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Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Dark God\'s Territory (3)

So, strike when the time is right and capture them~.

Simply handing over information to bounty hunters and stepping back might seem like the lord is neglecting his duties.

But when you think about it, it\'s a natural course of action.

If the lord were to mobilize his soldiers, there would be costs associated with any injuries or deaths that might occur.

Why bother risking the soldiers when outsiders are willing to eliminate the problem for free?

It\'s the kind of attitude one would expect from a lord governing his territory.

"That is, if the fugitive actually exists."

Tarman and others scoffed.

"It\'s a trap."

"And it only shows up at night? Well, that confirms it."

"Are the cultists around here really that dumb? Do they think we\'ll fall for such an obvious trap?"

At that moment, Karnak tried to shift the atmosphere.

"Hey, isn\'t this actually more troublesome for us?"

"Hmm? Troublesome?"

"I\'m saying, let\'s think from the cultists\' perspective."

What if Tarman and his group ignore the information they worked hard to provide?

That would be like admitting that the real target isn\'t the fugitive. From the cultists\' point of view, that would give them a reason to be on guard.

And what if the group mindlessly walks into the trap?

Then it would confirm that they\'re just ordinary bounty hunters.

But even so, it doesn\'t matter.

That would mean that outsiders with no ties are venturing into a deserted area. They can be easily disposed of, and a large amount of delicious blood can be collected.

What if Tarman and his group really were the King\'s Order and knowingly fell into the trap on purpose?

Then they\'d be dealing with the King\'s Order in a favorable location on favorable terms, which they\'d have to confront anyway.

"Either way, it seems the cultists have nothing to lose."

A brief silence followed. The others hadn\'t thought that far ahead.

Inwardly, Karnak clicked his tongue.

\'These guys, I thought they were more meticulous, but they\'re actually rather sloppy, huh?\'

Well, the King\'s Order has only been established for less than a year. It\'s not yet time for them to have accumulated various know-hows.

"Damn it."

Tarman crumpled the wanted poster with a look of frustration.

"We won\'t be able to use the method of finding wanted men anymore."

Cald asked with a grim expression.

"So what do we do, Captain?"

Should they ignore it? Or should they go even though they know it\'s a trap?

After a moment of contemplation, Tarman glanced at Karnak and then relaxed his expression.

"Come to think of it, we\'re pretty lucky."

Originally, this mission was assigned to just Tarman, Cald, and Alice.

If it were just the three of them walking knowingly into a vampire\'s lair?

"It wouldn\'t be impossible, but we couldn\'t ignore the risk either."

But now they have Karnak and his group, or more precisely, the aura user Serati.

Even as a novice of the King\'s Order, her actual combat abilities are top-class.

"Let\'s fall into the trap."

***

That evening, Tarman and his group gathered in a cabin on the outskirts of the village. It was the so-called hideout of the \'nonexistent fugitive\' that the Count Brelant\'s household had informed them about.

Sitting on any random chair, Tarman muttered.

"Now we just have to wait until the sun sets."

Everyone began preparing for the upcoming battle while resting.

Watching them, Serati had some doubts.

\'They\'re too relaxed.\'

No matter how much they trust her as an aura user, they seemed overly at ease. It was as if they didn\'t think they were in any danger at all.

\'Are vampires really such an easy opponent?\'

So she discreetly asked Tarman.

"How strong are vampires?"

Tarman chuckled.

"They\'re not something Dame Serati needs to worry about."

Vampires become several times stronger than when they were human. Moreover, as they continue to drink blood and grow stronger, they can even wield their unique blood magic.

"In short, they only get a few times stronger than they were as humans. Some who have consumed a lot of blood might exhibit abilities beyond those of a first-class knight, but...."

Even so, it\'s not enough to pose a significant threat to the current group\'s strength.

"The key is how many there are...."

This can also be roughly estimated by the number of people who have gone missing. After all, they must have drained their blood.

