MAEPG: Episode 74
Episode 74 Brokoslack Clan (1)
Harris headed east across the Ion Continent with the Elven Kingdom's envoy over several days.
‘Crossing the continent is nothing with the Church’s authority.’
With the Main God Church’s influence transcending races and borders, obtaining permission to travel to any region with their guarantee was nothing.
After passing through several temples, the group finally arrived at the easternmost point of the republic in the east and immediately headed towards a nearby forest.
“Um… Don’t we have to cross the sea?”
When Cecily questioned their destination, Rapori smiled gently.
“It’s dangerous and time-consuming to cross the sea directly. Cecily, remember this. The World Tree is the root of all trees in the world, and High Elves are those chosen by it.”
Simply put, it meant that High Elves could travel to any distant forest by borrowing the World Tree’s power.
‘Even when detecting Hans, and now this, the High Elves’ abilities are amazing. Well, it’s only natural since they’re using the World Tree’s power, right?’
Of course, the farther the distance, the greater the power consumption, so they had come this far to minimize the distance.
Still, he thought it might be more convenient than the Main God Church, which could only travel long distances through the temple’s gate.
‘Except for the fact that only High Elves can use it. It was a pointless comparison.’
They couldn’t just use the less than ten High Elves in the entire Elf race for transportation.
“Now, follow me closely from now on. Be careful not to get separated from the group.”
A refreshing energy spread from Rapori’s body and enveloped them.
And the group headed deep into the forest, led by Rapori at the front, with Cecily and Harris, who were unfamiliar with the path, placed in the middle of the formation to prevent them from falling behind.
“We’ll still have to travel like this for a few more days. There’s no need to rush now, so let’s take it slow.”
They had hurried to rescue Cecily as quickly as possible, but there was no need to push themselves on the way back.
Elves, a long-lived race, were generally laid-back.
And so, they crossed the forest path, which had become dreamlike, and began their journey across the ocean.
Harris headed east across the Ion Continent with the Elven Kingdom's envoy over several days.
‘Crossing the continent is nothing with the Church’s authority.’
With the Main God Church’s influence transcending races and borders, obtaining permission to travel to any region with their guarantee was nothing.
After passing through several temples, the group finally arrived at the easternmost point of the republic in the east and immediately headed towards a nearby forest.
“Um… Don’t we have to cross the sea?”
When Cecily questioned their destination, Rapori smiled gently.
“It’s dangerous and time-consuming to cross the sea directly. Cecily, remember this. The World Tree is the root of all trees in the world, and High Elves are those chosen by it.”
Simply put, it meant that High Elves could travel to any distant forest by borrowing the World Tree’s power.
‘Even when detecting Hans, and now this, the High Elves’ abilities are amazing. Well, it’s only natural since they’re using the World Tree’s power, right?’
Of course, the farther the distance, the greater the power consumption, so they had come this far to minimize the distance.
Still, he thought it might be more convenient than the Main God Church, which could only travel long distances through the temple’s gate.
‘Except for the fact that only High Elves can use it. It was a pointless comparison.’
They couldn’t just use the less than ten High Elves in the entire Elf race for transportation.
“Now, follow me closely from now on. Be careful not to get separated from the group.”
A refreshing energy spread from Rapori’s body and enveloped them.
And the group headed deep into the forest, led by Rapori at the front, with Cecily and Harris, who were unfamiliar with the path, placed in the middle of the formation to prevent them from falling behind.
“We’ll still have to travel like this for a few more days. There’s no need to rush now, so let’s take it slow.”
They had hurried to rescue Cecily as quickly as possible, but there was no need to push themselves on the way back.
Elves, a long-lived race, were generally laid-back.
And so, they crossed the forest path, which had become dreamlike, and began their journey across the ocean.
_____________________
Heinz the Second entered Talaria, the capital of the Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent.
No one noticed his true identity because he was focused on concealing his energy with “Concealment” activated to its limit.
“It’s too expensive… Give me a discount.”
“What are you talking about! I’m not even making any profit at this price!”
Ordinary people living their daily lives.
It was an ordinary cityscape that could be seen anywhere.
‘There are vampires everywhere… but not too many, and they’re all thoroughly hidden.’
Heinz leisurely scanned the surroundings as he walked.
