Chapter 37: Blood Feud

Constantine took two steps back, feeling his heartbeat suddenly double in speed! He had just skirted the edge of death’s door—the two weapons had been less than a foot away from him. The wind pressure from their clash had scraped painfully against his face. If a hand hadn’t reached out to pull him back, and if the squad leader’s longsword hadn’t timely blocked the knight’s sword, he would likely have been sliced in half by that heavy slash, or at the very least, had his face cut!

“Nehemiah Pex! What are you doing? Have you gone mad?” the Griffon Knight squad leader shouted in a deep voice. His longsword was still sheathed, but by propping it at an angle against the ground, he cleverly deflected the knight’s sword strike to the side—sparks flew from the metal scabbard, showing that the opponent had probably used his full strength!

But the long-faced knight Nehemiah did not reply. Instead, he casually withdrew his sword and thrust again. This time, however, the prepared squad leader had already drawn his longsword. His martial skills seemed excellent. With a flash of the blade, the opponent’s longsword was deflected once more, and blood sprayed from a nearly inch-deep cut on the swordsman’s wrist!

The longsword in his hand had a rather peculiar shape. Aside from the narrow, slightly curved blade that somewhat resembled a weapon from a certain island nation in Constantine’s memory, the lower half of the sword’s back had fine serrations. The faint, dark golden glow on the blade indicated it was a sharp weapon forged with Adamantine—it seemed he had shown some restraint in his attack just now. Otherwise, with the sharpness and toughness of an Adamantine blade, a bit more force would have been enough to sever a person’s arm!

But then, something strange happened immediately. The horse-faced knight raised his hand and looked at the blood-spurting wound. Then, the blood flowing from the cut rapidly stopped. In just a few breaths, the long, wide wound had closed. Aside from some bloodstains on his sleeve, he had returned to a completely unharmed state.

“This is really troublesome… If I’m not mistaken, that guy is a Vampire, and your knight has probably become his Vampire Spawn… no, a lesser Vampire!” the Lich’s voice remained emotionless, but Constantine nearly jumped upon hearing this information!

Vampire?

The boy narrowed his eyes and took a few more steps back. He had learned from various bestiaries before that this world had many kinds of Undead. Among them, the highest-ranking Undead was undoubtedly the Lich, followed by the so-called Vampire.

These creatures were almost exactly like the Gothic-punk artistic depictions from Earth in Constantine’s memory—higher Undead with independent consciousness, highly intelligent, sinister and cruel, incredibly strong, swift as the wind, with powerful self-healing abilities, along with various abilities even Mages might not match… turning into mist, transforming into bats, dire wolves, all exactly the same. Even in this world where Divine Magic could counter them, they remained the elite among the Undead, incredibly troublesome existences!

When Constantine first read about such creatures in the bestiary, he had mockingly wondered if some unlucky Vampire from this world had also crossed over to Earth, leading to such similar monsters… He never expected one would appear before him now! And it was clearly aggressive!

“No need to worry. This Mr. Nehemiah Pex has simply been called to become my companion. You will understand soon enough…”

At that moment, the Vampire shrouded in a Gray Robe made a smiling sound. This voice was no longer as piercing as before; though still hoarse, it had gained a low, magnetic quality. “However, I’m not particularly interested in watching a fight between two Knights right now, and this place is rather cramped… So, Mr. Pex, please take your ‘former’ companion and leave this place for now…”

“Yes, my master!” the horse-faced Griffon Knight responded mechanically. Then he took a slight step back, spread his arms, and charged out like a wild bull! In the next instant, he crashed headfirst into the squad leader’s body! Although the squad leader’s longsword had earlier cut through his breastplate, leaving a wound almost deep enough to gut him, he still couldn’t avoid this suicidal assault! The Griffon Knight, transformed into a wild bull, roared fiercely, tightly embraced his opponent, and charged straight toward the wall with the window—with a thunderous crash, a large hole was smashed open, and the two Griffon Knights tumbled out!

“Now then, how shall I deal with you…” The Vampire completely ignored this nearby clash. He casually took two steps forward, fixing his crimson gaze on Constantine.

“Your Excellency… who exactly are you?” Constantine trembled all over. He shakily extended one hand, looking exactly like a frightened child.

But just as the other opened his mouth, about to say something, Constantine subtly raised his hand. Three bolts from his Sleeve Crossbow shot toward the opponent in a triangular formation!—The distance between them was only about twenty feet; the bolts arrived almost instantly! But at the moment of contact, a faint green light encircled the target. Two bolts hit this luminous film and then seemed to sink into a thick liquid, stopping before clattering to the ground.

