Clank! Clank!
A sharp pickaxe slammed against the hard rocks of a mine.
Henrick grumbled, “There was that time at the Desert of Death, and now this time again! A war?! Aren’t you sick and tired of it?”
“We have to,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied as he slammed the pickaxe into the rock once again. A shiny vein of ore appeared from within the walls of the mine. He picked out some silver ore and some yellowish ore and loaded them into a wheelbarrow.
“Well, we do have to kill all of the vampires to completely liberate the slaves,” Henrick said with a sigh.
The two men put down their pickaxes and took a break; Kang Yoon-Soo looked at his wrist device and checked the countdown timer.
[Time Remaining Until Death: 94 hours, 24 minutes, 17 seconds.]
‘Four days have already passed…’
Kang Yoon-Soo had spent those four days destroying the slave quarters and liberating the slaves. It had not been an easy job, as the vampires had reinforced their defenses and used illusion magic to hide the locations of the slave quarters.
‘It would have taken us more than a month to destroy all of the slave quarters if I didn’t have my knowledge from my previous lives.’
Kang Yoon-Soo had known exactly where all of the slave quarters were located, and he had even devised a plan for each of them according to their location and terrain. One time, he infiltrated the slave quarters while disguised as a vampire, and another time, he infiltrated them while disguised as a slave before opening all the locks from the inside. He retreated immediately after destroying the slave quarters and liberating all of the slaves just before the vampires’ reinforcements arrived.
‘The slaves will be an excellent addition to our combat power.’
The slaves who had lost their freedom and had been abused by the vampires came from a wide variety of races, and all of them had very diverse abilities unique to their races. One of the races that displayed a unique racial ability was working with Kang Yoon-Soo at that very moment.
“Master… No, I mean, Kang Yoon-Soo-nim! We’e finished mining all the ore in tunnel number three!” a small dwarf reported as he pushed a wheelbarrow filled with all sorts of ores. The dwarf was one of the people who had been enslaved by the vampires until he was liberated by Kang Yoon-Soo.
Kang Yoon-Soo nodded at the dwarf’s report.
‘Nobody can come close to the dwarves when it comes to mining.’
The dwarves’ mining ability was incomparable to that of other races, as they had an innate skill to identify and locate high-quality ores. Additionally, they were quite small, so they could easily fit into small tunnels as well. The vampires had locked up the dwarves in this mine and forced them to mine ores and jewels.
“Should we mine out tunnel number five as well?” the dwarf asked enthusiastically, because he knew that what he was doing was a form of revenge against the vampires.
Kang Yoon-Soo replied, “Yes.”
“Roger that!” The dwarf ran excitedly as if he were going to the pub to drink beer.
Henrick snickered and said, “Those guys are following your commands quite well.”
“It’s because their freedom is at stake,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
Freedom was the only thing on the minds of the slaves who had been enslaved and abused by the vampires for so many years. Even the vampires, once an embodiment of fear to the slaves, would no longer be able to quell the slaves’ desire for freedom.
“But there’s something I’m curious about. We already wasted enough time destroying the slave quarters and liberating the slaves, but why the useless mining all of a sudden?” Henrick asked.
The mines definitely housed plenty of undiscovered minerals and ores, but they had no time to smelt all of those ores and turn them into weapons or armor. Furthermore, they had had to sacrifice a lot of zombies to take over the mines, as there had been more vampires guarding them compared to the slave quarters.
“There’s a reason behind it,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he rubbed the bluish teeth marks on his neck. They glowed with the magical energy infused into them by the Vampire Lord, Argoric.
‘There’s no time.’
The full moon would come in four days, and the vampires would be able to leave Sanguineum. Kang Yoon-Soo would also die on that day.
‘The only way out of this is to kill the Vampire Lord.’
Kang Yoon-Soo had actually taken a huge risk by talking to Argoric face to face. He had placed all his bets on Argoric’s overconfidence, curiosity, and desire for some form of entertainment to free him from his mundane, repetitive life. Thankfully, Argoric had fully accepted Kang Yoon-Soo’s proposal to wage an all-out war.
‘Argoric Hermon…’
Kang Yoon-Soo knew him very well, since he had faced Argoric countless times in his previous lives. That was one of the main reasons why he had confessed his regressions and made such a risky proposal face to face.
