Breaking The Stalemate

Meanwhile at the Harisan Empire.

The council of the Empire gathered around the red carpet as they kneel in front of the Emperor. They wore white robes with an insignia of a man killing a dragon engraved behind them. Additionally, there are also three diamonds beneath the robes, signifying their position as high-ranking officials.

Emperor Alexander frowned as he listened to the scout explaining the detailed news about the Baru Empire who's currently under attack by some unknown forces.

Although they couldn't approach the area of destruction due to a fight literally destroying everything, they manage to see the state of the Empire.

"...it's gone, your majesty. There's nothing left in there."

Members of the council sucked the air. The knights who are also guarding the gate gasped in shock.

The Baru Empire is famous for oil trades throughout the Central Land. Due to this, they became prey to other empires tainted by greed. However, in the end, those empires suddenly vanished overnight.

Buildings and houses were destroyed and all the people were shown no mercy.

In the end, despite the main course being literally in front of their eyes, no one dared to invade the Baru Empire.

Although they were only a 2nd-class empire, even the Harisan Empire wouldn't easily invade them. After all, they know that this empire is already allied with the enemies.

Now, hearing this seemingly absurd news, their jaws dropped. Whoever the people who invaded the Baru Empire, surely had massive balls.

"Do we send someone, your majesty? I feel like we could take advantage of this and grab the oil reserves before others come." One of the council members, Lito, said in a distressed tone.

Other members of the council exchanged meaningful glances and nodded in agreement as well. To be honest, Lito's suggestion seems like a good option.

Out of the 5 Great Empires, the nearest to the Baru Empire is the Harisan Empire. Meaning, whoever gets there first could take the spoils for themselves.

As for the invader, if they aren't one of the 5 Great Empires, then what's there to be afraid of?

The throne room bustled with the loud voices of the council. It's as if the scene was from a local supermarket. Various interests surfaced and their greed couldn't be hidden anymore.

Emperor Alexander maintained a calm demeanor as he received suggestions of what he had to do. However, his mind focused on what Gabra reported to him earlier.

'Could it be that young man…?'

This was too ridiculous to be called a coincidence. No doubt, whoever the culprit for attacking the Baru Empire, then it might be or might be related to that young man Gabra talked about.

The bright golden lights of the shimmering chandelier donned Emperor Alexander's face. The council immediately noticed this, stopped, and bowed their heads.

"Your majesty, we are waiting for your decision," said one of the council members.

Everyone around him nodded their heads as well. Silence descended as the council members held their breaths. The moment the Emperor declared his orders, their eyes brightened.

"Everyone…!!!" the air tensed as Emperor Alexander continued, "...prepare for a banquet!!!"

Everyone raised their heads. However, instead of the expression to comply, their eyes were full of confusion.

'Did the Emperor lose his mind?'

Or are they hearing things they shouldn't?

...

The moment Hans appeared behind him, the temperature rapidly decreased.

'An Ice attribute attack!' Vlad thought.

Immediately, he turned his other hand and prepared a large shield whereas his other hand would block Hans's large-scale flame attack.

As he pushed his mana onto his palms, a white rune circle engraved with complex patterns appeared.

[Shield of Aurora]

Shrumm—!

Then, from the ground, a red dome-like barrier protruded all the way to the skies. Unrecognizable letters slithered around the barrier as if guarding its every side.

Vlad stared at Hans, smirking from ear to ear.

"Nice tricks, Hans."

At that moment.

BOOOOM—!

The ice and fire bombarded Vlad's barrier. Fortunately, the flame skill was already being swallowed by his [Blood Pool], or else the combination of these ice and fire skills might really be able to penetrate through his defensive barriers.

BOOM—!, BOOOM—!

Slick—, slick—!

Icicle spikes aggressively pierced the barrier but to no avail, it only did a small unnoticeable dent. Even then, due to the barrier having a self-constructing function, that small dent already disappeared.

The bombardment continued to rain upon the barrier. Vlad gritted his teeth as the cold surroundings rendered his coat useless.

In the end, after a full 4 minutes of nonstop bombardment, the surrounding air fell in calmness. The large barrier also began to lose effect until eventually, it began to fall into the ice floor like shards of glass.

Shruuum—!

Vlad fell to the ground as he felt the chill creeping into his bones. He pushed himself up, however, Hans' domain continued to drain his health.

'Haaah—'

If not for his remaining blood bags to recover his health, he might have already died because of the [Corruption].

However, instead of being distressed and angry, Vlad giggled. If not for his strong mana sensitivity, he might not have even noticed that Hans's domain was already starting to become weak.

'No doubt, he's either tired or just out of mana.'

An [Envoy] might be an existence that even the Emperor of the 5 Great Empires would fear.

However, a newbie [Envoy] like Hans wouldn't be enough to take down even their first line of defense.

'Still, it was fun.'

It's been hundreds of years since he played with a human and, to be honest, out of all the humans he fought, Hans is the only one who entertained him to the fullest.

Although this was not his true body, Vlad felt the pain inflicted by his enemy and all other damages that made him bleed.

'Hahahaha… I really like this feeling!'

But, there are a lot more important things than that.

Huff—, huff—!

"Pant—, pant—"

Sounds of someone breathing heavily echoed a few meters away from where he stood. Vlad picked up the fan from the ground and gripped it tightly in his hand.

Wooosh—

A sudden change in the air made his brow furrow. Vlad spread his senses but to his dismay, he found nothing.

'It might be that other human?'

However, since there are no familiar signatures in the surroundings, Vlad eventually ignored it.

