"Remember, once the Stealth barriers are active, we won't be able to see you, and the eight of you won't be able to see each other either...so be careful not to crash into each other or anyone else, especially not the Vampires, and stay at least five meters ahead of the rest of us," I instructed, as we all got ready to leave.
"Hmph, I don't like that you're acting like you're in charge here, but...I guess that's some useful advice, so I'll let it slide this time," Responded Valaque with a huff.
That...wasn't so much advice as it was just me stating the obvious. What is wrong with this dumbass anyway?
"Hm, it shouldn't be too difficult to avoid knocking onto one of us or the Vampires, since we'll all be visible but...it might be kinda difficult for you guys to avoid crashing into each other. In hindsight, I should have asked for the Stealth barriers to allow those inside it to see anyone else who's also using a Stealth barrier...honestly, now that I think about it, it's kind of a miracle that none of us crashed into each other on the way here," I muttered with a frown.
"I can adjust that within ten minutes," Suggested Lagusa, taking out the folded sheet of parchment inside the Spell Card and going over the command lines, "I believe I will only need to add five or six command lines to make it work that way."
"But if you are mistaken, the spells you modify will be useless," Pointed out Instructor Tabbs.
"Not a problem, the eight of you will not be using your own Stealth barriers for this phase, so we can take your copies if that happens...however, not to worry, I am fairly confident that this will work."
"I pains me to say this, but I can back up that claim...this old bastard was stupidly good at stuff like this, even better than pro software engineers," I reluctantly vouched for him.
It was true, and since I could never get the hang of coding, his skills with it were especially impressive to me back then.
"Woah, for real? So, like, was he like those movie hackers that type super fast and then go 'I'm in', in that deep, emotionless tone?" Inquired Rion with a laugh.
"I can totally imagine that," Remarked Rex in amusement.
"Yeah, for sure!" Added Kuua, chuckling.
"Of course not, hacking is nothing like how it is in movies, it is actually a rather slow and boring process," Sighed Lagusa, as he began modifying the barriers.
Huh, now that I think about it...
"Well, there was this one time he was hacking into some international database for a job he was working on, and it was apparently pretty difficult to hack into...anyway, I happened to walk past his room right as he finally cracked it, and he let out this delirious laugh before going 'I'm in', in that scruffy movie hacker voice, and then went 'heh, nice' to himself, and started laughing all crazy again," I recalled.
"Seriously!? That's hilarious!" Snorted Valaque with laughter.
"What!? That never happ-...wait, now I remember...you saw that!?"
Oh, I got him to lose his cool...that's a pretty rare sight.
"...your door was wide open, it's not like I was trying to spy on you, I was like, eleven at the time. Anyway, that's not important right now, hurry up and finish up on those spells already, you old bastard."
True to his word, he finished up in about ten minutes, and as he and Rion tested out the spell...yup, it was working. We couldn't see them, but they confirmed that they could see each other. Atticus then informed Lagusa and Valaque where the exact position Lazarus was in inside the castle. Alright, we'd waited around long enough...time to move out.
"Are we finally getting this thing started?" Inquired Valaque with a glint in his eyes.
"Yeah, that's right. You guys activate your Stealth barriers and go ahead, the only thing you need to keep in mind is to not make contact with any Vampire until you find the king...and then kill him," I said, to make sure they were clear on what they were supposed to do, before adding inaudibly under my breath, "Assuming you'll be able to kill him, that is."
If they did kill him, great, less work for me, and hopefully some of them die too. That'd be the best case scenario. But in reality, I was just using them to buy me time to capture and consume the life forces of the Vampire Knights and Evil Numbers, so either way, it doesn't really matter how well they do against Lazarus.
"Yup, and you guys will make sure the other Vamps don't bother us while we go in for the money shot!" Exclaimed Valaque, with a giddy expression on his face.
"Exactly! We're all counting on you," I replied with a smirk.
Lagusa was watching me with narrowed eyes...well, he's not stupid, he could definitely tell that I was keeping something to myself, but Valaque wasn't going to listen, so he was keeping quiet for now. And besides, he has no idea what I'm keeping to myself, so whatever.
"Well, yeah, that goes without saying...I mean, I am the strongest human in this world, after all!"
Seriously, how did this guy end up ruling over an entire nation, he's ridiculously easy to manipulate, just throw a little flattery his way and he's about as sharp as a sponge.
"Right...okay then, activate your Stealth barriers and follow after us. Once we come across the Knights and Evil Numbers, you eight sneak past us and them, and head for the king. Let's go," I declared, as they activated the Stealth barriers and vanished from sight.
We then followed after Atticus, after he confirmed that there were no weaker Vampires anywhere nearby, which meant that he could lead us straight to the stronger ones without any interruptions.
"Alright, once we come across the Knights and Evil Numbers, we'll stall for a bit of time to let The Empire group go on ahead without a problem, and then, we take out the Vampires. There are three Evil Numbers and four Vampire Knights, so seven in total...on that matter, Atticus, how's are the numbers of the weaker Vampires looking?" I inquired, as we hurried along towards the castle.
"The eight Generals I sensed earlier are still alive, but as for the Minions...only about sixty of them are still alive."
Looks like the east and west teams were doing pretty well. But I doubt they can handle all of the Vampire Minions, they might be starting to slow down already...the limited Mana and stamina of humans was a factor that couldn't be ignored, considering that Vampires have massive stamina reserves and unlimited magical energy.
