Two Versus One

[Strength +20, Agility +30, Stamina +20, Mana +30.]

With that, the monster's blood enhanced his overall attributes further. Fortunately, he managed to hit draw a blood from them while their guards haven't truly been up yet.

Well, these guys remained unbothered despite his fiasco. That also means, he hasn't been seen as a threat yet or maybe they were confident of their own strength.

Hans eyes shifted towards the royals who already backed in the corner away. Their hands and legs trembled as his eyes met theirs. Goosebumps crawled on their skin meeting the eyes which seemingly devoured a thousand gods.

The emperor also stood up from his seat and hurriedly hid behind those two vampires­­— vampire lords to be exact.

Hans didn't know what the difference between those was. It doesn't really matter to him.

"State your name and we'll let you die intact." One of the robed men ordered in a rough tone. His hands which were inside the black robes was now exposed, exposing the pale arms and long razor-sharp fingernails.

"Hang on, you're not my target!" Hans then aimed his index finger at the emperor, "He is."

At that moment, Emperor Baru, who has been silent until now, snapped, "How dare you despise me, you piece of—!"

"Silent!" The robed man on his left side shouted. Emperor Baru lowered his head, but his fat neck couldn't seem to bend.

In the end, he just trudged towards the others, but it also proved to be difficult as he was panting heavily just by walking for a few steps.

Hans suppressed the laughter trying to escape his mouth. The robed men glanced at each other and nodded. At that moment, Hans already knew that they were ready to attack him.

His eyes sharpened.

'It's time.'

The two robe men suddenly disappeared.

Swish—

There wasn't even a gust of wind from where they left. Instantly, his senses geared in maximum capacity.

Hans just focused on the slight changed of mana as he had no idea how to detect those two.

Silence—

'This is troublesome.'

Hans gripped his swords tightly as he waited for the enemy to attack. However, 2 minutes have passed and yet none of those two showed up.

'Did they escape?'

If that's the case then the pressure in the surroundings should have decreased by now. But no changed happen, meaning they are still here probably waiting to spot an opening.

'I should give them an opening then.'

Hans took his foot forward exposing a vulnerable spot to his right hips. He observed the surroundings carefully and as expected those two bared their fangs.

At that moment.

Swish—

Two blurred figures appeared on his right side, accompanied by a strong mana pressure. Immediately, without hesitation, the two pounced their claws towards his right hips.

Stab—, stab—

Hans felt their hostile presence. Anticipating this, he brought his two swords down blocking their fatal attacks.

Clang—

The swords and claws clashed. Sparks formed in front of their eyes as the three put more strengths towards their weapons. But in the end two is still better than one.

Due to their combine strength, Hans was slowly being pushed back. However, now that their figures were exposed, they would be easy to attack.

Leap—

After leaping backwards, Hans assumed a stance. His swords were crossed in front of him as he aimed towards the two vampires.

[Constantine Sword Style: First Cut…]

Hans sprinted towards his enemies in a blinding speed. The air vibrated at the sheer amount of force his movement generated.

[Piercing Gale.]

Hans arrived under their chins and stabbed the swords on each of them.

"!!!"

They managed to see him. However, their reaction time was too slow. Thus, they paid the price.

Stab—

The blades accompanied by the sharp winds pierced both of their chest.

Slick—

Hans observed the two. Then, he frowned after seeing his swords untainted by their blood. The two vampires stared at their chest before looking back at him.

"That's a fine sword you have."

"Indeed, I really didn't think you're strong, human."

Even with swords plunged on their chest, the two vampires remained nonchalant about it. It's as if they never considered it a threat from the start.

Hans pulled the sword out and instantly tumbled backwards successfully evading a close distance hit.

At that moment, their figures scrambled into numerous bats.

Caw—, caw—

It flew randomly into the air before gathering towards a distance away from hit. The bats combined and the two vampires were shaped side by side. As soon as half of their bodies were shaped, Hans didn't waste any time. This is an opportunity for a clean hit.

Hans vanished in his position and appeared in front of those two.

[Constantine Sword Style: First Cut…]

Hans injected flames into his sword and thrust it straight to their half-formed heart.

Stab—

Blaze—

As the blades burned their hearts, an unexpected thing happened. Their half-formed body scrambled into numerous dark vampiric bats once again. Hans immediately pulled back; however, this time, his pupils glared at those bats with a solemn gaze.

[There's no use in chopping those body, Hans. These vampires were not like the one you fought at the Gathering.]

'How can I hit them then?'

After a brief test of strength, Hans determined that those two seemed to be immune to his attack. At first, he thought they were only immune to physical skills. It was due to this that he added a flame skill and proceeded to strike them.

However, magical skills were proven useless too.

According to the monster encyclopedia, Vampires can be killed with extreme heat like sunlight or flame skills. Silver metals were also an alternative though nothing was really proven that this metal is effective to vampire species.

[You need to aim at their core.]

'Core?'

He can't even hit them, let alone aim at their core, which for sure is their most guarded area. Well, his [Primeval Eyes] were pointing so much weakness to them but he has no idea how to hit those two.

While Hans talked with his inner struggles, the two vampires were already completely shaped. This time, their robes were nowhere to be seen. Hans shifted his gaze to the two and inspected their appearance.

Aside from their overly pale skin, these two was no different from an average human male appearance. The two wore a leather suit together with black boots. Below their silver hairs, more specifically at their foreheads, a silver crossed shaped crest were imprinted.