He was able to find out because of his transcendental senses and the fact that he was a much higher-level vampire, but their concealment was more impressive than he thought.
Well, no matter how influential they were, this was the capital of a country, with even a temple of the Main God Church.
It would be difficult for vampires, creatures of darkness, to be active openly.
‘I need to think about how to shake them up. It’s still too early to just barge into their headquarters.’
Not only would the forces gathered there be a problem, but they were also the established power that had been operating in the shadows of this kingdom for a long time.
Causing unnecessary trouble wouldn’t be helpful at all for his future plans.
In the end, he had no choice but to gradually chip away at them from the outside and induce an opening, and for that, he needed to first get someone on his side who knew their internal affairs well.
‘It’s easy with “Refined Blood Essence”. Then let’s try to win over a suitable vampire.’
The process would involve some force and coercion, but it wouldn’t be bad for them.
He had experienced the strengthening effect of “Refined Blood Essence” several times while raising Heterosis.
A single drop of his blood was a miraculous opportunity for vampires.
‘There’s a suitable target over there. I’ll start with that guy… Huh?’
He sensed a vampire concealing their presence on the second floor of a house with no signs of life.
But the closer he got, the more familiar the energy felt.
‘It’s blurry because of some trick… Don’t tell me?’
How many vampire acquaintances did Heinz have in the first place?
Most of them were wiped out in Azantu, so only a handful remained.
And if there was someone who would be on guard duty in a place like this, it would be…
And the person he confirmed after approaching was, as expected, a vampire he knew.
‘Rosilica. She was here.’
The Fledgling who was in charge of Heinz the Second’s training when he first became a vampire.
He hadn’t been able to find her whereabouts after the Immortal King’s Fragment theft incident in Azantu, but it seemed like she had been reassigned to the capital.
‘I thought she might have died in the clash with the Church, but she’s alive?’
He had heard that quite a few vampires were killed in the large-scale clash that began in Azantu.
Seeing her survive after going through various hardships starting from Azantu, she seemed to have a tenacious life force.
Heinz quietly infiltrated the building where she was using “Invisibility”.
“Sigh~ What am I doing in broad daylight. My skin is getting rough, how long do I have to live like this?”
Rosilica’s complaining figure came into view as he quietly infiltrated the house.
The dark room, with all the windows covered with blackout curtains, was filled with all sorts of blood magic barriers drawn in blood.
From the type that erased the presence of the person inside to auxiliary devices that made it easier to monitor the outside, and of course, alarm and defense barriers against intruders.
‘Of course, it’s meaningless to me.’
He grasped the barriers with “Blood Mystery” and casually ignored them with the power of “Concealment”, approaching Rosilica from behind.
‘There’s an alarm that activates if the watcher dies, but there’s no function to transmit the internal situation in real time. That’s good.’
He casually examined the barriers from behind her and deactivated “Invisibility”.
But he was still concealing his presence, so she didn’t notice Heinz’s appearance and continued to look out the window.
“I need to sleep well during the day so my skin doesn’t…”
“Rosilica.”
Her body flinched and momentarily froze, but it was only for a brief moment.
“I’m sorry~! I talk too much… Huh?”
Rosilica, who turned around and apologized, flinched as she saw Heinz’s face.
She was naturally flustered, seeing a stranger looking at her when she thought it would definitely be a superior who ignored the barrier and knew her name.
“…Excuse me, but who are you…?”
But perhaps because of the previous factors, she asked cautiously, maintaining a wary attitude.
It was only natural that she didn’t recognize him, as his appearance and physique had changed significantly from when they were together.
“It’s Heinz.”
“Heinz…?”
He honestly told her his name because he didn’t intend to hide it, but she just tilted her head, not reacting much, as if she just thought it was someone with the same name.
“Are you a guest of our clan?”
Did she sense that he was a strong individual she couldn’t handle? Rosilica continued to be polite while being wary.
“Yes, I’m a guest.”
“Ah! Then this isn’t the right…”
“But I wasn’t invited.”
As soon as he finished speaking,
Whoosh—!
Five blood vessels shot out from the tip of her right hand towards Heinz.
At the same time, her left hand reached for a part of the barrier to send an alert, but…
“Ugh?”
Blood-red chains had already wrapped around her entire body, completely blocking her movements and the flow of magic power.
