NOVEL NEXT I never let my guard down. I never procrastinated.
I had no doubt that they would chase me with everything they had from the Luminous Kingdom Palace.
That’s why I decided on an escape route without delay, and aside from putting out the sparks flying towards me, I moved day and night without rest. I’m confident I made the best choice given the situation.
I thought there was nothing particularly wrong with my plan.
It wasn’t self-delusion; it was just that the options given to me were too limited to begin with. I was in an environment where it was impossible to do better than this.
So ordinarily, by now, I should have easily set foot on the Duchy’s land. Although I didn’t know what variables would put me to the test after entering, getting in shouldn’t have been difficult.
Yeah, ordinarily.
But it seems like I was lacking in self-awareness.
I thought I understood well how threatening a being like me, the Progenitor of Vampires, was perceived by humans.
Yet, my existence appeared to be even more hazardous and intolerable than I initially thought.
To put it concretely, the Greysia Empire, which despises the Luminous Kingdom that made the grave mistake of letting the Progenitor they had captured slip away, seemed to prioritize blocking the route to Sahelrn and hastily setting up checkpoints over eagerly tearing into it.
The result is right in front of me.
Right in front of the territory of Sahelrn Duchy, even though I can see it clearly with my own eyes, I can’t help but stop in my tracks at the sight of the soldiers standing guard.
As I halt, my hands start to tremble instead. The fear that I wanted to forget shatters my carefully masked composure, and the anxiety that I buried deep inside begins to rear its head like it has something to say.
“Get a grip.”
If I give up, I’ll really die. I’m not caught yet.
There might be at least one gap somewhere. I escaped once; surely there must be another way to slip away.
I kept a sufficient distance while observing the soldiers’ movements. From the looks of the chatting soldiers seeming bored, they didn’t seem very sure I would pass through here.
If they had been sure, they would have deployed a greater and stronger force to ensure they could kill me. In other words, they don’t know that I’m currently in the Empire and heading towards the Duchy along this path.
Alternatively, it could mean they couldn’t even pinpoint where I am, yet they have scattered their forces like that, but.
I don’t know if they’re setting up checkpoints at every border or if they just think I, being a Vampire, have a good chance of going to a Vampire nation, hence just doing this near the Duchy.
What’s clear, however, is that I cannot set foot in duchy territory unless I get past those soldiers, and the longer I take, the higher the chances they will pinpoint my exact location and strengthen their guard.
If even one body of Raul is found, they will surely think I’ve crossed into the neighboring Empire of Velag. Considering that, now would be the lowest point.
Realizing this made anger swell in me. So, humans don’t even know where I am yet, and still want to send out that many troops to kill me?
Why are they going this far against me? Does it really have to come to this?
Knowing it was a pointless complaint, I couldn’t help but vent my frustration over such absurdity.
I despise them for being so desperate to kill me. At the same time, I despise my own helplessness.
If I had power. If I had overwhelming strength so no one could hold resentment against me, I wouldn’t have to go through something like this.
I shook my head to throw off the negative thoughts that were rotting my hope.
There’s not even time to despair right now. As long as there’s something I can do to survive, I must struggle until the end.
Regaining my composure, the first thing I did was climb a mountain.
I didn’t suddenly feel like hiking. I needed to confirm whether they set up checkpoints only on this road or if they completely sealed off the forest path as well.
The result was a complete bust.
I hoped that if there was at least the slightest trace of humans not passing through the forest path, there might be a spot they left empty, but while there were fewer of them, it looked like humans were standing at intervals everywhere. I wondered if they were humans or wooden stakes.
It seems I only have the option of a frontal breakthrough. I’ve come this far thinking outside the box, only for the last remaining option to lead to such a simplistic and ignorant conclusion, it’s almost laughable.
After that, it took me approximately two hours to find the intersection where the surveillance was the most lax.
Lax, well, it just had a few less bodies, but I hope that difference is a significant variable.
Having completed my utterly unnecessary preparations, I crouched under a tree a little distance away and waited for night to fall.
The Progenitor can act under the sun, but after all, a Vampire is a Vampire; my condition is better at night, and there’s a tiny hope that it might become a little more lax if it’s dark over there.
In fact, attributing any significance to these things feels almost like praying at this point. But what can I do? I can’t stand the anxiety unless I do this to some extent.
*
When night had sufficiently deepened, I began to move.
The surveillance net stretched out like a web wasn’t thick, but engaging in a full-blown fight would be a foolish tactic.
The opponent was a proper soldier differing from the bandit scum I had fought so far, and the moment I was spotted, the web would surely tighten around me.
