Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 61

Construction of the Human Empire Through Minions 63

We Will Bury You

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Thump, thump, thump—!

The royal palace vibrated with the sound of the earth pounding.

Stone fragments fell from the shattered ceiling, stirring up dust.

Dust settled on the guest room floor, mingling with the black mist emanating from Vlad.

“······.”

Vlad glared at me.

His bloodshot eyes trembled slightly.

I could sense his anger, surprise, and tension directed at me.

He must have felt the presence of the group outside.

‘If ordinary humans had formed a group, it would have been laughable.’

Would he be afraid of thousands, tens of thousands of weak humans gathering?

Just as I had slaughtered Ugdras’s forces with dozens of minions.

No matter how many ordinary humans gathered, they couldn’t defeat Vlad, or even a member of the Blood Clan.

‘But those outside are minions.’

Most of the minions I had created since my appointment.

If their level was even slightly high, I mobilized them regardless of their profession.

The number I gathered was over 200, and they were outside.

Their average level was higher than during the Ugdras incident.

Ranging from 30 to as high as 70.

I prepared to swat a mosquito.

‘Isn’t there a high possibility that he won’t come?’

When I first told Griff the plan, he asked me that.

Saying I was mobilizing too many minions for a single, low possibility.

Because it meant mobilizing everyone except the low-level minions.

‘Griff, Gerhard, and the administrative minions belonging to the Governor-General’s office, as well as the patrol and transport teams of the Great Plains, and even the minions mobilized for the workshop and outer wall construction, all have to be mobilized.’

Work would be paralyzed or face tremendous setbacks.

‘Moreover, it takes more than ten days just to get to Sodomora, and even after arriving, it’s not like they can immediately finish their work and return. They have to spend nearly a month on the low possibility of Vlad coming or not.’

If Vlad didn’t come, it would be like wasting a month, but,

‘What if he does come?’

What if Vlad arrives in Sodomora himself?

Could Calliope and Pasiphae stop him?

Could I even escape?

‘Impossible. He won’t come alone.’

Should I lose everything I’ve achieved so far with a single misstep?

I have no intention of being careless just because the possibility is low.

‘It’s like expensive insurance.’

‘But the compensation is enormous.’

If he doesn’t come, I can easily deal with the Blood Clan and their servants.

Annihilating the Duke and Count, neutralizing Sodomora.

I could just click my tongue at the slightly high cost and forget about it.

‘And you came.’

Thump, thump, thump—!

The incessant earth-shaking.

The magic power mixed in with the vibrations caused by the earth-shaking.

Vlad and the Blood Clan’s bewilderment at feeling the magic power was clear.

‘Are you surprised? How can the power of humans be like this?’

Clearly, compared to the entire Empire, it was a force that didn’t even amount to a handful.

A group that would disappear like a candle in the wind if the Vampire Empire raised an army.

But right now, Vlad had few Blood Clan members, let alone an army.

Barely a knuckle on one of his ten fingers.

He rushed here in a hurry to save his offspring.

He stood before me leading too few.

‘Right now, you’re as good as naked.’

Vlad glanced at Calliope and Pasiphae.

The two minions watched him haughtily.

He bit his lip and emitted an even thicker mist.

Could he guarantee victory against the two minions?

Of course, if the Blood Clan were with him.

‘No matter how strong Calliope and Pasiphae are, if they fight Vlad and ten more Blood Clan members, they’ll be outnumbered. But it’s the same for you.’

Just like how he tried to face two minions with ten Blood Clan members,

200 minions will face 10 Blood Clan members.

The damage will be great due to the difference in individual strength, but even so,

‘We will bury you.’

Thump, thump, thump—!

“You······.”

His voice trembled with anger.

“Are you trying to pressure me with this kind of trick!”

With his roar, magic power erupted, creating a strong wind.

“Pressure? Are you saying I’m pressuring you right now?”

I asked, raising one corner of my mouth.

“What can I gain by pressuring you?”

“You intend to threaten me, scare me, and make me back down. To deceive me with your silver tongue, just like in the Assembly.”

“You’re wrong. Mosquito.”

I glared at him and said.

“You are going to die.”

“What? Me? I’m going to die?”

He chuckled lightly, then laughed loudly.

The Blood Clan also burst into laughter.

Then, he suddenly became serious.

“You dare—!”

Bang!

“Dare to insult me!”

Bang!

“Kill my son and now you’re going to kill me!”

“Yes, I caught your vermin to kill you.”

Wince.

Vlad’s eyes widened.

“I know how much you cherish the Blood Clan. I also know how you react when the Blood Clan is killed. That’s why I made these preparations.”

I tapped my temple with my index finger.

“But you don’t seem to know. Just as you cherish the Blood Clan, I also cherish humans.”

“······.”

“If you truly cherished the Blood Clan, shouldn’t you have passed on the Blood Clan when I became the ninth member of the Assembly? Did you believe that I, as a representative of humans, would do nothing? Even though I knew your child was parasitizing this land?”