In the end, his gaze darted at a certain location.

The dust settled, revealing Hans' figure kneeling on the ground. His hands were on the ground, preventing him from falling in the blocks of ice. Cold sweats fell on his forehead.

Even then, his eyes didn't waver. Hans glared at Hans with pupils full of murderous intent.

In fact, he wasn't really tired. It's just a facade he came up with. Although he's stronger than Vlad, he couldn't kill him that easily.

He glanced at the floating screen in front of his sight.

[Title: Ruined King's Envoy

Time Remaining: 9 minutes and 27 seconds.]

'Hm…'

He only had 9 minutes left before the [Envoy] title vanished. Killing Vlad with this little amount of time would be nearly impossible considering the unpredictable methods this vampire possessed.

However, if a predator saw his prey weakened…

'His guard temporarily loosened.'

It will probably prolong the fight more by coming straight at Vlad, face to face. Hence, to break the stalemate, Hans dug a deep pit and prepared himself as bait.

From the start, this was his plan. He'll fight aggressively until the point where the opponent would think that tiring him would be the only way to defeat him.

Hans smiled inwardly and waited for the fish to grab the bait.

Of course, it's also all about timing.

"Hehehe~, in the end, I still won." Vlad mocked as slowly trudged towards Hans and continued, "Look at you, Hans. Weak, pitiful, pathetic. I bet you couldn't even lift a finger."

When their distance reached neck to neck, Vlad stopped on his pace and spoke something

Hans didn't even expect it.

"Why don't you become a vampire, Hans." Vlad stretched his hand and continued, "Look at me, although my mana is low, I didn't even feel exhausted. How about you? Can you even fight?"

Vlad lifted his foot and slammed it downwards at Hans's head.

Baaaam—

The ground exploded as Hans' face splattered on it. Blood fell oozed out of his face but still, Hans didn't fight back. The timing isn't here yet.

"Hahahaha~, why is your face on the ground, Hans?" Vlad shook his head and muttered, "Pathetic… really pathetic."

At the end of the day, humans are still an inferior species. Although they have an insane amount of talented people, their genes limit them from reaching a higher realm of power and understanding.

"So, will you accept my offer or not?" Vlad said, but after seeing Hans unresponsive to his question, he shook his foot at Hans's head. Vlad continued, "Come on, answer me. My time is limited."

"ekkapldinn blu." Hans's muffled voice replied.

Not understanding what Hans was saying, Vlad lifted his foot from Hans's head. He crouched to the ground and leaned his ears closer to Hans's mouth.

"Say it again." Vlad said.

"Exploding…"

"Huh? What exploding?" Vlad tilted his head as he asked.

At that moment, he saw Hans's lips suddenly form a grin.

Then…

"Blood."

An ominous premonition crept into Vlad's subconscious. The ground on his foot emitted a blinding red light. It illuminated the night as if replacing the moon which temporarily lost its brilliance.

"Damn, a trap!!!?" Vlad shouted.

Realizing the deep pit he's in, Vlad turned around, kicked the ground aggressively, and attempted to escape but…

Clang—, clang—, clang—

Black chains wrapped around his body like a snake. It slithered around him, immobilizing his movements completely. He attempted to force his way out but the chains seemed powered with an unknown skill interfering with his mana flow.

'Who!?!'

Vlad's gaze shifted at the other end of the chain. His eyes widened.

"Y-you!!!?"

There, Hans gripped Gab's weapon tightly and he chuckled after meeting Vlad's unpleasant gaze.

'Why is he?'

Shouldn't Hans be on the ground, limping in pain? Then why is he standing there as if nothing happened!?'

Subconsciously, Vlad cocked his head and looked at the place where Hans was supposed to be at.

Although there's another identical Hans there, their aura is different.

'A… clone?'

However, even though he understood how Hans fooled him, it was… too late now.

BOOOOOOM—

An explosion enough to cover an entire 300-mile radius blossomed into a mushroom cloud. The heat immediately destroyed the ice blocks and the intensity of the explosion seemingly melted even the air.

The blazing energies spread widely around the Empire, accompanied by a massive shockwave desperately trying to sweep the world.

A second of silence passes before the explosion came to halt. All that was left was nothing but black clouds of smoke, continuously emitting radiant heat.

Patter—, patter—

The sounds of the sizzle and every scorched thing echoed. Vlad coughed violently and lowered his arms that he used to protect his head.

"Cough, cough. "

Crunch—

Crash—

The pile of molten rocks that spewed over his head has spilled on the floor.

Drip—, drip—

Blood dyed the floor. Sensing the injuries he had, it was a miracle that he managed to survive that explosion. Considering the distance, Vlad was certain that he would have already been killed.

'Arghh, this pain.'

Although he could have just taken back his consciousness, Vlad decided not to. He wanted to see the outcome of their fight.

Will he die or not?

That's the only question rippling inside his mind.

'Hehehe.'

Suddenly, his mind reacted.

"Hang on, what happened to that guy?"

After the explosion, did Hans die?

'It's possible.'

Well, that's actually better. At least he killed the guy who could be a troublesome enemy in the future.

Vlad limply stood up and looked around. The surroundings have now become a place worthy to be called a forbidden land.

At that moment, a change of air sent shivers down his spine. Vlad's injured body trembled.

[You have been hit by the 'Absolute Ruin'.]

On the far end corner of the Aguila Empire, Vlad's true body fell on the chair.

His eyes widened.

Inside his body, the sound of his core cracking intensified.

Crack—, crack—, crack–!