcoat and sitting in a chair further inside the tent. He was the supreme commander of this expedition.

Mauvid's attitude towards Chezare was as if Chezare was far inferior to him, beyond the difference between a supreme commander and second-in-command, but that was how the Empire treated its nations.

"… But, it seems that there was a large-scale conflict between monsters; traces of their battle have been left behind," Chezare reported. "Considering that, there are few powerful monsters in the area near the tunnel's exit."

"Yeah, that's because I hunted some of them," said Riley.

Chezare frowned in displeasure at Riley's interruption of his report. He wanted to say something about this insolent adventurer, but the supreme commander had instructed that Riley should be treated as if he were of the same rank as the upper officials of the expedition as he was a necessary, core part of the expedition army's fighting force. There is no way that he can pick an argument with Riley here.

And strictly speaking, High Priest Gordan was also no different from a commoner, so forcing only Riley to leave would cause problems.

Mauvid nodded. "Yes, thanks to you, we were able to hold out until the Class adventurers were deployed. Keep up the hard work in Talosheim as well."

"Leave it to me, General. Even if Dragons or whatever come at us, I'll slaughter them with my spear!"

Chezare and Gordan found it difficult to conceal their displeasure at the sight of Mauvid and Riley smiling.

When one becomes an A-class adventurer, he gains influence surpassing less prominent noblemen, and many of them build relationships of trust that are beyond mere shallow connections with noble families and wealthy merchants. However, Chezare and Gordan felt a strange, unpleasant feeling.

"I don't care if there are huge, unexplored Devil's Nests or whatever; I'm sure they're nothing special compared to the mountain range, which is the dangerous part that we're passing straight through," said Riley. "That means this expedition was made possible by the tunnel you found for us, Earl-sama."

Riley was flattering Mauvid, but everyone here knew that what he said was the truth.

In fact, at the fort on the other end of the mountain range had been attacked by Dragons multiple times, but all of the attacks had been repelled by Riley. The other monsters that had attacked were Rank 3 monsters with some Wyverns and enormous reptile-like monsters (dinosaurs) that were Rank 5 or 6 mixed in.

The attacks had been frequent and ordinary adventurers and soldiers might have been easily defeated, but the Boundary Mountain Range was far from as fearsome as they had been told.

The reality was that this was because Borkus and the others had exterminated a Goblin King's nation and multiple Dragons while searching for the tunnel, however.

In any case, this region, including the area surrounding the tunnel, was close to Talosheim's territory. There were many parts that had been Devil's Nests even in Talosheim's glorious days, but Titan warriors thinned the monster numbers in order to protect their villages in the lands that they had reclaimed.

That was why even now, there were only a few Dragons inhabiting the area. Monsters appeared one after another in Devil's Nests, but it would be rare for an explosive increase in the number monsters over Rank 10 to happen within two hundred years.

There were no such limits on Demi-human type monsters, which bred and grew up faster than Dragons, but it seemed that other than Goblins, there were not many of them and they rarely bred outside Dungeons.

"So, Chezare-dono, we have not yet encountered any Ghouls, have we?" asked Mauvid.

"That is right," replied Chezare. "The only demi-human-type monsters we have encountered are Goblins and a single reported encounter with an Ogre."

Gordan, who had joined the expedition because of the Divine Message from Alda, made a disgruntled noise at the news that there were still no leads on the Dhampir even after passing through the tunnel. But he understood that the Dhampir and his companions would have built their nest further into the mountain range.

It was certainly possible that the Dhampir had occupied Talosheim, the destination of the expedition. Demi-human-type monsters often set up villages in ruins no longer inhabited by people. Dhampirs and Ghouls would be no exception.

"Now as for what we will do after exiting the tunnel, we will send out a leading force that will confirm the existence of danger as we proceed," Chezare announced. "I would like you to join that scouting force, Riley-dono."

"Yeah, of course," said Riley. "If a big fish like a Dragon were to show up, it'd be tough without me. Ain't that right, old man?" he added, looking at Gordan.

"Hmph. Don't underestimate me, youngster."

After that, things like the planned marching route, the organization of the scouting force and methods of communication with the supply unit that would transport supplies were confirmed, and finally, the conquest of Talosheim was discussed.

They would march on while exterminating the monsters with Gordan and Riley as the core part of their force, and once they arrived in Talosheim, the knights would command the troops and defeat the monster rabble, reducing their numbers. After that, they would search important locations where monsters might hide such as the royal castle and the ruins of the Church of Vida, and then begin the extermination of the more powerful monsters. Such things had already been mostly decided right from the beginning.

Everyone in the expedition force didn't think of what they were conducting in Talosheim to be a war. They considered it as work to purify the Devil's Nest and search for the lost national treasure. For Gordan, even if the Divine Message was true, it was merely a monster extermination, so he did not advocate that they needed a more detailed plan.

After that was finished, Gordan quickly departed the tent. As he had no intentions of flattering the noblemen, participating in a war council was an overly-formal, suffocating task. He had never intended to stay for long.

Chezare also left the tent, saying that he would go and check on the conditions of the soldiers and knights.

"So, General-sama, when are we going to get rid of those two?" asked Riley.

"How problematic that would be, Riley," said Mauvid. "Leaving the senile priest aside, I must have Chezare take the position of supreme commander when I step down for health reasons. If he were to die before that, there would be nobody to take responsibility for this expedition now, would there?"

Now that Gordan, Chezare and Chezare's protégé subordinate had left, Riley and Mauvid began the real war council with the rest of the people remaining in the tent.

Including them, those left in the tent all knew the true purpose of this expedition; they were people with connections to the Vampires who worshipped Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life, with the exception of three people.

"Jeez, that's troublesome talk for a rising adventurer like me,��� Riley complained. "Right?"

"That may not be true, Riley-dono. Our world is more complex than it seems, you see." The one who replied to Riley was a man who seemed to be a veteran mercenary. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and numerous scars on his face.

However, in the next moment, he turned into a woman in her thirties. It was as if the mercenary and the woman had switched places through teleportation. But in reality, the woman had been disguising herself as a mercenary man.

"Sometimes it is even more complex than human societies," the woman continued. "That is why we understand your circumstances. Do as you please."

The woman, whose voice had changed as well as her appearance, smiled to reveal sharp, white fangs.

She was a Noble-born Vampire who had been dispatched by the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia, and she was currently participating in the expedition as part of a mercenary band that General Mauvid had hired specially.

Mauvid nodded. "That is why we are helping you deal with the problematic Dhampir and the Vampire traitors, isn't it, Isla-dono?"

"Of course," replied the Vampire, Isla. "Well, the traitor Eleanora is nothing special as long as care is taken with her Charming Demon Eyes, and there is a high chance that Sercrent is dead. If it looks like it will be difficult, I will lend you a hand. Discreetly, so that I will not be discovered."

Isla's role was to dispose of the Vampire traitors. The majority of the expedition army were unaware that there were Vampires in Talosheim, so it was likely that the Vampire traitors would be able to escape. That was why Isla, who was borrowing a Magic Item that indicated the location of a blood sample's owner, would hide in confusion and dispose of them.

She was also there to assassinate the evil Vampire hunter during the expedition, and most importantly, she was a trump card to ensure that the Dhampir, whom the evil god had even sent a Divine Message to command the Vampires to slay him, would be disposed of.

"That is why Ternecia-sama has sent me here," she said. "I am a Vampire Countess, one of Ternecia-sama's five strongest subordinates."

Vampire Countess. A Rank 10 Vampire named after the court rank of count.

A-class adventurers would be needed to defeat such a Vampire, and even that would only apply if the Vampire were to stand and fight head-on. There was no small number of such powerful Noble-born Vampires hiding in Kyojou* that were even more dangerous than lower-level Dungeons, with many Subordinate Vampires in their command.

As a result, these Vampires were beings that could even turn the tables on a party of A-class adventurers. Even Gordan had never defeated a Vampire Count.

And including the Vampires dispatched by Birkyne and Gubamon, there were thirty Vampires under Isla's command. The weakest of them were Rank 7, and there were even two Rank 9 Vampire Viscounts, only a single Rank beneath her.

They formed a large fighting force that would be sufficient to annihilate the entire expedition army on their own.

Riley laughed. "There's no need for that. That Dhampir that you're all so obsessed about, I'll get rid of it for you."

Despite that, Riley regarded Isla and the other Vampires to be no match for an A-class adventurer hero like himself, and sneered at them. He was telling them that the achievement would be his.

Isla smiled, showing no signs of displeasure at this. "I'm looking forward to it, hero-dono."

For her, completing her mission took priority; there was no use in being obsessed over something as worthless as achievements. If Riley were to kill the Dhampir, she would be satisfied with that.

"But is that really alright?" Mauvid asked. "As this is an expedition, we will be fighting in during the day."

Battle would occur in a time of day where the sun, the natural weakness of Vampires would be in the sky. The Vampires would have measures against it, of course, and the enemy traitors would be affected by it as well. But as Isla's side would be the attackers, they were at the disadvantage.