Vlad was silent.

He couldn’t have not known.

He just must have thought, ‘Surely not.’

How dare a human, how dare such a thing.

He ignored the low possibility.

I bet on the low possibility.

The result has come like this now.

“I merely punished the most foolish, greedy, arrogant, and evil of the vermin you created, the one you love the most.”

I smiled and said.

“You should rather be grateful to me. The punishment your vermin deserved was not so light.”

Grind!

Vlad gritted his teeth and leaned towards me.

He looked so agitated that he seemed ready to kick off the floor and jump at me.

Seeing this, a member of the Blood Clan standing beside him spoke cautiously.

“Father.”

Vlad, who was about to rush forward, paused.

The anger in his bloodshot eyes turned towards his son.

The Blood Clan member was startled by the gaze but spoke resolutely.

“We must retreat.”

“······.”

For a moment, Vlad’s eyes wavered.

In response, the Blood Clan member said again.

“We must retreat, Father.”

I narrowed my eyes as I watched this.

‘Konrad.’

The Chancellor of the Vampire Empire, Mycenae.

‘Josef and Steiber are next to him. He brought all the key figures.’

I knew all the Blood Clan members standing on the wreckage.

They were among the strongest in the Empire and also the brains of the Empire.

Mycenae was a country founded by Vlad, but it was they who designed it to become an Empire and a pillar of the Assembly.

‘To bring the pillars of the Empire root and stem. What a fool.’

Vlad was definitely hasty and swayed by emotions.

He led those who should not have been brought to the forefront.

He belatedly suppressed his anger little by little at Konrad’s appeal.

As emotions were suppressed by reason, hesitation was faintly revealed in his expression.

He must have judged that the damage would not be small if they fought like this.

‘That won’t do.’

“Vlad von Holstein.”

I took the cigarette from my mouth and called out to him.

“I really don’t understand.”

“Don’t listen!”

“······.”

Konrad grabbed him and shouted to ignore me.

But he waited for me to continue speaking.

I raised my chin and sneered.

“What was the first thing you did after becoming a mosquito [derogatory term for a vampire]? You bit the mother who nursed you, ate your father, and even killed your siblings? But now, you treat and cherish the family who share a few drops of blood as if they were family?”

He clenched his fist and glared at me.

The smile I gave met his fierce gaze.

“Why are you suddenly so engrossed in playing family?”

The reason that seemed to be returning for a moment disappeared.

The whites of his eyes turned blood red, his nails grew long, his hair stood on end, and the mist spread widely below his legs.

“You!”

“No, Father!”

Vlad pushed Konrad away and rushed out.

“Retreat!”

Calliope ran forward.

Clang—

The blade, drawn in an instant, slashed horizontally, cutting Vlad.

But just before the blade touched his skin, his entire body turned into mist.

“Get lost!”

The mist passed through the blade and covered Calliope.

Then, it dispersed and gathered behind her.

A hand emerged from the gathered mist.

“······!”

Bright yellow nails flashed, aiming for her back.

But she turned around before that could happen.

Swoosh!

The mist retreated and gathered again, becoming Vlad.

Drip···

Blood flowed from the wound on his right hand.

“Inferior species···.”

He licked the blood and shouted fiercely.

“Kill them! Kill them! There’s no need to make them slaves! Tear them apart and kill them!”

The Blood Clan rushed forward following their father’s orders.

Vlad and three Blood Clan members went for Calliope,

Seven Blood Clan members surged towards Pasiphae and me.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Pasiphae pushed me aside and raised her left foot.

She gathered magic power at her toes and slammed it into the floor.

Crack, the floor cracked, and the ground overturned.

The ground beneath the Blood Clan’s feet collapsed.

“Edar!”

The magic power emitted from her fingertips wrapped around me.

My feet left the ground, and I was thrown out of the guest room.

“He, he, he, he, he, he!”

Two Blood Clan members emerged from the collapsed ground and saw me thrown out of the guest room.

‘Josef, Leni.’

The third and ninth Blood Clan members of Vlad.

【Lv. 81】

【Lv. 80】

One is a mosquito who often loses his mind because he couldn’t endure the passage of time, and the other is an assassin who pulled out her tongue to keep silent.

“He, he, he! You’re mine!”

“······.”

The two mosquitoes rushed at me.

I came out of the reception room and stood in the palace corridor.

“I caught you!”

“You’re the one who’s getting caught, mosquito.”

I reached out my hand to Josef, who was smiling.

Light emanated from my wide-open hand, covering the two mosquitoes.

“Kyahhhhh!”

Sizzle, their flesh burned, and steam rose from their bodies.

The two Blood Clan members screamed in agony and collapsed.

“Pure faith sometimes overcomes darkness.”

I stepped back and raised my other hand.

Magic power quickly condensed around the Blood Clan members, and an explosion occurred.

Kwang!

“Too close.”

I muttered, brushing off the sparks and dust that had splattered on my clothes.

