NOVEL NEXT I shuddered at the taste of hot, sweet fresh blood after such a long time.
Ahh, it feels like my brain is melting. Ever since I left the duchy, I’ve had to settle for cold blood stored in a container, so this is the first real meal I’ve had in ages.
My mind understood that I needed to restrain myself to leave no trace. However, I couldn’t help but feel a fear that, while suppressing my bloodsucking urges, my goal of becoming strong enough that no one could threaten my life had also come to a halt.
But at last, I could be freed from this fading terror.
I feel alive. I feel assured that I am moving forward.
Vitality starts coursing through my entire body. Relishing the ecstasy, I quietly and swiftly drained the blood from the veins of the two guards.
Once I was done with the appetizers, I naturally turned my gaze toward the main dish.
Despite the sentries at the entrance being eliminated, the inside of the fence remains eerily calm. There were surely people outside the tent, but it appeared that no one noticed my quiet meal.
However, unlike the guards who had stayed detached, once I entered, there would be no assassinations or anything of the sort. It would simply be a fight to the death—or until one of us decided to flee.
Well, there’s no assassination without witnesses, right?
From here on out, it’s a straight-up showdown. I dashed toward the front door without hesitation.
“Huh? Who—”
I snapped the neck of a human sitting cluelessly in front of the campfire.
Crack!
As the chilling sound echoed, they finally grasped the situation.
“An intruder!! An intruder has appeared!!!”
“Emergency! Wake everyone up!!”
While snapping necks might be the cleanest method, I didn’t solely rely on that approach.
I had to reduce the number of defenseless humans before those inside the tent could prepare and join the fight. I launched myself towards the nearest enemy.
—Don’t stop the flow, trust your instincts.
I recalled Martini’s teachings. Aside from basic movements, I never trained systematically in martial arts under Martini, but I remembered how she had utterly smashed my body.
Back then, I had simply endured through sheer grit, not wanting to show weakness, but now, I understand.
If I had learned how to fight through knowledge and technique, I would have been oblivious. But having experienced and adapted to countless situations and outcomes, I’ve come to see clearly.
My body remembers how to respond in such scenarios and how to move efficiently to pose a nuisance to my opponent.
The only difference is that the enemies in front of me are not Martini Sahelrn. Unlike when I was beaten to a pulp, with no choice but to struggle not to die, the foes before me aren’t the mightiest vampire.
I smash skulls with my fists, rip flesh with my fangs, and trample over anyone who gets in my way, crushing them like squished apples.
Considering they’d regenerate anyway, I was prepared to scale the weight at any time except for the heart and neck, but there was no need. The fight felt almost bland and overwhelmingly one-sided.
“What a monstrous bitch…”
Fear reflected in their eyes.
I didn’t show them the sight of me drinking blood or my body regenerating immediately. What they saw, while somewhat brutal, still fell within what a human could do; hence, they likely didn’t know I was a vampire.
Yet still, the look in their eyes as they gazed at me was not that of a human.
“…weak.”
The area was already drenched in blood. In less than two minutes, I had taken down about twenty of them.
To be honest, I was a bit bewildered. What on earth were they trying to accomplish?
This wasn’t sarcasm but genuine confusion.
Of course, I underestimated them, so I initiated a fight, but wouldn’t these humans pick up their weapons because they considered themselves skilled in combat? It was one thing to hide, but I had predicted that outfitting a militia wouldn’t be easy.
Yet it was too easy. Having just started with an ambush, this was far too effortless compared to the tension I felt.
I thought I’d have to brace for slight injuries like I had when fleeing from the imperial army, but as the opponents fell like dominoes, doubts arose whether this was a trap to draw me in instead.
Yeah. There’s no way this can end here.
And at that moment, as if in response to my doubts, a gigantic man appeared from the opposite tent.
“Hey you!! Do you have any idea where you are?!”
Not just a gigantic man, but a chubby guy who emerged behind him, squawking loudly. From the look of his clothes, he seemed to have a bit of money.
Was that guy the head of this slave trade organization? I felt my tension rise watching the slave trader’s attitude as he bellowed despite the carnage around him.
Of course. The ones I had just faced were probably non-combatants or fodder.
With reinforcements still pouring in, the enormous man blocking my path radiated a completely different level of intimidation.
He looked to be at least two meters tall, with shoulders broad enough to shatter a door. The thick, muscular arms wielded a massive axe, roughly the size of me.
No doubt about it. That guy’s the boss. I instinctively realized that he was the most powerful weapon wielder guarding this organization.
“Weaklings, stay back.”
With a deep voice, the humans who had been stiffly pointing their swords at me quickly backed away. It was comically cliché, but the massive presence added considerable pressure.
He doesn’t want to be hindered while swinging that huge axe. If that’s the case, there’s no reason for me to wait around, right?
I immediately kicked off the ground and dashed toward him.
The distance between us vanished in an instant. Perhaps I appeared surprisingly fast to him as his eyes widened, but before he could assume a proper stance, I slipped under the reach of the axe.
The sound of the blade cutting through the air reached my ears; I ducked low and rolled forward, dodging his horizontal swing.
