#121
The Silent War (3)
When asked who was the busiest among the executives under the current Undead King, there was one name that everyone noted first.
It was none other than the Banshee Queen, Olivia.
Her first command was to investigate the Oath of Reversal, a task that needed to be persistently continued as their enemies had a wide distribution of power.
Plus, the operation to absorb the ones already identified was equally reliant on her.
In such circumstances, a new command was handed down from Hansa.
There had been an assassination attempt on a merchant from Tarak by a vampire, and she was to investigate the details and report back.
[Haah… Girl, at this rate, I’m going to work myself to death…!]
Floating in the cave’s darkness, surrounded by ghosts, Olivia muttered to herself.
It was a wry joke only the undead could make, but unfortunately, there was no one in this space to respond to her.
[Perhaps that’s why… My skin seems to have gotten rough lately… I’ve been avoiding the sun, the enemy of my complexion…!]
Her translucent, slender fingers brushed against her equally translucent and smooth cheek.
Despite the cold reaction around her, she persisted with her humor, but of course, no one reacted.
[Hoo… It’s foolish of me to expect any sense from these idiots…!]
She couldn’t freely speak in front of the Undead King, but having lived alone for so long, talking to herself and making puns had become second nature.
Nevertheless, it was futile when there was no one to converse with…
Eventually, Olivia gave up and closed her eyes, delving into the analysis of the information brought by the ghosts.
Their essence, stripped of desires and obsessions, meant that their presence was greatly diminished, and their identity became vague, making them incredibly hard to handle as she wished.
Extracting and combining necessary information from a pile of unorganized, recklessly collected data was nearly impossible for ordinary people.
But naturally, she was not an ordinary person.
[How strange… The merchant from Tarak, the assassination attempt on Howard… There are so many oddities…!]
First of all, she couldn’t find the victim, Howard.
It was common sense to trace back to the victim for a more accurate investigation, so she intended to locate him first.
‘…Looks like he’s hiding behind a pretty meticulous barrier. Still, not being able to find his location is somewhat humiliating.’
However, since he wasn’t her original target, she ultimately gave up on finding Howard and began to scour the suspects.
Less than two days passed, amid attending to other matters.
From the figures of the competing merchant groups surrounding Tarak to nobles even slightly connected to the Hubert Association and organizations involved in the dark underbelly of interests.
After a relentless search without sleeping, she finally succeeded in shaking them all down.
[One and all, they were innocent, you see… Many had no clue that he had even been attacked…!]
In the end, the conclusion was that there was no direct grudge-related crime against Howard or his association.
With that, her hard work over several days had amounted to nothing…
[Ugh… This is utterly ridiculous…!]
Goooorr—!
As Olivia began to whimper, the atmosphere trembled, and waves of death spread around her.
The terrifying power could result in instant death for those unprepared against spiritual defenses, just from hearing it.
[Crackk—!]
[Wuhhh—]
The ghosts filling the cave writhed and flared around due to the energy, turning the place into chaos in an instant.
Yet, the one causing this situation, Olivia, paid no mind to her surroundings and, soon enough, resumed calmly analyzing the information as if nothing had happened.
If Howard was not the direct issue, then the origin would be external.
Her next target was to dig into the outlaw vampire.
But this one was anything but ordinary.
So thoroughly had it hidden itself that the late investigation by the ghosts could not track its presence.
But she could not afford to fail the mission entrusted to her by the Undead King.
Thus, she planned to investigate all the vampires in the vicinity, unleashing the ghosts to collect information.
And after putting the matter concerning the Oath of Reversal on the back burner, a few days of obsessive investigation around the clock led her to…
[Hehe… I think it might be these kids…!]
She finally managed to pinpoint the gathering of vampires in Rapella City, Talia Kingdom.
They were a group of vampires different from the ruling Brokoslac Clan and were invading their territory.
[Looks like things are getting interesting… For now, I should report to the Undead King…!]
– Olivia-sama? This is Dwell. How long should I wait?
At that moment, a communication came from Dwell McKane, who was also working on the Oath of Reversal.
She had told him to wait a bit longer to trace the vampires’ whereabouts, yet he contacted her as soon as his own tasks finished.
[…Haah. Really, I’m going to work myself to death…!]
Thus, Banshee Queen Olivia was having another busy day, just like any other.
*
‘An invasion from another vampire clan?’
A few days after entrusting Olivia with the task, she had thoroughly investigated more than expected and uncovered the truth behind the Howard assassination case.
She realized it wasn’t friction with the Hubert Association that was the cause, but rather the issue was linked with the Brokoslac Clan, which had been in a cooperative relationship…
She even discovered that the clan identified as responsible for the operation was now gathering in Rapella City in Talia Kingdom.
‘Were they planning to shift focus externally before hitting Talia? If they had also managed to send out additional investigative forces, it would have been the cherry on top.’
Brokoslac, which had stubbornly adhered to a self-isolation policy within their own territory, was attempting this expansion for the first time in ages.
Naturally, it would appear that they put a lot of effort and thought into their plans from the outside.
If such a well-planned strategy suddenly began to break down, one would naturally try to identify and resolve the cause.
‘And in the meantime, they plan to strike their home base… That seems about right.’
Olivia noted that the vampires appeared to be in a rush as well.
