Episode 124 The Ufersh Clan (3)
Mulo could immediately recognize Harley, who had suddenly barged in, because he had been involved in everything related to cooperating with Hubert's Trading Company under Heinz's orders.
Of course, there was something he learned for the first time…
'That arm, those seem like dragon scales. Don't tell me he's a Dragonborn? So that's how he was able to break through my barrier so naturally. I don't know how he found this place, though.'
And judging by the situation, it seemed like he had come here specifically targeting the Ufersh Clan.
The sudden support of a strong individual was welcome in this situation.
He put aside his complicated thoughts and started to think about how to utilize the current situation.
But there were others besides Mulo who frowned after understanding Harley's words.
It was Theodore Ufersh, who had ordered the assassination, and Klein, the Pureblood vampire who had carried it out.
"···Klein."
"H-Theodore! I completely erased all traces! Please believe me!"
"Are you trying to deny it when the one who came after you is right in front of you?"
Klein made a wronged expression, as he had truly acted meticulously as usual, but Theodore just glared at him.
He was already annoyed because the operation wasn't going smoothly, and now things were getting even more complicated because of his subordinate who couldn't even handle the aftermath of a mission properly.
The work they had done for a smoother operation had backfired, and he already had a headache thinking about how to explain it to Visque.
'Even if Klein was discovered, he came here through the Blood Gate. How did they find out we were here?'
It wasn't an ordinary matter that they were able to come here directly at this timing.
Unless Brokoslack had noticed something and prepared countermeasures in advance…
'Don't tell me touching Hubert was a blunder? Did they figure out our plan because of that? No, their preparations aren't that thorough. We still have the upper hand. Then what…'
Theodore, who had masterminded the entire plan, couldn't help but be troubled.
Of course, Harley didn't care what they thought.
Crack! Creak—!
Metallic sounds emanated from his extremely compressed muscles, and "Bio-Aura" and 'madness' burned like flames from his entire body.
Dark red dragon scales started to cover his glowing tattoos, and red and green lights flickered in his reptilian, vertically slit eyes.
"Haa—"
Whoosh—!
White steam, mixed with his exhalation, spread thickly.
All the cells in his body, which had already entered battle mode, were activated to their limit, continuously consuming energy and emitting steam along with a heat haze.
"Kuhit… Kkahahahat—!"
Madness consumed his body, and laughter burst out unconsciously.
The vampires' expressions gradually hardened at his hearty laughter that echoed through the space.
The surrounding mana, reacting to his emotions, fluctuated violently, and the madness scattered in the atmosphere synchronized with him.
"The one who did it and the one who ordered it… no, all of you who are in cahoots! I'll make you feel the consequences of touching our Hubert!"
Harley, the barbarian berserker, who was receiving everyone's attention, grinned ferociously and charged towards the Ufersh Clan.
And so, the vampire war, which had been momentarily paused,
Resumed with the addition of one Dragonborn.
____________________
Sacred Bloods were called the pinnacle of Auterica's vampires, but their abilities weren't well known.
It was because all Sacred Bloods were the progenitors of their respective bloodlines, and there weren't many left in this era.
Clans whose lineage had been cut off early became weak forces, and the clans where they remained for a long time became the current three strongest vampire clans.
Ufersh, Brokoslack, and Obaifo.
Among them, Ufersh was a case where the generational change of the Sacred Blood had been successfully completed, so if the other two bloodlines failed to inherit their Sacred Blood…
Their dominance would likely continue for generations to come.
Crackle—!
Of course, that was a meaningless assumption now that the two Sacred Bloods were facing each other.
The loser here would disappear into the annals of history.
Their fight was both static and dynamic.
- Visque reached out to grab Briki's neck.
- She cut his shoulder to prevent him from even extending his hand.
- He dodged her attack by taking a step to the side and cut off her leg as she followed.
- She aimed a blood spear at Visque's heart, timing her attack to coincide with his entry.
Crackle—!
The flow of time and causality were intertwined in their minds, and sparks flew from the clash of their presence and blood magic power.
"Oh my, what should we do? Your subordinates are being beaten up by that young man, shouldn't we go and help them?"
"Hmph, even so, your subordinates are too weak to collapse right away. Mine are competent."
"You have the nerve to act arrogant when you're only winning because you attacked first."
"Hiding your weaknesses and exploiting the opponent's openings. Isn't that the way of the world? It's the careless one's fault."
They seemed to be just standing there, exchanging barbs, but they had already been engaged in a fierce, invisible battle since the moment they met.
If someone clueless entered their domain, they would be turned to dust in an instant without even knowing how they died.
- Briki, who dodged Visque's attack, counterattacked and crushed his head.
- He instead burrowed into her embrace and pierced her heart.
- She extended her hand the moment Visque entered and restrained him with blood magic power.
- He didn't enter, but instead cut off Briki's extended hand.
- And she…
Throb—
"Ugh…?"
She unconsciously flinched at the sudden headache.
It was only for a split second, but it was fatal in their fight…
Crackle— Swoosh—!
And it immediately became reality.
Blood splattered, and Briki's right arm was severed, floating in the air.
But that sight didn't last long.
As if time was rewinding, the blood that had scattered in the air was sucked back into the severed section, and the severed arm naturally flew back and reattached itself, as if nothing had happened.
"Tsk…"
She massaged her right arm as she regained her composure.
Of course, it only looked fine on the outside, there was no way she could have emerged unscathed from a fight between Sacred Bloods.
