#122
Yufershi Clan (1)
Capital Talia of the Talia Kingdom.
“Ugh—.”
For the past two days, Briki’s nerves had been on edge.
As she lay on the bed in the Bright Duke’s guest room, idly passing the time as usual, she sensed a fleeting presence.
‘Was it just passing by? Just a coincidence?’
In the blink of an eye, her transcendent senses had definitively picked up on some ominous something.
It had vanished as quickly as it had appeared, making it easy to dismiss as a mere illusion, but…
Her intuition was a sort of power that somewhat aligned with foresight.
In fact, the feeling she had then was something she had sensed several times during her long life.
‘Right now… I’m not quite sure. I feel like something is off, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem right away.’
Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but remain on high alert.
After all, it was the aura of the Undead King’s “death” that she had felt a few times before.
“…Hmm?”
As she was on high alert, her body suddenly froze, and her gaze slowly shifted in one direction.
Staring blankly at the empty wall, Briki found herself…
In the next moment, right in front of Mulo’s office.
Knock knock knock—
“Mulo? Can I come in for a sec?”
Without waiting for a response, she knocked and barged right in.
“…Briki? …Welcome.”
Despite her sudden visit, Mulo couldn’t be angry, given who she was, greeting her with an awkward expression.
However, seeing Briki enter his office with a stiff expression, he could only harden his own face.
“Mulo? You’d better prepare for battle right away.”
“What’s going on? For you to come out like this…”
While saying that, he immediately ordered the nearby clan members to assemble on emergency alert.
Considering that she, usually so laid-back, was presenting such a demeanor, something major must be brewing.
“…Hmm, how should I explain this…?”
As Mulo rushed around, trying to figure things out, Briki, who had lightened up, crossed her arms and started pondering.
How could she explain her sudden unease when there was no solid basis and she had just been feeling anxious?
Of course, her intuition itself was a strong foundation…
“Hey, let’s just get ready and stop with the nonsense! Am I going to mumble empty words?”
In the end, she merely grumbled at Mulo.
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
In the direction Briki had been looking, near Rapella City—
The Blood Gate opened, and the vampires of the Yufershi Clan were quickly gathering.
*
“…This is quite unpleasant.”
That was the first impression Bisk Yufershi had upon crossing into Rapella City.
From that moment, his frown showed no signs of easing.
An unknown discomfort creeping up from beneath felt like it was tugging at the back of his neck, making it impossible to maintain his composure.
‘What is this? Why am I feeling this way?’
It felt like someone was watching, yet he couldn’t identify the source with his senses.
He could only feel frustrated by this unfamiliar sensation he was experiencing for the first time since inheriting his Pureblood status.
‘Is it ominous? Entering the territory of Brokoslac? …This Yufershi is more than capable to handle that!’
As Bisk was deep in thought…
“…Lord? Is there a problem?”
While busy checking on his vampires, someone approached him with a group.
The clan’s second-in-command, Theodore Yufershi, along with three other Truebloods.
“No, it’s fine. More importantly, is all the preparation done?”
“Yes, it is. Four Truebloods and forty-four Purebloods. All elite, so cleaning up Brokoslac will be a piece of cake.”
An elite unit comprised solely of Purebloods and higher from the Yufershi Clan.
Moreover, leading them was the Pureblood Bisk Yufershi himself, so they had the power to raid the Talia Royal Palace if they wanted to.
Certainly, given that the strong would be scattered and Brokoslac would be unaware and relaxed, there was no way they could handle this situation.
“No need for lengthy discussions. Head straight to Talia before they catch on, and clean them out by the end of the day.”
““Yes!””
Bisk forced himself to shake off the discomfort that continued to linger and focused solely on the goal.
Striking down the Lord of Brokoslac, who was in Talia.
And just as his orders finished up…
Flap—!
Rustle rustle—
A swarm of bats darted quickly across the night sky.
*
At a point between the capital Talia and Rapella City, several kilometers in the air, a dark figure floated.
Whoosh—
In the darkness, shrouded and watching over the ground like a deity, it was the Undead King Hans.
‘It seems they’ve started moving.’
The Brokoslac Clan, ruling from the shadows within the Talia Kingdom, was an important base for him in many ways.
Setting aside its symbolic meaning as the beginning of the Auterican dimension, being able to control a kingdom through Heinz held greater significance than expected.
Despite being a tiny nation in a border region, it was only natural to manage it with extra attention given its international standing, especially compared to Tarak, which housed Hubert and others.
Furthermore, it was also the center of the newly forming information organization, making its importance undeniable.
Heh— it’s finally beginning.
That was why the Undead King, having reached the peak of demonic magic, was personally hiding and waiting, observing the situation below with the “Eye of the Abyss.”
Normally, one would think it most natural for Heinz II to handle this situation, as Hans would typically avoid taking action.
The Undead King and his minions would draw unwanted attention merely by moving, while Heinrich wouldn’t be able to leave the holy ground freely.