Although he couldn't remember where he has seen it, Hans was certain that it's the insignia of one of the Harisan's Empire enemies.

'Aculian Empire.'

It seemed like this is an Empire formed by vampires.

"I thought humans are clever considering their glorious history, but what a disappointment." The tallest vampire's rough voice rang out.

Thinking of those bunch of social media influencers who makes dumb life hacks, Hans joked, "Same here, brother."

However, it seemed like the two vampires mistook as despising his own race.

"Oh, you loathe humans too?" Ocula, the tallest vampire, asked.

"Not really, just a tiny…" Hans raised his fingers and continued, "…tiny amount. Anyways, why don't you just let me kill the emperor? I'm sure you want him dead too right?"

The two vampires eyed each other and gathered mana into their arms. It seemed like the true battle would finally commence. On the other hand, Hans activated his auxiliary skills, further enhancing his stat points.

"Look brother, I have no grievance with your species so I don't really want to fight you. Why don't we just put our hate aside and let me kill the emperor?"

Due to their attitude with the obese emperor earlier, these two seemed to be hating that fat guy. Hans decided to use persuasion tactics and evade fighting all out as possible.

"How about it?" Hans plunged his other sword to the ground and stretched his hands, "Wanna join the dark sid—cough, join my plan in killing him?"

However…

"We don't trust you." Their reactions were firm. It seemed like no words could convinced these two.

"Why?" Hans asked.

"You're a human and we loathed your species more than you think."

Based on their eyes, it seemed like they were traumatized.

"Ah, is that so?"

Because he's a human, the two won't trust him.

Just like how darkness cannot blend with the light, the vampires despised humans.

"Sigh—, what a shame."

Shrrrruuum—

Hans sheathed his swords and clenched his knuckles. He didn't know if this power would work on these two but hopefully, it will. Soon, an enormous mana pressure descended not only the palace but also on the whole empire.

What's crazy is that the pressure can also be felt outside the empire though it's only faint.

Their aura clashed, making everyone inside the room unconscious. The ceiling cracked while the walls vibrated. Looking at the two vampires finally getting serious, a grin formed on Hans' lips.

At that moment.

[Hands of Asura]

Then, a heavy murderous intent leaked out of his body.

........

The commander of the knights, Eliot, who was fighting Clone Hans, frowned.

The same could be said to the other soldiers. Although their attacks have slowed down compared to earlier, the lone enemy could still dodge it. But what bothers them is that the enemy is not attacking at all. After those bombings earlier, the troops thought there may be a follow up explosion after.

However, what met them is this. Clearly, this man is strange.

'He's only evading.'

Eliot recalled how the man didn't seem to have any intentions to attack them. It was strange. However, seeing the dead bodies littered on the floor after being hit by those explosives, his eyes became firm.

'We have to kill him.'

The lives that the man took won't go back anymore. Even though he had his doubts about the other party, Eliot eventually ignored it.

Also, his superiors are pressuring him to finish the job.

If he ignored their command and asked for back-ups, he might be accused of disobedience and the punishment would surely be dangerous.

At that moment.

"We hit him!!! We hit him!!!"

A knight's cry interrupted his thoughts. Eliot quickly shifted his attention to the location of Clone Hans.

The guy who seemed to be a master of evasion and has extreme agile movements was easily hit by a bow to his knees.

What's funny is that the owner of the arrow is just a trainee knight who only registered earlier, approximately 4 hours ago.

He said that he came from a land far away and have no place to live in. General Franc seemingly saw his talent and without hesitation, recruited him as a knight.

'What's his name again?' Eliot briefly thought before shaking his head and ordering the other troops to keep the man alive. He went down of his outpost and rushed towards the trainee knight who shot down the intruder easily.

The young man is wearing a standard leather armor and he held a bow on his hand. The troops around already commended his accurate aim but hastily dispersed as they saw him approached.

"Clean the area and tie the enemy down!! Don't kill him! Understood?!"

"Yes, sir!" The troops shouted in unison.

Eliot arrived beside the young man and patted his back.

"Young man, it seemed like I underestimated you."

The young man cocked his head sideways and stared at Eliot with a playful smirk, "It's fine sir. I'm used to it."

Even though the young man's facial expression seemed disrespectful, Eliot ignored it and still complimented him.

"But still, if not for you, we might have taken forever before we hit him." Eliot sighed and continued, "After this, come to the training camp to receive your reward and promotion. You deserved it."

Eliot seemed to see a new light as his gaze observed the young man. This is a genius of a monster caliber. If they could, they must keep him here to the empire and help him grow as a powerhouse.

The young man suddenly laughed. This action made Eliot frowned. He was being weirded by this trainee knight's actions. The laughter is loud, causing other soldiers to shift their attention to him.

"Sir Eliot, you seemed to be mistaking something."

"Huh?"

"I didn't hit him." The young man pupil's narrowed.

"Did not…hit?"

Eliot looked at the Clone Hans who whimpered in pain as he meet his eyes. His legs were bleeding, a sign that the arrow truly hit him. Eliot alternated his gaze between Clone Hans and the young man, not knowing what to say.

As if sensing Eliot's confusion, a rather mysterious smile showed on the young man's face. Then, his gaze shot at the palace and murmured, "I missed, Sir Eliot… I badly missed."

At that moment.

Shruuum—

A heavy pressure descended upon the land.