Trump Card

Without any hesitation, the two vampires glanced at each other's eyes and dashed towards where the royals were.

It was too abrupt that the ground truly exploded as their feet kicked the ground.

Watching their disappearing backs, Hans placed his hand to his hips. A heavy sigh escaped his lips.

"Seems like I won't have to use my plan B anymore."

[The plan B…]

"Huh?"

Hans raised his eyebrow as he heard Plundy speak.

[What is it?]

Hearing Plundy's inquiry, Hans reflexively chuckled. He's afraid that if he tells this guy what is in Plan B, his ears might become deaf. Well, fortunately, there is always a mute function in case he becomes annoying.

Mist escaped from his mouth as Hans sighed and spoke. Then, he briefly explained the part of the plan.

"If I can't kill the Emperor using the normal means, I'm planning to close the gap between them and use [Exploding Blood] on myself."

[!!!]

Hans shut his eyes and focused his perception towards the location of the royals, "Although it will surely drain my blood, not only I could take the royals down, but also kill those vampires as a bonus."

The [Hand of Asura] effectively worked in dealing with vampires. Although he could only do punches, at least, it dealt damage unlike when he used his two swords.

With that idea in mind, a sudden thought rippled in his mind.

What if he used his blood as a catalyst for the explosion?

"...and that pretty much sums it all."

[You… you're crazy!]

"I know."

[Madman!!]

"I know."

[Brain damage idio—!]

"Alright, that's enough."

Hans muted the annoying voice inside his head and put all his attention towards the vampires.

Then, his perception shifted around the empire, and briefly admired the beauty of it.

Unfortunately…

"This empire… will cease to exist tomorrow."

…Because those guys won't have anything holding them back anymore.

........

Ocula and Acula arrived at where they left the royals earlier. The path behind their backs was ultimately destroyed by their heavy stomps.

Their breathing was uneven. Heavy panting escaped their mouths even though it was impossible to be exhausted just because they rushed here.

No, they were not tired at all. Instead, their hearts were utterly terrified that it beats aggressively every second.

Just a few meters away from them, they saw a scene that made their hearts skip a beat.

"T-this is impossible. W-why would he!!?" The two stuttered.

There, they saw the Emperor lying in the pool of blood. What's even crazier is that the Emperor who wanted to do everything to survive, would die by his own hands.

"W-why did he kill himself!!?"

...…

Shu—

Flick—, flick—

Numerous magic arrows were fired in front of him and exploded at great speed.

Hans brought his hand up and swatted the attacks with little to no effort. Another round of arrows arrived towards him after the previous attacks failed to hit the target.

Hans raised his head.

'The Elite Knights are here huh?'

The Elite Knights of the Baru Empire were of course weaker than the Harisan Empire. Not only were they inferior in skills and talent but their equipment was also outdated.

Additionally, based on their magic signatures, only a few of them were at S-class overall strength. If not for the protection of their allies, nearby Empires would have already invaded the land due to their weak troops.

'I just hope they have good skills.'

Although Hans tried his best not to make his invasion bloody and gore but with those two vampires, it's impossible to execute such plans anymore.

From the start, this was bound to happen. In the end, killing was still the best option.

He could change their wills using the [Trickster] skill but that would be taxing. Forcing someone to change their state of mind, requires a tremendous amount of mana depending on the magnitude of the will he's planning to change.

'These knights are brainwashed for sure.'

Meaning, it's even harder to change their wills and turn them into friendly allies. His mana is not infinite. Hans was aware of it.

Using it to these knights won't do any good. The vampires were SS-Class monsters. They'll be like cannon fodders.

Sigh—

'I have no choice.'

It's bound to happen anyway. Even if he just evades them, these people would surely retaliate once the Empire is finally captured.

If that's the case…

Swish—

Hans' body disappeared from where he stood as if he wasn't even there in the first place.

The Elite Knights releasing their magic arrows and magic attacks were taken aback and shouted.

"He…he's gone!!"

"Find him!!!"

Even though they searched the vicinity, to their dismay, Hans was nowhere to be found. They didn't even capture his shadow as he vanished in the air.