Harley was presently dealing with monsters at the Steel Fortress, and Harris was far away in the Enamel Continent…
‘Not to mention Howard, who was just a novice craftsman, and Hubert, who was healing, of course.’
Moreover, if they unwittingly drew in other avatars into this mess, it could restrict their range of motion later on.
But…
‘It’s an unavoidable situation now.’
Indeed, setting aside such concerns…
With Heinz away, they were on the verge of their house being raided, and he couldn’t just sit idly by!
‘Still, now that there’s a causal link established with Harley’s ambush, I won’t be overly suspicious.’
Of course, there would be those who questioned how he obtained such intel, but he didn’t owe anyone an explanation.
‘But…’
Hans’s gaze shifted towards Talia, and he spotted Harley.
As always, our valiant warrior was… once again getting stopped by the capital’s guard for inspection.
It’s understandable to overreact to his distinctive appearance, but how many times was this now…?
‘If it weren’t for the church’s introduction letter, I might not have been able to move properly.’
Even in his stronghold of Tarak, seeing Harley often made many feel intimidated.
Let alone in a place where they weren’t accustomed to him.
He was literally overwhelming everyone around just by existing, so it’s no wonder they treated him with caution and stopped him.
‘…As long as it doesn’t interfere with starting my plans, I don’t care.’
Hans glanced lightly at that scene and then turned his attention back to the Bright Duke’s residence.
‘By the way, vampires have started gathering unexpectedly at the mansion. Did the Pureblood sense something?’
From the moment he detected the presence of the other side, he knew there was something special about them, living up to their name.
At that time, having moved through space, he couldn’t fully conceal his aura, but still, one couldn’t underestimate the ability to notice his presence.
That’s why he was currently hiding more diligently than usual.
‘This raises the odds of victory. I might finally get to assess the capabilities of those enhanced with “Refined Blood Essence.” Thankfully, with a Pureblood around, some balance has been maintained.’
He didn’t know when the Pureblood “Brokoslac” had arrived, but thanks to that, there were candidates to counter Bisk Yufershi.
Given that they were already outnumbered, if they had no Purebloods on their side, they would have been wiped clean, whether it was by those enhanced with “Refined Blood Essence” or with Harley’s intervention.
‘Then Hans has no choice but to step in now.’
He had wanted to avoid that as much as possible, so this was quite a satisfying development.
Immediately after, Hans’s gaze shifted quickly towards a swarm of bats flying across the sky.
Although there were four Truebloods and forty-four Purebloods— a terrifying force—
His eyes were fixed only on one among them.
‘…That scoundrel.’
This opponent wasn’t a Pureblood or a Trueblood, but was someone particularly special to him.
That was because this very one had turned Hubert into minced meat and nearly led him to death…
The red-haired, red-eyed assassin vampire.
Now in bat form, yet he had already burned himself into Hans’s eyes the moment he arrived in Rapella City.
To ensure he wouldn’t lose track of the scoundrel, no matter where he fled afterward.
Heh… Revenge is the sweetest fruit in the world. At last, the time has come to repay the grudge etched in my bones. Your fate has already been sealed, and struggling would be futile.
For a moment, the bat’s wings seemed to falter under Hans’s relentless gaze, but…
The scoundrel was currently hiding his presence more thoroughly than ever, so it was probably just his imagination.
*
“Ugh— these bastards are persistent. What kind of good citizen am I that they keep bothering me like this?”
Let go by the capital guard, Harley scratched the back of his head as he strolled through the streets of Talia at night.
Of course, his head had a newly crafted beast head instead of the tattered one from his fight with the dragon, so his hand just grazed the tough leather.
‘Oh dear, gotta be careful with this. Nearly tore the leather off my new fit.’
Harley stealthily lowered his muscular arms and glanced around leisurely.
Being a city ruled by vampires, there wasn’t much of a curfew, so even late at night, quite a few people roamed the streets.
‘It’s definitely more convenient to move around at night without a curfew.’
He enjoyed the fresh scenery while watching the passersby.
Naturally, those passersby couldn’t miss a chance to gawk at Harley.
“Oh my… Is that a barbarian? Or maybe a southerner?”
“Wow, I’ve never seen someone walking around like that!”
“What muscles… Shh, he’s looking this way! Don’t make eye contact!”
This scenery from the past, which he couldn’t see in his current base of Tarak, was now being reproduced here.
From whispers to furrowed brows and clicking tongues.
Seeing all this after a long time felt strangely comforting.
‘It’s refreshing to experience this again. Thanks to my heartfelt smile, such scenes have become rare in Tarak nowadays.’
Had he felt uncomfortable with those stares, he wouldn’t have walked around dressed like this in the first place.
Hmm-hmm!
Making a show of his bare muscular torso and tattoos, Harley confidently walked barefoot down the main road toward his destination.
As the night grew deeper and the human presence began to thin, he headed towards…
The Bright Duke’s mansion, where an oddly foreboding energy lingered, seemingly the same as usual.