It\'s similar to estimating numbers through supply.

"Even if there are a lot, I doubt there are more than ten. That\'s why I judged it wasn\'t a big threat. That\'s also why I chose to deliberately fall into the trap."

Serati was puzzled.

"Aren\'t older vampires significantly stronger?"

Among the adventure stories she had read, there were even lord-level vampires who had lived for hundreds of years.

Cald and Alice chuckled at this.

"Oh, sure, in adventure stories, they come out like that, but...."

"In reality, such vampires can\'t possibly exist, can they?"

A lord-level vampire who has consumed blood for hundreds of years would indeed be an incredible monster.

But really, could such a vampire drink blood for hundreds of years without being discovered?

"They usually get found out and killed long before that happens."

"R-Really?"

Vampires, unlike other monsters, can\'t grow stronger in secluded areas. Due to their need to drink human blood, they inevitably leave traces within human living spaces.

Surviving for hundreds of years while feeding on blood every day?

For this to be possible, two premises would be necessary.

First, the very existence of vampires would need to be dismissed as mere legend.

Second, superhuman abilities like battle aura, mana, or divine power would need to be either nonexistent or extremely rare.

What if everyone acknowledged that vampires exist, and the world was full of ways for humans to gain powers greater than those of vampires? If both hunters and vampires could use similar abilities?

"Then they\'d just be criminals who can\'t even move around in daylight and have to steal blood constantly, wouldn\'t they? And they\'d have to commit crimes regularly, too."

"They might survive for a few years, but there\'s no way they could last for hundreds of years like that."

"That\'s why all the old vampires have already disappeared."

"But it\'s also hard to completely eradicate vampires."

"Vampires are like an endemic disease; no matter how hard you try to exterminate them, they\'ll always reappear somewhere."

Serati felt a bit embarrassed by Cald and Alice\'s explanation. As expected, the stories were different from reality.

But she still had some lingering questions.

"What about aura users or mages becoming vampires? Wouldn\'t they still be strong even as vampires?"

Apparently, that wasn\'t the case either.

According to Tarman, there\'s no particular benefit for aura users, mages, or clerics in becoming vampires.

"They can\'t use aura or mana once they become vampires. In fact, they become weaker."

Different types of energy don\'t mix.

No matter how powerful an aura user or mage is, once they become a vampire, they lose their aura and mana.

They have to start over as an ordinary vampire, slowly building up mana of darkness from scratch.

It was no wonder their attitudes were so relaxed.

Existing vampires, no matter how long they\'ve been around, haven\'t survived more than ten years. Those younger than that have clear limitations, regardless of their previous strength as humans.

"Dame Serati, you seem to know little about vampires?"

"I\'ve only heard stories, never faced one myself...."

"Then we should enlighten you a bit."

Although vampires might seem easy to deal with, they still shouldn\'t be underestimated.

As experienced seniors, Tarman and others shared various insights.

"The most effective method is divine power, of course. Or holy relics from the Churches of the Seven Goddesses imbued with divine power."

This isn\'t just a weakness for vampires but for all undead.

"Sunlight is obviously a famous one...."

"The idea that they\'re weak to silver is incorrect. More precisely, they\'re weak to holy silver. Silver is simply the metal most capable of carrying divine power."

However, there was one thing even they weren\'t too sure about.

"As for garlic, it\'s a bit ambiguous."

"Everyone who\'s encountered vampires seems to have slightly different opinions on it."

Vampires fear garlic.

Garlic is completely useless. The idea that vampires fear garlic is nothing but foolish superstition.

Vampires dislike garlic, but it doesn\'t cause them any real harm, and so on.

"Even within the King\'s Order, opinions on this are divided. No one knows for sure what\'s true."

At that moment, Serati suddenly remembered.

\'Wait, there\'s an expert right next to me, isn\'t there?\'

There was no need to be curious anymore. She could just ask Karnak.

