[Rock-Shooting Khan]

That monster holding the high ground was definitely strong.

Even if I tried to take it down myself, it would’ve been a pretty nasty fight.

“Ah... no.”

But now, that thing—

“Aah... m-my children...!”

with a face twisted in terror, was crying bloody tears and flailing, desperate to break free from Lirei’s hand.

“It seems to be a beast with rather rough resistance.”

But—

“Please wait just a moment, Count.”

As he said that, Lirei stepped in front of us, like he was blocking our view so we wouldn’t have to see the monster.

And then—

he tightened his grip on the hand holding it...

Kwach!

“Grrk...!”

Kwak!

“Guh... huh...!?”

Jjeojeojeok....

I couldn’t see it because Lirei’s back was in the way.

But the sounds were crystal clear.

“You demon bastard. It wasn’t enough that you massacred m-my children, ggrk....”

The sound of something bursting, tearing, and being ripped away.

And the beast’s howls.

Normally, I wouldn’t have understood what that scream meant—

but the [Mental Speech] trait was translating every painful shriek the monster spat out.

“I... I feel like I’m going to... submit....”

Jjeok!

“!@$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

And then—

even the sound coming through [Mental Speech]

filled up with nothing but meaningless screams of pain.

“Ggh... uh....”

The rock-like hide that had protected its whole body had already been torn away in rough strips, and when it got ripped off along with chunks of flesh, the blood vessels underneath were left exposed.

“......”

[Rock-Shooting Khan]

The monster that had been firing arrows with overwhelming force just half a day ago was now so thoroughly ruined it couldn’t even call its old self to mind.

“Here you are, Count.”

With a gentle smile, Lirei grabbed the monster by the throat and shoved it toward Ariella.

“It fell to us, but it inflicted lethal wounds on my thralls as well. I did have the power the grand duke granted me, but it was still a foe strong enough that I couldn’t have guaranteed victory.”

“Ggh....”

“If Your Excellency the Count takes its blood and has it be reborn anew, it will surely become an excellent fighting asset.”

“.......”

At that, Ariella frowned like it left a bad taste—

but then she let out a small sigh.

“Haa.”

And then—

kwach.

She sank her teeth into its neck.

“Ah... no....”

Then, from the massive monkey’s mouth—which had only been letting out painful groans—

a small voice leaked out.

“I... I... the Matron of Rock Mountain... reduced to... some... mosquito...”

“.......”

“To my children’s... enemy....”

Thud.

The giant monkey’s body collapsed to the ground.

And then, a moment later—

“Aah.”

The giant monkey pushed itself back up.

“My master of my soul...!”

With an attitude of extreme reverence, it dropped to its knees before Ariella.

“Well done, Count.”

“.......”

“By drinking a strong one’s blood and taking in an excellent thrall, your rank as a noble should have risen another step.”

Lirei smiled softly, like he was genuinely pleased with Ariella’s growth.

But blood was still ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ dripping off that face.

Watching him, I thought—

‘...Strong.’

It’s a bit much on the brutality, sure, but—

turning monsters into vampires by crushing them was originally what Ariella did.

The fact that it made my face pinch up in disgust wasn’t the main issue.

The issue was... that strength.

‘Those monsters... even with just me and the unit, we could’ve taken them. Even without the Legion’s main force showing up... just the people stationed on this land, we could’ve taken them.’

But—

the direction was different.

‘They didn’t... exploit a weakness or anything.’

And that made sense.

Because against those monsters, Lirei and his thralls—

just kept going, stubbornly...

walking up that mountain and hunting them down.

Yeah.

When Lirei took down those monsters, he didn’t use some brilliant strategy, and he didn’t dig into an enemy weakness.

Purely—

‘The strength they have as monsters.’

With that strength, he crushed enemies who’d been sitting on a terrain advantage.

Something other species couldn’t have done.

But—

Srrrk....

Vampires’ recovery is unmatched.

A tactic that was only possible because that recovery existed.

‘He said he serves the grand duke?’

That bastard—

had mastered the way monsters fight.

...As far as I knew, he should’ve been in a position where that wasn’t easy.

And yet—

“You said you serve the grand duke.”

“Yes. That’s right. The grand duke took in someone as lowly as me.”

“Then among the nobles under the grand duke, are you the strongest?”

“Me? Haha. What are you saying.”

It wasn’t just me who was shocked by that strength.

Ariella looked at Lirei and asked—

but the man drenched in blood laughed like he was embarrassed.

“There are at least ten nobles stronger than I am. Strongest in the bloodline... it’s humiliating even to say out loud.”

Hearing that, I let out a low sound.

A noble’s strength isn’t centered on individual combat power, but on the force they command.

‘So that’s true for the grand duke as well.’

The power I’d felt from the grand duke when we met had been immense, but—

if a fight had broken out right there, I also had a move I’d been planning to use, so I might’ve been able to win somehow.

But.

But—

‘If it turned into a situation where I had to face the grand duke’s force... the bloodline as a whole.’

Then...

even if I pulled out every means available to me, I didn’t think I could guarantee victory.

And at the same time, a small doubt settled into my head.

‘The grand duke said they want Ariella to build a new bloodline.’

The reason was supposedly something like wanting multiple bloodlines to compete, so they could reach an even more brilliant golden age, or whatever.

But—

the grand duke’s power already felt excessive.