Isla's smile widened as Mauvid pointed this out. "It is not a problem. And in any case, Talosheim is a city surrounded by mountains. You already destroyed the mercury mirrors left behind by Zakkart for us two hundred years ago, so the sun will set quickly."

In Talosheim, which had now become warm and cozy, Vandalieu opened his eyes. He stared silently into the empty air without blinking.

"They're here. Those guys are here."

The surveillance Golems and Undead set up around the tunnel saw bustling activity around the fort that had been built by the Mirg shield-nation.

As Vandalieu switched his vision to that of a familiar he had dispatched, his Lemure, he saw more people inside the fort than he had ever seen since coming to Lambda.

Several thousand. Their numbers were unlikely to be over ten thousand, but there were at least five thousand.

"Are there Vampires?" asked Eleanora.

"I can't make them out just be looking," Vandalieu replied. "There are quite a lot of knights wearing plate armor, too."

Other than their pupils, fangs and their pale skin that appeared as if it had lost all of its blood, Vampires did not look much different than the races that they had been converted from. But they would have to wear thick capes and hats made of cloth and furs and hoods low over their faces to prevent their skin from being burned by the sun, so they would normally be conspicuous if they went outside.

However, in situations where wearing the armor and a helmet of a soldier was normal, they would not stand out.

"I don't think there will be any among the knights," Eleanora told him. "They should be mixed in among the mercenaries and adventurers."

"In times like these, the Mirg shield-nation has a troublesome custom of doing their best not to hire free adventurers," Kachia added. "So, if they're going to be sneaking in, it's going to be with the mercenaries."

Eleanora offered her knowledge about the Vampires and Kachia, a former adventurer in the Mirg shield-nation, added to it.

"In that case, maybe it's that group?" Vandalieu wondered.

Vandalieu noticed one group wearing different armor and holding different shields from the other troops. All of them were equipped with heavy armor and helmets, but they were marching in line with the rest.

There were about thirty of them. And of course, as they couldn't expose their skin to the sunlight, Vandalieu couldn't see their faces.

"Well, if we've already confirmed that there will be Vampires among them, I should leave before the end of today," said Zadiris. "East or west, which way should I go?"

"To the east then," said Vandalieu. "If they come, it will be in the afternoon."

"Very well, leave it to me."

After sending Zadiris off, Vandalieu and the others began moving. They recalled their allies from the Dungeons and made their preparations.

Vandalieu had predicted things would come to this and began his preparations two years ago, so there was no reason to be hasty. He had prepared numerous hidden weapons and trump cards. Judging from the voices that Vandalieu was hearing, there was an expedition army of six thousand approaching the city, but none of them felt any sense of despair.

Even if the expedition army's numbers were double what they were now, their attitude likely wouldn't change.

"Just to make absolutely sure, even if you kill expedition army troops, please refrain from eating them on the spot," Vandalieu told Talosheim's inhabitants.

"I know, King. Make sure you give us lots of mayonnaise instead!"

"Yeah, fried dinosaur with miso is better than human meat anyway!"

"I want a board for that shogi thing!"

"Yes, yes, I'll make lots of mayonnaise, miso and shogi sets to celebrate our victory, so everyone should do their best and make sure not to die," said Vandalieu. "I'm not going over to the next world to give you your rewards."

"You're telling Undead not to die? We got it, Eclipse King!"

The atmosphere in the town was even brighter than usual. Shelters for noncombatants like Pauvina had been prepared, so there wouldn't be scenes like from disaster films on Earth where civilians would run for their lives… not that there was anywhere to run to even after escaping Talosheim.

It didn't need to be said that Talosheim was the only safe part of the southern region of continent surrounded by the Boundary Mountain Range.

"We'll be constantly fighting with our backs to the wall, so it's only natural to take care of yourselves and prepare well before you fight, isn't it?" said Vandalieu.

Even if they were to cross the Boundary Mountain Range again, the Ghouls and Undead Titans would be hunted as monsters in the Orbaume Kingdom.

That was why they had to repel this expedition army. And they were mostly unable to take prisoners.

Even if they were a gathering of the most elite soldiers, they would think about retreating once they lost around a third of their forces. For this expedition army in particular, there were many unfavorable conditions for a war here.

The fact that there were no safe areas nearby was true for the expedition army as well, and for now, they could be on guard against mindless monsters like Goblins and Needle Wolves or small packs of other monsters that attacked where defenses were weak. But if their numbers were reduced and they scattered as they ran, the monsters would slaughter most of them.

Even if they maintained their formation as they retreated, it would take them several days to reach the tunnel through the Boundary Mountain Range.

If Vandalieu were to ask them to surrender, there might be hundreds or perhaps even a thousand who would decide that it would be impossible to escape from the Ghouls and Undead, becoming prisoners of war.

"But taking them as prisoners after that…" Vandalieu began.

"Would be impossible," said Sam, finishing his sentence. "During times of war, prisoners of war are either released after the enemy pays a ransom or simply sold as slaves, but the Amid Empire and Mirg shield-nation has no intention of negotiating with us, and it would be difficult to use them even as slaves."

In a normal war, the treatment of prisoners of war was exactly as Sam described it, but the Amid Empire and Mirg shield-nation didn't see Talosheim as a nation or Vandalieu as a king. They were nothing but monsters.

Negotiations would never take place, even if Vandalieu made attempts to make them happen. The Empire and Mirg shield-nation would never acknowledge a nation of Ghouls and Undead with a Dhampir as their king.

Nuaza nodded. "We might be able to manage a few dozen slaves, but a hundred or two hundred would be impossible to control."

As he said, turning prisoners of war into slaves would be difficult. Collar-shaped Magic Items that forced obedience from slaves existed in this world, but since there were none in Talosheim, they would have to monitor them and force them to work like in prisons on Earth.

They were not hoodlums and ruffians, but elite soldiers who had experienced harsh training and battles.

Even if their minds were broken upon surrendering, they might regain their desire for revenge and faith in Alda as time passed.

"We don't have the numbers to begin with," said Vandalieu. "We only have two thousand people; there's no way we could watch over hundreds of slaves."

Excluding the Cemetery Bees and Immortal Ents, the current population of Talosheim consisted of around a thousand Undead Titans, seven hundred Ghouls including the children, and two hundred members of the new races Vandalieu had created such as Braga. Around nineteen-hundred in total.

If the monitoring of the prisoners was left to Golems, Vandalieu could only foresee a future where the prisoners would take them by surprise, and the same would happen if he hastily made some Zombies to do the job. They were elite soldiers capable of defeating a Rank 3 monster on their own. Even if they were unarmed, they would likely be able to fight evenly against a Rank 2 monster, and if they cooperated, they might even be able to bring a Rank 3 monster down. With the martial skills of the Unarmed Fighting Techniques of this world, even a boulder could be easily smashed.

These were people who would be able to somehow defeat bears with their bare hands.

And even if they managed to turn the prisoners into slaves, there was the problem of what they would do with them afterwards.

Even if they were to be forced to work until they died, Talosheim had tireless Undead and Golems, so slaves would be inferior as a labor force.

It would be easier to make a miracle happen than try to persuade them to become Vandalieu's allies. If Talosheim was a nation of humans, the soldiers might be persuaded with some perseverance even if they were born in an enemy of that nation.

But for the soldiers of the expedition army, Vandalieu and the inhabitants of Talosheim were not people. They were monsters. They would be enemies who had taken them prisoner, killed their comrades, enemies that ought to be defeated according to Alda, the god of their national religion.

And most importantly, not a single person in Talosheim had any knowledge in how converting them could possibly be done.

"But could it not be possible if you use your Death-Attribute Charm skill, Holy Son?" asked Nuaza.

"Meeting the requirements of that skill to take effect would be equivalent to torturing them to death," Vandalieu pointed out.

Kachia and the other former human adventurers had demonstrated that even living humans could be affected by Death-Attribute Charm.

However, for that to happen, they had to be in a mental state of complete despair in life, where they desired salvation in death.

So to convert the prisoners to Vandalieu's side while they were still alive using Death-Attribute Charm, they would have to be tortured in ghastly ways and have their hearts broken into tiny pieces until they were in a state where they were unable to do anything other than whisper, "Kill me," and, "I want to die."

"If I'm going to do that, wouldn't it be more humane to simply kill them and turn them into Undead in order to convert them to our side?" Vandalieu pointed out.

"Indeed," Sam agreed, "Even when it comes to gaining information, it would be faster for you to kill them to make them speak, Bocchan."

"But Holy Son, why are you only now worrying about how to handle enemy soldiers?" asked Nuaza. "Was it not decided long ago that we would slaughter them all?"

"That's true, but now that it comes to it… I was thinking that they will definitely have something to say about it," said Vandalieu.

"They?"

"Yes, the others who are going to be reincarnated here."

Vandalieu would slaughter the entire expedition army and cut down the Mirg shield-nation's strength.

Those reincarnating here from Origin would likely see this as an evil act. Vandalieu fell into a gloomy mood as he realized this.

"Well, they'll understand if I explain the situation to them properly… maybe? I have to get stronger for the possibility that they don't understand, too." This was the conclusion Vandalieu came to in the end.