[What\'s the truth?]

[Well, uh....]

Karnak replied ambiguously.

[You could say it\'s effective, or you could say it\'s not.]

[What?]

[You know how vampire hunters sometimes cover themselves in garlic juice or wear it around their necks? From a vampire\'s perspective, it feels like this.]

A crazy person charges into battle, covered in excrement.

Or they wear something disgusting around their neck while wildly swinging a sword.

[It\'s a bit gross, but you get the idea, right?]

Serati was taken aback.

[...Regardless of whether it\'s strong or weak, they definitely wouldn\'t want to get close.]

That\'s why opinions vary even within the King\'s Order.

Vampires, too, have different thresholds for disgust.

Some would avoid it simply because it\'s dirty, not because it\'s scary, and would just flee. Others might grit their teeth and ignore it, while some might get even more enraged and go on a killing spree.

[Still, there\'s no harm in having it on hand since it\'s not completely ineffective.]

In fact, Tarman and his group had already stocked up on a handful of garlic. In a pinch, they could throw it to create an opening.

Tarman let out a hearty laugh.

"The King\'s Order, after all, is the kingdom\'s elite, no? While we should remain vigilant, there\'s no need to be overly tense about a group of vampires."

***

While they were leisurely resting, the sun began to set.

Before they knew it, day had turned to night, and darkness had fallen. The sunset quickly disappeared, leaving the world in darkness.

Suddenly, Karnak sent a telepathic message.

[They\'re coming. Let them know.]

Following the order, Serati spoke up.

"Shouldn\'t we start getting ready?"

Tarman, who was meditating, looked puzzled. The cleric Alice had yet to give any warning.

"Did you sense something, Dame Serati?"

"No, it\'s not that. I just have a bad feeling."

At this, not only Tarman, but also Alice and Cald\'s expressions changed.

"You can\'t ignore an aura user\'s intuition."

"Indeed."

This was the reason Karnak had deliberately had Serati speak up.

It would be suspicious if an ordinary mage noticed the approach of vampires that even a cleric couldn\'t detect.

But with Serati, it didn\'t matter.

Aura users\' intuition is so vague that everyone just accepts it as it is.

Rising from his seat, Tarman grabbed his magic wand.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

The others also armed themselves and heightened their senses.

How would the vampires attack?

The ceiling? The walls? The windows?

Or perhaps they would shoot something like fire arrows from afar. After all, it\'s the sun that vampires fear, not fire.

As they kept their guard up, tension thick in the air, something happened.

Suddenly, Alice\'s face turned pale.

\'This energy...?\'

At the same time, the cabin exploded!

Boom!

An enormous amount of light struck the cabin directly, blowing it apart.

Though small, the entire house collapsed in an instant.

Crash...!

Dust and debris from the shattered wooden planks filled the air.

Out of the chaos, six figures burst forth. Thanks to Alice\'s divine protection, everyone was unharmed.

"What the hell was that?"

"Are vampires really this powerful?"

Tarman and his group were shocked.

The power of that strike was something only a decent aura user or a high-ranking mage could exhibit.

As they rushed into the yard, they found themselves facing ten vampires, their eyes glowing red.

One figure, in particular, stood out among them.

"So, it was the King\'s Order after all."

At the front of the group was a man in his mid-thirties, brandishing a sword with a blade that glowed red.

"There\'s no way mere bounty hunters could have avoided that strike."

Holding his blood-red aura sword, he began to advance slowly.

The red aura vibrated through the air, emitting a chilling, ominous sound.

Whomp, whomp, whomp!

Serati glanced over at Tarman.

"Um, Lord Tarman?"

Tarman had definitely said that there was nothing special about aura users who became vampires.

That they couldn\'t use their original aura, and would have to start from scratch if they wanted to regain power.

"Then what is that?"

Tarman frowned.

"...What the hell is going on here?"

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