Chapter 90 – LV.Fourteen Orc Vampire Oh Haengbok – [Three]

Meanwhile, the presence amplified by the halo seemed to have taken effect.

Sir Marshall finally acknowledged her as a conversation partner. He asked:

“Before deciding whether to leave, so… is there a vampire in this village or not?”

And Seo Yun answered. In a voice that even she heard as resolute.

“Whether there is a vampire here or not is none of your concern. This is not land where your Sun’s Law takes precedence.”

“After kidnapping our knight from our territory, you expect to be respected by asserting this as your domain?”

“As an apology for that incident, we will give you one-tenth of the provisions you moved here. But no more than that. Not more supplies, and no interrogation.”

At Seo Yun’s words, Sir Marshall snorted.

“Impudent talk.”

When Sir Marshall gestured, Paladins approached beside him. With each step from the weight of their armor, the ground thudded, thump, thump. Was it a show of force?

Seo Yun only flinched inwardly, not moving a muscle. She didn’t even try to confront them.

Confirming that everyone’s gaze was focused here, she stood in place and spoke in a calm voice.

“What are you doing? Gather.”

And whether it was the halo’s effect or because everyone thought they should protect the village priest, the village’s battle slaves moved.

The first to respond to the call was Han Siwoo. Clad in armor, he stood guard in front, holding a shield.

“You…”

Han Siwoo seemed to want to say something, but Seo Yun ignored him. Now was not the time for leisurely conversation.

As Seo Yun stood still, the remaining warriors followed suit. The Happy Village Players stood guarding Seo Yun’s front and sides.

Thus, most of the village warriors gathered around the leader, taking shape.

The number of Happy Village warriors gathered in one place was by no means small. It was sufficient momentum to immediately block the Paladins’ actions.

Seo Yun took the opportunity to give an order.

“Mr. Gyunam? Bring that bastard Park Taeyang here.”

LV.9 Warrior Park Gyunam followed her words. He approached Park Taeyang, but as it was a situation where combat could break out at any moment, the Paladins did not block him.

Finally, Park Gyunam returned with Park Taeyang.

Seo Yun continued giving instructions. Speaking in Korean to the village Players so the Paladins wouldn’t understand.

“One of you, leave for a while and sneak the village kids out. Prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

With each word she spoke, the gaze of both enemy and ally concentrated. Seo Yun, resting her blazing Flaming Sword on the ground like a staff, engaged in a staring contest with the Paladins alongside everyone for a while.

Perhaps less than ten minutes, though it felt like about an hour, the standoff lasted.

Eventually, without a clash, Sir Marshall declared a temporary truce.

“I will go ask the Commander-in-Chief for his intentions.”

Thus, the standoff ended.

Seo Yun, escorted by the Players, entered the Chief’s massive tent with an arrogant stride to show them she was the leader.

No sooner had she done so than Oh Haengun opened his mouth.

“Why did you act on your own—”

Seo Yun cut him off.

“I did what you should have done, Mister. If we let them take all the provisions and everything, how are we supposed to get through this winter?”

“We have the potatoes planted in the fields.”

“So we just barely survive, not knowing how many will starve to death?”

“Even if we lose them now, most can still survive.”

“We should lose less, not just lose them. For that, we need to put up a show of force, not just let them take everything.

Besides, saying they’ll take the kids for interrogation means if something comes out during the interrogation, they’ll come back. What do we do then? Give everything again? Looking at what those bastards are doing, they’ll come back just because they covet our supplies here.”

Oh Haengun bit his lip. It wasn’t that he was speechless, but the situation itself—almost handing over Park Taeyang just now—must have touched a raw nerve that had just formed.

Of course, it was harder to shut the mouths of the other village Players besides Oh Haengun in that way.

Seo Yun looked at the village Players surrounding her.

The halo’s duration had ended, and the effect of her 11 Charisma had vanished. Seo Yun braced herself to be cursed out by them, not just Oh Haengun, but it was an unnecessary worry.

Warrior Park Gyunam spoke.

“Seo Yun? Even if Uncle Haengun says that…”

“Huh?”

“You did well. A seventeen-year-old girl, really…”

And the others nodded their heads in agreement. Seo Yun, unsure how to respond, kept her mouth shut.

Uh…

Seo Yun saw the magical letters appearing in her mind. English letters informing her of what she could now do.

A new ability had been added to her Player character. A phenomenon usually experienced when Leveling Up. She hadn’t Leveled Up now, so what was it?

It wasn’t hard to figure out. A situation she had experienced once before when taken by the Dawn Corps.

‘When Faith gathered among the soldiers and the Angel’s rank increased by one grade. Abilities like Soul Sight and Halo probably appeared like this back then.’

It seemed the same now. As more Faith gathered, a new ability unique to her Race had unlocked.

Probably because of the situation just now…

Why so much Faith had gathered was understandable.

Regardless of her actual age, she looked like a seventeen-year-old girl, didn’t she? That small girl leading everyone in a situation where everyone was cowering must have seemed like an incomprehensible something. The fact that the girl had been chosen by a god likely sprouted concrete Faith beyond mere admiration.

So, it meant most had marveled at her actions just now. Under normal circumstances, she could have enjoyed that fact, but not in this situation. She simply noted that the Players didn’t resent her impulsive action.

“What do we do now?”

With their tacit agreement, Seo Yun led the meeting. They discussed whether to fight them after all, and if they fought, what to do since they were at a disadvantage in strength, but a conclusion wasn’t easily reached.

Suddenly, Seo Yun asked Oh Haengun:

“The Chief is in the underground parking lot now, right? How thick is the concrete blocking the entrance? Thick enough that absolutely no one can get in?”

“Why are you asking that now?”