[Eclipse]

Hans reappeared under their shadows and placed his hand on his swords.

'This is really uncomfortable to use.'

Perhaps, it's because it's new that this skill felt odd to him. Every time he blends into the shadows, Hans feels as if his entire body shrunk into a small ant.

Anyways, the knights were still busy searching for his trace, not knowing that the enemy was just around their necks.

Shring—

In an instant, Hans unsheathed his swords.

[Constantine Sword Style: First Cut]

Water particles blended in the mana-filled air gathered in the edge of his swords.

Then, Hans accelerated.

[Flowing Water.]

Slash—, slash—, slash—, slash—

The sound of water bubbling resounded in the knights' ears. However, before they could even realize what was transpiring, a blue flash entered their sights and a clean straight line punctured their necks.

Like a domino effect, the knights began to fall on the ground.

Thud—, thud—, thud—, thud—

Their throats were slit but even then, none of them felt the pain. It's as if they were swimming in a water pond while they basked in the sun.

In a distance, Hans reappeared, slowly sheathing his swords back to its scabbard. The snow drizzle hit his face as he inhaled the bone-chilling air.

He turned towards the knights. The scent of blood tickled his nose but Hans remained unfazed.

'Rest in peace.' He whispered.

Then, the familiar mechanical voice echoed inside his head.

[Do you wish to plunder the skill 'Frozen Cataclysm (A)'?]

[Yes / No.]

-

[Do you wish to plunder the skill 'Inferno Eruption (A)'?]

[Yes / No.]

-

[Do you wish to plunder the skill 'Phantom Multi-Shot (A)'?]

[Yes / No.]

-

[Do you wish to plunder the skill 'Double Barrage (B)'?]

[Yes / No.]

Out of the many skills constantly ringing inside his head, Hans only picked these four. The first two are spells mostly used by mage-type Awakened.

It was a large Aoe skill that could either freeze or burn an enemy.

With Hans's ridiculous mana amount, he could be considered a mage type too. These two skills can be cast with ease.

The third one, [Phantom Multi-Shot (A)], was also a great skill. It doubles the number of projectiles he throws every cast. Unfortunately, the downside is the cooldown takes a bit of time.

'Well, at least it's useful.'

Lastly, Hans tapped the air and read the next skill description.

[Double Barrage (B)

Type: Passive Skill

— There's a 5% chance that you can cast a skill twice in succession.

—Double cast doesn't require mana.]

'This is a gem.'

Out of all the four skills he plundered, for Hans, this was the one he liked the most. Even though it's only a B-rank skill, its usefulness is not far from being an S-rank skill.

Imagine using [Body Enhancement (B)] twice. His physical stats would be boosted by an enormous 200%.

The same could be said to the other skills.

Unfortunately, there's only a 5% percentage chance. Also, he had no idea if it also works in his racial skills such as [Red Form] and [The Balance].

Anyways, it's still a great skill nonetheless. With that, Hans closed his screen and galloped towards where the vampires were.

He didn't know if those two already called reinforcements or not. That's why, to be safe, he had to kill them now or retreat.

However, retreat was never an option.

Swish—

Hans dashed towards their location while reactivating his [Hand of Asura]. Red hue manifested in his pores until it wrapped thoroughly around his entire body.

Killing intent rose in his eyes. The whirring snow winds accompanied him as he charged through towards the place where an emotion full of rage was the strongest.

"They sure are mad huh?" Hans smirked and shook his head.

......

Hans arrived at the place. His steps were light and the two vampires seemed unbothered by his timely appearance.

Their eyes remained on the dead Emperor, contemplating their next course of action.

Acula patted his brother's shoulders. Although vampires seem horrible creatures in the eyes of other beings, they still treat their kin with care and love.

"The Emperor is dead. We're dead brother."

Indeed, Ocula said it right. Now that their task failed, the consequences they had to meet are unimaginable. Their failure of such an important task will not go unpunished.

"It's because of that guy!! He must have done something!!!" Ocula yelled.