“This is impossible! Don’t tell me, a True Blood? …This is Brokoslack’s territory! This is a violation of the agreement!”
She shouted in a flustered voice, thinking that Heinz was a True Blood from another clan because of the absolute difference in power.
But Heinz was thinking about something else.
‘Wait? What if?’
He was currently inside a well-made concealment barrier, so he subtly revealed the vampire energy he was hiding with “Concealment”.
He extracted only a small part of it, using his extreme blood control and overwhelming blood magic power manipulation.
And Rosilica, a vampire sensitive to blood, immediately recognized the scent of blood contained in it.
“Uh… uh? Our clan? No, it’s different… Huh?”
He had concentrated as much as possible and extracted only the energy close to the original, but it seemed like it wasn’t perfect.
But that much was enough to confuse her.
Seizing the opportunity while her thoughts were muddled, Heinz quietly opened his mouth.
“I’m a branch family of Brokoslack.”
And as he always did, he started talking, weaving a story based on plausible information.
There were quite a few factions in the vampire world.
Branch families that had escaped the control of ‘Blood Subordination’ for some reason and formed their own forces.
Even though they had the same roots, they gradually became different over generations and eventually became completely separate forces.
Heinz thought of them and casually continued his story.
He was basically saying that they were just branches from the same root, and that he, as a persecuted branch family, just wanted to take control.
He also added that this wasn’t an invasion from the outside, but a competition within the clan, and that he had no intention of harming the entire clan.
It was a feast of utter nonsense.
But since he created the story based on existing facts and subtly added a weak suggestion using “Blood Mystery”, she didn’t question it much.
‘But then again, it’s not entirely wrong.’
His roots were indeed Brokoslack.
“Um… I’m just a Fledgling, why…”
“Follow me, and I’ll give you power. You just have to help me with a few things.”
The reason he was going through this troublesome process was to minimize her resistance.
The subordination through “Refined Blood Essence” didn’t have the effect of brainwashing her into absolute loyalty.
“…I’m sorry, but I…”
She opened her mouth to refuse.
It was only natural, how many people would abandon their existing position and follow someone they had never met before?
“Ah! Just so you don’t misunderstand.”
But before she could even finish speaking, Heinz’s voice, laced with laughter, cut her off.
“You have no choice.”
He had just given her various reasons and told her to give up and follow him.
Once she was subordinate through “Refined Blood Essence”, there was no turning back, so she would have to follow him no matter what.
Heinz extended his hand towards Rosilica, who had a dubious expression.
Heinz the Second entered Talaria, the capital of the Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent.
No one noticed his true identity because he was focused on concealing his energy with “Concealment” activated to its limit.
“It’s too expensive… Give me a discount.”
“What are you talking about! I’m not even making any profit at this price!”
Ordinary people living their daily lives.
It was an ordinary cityscape that could be seen anywhere.
‘There are vampires everywhere… but not too many, and they’re all thoroughly hidden.’
Heinz leisurely scanned the surroundings as he walked.
He was able to find out because of his transcendental senses and the fact that he was a much higher-level vampire, but their concealment was more impressive than he thought.
Well, no matter how influential they were, this was the capital of a country, with even a temple of the Main God Church.
It would be difficult for vampires, creatures of darkness, to be active openly.
‘I need to think about how to shake them up. It’s still too early to just barge into their headquarters.’
Not only would the forces gathered there be a problem, but they were also the established power that had been operating in the shadows of this kingdom for a long time.
Causing unnecessary trouble wouldn’t be helpful at all for his future plans.
In the end, he had no choice but to gradually chip away at them from the outside and induce an opening, and for that, he needed to first get someone on his side who knew their internal affairs well.
‘It’s easy with “Refined Blood Essence”. Then let’s try to win over a suitable vampire.’
The process would involve some force and coercion, but it wouldn’t be bad for them.
He had experienced the strengthening effect of “Refined Blood Essence” several times while raising Heterosis.
A single drop of his blood was a miraculous opportunity for vampires.
‘There’s a suitable target over there. I’ll start with that guy… Huh?’
He sensed a vampire concealing their presence on the second floor of a house with no signs of life.
But the closer he got, the more familiar the energy felt.
‘It’s blurry because of some trick… Don’t tell me?’
