Bart, of course, had no idea what was going on. Meanwhile, on the walls of the Inner City, Zane was grinning as he watched the pitiful fools below flounder about in their little performance.
But for all his amusement, Zane had to admit—the squad possessed impressive combat discipline.
Except for that hotheaded fool who rushed out alone, the rest of them had managed to form a battle formation almost instantly.
Zane considered himself something of a war enthusiast. Back on Earth, he'd watched countless videos online explaining pre-modern warfare. He understood perfectly well just how crucial formation was in cold weapon combat.
"But that guy who rushed out… he doesn't look like some common grunt… Could he be that Captain Chris?"
Zane rubbed his chin with one hand, a wicked grin creeping across his face.
"If that's really him, then things just got a whole lot easier."
Right at that moment, the advance squad below once again plunged into a state of tension—for a simple reason: the shadow had reappeared.
This time, the shadow surfaced a hundred meters to their south.
The vanguard, going on high alert once again, charged toward the dark figure for a second time.
But this time, their momentum wasn't nearly as fierce as the first.
"Just like the old military treatises say—'the first charge is full of vigor, the second less so, and the third completely spent.' Heh. A bunch of idiots."
Zane stared gleefully at the squad storming toward the shadow-shrouded Chunk of Flesh, a smug sense of satisfaction swelling in his chest.
This feeling—having one's enemy dancing on strings in the palm of your hand—was simply too intoxicating.
Though the warriors were well-trained, there was no chance they'd lay a finger on Chunk of Flesh. Because his abilities were... bizarre.
Even Zane couldn't quite explain how Chunk of Flesh did it. But to that grotesque servant, it was as if every patch of darkness without direct light served as a portal.
Chunk of Flesh could leap through the shadows at absurd speeds!
Or maybe it wasn't even speed—maybe the real Duke Dracula had passed down some strange and potent magic to his most loyal servant.
Just as Zane had predicted, the group came up empty once again.
This time, the members of the advance squad were clearly pissed. Zane could even hear a few curses floating up from their direction.
Already angry? Heh, the fun's just beginning.
Zane's grin widened, patiently waiting for his two loyal servants to continue performing their roles in his little play.
Two minutes later, the shadow showed up again near the advance squad—but this time, it appeared a bit larger and more imposing than the previous ones.
After being made fools of twice already, not even Chris bothered to issue an attack order this time.
"Hmph, petty little tricks not worth mentioning."
Chris cast a scornful glance toward the shadow, then spoke to his men.
"Don't bother with whatever's lurking in the dark—we just need to focus on our objective! Bart, keep leading the way!"
Bart glanced at the shadow, which was clearly different from the ones they had seen before. He hesitated slightly, just about to speak and try to persuade Chris.
But before Bart could even get a word out, the shadow moved!
There was a sharp, guttural roar, and then the black figure lunged toward the vanguard squad at a speed no ordinary man could ever match!
Bart felt his heart jump into his throat. He forced all his strength into his voice and barely managed to squeeze out the words, "Be careful!" before hurriedly swinging his longsword.
But it was already too late!
From the darkness, a monstrous creature burst forth, reeking of blood and radiating a thick, murderous aura. Under the pale moonlight, it launched itself into the air!
The creature charged at one of the knights, and without the slightest hesitation, raised its razor-sharp claws and tore the knight's throat open!
Schlick!
Blood sprayed out like a fountain!
Everyone in the advance squad—everyone except Bart—was frozen in shock by the sudden, gruesome death.
The monster opened its jaws and bit into the knight's mangled corpse, then, with savage speed, twisted its body and vanished back into the darkness!
"Beautiful!"
Zane, watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but offer a word of praise.
It had been a sneak attack, sure—but the sheer power Evan displayed left Zane thoroughly pleased.
Just then, the Chunk of Flesh—who'd spent the last while toying with the vanguard in the Outer City—returned to Zane's side. Seeing how pleased Zane was, Chunk of Flesh immediately tried to flatter him.