The Emperor killed himself. This doesn't make any sense at all. According to the queen and the concubines, the Emperor pulled the dagger from sheathed in his waist and stabbed his heart immediately.

It was so fast that before they knew it, the Emperor already lost his pulse.

"He's already here brother. We can take revenge." Acula suggested.

Ocula nodded his head and turned towards the figure standing at a distance.

His blood boiled. Rage seethed into his eyes, imagining the torture they would go through before they met their eventual death.

At that moment.

"You bastard!!! Die!!!"

Swish—

Ocula slammed his fist on the ground.

Slam—

The ground quivered before it eventually collapsed. Hans leaped into the air to avoid being out of balance.

However…

Pierce—, pierce—

Swoosh—

Blood stem that looks like spiky tentacles shot out towards him as he fell.

[Emperor Strides.]

Hans double leap into the air, successfully evading those slimy and gross stems. As his figure gradually fell, Hans pulled one of his swords, drenched it with his own blood, and sent a sword slash downwards.

Swooosh—

Bang—, bang—

The sword energy swept the stems, cutting them like soft tofu. Hans fell safely to the ground and glared at the two vampires chanting a magic spell.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hans charged.

But…

'!!!'

He can't move. Hans lowered his head.

'What!?'

His foot was bound by a blood chain and he couldn't lift it. Hans raised his sword, attempting to cut it down.

However, the vampires already attacked.

Ocula held a concentrated magic orb in his hand.

Shu—

It was overflowing with mana full of blood properties. The surrounding air squeaked as the orb moved around.

Ocula dashed towards Hans.

Swish—

Having anticipated his brother's next move, Acula also charged behind Hans and brandished his arms.

"DIE!!!!!"

[Blood Manipulation: Crimson Inferno]

Swish—

As the orb collided with Hans' chest…

"Shit!"

…it exploded.

BOOOM—

The surrounding temperature rapidly rose. The scorching air blazed around the surroundings as the explosion swept around half of the Empire.

BOOOM—

The building collapsed while the citizens of the Empire were burned into ashes. The winter did not stop the raging flames no matter how much it cooled the rising temperature.

"ARRRGGGGHHH, HELP US!!!"

"Father, where are you!!! Mother!!! Help me!!"

"It hurts, argghh!!!"

Cries of people echoed throughout the empire. The fiery flames spared no one, be it elderly and children. Others could only hug their loved ones as they witnessed how the heat melted their bodies.

On the other hand, the surviving citizens also did not escape the fate of being hit. The shockwaves traveled throughout the empire, slamming those powerless citizens through the walls which eventually killed them.

Surviving Knights struggled to resist the air shockwaves but even then, at least they could save the people behind their backs.

For the people of this empire, they felt that the gods abandoned them.

The scene of people being burned to ashes will always remained in their memories.

For them, this is what an apocalypse looks like.

...…..

Meanwhile, on top of a half-burned building, a figure of a man appeared. His arrival was silent and light as if he was just a wind passing by.

The man was sweating profusely due to the temperature of the area.

His purple hair swayed with the wind as his eyes swept around the vicinity.

"Fortunately, I only sent my clone there."

The broken half-mask overshadowed his facial features but even then, he could still be recognized at a glance.

It was Hans.

"This damage is outrageous."

Looking at the Empire which seemed to resemble a magma chamber, Hans clicked his tongue.

"I came here to invade the Empire but now…"

How will he invade when there's nothing to invade anymore?

The embers of the previous empire could only be blown by the warm air while some were truly melted by the molten grounds.

Had he known this would happen, he should have executed his retreat from the start.

Only…

'All I can do now is regret.'

He didn't want to waste his cards anymore but it seemed like he'll be forced to. The reason he's been holding back from using destructive spells is due to the Empire.

Now, that it's basically destroyed, the chains tying his arms were severed.

Hans' pupils contracted.

'Vampires huh? You're truly getting into my nerves.'

If that's how they want to play, then he'll play with them.

At that moment, Hans expression darkened and he pulled something out of his storage bag.

"I have no other choice."

A small item appeared on his palm.

..........

Question:

Can you guess the item? Comment down below!