Given the state of their barriers and the preparations, they seemed to have aimed for utmost secrecy, yet, in the end, they hurriedly moved and got caught by her without successfully utilizing those preparations.
This also indicated that an attack was imminent.
‘But the problem lies in the fact that Brokoslac hasn’t noticed yet. In particular, with the incident in the Forest of Monsters coinciding with the external power expansion, the security may have gotten lax…’
With already a small number of vampires, as they shuffled personnel around, their internal surveillance network had become compromised.
Moreover, with about two days left on the cooldown for the teleportation, Heinz II would not be able to head straight to Talia.
‘Still, having Hans intervene at this point seems a bit… If he uses his full power, his position will inevitably be revealed, and if that happens, things will escalate too much. It won’t just be a dispute among vampires anymore.’
It was still too early for the Undead King to take the reins directly.
The army of the undead awaited the gathering of more malevolent forces, while the continent awaited the conclusions of a summit to merge opinions.
‘Those invading now… They are presumed to be from the Yufershi Clan, right?’
Sure, they were the only ones capable of causing such a ruckus.
Among the three great vampire clans, the ‘Brokoslac’ had taken control of a small kingdom in the west, while the ‘Obaifo’ maintained notable strength in the east.
And the remaining strongest of the three, operating continent-wide from the central Azerion Empire, was the ‘Yufershi’ clan.
Also, their leader was the ‘Pureblood,’ the apex among the Azure Oath vampires.
‘I never expected to come face to face with a Pureblood in this manner.’
Purebloods were not beings one could encounter easily.
Currently, the known Purebloods on this side added up to two.
Excluding Brokoslac, which had entered a long hibernation, in reality, he was virtually the strongest among vampires.
‘With such a situation, the Bisk Yufershi would also likely have to act personally. This is troublesome.’
Olivia knew that Yufershi and Brokoslac didn’t quite see eye to eye.
She had heard that there had been some disputes during the past process of completely devouring Talia Kingdom, which involved their activities across the entire continent.
Despite conflicts arising with the expulsion of Yufershi vampires from the kingdom and solidifying their own territory, the clashes had ceased once Brokoslac withdrew to the corners of the continent and bonded with their own.
‘But now to suddenly invade so extensively…’
What change of heart could have occurred, or was the expansion on this side unsettling?
However, since trouble was already unshackled, how to respond became crucial.
‘Tch, it can’t be helped. They dare to lay a hand on Howard and try to ruin the Brokoslac they worked hard to acquire… There’s no way I can sit idle about this.’
Surely, they must do all they can.
Just at that moment.
Harley, who was staying at the northern Steel Fortress to massacre monsters, began to make his move.
Meanwhile, Hans, who had been casting spells nearby, began to secretly move as well.
‘Since I don’t know how events will unfold, I need to have some insurance in place.’
If the Undead King were to step onto the scene, he would inevitably draw attention from the outside, yet they could find some excuse for that.
Having some vampire corpses might be necessary, or perhaps using them in a way to incorporate them into their ranks to give a little speech would suffice.
Still, Hans, thinking it would be best if the Undead King did not have to take an active role, arrived in Talia unexpectedly to spot…
‘Huh? This situation seems… not so bad?’
It was understandable since an entirely unexpected presence was settling there.
*
“Yeah, I know the situation, so don’t go messing around and get caught, alright?”
“Yes, yes… Of course, Harley-sama!”
“Do you believe me? When I’m angry, I’m terrifying, you know? Kha-haha-hah—!”
“…Of course! Don’t worry!”
The overly stiff expression of the one repeatedly bowing to Harley in response to his words seemed awkwardly uncomfortable.
It was as if he wanted to say, ‘You’re scary even when you’re not angry,’ but that must have just been a misunderstanding.
“I have some urgent matters to attend to for now, so make sure to listen to Howard for a while. Manage the subordinates well so that those looking to test how many lives they have don’t show up! There will be a time later when everyone will know everything!”
“Yes! I will treat Howard-sama as the embodiment of the Associate Head and serve him well.”
Since Tarak was only a day away from the Steel Fortress, Harley’s activities had already reached this place.
Of course, the members of the association had to be aware of the news regarding Howard, who was practically a co-representative of Hubert.
It would take an extraordinary amount of courage to defy his overwhelming abilities, which were also backed by the church and Count Aonia’s love.
‘With this much settled, then the next step is…’
Having monitored the Hubert Association once again, Harley proceeded to the Shrine of Tarak.
‘I need to move quickly. Although I got a few days’ reprieve, I need to handle things as fast as possible and return to the fortress.’
Of course, Count Aonia and the fortress side would try to detain him.
Given the prominent accomplishments Harley had displayed, it was only natural for the concern regarding his absence to rise.
‘But after so much time of unceasing defense, a little break should be fine.’
Thanks to this, taking a short break for both addressing the current matter and resting was not difficult.
In fact, Count Aonia even made a proposal to give special attention through the Tarak Security Force, stating that he would ensure they keep a close watch while Harley was away, especially regarding any foolhardy plans that might arise during Howard’s absence.
So, he gratefully accepted that proposal.
“Wait? Harley-sama? I heard you were at the Steel Fortress. What brings you here?”
“Uha-ha—! Well, you see…”
Finally arriving at the Shrine of Tarak, Harley was able to pass through the gate to the Shrine of Talia Kingdom.
To the predicted conflict among vampires.
