Black Dragon Society (1)
Ugh, I can’t resist.
Heuk-Young clenched his teeth.
He never imagined things would come to this.
Instead of shaking the blood alliance that rules Korea’s underworld as planned, he ended up getting caught and completely cornered!
Who would have thought he would personally guide Phantom, the leader of the blood alliance, to the Black Dragon Society’s secret base?
The concentration of blood filling my body from becoming a vampire isn’t that high. But why? Why can’t I reject the compulsion!?
Most of the enormous amount of “Refined Blood Essence” used by Heinz II against him was consumed in breaking through his resistance.
In fact, the vampire factors that transformed Heuk-Young’s physical structure and bound him with blood chains weren’t that many.
Currently, his level as a vampire wasn’t very high.
According to Auterica’s standards, he barely reached pureblood status from being a lowblood, and even in Earth’s terms, he was only fluctuating between levels 4 to 5.
Considering that his combat power, nearing the peak, was on par with an 8th-level vampire, it would normally be expected that Heuk-Young’s identity, as a martial artist, would overshadow that from becoming a vampire.
But reality was the exact opposite.
For some reason, he couldn’t ignore the blood chains and could only obediently follow the orders of the one who put him in this condition.
Without being able to pull any tricks, he was earnestly trying his best.
Gah!
Ugh, Heuk-Young! Why are you doing this!
This energy… Could it be you’ve turned into a vampire? How could a martial artist at the peak be like this?
That was the result of the current situation.
A secret base turned into a mess due to a sudden ambush from allies.
As an assassin, he was an oddity in the Black Dragon Society, which mainly consisted of martial artists, but he could be considered next in line after the leader, the head of the Black Dragon Society.
Moreover, due to his job’s nature, he was well aware of the formations and traps set in the base and even knew the minor habits and weaknesses of those who were his comrades just days ago better than they knew themselves.
With him resolved to “take them down”…
Chaang!
What is the meaning of this? Heuk-Young!
…Lotus Sword.
Those who couldn’t even meet the bare minimum qualifications to face him were left helpless and knocked down.
Fortunately, they never intended to kill him from the start, so everyone was only at a level to recover after resting for a while.
Heuk-Young let out a small sigh.
A young woman, brandishing a flaming red sword, shouted while clashing it against his scythe.
Like him, she was a martial artist of the Black Dragon Society who reached the peak.
“Calm yourself, Lotus Sword. Don’t you know Heuk-Young’s current state?”
That can’t be. Heuk-Young, on the verge of transcendence, can’t defeat the corruption of blood and has turned into a vampire? How could that be possible?
“Indeed, even if Phantom was an 8th-level vampire, it wouldn’t be like this…”
A group of martial artists surrounded the two.
Among them, there was a middle-aged man in green attire holding twin halberds, a skinny guy in hip-hop fashion wielding dual weapons, a sharp-looking middle-aged woman draped in luxury, and a muscular man aiming a large bow from a distance.
They were all experts from the peak who had somehow kept the crumbling Black Dragon Society afloat.
What about the King of Demons? Is he safe?
He’s alright. Though he’s poisoned, he’s tough enough to shake it off.
…Is that so?
The young woman, Lotus Sword, took a deep breath at the response of the middle-aged man with the twin halberds and slowly stepped back.
While she had reached the peak level, she still didn’t have confidence in facing Heuk-Young one-on-one.
No matter how much he was specialized in ambush as an assassin, there were certainly differences in levels even among the peaks.
But if we five team up!
In reality, five might be excessive.
Unless Heuk-Young could continually carry out ambushes, now that he fully revealed himself, it would take just two to guarantee a win.
The seven of them, including those five, Heuk-Young, and the King of Demons, who fell first due to his watch duty, were even known as the Seven Dragons of the Black Dragon Society.
Yet they all stepped up not to defeat him but to capture him securely.
After all, there may still be a way to revert him back.
The fact that there hadn’t been any casualties until now also fueled that hope.
Surrender quietly, Heuk-Young. Then we’ll find a way to return you to normal. It’s also in your best interest…
Do you think I would listen just because you say so? If that were possible, I wouldn’t have caused such a ruckus.
Cutting off the middle-aged man’s polite words, the twin weapon-wielding guy stepped forward.
Now that it has come to this, the only thing left is to use our strength! We’ll beat you down and tie you up!
Hmm.
Hmph~ There’s some truth to that. Seeing Heuk-Young like this means the operation in Korea probably went kaput. We just need to subdue him and hold him until the head of the Black Dragon returns, right?
The middle-aged woman, adorned in luxury, agreed.
If Heuk-Young failed, then the operations planned by the head of the Black Dragon Society would have to be halted as well.
Since contact had already been made, it wouldn’t take long for him to return.
Given that, what they needed to do had already been determined.
…Alright. There’s no benefit in letting this escalate, so let’s wrap this up as quickly as possible.
As soon as the words ended, the twin halberd cut through the air sharply, aiming directly at him.
Tsk, I don’t like the idea of a joint attack, but it can’t be helped.
The sharp energy emanating from the dual weapons and the flaming red sword was the same.
The sharp blades emerging from the luxury clothing also exuded a dangerous aura.
