Silent War (2)
“Cough···!”
My fading consciousness jolted wide awake.
My crushed lungs regenerated, allowing air to flow freely, and my heart pounded violently as blood surged through my body.
The lethal injury began to heal little by little under the effect of Super Recovery, and strength gradually returned.
‘…I really died and came back to life···!’
If it weren’t for the ability I obtained from achieving the ‘Undead King’ feat, Instant Death Immunity, I would have truly kicked the bucket.
However, given my critical condition, it looked like it would take quite a while to fully recover.
It was good that my organs, which were totally mush, took shape again as if time was rewinding, but they weren’t exactly in a good state.
“Head of the Buncheon Society! Here’s the potion!”
“We’ll take you straight to the shrine! Just hang in there a little longer!”
Seeing the mercenaries frantically shoving emergency potions into my mouth, Hubert accelerated his thoughts and calmly analyzed the situation.
‘An outlaw is a vampire, but this is someone I’ve never seen before.’
Moreover, their skill level was extraordinarily high enough to ambush him without attracting everyone’s attention.
It meant they had ignored not only the mercenaries’ escort but also the surveillance in Brokoslac.
‘Hubert’s sense isn’t that great, so I couldn’t fully assess the opponent, but to pull this off, they must at least be a pureblood.’
Among them, they had to be top-tier and possessed specialized abilities for assassination.
But…
‘Can that kind of high-level operative really target a mere merchant like Hubert?’
Candidates who might have commissioned this were swiftly flashing through my mind.
From rival merchants who clashed while expanding their businesses recently, nobles eyeing the Buncheon Society, to the underground gangs that had been oppressed by him and were now trying to crawl back.
…There were so many that I couldn’t pinpoint anyone specific.
Despite being confident they built their business as honorably as possible, it was inevitable to have enemies in a profit-driven world.
‘But why a vampire, of all things? Is it just coincidence? Damn, I lack information. I should start digging into that unidentified vampire first.’
I never entertained the thought that Brokoslac might have hit me from behind.
There was no way they, bonded to Heinz II by Refined Blood Essence, would disobey and not provide full support to Hubert.
‘To properly grasp the situation, it would be most effective to mobilize the clan through Heinz, but he happens to be absent at the moment… And I already sent Howard off, meaning I’m in a cooldown on the transmission.’
Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to resolve this easily.
However, the most important thing right now was something else.
“Cough! Wait a moment···.”
I stopped the guards who were hastily trying to transfer me to the shrine after giving me a potion, and conveyed my needs unilaterally.
For the time being, I would hide in a safe place, recover, and come back.
‘If he realizes I’m not dead, he will surely come back to finish me off this time.’
For the present, he secured the impression that he had taken me out and left, but when he would return was anyone’s guess.
Now that I couldn’t rely on Instant Death Immunity, the best course of action was to vacate this place as quickly as possible.
“…I can contact Howard privately, so in the meantime, I will use him to… Hoo, I’ll relay the information. Make sure to spread it to the council too…”
“Y-yes? No, how are you planning to hide…?”
I couldn’t waste any more time.
The moment I felt I had conveyed the situation roughly, I immediately vanished from the spot using Summoning Release.
Of course, I had concerns about whether I could trust those mercenaries, but there was no time to dwell on such matters.
‘They were recommended by the trio of southern warriors, so I can trust them to some extent. Of course, you can never tell what a person’s heart is like…’
At that point, I could gather all means, including Harley and Brokoslac, to make them pay.
“Hah, but seriously, what a sudden downpour of trouble this is.”
Wooong—
A bright beam of light flooded into the room as it seeped into the body of the one lying on the floor.
I was currently using Entity Projection to become Heinrich and was pouring holy power into Hubert, who was summoned back to Earth.
‘Thanks to Instant Death Immunity, I managed to save my life, but…’
It was barely keeping my breath alive, so recovery didn’t look promising anytime soon.
No matter how recognized Heinrich was as a saint, his abilities solely focused on combat.
He had absolutely no blessings related to healing and recovery, which was to be expected.
‘Still, by rudely hitting him with holy power, the effects of Auterica Holy Law aren’t too bad.’
Plus, with the common skill Super Recovery, it looked like after resting for a few days, I could recover enough to function.
Though that wasn’t what mattered right now.
‘Things have gotten complicated. I can’t figure out where everything unraveled.’
Whether it was related to the council, the vampire, or Harley, I couldn’t judge without information.
I had intended to build an information network just for such occasions, but chaos erupted while Heinz was briefly absent.
“Hoo— well, what’s done is done. The important thing is responding afterward.”
Fortunately, there was another information organization on my side.
They were perhaps not the ideal fit for this situation, but…
‘Eh, that’s exactly what they’re for. Their tendency might be slightly different, but as long as they can understand the general situation, it’ll be enough.’
They weren’t great at grasping political maneuvering among humans, but on some fronts, they exhibited remarkably exceptional traits.
‘Let’s order them to get started. I don’t know who they are, but they picked the wrong person to mess with.’
Thus, under the Undead King Hans, the information chief Olivia of the Undead Legion, along with countless ghosts, began to move to uncover the truth behind a mere merchant assassination.
