DPSHealer
patreon
Chapter 231 - Falling Back (Thank you for your support, Darko!)
🕑 Added 2024-12-02 11:51:16 +0000 UTCMy skin was burning… I thought that the light only made the surroundings look like day, but it wasn’t that simple. The light also had holy energy. If I were a complete vampire, it would be the same as being roasted alive.
“Let’s go, girl. We have finished our business here. Kind of.”
I reached Glacien, who was heading to the border after receiving my orders. I decided to withdraw from this war, since it was too dangerous for me to participate now that two vampire hunter specialists were around. Besides, Jacques should know what would happen, thanks to the clairvoyant, if I were to insist on being part of this mess.
It was truly annoying to have to worry about someone reading my future steps so clearly. Regardless, I had to be mindful of my interactions with anyone that has ties with the empire… as for Clarice, I could only hope that she would be fine now that I dealt with this guy. I had no idea what Cellica was thinking, but she should realize now that she had to be even more cautious.
‘Perhaps I should have hinted that to those two… it didn’t feel like they were fully aware of the empire’s plans.’
The empire couldn’t track me when I wasn’t in their territory. They could only rely on the clairvoyant to help them with that. In that aspect, it would be a good idea to help the dwarves… I was pretty sure that the empire was playing on both sides of this war to get what they wanted, which was the cooperation of the elves and dwarves, and there was only one way for that to fail. I had to get in their way.
‘I have to think about this more calmly…’
I wished that I could have found how that guy was able to receive messages from Cellica, then I would have been able to contact Clarice as well. If it was a magic enchantment, it would be even better, not like I had any ideas about what kind it was.
We kept moving for a while until we reached the closest mountain and began to climb it. That was a bit tough since my parameters didn’t return to normal soon after leaving the area covered in light. It made me wonder if there was something that would have the opposite effect. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting weaker during the day.
‘Here I am thinking about such things… What would be the next step? Some crazy vampire plans to block the sun?’
I didn’t want to do that. It would be too troublesome and it would be too much on a grand scale. Not to mention, it would make me be hunted even more. In any case, we reached the peak of the mountain a while later and then came to a stop… I let out a weary sigh and then decided to sit down and relax a bit.
‘Go rest first. I will go later. We have a lot of work ahead of us.’
“Awoo…”
“Don’t worry, I am fine. It probably wasn’t the first time someone in my family tried to get me killed.”
I still don’t know who sent the assassin to the old home that day. To investigate it, I would have to return to the empire and that wasn’t something I wanted to do… I already learned the many demerits of revenge, after all. The satisfaction that brings was minimal.
I got a bit more than thirty thousand points of experience after killing that elf, but nothing else aside from a few moments of satisfaction of knowing that half of the side who tried to incriminate me had been dealt with.
I decided to focus on getting the blacksmithing class and then explore the labyrinths around that had those ores. I should be able to find a decent amount now that the dwarves were at war, but walking around and checking every single one of them would be a hassle.
Just like the elves, the dwarves were very secretive about their culture, lands, and creations. They viewed their knowledge and inventions as sacred, connected to their very identity, and safeguarded them from outsiders with a near-religious zeal. Their labyrinths were among the most closely guarded secrets of their people.
Finding a dwarf willing to share any details about these labyrinths would be an exceedingly difficult task. It wasn’t just about trust; it was a cultural principle. Sharing such information with outsiders was often seen as a betrayal of their heritage. To disclose their secrets would be to compromise their safety and pride.
This deep-rooted exclusivity made gaining access to a willing informant incredibly difficult. It would likely require either an extraordinary act of goodwill or a bond of absolute trust, something that could take years to establish. Perhaps even more for someone like me who was a half-vampire.
While I was thinking about that, I kept making potions throughout the night. This time for sure, I was going to use them to level up some physical skills. If the worst comes to the worst, I will just clear all the damn labyrinths in the dwarven territory.
‘With some luck, I will just find some dwarven lady in danger and save her from her dismay, and then she will be willing to give me the information I want after falling in love. Maybe it is about time to get wicked and use my vampire charms. I bet that I can make any lady fall mindlessly in love if I tell them that I like to watch them sleep, or tell them that I have been seventeen for a while.’