"As expected of Master's creation! Far stronger than an ordinary ghoul."
Zane gave Chunk of Flesh a glance and was about to say something when suddenly, he heard the system's voice.
[Notification: Negative Emotion Points +10. Total accumulated: 86 points. Usable Negative Emotion Points: 36]
Huh? His Negative Emotion Points had increased?
So it wasn't just Zane's direct actions that generated them—if his creations caused pain to the enemy, that also added to the total.
This, for Zane, was an unexpected bonus. A very welcome one.
He barely had time to enjoy the good news before the system's voice chimed in again.
[Would you like to allow your Ghoul servant to consume the spoils of battle? Consuming corpses allows your Ghoul servant to strengthen itself. Once a certain number of spoils are consumed, your Ghoul creation can level up.]
Huh? Not only could it grow stronger—it could actually level up?
Well of course he'd allow it! Zane couldn't help but wonder—if Evan ate all of these people, how much stronger would he get? Would he level up?
Naturally, Zane wouldn't let Chunk of Flesh devour them all. He had other plans in motion.
After a moment's thought, Zane turned to Chunk of Flesh and said:
"I've got a pretty good read on this vanguard squad's capabilities now. Looks like that so-called Captain Chris is just a pompous fool. But the guy who reacted first back there... now that was a surprise."
"So we're going to make a slight adjustment to the original plan. Go team up with Evan now. I don't care whether the others live or die—but that Captain Chris, and the one who reacted first just now, I want them alive to meet me!"
"Understood."
With a flicker, Chunk of Flesh vanished to carry out Zane's command.
Meanwhile, the vanguard squad had already plunged into a brief state of chaos.
"What was that thing? What the hell was that thing just now?"
One of the knights, his voice trembling, turned to ask his companion.
No one answered him. Everything had happened too fast. None of them had managed to get a clear look at what it was.
"I knew it! I knew it! Coming here was a stupid idea from the start!"
The knight kept lashing out, hysterically venting the fear that had been bottled up in his chest.
Chris glared at the man, his face like thunder, and said in a threatening tone:
"Are you questioning my orders, Jem? You're a knight of the Duchy—what happened to your honor? You're acting like a frightened child who's pissed his armor!"
But this time, the knight named Jem didn't bother to show Chris any respect.
He stared hard at Chris, growling through clenched teeth.
"Honor? What fucking honor?! We're in this mess because of your idiotic orders!"
"As a soldier, I'm willing to die on the battlefield! But not like this—not some meaningless, senseless death in this godforsaken castle!"
"Think whatever the hell you want—but I'm done. I'm getting the fuck out of here!"
Spitting out those words like venom, Jem turned and ran back the way they had come, without looking back even once.
Bart saw it unfold and quickly shouted.
"Jem! Get back here! Goddamn it—"
Before he could finish his sentence—schlick!
A long, gleaming blade pierced straight through Jem's back, driving through his armor and killing him instantly!
Bart recognized that sword.
It was Chris's.
He froze for a second, staring in disbelief at the man beside him.
Chris's face was as dark and cold as the walls of Howling Castle.
He was breathing hard as he walked toward Jem's body.
"I warned you."
Chris reached the corpse, yanked his sword out of Jem's back, and looked toward the rest of the vanguard soldiers.
"Anyone who dares undermine morale... will be executed."
And with that, he raised his sword again—and drove it down into Jem's barely breathing body. Twice.
Up on the castle wall, Zane watched it all and couldn't help baring his teeth in a grimace before shaking his head.
"Damn, this kid's both stupid and vicious. Hah... and this is supposed to be the Duchy of Winterscar's bravest warrior? Guess I overestimated them."
Just then, the system's voice chimed in again:
[Notification: Negative Emotion Points +20. Total accumulated: 86 points. Usable Negative Emotion Points: 56]