There were too many reasons in this world for him to grow stronger.

Name: Isla

Rank: 10

Age: Approximately 30,000 years old

Title: Ternecia's Hound

Race: Noble-born Vampire Countess

Level: 79

Job: Slaughtering Executioner

Job level: 88

Job history: Apprentice Warrior, Apprentice Mage, Magic Warrior, Warrior Executioner, Shapeshifter

Passive skills:

Dark Vision

Status Effect Resistance: Level 9

Superhuman Strength: Level 9

Rapid Regeneration: Level 3

Mental Corruption: Level 3

Slaughter Healing: Level 7

Intuition: Level 5

Enhanced Attribute Values: Loyalty: Ternecia: Level 5

Active skills:

Bloodsucking: Level 3

Water-Magic: Level 5

Fire-Attribute Magic: Level 5

No-Attribute Magic: Level 1

Mana Control: Level 5

Swordsmanship: Level 10

Armor Technique: Level 9

Surpass Limits: Level 7

High-speed Flight: Level 5

Pursuit: Level 8

Torture: Level 5

Unique skills:

Shapeshift: Level 7

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Chapter 61: The prelude, played with dissonance and percussion instruments

The seven-day-long march went better than expected.

Because sturdy work horses had been prepared, the transportation of goods had gone well. Even the monsters that appeared on the way had been of a level that could be easily disposed of by the soldiers; there had been no need for Riley and his party to step up. The monsters would then provide fresh, undried meat to garnish the meals of that day.

The hours of daylight were short as they were surrounded by mountains that towered into the sky, but there was no shortage of people who could use illuminating magic, and though they were expensive, there were some with Magic Items that acted as lanterns.

The fact that they had reached a place where Talosheim was visible in exactly seven days was because their march had gone so well.

However, things started going wrong the moment their march was complete.

"It seems that the scouting teams were not hallucinating," said General Mauvid. He had set up a temporary camp in the plains near Talosheim. The only obstacle on this flat terrain was the waist-high grass; they had a good unobstructed view. This wasn't the kind of place a stronghold would be built in a real war.

Mauvid had gathered the leaders of the expedition here and was looking at the strange sight of Talosheim.

What he saw was a thirty-meter-high fortress wall. Other than the imperial capital or fortresses in important locations, such a tall wall was rare for humans. But the larger Titans had been twice the height of a human, and since the areas surrounding the city were mostly Devil's Nests, such a sturdy wall were likely necessary for them.

According to the records from two hundred years ago, the wall had indeed been quite tall, but the army had simply determined its height with eye measurements in the past, so it would not be unusual if there were any measurement errors.

The strange thing was that although the wall looked like a single strike from a battering ram would knock it down, the two large holes that the hero Mikhail created two hundred years ago were nowhere to be seen.

"What could this mean? Were the records from two hundred years ago incorrect…?" suggested Chezare Legston, the second-in-command in this expedition. Military records were inaccurate from time to time. Sometimes, exaggerations were made to spread the news of the achievements made by the heroes and generals of the past.

However, High Priest Bormack Gordan spoke up in response to Chezare. "It is likely the doing of that… Vandalieu, the Dhampir who led hundreds of Ghouls to escape from Viscount Balchesse."

"The one you are always mentioning, High Priest?"

"Yes. It is likely that the Dhampir instructed his subordinates, the Ghouls, to repair the fortress wall."

Though Gordan was full of confidence as he spoke, Chezare seemed doubtful. Not a single member of the expedition army had so much as seen a Ghoul yet. Considering that, Chezare thought Gordan's opinion was quite questionable.

"But would he do such a thing?" he asked, expressing his doubts. "I have heard of cases where monsters settle down in ruins, but I have never heard of monsters repairing the ruins they are inhabiting. Ghouls are a more intelligent type of monster and apparently many are capable of building their own small homes, but a fortress wall would be…"

Gordan snorted. "Chezare-dono, that is a way of thinking that is held back by the rules of common sense. The Ghouls are being led by a Dhampir, a monster that is as intelligent as a human. And look carefully at that fortress wall. If they were left in that state two hundred years ago, they would have long since collapsed by now."

"I-indeed…"

As Gordan pointed out, with closer examination, it was obvious that the wall was crudely-structured in certain parts, and it was clearly poor craftsmanship. It would likely not even last a decade, let alone two hundred years.

It was difficult to believe that this had been the sturdy wall of the fortress that had repelled the Mirg shield-nation's army of ten thousand, including the hero Mikhail.

"With this, we can assume that Vandalieu is leading a highly-organized pack of Ghouls and barricading himself inside Talosheim," Gordan concluded.

"I see. Your hypothesis is reasonable, High Priest-dono," said Mauvid, giving a solemn nod. But in his mind, he thought that Gordan's sharpness was troublesome.

Why was this senile old man able to guess the truth despite not being in contact with the Vampires? Mauvid gave a glance towards Isla, who was present in disguise as the leader of a mercenary band, but judging from the lack of reaction from her, it didn't seem that there were secret deals going on that he was unaware of.

Mauvid and Isla had intended to never tell anyone outside of their groups about Vandalieu and Eleanora, right up until the very end.

They would keep the army uninformed as it marched to Talosheim and then see how Vandalieu, the Ghouls he led and the Vampire traitors would move.

The Magic Item had made it clear that Eleanora was still in Talosheim, and no Subordinate Vampires or Ghouls had scouted the army's movements near the tunnel or the Devil's Nests they had passed through

That was why Mauvid and Isla knew that Vandalieu and his subordinates hadn't noticed the expedition army's presence.

That was why they would send in the expedition army's soldiers and knights charging in first, and then if Vandalieu and the Vampire traitors ran, Riley and Isla would give chase and finish them. They would never lose track of Eleanora as long as they had their Magic Item, and Isla had confirmed that Eleanora was not aware of the existence of this Magic Item.

And so Vandalieu was likely to try and escape together with her rather than use her as a sacrificial pawn, as she was certainly his greatest source of fighting strength.

Even if he separated himself from Eleanora and took some Ghouls with him instead, chasing him down wouldn't be difficult.

Though this were unlikely, if he were to put up a do-or-die resistance, Riley and the others would simply slay him.

During the confusion, they would also dispose of the problematic High Priest Gordan.

With that, all of the objectives of Mauvid and his conspirators would be achieved. It wouldn't matter no matter how many of the Mirg shield-nation's elite soldiers were lost in the process. Mauvid would occupy the remains of Talosheim, pick a suitable moment to return to the Empire in order to report their success, fabricate a health issue and then retire. If Riley was still alive, he could be brought back as well.

Isla was a mercenary, so she could simply say that her contract had expired, separate herself from the expedition army and vanish.

After that, the Vampires would collapse the tunnel, leaving the pitiful Chezare and the other soldiers trapped in Talosheim. General Mauvid would become a Vampire and gain eternal life, while Riley and the new earl of the Mauvid family would gain the glory of this world.

That was the plan, so the soldiers learning of Vandalieu and his subordinates before marching forward and becoming hesitant would cause problems.

The targets hadn't noticed the expedition army and were likely in a panic right now, so Mauvid didn't want to give them time to regain their composure.

"So, what are we going to do?" asked Riley. "Even if it is in pieces, a wall is a wall. Scouting inside is going to be hard, you know?"

Despite what Riley said, Isla and the other Noble-born Vampires could fly, so peeking inside the city wouldn't be difficult no matter how high the wall was.

Even if archers were stationed on the wall, they would be bows and arrows handmade by monsters. As they would not be high-quality weapons, the arrows wouldn't reach if they flew high enough.

However, the fact that she and her followers were Vampires was a secret to all but Riley and Mauvid, so suggesting such a plan would be impossible. Naturally, Isla remained silent.

"Of course, we will take the fight in numbers and close in on them, just as we would do in a normal war," said Gordan. "First, we will use heavy infantry to solidify our outer defense and have archers and mages at the ready, and then use battering rams to break down that city gate. After that, we will have to see how the Ghouls act. They would normally charge at us, but under the leadership of that Dhampir, they are cunning. They might outwit us, split up into smaller groups, hide in the ruins and engage us in urban warfare."

Gordan was a man known by the Title of "Vampire Hunter"; what came out of his mouth were not words of hesitation but a proactive, offensive plan.

"Should we not surround the city first?" Chezare suggested.

"If we surround a city of that size, our troops will be spread thin," Gordan replied. "And though this may look like a plains, it is a fearsome Devil's Nest. If monsters attacked us while we were spread out, we would suffer great casualties. Is this fine with you?"

"… What will we do, General?" asked Chezare.

"Hmm, let us make use of the High Priest-dono's advice," said Mauvid, coming to a decision. "Prepare the battering rams and organize the attack forces!"

The soldiers began moving in a hurry. They had never planned to engage in a siege, but battering rams had been brought along just in case they were needed to conquer Talosheim. The battering rams were brought out and the heavy infantry declared themselves as the spearhead of the army.

Gordan was not watching them, instead taking notice of the sun. The day was already darkening.

"We did not make it in time."