I had to break through the encirclement and run as far away as I could. I needed to get as close as possible to the land of Vampires. If I could at least step into the Duchy, they could no longer chase me.
I lowered my posture and, holding my breath, crept towards the soldiers as quietly as possible to avoid making a sound.
The target area was exactly the midpoint. I intended to slip through the soldiers standing in pairs about 100 meters apart.
If, by any chance, I could hide between the darkness and the trees and pass through, it would be a successful infiltration without bloodshed, but I’m not naïve enough to hope for that.
“Hey? Is someone there—Intruder!! Intruder spotted!!”
“…Ugh. Of course.”
Sure enough, the regular soldiers were regular for a reason. They moved almost soundlessly, but the moment one soldier who was about 30 meters away spotted me in the middle of the mountain at night, I dashed away with a sense of resignation.
“I warn you!! This area is currently restricted, and if you don’t stop, I can’t ensure your life!!!”
Damn it. Even if I stop, they’ll kill me anyway.
Seeing that I had no intention of stopping, the two soldiers closing in from the sides swung their swords at me.
Their blades descended diagonally from above.
It was quick of them to decide not to engage in lengthy conversation, but it felt quite apparent they intended to incapacitate me by targeting my legs.
Even if I’m pathetic, I can definitely dodge this.
I jumped up high as if doing long jumps, and narrowly avoided the two swords that skimmed beneath me. Apparently flustered that I had dodged, I caught a glimpse of the baffled expressions on the soldiers’ faces at the edge of my vision.
“Damn it, they’re running away!! Request reinforcements!!!”
‘Wait, this is way tougher than I expected.’
I managed to slip past the soldiers while evading the swords, but the feeling of those pursuing closely behind me wouldn’t fade.
Are all humans in this world like this? How can a person run like that down this dark mountain path while holding a lantern?
If I stumble on a rock, I’ll be crossing the Jordan River, but they’re closing the distance without hesitation, as if a dump truck is barreling toward me from behind.
Whether their speed is masked by the darkness, I don’t know, but the sound of footsteps chasing after me with terrifying intensity made me grit my teeth and increase my speed.
If I get caught, I’m dead. I will truly die.
They are certainly regular soldiers, but the level of the Empire’s regular soldiers is unexpectedly high. I don’t think I would lose against one or two considering my regenerative abilities, but the problem is time.
If I get pinned down while trying to fight, surely more soldiers will chase after me. The rumbling of the ground now is loudly announcing the presence of those pursuing me from some far-off point out of sight.
Swish—!!
Instinctively turning my body at the ominous aura swelling behind me, a sword grazed my side, ripping my cape.
“Ugh!”
That was a pretty successful evasion, but I couldn’t help but lose my balance.
Unfortunately, the soldiers chasing me weren’t incompetent enough to just watch as I took a moment to regain my footing.
“If you don’t stop, I will cut you down!!!”
A nasty one shouted while swinging his sword. He was already filled with intentions to cut me down, what a joke.
I instinctively realized that I couldn’t escape from the trajectory of that sword. I could roll on the ground and evade the first strike, but I wouldn’t be able to take both strikes from the two soldiers following right after.
“Damn you, bastards.”
Okay, then. I’ll let you hit me. That’s just fine.
Swearing, I quickly pivoted. Surprised that I would turn back in the midst of fleeing, the eyes of the soldiers wielding swords wavered.
“Are you surprised?”
I grabbed the approaching blade with my left hand and pulled with all my strength.
My fingers were sliced off as I did, but propelled by the recoil of the sword, I successfully changed the direction of my falling body.
Now my body lurched forward. Without losing momentum, I swung my right fist into the soldier’s jaw.
“Hey!!!”
Crack—!!
With a single punch, the jaw shattered.
The sight of my crumbling opponent made the other nearby soldier scream. At that moment, a blade pierced into my right lower abdomen.
“Ugh…!”
That hurt like hell. But my body and mind, accustomed to pain, weren’t weak enough to back down from this.
I grabbed the hand of the soldier who had the sword at my right hand.
‘Don’t even think about dropping the sword and running.’
Noticing something was off, the soldier who belatedly tried to distance himself realized he was caught, but thankfully my grip was stronger.
While holding onto the soldier’s wrist with my right hand, I reached out my left hand, now healed, grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him into my arms. I repeated this action, feeling completely familiar with it, and sank my fangs deep into the nape of his neck for a large drink.
After a few seconds of fierce thrashing, the soldier’s resistance weakened, and he went limp. As much as I wanted to drain him completely, time was running out.
Quickly, I pushed the still limp corpse away, ripped the sword from my lower abdomen, and threw it to the ground before stumbling and running away again.