SMH 159

Chapter 50 – Blood Christmas (3)

TL: Boko

Editor: Frost

The main gate was shut tight, but the outer walls weren’t very high. Therefore, Sung Joon was able to enter the fortress without releasing his stealth.

Because the spatial barrier was spread over such a large area, the Marquis’s troops weren’t aware of the incoming disaster.

Security was tight, befitting a Vampire Marquis’s fortress. There was one Vampire and three Living Armors patrolling atop the castle walls.

“There’s a stealth detecting item set up on the path that leads to the inner fortress,” Rishubalt said after scouting around. Items that detected stealth were uncommon on both Earth and the other world.

It was probably set up because it was a Vampire Marquis’s castle. Sung Joon briefly hid within an alleyway and released his stealth. And then, he looked at Rishubalt and said.

“Is there any other way in?”

“A Vampire Baron is guarding the other path. He should be able to see through your stealth,” Rishubalt said.

Sung Joon nodded his head.  A Vampire Baron should be able recognize when someone is using stealth in their immediate vicinity. Moreover, their abilities were heightened at night time.

“What will you do?”

“I’m going over to the Vampire Baron.”

“A wise decision,” Rishubalt said in awe.

He could take care of a Vampire Baron discreetly, unlike a stealth detecting item, which would enable him to infiltrate the castle without being discovered.

“Stealth.”

Sung Joon activated his stealth once again.

“I’ll take your there.”

Rishubalt moved first, leading him to a tall tower.

The entrance was guarded by two Vampire Knights. He sensed a powerful mana response from the top of a tower, signaling that the Vampire Baron was up there.

“The Vampire Knights cannot sense you, my lord,” Rishubalt reported.

Sung Joon began to move. The Vampire Knights guarded the entrance without any idle chat, yet Sung Joon moved past them and went up to the top of the tower. As soon as he got to the top of the stairs, he saw the back of the Vampire Baron.

“Something’s here…”

The Vampire Baron noticed that something was stealthed. It swiftly drew its sword and kept its guard up.

At first, the Vampire Baron thought it might’ve been wrong, but as time passed, it felt a clear mana. It opened its mouth to call its subordinates, but at that moment…

‘Now!’

Sung Joon instantly closed the distance. Due to his rapid movement, his stealth was released. However, before the Vampire Baron could even get a good look at him, Sung Joon had already swung his sword.

“Huh?”

His aura clad blade cut deep into the Vampire Baron’s neck and blood gushed from the wound. The Vampire Baron stumbled, but didn’t fall.

It attempted to use Blood Magic to stem the bleeding, but Sung Joon wouldn’t give him that opportunity.

Sung Joon followed up with another attack.

His flash-like strike pierced the Vampire Baron’s heart. Even though a Vampire’s regenerative ability was leagues ahead of a human’s, if their heart was severely damaged, they would die.

“U-Ugh…!”

When the Vampire Baron died, its spilled blood shot into the air like a signal flare, ringing loudly through the air.

Before its death, it had used Blood Magic to send a signal that an intruder had entered the castle.

“The guards are moving,” Rishubalt reported.

He’d been discovered, but Sung Joon remained relaxed.

“I was thinking of killing the boss first, but I guess I won’t be able to…”

“Are you going to kill them all first?”

“Yeah. Let’s kill all the weaklings first,” Sung Joon replied and looked down. The troops were surrounding the tower. There were Vampire Nobles mixed in as well.

“Rishubalt. What’s the difficulty of this Awakening Dungeon?”

“It’s around a low tier SS-rank. It’ll put a strain on your stamina and mana, but you should be able to clear it easily, my lord,” Rishubalt replied.

If Sung Joon had been a normal SS-rank Hunter without the ‘Absorption’ ability, then it would’ve been impossible to clear this.

“I guess I should be careful.”

Sung Joon smiled faintly and jumped down the tower. At the same time, he gathered his mana and spoke.

“Slash.”

Once he uttered the activation words and swung his sword, an aura slash was launched at the ground with frightening speed.

“T-This is… Ugh!”

The battle had begun with a Vampire Knight’s right arm being severed. Sung Joon landed softly, and quickly swung his sword, unleashing a Tempest Sword.

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

The swarming troops screamed and were torn to shreds. A Vampire’s skin was about as durable as a Living Armor’s armor, but Sung Joon’s ‘sword winds’ were able to cut through a Living Armor’s armor.

With one strike, Sung Joon had ripped apart dozens of Living Armors, and a dozen of Vampires as well. Only the Vampires Nobles that had used their Blood Magic or Aura Armor to defend themselves were left standing.

“There are three Vampire Barons and five Vampire Knights remaining.”

A Vampire Baron was about as strong as a low tier S-rank Hunter. In comparison, the Vampire Knights were only top tier A-ranks.

Some classified Vampire Knights as S-rank monsters, but that was only a minority, so Sung Joon didn’t worry about it.

“W-We can’t stop him! Ask the Count for reinforcements from the main army!”

“Tell the Marquis what’s going on as well!”

Two of the Vampire Knights moved quickly to relay the messages. Sung Joon threw his dagger, killing one of them. He killed the other by closing the distance with high-speed movement and piercing its heart.