‘At least ten stronger than Lirei, and who knows how many more around his level.’

If the grand duke’s fighting strength dropped onto the peninsula as-is, there was even a chance the Legion—without proper preparation—would lose without being able to resist.

It made me wonder whether competition with other bloodlines was even necessary, and even if Ariella built a bloodline, it would be hard for “competition” to even be possible against strength like that.

‘With that level of power... they want competition, and they’re reviving another bloodline?’

The moment that thought surfaced, one intuition flashed through my mind.

‘The claim that they want competition between bloodlines is a lie.’

It was only an intuition.

I could be wrong.

But if that intuition was right—

‘Then the real reason the grand duke wants Ariella to grow...’

might be something else entirely.

***

“Then on the way to the next destination... yes. Roll sideways as you go.”

“...Understood.”

Even as the procession continued moving, Ariella kept giving him new kinds of orders.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Yes... anything.”

Rooool... rooool....

“Among this procession’s supplies, do you have mana stones?”

“Of course. Since our mission is to deal with strong enemies, there are times we may need large amounts of mana... so we prepared as generously as we could. Recently... we took the mana stones Viscount Rashir had embezzled... so the amount has become quite plentiful as well....”

“Hmm. The very thing you unjustly took from what I won in a fair duel, you mean?”

“...Yes.”

Rooool... rooool....

“Then may I use it however I please?”

“Of course. These troops and supplies are all support the grand duke has provided to the Count. There are a few points the grand duke emphasized, but as long as you don’t violate those, you are free to do whatever you like.”

At that, Ariella turned to me with a sharp grin.

“Did you hear? It seems there are plenty of mana stones.”

The reason she’d asked Lirei about mana stones was me.

“This procession will likely be moving around from place to place. If we pass through the area near the transfer gate, I’ll take mana stones and secretly send them. Escape this land that way.”

Ariella hadn’t forgotten her promise to help me escape this land.

I didn’t know how it would turn out, but—

judging by the situation right now, it was a promise with a pretty high chance of being possible.

‘...I already sent a guild message to the unit members.’

It would take a long time until we could slip out naturally, so I’d told them to stay hidden as much as possible until then—

but just in case, to also be ready to come near the transfer gate if we ended up passing that way.

Ariella’s forces were with them over there too, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

The problem was—

‘Getting out in this half-assed way... I really hate it.’

At first, my goal had simply been to return to the Legion as fast as possible.

But after staying here, my thinking had shifted.

More than anything—

returning without Ariella, a crucial fighting asset, leaving the bastard who blew out my head and heart behind, not figuring out what the grand duke’s unsettling objective was, and not meeting a single one of the survivors who were supposedly somewhere out there—

‘This is...’

That would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

***

“Here is the next prey, Count.”

After that, the vampires’ conquest of territory and the hunts to fuel Ariella’s growth continued.

Battles where they hunted powerful monsters and offered their blood to Ariella.

And in situations where a fight was about to break out, Ariella didn’t go out of her way to mess with Lirei.

“The enemy we fought this time seemed to have quite a lot of underlings. Shouldn’t you bring their blood too?”

“That won’t be necessary, Count.”

“Why not? If it’s because you have complaints about me—”

“Of course not.”

At Ariella’s words, Lirei shook his head.

“I have no regrets about anything Your Excellency the Count does. Following the Count’s orders is what the grand duke commanded. I only follow with pleasure.”

“Then?”

“It’s because Your Excellency the Count has already entered a stage where you no longer need to take that kind of blood.”

The reason Ariella chose to stay under the grand duke rather than return with me wasn’t only because the grand duke’s forces were strong.

“When the grand duke sent me to Your Excellency the Count, there were a few things they stressed. In all other matters, I am to follow the Count’s orders, but these points are things I must absolutely keep.”

“The grand duke...?”

“One of them is this. Your Excellency the Count has already entered the ranks of the great nobility. From now on, it’s not only a matter of taking a lot of blood—the quality of the blood you take also matters. I was told to ensure you only take strictly selected blood. Your Excellency the Count can feel it as well, can’t you? The blood of miscellaneous monsters will no longer help you much.”

“That’s... true.”

With the knowledge the grand duke possessed—

even providing the know-how for how a noble could grow stronger faster—

it was obvious even to my eyes that Ariella’s power was steadily growing.

‘Already the second one.’

If things continued like this, no matter how long it took, Ariella would reach the level the grand duke wanted.

It was an offer the grand duke only made because they judged it was possible.

Meanwhile—

“...Hmph.”

Watching Ariella grow so smoothly, I couldn’t help frowning.

“You’ve got one hell of a face on you.”

As I did, Ariella—who had apparently finished her conversation—walked over to me and said.

“I know you don’t like being in a situation where you can’t do anything but follow along, but didn’t I say it? I’ll let you escape soon.”

“That’s not it.”

What bothered me wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t do anything right now.

‘The reason the grand duke wants to raise Ariella’s power.’

I’d started to doubt that reason, but no matter how I turned it over in my head, I couldn’t land on what it was.

But whether she knew what I was thinking or not—

“...Still. Even if it’s not that, you’re going to be losing me as a fighting asset... so you can’t help but feel bad.”

“That’s...”

“And I understand you’ve got a mountain of other things to worry about, too. So.”

Ariella looked at me with worried eyes, then offered in a low voice.

“How about you go see the unit members for a bit?”