Woooong!
The ancient blood magic unleashed by Carmilla interfered with the lich's power, altering the targets of the skeletons and zombies.
As a result, the skeletons and zombies, who had been marching toward the fortress, suddenly changed direction and attacked the Legion of Death.
Crunch!
As Carmilla's blood magic intensified, the number of skeletons dyed in red light increased.
Sensing something amiss, the liches scanned their surroundings and spotted Carmilla floating in the air.
Caaaaw—
The liches led the wraiths across the sky toward Carmilla.
Carmilla, who was channeling her blood magic, was completely exposed and defenseless.
The moment the liches confirmed this, they dispatched the wraiths to attack her.
As the wraiths let out banshee wails and charged at Carmilla, something shot out from the sky.
Swoosh—
It was Bacchus riding a ghost steed. He gripped the Royal Vampire Garinʼs Dagger and swung it at the wraiths.
Kieeee!
Though the power of the royal vampire had been transferred to Carmilla, the dagger itself was a rare artifact, capable of harming even the ethereal wraiths.
Bacchus swiftly dispatched the wraiths and charged toward the liches.
Sss—
Bacchus's eyes transformed into gleaming gem-eyes, and the unique blood mana of vampires enveloped the dagger.
Having awakened his power and become a true vampire, Bacchus could no longer use aura, but he could replicate the Dragon Slaying Technique using blood mana.
He swung the blood mana-infused dagger at the liches.
Dragon Slaying Technique Secret Form
Blood Sword Technique
Blood-Heaven
Boom boom boom boom!
A ferocious blood-red energy surged from the blade, blanketing the entire sky.
The blood-red waves created by the blood mana spread out, ensnaring the liches.
Caaaaw!
Unlike ordinary mana, blood mana was mediated through the user's blood, making it highly coercive and dense.
The liches exposed to Bacchus's Blood-Heaven were quickly stripped of their negative mana as they were ensnared by his blood mana.
Sizzle—
Lichs, being partially ethereal, naturally struggled to maintain their form once their mana was drained.
Bacchus spurred his ghost steed forward and swung his dagger at the liches, now reduced to mere bony frames.
Crunch!
The liches, weakened by the loss of mana and struck by the sword strike, shattered into fragments that scattered in the wind.
They would revive by replenishing mana from their phylactery, but repeated resurrections would inevitably take a toll.
Since phylacteries were not infinitely durable, charging them in a weakened state risked shattering them.
Under normal circumstances, there would have been no need for such concern, but the situation was different now. The enemy's capabilities were sufficiently threatening.
"If you revive again, I'll make you vanish each time."
With those resolute words, he guarded Carmilla's side, ensuring no other enemies could approach while she manipulated the undead with her blood magic.
Moments after Bacchus appeared, Bishop, the vampire knight, led the enemy knight order in a charge against the flank of the undead legion.
Thud thud thud—
Bishop and the enemy knights, reborn as vampires from Narak's test subjects, had lost the ability to express memories and emotions from their human days due to the experiment's side effects. But they remembered one thing clearly.
The fact that Narak had turned them into test subjects.
The enemy knight order charged at the undead legion, channeling the rage born from that memory.
Thud thud thud!
Combining the inherent strength unique to vampires with blood mana, the enemy knights wielded power far surpassing that of humans.
With every swing of their swords, the undead shattered.
Crunch!
The ghost steeds emitted a fierce blue eye-glow as they trampled the undead with their hooves, while the enemy knights atop them unleashed blood mana-infused sword auras, disrupting the enemy's formation.
At the same time, Vampire Queen Carmilla manipulated the approaching undead legion with her blood magic, launching a counterattack that crumbled their ranks helplessly.
As the liches and even the undead legion collapsed, the dark mages of Narak leading them could no longer hold out.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
The dark mages commanding the advancing undead legion had no choice but to turn around and withdraw to their own lines.
Watching from the sky, Carmilla withdrew her blood magic and conveyed her will to her vassals.
—Do not pursue. Focus on defending the fortress.
They had repelled the advancing undead legion, but their forces were insufficient to push into the enemy's camp.
Carmilla descended from the sky and approached the prince and Daria atop the fortress walls.
The prince, facing the vampire queen with her gem-eyes sparkling, flushed red for a moment at her seductive yet elegant beauty.
But he quickly composed himself and addressed Carmilla.
"I am the supreme commander of this fortress. I offer my thanks to you for your aid." Carmilla bowed gracefully and replied.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. But direct your gratitude not to me, but to Sir
Zeke. It was his wish to defend this fortress."
Leo couldn't help but be surprised once again to learn that the vampires had stepped in at Zeke Draker's request.
'Knight of Salvation... Just how far does his influence extend?'
Bacchus, standing beside Carmilla, looked at the prince and said.
"This Thermo Fortress is the most critical gateway into the empire. It must not fall under any circumstances. The Continental Allied Forces are set to attack Jupiter soon, so we must hold this place until then by any means necessary."
At Bacchus's words, Daria asked with a surprised expression.
"The Continental Allied Forces are attacking Jupiter? Is this also led by the Knight of Salvation?"
Bacchus shook his head at Daria's question.
"Sir Zeke has been assigned to another critical mission. In any case, we must defend this fortress until the Continental Allied Forces seize Jupiter." Leo nodded with a resolute expression.
"As supreme commander, I will defend this place with my life if necessary." Thanks to Zeke, many reinforcements had arrived, but problems remained.
