The High Lord’s Stronghold

  Eric looked at us three and Gerberga.

  “The beastkin have exposed the location of the High Lord for us.”


  “That’s very helpful. Finding it was going to be the hardest part, after all!”


  Goran said with a boisterous laugh.

  Shia was also excited as she said,

  “Well, let’s go and invade it then!”


  “They set the stage for us. We cannot let them down.”


  I said and everyone nodded.

  We continued to ride our horses as we moved towards the Vampire High Lord’s lair.

  While we were riding, I started to think about the 6th Officer’s sword I had acquired a short while ago.

  It was able to trade blows with the Devil King Sword. It would surely be useful.

  I looked at Eric, Goran and Shia’s swords.

  Eric the Hero’s sword was a holy sword. It was probably better than the 6th Officer’s sword.

  Goran’s sword was also a strong sword of magic. It had a fire attribute and was indestructible.

  Shia’s sword was not terrible, but it was thin and did not look reliable.

  I felt like Shia had chosen it because she prioritized speed.

  “Shia. I want you to have this.”


  I handed her the 6th Officer’s sword.

  “Where did this come from?”


  Shia asked as she swung the sword several times while riding.

  “It is a very light sword. It is lighter than the sword I have now.”


  “That sword was used by the 6th Ranking Officer. And it did not break while trading blows with my Devil King Sword.”


  “That is amazing. Are you sure you want to give me such a wonderful sword?”


  “Shia, don’t you remember how hard it was when your sword broke against the goblin lord?”


  “I was…not ready and…”


  “A sword like this is not likely to break so easily.”


  “Then I will gladly accept it. I am so very happy.”


  Goran saw this and said,

  “A Vampire Lord’s sword, eh? Are you sure it isn’t cursed?”


  “Of course, I’m sure.”


  I said, and Goran was satisfied.

  As a Sorcerer, I inspected it well in advance.

  While breaking curses was difficult, I could easily tell whether or not there were any.

  And there were no curses cast on the 6th Officer’s sword. And no evil magic either.

  And so it was safe.

  Before we knew it, we had arrived in the location that the beastkin chief had indicated.

  “Hm? There is nothing here.”


  “Indeed. Though, I do feel a strange presence…”


  Goran and Eric dismounted and cautiously inspected the area.

  “No, it is quite visible to me.”


  “Me too. It is concealment magic.”


  Shia and I said as we dismounted.

  While it was concealment magic, it was a type specific to vampires.

  As I was an advanced Sorcerer and Shia was immune to vampire magic with psychological effects, it could not fool us.

  But I learned it, just in case.

  “Alright, I’m going to deactivate it now. We should consider ourselves discovered by the enemy the moment that it comes down.”


  “Understood.”


  “We just have to charge in, eh?”


  “I am prepared for anything, I am.”


  Eric and Goran looked serious. Shia unsheathed her sword.

  “Goran, Eric, Shia, and then me. We’ll charge inside in that order.”


  “You’re not going to use any great magic? Wasn’t that your favorite thing to do, Ruck?”


  Goran knew my style well.

  “It is, but there might be humans who have been charmed inside. There could be captured beastkin as well.”


  “I see. That’s true.”


  “So I must be careful in choosing what magic to use. We’ll charge in after I use magic.”


  “Understood.”


  First, I needed to grasp the flow of the concealment magic.

  Then I have my own magic flow inside, wrecking the current and blocking it.

  In a flash, the entrance to the cave appeared before us.

  There were no guards. If you had a concealment spell, it was best not to have guards stationed there.

  If you did, then you would have to erase the presence of the guards as well, which would make the spell much harder to cast.

  Of course, there were likely going to be guards deeper in, who were ready to take on any beastkin invaders.

  “Wait a moment.”


  I unleashed a Sleep Cloud into the cave.

  I used wind magic at the same time, and the cloud drifted deep down into the cave.

  And then we waited for some time.

  Once the Sleep Cloud had filled the cave completely, I used wind magic once again. This time it was to remove to cloud from the cave.

  It would be annoying if Eric and Goran fell asleep right after they charged in.

  “Can we go in now?”


  And then I turned to Goran and said,

  “Vampires have a high resistance to psychological status effects. Still, the lessers should have fallen asleep.”


  “Understood!”


  And Goran charged inside. He was very fast.

  Eric and Shia followed after him.

  After entering the cave, we immediately bumped into an Arch Vampire.

  The Arch Vampire looked a little drowsy. And so he did not see us immediately.

  “Wha-”


  Just as the sound escaped his lips, Goran’s sword took his head off.

  As Goran’s sword had fire attributes, the wound began to burn up.

  Goran’s feet did not slow down after this encounter.

  He wasn’t even killing every enemy ahead of him. He only cut down the ones who tried to prevent him from running.

  He knew that Eric would handle the ones that he did not.

  Eric was also killing the vampires with brilliant swordwork.

  His holy sword was incredibly effective against these creatures of the shadows. They turned to ash in an instant.

  “It is a trap!”


  “Understood!”


  The traps could not escape Shia’s eyes, and she destroyed them.

  The vampires psychological magic, in other words, concealment magic, was not effective on Shia.

  On top of that, she had a sharp sense of hearing and smell. She was the perfect anti-vampire Scout.

  We were making good progress into the cave until several Vampire Lords blocked our path.

  There were five of them. Even Goran could not just rush past them. He stopped.

  “Five Lords, eh? The High Lord must be behind them then.”


  “Ah, Ruck. Shia. Go on ahead and leave this to us.”


  Eric and Goran laughed.

  Even if it was Eric and Goran, five Vampire Lords would be a tough fight.

  “That’s five Lords. Are you sure?”


  “Of course, we are. You aren’t the only one who has become stronger in the last 10 years.”


  “Don’t underestimate us. Killing the High Lord is our ultimate goal now. We cannot allow him to escape.”


  “Ruck, Shia. We’re counting on you.”


  “Fine. Don’t die on me, alright?”


  “Of course, we won’t.”


  “It’s you who should be careful.”


  And so Shia and I rushed passed the Vampire Lords.

  “You won’t get away!”


  A Vampire Lord chased after us and tried to attack.

  However, Goran’s sword would allow no such thing.

  “Distracted. You must be overconfident!”


  The Vampire Lord’s attack never reached us.