326 – Beltane, Land of Vampires (6)
We left the Barony of Caroline and headed to another territory.
The destination is, of course, .
It is Ripley’s own fiefdom owned and managed.
Luckily, it didn’t take long to arrive.
After arriving at a Viscounty near the Barony of Caroline, I used the [Warp Gate] There to move.
Is not an ordinary dungeon, but a residence for vampires.
Because there are vampires who are quite well versed in magic as adaptors, [Warp Gates] Are naturally located throughout the dungeon.
However, since Baron Caroline was a nobleman of slightly lower rank among vampires, there was no [Warp Gate] In her territory.
That is how we arrived at .
“Wow… “You took good care of it.”
I was impressed as soon as I saw the territory.
Like the symbol of a ‘seed’, various plants and flowers were blooming in her territory.
Bumpy stems, green leaves, and branches that seemed to bring about the season welcomed us.
“Hmm. “Is it that much?”
“Uh. “Would you believe me if I told you I was a gardener and not an architect?”
“Hmph. “I’m very nervous.”
Ripley is ticking for no reason.
But I could hear in his voice that he seemed secretly in a good mood.
Furthermore, as soon as I arrived at the territory, I immediately saw a city, and there were various plants near the city.
A truly lively territory.
It does not fit at all with the nickname of , Which was called ‘the land of the dead.’
I had doubts as to whether it was really the same land as the other territories I had encountered so far.
More than anything.
[Step into ‘Country of Ripley’. The symbol of ‘seed’ is spread throughout the territory. A strong vitality resides within your body. Stamina temporarily increases.]
“The territory effect is not a debuff?”
When I checked the information window and asked in surprise, Ripley snorted.
“Debuffs are a defense system that only lesser nobles use. Skilled nobles like me actually add buffs. “That way we can control intruders.”
Indeed.
High-ranking vampires like Ripley seem to think it is a shame to put debuffs on their territory.
It doesn’t end there.
The true value of the territory was revealed in the vampire castle.
Tall buildings and simply designed exterior.
And the old trees erected here and there as if surrounding it.
It didn’t have the grand feeling that you usually see in other castles, but Ripley’s soft and natural atmosphere was also incorporated into the vampire castle.
It felt more like a neat palace than a castle.
I said with an admiring face.
“… “It’s really different.”
“Hmph. “That’s right.”
I understood what Ripley was saying when she was ranting in Caroline’s vampire castle.
Caroline’s performance clearly felt incomparably luxurious.
Before entering the castle, a Wen Death Knight also appeared.
-Welcome. Welcome back the Count.
This is a level of politeness that is completely different from the nasty Death Knights I’ve seen so far.
When I looked at Ripley as if I needed an explanation, she said it as if it was no big deal.
“He’s my minion.”
“The minion… Death Knight?”
“Because I am a count-level noble. Don’t be shy and come inside. “We need to talk about attacking neutral territory.”
After entering the castle, we followed the Death Knight’s instructions to Ripley’s bedroom on the third floor.
… When she asked if it would be better to meet in a sitting room or something, she was ignored for the simple reason that she preferred her own room.
Anyway, we began to plan a strategy for attacking neutral areas in earnest.
“You can only apply to attack all neutral areas within Beltane once a week.”
“Is the term that long?”
“Yes. “From the challenger’s point of view, they want to attack and take it over quickly, but from the owner’s point of view, it takes time to defend and manage.”
“Aha… But Ripley, what does it mean to ‘request’ a strategy? “Is there someone who supervises the process?”
Ripley nodded her head as if it was obvious.
“Not a person, but a vampire. Vampire judges from the Beltane Administration receive applications and oversee the process. “This applies not only to neutral areas but also to mergers between territories.”
“Wow, this is serious.”
“Anyway, you can only apply to attack neutral territory once a week. Moreover, if there are a lot of applicants, the number of applicants will be delayed.”
“So you’re saying I can’t even apply at all?”
Ripley shook her head at those words.
“Don’t worry. “No one is applying for a strategy right now anyway.”
There are a total of 9 neutral areas where Ripley is in conflict with Count Laculise.
All nine of them are owned by Termen warriors who migrated to .
In other words, the Termen warriors who signed a contract with Count Laculise and related nobles colluded and took over their own neutral territory.
As the situation was like this, the number of applications for targeting neutral areas decreased significantly day by day.
“… Because Termen is too strong.”
“That’s right. “Because the difficulty of the attack has become too high, other minions do not apply for the attack at all.”
