I Became The Academy Necromancer-Chapter 265: Vampire

The following day, we stepped out of the inn with Yun Ye before the break of dawn. The sky was still dark, with the sun yet to rise, and the once bustling street was now quiet and peaceful.

“Did you sleep well?”

Yun Ye greeted us with a wave. Standing behind him were several people dressed in uniforms.

They were like him, martial artists of the Han Empire.

There are more of them than I expected, huh?

He had informed us that we would join up with his comrades before departing, but I hadn’t expected there to be so many.

After giving Yun Ye a brief response, we all headed out of the city together.

The martial artists followed Yun Ye in silence, each of their uniforms adorned with the phoenix emblem.

Phoenix?

Were they part of some martial sect?

Noticing my curiosity, Yun Ye glanced over and chuckled as he explained.

“They’re from the Heavenly Oath Sect. It’s the martial sect I am affiliated with, based on the staff techniques created by War God Han So.”

“…But I heard that Han So belonged to a martial sect called Phoenix Sect.”

I heard a lot from him when I was guiding him to eternal rest back in the capital of the Clark Republic.

I could still vividly recall the memory of him worrying about his sect.

“Haha, well, his talent was so exceptional that he established many martial sects. He might have belonged to the Phoenix Sect at the end, but the Heavenly Oath Sect was also undoubtedly founded by him.”

“Heavenly Oath Sect… I suppose it’s related to the lost Heavenly Oath Martial Staff?”

As I was thinking about how Han So had been practically obsessed with finding the missing Heavenly Oath Martial Staff in the Dream Demon Manor, Yun Ye looked surprised before nodding in response.

“So you know about the Heavenly Oath Martial Staff but not the sect?”

“Well, I have my own reasons.”

“The more I get to know you, the more intriguing you are.”

I could see he was itching to say something, but he knew from experience that I wouldn’t give him a straight answer even if he asked, so he held back.

Instead, he leaned closer, glancing back at the members of his sect as he whispered.

“Also, don’t bring up the other sect names around them if you can help it. Especially the Phoenix Sect.”

“…”

“They have their own history, you see.”

Listening to him, I glanced back at the Heavenly Oath Sect martial artists. Their tension was palpable; it seemed that just leaving the city was a considerable risk for them.

“Let’s just move along quickly.”

Yun Ye picked up the pace, and just as I thought it would be difficult for Xiao Hu and me to keep up, we arrived at the city gates.

“Ahem.”

Ironically, waiting for us at the gate were martial artists dressed in uniforms with tiger patterns.

“Inspector Yun Ye and the remnants of the Heavenly Oath Sect. Where are you all rushing off to?”

A woman wearing a white uniform, reminiscent of a white tiger, stepped forward with a sneer.

“Zhu Wurong…”

Yun Ye immediately clenched his fist as the atmosphere around him and the members of the Heavenly Oath Sect quickly grew heavy.

Standing between them, Xiao Hu carefully tugged at my sleeve and asked.

“Wh-what’s going on? Are we not leaving but escaping?”

“We’ll need to see how this unfolds.”

“Y-You’re so calm.”

Despite the sudden turn of events, I responded in my usual blunt manner. Perhaps reassured by this, Xiao Hu’s expression seemed to soften a little.

First, we needed to quietly listen to get a grasp of the situation.

“The recent movements of the Heavenly Oath Sect have been pretty peculiar, so we’ve been keeping an eye on you guys. And then, yesterday, I heard that you returned, Yun Ye.”

“…”

“I do not know what you’re planning, but it’s illegal for a sect under imperial authority to leave the city without the emperor’s permission.”

“Regardless, we are a sect that has fallen out of His Majesty’s favor, aren’t we?”

“The rules are still applicable to everyone.”

Then, the woman called Zhu Wurong assumed a stance—a posture resembling those found in Chinese martial arts, something rarely seen in Griffin.

In my previous world, people often said that Chinese martial arts lacked any real practicality, but here, it was different.

With the existence of mana in this world, their martial arts and movements could actually guide its flow.

It was likely to be quite the spectacle—If only I weren’t caught up in it.

“Let’s take a step back.”

I gently pulled Xiao Hu to the side. Yun Ye and the other members of the Heavenly Oath Sect accepted this without question.

I was just part of a hunter organization. I had no intention of getting tangled up in a feud among the Han Empire’s martial sects.

“You guys aren’t very reliable here, are you?”

I made no attempts at hiding my displeasure towards Yun Ye and the Heavenly Oath Sect for dragging us into this. Yun Ye could only smile wryly while the members of the Heavenly Oath Sect looked visibly annoyed. But it was their fault, wasn’t it?

With hands behind my back, I simply spectated as the duel between the two sects began.

Wielding his prized staff, Yun Ye confronted Zhu Wurong, who led the enemy.

The rest of the Heavenly Oath Sect and Phoenix Sect members followed suit.

The battle turned into an uproar as it escalated, shattering the early morning peace lingering over the sleeping city.

People started peeking out here and there, curious to see what was causing this racket.

And then, the situation began to turn against us.

