Episode 123 The Ufersh Clan (2)
Visque Ufersh stood on a hill overlooking the capital city, having returned to his original form alongside his subordinates.
He stared down at the city with a twisted expression.
"Ha! So that's why?"
He had been feeling uneasy ever since they arrived at Raffella City, unable to shake off the unpleasant feeling, but now he finally understood the cause.
"Brokoslack... That ghost is still alive. And he's here, of all places?"
Faced with an unexpected situation, he concluded that this must be the reason for the discomfort he had been feeling.
It was much more convincing to think that way than to agonize over an unknown cause.
'Yes, it's possible if the opponent is also a Sacred Blood. I was feeling so uncomfortable because I instinctively sensed a rival nearby.'
He forced himself to accept it and smiled coldly.
He still felt uneasy, but it would be resolved once he eliminated Brokoslack.
"···Visque? Are you saying that 'Sacred Blood Brokoslack' is there?"
At that moment, Theodore Ufersh, who had been quietly standing next to him, frowned and cautiously asked.
They hadn't even considered the possibility of a Sacred Blood on the opponent's side when planning the operation, so this would inevitably cause a significant setback.
"Yes, that old relic is there, but..."
Visque, who answered nonchalantly, glanced at Theodore.
One of his eyebrows was slightly raised, showing his displeasure.
"So, what's the problem? With me here, what difference does it make if there's one more ghost? Don't tell me the elites of Ufersh are scared."
Theodore hurriedly bowed his head, sweating at his seemingly irritable reaction.
"N-no, sir. I was just concerned that unnecessary casualties might increase. According to the original plan, we were supposed to finish things quickly with minimal casualties and then proceed with taking over the Talia Kingdom."
Visque stared at the back of Theodore's bowed head for a moment, then clicked his tongue and turned his gaze back to the city.
He had reacted sharply because of the discomfort he had been feeling on the way here, but he had to accept some level of damage.
They didn't know what kind of defenses were in place at their headquarters, even though two True Bloods were away.
And Mulo Brokoslack, the former Lord, was a magic-specialized mage type.
There was no one more troublesome than a mage who was holed up in their domain and thoroughly prepared.
"Anyway, it seems like they've noticed us, so let's go in right away. We can't give them more time to prepare."
"Yes!"
It was as easy as breathing for vampires, creatures of the night, to infiltrate the city under the cover of darkness.
Nearly fifty shadows crossed the city walls quickly and stealthily.
____________________
"···Mulo? How are the preparations going?"
Briki, who was leisurely sipping black tea while sprawled out on the sofa in Mulo Brokoslack's office, asked casually.
Unlike her previous tense state, she looked as lifeless as wilted vegetables, making him wonder if she was really the one who came to warn them of danger.
Of course, the wise Mulo didn't point that out.
"I ordered them to gather as many external forces as possible and strengthen security. But it's difficult to respond without knowing what's going on, so for now, we're doing what we can…"
"Ufersh is attacking."
"···What? The Ufersh Clan? Why all of a sudden…?"
"Why are you asking me that when I just woke up? You should know."
"That's true… but this is truly unexpected."
He answered with a flustered expression and immediately informed all the clan members in the mansion of the situation.
If it was an all-out war, they had to gather together to avoid being picked off one by one, so he needed to assemble all his forces in one place.
And Mulo, getting up from his seat, hurriedly left the office, rubbing his eyes.
Briki was still leisurely yawning and following him, but he didn't have the time to care about her attitude anymore.
'I ordered the humans residing in the mansion not to come out until further notice, and there's a barrier in place for that, so it shouldn't be a big problem…'
The bigger problem right now was the fact that Ufersh, one of the top three vampire clans and the one with the strongest combat power, was attacking.
Their preparations were inadequate compared to them, who would have come fully prepared.
"So, do you know where they are now?"
Mulo asked Briki as he opened the door to the large banquet hall where his subordinates were gathered and entered.
He couldn't sense anything with his True Blood senses, perhaps because Visque, the Sacred Blood on their side, had done something.
He wasn't very good at detection compared to other abilities because he was a magic type.
"Ugh— Ah, that?"
Briki, who was stretching in the back, answered nonchalantly.
But her voice was much livelier than before, as if she had been re-energized.
"They just—"
As if preparing for something, warming up her stored energy.
"What?"
"—entered."
Crackle—!
The moment she finished speaking,
A hole appeared in the barrier surrounding the mansion, and he could sense dozens of vampires intruding.
Along with a murderous and hostile presence.
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"Well, well… To think you're still alive, Brokoslack. I thought it was about time you died."
"And you're still as rude as ever? Both you and the previous one. Is that a Ufersh tradition?"
"You seem to be clinging to life, so I'll help you close your eyes peacefully this time. Your precious clan will also fall with you, so you won't be lonely."
"You haven't changed at all, not listening to others. How can you be so unpleasant?"
Two Sacred Bloods, facing each other and exchanging barbs.
It didn't take long for those waiting in the large banquet hall and those who had infiltrated the mansion to face each other.
After all, Ufersh's goal was to wipe out Brokoslack and take their place.
'This is bad.'
While the Sacred Bloods were arguing, Mulo quietly gritted his teeth as he compared the two forces.
They had more numbers.
