Free Web NovelChapter 127: The path to redemption (4)
Two hours north on foot — that’s how far Don Dargot’s manor is, according to the elderly village chief. But for a vampire of Levreeshka’s caliber, it’s barely a twenty-minute walk at a brisk pace.
Before her rises the enormous white manor she had been told about, surrounded by a vast garden enclosed within a low stone wall.
All around the estate, Don Dargot’s henchmen stand guard, patrolling the perimeter.
The darkness works in the vampire’s favor. Even though she isn’t particularly far from the manor and has nowhere to hide, simply keeping about fifty meters away is enough to render her completely invisible to Don Dargot’s men. In contrast, her night vision allows her to see everything with perfect clarity.
Using the cover of night is precisely why she chose to move immediately after dinner instead of resting and waiting for dawn.
Not that she doubts she could succeed even in broad daylight, but after spending more than fifteen years devising strategies even for battles that never truly required them, planning regardless of the circumstances has long since become second nature to her.
"It’s time to draw the big fish out into the open."
A silent torrent of blood erupts from Levreeshka’s mouth. Then another. And another still, until a vast crimson pool spreads across the ground. In the blink of an eye, that lake of blood transforms into a small army of roughly fifty primordial vampires.
"Go, my little ones. Feast on the flesh of these pathetic humans and raze this place to the ground — I don’t want a single brick left standing!"
At her command, the primordial vampires charge toward Don Dargot’s manor. By the time the thunderous sound of their footsteps alerts the patrolling guards, it is already far too late.
Horrified screams tear through the stillness of the night, while the torchlight hanging from the surrounding wall fails to provide enough visibility for the men to defend themselves against the swift assaults of those feral, starving monsters.
"W-We’re under attack! I repeat, we’re under attack! Monsters are attacking us!" one of the men screams, carving a deep gash into the primordial vampire’s shoulder with a desperate swing of his sword.
And yet, only a moment later, the wound has already regenerated completely.
"W-What the fuck are those things?! Why won’t they die?!" another screams, moments before a savage slash of claws tears across his face.
The men are slaughtered and devoured one after another without being able to put up even the slightest resistance — partly because of the darkness, and partly because they have absolutely no idea what they are fighting against.
Levreeshka watches the massacre from a safe distance, enjoying every second of it, when the wind around her suddenly begins to grow fiercer.
A pleased grin slowly spreads across her face.
"There you are."
An instant later, a violent hurricane erupts from the center of the manor’s garden, engulfing most of the primordial vampires and tearing them to pieces.
When the raging winds finally die down, two men stand at the center of the garden. The first is a short, overweight man dressed in a nightshirt. The second is a warrior clad in the full armor issued to the soldiers of the Royal Guard.
The armor is forged from a metallic alloy made by combining iron and carbon created through alchemical magic.
The result is an armor both exceptionally light and incredibly durable. Beneath it, a layer of nexthal chainmail.
It doesn’t take Levreeshka long to figure out which of the two is Don Dargot and which is his feared bodyguard.
The handful of primordial vampires that survived the hurricane hurl themselves ferociously at the two men, but Tristan isn’t caught off guard.
"Elemental Invocation ● Air: Wind Blades!"
Tristan’s spell erupts in every direction, shredding the primordial vampires before they can even reach him. A gruesome rain of severed limbs and mangled flesh crashes down around them.
"The old village chief was right — that elemental mage really knows his craft. They really are right — time never passes when you travel alone... though it seems I’ve finally found something to relieve the boredom."
Levreeshka rolls her shoulders as she advances toward them with light, relaxed steps, her crimson whip tightly gripped in her hand.
"Now that I think about it... it’s been over a month since I’ve had a real fight — I hope I haven’t gotten too rusty."
"W-What the hell are those monsters?!" Don Dargot blurts out.
"Primordial vampires — creatures believed to have gone extinct thousands of years ago," Tristan replies.
"Well, they don’t look very extinct to me! Tomorrow morning, send for some of those starving peasants from the nearby villages and have them clean up this mess. Now that you’ve taken care of the problem, we can finally head back inside — all this commotion has worked up quite an appetite."
"Unfortunately, I’m afraid dinner will have to wait. Tonight’s troubles are not over yet," Tristan replies, his gaze fixed on the darkness ahead of them.
"What do you mean the trouble’s not over yet?! Are there more of those monsters nearby?!"
Don Dargot doesn’t even have time to finish his question before two crimson eyes begin glowing within the darkness. A moment later Levreeshka’s silhouette emerges before them, illuminated by the trembling torchlight.
"T-Those eyes... you’re a vampire, aren’t you?! How dare a filthy red-eye set foot in my territory?!" Don Dargot snarls, his face red with rage. "So... you’re the one who unleashed those monsters on us, huh?! You filthy whore, now you’ll pay for daring to invade my property and kill my men!"
"Try calming down, you bloated thief — I’d hate for you to have a heart attack," Levreeshka mocks him without even sparing him a glance. Her attention is entirely fixed on the armored man standing silently at his side, waiting for an order.
"H-H-HOW DARE YOU?! No one speaks to me that way and gets away with it! Tristan, what are you waiting for?! Teach this vampire the lesson she deserves!" freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"At your command, Don Dargot."