“I don’t have the authority to decide the current situation, and you don’t have the will to decide, Mister. We need to go ask someone who has both. You go check if the Chief is safe, and if something happens, ask him to decide whether to fight or not and bring back an answer.”Oh Haengun still seemed reluctant to let this side take the lead, but perhaps wanting to see the Chief’s condition, he didn’t refuse the suggestion.

He activated Invisibility to hide his form, returning only after a considerable while.

“Did you meet him?”

Questions poured toward Oh Haengun, who had just met with Oh Haengbok.

“What did the Chief say? Should we fight or not?”

Then Oh Haengun opened his mouth.

“Well, he didn’t say anything like that…”

For some reason, Oh Haengun was being evasive. It seemed he didn’t want to relay Oh Haengbok’s words.

Seo Yun twitched her eyebrows. Could it be that Oh Haengbok ordered them to fight, and he doesn’t want to convey it? Or perhaps…

As people urged him, Oh Haengun finally explained.

“The Chief… told me to inform the Paladins that he’s underground.”

Several people widened their eyes.

“To the Paladins?”

“Yes. He said then the Paladins would have found the Vampire they wanted, so they’d kill him and leave… Is there anyone here who wants to do as he says?”

Of course, no one stepped forward to sell out the Chief. As silence flowed, Oh Haengun seemed to check everyone’s reaction and feel relieved.

Seo Yun glared at him.

‘When the kids were in danger of being taken, he pretended not to see, but he can’t stand his respected Chief being taken, huh.’

The strategy meeting continued afterward. A Warrior Player rushed into the tent and said,

“The kids… were caught.”

“Caught?”

“You know the kids we sent to escape the village just in case? It seems they were caught by the Paladins while fleeing.”

He said he clearly saw the kids we’d sent to escape being tied up and taken away, likely because the Paladins had set up separate ambushes along the routes in case Vampires tried to flee.

In this desperate situation, everyone’s gaze poured toward this side. Seo Yun struggled to manage her expression.

She mustn’t show a horrified expression. This isn’t a situation where a little girl is acting up. If she showed weakness, she’d lose everyone’s trust.

On top of that, she had already used her Halo, and would have to wait 24 hours to reuse it…

“Everyone, gather again. Let’s confront them to prevent any foolish actions.”

Everyone followed Seo Yun’s words. As everyone moved toward the Paladins, Seo Yun alone broke away from the group.

And she moved, avoiding the Paladins’ eyes. She drove her blade into a concrete crevice leading to the underground parking lot.

As the concrete melted, the crevice widened. Seo Yun threw her body into the underground beyond.

Where the Orc Vampire might be hiding.

Happy Village was originally an apartment complex, where an absurdly massive Gutworm had swallowed the above-ground apartments. During that process, the underground parking lot also collapsed, but some underground spaces remained. Oh Haengun had dug a passage to those underground spaces for use as a refuge in emergencies.

Seo Yun walked along that passage.

Light pouring from the Sun Ship seeped intensely through the concrete crevices. Seo Yun walked along the path where light and shadows intersected, eventually finding Oh Haengbok.

The Vampire Orc was lying with his back against a Genesis vehicle. He hadn’t removed his armor, so it was unclear whether he was sleeping or dead.

Seo Yun asked.

“Are you okay?”

The answer came a little later.

“No.”

“Earlier, what did you tell Mister Haengun…”

He seemed to struggle even to speak. Oh Haengbok gasped for breath as he spoke.

“I told him to inform them that a Vampire is hiding here. Then everything would be over, right… Seems they didn’t follow through. Did that bastard Haengun oppose it?”

“Yes.”

“I urged him so many times, that bastard… Then… Couldn’t you do it for me?”

Seo Yun raised one eyebrow.

“You want me to tell the Paladins?”

“I understand it’s awkward. People would curse you as a traitor if they knew. So do it secretly, sneakily, okay?”

Oh Haengbok spoke without the solemnity typical of someone offering sacrifice, as if this was simply what had to be done in this situation. He continued in a voice that sounded almost casual.

“I’d rather go to the Paladins myself… but earlier something flashed and my body got hot? Since then, my condition is terrible. I can’t muster any strength, and I can’t see anything right now…”

Seo Yun removed Oh Haengbok’s helm and groaned inwardly.

‘Seems his Vampiric super-regeneration is blocked.’

His eyes, which had burned in the sunlight earlier, remained melted as they were. So now, no crimson Eye Light was emanating from those eyes, and for the first time in a while, his face looked peaceful.

Moreover, the Orc’s skin, which should have been gray, was covered in hideous blisters. It looked like he had suffered full-body burns. Had the Sun Ship’s judgment cooked his body even while he was underground?

Seo Yun remembered that under sunlight, all of a Vampire’s supernatural abilities vanish. Perhaps even the Vampire’s unique regenerative ability had disappeared, as none of the damage to his body was healing.

Oh Haengbok said.

“See? Earlier, a heat storm surged underground once? My insides cooked inside the armor then… I can’t move. So even if a fight breaks out, I can’t join. Can they fight those bastards without me? Rather than all dying fighting a hopeless battle, it’s better for just me to die.”

“That’s true.”

As Seo Yun muttered, Oh Haengbok grinned.

“Right? Haengun will blame himself like hell, so tell him later I said I forgive him. If he wants to apologize for causing this mess, he should do it to the villagers…”

Saying that, Oh Haengbok didn’t move a muscle. In his current condition, he probably couldn’t bear the weight of the thick armor he was wearing.

Seo Yun looked down at Oh Haengbok for a long while, then sighed. And she said.

“Stop talking nonsense then, drink my blood.”

Seo Yun threw off her Poncho. Oh Haengbok seemed flustered, his words faltering.

“Why blood all of a sudden…”

“Vampires recover HP through Bloodsucking, right? Hurry up.”