By allowing that attack, she had suffered considerable damage to her essence, including her mental strength, life force, and a significant amount of bloodsucking factor.
The aftereffects would probably have a significant impact on the future fight.
"Heh… Brokoslack, I didn't expect this. You're pushing yourself quite a bit, aren't you?"
And Visque, who had finally gained the upper hand, smiled wickedly and looked at her meaningfully.
'If it were my prime, this would be nothing…'
Briki, whose weakness had been exposed, frowned slightly.
She had chosen hibernation to endure as long as possible, but her lifespan was already nearing its limit.
And her hibernation was also interrupted prematurely, so she wasn't in her best condition.
Her abilities had been drastically reduced due to various misfortunes…
She had unconsciously revealed an opening in the prolonged mental battle.
"But it's still enough to deal with a fledgling like you."
"Hehehe, your bluffing has increased because you're nearing your end. Do you think that'll work on me?"
As he said, there was a limit to making up for her lacking power with her perfected skills.
Mulo's barrier couldn't affect them, who were Sacred Bloods, so they had to fight with only their own abilities, and the scales had tipped significantly due to her recent mistake.
'I can hold out for now, but I can't guarantee what will happen as time passes…'
Briki, maintaining a calm expression on the outside, gritted her teeth inwardly and sweated.
She couldn't show a shameful side to the other children, so she resolved to do her best.
And while the Sacred Bloods' fight continued quietly on the surface,
There was a battlefield that was more intense than any other—.
It was where Harley was rampaging.
"Kkahahahat! You're tough! You're fun to tear apart!"
"Ugh, what a monster!"
"Don't push yourself! That strange energy he's using is weakening our regenerative ability!"
There were three True Bloods facing him.
All of them, except for Theodore, had rushed to stop him.
After several Purebloods who recklessly challenged him were torn apart, the three True Bloods were finally able to balance things out.
"Ahahat! Where are you going! Come here!"
"···Damn it!"
They had been trying to restrain Harley and avoid a head-on confrontation as much as possible, but there was a limit to dodging against him, who possessed high speed.
In the end, the True Blood who was in charge of the front lines because of his superior durability and regenerative ability gritted his teeth and raised his blood magic power again.
His entire body was already covered in blood to absorb impact, but he knew from experience, having clashed with him several times already.
Crack—!
"Ugh!"
That all these defenses wouldn't last long against those merciless claws.
The blood armor that had hardened and blocked external impact shattered, and the flesh inside was crushed, splattering blood.
But at that moment,
"Now… stay still, you monster!"
The blood that spurted from his body instantly turned into several vines, wrapping around Harley's body and firmly fixing him to the surrounding space.
'This won't last long, considering his strength…!'
But even those few seconds were enough time for his companions.
"Die!"
"······!"
A large, red demon hand reached out towards Harley's back with its sharp fingertips, and a silent attack sharply sliced at his neck.
Crackle! Splat—!
Tough dragon scales shattered, and blood splattered.
The True Bloods' full-powered attacks inflicted fatal damage on his body.
A large wound appeared on his back, exposing his bones, and his neck was half severed, blood gushing out like a waterfall.
If it had been an ordinary opponent… no, even if it had been a Dragonborn, there would have been a significant loss of combat power at this level.
But…
Crack—
Harley's body…
Was instantly restored as if time was rewinding.
"···Were Dragonborns always this fast at regenerating?"
"I would know if I had seen one before. …Damn it."
The True Bloods of Ufersh gritted their teeth, catching their breath.
His regenerative ability was even greater than theirs, True Blood vampires.
They didn't know much about the Dragonborn race because it was so rare, but they knew it wasn't this much.
"Dragonborn blood. Let's check it out… Ugh! Blegh! Ugh."
A True Blood, who licked Harley's blood that was splattered on his hand, frowned and retched.
"What is this? Is dragon blood always like this? This is even worse than monster blood!"
He had been expecting dragon blood, which was hard to come by, but his blood, mixed and altered with all sorts of things, was inedible.
Was monster blood actually better than this?
"Worse?! That's too much!"
Harley, who had fully recovered, grumbled in dissatisfaction at the harsh evaluation.
Who was healthier and cleaner than him!
Of course, he only ate meat because of his energy-consuming body…
'Anyway, three True Bloods are still a bit tricky. It can't be helped that I haven't fully digested the Mad Dragon's Heart yet.'
And the Ufersh True Bloods had higher average combat power than those of Brokoslack.
They wouldn't have stood a chance if they hadn't been strengthened by "Refined Blood Essence".
'Now that I'm strengthened… I can gain a slight advantage. But I didn't expect the difference in level to be this great. I understand why Brokoslack holed up in the outskirts even though they were one of the top three clans.'
They were only able to save face by taking over a small kingdom after a long struggle.
Harley lightly stretched and carefully scanned the surroundings again.
His gaze went beyond the three True Bloods who were tensely preparing for battle and checked the other battlefields.
The other battles were going much smoother thanks to him holding back multiple True Bloods.
Freesia, who was facing Theodore Ufersh one-on-one, was putting up a good fight against him, someone she wouldn't have been able to even face before.
And Mulo was smoothly pushing back over forty Purebloods, leading his clan members.
He could see the assassin, who was his first target, among them, but he would have to postpone his revenge for now.
But…
'Uh, but… is that side okay?'
In the battle between the Sacred Bloods, which could be considered the most important…
A crack that would determine the outcome of this battlefield was appearing.