CHAPTER 467: CHAINS OF BLOOD

Roland did not stop his bird, who rushed forward to meet the vampires in their first clash. While he had told Stella to release the first wave, he knew he needed to be right in the middle, keeping the General and his troop of ten occupied.

The first collision of steel ended in blood. Two of Azumorak’s strongest minions lost their heads in a single exchange, their bodies collapsing before they even realized they were dead.

Azumorak, however, was unfazed. If anything, he seemed delighted. His laughter rolled across the battlefield, deep and unhinged, as if he knew his outcome already.

"You’re stronger than the last time I faced you," he growled, his elegant voice called out under the dark armor. "It makes me wonder why those two blue-skinned fools didn’t heed my words. If they had worked with me, instead of dying like idiots to you... Perhaps we would have won."

Roland’s lips curved into a faint smile as he remembered cutting down the two previous generals.

"It wouldn’t have mattered. If you can’t beat me now, when I’m at my weakest, what chance would you have when I regain all my spirits’ power? I may not have had the levels at the start, but now I do... and soon, I’ll have my new job change as well."

Azumorak’s grin widened, fangs gleaming as he licked them, his eyes narrowing in anticipation. "Then let us see if you can survive another of my strikes, hero... I can already see my end, so I won’t keep running."

The vampire general lunged.

Roland met him head-on once more, his dagger finding the heart of one of the general’s guards. Using the dying vampire’s body as leverage, he slammed it into Azumorak’s steed, forcing the massive beast to stagger. It only bought him a few seconds, but that was all he needed.

A radiant dome of light erupted around them, sealing Roland and the vampires inside. This was no ordinary ward, it was a prison, locking his enemies within reach, denying them the chance to retreat.

Azumorak’s laughter rang out, tinged with mockery. "Haha... how did I fail to see this? To use a barrier in such a way..."

Another two of the general’s guards fell under Roland’s relentless assault, leaving six remaining. Azumorak pulled them close, arranging them in a tight formation to maximize their advantage.

His gaze never left Roland, each of their movement calculated.

He had not returned merely for the battle; he had returned for the hero’s blood. If he could drink even a drop, he might claim a fraction of Roland’s power. Or better yet, turn him.

Azumorak’s claws flexed, his aura thick with killing intent. "Come then... let us finish what we began."

Yet the fight was far from easy, not only because Azumorak was a great warrior, but also because of his surprising skill in manipulating light.

While four of his vampires attacked from all sides, forcing Roland to guard every angle, Azumorak relentlessly hacked at the barrier with blades formed from his own blood. After five strikes, he gave up on breaking through and instead joined his minions, swinging his massive scythe with murderous intent.

Both of Roland’s swords flashed through the air, weaving in deadly arcs as they intercepted the incoming blows.

Still, each of the general’s guards wielded a different weapon, their attacks unpredictable and strong enough to repel his own blades.

Roland managed to keep up only because of their weakness to light.

Every movement had to be exact, fast, powerful, and lethal, yet even so, their strikes were like guided missiles, each one aiming for his vitals. Slowly, deep cuts began to mark his arms and sides, but they were wounds he deemed acceptable.

Because beyond the prison of light, unseen to the vampires, the real threat was coming. The barrier concealed the incoming bombardment... and in mere seconds, it would strike.

Roland summoned another barrier inside the first, mere moments before the impact shattered the outer shell.

Soon, all hell broke loose. The hissing and dying cries of the vampires filled the air around Roland until there was nothing left but silence.

He released the barrier, both swords hovering at his side, ready to finish anything still moving.

What greeted him was devastation. A deep crater stretched out around him, its edges scorched black.

The vampires’ bodies were reduced to nothing but drifting ash. Only their general remained... in three pieces. His face lay several meters away, his torso and legs strewn in opposite directions.

"How in the hell did you manage to keep living, you monstrosity?" Roland muttered, stepping closer, sword in hand. "Too bad though... I’ll plunge this blade into your heart and see if you can still survive."

"Wait, stop! I yield!" Azumorak’s severed head spoke, his voice raw and desperate. "Let me go, and I will grant you one wish... please."

Roland paused, the tip of his blade hovering inches from the vampire’s exposed heart. His eyes narrowed.

"A wish? Do you take me for a fool?" Roland’s voice was low, each word edged with resolve to kill.

"What could you possibly offer that would make me let you go scot-free... and then spend the rest of my life wondering when you’d crawl back out of the shadows?"

Azumorak face contorted. "This is no trick... I swear it. Just give me one drop of your blood so I can recover and I promise you taking a demon’s oath that I will not seek another fight. All I wanted was a taste of your blood. But... how about this, I help you kill the other demons from the next fort? I still have the strength for that.

"You, on the other hand, will need to hurry," he added, his voice dropping to a rasp. "The barrier of the Light Spirit won’t hold much longer... the ones trying to invade that part are the most numerous of all of us...."

Roland tilted his head, considering. The battlefield around them was silent now, the smell of scorched earth and ash hanging in the air.

"Fine... but just know this bombardment is also in the other fort... I will have someone there watching you to fire off this grand-scale destruction on you once again... if you try to destroy that one." he said quietly.

His sword pressed forward, just enough for Azumorak to flinch. "Fine... I will try to kill them... just one drop of your blood, please, with it I will kill all the demons from the other side, they will no longer fight you, and I shall leave, I promise."

Roland looked at the strange vampire with doubt and then scratched his head.

"Fine... but if it starts burning you and makes you evaporate, that won’t be my fault."

Roland nicked his finger with the edge of his blade, letting a single drop of blood fall onto Azumorak’s waiting tongue.

The vampire’s expression shifted instantly from triumph to confusion to outright shock. Instead of the blood being simply absorbed, it pulsed like molten gold in his veins.

A searing brand formed across his chest, glowing faintly in the shape of an ancient crest Roland didn’t recognize. Azumorak convulsed, his severed body writhing as shadowy tendrils erupted from him, only to coil inward toward Roland as if pulled by some invisible chain.

"What... what is this?!" the vampire gasped.

Roland narrowed his eyes.

The sensation was familiar to the vampire; it felt like the soul-binding ritual magic that all vampires used on their food. But something was wrong and different, something darker was taking place.

The shadows flowed out of him instead of the other way around; they were cold and heavy, and completely out of his control.

Darkness energy... As for Roland he could feel a new element in his body again, the one he thought he had lost.

Azumorak looked at him in disbelief. "No... this isn’t possible. You’ve tamed me?"

Roland’s lips curled into a thin smile. "Looks like you’re my minion now. And not just you... All those vampires you commanded? They’re mine as well... and I somehow got my power over darkness back..."

Somewhere in the distance, a dozen sets of red eyes turned toward him not with hostility, but obedience.

"How is this even possible? I am a noble vampire, there is just no way..." Azumorak’s voice shook between outrage and disbelief. His remaining muscles strained against an invisible leash, but every attempt to move without Roland’s will was met with a crushing pressure that forced him still.

Roland crouched beside him, studying the faint crest still glowing on the vampire’s chest.

"Guess your title doesn’t mean much against whatever this is. Looks like my blood had... other plans."

Azumorak bared his fangs, but the defiance in his eyes was already dimming. "No... no, I will not be a servant—"

"You already are," Roland interrupted, standing and looking toward the horizon where the next fort lay. "Now you’re going to help me tear through every demon between here and that Light Spirit barrier you mentioned. Whether you want to or not."

Roland, on the other hand, recalled the vampire’s words.

He would need to aid those defending the rear side of the Holy Spirit’s barrier. It seemed the real fight, the one that truly mattered, would happen elsewhere