[Rank]: Marquee; [Remaining Blood]: 71%
Our group continued to frantically search for a way to defeat this creature. Robbie and Maia were still our main units in terms of combat. My abilities weren't exactly built for this, I was mostly just standing by with my [Regeneration Blocker+++].
The vampire dashed around Robbie's grass, avoiding the traps on the ground. The vampire's crimson blade and Robbie's [Nija-T'an-Mo] clashed, causing gusts of air to encapsulate the area. They constantly traded blows as Elanor tried to get a few shots in and deal some more damage. A few arrows flew through the air, stabbing themselves into the vampire.
Elanor was definitely very precise with her shots. Unlike my Minions, she didn't have the issue of worrying about hitting her allies. She was skilled enough to be able to aim directly at the enemy with every shot. However, the main problem was that her arrows weren't very strong. They wouldn't even take 1% of the vampire's health.
After fighting with Robbie, the vampire suddenly changed his attention.
Oh no.
Judging from the vampire's look, he was going to go for Elanor next.
The vampire's speed was so great that Robbie was unable to stop him.
All of a sudden, the vampire was right up, about to strike Elanor.
A loud clang echoed through the forest.
Standing in front of her was another elf.
However, unlike the other ones, this elf used a sword.
"Huh?" even the vampire appeared to be confused.
This elf wasn't in our group before, he must have come from somewhere else to help us. He was dressed relatively inconspicuously, with a simple dark green tunic. However, from just a short moment of watching his movements, he was incredibly powerful.
"Alicar..."
"Elanor, you're meant to be on a reconnaissance mission aren't you? Why are you engaging a vampire."
"S-sorry, I wanted to help some of my friends."
"Ugh, you never listen. It's because of people like you that we're constantly behind schedule."
"I-I'm... sorry."
Alicar raised his sword, slowly walking toward the vampire.
"Who the hell are you?!" the vampire shouted.
Alicar swung his sleek white blade at the vampire's neck. The vampire managed to block the attack however he didn't have time to react to Alicar's kick. With a powerful impact, the seemingly-invincible vampire was sent crashing into the ground.
I made my way over to Elanor.
"Who is he?" I asked.
"He's Alicar Anastopolus, the kingdom's prodigy."
"The kingdom's prodigy?"
"He's the strongest warrior in our entire city. His strength greatly overpowers my own."
"How come he wasn't with you?"
"Usually he's guarding the royal family; I'm not sure why he's here."
The vampire got back up and began swinging at Alicar. However, with hardly any effort, the elven prodigy easily blocked all of the vampire's strikes. With clash after clash, Alicar slowly cut away at the vampire's strength.
Elanor drew her bow and began firing shots, providing Alicar with some covering fire.
[Rank]: Marquee; [Remaining Blood]: 43%
Holy moly, the vampire was being destroyed by Alicar. I did not realise there were such powerful elves in this kingdom. He didn't seem to be using any magic or any sort of abilities. From what I could see, it was just pure talent, pure technique.
Alicar seemed to be able to easily read all of the vampire's attacks. It was majestic, how he was able to block all of its attacks without even moving. He slowly pressed forward, closing down the vampire's escape. Their swords moved at a speed at which I could hardly even see.
[Rank]: Marquee; [Remaining Blood]: 23%
Slashing away at the vampire, he easily gained the upper hand. A few minutes later, the vampire was quickly drained of his strength. He sustained blow after blow as Alicar continued to outspeed and overwhelm him.
Finally, the vampire fell to the ground, being slain by Alicar.
[You have defeated a rank [Marquess] vampire] (A/N: I've changed the spelling of 'Marquee' to 'Marquess')
[You have been given a [Rare Mystery Box] as a reward]
A rich red liquid stained his pristine white blade.
He turned and looked at us.
"You guys didn't do too bad, from what I could tell, he was a Marquee."
"Um, thanks," I wasn't really sure what to say in this situation.
"Elanor, come here for a second."
Alicar called Elanor over. The two of them talked for a little while before eventually deciding on something.
"Everyone, you guys seem to be the strongest people in the city so I am suggesting that we make up the Elite Squadron of the kingdom's offensive forces," he offered.
The Elite Squadron?
I guess he was referring to the offensive operation that was happening in the coming days. I guess if I was in any group, I'd prefer to be in the elite squad. It was the best way for me to stay close to Elanor as well.
I looked around.
"I'm down to join."
Everyone else was also pretty interested in the proposal.
"We need a defensive force don't we?" asked Elanor.
"Oh yeah, I might get some volunteers to do that."
I decided to speak up.
"Um, I've got Minions who can work without needing breaks and such. I can keep them around the city as a defensive force if you need."
I offered help to them.
Ultimately, my Minions weren't going to be that useful during the operations, especially against the stronger vampires. If I could use them to bolster the defensive force, I could get a favour from Alicar in the future.
Seeing Alicar's strength, he could definitely be useful to me.
"You've got Minions you say."
He made his way over to me.
"That actually sounds like a good idea, since we were having issues in terms of organisation. When we go back to the other side of the wall, I'd like it if we could talk further. I'd like to know the details of how your system works."
Ah, well it was to be expected that he'd know about systems.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!