“The monster up ahead is so huge it’s blocking an otherwise beautiful view. Go take care of it.”

“Yes... y-yes....” 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

At Ariella’s command, sitting in an arrogant posture atop the palanquin, the man at the center of the lead crawled on all fours to the very front of the procession and relayed something.

“My mouth is bored. Don’t you have something for me to drink?”

“I’ll have the thralls... bring it at once....”

“What are you saying? You told me you’d serve me like the grand duke. Do you casually dump the grand duke’s orders onto your own thralls?”

“...Please wait a moment....”

This time, he crawled off somewhere on all fours, then returned with something to drink.

“Here... as requested.”

“The taste doesn’t please me. Something else.”

“...I brought this. How about this one....”

“Tsk. I don’t like it... but if I make you fetch more, it doesn’t seem like it’ll get any better, so I’ll tolerate this much.”

“...Th-thank you—”

“Still, for something that’s supposedly not far from our destination, this trip is quite boring. Tell me something amusing.”

“Something amusing, you mean....”

I watched the scene with a dumbfounded look.

“D-do you know what you say when you part from a king?”

“Do I?”

“Bye... king....”

Oh, for God’s sake.

“Viking? Even I know that word. It refers to an old people in the native species’ history. Why would you say that when you part from a king?”

“Th-that’s....”

Over there, still crawling on all fours across the ground and hurrying to keep pace with the procession while listening for Ariella’s orders—

that man had been a powerhouse not long ago. He’d practically killed me once, and even subdued Ariella and her forces.

And now...

“Enough. Not that kind of wordplay. Don’t you have some other amusing anecdote?”

“An amusing anecdote, you say...?”

“Haa... if I ask you something like this, you should have an answer right away. You’re truly a dull one.”

Like a junior getting mocked by a senior while standing watch.

Flustered, getting toyed with over every little thing.

“Tsk, enough. The more I talk to you, the more bored I get. Get out of my sight.”

“...Yes, I’m sor—”

“Ah, and watching you walk on all fours is starting to bother me too. From now on, follow along in a squat.”

“......”

At that, without a word, he ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ started moving after the procession in a duck walk.

“...You’re really treating him like that.”

After I watched him get some distance away, I shut off [Mental Speech] and spoke to Ariella.

It was an awkward situation to have a conversation, but this was something I couldn’t not say.

“When we lost to him, the situation was bad, sure. But that aside, he’s insanely skilled.”

“Well, obviously. I fought him too.”

“...I can feel eyes on us from the monsters around us. I even stuck my tongue out for a second, and it’s so spicy my tongue feels like it’s burning. They look furious about you treating their master like this. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Let them be furious. That’s the point.”

At my words, Ariella twirled her hair as if she didn’t care.

“Do you remember? Before, you suddenly called me out, and in front of your companions, you made me... go to sleep... or whatever. You humiliated me.”

“...Ah. That happened.”

Back when Minjae suspected my decision to use her,

I’d run her through a full disciplinary set once to show that she obeyed my orders.

“Back then, I couldn’t resist because it was a situation where I couldn’t resist.”

“...Ahem.”

...Of all times to bring that up, now that she wasn’t a thrall anymore.

It made that warning about the System’s retaliation flash through my mind, and I felt guilty as hell, but—

“He’s the same.”

It didn’t seem like what she was trying to say was that she’d been wronged back then.

“The grand duke wants me to restore the Karshtein Bloodline, and that one is support sent for that purpose.”

“Right.”

“As long as the grand duke told him to follow my orders, he has no choice but to obey my commands as if they were the grand duke’s. Well, strictly speaking, the order was probably more like ‘don’t spare support for my growth’... but if crossing me could slow my growth, then in the end it’s the same.”

For now, that might be true.

But—

“Later, when he doesn’t need to help your growth anymore, what if he tries to get revenge on you?”

“If he wants revenge, let him.”

I voiced my concern, but Ariella spoke with a proud expression.

“By then, I’ll be the head of a bloodline, so it won’t be easy for him.”

Unlike me, worrying whether it was really okay to treat someone that strong this way, Ariella had done it knowing he could never truly turn hostile toward her.

“More than anything, it didn’t feel like something I could just let go.”

Ariella frowned.

“He did that to me, and to you... and he wants to say the past is just the past?”

“......”

“And then he grins like an idiot, acting like he’s relaxed. It’s... how do I put it.”

“It’s really annoying.”

“You understand. That’s why I decided to mess with him a little.”

At that, I stared blankly at her for a moment, then—

“...Well, to be honest.”

“Yes?”

I decided to just say what had come to mind.

It’s kind of a thing to say, but...

“It was satisfying for me too.”

“Pfft!”

At my words, she burst out laughing without even trying to hold it back.

Watching her face, I thought,

‘Now that the thrall bond is gone, and we’re basically strangers...’

maybe that was why—

there were parts I could actually relate to her on.

***

As I watched Lirei keep getting messed with and smiled to myself, a little while later—

“It’s there....”

The man who’d just been walking in a handstand a moment ago—

Lirei straightened his body and spoke.

“Our first destination.”

We had arrived at the special task force’s first destination—

a place even those vampires had supposedly failed to conquer.

“...Hm.”

Maybe even she wasn’t going to keep playing around with an enemy right in front of us.

Ariella looked displeased at Lirei standing up again.

I glanced at Ariella briefly, then turned my gaze to our destination.

‘That’s the place.’

