Just A Little Party Trick, My Friend...

The air vibrated. Every soldier in the area has their foot rooted on the ground.

And as the gravity seemed like it was becoming stronger, moving around was proving to be a very taxing task.

Thud—, thud—

Some even have their faces planted on the ground. Their bones felt like breaking as they tried to move their joints. The giant trees nearby quivered intensely and it looks like they might fall to the ground anytime.

"W—h…at is…th…is?"

"I… c… an't… mo…ve!!!"

The soldiers struggled to even speak, further proving how strong the pressure is. On the other hand, Eliot remained standing. However, his eyes constantly faltered as they shot towards the location of the Palace.

'Is the enemy in there?'

He glanced at Clone Hans and saw a mischievous smirk dangling on his lips. Now, he realized.

'Damn it, he's a decoy!'

The real enemy should have gone inside the Empire while they were busy taking down the decoy.

At that moment, Eliot fell to his knees.

Thud—

The stone floor cracked at the force of his fall. However, in the corner of his eyes, he saw two legs seemingly standing straight. It's not even shaking.

'Who—!?'

Eliot raised his head. As he saw the owner of those feet, his eyes bugged out.

"H-how can you—!?" Eliot stammered.

The man, who seemed unfazed by the heavy mana pressure, is the trainee knight they recently recruited and the one who shot down the decoy earlier.

Eliot raised his left hand.

Thud—

However, due to his surprise and panic, he completely fell to the floor.

"Sir Eliot, you shouldn't move or your bones might break." The young man murmured, "...I will be sad if you become crippled, you know."

The young man met his gaze and smiled. For Eliot, it was the smile of a devil.

"Y-you!! W-who in the world are you!?" Eliot growled.

"Just a normal guy, nothing special Sir Eliot."

"Who are you?!!" Eliot seethed, "Are you also one of the invaders!!!?"

Aside from this, Eliot couldn't ponder any reasons why this young man acted like this. Perhaps, because of his state of mind right now, he might not be able to think reasonably.

Even then, he couldn't get rid of the thought of those young men being a part of the attack.

"You accused me with no evidence, Sir Eliot." The young man muttered, "Well, to answer your question, I'm not part of this invasion whatsoever."

Hearing the young man's answer, Eliot frowned. It's not that he's doubting him but based on his previous behaviors, it's just normal not to trust this guy.

However, he wouldn't risk other soldiers' lives because of his doubts.

That's why…

"I trust you." Eliot announced.

Every knight around him raised their head. They gave Eliot a look of disbelief as in their minds, they also thought that this trainee knight was an accomplice.

The young man angled his body away. To be honest, he's quite surprised by Eliot's words.

"As expected of you Sir Eliot… " The young man sighed, "I'm truly grateful that you trust me but…"

The young man's eyes shifted towards the Palace which constantly erupted with large fumes of smoke.

"...if your friend is in trouble, it's only normal to help him, right?" The young man continued.

"..."

"Right?"

"Y-yes."

The young man threw the bow and arrow and rushed towards the Palace at a slow pace. Before leaving, the young man turned around and left a few words.

"Oh, Sir Eliot, by the way, I lied about one thing." The young man held his chin and smirked, "I'm part of the invasion now."

Swish—

Eliot sprawled on the floor in disbelief. He clenched his fists as he watched the back of the young man gradually fade to his sight.

........

Swish—, Boom—

Swish—, Boom—

Three people vanished in their positions and clashed in the middle of the Palace. The ground shattered every time Hans's fist collided with those razor-sharp claws.

Leaping backwards, Hans stomped his foot.

Stomp—

Due to the force, the tiled floor completely collapsed, sending everyone down to the ground floor.

Hans landed and immediately attacked the falling Emperor in mid-air.

However, before he could even approach…

[Blood Manipulation: Hemorrhage.]

Blob—

Ocula appeared beside him and with his fingers pointed at his forehead. Hans twisted his body in mid-air to dodge the attack but the other vampire chased him with a barrage of [Blood Slash].

Slash—, slash—, slash—

Hans crossed his hand and blocked the slash. Cut marks appeared on his body as he crashed on the ground.

Crash—

Hans rolled around but quickly maneuvered his body to land steadily. Smoke filled the palace. Hans could hear the royals coughing as they inhaled the smoke to their lungs.

Hans brushed the dust off his shoulders. The numerous cuts throughout his body were already healed by his high-speed regeneration.

Then, Hans raised his head. The two vampires floated in the air using wings that resembled bats.

"Is the Emperor's life really that important to you two?"

"If we failed to protect him, we're the same as dead, human."

Hearing their words, Hans' gaze moved at the fat Emperor. Meeting his gaze, the Emperor shrieked in fear.

"He's just an ordinary man. What's special about this obese pig?" Hans mocked, "Hey fat guy, if I were you, I would just kill myself to boost the Empire's economy."

"You!!! You dare to mock me with your dirty mouth!!?" Emperor Fatty looked at the two vampires and pleaded, "Please, kill that guy immediately! My safety is being threatened!!"

This time, the fat Emperor confidently ordered. After hearing the two's words, he realized that it seemed like the two vampires protected him with utmost priority.

They wouldn't let him die.

'Fortunately, I allied with those guys.' Emperor Fatty sighed in relief but after thinking about those horrible creatures who forced him to sign the contract, his hand shivered.

'Let's forget it. The important thing is my survival.'

