Episode 122 Ufersh Clan (1)
Talaria, the capital of the Talia Kingdom.
"Ugh—"
Briki's nerves had been on edge for the past two days.
It was because of a presence she briefly sensed while leisurely spending time in bed in the guest room of the Bright ducal family's mansion, as usual.
'Was it just passing by? Just a coincidence?'
It was only for a split second, but her transcendental senses were able to clearly detect that ominous something.
It could have been dismissed as a mere illusion because it disappeared as soon as she sensed it…
But her intuition was an ability akin to a divine power, bordering on precognition.
And that feeling was something she had already felt several times before during her long life, wasn't it?
'Right now… I'm not sure. I feel something, but it doesn't seem like it'll be a problem immediately.'
But she couldn't help but be sensitive to it.
After all… it was the Immortal King's energy of 'death', which she had felt several times before.
"···Hmm?"
Her body, which had been tense, suddenly stopped, and her gaze slowly turned in one direction.
Briki, who was just staring blankly at the empty wall…
In the next moment, she was already standing in front of Mulo's office door.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Mulo? I'm coming in."
She lightly knocked on the door and then barged in without even waiting for a reply.
"···Lady Briki? …Welcome."
It was a sudden visit, but Mulo couldn't even get angry and just greeted her awkwardly.
But he couldn't help but stiffen as he saw Briki enter the office with a hardened expression.
"Mulo? It would be good to prepare for battle right now."
"What's going on? For Lady Briki to act like this…"
Even as he spoke, he immediately issued an emergency summons to the nearby clan members.
If she, who was usually so nonchalant, was acting like this, something big must have happened.
"···Hmm, how should I explain this…"
As Mulo was busily moving about, Briki, whose expression had softened again, crossed her arms and started to think.
There was no concrete evidence, and how could she explain that it was just a sudden sense of unease after being sensitive?
Of course, her intuition itself was strong evidence…
"Ugh, just prepare when I tell you to! Do you think I would say something for no reason?"
In the end, she just grumbled and scolded Mulo.
And at the same time,
In the direction she was looking at, where Raffella City was located—.
A Blood Gate opened, and the vampires of the Ufersh Clan were rapidly gathering.
_______________________
"···This is very unpleasant."
That was Visque Ufersh's first impression after crossing over to Raffella City.
His frown hadn't softened since then.
He couldn't maintain his composure because of the feeling of an unknown discomfort creeping up from beneath his feet and grabbing him by the back of his neck.
'What is this? Why am I feeling this way?'
It felt like someone was watching him, but he couldn't pinpoint the source even with his senses.
He only felt frustrated. It was a strange feeling he had never experienced before since inheriting the Sacred Blood.
'Is it ominousness? Because I'm in Brokoslack's territory? …Does Ufersh even care about something like that?'
As Visque was lost in thought,
"···Lord? Is something wrong?"
The one who had been busy checking on his vampire subordinates approached him with a group of people.
It was Theodore Ufersh, the clan's second-in-command and the mastermind behind this operation, and the other three True Bloods.
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, are all preparations complete?"
"Yes, they are. Four True Bloods, forty-four Purebloods. They're all elites, so we should be able to clean up Brokoslack in an instant."
The Ufersh Clan's elite force, consisting only of Purebloods and above.
And they were led by the Sacred Blood Visque Ufersh, so this was enough force to even raid the Talia Royal Palace.
Naturally, it wasn't a level that Brokoslack, who was scattered and unprepared, could handle.
"There's no need for long speeches. We head straight to Talaria before they notice, and we finish them off today."
""Yes!""
Visque forcibly shook off the unpleasant feeling he was still experiencing and focused solely on his goal.
On eliminating the Lord of Brokoslack, who would be in Talaria.
And the moment he finished speaking…
Flap—!
Flutter—
Countless bats quickly flew across the night sky.
_______________________
Several kilometers above the midpoint between Talaria and Raffella City, a dark figure was floating in the air.
Whoosh—
An absolute ruler, shrouded in darkness and leisurely looking down at the ground from the night sky.
It was Hans, the Immortal King.
'They've started to move.'
The Talia Kingdom, secretly ruled by the Brokoslack Clan, was also a very important base for him.
The symbolic meaning of it being the place where he first started in the Auterica Dimension was secondary, but the fact that he could control an entire kingdom through Heinz was more significant than he thought.
It was only natural that he had to manage it more carefully than Tarak, where Hubert and the others were located, since it was a country with international standing, even though it was a small and weak country on the outskirts of the continent.
And it was also the center of the information network he was currently building, so its importance was undeniable.
[Heh— Is it beginning?]
That was the reason why the Immortal King, who had reached the pinnacle of magic, was personally concealing his presence and waiting.
While observing everything below with "Abyssal Eye", as if monitoring the ground with a satellite.
'Actually, it's better if Hans doesn't intervene.'
Originally, it was most natural for only Heinz the Second to get involved in this matter.