The remaining bolt continued unimpeded, but the Gray Robe figure merely waved his hand lightly. With a dull thud, that bolt flew off to who-knows-where!

But at the same time, a heavy thud came from above! Dust flew as a gilded chandelier along with large chunks of earth and stone came crashing down!

The Vampire remained unconcerned about this attack. He frowned, and a glow burst from a hand protruding from his cloak. The falling chandelier and earth chunks immediately changed direction mid-air, pouring down to the side!

However, by now, the two facing him had retreated over a dozen feet—this guy before them was far too strong, clearly not something two amateurs could handle. The door was now just a few feet away from them. If they could just leave this room, there might still be a way out!

The Vampire made no move to pursue. He slowly lowered his hand, casually removing his hood to reveal a quite handsome and delicate face: a high nose, deep-set eyes, sharp features, except for two Fangs protruding from the thin lips under that prominent nose. His pale, smooth skin and slender hands, contrasted against the dirty, filthy Gray Robe, created a strange and eerie feeling.

Had he given up? Of course not!

Just as the two were almost at the door, a shadow suddenly emerged from the ground! Well, the way this human-shaped thing appeared from underground was abnormal—not the usual “a hole opens in the ground, then he climbs out,” but rather, he simply rose up from the ground itself.

It felt like a large fish suddenly leaping from the sea, the motion very smooth and natural. The ground merely quivered slightly, without a single crack. A green, translucent shadow had silently appeared beside the two, and the ground beneath his feet was completely undamaged, still smooth and level.

The running boy’s muscles involuntarily trembled. He didn’t mind Zombies and such, but since childhood, he had been somewhat apprehensive of these drifting, intangible things.

“A ghost…” came Hartdiel’s loud warning in the Soul Tongue, but Constantine had no mind to listen… The dark shadow paused slightly, then suddenly stretched out both hands! And in that instant, a hand pushed against the boy’s shoulder!

So, just as Constantine staggered sideways… those silent, green hands, along with the arms, even the shoulders and his entire being, passed right through the Elf’s body!

The Blood Elf swayed, then seemed to lose all strength, suddenly collapsing! But the suddenly-appearing Undead’s movements didn’t slow in the slightest. It shot out from the Elf’s back, relentlessly circling in the air. Then, with a screech like rubber rubbing together that set teeth on edge and stomachs churning, the Undead pounced again toward the Blood Elf who hadn’t completely fallen!

Constantine’s breath caught! In this world, ghosts were spirits; they were no longer physical existences, sustained entirely by Negative Energy. Having no physical form meant they couldn’t attack directly like when alive, but they were still extremely dangerous. Because their bodies were composed of Negative Energy—in this world’s theory, life was sustained by Positive Energy, while Undead were filled with Negative Energy, which was completely opposite and counter to it. This meant that if mortals were touched or even passed through by a ghost, at best they’d become weak and listless, at worst they’d fall seriously ill… And if passed through repeatedly, there was a high chance of death!

Constantine naturally wouldn’t allow such a thing. Not to mention, the Elf’s push had just gotten him away from danger.

The boy growled lowly, stomped the ground hard. Muscles trained since childhood helped him reach top speed instantly! Just as those green hands were about to touch the Elf’s body again, he darted between them and pulled the female Elf into his arms!

To others, Constantine’s action seemed almost suicidal. While successfully getting the Blood Elf away from the threat of those skeletal claws, he had presented his own defenseless back to the grinning Undead… But obviously, as a transmigrator, he was not and could not be someone so impulsive and reckless.

The next second, Constantine, holding the Blood Elf’s body, stumbled forward a few steps. But the Undead’s pounce didn’t have any of the imagined effects! Instead, the Undead silently vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed…

After catching his breath twice, Constantine helped the Blood Elf stand up.

The Elf’s waist was slender, soft, yet full of elasticity. Such muscles were proof of her strength as a Rogue. Undoubtedly, holding such a form felt very good. Constantine almost instinctively pressed closer. The female Elf’s slender body fell limply into his arms. For a moment, his nostrils seemed filled again with that elegant, faint scent emanating from the woman’s body, a somewhat sweet aroma that almost drove away the surrounding stench of corpses and blood.

This feeling was indeed quite nice—unfortunately, good feelings never seemed to last very long.

“Hey! Nirwen!? Wake up? Nirwen Tinuviel!!”

Even while embracing her, Constantine had sensed something wrong… The Elf in his arms was as cold as ice. Only now did he notice that the beautiful face of the female Elf had closed eyes and skin ashen pale… Not the crystalline kind of paleness, but a somewhat deathly grayish white. All her vitality seemed completely drained at that moment.