It was still early in the evening, but the Boundary Mountain Range was blocking out the sunlight. Most Dhampirs were not weak to the sun, but his subordinates, the Ghouls, would be able to see in the dark.

On the other hand, the expedition army was mostly made of humans. Gordan had wanted victory to be secured before darkness fell, but it seemed that things would not go so well. A wrinkle appeared between his brows as he frowned.

Not that things would go well with the top members of the expedition having connections with Vampires.

Vandalieu was hiding right above the gate of the third wall, having confirmed the expedition army's presence through the eyes of his Golems. He watched the heavy infantry approaching as they protected the battering rams and looked for his timing.

It seemed that his enemies knew nothing. Ever since the expedition army emerged from the tunnel, Vandalieu had been wary about enemies scouting him out, especially the familiars released by the Vampires, but perhaps the monsters of the Devil's Nests had disposed of them. Vandalieu's secret remained safe.

"Rock Wall! Rock Form!"

The heavy infantry raised their shields and activated their Shield Technique and Armor Technique martial skills, enhancing their defensive abilities. Their defense was on another level compared to the typical soldier equipped with a spear, a shield and leather armor. They were troops protecting themselves with tower shields and wielding axes and maces.

Their skills were likely at least level 3… No, as they were apparently elite troops, around level 4. Vandalieu had heard from Eleanora that normal soldiers had level 2 skills and would be evaluated as E-class individuals if they applied at an Adventurers' Guild, but each of these elite soldiers were capable of bringing down a Rank 3 monster on their own. Several of them might even be able to take on a Rank 4 monster.

This army would be quite the powerful enemy if the other soldiers had similar skills. If this were a video game on Earth, the player would have to have a high level just to avoid being overwhelmed.

Vandalieu was satisfied with the enemy's moderate strength. With these, he could make plenty of use of them later.

And then he climbed on top of the fortress wall. He exposed himself not only to the charging troops, but to the entire enemy army, including those at their stronghold.

"That's… could it be, the Dhampir?!" As Chezare looked at the magnified image produced by a light-attribute mage, his eyes widened.

"He's really here… What a surprise." Mauvid's face and voice were trembling.

Neither of them had expected Vandalieu to show himself in such a bold manner, though the two of them were agitated for different reasons.

"OH! This is the guidance of my lord Alda! Everyone, follow my lead!" shouted Gordan.

"Please wait, High Priest!" said a young priest-warrior. "He is on top of the fortress wall!"

"That's right, hang on a second! He's my prey!" Riley added, stopping Gordan for an entirely different reason.

On the other hand, Isla, who remained silent among the agitated leaders of the expedition, felt suspicious about Vandalieu's actions.

Why has he shown himself on his own? Has he fallen to despair after seeing this army? Is he planning to use himself as bait to allow the Ghouls and Eleanora to escape?

Isla thought about how she couldn't allow too many Ghouls to escape as Ternecia had ordered her to bring back some Ghoul skins, but the Vandalieu in the image showed no signs of movement.

Vandalieu held up a single spear.

"That's… Ice Age! It's Ice Age!"

"The Dhampir has acquired the national treasure of our country?!"

That spear resembled Ice Age, the national treasure of the Mirg shield-nation.

"That, that's mine!" shouted Riley. "Damn it, don't touch it with your filthy hands!"

"Oi, hurry up and use Appraisal! Is that the real Ice Age?! If it's real, it should be made of Orichalcum!"

"That is impossible at this distance!"

Vandalieu, who was watching the expedition army's stronghold through his Undead insects, experienced a pleasant feeling as he saw that they were as disturbed as he had expected them to be. It was worth the effort he had made to have Datara create a fake Ice Age of iron.

And then Vandalieu broke the fake Ice Age with his bare hands… or at least, used Golem Transformation to make it look like he did, and throw it to the ground.

At that moment, the entire stronghold fell silent for a moment before exploding with outrage.

"Damn you! How dare you do such a thing to our country's national treasure!"

"There is a limit to the insult we can endure! I swear on my honor as a knight that I will slay you!"

"You piece of sheet! That Ice Age was supposed to become mine! You… You… I'll slaughter you!" Riley swore.

Indeed, the majority of the expedition army had not come to dispose of Vandalieu and the traitor Eleanora. They had come to wipe their nation's bitter memories of two hundred years ago from the past.

They had come to occupy Talosheim, recover the lost national treasure and bring glory to their nation. That was all they had been told, so this was the natural reaction from them.

There was no way they would not feel their blood boiling upon seeing that national treasure, the magic spear, broken and discarded.

"Wait!" Chezare shouted. "It is impossible for him to break a magic spear made of Orichalcum! This is a bluff to make us lose our composure!"

"Th-that's right! Calm down, stay composed, don't break your ranks!" Mauvid ordered.

The two of them, who remained calm, attempted to suppress the outrage of them rest of the expedition's leaders, but the expedition army's internal state was shakier than Vandalieu had expected.

First, for most of the knights and soldiers that made up the expedition army, the supreme commander Langil Mauvid was not a commander worthy of respect, but a nobleman of the Empire that ruled over them, a commander that they did not want.

However, the second-in-command Chezare Legston was the second son of the current marshal, and the knights respected him.

"Shut up!" Riley roared. "Don't get in my way! Are you telling me to stay quiet after being made fools of like this?! I'm going out! If you're scared of a Dhampir and a few hundred Ghouls, you can stay sitting here!"

He was enraged beyond what Vandalieu had been aiming for, and as he tried to step out to take his slaves onto the frontlines, all of the noblemen and knights that were supposed to stop him stood up in their seats instead.

"It is as Riley-dono says!"

"Our nation's pride is on the line! My apologies, but I cannot obey even your commands in this case, Supreme Commander!"

For them, Riley was the hero that their nation had made a show of. Not everyone believed exactly what had been said about him, but at the same time, it wasn't as if Riley held no appeal at all.

In fact, he was currently vain and craved the limelight, but he had a caring personality at his core. He had shared the meat of the monsters he had hunted with the knights and soldiers, protected the fort at the tunnel the expedition army had passed through from Dragons on multiple occasions, and distributed even their meat among all of the soldiers.

This had caused Riley to gain a surprising amount of popularity among the knights and soldiers.

Gordan made a disgruntled noise. "As I thought, the Divine Message was speaking of that Dhampir, Vandalieu! Devout followers of Alda, ready yourselves! A crusade is at hand!"

Even the renowned Vampire hunter Bormack Gordan had stood up and declared that this was a crusade.

Though there were individual differences in their devotion, everyone in the tent was a believer in Alda, the god of their national religion. With this situation that was straight out of a traditional song where heroes and clergymen stood their ground against evil, their fiery anger grew even brighter.

The enraged knights and noblemen followed his example without thinking.

"You bastards! Your orders, obey your orders! This is a violation of military procedure!" Mauvid bellowed.

"Damn it…! The Black Bull Knights' Order will follow the lead of the breaching unit! Archers, provide backup! Have the light cavalrymen unit act as messengers!" Chezare barked orders to the army.

"Chezare?! What are you saying?!" Mauvid demanded.

"General, it is already impossible to calm the soldiers! We have no choice but to at least maintain the coordination of each unit -"

"Silence! You are exceeding your authority!"

With this, the poor relationship between the supreme commander and the second-in-command was exposed. Chezare had given up on supporting Mauvid, and in his discomposure, Mauvid had chosen to hurl abuse at him rather than calm the soldiers down.

They're already half-disordered… To think that a human army would be this fragile. Zakkart apparently once spoke of using the power of the people to help each other, but…

Isla, who was officially nothing more than a captain of a mercenary band, let out a deep sigh behind her helmet. This was the state of things after the breaking of a single spear. She began to wonder whether there had been any point in enduring the feelings of constraint in order to sneak into the expedition army and regretted doing so.

"Isla-sama, should we make our moves on our own?" her aide asked quietly.

Isla reconsidered her previous thoughts. "No, we will proceed like this," she replied. "It is not as if there has been any harm to the humans' greatest strength, their numbers. This is not a problem."

The reason Isla gave this answer, and the reason the expedition's leaders were so thoughtlessly outraged, was one and the same.

They wouldn't lose. Victory was still assured.

They were all still aware of this.

Each of the soldiers in the expedition army was an elite soldier capable of slaying a Rank 3 monster on their own. There were six thousand such soldiers. There was even an A-class adventurer and a Vampire-hunting specialist on top of that.

The enemy also had Eleanora, a Noble-born Vampire among the enemy, but only a tiny portion of the expedition army was aware of that.

And as for the number of enemies under the Dhampir's command, all of the leaders in the stronghold had heard numerous times from Gordan that the Ghouls were unmistakably inhabiting Talosheim.

A Spiritualist Dhampir and his subordinate Ghouls that would number five hundred at most. Even if he had gathered some more subordinates, there was no way that their numbers would exceed this expedition army. Some of the Undead Titans that had spawned in Talosheim might be among them, but they would simply charge in, incapable of any organized movements.

That was why that at this point in time, not a single member of the expedition army felt any sense of danger.

"I feel like this was more effective than I'd expected… I had lots of other plans in case this didn't work, but whatever," Vandalieu said to himself.