Hans and his undead would attract attention just by moving, and Heinrich couldn't leave the holy land as he pleased.
Harley was currently busy fighting monsters at the Iron Fortress, Harris was in the distant Enamel Continent…
'And not to mention Howard, who's still a novice craftsman, and Hubert, who's recuperating.'
And there was also the concern that if he dragged in other avatars and a connection was created between them, it might restrict his future movements.
But…
'It can't be helped in this situation.'
Yes, putting all those issues aside…
He couldn't just stand by and watch while his house was about to be robbed!
'But since Harley has a causal relationship with this incident, being attacked because of his business partner, they won't be too suspicious.'
Of course, some might wonder how he obtained that information, but he wasn't obligated to tell them everything.
'But…'
Hans's gaze turned towards Talaria, and he saw Harley.
Their manly barbarian warrior… was once again being stopped by the capital guards and undergoing inspection.
He understood that they were overreacting because of his unique appearance, but how many times had this happened…
'If it hadn't been for the Church's letter of introduction, he wouldn't have been able to move properly.'
Even in Tarak, his base, there were countless people who were intimidated by Harley's presence.
How much more so in this place, where they weren't used to him?
He was literally intimidating everyone around him just by existing, so it was only natural that he would be subjected to surveillance and inspections.
'…It'll be fine as long as it doesn't interfere with the start of the operation.'
Hans casually glanced in that direction and then looked back at the Bright ducal family's mansion.
'Anyway, vampires are starting to gather at the mansion. Did the Sacred Blood notice something?'
He had already noticed something unusual about her from the time she seemed to sense his presence.
He hadn't completely concealed his energy back then because he had just teleported, but he couldn't underestimate the ability that allowed her to sense him.
That was why he was currently concealing himself even more thoroughly than usual.
'This increases our chances of winning. I can also use this opportunity to check the abilities of those strengthened by "Refined Blood Essence". Fortunately, there's a Sacred Blood here to balance things out.'
He didn't know when Sacred Blood 'Brokoslack' arrived, but thanks to that, a lineup to oppose Visque Ufersh was formed.
If they didn't even have a Sacred Blood on their side, they would have been mercilessly slaughtered, no matter how much they were strengthened by "Refined Blood Essence" or if Harley intervened.
'Then Hans would have had to step in.'
He wanted to avoid that as much as possible, so this was a very favorable development.
Hans's gaze then turned to a flock of bats flying quickly across the sky.
It was a terrifying force, with one Sacred Blood, four True Bloods, and over forty Purebloods, but…
His gaze was fixed on only one of them.
'…Is it him?'
He wasn't a Sacred Blood or a True Blood, just a Pureblood, but he was a special opponent to Hans.
It was because he was the assassin vampire with red hair and red eyes who had turned Hubert's insides into mush and almost killed him.
He was currently in bat form, but he had been clearly imprinted in Hans's mind the moment he arrived in Raffella City.
So that he wouldn't miss him, no matter where he escaped to.
[Hehehe… Revenge is the sweetest fruit in the world. It's finally time to repay the grudge I've engraved in my bones. Your fate is already sealed, so struggling is useless.]
It seemed like the bat's wings faltered for a moment at Hans's persistent gaze…
But he was currently concealing his presence more thoroughly than ever, so it must have been his imagination.
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"Ah— Those guys are persistent. Why are they bothering a good citizen like me?"
Harley, released by the capital guards, scratched the back of his head as he walked through the streets of Talaria at night.
Of course, since he was wearing a new monster head instead of the one that was tattered from the battle with the dragon, his hand only scratched the tough leather.
'Oops, I need to be careful with my strength. I almost tore the new one I just got.'
Harley subtly lowered his thick, muscular arm and carefully looked around.
Perhaps because it was a city ruled by vampires, there was no curfew, so there were still quite a few people walking around even though it was quite late.
'It's definitely more convenient to be able to move freely at night without a curfew.'
He leisurely enjoyed the new scenery and observed the people passing by.
Of course, it goes without saying that those passing by were also looking at Harley.
"Oh my… Is he a barbarian? No, a southerner?"
"Wow, I've never seen anyone walking around dressed like that."
"What muscles… Shh, he's looking this way! Don't make eye contact!"
The scenery of the past, which he could no longer see in Tarak, his base, was being reenacted here.
From those whispering to those frowning or clicking their tongues.
It was almost heartwarming to see those sights again after a long time.
'It's refreshing to experience it again after a while. Thanks to my sincere smile, this doesn't happen much in Tarak anymore.'
But he wouldn't have been walking around dressed like this if he was bothered by those gazes.
"Ahem!"
Harley, the attention seeker, subtly showed off his bare chest muscles and tattoos and confidently walked barefoot down the main street towards his destination.
It was late at night, and the streets were gradually becoming deserted.
Even the thugs on the street were stealthily avoiding him, and his steps were headed towards…
The Bright ducal family's mansion, where an ordinary yet subtly eerie energy seemed to linger.