Yun Ye’s staff technique was truly impressive. It was clear that he hadn’t become an inspector for nothing; his technique closely resembled the one Han So used in the Dream Demon Manor, but it was even more refined.

This must be what the young Han So’s perfected art would have looked like now.

However, the martial artists of the Heavenly Oath Sect still struggled to keep up with the Phoenix Sect.

The Phoenix Sect’s punches were sharp and powerful, landing with precision, while the Heavenly Oath Sect members’ weapons merely sliced through the empty air.

Now I see why they were abandoned.

Lacking in skill, they were pushed back by the Phoenix Sect. That was probably the reason they hated being mentioned in the same breath as this sect.

“A-Are we going to get arrested as well if this goes on?!”

Even the inexperienced Xiao Hu could see the apparent difference in skill.

With her worrying behind me, I spoke.

“It’s not difficult to help them, but since it’s their personal matter, I would need to ask for an additional fee.”

Honestly, I didn’t really want to lend them a hand, but they were my high-speed ticket back to the Griffin Kingdom.

Leaving them here would only make the journey back much harder.

Hearing this, Yun Ye, drenched in sweat, gave a pained smile.

“Just help us get out of here.”

Whoosh!

A sphere of mana gathered at my fingertips. As a Necromancer without any souls in my possession, I actually had no way of defeating them—Nor could I fight using my soul like Luaneth did.

All that remained were the weak basic elemental magic and the Black Magic I’d learned from the Dark Spiritualist.

However, most Black Magic involved manipulating souls.

And objectively speaking, I couldn’t just kill innocent people.

Xiao Hu frowned deeply as I watched the space gradually unfold from my fingertips.

“This is…”

She’d already seen this spell once before.

The final gift left by the Dark Spiritualist.

A brilliant, massive defensive spell surrounded me, pushing away everyone not designated by me.

“Ack!”

“What… what’s happening?!”

“We’re being pushed back! Brace yourselves!”

The martial artists of Phoenix Sect tried their best to resist being pushed back, but this spell was created by the current strongest Dark Mage in the world.

This wasn’t something they could withstand with mere resolve.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

A path opened up.

Other than myself, Xiao Hu, Yun Ye, and the Heavenly Oath Sect martial artists, no one else remained standing on the road.

It was like an open runway.

The martial artists of the Phoenix Sect pounded against the translucent barrier from both sides, but it held firm.

The protective magic stretched all the way to the city entrance.

With Xiao Hu at my side, I took the first step forward, passing between them.

“Let’s go.”

I said plainly as I led the way.

“This is absurd.”

“U-Unbelievable.”

“Magic? Did a spell like this even exist?”

I could hear Yun Ye’s baffled voice coming from behind, along with the complicated gazes from the Heavenly Oath Sect martial artists boring into me.

However, the uncomfortable stares directed at me earlier were now replaced by a sense of unease, which I found quite satisfying.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Heavenly Oath Sect! Are you really planning to go astray?!”

“Send a request for reinforcements!”

If the Phoenix Sect were meant to be ‘Emperor of the Tigers,’ then this place was a safari.

With the tigers roaring on both sides, we made our way out of the city.

“So, what next?”

I couldn’t use the Dark Spiritualist protective magic indefinitely. And thought I pretended to be unaffected, my mana was running low.

It wouldn’t be long before it dissipated.

Running away when both Xiao Hu and I were here was an unreasonable suggestion, so I obviously wouldn’t accept it.

“Just wait.”

Yun Ye said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and looking toward the trees in the distance.

From beneath the shadow of the trees, the loud sound of hooves echoed.

“…”

“Uwaaaah.”

Startled, Xiao Hu hid behind me. Even in the dark, their red eyes were fixed fiercely in our direction.

Clop-clop-clop-clop!

Their hooves caused the ground to tremble.

Massive black horses, each about 1.5 times the size of an average horse, came rushing out to meet us.

From their jet-black bodies, powerful muscles, and crimson eyes.

I realized that these were the high-quality mounts Yun Ye had spoken of, capable of carrying us all the way to Griffin.

“Pick any one you like.”

Yun Ye said, leaping onto one himself, as the rest of the Heavenly Oath Sect martial artists followed suit.

“Kyaaaah!”

Lifting Xiao Hu by placing my hands under her armpits, I set her on one of the horses, before mounting it myself and taking a set in front of her.

Then, I released the protective spell.

The Phoenix Sect martial artists behind us came rushing towards us, seemingly using teleportation.

Seated on the firm muscles of the horse that didn’t sway in the slightest, I raised a question.

“Where are the reins?”

While I could overlook the lack of a saddle, surely reins were needed to control the horse, right?

However, Yun Ye just shook his head.

“They’ll move on their own. All we need to do is make sure we stay on.”

As soon as he said that, black shadows burst forth from the black horses, binding our waists and legs to them.

“Eek!”

“…”

And in an instant, it felt as if we were being sucked into the horses itself.

“Blood Horses. They’re known to be ridden by Bloodfiends.”

Yun Ye spat out the true identity of these horses as I pondered over it.

The Blood Horses then began to charge down the path they had originally come from, bucking fiercely.

The speed they possessed was truly incredible.

It would not be an exaggeration to say they were the fastest beasts I had ridden in this land till date.