‘I would have instantly died at the hands of Argoric on the spot if something had gone wrong.’
The Vampire Lord had placed a time limit on Kang Yoon-Soo, but at least Argoric had not killed anyone before he left. Kang Yoon-Soo was more than satisfied by the fact that his party members had survived the encounter with the Vampire Lord.
‘Argoric is strong, though.’
The Vampire Lord had tenacious life force and monstrously strong combat power. That was not all; he had a near-infinite supply of magic power as well. The remaining four days were bound to be filled with ferocious fighting between Kang Yoon-Soo and the slaves against Argoric and the vampires.
Some time passed, and the dwarves came back with a wheelbarrow full of minerals and ores.
“Let’s go,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
They could only occupy the mines for a very short time, and they had used that time to mine as much as they could before they left it. The vampires’ reinforcements were bound to arrive and catch them if they spent too much time in the mines.
They left the tunnel with their wheelbarrows in tow, and passed through a dark and winding mountain trail before arriving at a cave.
“Oh, you’re here?” While cooking dinner in a large pot, Shaneth turned around and greeted them. The cave hidden deep in the mountains was a place that even the vampires did not know existed, and that was why it was a safe haven for the group.
The slaves welcomed him.
“Kang Yoon-Soo-nim has returned!”
“He brought a lot of shiny ores with him!”
“Hmm? Did the master come back?” a young elf boy asked.
The man beside him smacked him in the head and commented, “What do you mean ‘master’? You little rascal. We’re no longer slaves!”
“I’m sorry! It became a habit,” the young elf said, laughing awkwardly while rubbing his head.
Henrick grimaced as if he could not take it anymore and said, “What a fucked up reality this is…”
The slaves had been liberated from the vampires’ rule, but they were still unable to discard the habits they had picked up while they were enslaved. There were even some slaves who fidgeted nervously while looking around for any menial labor they could do out of habit. It was as if the chains that bound their bodies had disappeared, but the chains that bound their hearts still remained in place.
“Hey, Kang Yoon-Soo,” Renil called out as the man walked toward him. He pointed at Deff, who was sitting alone at the edge of a cliff while staring at Sanguineum, and said, “Can you do something about Deff?”
“…” Gasen approached as well and nodded.
Henrick asked, “What’s wrong with that guy?”
“He still hasn’t found his younger brother,” Renil said.
“I thought we destroyed all of the slave quarters in Sanguineum? Then isn’t he just dead at this point?” Henrick asked.
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“That’s the most plausible theory, but how can someone who’s longing for a lost family member accept such a cruel reality so easily?” Renil said as he shrugged.
Henrick rubbed his chin and asked, “But why are you asking this guy to be his therapist?”
“Umm… It’s because Kang Yoon-Soo knows a lot of things. Isn’t that right?” Renil said.
Gasen quietly nodded beside him. “…”
Henrick was surprised by the short-sightedness of the Vampire Hunters. He said, “Hoo… In my opinion… This guy is the least suitable person to become a therapist…”
Kang Yoon-Soo ignored their conversation and walked toward Deff.
Deff did not even bother to look back as he started to speak. “There was a time when our ancestors tried to make peace with the vampires, but this was the result of that attempt.” He began sounding dejected as he continued, “Hundreds of werewolves ended up becoming enslaved by the vampires. I thought they would all get their freedom back if I liberated them, but that was all in my head.” His vestments were stained with the vampires’ blood.
“Those who were liberated were actually scared to step outside, and there were even some of them who felt more at ease staying inside their cages,” he said. He turned around and looked at Kang Yoon-Soo before continuing, “Do you know why these people are following you? It’s because they want to be commanded by someone.”
Kang Yoon-Soo naturally hated consoling someone. He had to listen for a long time, speak a lot, and try to sympathize with the other person; the last part was the one thing he was and had always been very bad at.
That was why he decided to use the most effective method when it came to consoling someone.
“Drink up,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he passed a bottle of red wine to Deff. Deff took the bottle and gulped it down. The sight of a priest in his vestments, gulping down a bottle of red wine while drenched in blood, was very strange.
The priest drank the whole bottle at once, letting out a long sigh before saying, “It’s delicious.”
“…”
“Is it from Vulpehin?” Deff asked.