“Damn it! Attack him together! I’ll cover you!”

One of the Vampire Barons said, and hastily began casting its Blood Magic. Now there were only three Vampire Barons and five Vampire Knights left. They had to hold on until reinforcements arrived.

But when they attempted to move into formation…

They were struck by a flash of light.

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

Sung Joon swung his sword and the Vampire fell helplessly. Although there were three Vampire Barons, they couldn’t withstand Sung Joon’s sword.

By the time Sung Joon had stopped, there were no Vampires left standing, and blood fell from the sky like rain.

Sung Joon sensed Vampires coming from afar and smirked.

“It’s Christmas. Was I too flashy?”

“It truly is a Blood Christmas,” Rishubalt joked insipidly.

Sung Joon moved towards the approaching troops.

“Are you planning on killing all of them?”

“They can’t run away anyway, so I’ll slowly kill the weaklings first.”

Unless Sung Joon was killed or the Awakening Dungeon was cleared, no one could escape, as the spatial barrier cut this place off from the rest of the world.

He could clear the Awakening Dungeon by killing the boss, but because he had been discovered, Sung Joon had no other choice but to ‘annihilate’ all of the Vampires here.

Sung Joon soon saw the Marquis’s guards.

“The commander is a Vampire Count,” Rishubalt reported, and Sung Joon nodded his head.

Sung Joon couldn’t lower his guard against a Vampire Count, as it possessed top tier S-rank power.

“The Empire’s Battle Priest Vestments…? Is he a Heretical Judicator?”

The Vampire Count saw Sung Joon’s clothes and misunderstood. Though the Heretical Judicators wore the Battle Priest Vestments as well, the Heretical Judicators consisted of the best of the best, unlike the Battle Priests.

“It seems like they’ve mistaken you as a Heretical Judicator, my lord. This will be interesting.”

“I guess I can really mess around with them.”

Sung Joon smirked.

“I should change my plan. I’m not going to annihilate them. I’ll let a few of them live,” Sung Joon said.

If he acted like a Heretical Judicator and mercilessly killed the Vampires, then he would be able sow discord between the Empire and the Species Alliance.

“What are you muttering? Human… Answer my question. What is one of the Empire’s Heretical Judicators doing here?”

“I’ve come to strike you down in the name of the Empire,” Sung Joon said clearly with a booming voice.

A normal Heretical Judicator would refer to his ‘Imperial Majesty’, but Sung Joon was disinclined from doing so, so he just mentioned the Empire instead.

He was perfectly mimicking a Heretical Judicator. It was only possible because he had known several Heretical Judicators in the past and had fought on the battlefield with them several times before.

“What did you say…? Have you forgotten about the treaty between the Empire and the Species Alliance!?”

“That’s irrelevant. I merely annihilate the Empire’s enemies.”

Sung Joon raised his sword. Once he gathered his mana, the Vampires hurriedly used their Blood Magic and erected shields.

“Gale Sword!”

Once he swung his sword, a whirlwind swept up his surroundings. The high rank Vampires were safe, but the lower rank Vampires were ripped apart, along with their red blood shields.  

The outer ranks, which mostly consisted of Living Armors, crumbled. Sung Joon used his high-speed movement, and once he broke through the toppled ranks, the Vampire Knights attempted to stop him.

“Do everything you can to stop him!” a Vampire Viscount ordered.

A Vampire Viscount was about as strong as a high tier S-rank. Sung Joon looked at them with sharp, gleaming eyes.

“Are you going for the commander?”

Sung Joon nodded his head. A fundamental strategy when fighting against many enemies was to kill the commander and lower the troops’ morale.

“Petrify.”

The red ray, which contained the petrifying curse, was directed at the Vampire Viscount.

“S-Shit…!”

The Vampire Viscount noticed the ray, but it couldn’t move out of the way in time. It was so fast that even a high tier S-rank monster couldn’t react.

It consumed a considerable amount of mana, but it would petrify the Vampire Viscount with a single hit. Its body became stiff and it turned to stone.

“Don’t let your guard down!” the Vampire Count yelled whilst drawing its sword.

It had felt the need to fight itself, as it realized that Sung Joon was much more powerful than it had anticipated.

The Vampire Knights surrounded Sung Joon and the Count extended its left hand.

“He’s using telekinesis!” Rishubalt warned.

Sung Joon felt as though he were being suffocated by the powerful telekinesis. He attempted to release his mana to counter it, but it didn’t work. Blink wouldn’t work either.

‘It’s a lot stronger than I expected… Then…!’

He had to stop the Count. Sung Joon turned towards Rishubalt and said.

“Rishubalt!”

Once Sung Joon transferred his mana to him, Rishubalt drew his sword.

“I pledge my sword to you once more, my lord.”

He instantly closed the distance and swung his sword at the Vampire’s neck.

However, the Vampire had quickly sensed danger, so it had stopped using its telekinesis and retreated immediately, avoiding Rishubalt’s sword strike.

“Ugh… my lord! My apologies!”

“That’s good enough!”

Once it had stopped using its telekinesis, Sung Joon was free to move again. Sung Joon used Blink to teleport right behind the Count, and then he forcefully swung his sword.

The Count spurted red blood.