The wind whipped past, forcing me to hunch forward to maintain my balance.

As Xiao Hu supported my back with her hand to help me hold on, I planned to carefully observe who the owner of these horses was and where this road would lead.

***

It was no easy task to spend a long time riding at such high speed.

Our bodies had to remain tense to prevent our waists from bending backwards in the wind, and the cold air constantly hitting our faces gave us a slight headache.

Of course, this didn’t really apply to me, as I was an artificial body, but it was a problem for Xiao Hu sitting behind me.

However, it was a relief that I was blocking the wind in front.

Having been trained for such conditions, the other martial artists didn’t seem to struggle much.

After riding on horseback at such breakneck speed for several days, we finally arrived at our destination.

All we could see was a crumbled city wall surrounded by piles of building debris scattered across the plains.

“Ugh.”

I helped Xiao Hu dismount the horse.

“Is it finally over?”

Though she felt relieved as we came to a stop, I shook my head as I surveyed our surroundings.

“No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t look like Griffin.”

The sky was dark and the moon had an unusually reddish hue, as if foreboding something ominous.

As I stared up at the sky dubiously, Yun Ye approached us to explain.

“We are yet to reach Griffin. The leader said that we would all gather before heading there. This is the Duchy of Valestan.”

“T-the Duchy of Valestan?!”

Though it was an unexpected name, the Duchy of Valestan bordered the Han Empire and was a vassal state.

I also heard that the Han Empire was gradually waning and could barely exert any power now.

In any case, the state of the Duchy led by Duke Fioren Valestan seemed to be in an unusual condition.

I can hear the cries of souls.

Clearly, I had accepted all the souls into Deus’ body three months ago. However, I could still hear the faint cries of the souls here.

“The Duchy of Valestan is currently in the middle of a civil war.”

At Yun Ye’s words, both Xiao Hu and I turned to look at him. The crumbling city walls visible over his shoulder served as proof of his words.

“You know that the duke’s son died in the Clark Republic, right?”

The first in line for succession.

The heir of the Duchy of Valestan, alongside his escort, the Protector of the Duchy, Tom, were killed by the Demon Lord, Magan.

While I was aware of that, I didn’t know how it affected Valestan.

“Originally, either the second or third son should have been selected as the successor, but… the duke was unable to do that.”

“Hmm?”

“He died of shock upon hearing the news of the death of his eldest son.”

“…”

Yun Ye continued speaking.

“So now, the other sons are now fighting among themselves. And with the Han Empire in turmoil, they believe it’s a good opportunity to seek independence.”

The duke had tragically passed away at the most opportune moment.

And it seemed like his sons were fighting hard to rule the now vacant duchy and, following in their father’s footsteps, to separate from the Han Empire and establish themselves as an independent nation.

“Our leader also participated as a mercenary, but it seems there’s nothing left to gain here.”

The civil war was far from over.

That much was clear.

“This land is quite complicated.”

It felt rather unpleasant to see that the seeds sown at Magan’s banquet were still growing.

Yet, I didn’t have enough time on my hands to intervene in the Valestan civil war.

Just then, a group of people walked over from the direction of the crumbling city wall.

They looked like mercenaries, though their numbers weren’t large.

However, each of them exuded a confidence that spoke of remarkable skill.

And at the front of the group was a tall man with dirty blonde hair swept back, resembling a lion’s mane.

His entire body was covered in thick leather, giving him the appearance similar to that of a lion.

“That’s Lanhardt, the leader of the hunters. Let’s go greet him.”

Hm?

As we moved towards him, Lanhardt sniffed the air, his gaze shifting to Xiao Hu and me.

As soon as we reached right in front of him, he let out a baffled chuckle.

“When I heard you claim to have recruited an esteemed figure with utmost confidence, I expected something impressive.”

His deep voice echoed low.

The tone, resembling a beast’s warning, didn’t end with mere words.

Crunch!

“But Yun Ye.”

“Ugh!”

Lanhardt’s hand grabbed Yun Ye’s jaw and lifted him high off the ground with just one hand, his eyes still locked on Xiao Hu and me.

“Why did you bring me non-humans?”

“…!”

Xiao Hu’s gaze darted toward me. She was a yokai herself, but hearing that I, too, wasn’t human took her by surprise.

We were within his striking range, with him ready to tear us apart.

I met Lanhardt’s gaze head-on without flinching.

“You don’t appear to be human either.”

Bang!

Lanhardt threw Yun Ye to the ground and strode toward me.

His heavy steps echoed like the beat of a drum, creating intense pressure.

The presence of a savage beast bore down on me.

However, what actually drew my attention was the faint yellow glow emanating from his bare torso visible under his leather vest.

“Who do you think you’re speaking to?”

Lanhardt glared at me with eyes that seemed ready to tear me apart in an instant.

However, I couldn’t help but respond incredulously.

“Did you eat the Ancient Dragon?”

“…!”

Lanhardt’s eyebrow twitched, as if he hadn’t expected me to hit the mark.

I, too, needed to reassess my approach.

“That doesn’t seem like a smart move.”

This man was something beyond any vampire I had /genesisforsaken