#74
Brokoslac Clan (1)
Harris traveled east across the Ion Continent for several days with the elven kingdom’s delegation.
‘Having the Holy Church’s authority really makes crossing the continent seem like a walk in the park.’
As the Holy Church showed influence that transcended race and borders, with their endorsement, it was no trouble at all to gain passage in any region.
After visiting several shrines, the party soon arrived at the easternmost part of the republic nestled in the woods nearby.
“Uh… Aren’t we supposed to cross the sea?”
When Cecily questioned the ambiguous destination, Laforey smiled gently.
“Directly crossing the sea would be dangerous and time-consuming. Cecily, remember this: the roots of all the world’s trees lead to the World Tree, and High Elves are beings chosen by It.”
In simpler terms, it meant that High Elves could draw upon the power of the World Tree to travel to any distant forest.
‘Just like when I sensed Hans, High Elves truly possess remarkable abilities, don’t they? Or rather, it’s only natural given they’re using the World Tree’s power.’
Of course, the longer the distance, the more energy it would consume. That’s why they had come this far to minimize the distance.
Nevertheless, it even felt easier than the Holy Church, where long-distance travel was only achievable through the shrine’s gates.
‘Just the fact that only High Elves can use it makes it a meaningless comparison.’
There weren’t even ten High Elves among all the Elves; it wasn’t feasible to rely on them solely for transportation.
“Now, please follow closely behind me. Be careful not to fall behind the group.”
A refreshing energy radiated from Laforey, enveloping those around them.
And with Cecily and Harris positioned in the middle of the line to prevent them from falling behind, they followed Laforey deep into the woods.
“We’ll still have several days of travel ahead. There’s no need to rush now, so let’s take it slow.”
While they hurried back to rescue Cecily, there was no need to exert themselves on the return trip.
After all, Elves, being a long-lived species, were generally more laid-back.
And so, they began their journey across the dreamlike wooded path, heading toward the ocean.
*
Heinz II entered the capital of the Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent, Taralia.
Focusing to the extreme on activating Concealment to hide his energy, no one recognized his identity.
“It’s too expensive… could you discount it a bit?”
“What are you talking about! There’s hardly anything left at this price!”
Ordinary people living their daily lives.
It was a familiar sight of an ordinary city.
‘There are vampires all over the place, but… it’s not excessive, and they’re well hidden, at least.’
As Heinz walked along, he leisurely scanned his surroundings.
He could detect them due to his extraordinary senses and being a higher-level vampire, but their concealment was surprisingly impressive.
After all, no matter how powerful one’s influence was, this was a capital with a shrine of the Holy Church.
It would indeed be difficult for dark entities like vampires to operate openly here.
‘I’ll need to ponder how to shake them up. It’s still too early to storm their stronghold directly.’
The forces gathered there were formidable, plus they had been the power holders lurking in the shadows of this kingdom for ages.
Causing unnecessary chaos wouldn’t help his future plans at all.
Ultimately, he’d have to nibble away at them from the outside, provoking openings, but for that, he first needed to bring someone who knew their internal affairs to his side.
‘With Refined Blood Essence at my disposal, that should be easy enough. Let’s see if I can persuade a suitable vampire first.’
While it would involve a bit of force and coercion, it wouldn’t be a bad arrangement for the individual involved, either.
He had felt the enhancement effects a number of times while nurturing the Heterosis.
Just a single drop of his blood was akin to a miraculous elixir for vampires.
‘Ah, there’s a promising target over there. Let’s start with that one… huh?’
A vampire was detected, lying low at the second-floor window of a seemingly uninhabited house.
Yet, as he approached, he discerned that the energy emanating from them felt familiar.
‘What kind of trick did they use to make it faint like this? Wait, is it…?’
How many vampire acquaintances could Heinz possibly have?
Most had been wiped out in Azhantu, leaving only a handful behind.
Among those, any figure who would be on guard in a place like this would definitely be…
And upon getting closer, he confirmed that it was indeed a vampire he knew well.
‘Rosilika. So, you’re here.’
Rosilika, the one who had been his instructor when he first became a vampire.
After the incident involving the Undead King’s fragment theft in Azhantu began, she had gone off the grid, but it seemed she had been reassigned to the capital.
‘I thought she might have died in the conflict with the Church, but how is she still alive?’
It was said that a considerable number of vampires had been slain during that time of great strife.
Seeing her survive, having endured the many trials that began in Azhantu, it seemed her life was quite tenacious.
Heinz quietly used Transparency to slip inside the house where she was located.
“Haah~ What a life this is from midday. My skin has gotten rough recently; how long do I have to keep living like this?”
As he quietly infiltrated the house, he saw Rosilika grumbling to herself.
The room was dark, draped in black-out curtains, and filled with various blood magic barriers drawn with blood.
From the type that concealed the presence of those inside to auxiliary devices for easier surveillance outside, plus alarms and defense wards for intruders—it was all standard fare.
‘Of course, it means nothing to me.’
Using Blood Mystery to comprehend the barriers, he easily ignored them with the power of Concealment, approaching Rosilika from behind.
‘There’s a notification device that activates when the watcher dies, but it doesn’t have the function to relay real-time conditions. Well, that just works out perfectly.’
He lightly skimmed the barriers from behind her as he deactivated Transparency.
However, as he still kept his presence hidden, she remained unaware of his appearance and continued watching out the window.
“During the day, I need to sleep hard to keep my skin from deteriorating….”