The expedition army advanced while maintaining their formation, and the breaching unit had reached the wall and fighting their battle against their persistent enemy, the city gate.

"Now then, third wall… commence attack," Vandalieu whispered, now that plenty of enemies had been drawn in. And then he used Flight to move back to the second wall.

"That brat, he's runni- what the hell?!"

As Riley and the rest of the army advanced, the wall began collapsing. It had indeed been worn out, but they hadn't expected it to collapse all at once. They stopped unconsciously in surprise.

"It was a trap!" Gordan shouted. "But he was too hasty; it seems that he was planning to trap us under the collapsed wall, but we are still too far away!"

The breaching unit had taken some damage, but their martial skills had already been active. Though some bones might be broken, they would not die.

Now all that was left to do was to climb over the remains of the wall to proceed… or so they thought, but the eyes of every single member of the expedition army widened.

They could now see that on the other side of the collapsed wall, there was another, white wall, slightly shorter in height but sturdy-looking.

"Wha-?! There was nothing in the military records about there being two walls!" shouted Chezare.

"Damn it! That's why I'm telling you to pull the troops back!" Mauvid said, urging him to give the command.

"Indeed… Archers, back up the breaching unit as they retreat! Each unit should temporarily - huh?" In the middle of giving orders, Chezare makes a foolish sound of confusion.

The wall they had thought to be collapsed had stood up.

Letting out resentful groans, Stone Golems and Rock Golems that had been part of the wall stood up. There were easily more than a thousand of them.

The stone men ran towards each unit of the expedition army with much more agility than their appearance suggested they could move with, and aiming to strike the soldiers down.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"UOOOH! Raise your shields! Show them your front, not your back!"

"Maintain your formations, where's the pride of the heavy infantry!"

There was some distance between the Stone Golems and the expedition army's units that had been advancing on the wall. The most pitiful were the heavy infantrymen of the breaching unit.

They had managed to avoid being crushed to death under the wall that had suddenly collapsed, only to be surrounded by stone giants. They would certainly be beaten to a pulp.

And the iron city gate they had been trying to break down had transformed into a Rank 6 Iron Golem.

It seemed that the breaching unit had preserved its morale and wasn't planning to give up until the very end, but its fate was in a precarious state.

"Rescue the breaching unit!"

"Black Bull Knights' Order, advance! Do not slow down! There is nothing to fear from these lifeless Golems!"

The expedition army that was shouting heroically was made of the Mirg shield-nation's prided elite. Naturally, they had experienced the battlefield many times. That was why each of them, from the knights to the soldiers, possessed strong bonds as comrades.

And for them, a thousand Golems were not lethal enemies.

Even with Chezare and General Mauvid frozen in surprise in the stronghold, each of the expedition army's members were making their own decisions all over the battlefield. The same applied for those led by Riley and Gordan.

They came into contact with the Golems, and using their individual strength and coordinated abilities, they struck down the stone giants that were groaning and swinging their fists.

At this rate, they would be able to defeat all of the Golems and regain their formation.

At that moment, Vandalieu gave the order to the Cursed Weapons, the crossbows in the second wall and the trebuchets installed on the rooves of Talosheim's buildings.

"Fire."

"Gah!"

"Gyah!"

"Hyih! Boulders are flying… gyih!"

Some of the crossbow bolts pierced the Rock Golems, but as the Rock Golem numbers had been reduced, around two thirds of them found their targets in the expedition army.

And no matter how elite the Shield-bearers and heavy infantrymen were, they could not avoid being rendered unable to fight by the trebuchet boulders falling from overhead.

Even as they saw the boulders' trajectory and tried to run, the remaining Rock Golems would stop them from doing so and as the word "heavy" in "heavy infantryman" would suggest, they were incapable of fast movements.

"No way! Large numbers of archers and trebuchets?! What are we fighting against?! General, what does this mean?! What is the Empire hiding from us?!" Chezare demanded.

"I-I don't know! I don't know anything, either!" Mauvid shouted.

"You intend to keep your mouth shut at a time like this?!"

It wasn't unusual for demi-humanoid monsters to use bows and arrows, but Chezare didn't know anything about them being capable of using trebuchets. Trebuchets were not easy to construct in the first place. In the Amid Empire, Mirg shield-nation and even the Orbaume Kingdom, the technicians capable of building them were forced to join Guilds and monitored constantly so that they would not build them without approval.

But trebuchets existed in Talosheim and were raining boulders on the expedition army.

Despite there being no records of the Titans having the technology to use trebuchets.

Could it be that the Dhampir built these trebuchets? That's impossible! Chezare thought.

However, the reality before his eyes was that boulders were being thrown at the soldiers one after another, crushing them as they tried to flee.

"Damn it, retr-"

At that moment, the captain of the mercenary band… Isla, interrupted. "With all due respect, I believe this is where the entire army should press on."

"You bastard, a mere mercenary shouldn't interrupt!"

"That's right, you're just a coward who is still staying in the stronghold! Are you trying to force more losses upon this army?!"

Chezare's aides reprimanded this insolent mercenary, but of course, Isla took no notice of them.

"From what I can see, the soldiers on the battlefield are in chaos," she said. "We cannot expect a smooth retreat in this situation. And the heavy infantrymen are good targets. Once the soldiers close in on the deeper wall, the trebuchets will no longer be a threat. The enemy is currently only a thousand stone men with deceptive appearances that look stronger than they are. Once we overcome them, we will certainly be able to regain our formations."

There was some truth to Isla's words. She did indeed possess the cold-heartedness to ignore the loss of soldiers, but it wasn't uncommon on the battlefield for ten sacrificed lives to save a thousand.

And if the heavy infantrymen held their formation with their superior defensive abilities and high Vitality, being hit by some ordinary arrows wouldn't be a problem.

"Alright! All forces, advance!" Mauvid ordered.

Chezare turned to him in surprise. "General?!"

The truth in Isla's words would only apply if the enemy was out of trump cards.

If the second fortress wall turned into Golems as well, the trebuchet fire would never cease. And not a single Ghoul had been seen yet.

It was possible that they were busy operating the trebuchets, but Chezare had a bad feeling about this.

"Silence! This is my order as the supreme commander!" Mauvid had the same bad feeling as Chezare. He had been shouting for the army to retreat all this time, but he had done a 180-degree turn on his stance.

He had done so based on Isla's proposal.

His tone remained civil, but his irritation kept showing itself here and there. If he were to disobey, it was possible that the Vampires would deem him as unsuitable for continuing their deal and erase him.

"I-I am going to make use of you lot as well!" Mauvid shouted.

"Of course, General," Isla said calmly. "We must earn our pay, after all."

This exchange between them was equivalent to Mauvid looking to Isla for help and saying that he would abandon her if she wasn't useful.

But in reality, there was no mistake that he was obeying Isla's command.

"Ngh! Mountain Breaker!" High Priest Gordan's war club smashed through a boulder.

"Great Whirlwind Thrust!" Riley's spear pierced through another.

Flark silently sent more boulders flying with his shield.

"Great Healing! Here, stop looking so exhausted and keep fighting!" Messara shouted, healing the wounded soldiers on the frontlines.

"That's right, get a hold of yourselves, masters!" said Gennie, providing backup with his continuous movements.

Most of the Golems were defeated and even the attacks of the trebuchets were being dealt with, so the expedition army began to recover. With the shields of the heavy infantrymen raised and formations held, the crossbow bolts were nothing to fear.

As the boulders broken by Gordan and Riley had been the 'Golem projectiles' that would transform into Golems after landing, they had successfully managed to back up the expedition army's stronghold and make Vandalieu click his tongue in frustration… though Gordan and Riley wouldn't have noticed and simply wondered why they had gained experience from breaking boulders.

But because they had begun to break the boulders mid-air, the rest of the expedition army were late to notice the barrels that were splitting mid-air by themselves.

"Hmm, it seems that even the human army can come in useful," one of the Vampires commented.

"If they weren't, Ternecia-sama would have made all this effort for nothing," said Isla. "Let's go, just don't be conspicuous before they break the fortress wall."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

But obeying the order of, "don't be conspicuous," would become difficult by the time Isla and the Vampires reached the battlefield.

Somebody coughed.

The status of the average elite soldier of the Mirg shield-nation:

Name: Heavy infantryman

Race: Human

Age: In the 20's or 30's

Title: None

Job: Heavy infantryman

Job level: In the 50's to 70's

Job history: Apprentice Soldier, Infantryman

Passive skills:

Enhanced Attribute Values: Under Command: Level 2

Enhanced Attribute Values while equipped with metal armor: Medium

Enhanced Attribute Values while equipped with a shield: Small

Active skills:

Martial-type skills: Level 3

Martial-type skills: Level 2

Shield Technique: Level 4

Armor Technique: Level 4

Coordination: Level 4

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Chapter 62: Let's play the melody of death throes using disease, weapons and the sun

With a dripping noise, cold fluid fell from a helmet.

The soldier wearing the helmet didn't take much notice of it. This was a battlefield. A place where blood would normally be spraying through the air. If he was too concerned over a few drops of fluid, he would lose his life.