Looking at Hans, Emperor fatty sneered. For him, he's already staring at the figure of a dead man.

"You talk a lot human." Ocula's eyes narrowed, "Are you perhaps… stalling time?"

At that moment, as if he was caught, Hans hissed.

"You're actually right." Then, a smirk showed on his lips, "but you're too late."

Instantly, Hans vanished from his position and arrived outside the palace. He turned towards the palace and waited.

Meanwhile, inside the castle, a loud whirring noise echoed around the place.

Shrummm—

"Ramir!!! Take them away!!!"

At that moment.

Swish—

The palace was dyed in orange-red. The entire Palace exploded.

BOOOM—

The booming sound resounded around the empire. Civilians gathering at the center area were jolted awake in surprise as they saw an enormous mushroom cloud covering the Palace.

But, even then, they also didn't escape being hit.

Shu—

The shockwaves swept the large houses and buildings. Large rocks hovered in the air before they smashed and rolled around those unfortunate houses.

Due to the protection of the Elite Knights stationed to guard the civilians, no one died. However, some injuries couldn't be prevented.

Hans resisted the shockwaves easily. As he was now atop a half-destroyed building, he witnessed how his plan came to nothing.

'They escaped.'

Sensing those familiar signatures just a few hundred meters away, he sighed.

'I guess, I'll start from square one.'

One of the vampires was good at teleportation. Even if he focused his attacks on the royals, that vampire could teleport them anytime. Even those two generals were safely evacuated.

Meaning, they were bound in a stalemate. Hans knew that the two vampires were aware of this too. They only attacked when he showed them openings.

'At this rate, I will fail.'

Failing this mission means he's still incapable. He won't have a perfect first impression if he ever met the Emperor of the Harisan Empire.

That's why…

"It's time for plan B."

[Wait, you have a plan B?]

"Do I look like a stupid guy who'll attack impulsively without a plan?" Hans squinted.

[Of course, not.]

"I'm glad you know."

[...But on the 'stupid guy' part, you are.]

"..."

Hans shook his head. 'What do I expect?'

In the end, Hans ignored Plundy and proceeded to execute his other plan.

However, this plan also has a high risk. Hopefully, it would work, or else, things might become even more troublesome than he thought.

......….

The two vampires, Ocula and Acula, safely landed away from the radius of the explosion. Behind them, covered in a barrier, the royals also made it out alive.

Chain explosions continued to demolish the Palace until all that was left was the tiny bits of rubbles under their feet.

The two frowned. If not for the additional task of protecting these royals, they could've finished Hans already.

Being held back like this felt like their necks always had a blade dangling under them. One slit and they die.

Acula couldn't just teleport them away. Aside from having a short teleportation range, the outside is far more dangerous. These royals have no power and even a single wolf could kill them with ease.

The same could be said if he entrusted them to the Knights. The Emperor has a terrible reputation. Now that their protection is gone, they were basically an easy target.

'It's better to keep them close to us.'

However, that human always targets them.

"Ocula, why don't you hold the human first and I'll escort these royals somewhere safe," Acula suggested.

"Holding him? Heh…" At that moment, Ocula ripped his shirt and showed the bruises from Hans' punches and he hissed, "See this!? I can't heal it!!!! And now you want me to stop that guy?"

"Hang on, how did you get hit?" Acula asked.

Ocula winced in pain as he recalled how painful to tank that human's attack was. "I don't know. It just… it just happens."

Thinking about the spectral hands of that human, Ocula seemed to realize something, "That arm!"

"Huh?"

"That arm! Did you see the human's arms?"

"Oh, that glowing arm? I thought it was a power-enhancing skill."

"No!" Ocula objected. He's certain it's because of Hans' arms that his bruises won't heal.

What's more, the area where he was hit was near his core. Fortunately, he managed to fend its direction. Even then, his bruises only caused him pain.

In a moment, he thought about calling reinforcements. However, they would surely be punished for their incompetence and failure of their duties.

Although it's unreasonable, that's how the vampire society works.

"As long as we avoid getting punched, we're safe. Once we joined forces, we could surely take him down." Ocula said.

"How about these people?" Acula turned towards the royals.

"It's easy… we will take the initiative to attack him and let's both leave a blood clone here."

Although blood clones are so much weaker than them, it's still better than having no protection at all.

After sorting everything out, the two vampires exchanged meaningful glances and nodded.

"Let's go."

Swish—

.......

"Oh, they are leaving them?" Hans' forehead wrinkled as he sensed the two vampires leave the royals.

But as soon as he moved, he saw the two gliding towards him. In a flash, the vampire jointly attacked him.

Crash—

Hans leaped. The building he's standing on previously, finally collapsed. After landing on the ground, he attempted to sprint towards those royals to finish the job but the two vampires hurriedly blocked his way.

'They surely prepared huh?'

It looks like he'll be forced to fight them seriously now.

"Oh, one thing before we fight…"

Suddenly, Hans raised a question.

"Huh?"

The two vampires tilted their heads.

What is this time?

"Are vampires truly afraid of garlic? It's a famous myth in our place so… I'm just curious."

The two glanced at each other. Their eyes twitched.

'Why would we be afraid of garlic?'

However, their weird expressions instantly grimaced. Then, their eyes gawked in horror.

"You… you!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!"

Seeing the horrors in their eyes, Hans mischievously grinned.

"Just a little party trick, my friend."