What lay before us was a steep, towering mountain.

Near the summit, it looked like there had once been something like a temple; lodge-like buildings had been built along the winding slope.

“Kahahahahaha!!!”

And atop that jagged mountain ridge—

“Pathetic mosquitoes. You still don’t know when to give up, and you’ve come again!”

A massive beast sat perched on a lodge roof, looking down at us.

[Enhanced Ingredient Appraisal]

[Rock-Shooting Khan]

A monster with long arms and legs, and a tail.

It vaguely resembled a monkey, but its body looked incredibly hard, like it was made of rock.

Countless other monsters that looked similar crowded around it.

“Kuhihik, you got wrecked by Mom and you still came back!”

“No learning ability! Just like mosquitoes!”

“Mosquitoes keep coming back no matter how many you catch! Kihih!”

Normally, it would’ve sounded like nothing but shrill chittering, but thanks to the [Mental Speech] trait, I could understand it now.

They were mocking us, blatantly.

It even made me wonder whether some of the monsters I’d fought before had been spitting out similar lines at me too.

“Against stupid mosquitoes...!”

And then—

the largest monster of the group pulled out something like a huge bow from behind its back and roared.

“Time for Big Skewer Brother!”

Pababababababang!!!

From that bow, an enormous number of arrows poured down and slammed into the ground.

They looked like arrows carved from stone, but maybe it was the monster’s magic layered onto them—

the sheer force was insane.

Pababak....

“......”

Those arrows struck the ground right in front of our formation—

“As expected, it’s an enemy worthy of making my brothers abandon the assault.”

close enough to graze past Lirei’s nose before they buried themselves.

The arrows didn’t seem to have infinite range; not a single one actually hit the vampires.

But judging by the countless stone arrows lodged behind them, stepping inside that range didn’t feel like anything but suicide.

‘This is a place where other troops tried once and failed, to begin with.’

Steep mountain terrain—bad ground.

And on top of it being hard to climb, the enemy held a clear high-ground advantage.

Those monsters looked strong, too.

The largest one—the one called the [Rock-Shooting Khan]—was a monster emitting blue magic.

Shushushuk....

And on top of that, despite their bodies looking so hard, they were incredibly agile.

Using those long limbs and tails, they moved freely through the brutal mountain terrain.

They were practically flying around in every direction, which meant the direction the arrows came from kept changing.

Even if you somehow climbed the mountain, it wouldn’t be easy to catch them.

‘If it were Ariella’s vampires, they could at least use [Mistform] to avoid that rain of arrows...’

But that other bloodline couldn’t use [Mistform].

Their monstrous strength and beastly power wouldn’t help them block stone arrows, either.

If it were me...

Honestly.

‘I would’ve given up on taking it head-on and pulled back.’

The enemies were dug in, defending.

There was no reason to force a fight under conditions this unfavorable.

We could already see what the monsters looked like.

If it were me, I would’ve analyzed them, then come back after preparing dishes that could target their weaknesses.

Even then, the terrain problem wouldn’t go away, so—

it would still be a brutal fight.

“Count.”

But—

“Right now, Your Excellency the Count is our commander. So.”

Facing an enemy like that, Lirei didn’t suggest retreat.

“Please give the order.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked at Ariella and smiled faintly.

“Hmph. Right. Let’s see—fighting head-on won’t be easy. So...”

Ariella also seemed to think taking that place wouldn’t be simple.

She was about to give an order of her own, but—

“No. That’s not it.”

“Hm?”

Lirei shook his head.

“Didn’t Sir Luor say it as well? That there would be no situation where Your Excellency the Count would need to deal with troublesome matters. The command Your Excellency the Count must give us isn’t some plan that comes out after deep thought.”

“...Then.”

“Just tell us to do it.”

“Just tell you to do it....”

At that,

Ariella frowned slightly.

“...If that’s the case.”

Even so, she didn’t seem inclined to argue with him.

She gave her head a small shake, then spoke with a proud, composed air.

“Knights of the grand duke.”

“Yes.”

“Crush the bloodline’s enemies, and bring them to their knees before me.”

At that—

“Yes. As the Count commands.”

With a gentle smile, Lirei nodded.

“Let’s go. Thralls.”

As Lirei turned and began to walk,

“It’s time to shatter the bloodline’s enemies!”

following behind him, the grand duke’s knights climbed the mountain.

***

...And.

That was enough.

“A-ah...! No, no...!”

Not even half a day after the grand duke’s knights started moving toward the mountain—

after that short span of time, what stood before our eyes was—

“My children... my children...!”

“......”

“Demon bastards... trash...!”

Countless massive monsters with rock-like skin

lay collapsed everywhere, their hides torn away, blood sprayed across the ground.

“I don’t know what it’s saying, but what an insolent beast.”

And then—

a man with half-lidded eyes grabbed the last remaining monster by the head and dragged it across the ground as he approached.

“Now then. Are you not going to kneel before the Count?”

Kwach!

“Ghk...!”

Right in front of me and Ariella, he raised his foot and drove it down hard on the monster’s shin.

The stone skin shattered in a burst of dust, and flesh and bone sprayed out in every direction.

“As you commanded.”

The man gripped the head of the powerful monster that seemed to be the leader of the pack—

the [Rock-Shooting Khan]—

like he was about to crush it, and forced its head up.

“I have brought the bloodline’s enemies to their knees before the Count.”

“......”

Soaked in blood, flesh, and dust, the man said it with a gentle smile.