The walls were crumbling in places, and the soldiers were already exhausted.
Leo gritted his teeth at the desperate situation. He couldn't squander the opportunity Zeke had provided.
As Leo sought ways to reorganize his forces, it happened.
Rustle—
A wall of bones rose outside the broken walls, and solid ice filled the gaps.
At the same time, the shattered undead rose again and formed ranks in front of the walls, as if guarding them.
Leo recoiled in confusion at the sudden turn of events.
Carmilla gestured reassuringly.
"Do not worry. This, too, is all part of Sir Zeke's arrangements." A massive shadow appeared in the sky.
Atop the Tyrant, in the form of a gigantic dragon, rode Richmond and Bane.
Not just them—the Barbarian Unit led by King's Fist, the Third-Eye Clan, and even the Naga healers from the southern continent had arrived at Thermo Fortress.
Zeke had directed his vassals, who couldn't directly join the Continental Allied Forces, to reinforce the fortress's defenses.
Seeing the approaching reinforcements, the despairing Thermo Fortress finally regained hope.
*
—"The fortress defenses have stabilized for now."
Zeke nodded as he received Bacchus's report through the secure crystal communicator.
"No traces of high-rank demons or above from the Legion of Death?"
—"So far, aside from the dark mages, no signs of demons have been detected." Zeke looked surprised at Bacchus's words.
'Attacking a key strategic point like Thermo Fortress without demons. Something's off.'
Perhaps they judged that the imperial forces alone, combined with the Legion of Death, were sufficient to capture it, so they refrained from deploying high-rank demons.
Then, something occurred to Zeke.
'The Demon Realm princesses.'
Narak had summoned the Demon Realm princesses, Elizaveta and Yekaterina, to attack Mycenae.
Since both were top-tier demons, the karma required for the summoning must have been considerable.
'It's possible Narak lacks the capacity to summon more high-rank demons now.' Summoning demons required blood tear stones.
Knowing this, Zeke had relentlessly targeted and destroyed Narak's blood tear stone factories to disrupt production.
Even using existing stockpiles had limits; once depleted, summoning more demons would become difficult.
Zeke spoke to Bacchus through the secure crystal communicator.
"Even if not now, high-rank demons could appear at any time, so strengthen your vigilance and hold the fortress. If any high-rank demons show up, contact Mycenae immediately."
—"Understood, my lord."
He turned off the secure crystal communicator and fell into thought.
'In this situation, the summoned demons are likely concentrated at the Siemens
Labyrinth and Narak's headquarters.'
He speculated that Narak's high priest would mobilize all resources to defend the headquarters and prepare the summoning ritual for the Demon King's descent.
Zeke slowly rose from his office chair.
'I need to strike them now. If we drag this out, who knows what the high priest might do next.'
Not just Narak, but if Arthur Draker, disguised as death, had truly taken the Black Star, his intentions needed to be uncovered.
'It's unlikely, but if Arthur Draker allies with Narak...'
The combination of Overlord Arthur Draker, a grandmaster who had absorbed the Black Star, and Narak would be the worst-case scenario.
Zeke shook his head.
In the current situation, he couldn't find a reason for Arthur Draker to ally with Narak.
Then, something flashed through Zeke's mind.
'What if Arthur Draker's goal is the Demon King's power...?'
Just as Ramon Siemens had tried to devour the Demon King's power using the fell god Ajitahaka's authority, perhaps Arthur Draker sought the same.
The Demon King's power, embodied in the body of a grandmaster with an elder dragon's heart, could lead to a worse outcome than when the Demon King descended into Siemens Apollyon's body.
But even if possible, it was hard to see why Arthur Draker would covet the Demon King's power.
As head of the Draker family, he already wielded power equivalent to a continental king, with no need to risk it.
'Or perhaps there's something I don't know, a reason he needs it? Maybe to counter some greater power?'
Various thoughts tangled in Zeke's mind.
Bang! Bang!
The rough knocking interrupted his reverie.
The door burst open, and Alicia entered the office, holding a bottle of liquor and a glass in one hand.
"Zeke Draker! What are you doing holed up in here like this?"
She plopped down in a chair without waiting for an invitation and poured the strong liquor generously into her glass.
"It's been so long since we met—how can we catch up without properly enjoying a banquet?"
She looked like a delicate beauty, but her words were pure rough northern knight.
Zeke chuckled at the sight of her and sat across from her.
He picked up his glass, clinked it against hers, and downed the strong liquor in one gulp, northern style.
Alicia nodded in satisfaction.
"Now that's Zeke Draker! Excellent."
She too drained her glass in one go and refilled it.
With his Immortal Body constitution, Zeke never got drunk no matter how much he drank.
Aliciaʼs face was flushed, but her eyes remained clear; she wasn't overly intoxicated.
She emptied her glass again, set it down, and said to Zeke.
"Zeke Draker."
She lowered her voice and continued.
"What do you think of me?"
Zeke didn't immediately grasp the meaning of her words.
"What do I think? What do you mean, Grand Duke?"
Instead of answering, Alicia stood up.
She gripped the Fang-Wolf Sword leaning nearby and said to Zeke.
"I'm asking about my capabilities as a knight." Her face had long sobered from the alcohol.
Her eyes blazed with an intense competitive spirit.
Zeke met Alicia's icy blue gaze and replied. "If you want my honest opinion, I'll tell you." A cold voice emerged from his lips.
"It's a complete mess."