I couldn’t help but chuckle at my own thoughts. At least my nonsensical sense of humor didn’t leave me. In any case, soon enough, morning came and then Glacien woke up. She looked at me reproachfully for not waking her up to take the guard duty. I wondered if I was just tired and imagining all that.
“Let’s go, girl. It is finally time to explore the dwarven territory.”
“Awoo!”
“By the way, you can go and protect Clarice for a while. I said to those guys that she is no damsel in distress, but I feel like she messes up pretty often in the most important of times. Do you want to guard her for a while?”
“Awoo?”
“Awoo… I see, I see.”
With a camouflage amulet and her skills, Glacien wouldn’t be found out that easily… so she probably could reach Clarice to guard her. Still, it looked like she wasn’t willing to do that for now for whatever reason.
“Let’s go, then.”
In a situation like this, where the iron-wrought confederacy was essentially fighting against two groups, it would be the perfect chance for someone else to attack their other borders, but the kingdom of Felyndor didn’t show such aspirations until now. The guys in the north also would have a hard time crossing their mountainous territory, so they were using all of their resources in this fight.
I didn’t have to worry about getting involved in another conflict, but there was still the main issue about finding information. I didn’t want to hide either, or change my appearance, so that was another layer of difficulty added.
When we reached the base of the mountain, we quickly found traces of the movements of the war towers… they were probably mounted close to the borders, but the other parts should be brought from all over their territory. If I followed the opposite direction, I probably could find more dwarven cities and towns… but about the labyrinths?
‘In this situation, they can’t save resources to guard their labyrinths… I don’t remember the last time their land was invaded. They only have been gaining land against the elves, after all.’
I decided to head further into the dwarven territory following the traces of the war towers… I wasn’t trying to hide since that would make me look suspicious and because it was better to make sure as soon as possible if they would threaten me like all the others.
I wasn’t expecting to be readily welcomed, but I wasn’t expecting to be chased out that bluntly either. They didn’t know much about me, after all. Just like the Elves, they probably would just be a bit cautious, and then they would try to make a profit while making business with me.
‘I guess I can use these potions as a bargain…’
The ones that Ayla made restored stamina and also increased stamina regeneration thanks to their quality and that effect can stack too. Still, before confirming if I could do that much, I had to put the potions in bottles.
A couple of hours passed and then I finally had the chance to see the path splitting. To the north and south, there were two mountains in both directions, so I wondered if both paths would lead me to towns, cities, or dungeons. It wasn’t like I had crossed a lot of their land, after all.
“What do you think, Glacien? Let’s put your wild instincts to use for once.”
“Grrr…”
It didn’t seem like she liked my jokes… I could only shrug. In any case, Glacien moved to the path south. This path would take us deeper into the dwarven territory and further from their northern borders. Was that a coincidence or was Glacien trying to put me in trouble for my joke? I didn’t think that she was that petty, but…
We headed south without wasting time, and soon enough, I was able to hear the sounds of those war towers moving. The sound was a symphony of mechanical might and arcane resonance. The rhythmic grinding of gears and chains filled the air, each turn accompanied by a metallic groan of immense weight shifting. Pistons hiss sharply as steam escapes in bursts.
The heavy clanking of reinforced steel legs meeting the ground echoes like thunder, each impact sending subtle vibrations through the earth. Occasionally, the sharp screech of metal under strain pierces through, a reminder of the sheer power being harnessed to move these fortresses.
It seemed a bit too soon for them to send reinforcements when the conflicts hadn’t even started yet…
‘Maybe they are sending them to some other point that they deem important to conquer first. Fooling the enemy is the basics when it comes to war, after all.’
Soon enough, the sound started to become more faint, and it wasn’t heading in our direction, which puzzled me.
Comments
MagicWafflez
It sucks regulus didn't get to do the rest of the elven Labyrinths on the map, but they'll still be there after the war. Not having a list makes it hard to complete the full set of dwarven ones, but so long as he keeps delving eventually he'll get them all. It might take some decades, but he's probably immortal.