But that soldier soon began coughing. A headache followed without warning, alongside terrible nausea, dizziness, joint pain, a stomachache… He could even feel that he was developing a fever.

He coughed some more. "Poison…"

His throat was in pain; he wasn't in a state to speak loudly. And everywhere across the battlefield, troops were experiencing deterioration in their physical conditions just like the soldier… No, to be more precise, there was one exception. Isla and her group were the only ones unaffected.

It's gone well.

Vandalieu gave a satisfied nod atop the second fortress wall after having used the trebuchets to scatter the virus projectiles packed full of water containing the pathogen he had made.

The soldiers and knights who were trying to regain their composure were unable to walk, kneeling on the ground while coughing and suffering.

Even Gordan and Riley, who had been striking down the boulders, were no exception. The ones who looked like mercenaries were still standing, flustered at the situation around them. They were likely to be the Vampires. It was convenient that they had all gathered in one spot.

The disease Vandalieu had created was a disease that didn't infect those who by nature could be affected by Death-Attribute Charm.

It had no effect on Ghouls, Cemetery Bees, Pauvina or Vampires, but the humans that made up the vast majority of the Mirg shield-nation's expedition army were infected through every possible infection route and the disease took hold within seconds.

That was the kind of disease it was.

"Guh… Antidote Potions… aren't working…"

"Don't lower your shields, the shield-nation will be disgraced if we fall to a poison like this!"

"Why, even though I have the Poison Resistance skill…"

Many of the soldiers had mistaken the disease created by Vandalieu for a poison. They couldn't be blamed for assuming this, as their physical conditions had simply started deteriorating without warning.

But even as they drank the antidote Potions that they had been equipped with, their conditions improved for only a moment. This was only natural, as even if the antidote removed the toxins within their body, the pathogens continued to produce more.

"Cure Disease! This isn't a poison, it's a disease!" shouted High Priest Gordan. "You lot, heal the ones around you! Mages, hurry and stand up, will you!"

As expected, he was the first one to recover. As his passive life-attribute healing magic healed his disease, he also cast his own spells as he reprimanded those around him.

"Messara, Hurry… up!"

Messara coughed violently. "Wait, my throat…!"

Things weren't so simple. Without the Chant Revocation skill, even talking normally with her body in pain was impossible right away, let alone reciting an incantation.

And on top of that -

"Wait…! Why, this disease is supposed to be…!" Gordan, who was supposed to have made a complete recovery, began coughing violently once more.

"Unlike poison, diseases can be spread from other people. That's obvious, though," Vandalieu whispered as he watched Gordan suffering.

Gordan had indeed cured himself of the disease with his magic. However, there were thousands of infected people around him, coughing and sneezing without masks.

Each cough and sneeze would send large quantities of pathogens flying several meters. This had caused Gordan to become infected once more.

There are some diseases that cannot cause a second infection due to an immunity forming after the first infection, but there was no way Vandalieu would have gone out of his way to create such a forgiving disease.

"This is my special disease that mutates even faster than influenza," Vandalieu murmured. "You can experience it repeatedly until you die."

To escape from the disease in this place that was filled with it, one would have to wear a Magic Item with a continuous anti-disease effect, completely heal the disease in those in the immediate vicinity, or do everything possible to escape the battlefield and then treat the disease with magic afterwards.

Alternatively, they could try to survive until the period after which Vandalieu had set the disease to stop working, which was half a day, but that would be impossible.

Isla and her Vampires, who couldn't contract the disease even if they stopped worshipping the evil god, were forced to make a decision.

"How could this be!"

Ternecia had taken measures so that Isla and the other Vampires could disguise themselves as humans to sneak into the army, but that army had been turned into a mass of pitiful, sick people in an instant.

The Vampires were unaware that the disease would disappear after half a day and that it wasn't fatal on its own, so in their minds, the army was completely useless, not even something they could use for cover, let alone as a fighting force.

With this, they had to abandon their original plan.

Isla clicked her tongue. "Everyone, keep going! We'll fly up to kill the Dhampir and hunt down the traitors!"

"Is that really alright? If we do that, the fact that we are Vampires will be exposed, will it not?"

"We're already as good as exposed! Who would believe that there are this many humans with the Status Effect Resistance skill!"

The Vampires had noticed that this was a disease, not a poison. However, they didn't know the exact effects of the disease that Vandalieu had created. Because of this, they had assumed that it was their Status Effect Resistance skills that were preventing it from infecting them.

Though it seemed that the expedition army didn't have the time to notice it right now, they knew that if the army were to get time to think about it later, they would become suspicious of the Vampires.

"We'll take care of things afterwards! Think about how to complete our mission first! Or are you bastards planning to become traitors as well?!" Isla was no longer trying to keep up appearances. Her tone was harsh, as if her master Ternecia had possessed her body.

The Vampires shook their heads vigorously.

They knew that if their responses were a moment late, they would be killed by Isla, who was known by the Title of 'Ternecia's Hound'.

"Then let's get moving!" Isla undid her unique skill's transformation and flew into the air. She threw away her full-face helmet that would only get in the way of using Bloodsucking, and instantly discarded her crude, weak armor that had given her a mercenary's appearance using a contraption that had been built into it.

She drew her trusty sword with no sharp point, a weapon that would have been called an executioner's sword on Earth, as she flew straight towards the second wall.

And then Isla sneered as she flew towards the expressionless, white face that was looking up at her.

"You've given us a lot of surprises but this is where it ends! Come now, and become rust on my sword, half-breed!"

But before she reached him, her vision was filled with white.

The Vampires around her screamed.

"It's so hot! I-Isla-sama, the sun, THE SUUUUUUUN!"

It had already become dark in Talosheim to the point that Vampires wouldn't face any problems, but the warm spring sunlight was shining down on them, burning them.

"The first part of the plan is complete. Commence the second part," Vandalieu whispered as he watched Isla and her subordinates writhe in agony like live animals that had been tossed into a pot full of boiling oil.

Zadiris, after leading those who could use light-attribute magic to the western side of the mountain range, was waiting on standby.

A skull, large enough that one could barely wrap arms around it, was floating lightly above her head. It was Vandalieu's familiar, a Lemure.

Lemures would normally be mostly transparent, but Vandalieu had used the Visualize spell to make it visible.

"I think it is almost time, but… Oh, it seems that they have come."

The Lemure's teeth had begun chattering.

On that signal, Zadiris and the others turned the nearby mercury mirror.

These mercury mirrors were a legacy left behind by Zakkart, a combination of knowledge from another world and the magic of this world. Because of these magical devices that reflected the sun's light onto Talosheim, the city surrounded by mountains that would normally have short daylight hours had been known as the Capital of the Sun, and its farmlands had produced abundant crops.

But two hundred years ago, they had been destroyed by the Mirg shield-nation's army. The mirrors of liquid metal had been broken and the pillars that supported them had been destroyed.

Vandalieu had repaired them using his Golem Transmutation skill. It seemed that Zakkart had built them with future maintenance in mind; after Vandalieu had fixed the structures, he had been able to restore their function with his Alchemy skill.

"Take aim!"

Vandalieu had also turned these mercury mirrors into Golems. Given commands like this, they would move as instructed.

"Everyone, align yourselves… Extreme Sunlight!"

Zadiris had become a Rank 7 Ghoul Elder Mage. From her hands emerged a light so bright that it could burn one's eyes.

"Sunlight!"

"Sunlight!"

"Extreme Sunlight!"

The other mages, the Ghoul women, the Undead Titans and the Anubises, released similar spells.

Sunlight was a spell that released the light of the sun.

Extreme Sunlight was a spell that released the sunlight of a midsummer day, powerful enough to burn the skin.

Both were anti-Vampire spells that had been created by Alda's priests, long ago. How ironic it was that Ghouls and Undead were using them under the orders of a Dhampir.

"Everyone, keep releasing your magic until you are out of Mana!" Zadiris instructed. "We will turn those evil-god-worshipping Vampires into ash!"

They were distant from the battlefield, but the sudden influx of Experience Points told Zadiris that their spells had successfully incinerated their enemies.

"Impossible! The relics left behind by Zakkart should have been destroyed! So how can this be?!"

Like silver, the pain of being burnt by the sun was difficult to endure for Vampires. It would easily overcome the Vampires' immortality that otherwise rendered them otherwise impossible to kill unless their heads were cut off or their hearts were completely destroyed.

Their Status Effect Resistance skills and their high regenerative abilities would be of no use.

In fact, the Vampire Leaders, the weakest of the Vampires, were already back on the ground, unable to bear the sunlight. They were trying to crawl and hide themselves in the shadows of the grass.

"Isla-sama, we should also fly back down and regain our…"

"You fool! Can you not see that?!" Isla pointed at the Vampires below, who were being defeated one by one.

"You damn Vampires!" a soldier yelled.

"Damn it! They're enemy reinforcements! Don't let them regroup!" shouted another.

The nearby soldiers were mustering their strength and using their swords and spears to attack the Vampires who were trying to shield themselves from the sunlight in the waist-high grass.