Unsurprisingly, Termen’s warriors show the skills of S-class monsters, even if they are just upper-level warriors.
Each of them has tremendous combat power, and if they advance to the highest level, they often show even greater combat abilities.
Those guys form teams and take over each region, so who would want to conquer them so easily?
The reality was that most of the territory’s residents and minions couldn’t even think about it.
“But Do Jae-hyeon, you are different.”
“Aren’t you overestimating me?”
“Hmph. “If we get it right, I think I’ll lose, so what kind of high evaluation is that?”
Anyway, in a situation where there are no challengers, my strategy application is unconditionally accepted.
It doesn’t matter that I’m human.
Anyway, Is a place where various races come and live, and the Termen warriors who actually occupy the neutral area are human contractors.
‘Then it’s simple.’
In the end, the reason Ripley wanted me was simple and clear.
A person who can fight in a full-scale battle with talented people and win.
And that was my area of expertise.
I asked her, making her smile slightly.
“Where should I start my attack?”
* * *
“aaah! What on earth are you… !! “Suddenly, a Kelbilid guy came with his sword and-!”
I hear a line that sounds like something a third-rate villain would say.
What was the name of that warrior?
Edred?
I don’t remember exactly, but anyway, the Termen warrior who owned the neutral area Screamed.
I appeared out of nowhere, requested a strategy, and came alone, pushing back the defense forces of .
He seemed quite surprised to see that.
I smiled at him and raised my sword.
“Sorry. My contractor told me to keep his identity a secret. “That’s the strategy.”
“Queu, quaaak-!!”
The sword plunged into the heart of the Termen warrior, and the battle ended with my victory.
[You won the duel! The rune hunter’s mysterious power allows him to duplicate one of his opponent’s runes. Please select the rune you want to duplicate.]
…
…
[Challenger ‘Do Jae-hyeon’ has defeated the owner ‘Ed Red’ and all his defense forces, and has taken ownership of the neutral territory ‘Soton’! This is an appropriate result verified by the noble vampire judge ‘Chloe’.]
[Special achievement! Acquired ownership of ‘Soton’, a neutral area in Beltane. Taking possession of neutral territory is one of the great honors for the challengers. Your abilities respond to your honorable achievements and achieve growth.]
[Acquires 1 each of all general, special, and resistance abilities.]
And the information windows that appear as if they had been waiting.
In fact, this is special information that has never been seen in other dungeons before.
A system in which an adaptor within the dungeon is used as a judge to target a specific area, and if the challenge is successful, the results are displayed in an information window.
It is a type of siege system that can only be seen in games.
A completely new type of dungeon.
If it becomes known in the modern world, it will probably have as big a ripple effect as Or .
It is not an ‘amazing achievement’ as a reward for the strategy, but you can obtain a ‘special achievement’ that increases all abilities…
This is probably information that will be of interest to high-ranking holders who are hungry for ability.
“… “I’m tired of it now.”
I wipe the blood off the holy sword and sigh.
This was already the fourth time.
It’s good that my abilities are increasing, but repeating the same actions and listening to the same lines from Termen makes me feel dizzy.
Although the types are slightly different, I think I understand why Ripley hates Termen so much.
“Challenger. You killed the owner of the neutral area during the attack. In this case, after the challenger becomes the owner, the period for receiving strategy applications from other challengers is reduced to 6 days.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Vampire Judge Chloe approaches me and speaks with an expressionless face.
I waved the hand holding the sword as if I was annoyed.
“Yes, it’s okay.”
This is already the fourth time I’ve heard this.
There are several reasons why I kill Termen’s warriors during the attack.
First of all, because they are so strong and tough, the strategy is not complete with simple suppression.
And the second thing is that they are a group that commits evil deeds in the other world.
From what I heard from Ripley, they were a fairly famous evil group on the continent, although they were not at the level of the Ludenarch School.
Kelbilid, who repented, did not become Sednilen’s representative for nothing.
And the third….
‘If you don’t want to be able to apply for a strategy later, there should be no regrets.’
Anyway, once my promise is over, I leave And return to the present world.
In other words, the ownership of the neutral area that I have conquered automatically disappears.
So…
Ripley had no intention of taking over all of the neutral territory from the beginning.
All she wanted to do was screw the other nobles who had annoyed her and get everything back to where she started.
“I don’t know who the contractor is, but it’s really terrible.”
I smiled and walked away.
Now it is time to attack the 5th neutral zone.
It had only been six hours since I had planned a strategy with Ripley.