Yet, in the midst of all the weapons aiming at him, Heuk-Young showed no reaction.
It wasn’t that he intended to ignore them.
It was simply that there was no longer any reason for him to step forward.
He gently closed his eyes.
Then…
Hmm, I suppose the leader is absent? Looks like the timing was off.
Suddenly— the air froze.
A third party’s voice with overwhelming intimidation rang out.
The peak martial artists, startled, quickly turned to look for the source.
There he stood.
Wearing a pure white opera mask, assessing each of them… being the main cause of the incident that just happened at the Black Dragon Society.
When?
How?
No one could tell.
No one knew when he had arrived or how he had deceived everyone’s senses.
And why hadn’t they noticed the overwhelming, blood-soaked aura that made their skin tingle until now?
Thud!
At that moment, a massive shadow dropped between the stiffened individuals.
No one there could mistake who it was.
Gung-ki…!
The muscular man lay unconscious, his body slack.
A member of the Seven Dragons, the comrade who had just been aiming his bow in the rear.
No matter how strong his focus was with the bow, how could a being of the peak be subdued without a trace of presence?
No, more importantly, how did we not notice anything until he became like this…?
A chill ran down their spines.
And instinctively, they understood.
The figure standing over there was unlike any transcendent being they had ever encountered.
It wasn’t just a higher level; it was something beyond that… the very essence of existence felt on a different dimension.
Hmm, everyone looks quite capable.
Heinz II quietly murmured, observing the frozen individuals with a critical eye.
Yet they couldn’t act recklessly due to their heightened tension!
However, Heinz wasn’t just sitting back and letting Heuk-Young handle everything while he quietly observed with “Existence Denial.”
To accurately assess whether they had worth to collect or how to utilize them moving forward, doing so was the most efficient method.
It’d be troublesome if they cause a ruckus and run away.
Even though this was a remote area of China, it was still part of the Buncheon Society’s territory.
Since he hadn’t even decided how to utilize the Black Dragon Society, it was unwise to attract unnecessary attention.
…But trying to make these guys into vampires is too inefficient.
He glanced at Heuk-Young.
In Earth’s world, converting a human into a vampire required a significant amount of “Refined Blood Essence” in addition to that.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Heuk-Young was stuck at that level.
If it were that easy, I would’ve raised not just Jin So-Ran but everyone in the Heterosis organization to level 8.
As individuals’ levels rise in comparison to the strength of their blood, the chains of blood would inevitably weaken, but that was an issue that had little impact on him.
As a Pureblood, his own level, along with various skills like “Blood Sovereignty” and “Subservient Control,” would support everything.
Well, it might be difficult to control if the purity is too low, so I guess I need to invest to that degree.
But investing beyond that would be wasteful for him.
Having already trained his internal energy and established martial principles, raising his depth as a vampire wouldn’t dramatically increase his combat effectiveness.
If anything, it would be fortunate if it didn’t throw off the balance and make him weaker.
While Heuk-Young, as an assassin, had a decent synergy with being a vampire, the others were a different story.
Then how could he efficiently utilize these guys…?
Clang—!
As if to interrupt his thoughts, a loud sound of metal echoed.
The twin halberds, powered by a surge of energy, swung directly at Heinz’s neck but were effortlessly blocked by a single finger, producing a sound that reverberated through the space.
The sudden offense didn’t end there.
Swish—
A dozen blades shot toward vital points like lightning.
Simultaneously, three swords sought to exploit openings and assaulted his exposed body.
A thick aura of murderous intent surged, tearing through the air.
Oh? Quite good.
Heinz nodded slowly.
Huh?
Cough!
What is…!
And in the blink of an eye, he looked down at those struggling on the ground, not even grasping why they had fallen, and smiled faintly.
Despite feeling the disparity, their spirit to resist was admirable, but lacking even the level to reach a heart’s sword, there was simply no way they could lay a finger on him.
Still, these guys are somewhat more skilled than I thought. Their attempts to sneak attack despite my intimidation are more than just the energy they carry.
He scanned those rolling on the ground with a strange gaze.
It was just that they had been easily subdued because their opponent was Heinz; objectively, they possessed abilities surpassing those of ordinary peak martial artists.
It seemed to stem not only from the influence of the system and their unique skills but something deeper still.
Come to think of it, Heuk-Young had been like that too. Even at his peak, just messing about with Harley for a while was impressive…
As he stroked his chin, Heinz reached a conclusion.
Indeed, these were talents too precious to simply discard.
If you think about it, the Black Dragon Society has survived for over twenty years within the Buncheon Society’s territory.
There must have been a reason that allowed them to persist through such difficult circumstances that necessitated migration to a foreign land, including the unwavering support from the martial artists returning to the martial arts world until the end.
This is a big catch, indeed.
Heinz grinned slyly as he furtively glanced at the avoiding gaze of Heuk-Young.
There was a good chance that this newbie vampire had several undisclosed secrets he hadn’t mentioned.
While forcibly trying to impose subservience without loyalty came with risks, facing such a situation inevitably would lead to a sense of irony.
I hope I get to meet that head of the Black Dragon Society soon.
This connection could greatly benefit him too.
Not merely as an opposing faction with Buncheon Society but also in overcoming another wall he had encountered.