For the soldiers of the expedition army, Isla and the Vampires who had exposed their identities by flying up into the air and being burned by the sunlight, were nothing but enemies. It was likely that they assumed that the Vampires were flying to Vandalieu to regroup with him rather than trying to kill him.

Even the humans, whom the Vampires had discarded as being a group of useless sick people, posed plenty of threat to the Vampires now that they had been weakened by the sunlight. Those who had been unfortunate to fall near Gordan had already had their heads turned into lumps of meat by his war club.

General Mauvid and Riley were unable to tell them to stop, of course, so they simply looked on with stiff expressions and eyes wide-open.

"Do you understand?! If you do, then hurry up and get over the wall!" Isla ordered her subordinates, protecting her body as much as she could by using water-attribute magic to produce white ice around her body that refracted the sunlight.

The other Vampires imitated her, producing darkness or fog with magic to protect their bodies from the sunlight, and then attempted to continue.

And then a particularly bright ray of sunlight streamed in from one side, striking down one of the Vampires mid-flight and causing him to fall with a scream.

The mercury mirror Golem had adjusted its shape to focus Zadiris's Extreme Sunlight onto one spot, turning into a sunlight cannon. Even meat and vegetables could be cooked using this light alone. Of course, a little darkness and fog was useless against it.

"Spread out! Don't stick together, if it hits you, you're dead!" As Isla gave her subordinates a reckless order to avoid the sunlight and pressed forward, she saw countless enemies emerging from behind the second and third walls, flying up to meet her.

The one leading them was…

"How do you do? Perfect weather for sunbathing, isn't it?"

The Vampires' second target, Eleanora, smiling at them.

At the same time, on the ground's surface, Ghouls and Undead suddenly appeared on the right side of the expedition army.

Vandalieu had never intended to rely on Talosheim's sturdy walls and catapults to engage in a defensive battle.

Talosheim's defenses were strong indeed, but since there were no reinforcements to wait on, he hadn't thought that holing up in the fortress would make any difference.

And if things dragged on, the expedition army would likely request reinforcements from the Mirg shield-nation, and it would be terrible if the Pure-breed Vampires lost their temper and showed up personally.

That was why he would quickly exterminate them while they were still underestimating him.

To that purpose, Vandalieu had used Golem Transmutation to build a tunnel and a large cave in which his allies could wait.

"UOOOOH!��

"KILL THEM AAAALL!"

"Protect the children! Slaughter the intruders!"

"Don't you dare set foot in our nation again!"

The morale of the Ghouls and Undead, who had been on standby underground for several hours, was high. None of them would had any problems with being in complete darkness, and more importantly, this was a battle to defend their home.

There was no way that their morale could fall.

"Enemies!"

"Rise up and… face them! Uegh…"

The expedition armies attempted to fight back like the elite soldiers they were, but the disease was eating into their bodies and robbing them of their strength. Even as they tried to stand up and regain their formations, many of them succumbed to the violent nausea and spewed gastric juices all over the ground.

"Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up -" Vandalieu, still standing on the second wall, revived the Golems that were supposed to have been destroyed by the expedition army.

They groaned as they rose once more.

"Impossible, the Golems have started moving again!"

"GAH!"

The stone giants trampled over the expedition army, as if taking revenge for the earlier battle.

The Golems had indeed been destroyed by the expedition army's men. But the spears and swords had not physically removed the boulders that made up their bodies. Though split and smashed, they had still been lying on the ground.

It was a simple matter for Vandalieu to take those materials and turn them into Golems again.

And then Vigaro and the others flooded in. At the same time, the crossbows and trebuchets stopped firing, but a slaughter that rendered that fact meaningless began.

"Follow my lead, warriors!" Vigaro roared.

The knights, who were unable to regain their formations due to the disease and the Golems, had their heads sent flying by his axe.

A knight, enraged by the death of his comrades, began to speak. "Damn you, cowards -"

"Shut up and die!" an Undead Titan shouted as he mowed the knight down with his enormous club.

They slaughtered the enemies that were suffering with the disease. Proud knights or even normal soldiers might have hesitated to do this. But the Ghouls and Undead felt no hesitation whatsoever.

They had a different sense of values from humans, and they felt it was the expedition army's own fault for being foolish enough to come here without gathering information and forming a plan.

"Damn it, Screw Thrust!"

The expedition army wouldn't go down without a fight. Many of them had forced themselves onto their feet despite the disease and were releasing martial skills.

One such soldier thrust his spearhead into Vigaro's stomach with a rotating motion that increased its penetrative power. With his stamina drained, he had put everything he had into this attack as he knew that he wouldn't survive afterwards, but the spear would surely find its mark -

"Huh?"

The tip of the soldier's spear shattered into pieces. His eyes opened wide as he stared at his spear that was now nothing but a long stick. Vigaro swung the shield held by one of his four arms at the soldier's head, causing him to fly away and lie still where he landed.

There was an Orichalcum waistband around Vigaro's stomach.

"That was some fine skill," Vigaro murmured.

But no matter how good that soldier's skill was, he had only been wielding the iron spear he was been provided. That spear was one that a blacksmith had made by hand rather than one made from molten metal being poured into a cast, but it had been unable to compete against Orichalcum, a substance superior to all other magical metals.

Instead of landing a blow, the soldier's excessive force had caused the spearhead to break and shatter. Of course, Vigaro's waistband didn't even have a scratch on it.

"… Well, you're the ones who came to fight us." Vigaro did pity the soldiers, but he realized that they were reaping what they sowed and continued swinging his axe.

"Fuhahahaha! Here, allow me to turn you into mincemeat!" With terrifying laughter, Sam splattered the soldiers, not caring whether they were charging towards him, fallen on the ground or running away. He was still a Rank 4 Blood Carriage, but for the expedition army that was suffering from the disease, he was a formidable enemy.

"With my Mana as your source, flames, strike my enemies! Flame Bullet!"

A blue-faced mage fired the Flame Bullet spell at him. It was not a bad choice of spell, as the mage had seen that Sam was an Undead.

"Whoops!"

However, the red projectile grazed the spear that had been suddenly swung by Sam, and then it vanished.

"Could that be, Ice Age?!" the mage gasped.

And then he made an indescribable noise as he was run over and killed.

Sam gave a cheerful laugh. "This spear that I received from Bocchan is quite pleasant to use. I must thank him later."

Vandalieu had destroyed Ice Age's function as an Artifact along with Yupeon's clone, but the spear was made of Orichalcum, which had even greater anti-magic properties than Mythril. No matter how elite the mage was, a single Flame Bullet couldn't possibly overcome it.

"Jyuuh! As expected of my master, we are able to exterminate these supposedly elite enemies as if they were weeds!" Bone Man remarked. He was now a Skeleton Viscount, and he was slaughtering the expedition army's soldiers.

"I agree! The soldiers that cut me down with a single stroke of the sword two hundred years ago are now like puppets made of dirt!" said Nuaza the Lich, joining him by beating his enemies to death. "But with the enemies' heads being so low, it will cause problems with my back!"

"Fuhahaha, indeed! Let us see if we can find suitable prey to take another hipbone from!"

"Damn you! Don't underestimate us!" a soldier shouted. He and some of his companions were standing in the way of Bone Man and Nuaza. They hadn't completely recovered from Vandalieu's disease; they were using the Surpass Limits skill to improve their stamina and immunity, making a temporary recovery.

Once the skill expired, the disease would take all of its effects and progression at once, and if they were unfortunate, they might even die. But they had decided that they would be killed anyway if they simply stayed quiet.

"Let's go! We have to buy time for a retreat!"

The expedition army's soldiers had already realized that this was a lost battle. They were still ahead in terms of the number of soldiers alive, but they were all infected and they were at a disadvantage in terms of fighting strength.

The only thing they could do was to slow down the enemy as much as possible, buying time for their allies to retreat.

"UOOH! Shield Bash!"

The soldiers stood in line, raised their shields and charged towards Bone Man and Nuaza.

"Boulder Breaker!"

"Jyuuh! Slicing Moon!"

The shields were broken by Nuaza's Orichalcum mace and cut through by Bone Man's magic sword. They had not been underestimating the soldiers or letting their guard down.

They had been provoking them. They had baited the enemy into spending the last of their strength to try and attack rather than escape.

"I-is this an illusion? Or has something happened to my head? There's a naked woman in a place like this -"

Slice.

"No, this is reality. And who are you calling naked!"

"Don't mess with me! A crazy woman dressed like that -"

Slash.

"Please be killed quietly! Also, I am not particularly strange!"

Rita and Saria were swinging a glaive and a halberd, finishing soldiers one after another. They seemed quite displeased for some reason.

"Nee-san, the way we look doesn't seem to be popular. Why is that?" asked Rita.

"Hmm, even though Bocchan praised us and called us cute…" Saria was puzzled as well. "We're even wearing capes as he told us to."

Even as they tried to solve this mystery, they continued to produce large quantities of dead corpses.

Now that they were wearing Magic Item capes, their stimulating backsides were covered, but the front of their bodies was still exposed. In fact, it was possible that the capes were emphasizing the exposed portions of their bodies.