The axe blade just grazed over my head. Using my hands to touch the ground, I launched a kick toward the giant’s face, utilizing the momentum.
There’s no way this ends here. I recalled my training with Martini and strategized my next move.
He wouldn’t have enough time to recover the axe and block my attack due to the angle of his swing. Tilting his head to the left would risk losing his balance, without a doubt.
For him, retreating for a breath and then counterattacking would probably be his best bet.
In that case, I’d decide the next move—
WHACK!!!
‘…Huh?’
Unlike my expectations, no counterattack came until I found my footing again.
What the hell? This…is real?
I stood dumbfounded at the absurdity of the situation, but no matter how much I doubted my eyes and looked again, the scene remained unchanged.
The giant, still gripping the massive axe, was crashing down, half of his skull smashed in.
Only then could I grasp reality.
That satisfying impact I felt on my toes just moments ago. The man I thought would be the strongest here had dropped dead from my single strike.
Was he not faking it? Did he actually suck?
Compared to the atmosphere and scent, he must’ve been the strongest among this slave trader’s crew.
But to come in radiating all this dominance and be taken out in one go? Is this what it means?
I guess it is, right? He wasn’t trying to commit suicide just to startle me.
Well, regardless of his intentions, I was certainly taken aback, but a chance is a chance.
The enemies were in disarray. Whether from negligence or fear, the toughest foe I expected had exited stage left, leaving me with no worries.
“Run—”
“I surrender! I surrender! Please spare me—”
From there, it was a one-sided massacre.
Those who had the courage to challenge me.
Those who charged at me in despair.
Those begging for their lives.
Those who threw away their weapons and fled.
There was no easier opponent than a group of demoralized rabble.
Focusing on the ones trying to escape, the enemies eventually realized there were no more choices left as they screamed in terror and charged at me, only for me to swiftly and accurately cut their lives short.
Soon, the open area was filled with the smell of blood. It wasn’t long before not a single human could stand on their feet here.
The potent scent of blood was so strong it was hard to differentiate, but feeling a few stirring presences inside the tent, they must be slaves.
Instead of the slaves who couldn’t escape, the fine meal prepared became more important. Before the banquet turned cold, I indulged in it.
A delightful sense of fulfillment spread from my head to my toes. The sensation of something that had been missing being filled was always fresh and striking.
Before the freshness of the blood diminished, I finished a food fight outdoors and headed toward the largest tent where I could still feel a presence.
“Sure enough, those who hide have their reasons.”
Finally looking around inside the tent, I understood why the slave trader had set up in such a remote mountain.
The large tent was where they kept their products, in other words, the slaves.
What I discovered there were empty cages likely used by slaves that had already been sold, and slaves shackled with collars sitting inside iron bars. And the ones without ears or tails, were definitely human.
I felt once more the depths of depravity. For humans to capture their own kind and sell them into slavery, no wonder they’ve been hiding in the shadows.
How could a person do that to another person…well, similar things have happened on Earth too, honestly.
No wonder they talk about the goons. It’s not right to treat Ain as slaves, but to think they’d capture their own kin to trade even while having different races as legal slaves speaks volumes.
I lightly scanned the cages.
Some slaves looked up at me with eyes filled with terror, while others stared blankly at the wall as if their souls had left them.
Given their hostile attitude, some of them seemed to have recognized my identity. That said, considering the state I’m in right now, it’s understandable. I must be reeking of blood.
While I didn’t feel pity toward them, they were still human.
One must never harbor sympathy for humans. I already learned that unnecessary conscience can return to bite me back someday.
I decided to free them from their suffering as well.
Thus, I treated it as a dessert after my main dish.
Once I consumed about eighty including appetizers and the main course, it felt less like deliciousness and more like an automatic reflex. Yet, even still, the stimulating scent soaked through my throat and 鼻, intoxicating my brain with each breath.
Honestly, I felt like throwing up, but I still thought this whole process would make me stronger, creating endless space in my already stuffed belly.
Thanks to that, I managed to absorb the wills of all the enslaved. The resentments of those sold out by their kind would serve me well to crush humans.
Having completed my business, I stood up and intended to exit the tent…but stopped and quickly turned back.
This is strange. There shouldn’t be any living humans left.
Due to the overwhelming scent of blood, I wasn’t certain, but having sent every single human to join the Lord above, I sensed a faint trace of life somewhere in this place.
‘Is that…a human?’
Focusing more on the scent, it seemed closer to a beastman than a human. But I wouldn’t be able to solidly claim it was a beastman either.
Regardless, it can’t be left unattended. Following the trace and scent, I approached the corner of the tent, where behind a pile of goods stacked on a wooden box was a small iron cage that could barely fit one person.
There, I discovered a girl who appeared to be in her early teens.
‘That was a tricky one.’
With her ragged black hair, scattered bruises across her emaciated body.
And with a pair of sturdy horns protruding from her head and golden eyes with vertically slit reptilian pupils.
It’s no wonder I couldn’t identify her at first. After all, she was the first dragonkin I ever met in this world.