Even though they had hurriedly summoned those nearby, they were able to mobilize this many because this was their headquarters.
But the problem was quality.
'We only have a little over ten Purebloods, and the rest are all Fledglings. It's better than nothing, but…'
And they didn't even have Servants or Slaves here.
They couldn't use those half-baked individuals who couldn't even conceal their presence properly in Talaria, where there was even a temple.
'Even if Lady Briki takes care of Visque Ufersh, they have four True Bloods… This is hopeless.'
Mulo sighed inwardly and quietly raised his energy.
Actually, he had something he was counting on.
He was also able to benefit from "Refined Blood Essence" after joining Heinz's side, and he had made considerable progress as a result.
Thick blood magic power, emanating from his evolved bloodsucking factor, circulated throughout his body along with his heartbeat.
"So, who's your current Lord? I want to see how the clan was taken over… Hmm?"
Visque, who had been arguing with Briki and engaging in an invisible power struggle, noticed something, but…
It was already too late.
Whoosh—
The blood patterns hidden in the mansion glowed red, distorting the space.
The already large banquet hall expanded repeatedly, and a proper battlefield was created in an instant.
And the barrier strengthened the allies inside and applied debuffs to the enemies, reducing the power gap.
'It's good that I can expand the ability that was limited to my office to the entire mansion… but this isn't enough.'
Thanks to the barrier, the lower-ranking vampires were able to buy some time, but it was still not enough to face their True Bloods.
He needed additional reinforcements.
And he had a method he could use when receiving the barrier's support.
"Come to me. Freesia—!"
A pool of blood appeared in front of Mulo as he finished his spell.
And Freesia emerged from it, fully prepared for battle.
"Hmm, I didn't expect to fight them so soon."
She sighed and immediately prepared for battle as soon as she was summoned.
He couldn't summon both True Bloods because the monster forest was too far away, but this should balance things out a bit.
'All that's left is to hold out defensively until Lady Briki eliminates Visque…'
Of course, this was still far from enough to defeat the opponent.
But this barrier was something even a Sacred Blood couldn't easily break from the inside, so they could hold out for a while…
"Ha, yes. I was expecting it to some extent, but this is quite annoying."
A voice from nearby.
A pair of pure white eyes suddenly met Mulo's gaze as he was lost in thought.
"If I eliminate you, this barrier will also disappear."
Before Mulo could even react, Visque had moved in front of him in an instant and extended his hand to pierce his heart—.
"You're underestimating me, aren't you?"
Boom—!
Briki and Visque clashed head-on with a massive shockwave.
Mulo, who was able to escape thanks to her intervention, quietly wiped off his cold sweat as he folded space and dodged.
"···Right, I need to take care of this ghost first."
"Sigh, you really need to be taught a lesson."
Visque, who couldn't do anything because of Briki's interference even when the barrier was activated, gritted his teeth in annoyance at the repeated interruption, and she also raised her energy, not backing down.
As the tension between the two sides heightened once again,
Crack— Crackle!
A crack suddenly appeared in one side of Mulo's barrier.
"What is this?!"
Mulo, flustered again, hurriedly adjusted the space, his eyes twitching.
A hole was appearing in the barrier from an unknown external force.
No matter how weak the barrier was to external impact compared to internal impact, it was a barrier he had painstakingly set up, and it was much stronger than before.
Even if a True Blood attacked from the outside, it wouldn't be easy to break, but…
And while everyone's attention was momentarily diverted by the unexpected situation, a pair of hands with sharp claws and scales emerged from the crack.
And then, like opening a sliding door, they carefully started to pry it open from both sides.
Crackle—
The crack in the barrier slowly widened, and through it…
A hairy beast's head.
"Ugh, I didn't expect this barrier. I tried to tear it open as gently as possible, but I'm a bit late."
The beast's head… no, the one wearing a beast-like monster head muttered softly and pulled his body out of the crack.
The moment his large, muscular body entered, the barrier was restored as if nothing had happened.
It was a clean intrusion, not even straining the spell, to the point where even Mulo, who activated it, was flustered.
"What? Who's that?"
"···A barbarian? No, that arm…?"
Muscles rippling on his bare upper body, savage tattoos, dark red scales covering both arms, and sharp claws.
The intruder with a unique appearance scanned the surroundings with two eyes of different colors, shining beneath the monster head he was wearing.
And he confirmed that everyone's gaze was focused on him.
"Who are the bastards who dared to touch our Hubert!"
Harley, the attention-seeking barbarian berserker who came to avenge his friend, shouted majestically.
Crack! Crack—!
At the same time, chilling sounds started to emanate from his intimidating body, where muscles were tensed to their limit.
As if foreshadowing the violence that was about to unfold.
"Hubert?"
"Wait, what is he talking about…?"
Those who hadn't grasped the situation yet frowned, looking at each other.
Only a handful of people here could understand what was going on, from the intrusion of an unidentified individual to his words.
But Harley's gaze…
Was already fixed on the Ufersh Clan.
"Found you—."
His lips curved upwards into a ferocious smile, revealing beast-like teeth.
"It's you? The one who turned that fragile kid's insides into meat soup?"
His menacing, vertically slit pupils,
Landed on Klein, the vampire with red hair and red eyes.