The Generals were a lot further in, several kilometers from where the east and west groups had set their rendezvous points, so unless those groups could gain access to the teleportation booths, they weren't going to be able to reach them. And I'm assuming that the teleportation booths were all guarded by Vampires, so it was pretty risky.
"Oh, and while we're stalling for time, Atticus, mind introducing the Vampires we encounter? If you don't think you can do that naturally, then maybe greet each of them by name while looking at them directly or something like that. I've memorized the names and Crosses of the stronger Vampires, but I haven't memorized the descriptions of their appearances."
"Very well, I shall see what I can do."
"Kuro, how do you propose we fight them? We outnumber them, but they are more powerful," Pointed out Instructor Tabbs.
"Good point, we'll each have to take on set roles. Instructor, you'll fly up and use your sonic blasts to keep the Vampires from flying, keeping the battle on the ground as much as possible. We'll be indoors, but it can't hurt to restrict their space even further."
"Very well, leave it to me."
"I'll take on two of the Evil Numbers, as for the third one, two people will have to tag-team against that one...and the four Knights need to be taken one-on-one. Let's see here...Az and Persia, you two take on the third Evil Number. Ekai, Fuo, Gela and Vi, you four will each have to take on a Knight...is everyone okay with that?"
With no one speaking up in protest, we had a clear plan on how to react when we ran into the stronger Vampires. And the north entrance to the castle was within sight...
———————————————————————————
Point-of-View: Tirayze Valaque
———————————————————————————
"Valaque, there is something I am skeptical about, I believe that we should take a certain precaution."
"Okay, I hear you...but the question is, how am I hearing you? Aren't these supposed to be soundproof?"
"Wha-...that is not important right now, but I will explain quickly, I added another specification to the barrier, if it overlaps with another Stealth barrier, the soundproof feature will be inactive within that overlap. Anyway, I believe that the boy is hiding something...I suggest leaving one of us behind to observe the Rustlands group's battle. Perhaps Rex or Hacte, I doubt either will be of much use against the Vampire King."
Sheesh, paranoid much? But I guess it wasn't a problem, I could probably take the Vampire King by myself if necessary, so losing one subordinate was no biggie.
"Fine, we'll leave Hacte, he's probably the weakest at the moment since he hasn't gotten used to fighting with one arm," I suggested after thinking it over for a sec.
"Yes, I agree. You should be the one to tell him, he will be more willing and motivated if you tell him yourself. Make it seem like an important task."
"You're so devious, Arturo, I love it! Alright, I'll tell him."
As Arturo moved away from me, I got Hacte's attention and waved him over. He bounded towards me without so much as a second's delay, I waited till our barriers overlapped before speaking...hm, I should talk all high and mighty, he likes that crap...
"Hacte, I wish to assign you an important task...do you think you are up for it-?"
"Yes, my lord! Whatever it may me, I shall do it without hesitation!"
I do appreciate his loyalty, but not gonna lie, it made me a little uncomfortable how drastically devoted he was...
"You have my gratitude, Hacte."
"Y-you're too kind, my lord, I do not deserve such words."
See what I mean?
"Ahem...the task I want you to do is quite simple...stay behind and observe the Rustlands' group as they fight the other Vampires...I believe that they are up to something," I explained, before adding for good measure, "I cannot trust anyone with this but you, Hacte...can you do it?"
"O-only I can-...I am truly honored, my lord, I will not disappoint you...I accept this task you have bestowed upon me!"
Well, that was easy, if not a little creepy...oh, looks like we're almost at the north entrance to the castle, the Rustlands' group were pushing open the large doors. Huh, I'm starting to feel curious about Arturo's suspicion...was he just being paranoid and overly cautious, or are they really upto something? Well, either way, I only had one thing on my mind right now...I was going to be the one to kill the Vampire King!
I climbed up the stairs to the entrance and went through the open doors, following closely behind the Rustlands' group...if I remember right, that Atticus trapn't Vampire dude slash dudette person said that the Vampires were about two hundred meters inside from the north entrance, and that the king was located about five hundred meters directly behind them.
"Behind those doors, they are in there!" I heard Atticus call out from the front.
"In that case, we should knock before we enter," Replied Kuro, as black lightning began crackling around his fist, "Karmic Shocker Punch!"
Hm...I hate to admit it, but his naming sense is pretty cool. Mine is better though! As he slammed his fist forward, the doors cracked and burst in, crashing into the room on the other side of the doorway. As the dust cleared, seven Vampires came into sight, three of them wearing hooded cloaks just like Zero had worn...though I didn't see him here. And the other four were wearing capes like the ones worn by the Vampire Knights I fought before.
They all sure looked strong, but I'm not here to fight the small fry...I'm here for the big fish! This looks like some kind of hall, it was a massive room with a high ceiling and a large...chandelier? In this world? Yeah, that's definitely a chandelier, made up of Light Crystals...was someone in the Silvland royal family a Reincarnator? And how did they even activate the Light Crystals, Vampires don't have Mana...maybe they left some of the servants alive to do it for them?
Whoops, can't get distracted, gotta get going. As the two groups stared down at each other, I went around the Rustlands' group and past the Vampires unnoticed, my Retribution Tier members following after me, with Hacte slinking to the corner of the room and observing them. This is really exciting, I can't wait to see the Vampire King! And then kill him!
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.