The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness

A castle siege is difficult, even for a vampire. For vampires with a number of fatal weaknesses, being waited for fully prepared is extremely hard. In particular, being unable to cross flowing water and losing their powers when they’re above it is an especially troublesome weakness and it’s also one of the reasons why vampires, who boast of great powers, haven’t survived that much. Another peculiar problem that comes up when attacking fortresses, castles or mansions is the weakness of being unable to enter without being invited and it can be said that the success or failure of the mission I gave to Mirele this time depends on how she’ll solve this problem.

— And, Mirele dealt with each of those problems with brute force.

She boldly pulled out the tree and used it as a bullet. The massive projectile fired at the velocity similar to a cannon ball collided with the firm wall, slightly shook the old fortress and fell into the deep moat filled with flowing water. Countless soldiers had gathered on top of the outer wall, stunned by her brutality. Unperturbed by the failed destruction, Mirele pulled out the next tree and resumed throwing.

Even an ordinary object can turn into a weapon if it’s fired with the physical strength of a vampire. I guess this is what they mean when they say that simple is the best. If I were to attack a castle surrounded by a moat, I would probably also take a similar approach after much deliberation, but she’s really flexible.

Looks like… she really won’t be having any problems.

I make the bat that I’d sent flying high up in the sky, descend and stop on Mirele’s head.

“?! Brother?!”

Mirele, who immediately realized the true identity of the strange bat, shouted with glee.

After making it let out a quiet cry, I retrieved my consciousness, vision and attention from the ‘bat that I had created by transforming a part of my body’.

I sigh in relief. The bat’s vision is still flickering in the corner of my mind.

Vampire abilities are useful and versatile. And, because of that, if you are going to fight another vampire, the results of the battle will be decided by who’s more proficient at using their abilities. There would be nothing lamer if I went to save Senri and ended up losing. I can’t keep losing to Mirele.

That being said, the situation wasn’t progressing. There is only one Oliver and I prefer attacking before sending the summons to surrender, but I won’t be able to make excuses later when I’m questioned by Senri. Even if I want to practice my powers, blood power is finite. Right now, I have no choice but to get blood from Monica, but its quality is too different from Senri. Human blood seems to be the best way for gaining blood power.

Right now, the roles in the army of White Puppy King, which is involuntarily made up of a select few, are simple. Monica researches, Oliver negotiates and Mirele threatens. And I… I?

I can only do gymnastics.

“It’s useless, Lord End. The humans are exhausted, but even they won’t surrender without seeing our military strength.”

“… Maybe I’ll come with you for the next negotiation…”

“?! I-in this era, people don’t meet people at night, Lord End.”

Oliver’s fearful yet exasperated gaze was telling me to not follow him because I’d get in his way. If the other person was Senri, I’d be able to easily accept that opinion, but I wonder what this feeling I have is.

But at this rate, I will become somebody who makes his subordinates do everything without doing anything himself.

In truth, I was planning on attacking the castle with Mirele, but if she can do it alone, it would be more efficient for her to do it by herself and for me to do something else meanwhile. What should I do to reunite with Senri as soon as possible? I folded my hands, thought for a while and nodded.

“… Hmm. I have time so maybe I’ll make some weapons.”

“…Pardon? What are you talking about?”

Our goal is not only to absorb underlings under our command. It is the earnest wish of the White Puppy Army to make them fight and get to Senri.

I know that those who would give in to threats aren’t very strong, but even weak underlings might be better off if we equip them with suitable weapons.

“Weapons, you say… it is true that there is a shortage of weapons in the world, but do you have any blacksmith in mind, Lord End?”

“Not a blacksmith, but magic instead.”

I touch the jet black sword that was left by the Mirage King – Jet Nuumite Braklion – next to me. The sword of daybreak. It’s a cursed sword with a history, which nobody could take when I was asleep because it curses everything that it touches. And it’s also the sword that only I, who defeated him, can use.

Jet created this sword with earth magic.

I still find it unbelievable that a sword of this quality could be created with just magic —but a weapon isn’t the only thing I’ve inherited from him. Feeding isn’t just the act of replenishing nutrition. Putting the blood in your body – is the inheritance of power. When I first drank Senri’s blood, I inherited her positive presence and some level of the resistances she had. When I bit into the Lord’s phantom, I wasn’t even a Lesser Vampire yet, but I inherited his memories.

The curse designed by the Lord, ‘Curse Steal’, is the advanced form of Feeding. The King of the Palace where all demonic beings reside. When his powers flew into me, I relived his memories. The soul of the Mirage King is still with me.

I touch the stone wall with my palm. Even if I say that I relived it, I can only use about 10% of Jet’s powers in my current state.

But, 10% is enough. The stone wall wriggles like clay, creating a stone sword in my hand. Its shape and the strength are far inferior to the sword of the daybreak, but, well, it’s better than nothing,

The scorched color of the blade is the result of compressing the stone with a spell. Oliver, who received the sword, looked at the length of the blade and hummed in admiration.

“Mmh… it’s a bit heavy, but demons shouldn’t have any problem wielding it.”

“If I had metal, I could make metal ones too. I can’t create weapons by sucking up materials from the soil though…” In order to reach that level, I would need to have a delicate spell composition, deep knowledge of the earth, and above all, insatiable hunger. It was because of his maddening desire, that he reached the zenith of a single path of sorcery. I will most likely never reach that realm.

But I can use it as a bargaining tool. With a weapon, even worthless demons could become useful. A bigger reach is at least better than fighting with bare fists, and it’s more elaborate than an ordinary stone sword.

So, how about it?

When I looked at him, Oliver was swinging the sword lightly with a thoughtful expression for a little while, but then he nodded strongly as if he was satisfied.

“… What a terrifying power. If we show them goods, we can at least form a partnership. At the very least, we do need enough members to be called an army though.” “So it depends on Mirele…”

A human town is too weak to choose it as our first target, and there are only 4 of us. There’s a high chance that we’ll be underestimated no matter how strong we are. The army of the Demon King of Evernight is weak, but they have a fair number of soldiers. Controlling them would be the first stepping stone. On the other hand, if nothing comes out of it even when we corner them, we’ll have to reconsider our plan.

The time when vampires can move is too short.

“Then I’ll go make some weapons…”

“In that case, I will make preparations to carry the weapons. It would be better if we had any horses… Haa. Unfortunately, we are also short on horses, so for a while I’ll be the one pulling the cart.”

Oliver’s shoulders deflated and he left the room with a pitiful expression. If the army of White Puppy King becomes big, I’ll make him into a General.