How many vampire acquaintances did Heinz have in the first place?
Most of them were wiped out in Azantu, so only a handful remained.
And if there was someone who would be on guard duty in a place like this, it would be…
And the person he confirmed after approaching was, as expected, a vampire he knew.
‘Rosilica. She was here.’
The Fledgling who was in charge of Heinz the Second’s training when he first became a vampire.
He hadn’t been able to find her whereabouts after the Immortal King’s Fragment theft incident in Azantu, but it seemed like she had been reassigned to the capital.
‘I thought she might have died in the clash with the Church, but she’s alive?’
He had heard that quite a few vampires were killed in the large-scale clash that began in Azantu.
Seeing her survive after going through various hardships starting from Azantu, she seemed to have a tenacious life force.
Heinz quietly infiltrated the building where she was using “Invisibility”.
“Sigh~ What am I doing in broad daylight. My skin is getting rough, how long do I have to live like this?”
Rosilica’s complaining figure came into view as he quietly infiltrated the house.
The dark room, with all the windows covered with blackout curtains, was filled with all sorts of blood magic barriers drawn in blood.
From the type that erased the presence of the person inside to auxiliary devices that made it easier to monitor the outside, and of course, alarm and defense barriers against intruders.
‘Of course, it’s meaningless to me.’
He grasped the barriers with “Blood Mystery” and casually ignored them with the power of “Concealment”, approaching Rosilica from behind.
‘There’s an alarm that activates if the watcher dies, but there’s no function to transmit the internal situation in real time. That’s good.’
He casually examined the barriers from behind her and deactivated “Invisibility”.
But he was still concealing his presence, so she didn’t notice Heinz’s appearance and continued to look out the window.
“I need to sleep well during the day so my skin doesn’t…”
“Rosilica.”
Her body flinched and momentarily froze, but it was only for a brief moment.
“I’m sorry~! I talk too much… Huh?”
Rosilica, who turned around and apologized, flinched as she saw Heinz’s face.
She was naturally flustered, seeing a stranger looking at her when she thought it would definitely be a superior who ignored the barrier and knew her name.
“…Excuse me, but who are you…?”
But perhaps because of the previous factors, she asked cautiously, maintaining a wary attitude.
It was only natural that she didn’t recognize him, as his appearance and physique had changed significantly from when they were together.
“It’s Heinz.”
“Heinz…?”
He honestly told her his name because he didn’t intend to hide it, but she just tilted her head, not reacting much, as if she just thought it was someone with the same name.
“Are you a guest of our clan?”
Did she sense that he was a strong individual she couldn’t handle? Rosilica continued to be polite while being wary.
“Yes, I’m a guest.”
“Ah! Then this isn’t the right…”
“But I wasn’t invited.”
As soon as he finished speaking,
Whoosh—!
Five blood vessels shot out from the tip of her right hand towards Heinz.
At the same time, her left hand reached for a part of the barrier to send an alert, but…
“Ugh?”
Blood-red chains had already wrapped around her entire body, completely blocking her movements and the flow of magic power.
“This is impossible! Don’t tell me, a True Blood? …This is Brokoslack’s territory! This is a violation of the agreement!”
She shouted in a flustered voice, thinking that Heinz was a True Blood from another clan because of the absolute difference in power.
But Heinz was thinking about something else.
‘Wait? What if?’
He was currently inside a well-made concealment barrier, so he subtly revealed the vampire energy he was hiding with “Concealment”.
He extracted only a small part of it, using his extreme blood control and overwhelming blood magic power manipulation.
And Rosilica, a vampire sensitive to blood, immediately recognized the scent of blood contained in it.
“Uh… uh? Our clan? No, it’s different… Huh?”
He had concentrated as much as possible and extracted only the energy close to the original, but it seemed like it wasn’t perfect.
But that much was enough to confuse her.
Seizing the opportunity while her thoughts were muddled, Heinz quietly opened his mouth.
“I’m a branch family of Brokoslack.”
And as he always did, he started talking, weaving a story based on plausible information.
There were quite a few factions in the vampire world.
Branch families that had escaped the control of ‘Blood Subordination’ for some reason and formed their own forces.
Even though they had the same roots, they gradually became different over generations and eventually became completely separate forces.