"But there are other people who expose their bodies a lot as well, right? Like Kachia and Bilde," said Rita.

"Basdia reveals quite a lot as well," Saria added.

"I don't reveal that much!" said Kachia in protest, from a spot a distance away from them. She was right, but the sisters didn't respond to her words.

"Damn it, you monsters! Die!"

The surviving archers fired arrows at them. The arrows found their marks at the sisters' exposed stomachs and chests, but they passed straight through their targets.

"Ah, Nee-san, there are healthy enemies over there," said Rita, pointing at the archers.

"Well then, I'll back you up with my bow, so you charge at them, Rita."

"Okay."

The two of them didn't pay any attention to the arrows and began their counterattack. Saria switched weapons to her bow, and Rita charged at the archers. She was faster than she looked.

"I-impossible!"

"I mean, you're using iron arrowheads against our spirit form bodies," said Saria, firing an arrow that pierced straight through a soldier's armor and into his chest.

"Though even if you hit our armored parts, these arrows would just bounce off anyway." With these words, Rita began robbing the archers of their lives with her glaive.

Isla stared at Eleanora with a look of disbelief on her face.

She was a Noble-born Vampire as well, so how could she be wearing such a calm expression in this sunlight?

Eleanora gave a small laugh. "It's thanks to the power of the great one," she said, swinging the sword… or rather, the weapon in her hand that had a black rod extending from the handle.

And then roaring, buzzing and groaning filled the air as the immobilized Noble-born Vampires were attacked by Knochen, Cemetery Bees and Rapiéçage.

"Impossible, you're using insectoid monsters?!"

"GYAAAH!"

Surrounded by jaws that could tear through iron plates and cemetery bees who possessed stingers capable of piercing metal armor, the Noble-born Vampires fell in order of weakest first.

"How could someone like me be defeated by mere Undead! Iron Slash! Chaos Slash! Hundred Furious Slashes - GEH?!"

One of Gubamon's Vampire Viscount who was proficient in Swordsmanship desperately unleashed martial skills, slicing through dozens of bones, but Knochen could not be stopped, sinking his countless fangs and horns into the Vampire.

Knochen let out a roar.

It had been a Rank 7 Bone Chimera, but as the Undead Titans and Ghouls hunted monsters and brought large masses of bones to be added to it, it had become a Rank 8 Union of Bones.

This Union of Bones, which was made up of thousands of bones, had no weak points. Unless all of its bones were destroyed, defeating it with physical attacks alone would be impossible.

But the bones that made up Knochen's body were the monster bones that Tarea's working team couldn't use up. They would normally be used in weapons and armor; some of them were even harder than iron.

For defeating such an enemy, no matter how one looked at it, using magic would seem more practical, but…

There's no way I can use magic in this situation!

The Vampires would have to recite incantations while taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the Extreme Sunlight cannon's fire, fighting off the enemies coming at them and being burned by the regular sunlight. Only those with the Chant Revocation or High-speed Thought Processing skills would be capable of this.

Even as they moved, Rapiéçage thrust the stinger attached to her tail into the solar plexus of one of the Vampires whose movements had slowed down, and the moment the Vampire screamed, she unleashed a lethal punch to finish him.

Rapiéçage was clearly inferior to these Noble-born Vampires, but this lethal environment of sunlight had dampened the Vampires' strength.

Isla clicked her tongue. "I will take your head, at least!"

Now that things had come to this, she had decided to take Eleanora's head and then retreat. Too many unexpected things were happening one after another, leaving her with no other choice.

Right now, she had to think about returning with this information, even if she would be executed for not accomplishing her mission.

That was the decision Isla had made, but the fact that she was still aiming to take Eleanora's head despite knowing the importance of returning with this information was her downfall.

Even though Isla couldn't use magic, even though Eleanora was not suffering in the sunlight for some reason, Isla held the conceitful belief that she had the skill to defeat Eleanora. Isla's loyalty to Ternecia, and the fear of her that was even greater than that loyalty, had led Isla to make this half-baked decision.

"Die!" she screamed.

She activated her Surpass Limits skill. Forcing the pain caused by the sunlight to the corner of her mind, she drew closer to Eleanora at a rapid speed. A sneer emerged on her face as she looked at Eleanora's weapon that seemed to be a metal rod rather than a sword.

It seems that he's chosen to prioritize defense rather than attacking and brought this prey out here, but it's meaningless before my executioner's sword if this fool is all he has to defend him!

Eleanora calmly cast the Acceleration spell on herself before meeting her foe, Isla, who was clearly superior to her.

Isla was a Vampire woman who had, under Ternecia's orders, hunted down numerous traitors and Vampires who had run after failing their missions. She had even lived for tens of thousands of years. She was feared for having executed over a thousand such beings in her lifetime; she even had the special Job of Slaughtering Executioner.

Her Swordsmanship was level 10, and her other skills were high in level as well.

However, Eleanora had a vastly more fearsome master than Isla's owner.

Your neck, from the left.

"I understand, Vandalieu-sama."

Eleanora placed her sword to her left and braced it with all her strength in order to protect her neck.

"Dark Night Decapitation!"

Isla unleashed an original, lethal martial skill that she had invented on her own, one that had sent the heads of even other Noble-born Vampires flying in the past, but there was a loud metallic sound as it impacted Eleanora's sword.

Her sword stopped instead of cutting Eleanora down.

"Wha - GAH!"

Her lethal blade had been unable to cut through Eleanora's Orichalcum sword.

Isla opened her eyes wide in disbelief as her hands went numb from the impact, causing her to drop her weapon. But there was nothing surprising about it.

Even the Sword King Borkus with the martial skills of his superior skill, the Sword King Technique, had been unable to make a single scratch on the Dragon Golem simply because it had been made of Orichalcum.

There was no way that Isla, with her level of skill, could break through the sword of Orichalcum that possessed more physical hardness than Adamantite and more flexibility than Damascus Steel.

The moment Isla saw the smile on Eleanora's face widen, her vision was filled with white once more.

And then she screamed.

Zadiris and the others could see what was happening through light-attribute magic. As Isla's movements stopped, they had burned her with the Extreme Sunlight Cannon, along with Eleanora.

Unable to bear it, no longer caring about her appearance, Isla attempted to escape, but her movements were as slow as a turtle's.

This is… time-attribute magic?! It's Eleanora! But just when did she recite the incantation?! And she's being burnt along with me?!

Unable to do anything, by the time the Extreme Sunlight cannon's fire ended, Isla had become a pitiful sight to behold. The expensive Magic Item she was wearing remained exactly as it was, but the skin at the parts of her body that had been exposed were black and her bones were now visible.

At once glance, one would only be able to assume that she was a burnt corpse.

"Why…"

As a higher-Rank Noble-born Vampire that was tough and possessed high Vitality, Isla was still alive.

But what was more unbelievable was that Eleanora was unharmed despite being exposed to the same sunlight. Her skin had become a little red, but even that was quickly returning to its normal white color.

"Are you talking about my sword? Or the sunlight?" she asked, grabbing hold of Isla's burnt, black head.

Isla gasped in pain.

"This Orichalcum sword, my resistance to sunlight, everything was given to me by Vandalieu-sama," Eleanora told her, raising not her sword, but her white hand with its claws extended.

Isla cackled. "I see. We have been defeated. You should kill me. But you all will certainly die! Ternecia-sama will definitely avenge us!"

"That's rather scary," said Eleanora. "Well then, can you please fight for us as well?"

Before Isla could ask what kind of foolish nonsense Eleanora was saying, her head was cut off. Fresh blood sprayed out.

"Get up. Come here."

Before it could hit the ground, the blood coming from Isla's neck turned into a Blood Golem and headed for Vandalieu's open mouth.

"How is it, Vandalieu-sama?" Eleanora asked.

Vandalieu drank the rich blood of a powerful Vampire. Before replying to Eleanora's question, he raised his eyes to look into the empty air.

"Even after death, I will not obey a Dhampir like… I-I will obey. I will tell you whatever you want to know, so please turn me into an Undead. I will serve you with whole-hearted devotion to repay you for the favor you have done by killing me."

"It seems that it's simple to work with a powerless spirit before it becomes an evil spirit. It seems that she'll cooperate with us. The blood was quite rich and delicious as well," said Vandalieu. He looked ahead once more. "Now then, I suppose it's about time I head out as well."

The slaughter scene wasn't over yet.

『The level of the Bloodsucking skill has increased!』

Name: Zadiris

Rank: 7

Race: Ghoul Elder Mage

Level: 19

Job: Wind-Attribute Mage

Job level: 31

Job history: Apprentice Mage, Mage, Light-Attribute Mage

Age: 295 years old (Has undergone age reversal)

Passive skills:

Night Vision

Pain Resistance: Level 3

Superhuman Strength: Level 1

Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 2

Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)

Active skills:

Light-Attribute Magic: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)

No-Attribute Magic: Level 2

Mana Control: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)

Alchemy: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)

Chant Revocation: Level 2 (NEW!)

Multi-Cast: Level 1 (NEW!)

Surpass Limits: Level 1 (NEW!)

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