“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“It’s been a while since I smelled this fragrant red wine. How good would it be if this place had the same fragrance too?” Deff remarked, still sounding dejected.
Kang Yoon-Soo was not good at counseling or consoling people, but he knew a lot of things other people were not aware of.
“Your younger brother is alive,” he said.
Kwachik!
Deff broke the wine bottle in his grip the moment he heard Kang Yoon-Soo’s statement.
***
“My lord!”
“Be quiet,” Argoric said, annoyed.
There were thirteen vampires kneeling down before his throne, and they all had red capes on their backs.
“Nobles of the Night,” Argoric began.
The Nobles of the Night were stronger than average vampires; they were ranked even higher than the high-ranked vampires. They were considered to be at the top of the vampire hierarchy, just under the Vampire Lord.
“We’ve already found that the disease was spread through the fog,” Argoric said.
They had found the disease sample in the Fog Dispensing Center and removed it, but it was already too late, as the disease had already spread through the fog.
Argoric spoke of the reality that the vampires had tried to deny. “We can’t stop the disease from spreading.”
The fog was a vital part of Sanguineum, and it was something that could not be removed. It not only blocked out the sunlight, which was a fatal weakness for vampires, but also blocked out the moonlight and prevented any enslaved werewolves from transforming. In fact, the vampires were bound to be at a disadvantage if they withdrew the fog.
“However, we aren’t affected by this disease,” Argoric said.
A special trait of top-ranked vampires allowed the Vampire Lord and the Nobles of the Night to be immune to all diseases; that was because their blood was much purer than that of average vampires.
“That’s why I’m commanding you to sacrifice yourselves to ease the suffering of our people, but why are you refusing my commands?” Argoric asked.
“But, my lord! Our magic power is too precious!” an old vampire said while prostrating before the Vampire Lord. Vampires usually did not age, but the old vampire had been alive for so long that wrinkles had already started to form on his face. The only vampire who did not age no matter how many millennia had passed was the Vampire Lord.
“The insignificant vampires are already infected and they will not be able to recover from this disease, and sharing our magic power with them will be a blow to our authority as the Nobles of the Night,” the old vampire said.
Vampires were an innately proud race. Even a lower-ranked vampire would scoff at and look down on other races; that was one good reason why the citizens of the continent were scared of vampires. Even then, the pride and arrogance of the Nobles of the Night were on a different level compared to any lower-ranked vampires.
“Hmm… Who were you again?” Argoric asked.
“I am your humble servant, Rofrekin Nairan, sire,” the old vampire responded.
“Raise your head,” Argoric commanded, and the old vampire raised his head. Argoric’s red eyes shone before he said, “Kill yourself this instant.”
“I will carry out your will,” the old vampire said. He stabbed his nails into his own neck and twisted them, slicing his own head off his body. His head rolled across the floor.
“Any objections?” Argoric asked.
“No, sire,” the twelve remaining Nobles of the Night replied, immediately withdrawing from his presence.
Argoric rubbed his chin and thought, ‘We can’t stop the disease, but we can prevent the vampires from weakening.’
The Nobles of the Night would infuse the vampires with their mana, and the vampires who were suddenly infused with such strong mana would have their life force decrease—the same way Kang Yoon-Soo’s days had become numbered after he was infused with Argoric’s mana.
However, it was different for the vampires, as they would regain their strength and vitality at the expense of their life force being reduced. That would allow them to regain the strength they had lost because of the disease.
‘I have to do this much to win this war.’
Kang Yoon-Soo’s trump card was the disease, but what if he nullified the disease? The tides of the war would instantly shift in his favor.
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
The news of the slave quarters being decimated, as well as the news that Kang Yoon-Soo was gathering the slaves to create a force to fight against the vampires reached Argoric, and he was glad to hear it.
‘I’ll gladly become the villain, oh regressor!’ Argoric exclaimed excitedly in his mind.
A chance had finally appeared to release all of the frustration he had built up from his boring, repetitive, and mundane life. The Vampire Lord felt that he was born ready to become the biggest villain the world had ever seen.
***
Time continued to pass, but nothing special happened involving Kang Yoon-Soo and the slave forces he had gathered. They did not conquer any other territories, nor did they launch a raid on the vampires.
It was on the day just before the full moon arrived that the vampires assembled their forces.