Heinz thought of them and casually continued his story.
He was basically saying that they were just branches from the same root, and that he, as a persecuted branch family, just wanted to take control.
He also added that this wasn’t an invasion from the outside, but a competition within the clan, and that he had no intention of harming the entire clan.
It was a feast of utter nonsense.
But since he created the story based on existing facts and subtly added a weak suggestion using “Blood Mystery”, she didn’t question it much.
‘But then again, it’s not entirely wrong.’
His roots were indeed Brokoslack.
“Um… I’m just a Fledgling, why…”
“Follow me, and I’ll give you power. You just have to help me with a few things.”
The reason he was going through this troublesome process was to minimize her resistance.
The subordination through “Refined Blood Essence” didn’t have the effect of brainwashing her into absolute loyalty.
“…I’m sorry, but I…”
She opened her mouth to refuse.
It was only natural, how many people would abandon their existing position and follow someone they had never met before?
“Ah! Just so you don’t misunderstand.”
But before she could even finish speaking, Heinz’s voice, laced with laughter, cut her off.
“You have no choice.”
He had just given her various reasons and told her to give up and follow him.
Once she was subordinate through “Refined Blood Essence”, there was no turning back, so she would have to follow him no matter what.
Heinz extended his hand towards Rosilica, who had a dubious expression.
_______________________
In the end, he was able to smoothly obtain cooperation from Rosilica, who had resigned herself to her fate.
She still seemed reluctant, but she was satisfied with her increased power from “Refined Blood Essence”.
The internal information about the Brokoslack Clan he obtained through her.
Of course, she didn’t have much high-level information because she was still a Fledgling, but he was able to obtain some useful information because she had been here for a long time.
One of them was information about Freesia Brokoslack, the True Blood in charge of the capital’s surveillance network.
“Lady Freesia is a unique person. She often takes walks during the day. She enjoys receiving attention from humans…”
A frivolous noble lady who enjoyed shopping and other things, walking around the capital in fancy clothes.
That was the cover identity of that True Blood.
“Her detection range is enormous. I heard it reaches even outside the city gate if she’s in the commercial district. She can probably monitor half the capital alone.”
Come to think of it, it was a very familiar description.
The first day Heinz the Second arrived in the capital to enroll Heinrich in the Main God Church.
It was the True Blood he had encountered and had to escape from.
‘Ah… I remember. She was the vampire who used Devil Eye.’
She suddenly appeared behind him and questioned him about cannibalism, and he escaped with Dismiss, thinking he would get her back later.
‘But I’m seeing her again like this.’
The memories of that time came flooding back.
Actually, he didn’t have any particular grudge against her because he immediately escaped, but she wasn’t someone he had good feelings towards either…
‘Let’s see each other again after all this time.’
A cold smile appeared on Heinz’s lips.
In the end, he was able to smoothly obtain cooperation from Rosilica, who had resigned herself to her fate.
She still seemed reluctant, but she was satisfied with her increased power from “Refined Blood Essence”.
The internal information about the Brokoslack Clan he obtained through her.
Of course, she didn’t have much high-level information because she was still a Fledgling, but he was able to obtain some useful information because she had been here for a long time.
One of them was information about Freesia Brokoslack, the True Blood in charge of the capital’s surveillance network.
“Lady Freesia is a unique person. She often takes walks during the day. She enjoys receiving attention from humans…”
A frivolous noble lady who enjoyed shopping and other things, walking around the capital in fancy clothes.
That was the cover identity of that True Blood.
“Her detection range is enormous. I heard it reaches even outside the city gate if she’s in the commercial district. She can probably monitor half the capital alone.”
Come to think of it, it was a very familiar description.
The first day Heinz the Second arrived in the capital to enroll Heinrich in the Main God Church.
It was the True Blood he had encountered and had to escape from.
‘Ah… I remember. She was the vampire who used Devil Eye.’
She suddenly appeared behind him and questioned him about cannibalism, and he escaped with Dismiss, thinking he would get her back later.
‘But I’m seeing her again like this.’
The memories of that time came flooding back.
Actually, he didn’t have any particular grudge against her because he immediately escaped, but she wasn’t someone he had good feelings towards either…
‘Let’s see each other again after all this time.’
A cold smile appeared on Heinz’s lips.
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