“Rosilika.”
Her body jolted, freezing for just a moment.
“Sorry! I have a big mouth… uh?”
Turning around to apologize, Rosilika paled upon seeing Heinz’s face.
Since he had appeared after evading the barriers and knew her name, she must have assumed he was an acquaintance, but her expression showed she was startled to be confronted by someone she had never seen before.
“Uh… I’m sorry, but who are you…?”
But perhaps due to the previous circumstances, she maintained a tense demeanor and questioned him cautiously.
Given that her appearance and physique had changed dramatically, it wasn’t surprising that she didn’t recognize him.
“It’s Heinz.”
“Heinz…?”
He didn’t plan to hide his name, but she merely looked confused, treating him as a mere coincidence.
“Um, are you a guest of our clan?”
Feeling his overwhelming aura, perhaps she realized he was someone she couldn’t handle; Rosilika was maintaining a polite demeanor while still being on guard.
“Yes, a guest.”
“Ah! So, you’re not from this side….”
“I wasn’t invited, but—”
Just as he finished that sentence.
Shhh—!
Five tendrils of blood shot sharply at Heinz from her fingertips.
Simultaneously, her left hand extended, ready to signal an alarm in case of trouble, but…
“Cough!”
Already, the blood chains had shot out from all directions, wrapping around her body, thoroughly sealing her movements as well as the flow of her magic.
“No way! Could it be, Trueblood? …This is the territory of Brokoslac! This is a violation of the pact!”
In the face of the absolute disparity, perhaps thinking Heinz was another clan’s Trueblood, Rosilika shouted in panic.
However, Heinz was pondering something else.
‘Wait? This might just work!’
Being within the strong concealment barrier, he let a hint of the vampire’s presence he had been hiding slip out through Concealment.
With extreme control over blood and overwhelming power over Blood Magic, he extracted only the desired portion, revealing only a scant amount.
And Rosilika, sensitive to blood, instantly caught the scent.
“Uh…? Our clan? No, something’s off… Huh?”
He had aimed to pull out an essence close to the original, but it seemed impossible to achieve perfection.
Yet even that much was enough to throw her into confusion.
Taking advantage of her disarray, Heinz quietly spoke up.
“I am a branch of Brokoslac.”
And, as always, he started fabricating a story based on various plausible details.
In the world of vampires, there were several factions.
Some had broken free from the interference of Blood Dependency for various reasons and formed their own independent branches.
Though they shared the same root, over generations, differences began to emerge until they eventually became completely separate factions.
Recalling those factions, Heinz spun a tale about how they were merely offshoots from the same root and how he merely sought to take the lead as he had been persecuted.
He added that this was an internal competition, not an external invasion, and that he had no intention of harming the clan as a whole.
A veritable feast of nonsensical words.
Yet, since he had based it on actual facts and subtly used Blood Mystery to project a weak suggestion, she could hardly question the validity of his statements.
‘But then again, isn’t that technically true?’
After all, it was correct that his roots were Brokoslac.
“Um… I’m just a mere lower bloodline; why…?”
“I will grant you power if you follow me. You merely need to assist me a little.”
The reason for this cumbersome process was to minimize her resistance to his proposal.
The subjugation by Refined Blood Essence didn’t come with a mind-control effect.
“Um, I’m sorry, but I…”
She opened her mouth to refuse.
It was only natural for someone who had been holding onto their autonomy to hesitate before following someone they’d never encountered before.
“Ah! Just so you don’t misunderstand.”
But before she could finish her sentence, Heinz’s voice, laced with amusement, interrupted her.
“You have no choice.”
He had simply intended to suggest she willingly follow along and let it go.
Once she became subjugated by Refined Blood Essence, there would be no turning back, compelling her to follow even if she had no desire to.
Heinz’s hand reached toward the reluctant but somewhat pliable Rosilika.
*
Ultimately, Heinz was able to smoothly win over the disheartened Rosilika.
Despite still having a somewhat unwilling vibe, she appeared satisfied with the strength she gained from Refined Blood Essence.
The internal information she provided about the Brokoslac Clan was useful.
Of course, as she was still a lower bloodline, she didn’t have access to high-level information, but after spending a considerable time here, she managed to gather quite a bit of useful intel.
One of those bits was about the bloodline overseeing the surveillance network in the capital, Taralia, known as ‘Frigia Brokoslac.’
“Lady Frigia is quite peculiar; she often takes strolls during the day, you see. She seems to enjoy drawing the attention of humans…”
An immature noble lady who paraded around the capital, indulging in shopping adventures in her elegant attire.
That was the cover identity she presented as a bloodline.
“I’ve heard her surveillance range is astounding. If she’s in the commercial district, she can cover all the way to the city gate. In fact, she could watch over about half of the capital by herself!”
Recalling the description, he found it strangely familiar.
On the first day Heinz II arrived in the capital to enroll Heinrich in the Holy Church, he had encountered that bloodline and had no choice but to flee.
‘Ah… I remember now. She was the vampire who used Demonic Eye.’
He recalled the instance when she had suddenly appeared, accusing him of devouring fellow kin, and he had escaped through Summoning Release, urging to defer the confrontation for another time.
‘And now, we meet again.’
The memories of that moment flooded back.
While he had fled without any strong feelings of vengeance, neither did he hold any warm sentiment toward her.
‘Let’s have a bit of a reunion.’
A cold smile appeared on Heinz’s lips.