“Don’t worry. Ghosts, these Undead, attack with a touch that drains life and causes unconsciousness… But she’s still alive, because any Humanoid Creature killed by a ghost becomes a ghost after death…” The voice from the Soul Amulet, the Lich, rose slightly in volume. “This ghost is quite powerful; that guy must be rather strong…”

The voice from the Soul Amulet finally gave Constantine some relief—right now, this amulet was in the boy’s left hand. Just moments ago, the boy had used it to instantly capture that ghost. Thus, that once-troublesome opponent became the Lich’s opponent—probably an easy one to handle, since not everyone possessed Constantine’s strong will and boundless imagination.

But the current situation was clearly still not very optimistic. The Vampire in the center of the room let out a low, questioning sound, and three more ghosts emerged from the walls, floor, and ceiling…

“So, can you take in a few more?” Constantine asked. But the reply was somewhat disappointing. “The Soul Channel isn’t specifically designed for this. I can’t absorb more spirits in a short time; I need at least another hourglass turn… But if possible, you could try pressing the amulet against him. With our combined efforts, we have about a fifty percent chance of drawing his Soul into the amulet!”

“Fifty percent? That’s a bit low, isn’t it? And what about you then?” Constantine hung the amulet back around his neck, then drew the Scimitar from his waist, taking up a guarded stance beside the Blood Elf. But with one hand shielded by the Elf’s body, he let a small scroll from his sleeve slide into his palm.

“Let’s take the risk… The amulet can be remade. But if you die, the Soul Contract will make me perish too! Those were your terms; you haven’t forgotten, have you?” The Lich’s soul fluctuations carried deep resignation.

“A cunning trick, quite fitting for a Sorcerer’s response… However, it’s still a desperate last resort. Only that final move is somewhat admirable.”

The Vampire lightly clapped his hands. The soft, pattering applause echoed in the room, sounding rather grating. His red eyes fixed on Constantine, as if looking at a pair of lambs for slaughter. “So. Will you recognize the situation and surrender quietly? Or must we put on a magic show? Of course, I lean toward the latter, as that would bring me more pleasure!!”

“Though asking questions now might seem stupid, I still hope you can satisfy my curiosity… Esteemed sir of the vampire kind, might I know your distinguished name? Also, is there some grudge between me or someone here and you? Worthy of you risking being burned by Holy Light, breaking the vampire’s code of secrecy, and causing such a commotion?”

Although stalling for time, this was indeed something Constantine wanted to ask—the boy didn’t recall provoking such major trouble during his days in Hayton… The only possible grudge was teaching those little brats and that blue-robed Mage in the Mage Tower a lesson… But obviously, even for revenge, those guys couldn’t possibly arrange such a grand scene—and although evil Undead like Vampires were occasionally heard of on the Continent, they were definitely not the type to appear easily before people.

“You don’t know? Ha! Of course, a damned Noble swine like you wouldn’t remember every single thing you’ve done…” The boy’s questioning method was clearly not very skillful and seemed to have touched a nerve in the Vampire. He let out a hysterical shriek, and the hollow echoes and grating sounds in his voice intensified!

“What grudge? Hehehe hahaha… Fine, let this be your last request before death… Let me remind you. Remember that little girl with a few idiotic Household Knights?”

That assassination attempt he got dragged into and disrupted? The boy was taken aback, a glimmer of light seeming to flash in his mind.

“Still can’t recall? Fine, then, here’s another hint!” This time, the other’s outstretched hand held several strange pieces. Each piece was several feet long, made of soft, slightly yellowish material, with odd branches, the top parts adorned with various colored hairs, resembling some sort of garment… They quivered slightly with his movement!

Constantine was stunned, but his exceptional vision soon let him notice that the uppermost parts of those things faintly had patterns that looked… somewhat like human facial features?

Realizing what those things were, the boy involuntarily looked down, feeling his stomach churn. If he hadn’t eaten anything since daytime, he might have vomited—his basic anatomy knowledge quickly made him associate: those were skins, tanned, each one complete, with limbs… human skins!

Well… actually, they weren’t very complete. Each human skin seemed divided into dozens of parts, then stitched together with fine thread—in fact, without these threads, the skins couldn’t remain whole. Crisscrossing wounds almost covered every part. One could imagine that before death, these people had probably been cut into countless fragmented pieces of corpses!

The fine stitches must have taken considerable effort, but on these human skins, they only induced waves of nausea!