Free Web NovelChapter 14: 14: Level Up (2)
Even though he had not reached any true rank yet, his senses were sharper than a Rank Two swordsman’s. He could hear the small movements between trees, the soft pressure of feet on leaves, the sound of leather rubbing against armor, and the careful breathing of people trying to remain hidden.
Lucard raised one finger slightly.
"Do not speak loudly," he said. "Do what I say. I will be back soon."
Peter wanted to ask more, but Lucard was already moving.
Lucard jumped into a tree. His body disappeared into the darkness above the firelight. For an ordinary person, he would have been very hard to see. His clothes were dark, and the night hid him well. He moved from one branch to another, carefully controlling his weight so the branches would not make loud sounds. He went around fifty metres deeper into the woods.
There, he saw them.
Many people were moving through the forest with weapons in their hands. Some carried swords. Some held spears. A few had bows. They were searching in different directions but still close enough to help each other if someone shouted. From their clothes and armor, Lucard could tell they were hired men, not proper family knights. They were looking for Jenny and Jake.
Lucard’s eyes became slightly brighter.
He was excited.
Not because he cared about killing them for the Vardros family. He was excited because none of them sensed him. That meant they were not that strong. If they were not strong, he could kill them. If he killed them, he could absorb their blood. If he absorbed their blood, he could level up. To him, these men were not only enemies. They were walking blood bags for him with weapons and poor awareness.
Lucard crouched on a branch and watched their movements.
There were around twenty of them.
If he attacked openly, they might shout and alert the others. Some might run toward the camp. Some might surround him. That would be annoying. So he decided to kill them one by one.
The first man passed under his tree while holding a short sword. Lucard dropped down behind him without making much sound. Before the man could turn, Lucard grabbed his mouth from behind with one hand and stabbed the dagger into his throat with the other. The man’s body jerked. His hands grabbed at Lucard’s arm, but he could not shout.
Lucard pulled him back into the shadow and jumped with the body into the tree.
There, he used Blood Absorption.
The blood rushed from the man’s body into Lucard’s palm. The man dried quickly, becoming lighter and thinner. Lucard left the corpse across a thick branch where nobody would see it from below and moved again.
He killed the second one near a root. The man was bending down to check footprints when Lucard came from behind and cut his throat. He pulled the body behind a large tree and drained it.
The third one had a bow. Lucard threw the dagger into the man’s eye before he could speak. Then he caught the body before it fell loudly and absorbed the blood under the cover of darkness.
The fourth and fifth died together. One of them turned when he heard a small sound, but Lucard had already moved. He stabbed one in the back of the neck and kicked the other against a tree before cutting his throat. Their blood entered his body in warm streams.
Again and again, he moved through the darkness.
A hand over the mouth. A dagger through the throat. A body pulled into the tree.
Blood drained until only dry flesh remained.
The men never understood what was happening. Some saw a shadow. Some heard a breath. One man turned in time to see Lucard’s eyes before the dagger entered his heart. Another tried to shout, but Lucard crushed his throat with his hand before drinking his blood. The forest slowly filled with dry corpses hidden in branches, bushes, and hollow roots.
Lucard’s level rose.
[Blood Absorption Successful.
Level Progress Increased.]
He did not stop.
He killed more.
[Blood Absorption Successful.
Level Increased.]
He moved faster as his body became stronger.
[Name: Lucard Vardros
Level: 05
Current Rank: No Blood Circle
Skill: Blood Absorption]
More blood entered him.
His muscles tightened. His senses sharpened. His breathing became smoother. He could feel the blood path inside him becoming more stable.
[Name: Lucard Vardros]
Level: 06
Current Rank: No Blood Circle
Skill: Blood Absorption]
He killed three more in quick succession. One died from a dagger in the ear. Another had his neck broken. The last one tried to run, but Lucard jumped from a branch, landed behind him, and stabbed into his spine.
[Name: Lucard Vardros
Level: 07
Current Rank: No Blood Circle
Skill: Blood Absorption]
The remaining men finally began to understand that something was wrong. They called out to each other, but the answers did not come. Fear spread among them. Fear made their heartbeats faster, and to Lucard, those faster heartbeats were like drums telling him where to go.
He killed four more before they could gather.
[Name: Lucard Vardros freёwebnovel.com
Level: 08
Current Rank: No Blood Circle
Skill: Blood Absorption]
Lucard stood on a branch and looked down at the last few trails of blood on his hand.
He had reached Level Eight.
Only two levels away from Level Ten.
Only two levels away from the First Blood Circle, Mortal Vessel.
But not all the enemies died in the forest. Two of them had taken a different path and managed to reach the camp.
Lucard heard metal clash from behind. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
His eyes turned cold.
At the camp, Peter was fighting with the two men while Jenny and Jake stood near the tree in panic. They had woken up from the noise. Jenny held Jake close, and Jake held a small burning branch as if that could stop armed killers. Peter was injured, but he still stood between them and the attackers.