*
In a space filled with the stench of blood.
The white-haired, white-eyed vampire, Bisk Yufershi, took a deep breath and softly spoke.
“How’s the preparation going?”
“It’s proceeding smoothly. The combatants are gathering as summoned, and we’re setting up numerous blood gates along the route to the Talia Kingdom.”
A shadow in the darkness quietly responded to his question.
Blood gates were a type of makeshift teleportation gate used by the Yufershi Clan, a unique blood magic that allowed them to operate across the entire continent.
While it had drawbacks in terms of range and required large amounts of blood to set up, those limitations were negligible compared to its convenience during use.
“If we head straight to Talia, there’s a risk of detection, so we’re targeting Rapella City a few days away first. Of course, we could reach the capital in less than half a day.”
Hmm— That sounds good.
Bisk nodded in satisfaction.
“And, I’ve just received a report that Tarak in the Tuulk Kingdom has completed his mission.”
“Hmm? What was there?”
He tilted his head, sinking deeper into his chair as he looked at the shadow.
He had instructed them to focus all efforts on maneuvering Brokoslac, so why was there now talk of that direction?
“…There was information that Brokoslac intended to extend its reach towards there, and they are expanding their forces by linking with a trading group in Tarak. So, to divert their attention, I reported we would assassinate the leader of that trading group.”
“Ah— I see. I had forgotten that it was nothing important.”
Only then did Bisk acknowledge and scratch his chin.
To him, the life of one human wasn’t worth concerning himself with, making his attitude light as a feather.
“Fortunately, Klein, who was nearby, handled a few vampires from Brokoslac along with the leader of that trading group. Since he took matters into his own hands, you needn’t worry about evidence being left behind.”
“Klein, I remember. He was certainly a decent one for a pureblood. There’s no one better suited for quiet and sure execution than him, right?”
“Indeed. He’s the most promising candidate among the current purebloods to become a Trueblood.”
“Alright, then he must have done well. In truth, that side doesn’t concern me whatsoever.”
Bisk, believing that the clan’s sheer force was more than sufficient to execute their plans, waved his hand nonchalantly.
Although he had observed his subordinates working hard for this endeavor, he had confidence that he could sweep them away all by himself.
He simply awaited patiently because his ultimate objective wasn’t just the annihilation of the opposition.
“So when do you think preparations will be complete?”
“To ensure everything is completed as discreetly as possible, I expect it will take at least a week…”
“That’s too long. Shorten it.”
“…I can rush the summons to reduce the duration, but if we hurry to set up the blood gates, we risk exposure…”
“A week— you should be able to cut it down by two days. Finish it in five days.”
“…Yes, Lord. I will comply with your order.”
Bisk, showing no intent to listen to his subordinate’s words, firmly cut him off, leaving the shadow with no further objections, merely bowing their head.
Once the order of the Pureblood was given, they would simply act accordingly.
“I look forward to the day I confront him. I wonder how it came to pass that the clan’s dominion could shift? Though we share the same bloodline, I can’t fathom the reasoning behind it.”
Bisk Yufershi smiled coldly, anticipating the day when those questions would be resolved in just a few days.
*
“Thank you! Have a nice day!”
“Yeah, yeah~ Oh my, that little girl sure is sharp. I wish my son could learn from her. Ohoho~”
As she bade farewell to the elderly lady leaving the grocery store with a smile, Diana stretched and straightened her back.
The day was waning, and it was time to start wrapping up business.
“Good job today, Diana. You really don’t have to help if you’re busy studying.”
“No, Uncle! Working like this also helps me. The teacher said that learning only from books is dead knowledge!”
The girl, Diana, who had come from Azhantu to Rapella with Heinz, beamed happily.
She had completely mastered letters and arithmetic at the training center, and now she was personally learning accounting and commercial law from an instructor she had connected with there.
Of course, the educational costs were quite hefty, but since Heinz had generously provided for her, it wasn’t a big issue.
‘The reason we can live like this is all thanks to Uncle, so I want to help in any way I can.’
However, there weren’t many areas where Diana could contribute to Heinz.
Her physical condition was poor, and without any particular skills, her limit was to use her head. Fortunately, she had an excellent talent in that area.
Her instructor had expressed genuine admiration for her remarkable intuition several times.
‘There are many capable money managers, but few are both talented and trustworthy!’
While she didn’t know what exactly Heinz was involved in, she thought that having someone good at finances would be helpful in any domain.
Although she still felt inadequate, if she worked hard, she could surely become the kind of person he really needed.
Just as Diana was reaffirming her spirited ambitions while tidying up the store.
Sniff, sniff—
A scent suddenly wafted into her nose from somewhere.
‘Again···.’
This was the nth time I detected the smell of blood today.
Though I had encountered it several times before, it had been increasing notably in frequency lately.
‘What’s more, the scent I’m catching these days feels different.’
It wasn’t the familiar scent of vampires; increasingly, there seemed to be an unfamiliar vampire presence.
‘I hope nothing serious comes of this…’
Frowning, Diana hurriedly finished tidying up and entered the house.
She thought about giving her younger siblings, Aaron and Rafi, another warning.
And so…
The silent war was drawing ever closer.