“Your Majesty!”

Turning around, I saw Gerhard and Griff running towards me.

And behind them, a group of minions chased after them.

It was Griff who had just unleashed the magic power.

I nodded with a smile.

“Aren’t you overdoing it?”

Griff grumbled.

“The bait has to dangle in front to make them think about biting.”

“If you actually get bitten, you won’t even break even.”

“That won’t happen. Because I trust you.”

“Oops,” Griff shrugged his shoulders.

In the dust-filled explosion, a light flickered.

The two Blood Clan members walked out, shaking off the debris.

Their bodies, which had been unharmed by Pasiphae’s attack, were soaked in blood.

“You, you, you, human, I’ll kill you!”

The Blood Clan member shouted, filled with anger.

I drew my sword from my waist, raised it high, and shouted.

“Gerhard, Griff. The time has come for you to prove yourselves. The time has come to prove the reason for your lives. Fight! That is what I desire! Kill the parasites that feed on humans and save humanity!”

Gerhard followed me, raising his spear and shouting.

“Brothers and sisters! His Majesty desires it!”

“Our Father desires it!”

The minions screamed and rushed forward.

At the head, Gerhard kicked off the ground fiercely and leaped into the air.

In mid-air, he unleashed his spear with a quick draw.

“How dare you raise your head in front of me!”

Josef quickly twisted his body to avoid the spear.

The blade that seemed to barely miss grazed his cheek.

A long line of blood ran from his cheek to his ear.

“How dare I? That’s what I should be saying!”

Josef, who already had a wound on his face from the explosion.

With one side of his lip torn to his ear, he was a monster himself.

He roared and grabbed the spear that was thrusting towards his chest.

The muscles in his arm that grabbed the spear swelled rapidly.

“Ugh!”

He threw Gerhard, who was holding onto the spear, into the wall along with the spear.

The wall he crashed into collapsed, burying him in bricks.

“How dare you? That’s what I should be saying!”

Josef’s level was 81.

8 levels higher than Gerhard.

Of course, a higher level doesn’t necessarily mean overwhelming.

However, Josef was a Blood Clan member with a lot of combat experience, and as seen from the fact that the arm that threw Gerhard was twice as thick as his thigh, his abilities were also specialized for combat.

It was only natural that Gerhard would be subdued barehanded.

However, the minions did not panic or become frightened upon seeing this.

“Press them!”

“Protect our Father!”

“Die for His Majesty!”

The minions surrounded Josef and attacked from all directions.

“Get away! Inferior species!”

Josef waved his hand, and three minions were torn apart.

As if a water-soaked piece of paper was being torn.

And other minions filled the place of the dead minions.

They stabbed and swung with spears, swords, and axes, rushing in.

Gerhard also pushed aside the debris and joined the ranks.

“Huh?”

I read the bewilderment on the Blood Clan member’s face.

Why aren’t they scared, why aren’t they backing down.

‘They are different from the likes of you.’

Beings who live solely on affection, loyalty, and faith in me.

That is what minions are, and death is nothing to them.

They are more afraid of disgracing me than dying.

“You bastards···!”

Josef retreated little by little.

He realized that the situation was not good.

He must have been thinking of keeping his distance and hunting them one by one, but,

The minions couldn’t have not known.

“He’s running away!”

“Don’t keep your distance!”

“Hold him! Cling to him!”

The minions approached without regard for damage.

If an arm flew off, they used the other arm,

If a leg flew off, they crawled,

Until death stopped them.

“Th, th···! Leni!”

Josef urgently called out to his comrade.

‘Only two Blood Clan members are attached to me. No matter how strong you are, you cannot defeat the entire minion force. If you pile up a mountain of corpses, the mountain will bury you.’

I looked at the status window.

[Time remaining until next use: None.]

[The Minion Creation skill is available.]

[Would you like to use it?]

‘No matter who comes out, the outcome will not change.’

The only change would be the scale of the damage.

I activated the skill.

Then, light burst forth.

————————————

[You have gained proficiency by using the Minion Creation skill.]

[The rank of the Minion Creation skill increases.]

[Rank: 3 stars -> 4 stars]

[The skill cooldown is reduced to 6 hours.]

[The probability of creating low-rank minions decreases.]

[The probability of creating high-rank minions increases.]

————————————

Not as intense as Calliope and Pasiphae, but a light brighter than Gerhard’s burst before my eyes, and a blade flew out of the light.

Swish!

It was a dagger.

A dagger slightly longer than a hand span.

The dagger flew close, seemingly aiming for my head.

And it passed me and struck the shoulder of the Blood Clan member, Leni.

“······Kugh!”

Leni was about to grab a minion’s neck and twist it.

Reflexively, she released the neck and stepped back.

The light that erupted with the summoning subsided, and an old man appeared.

“Step back, Master.”

Said the old man with wrinkled and gnarled hands like an old tree.

————————————

Mountain Hermit

Nuadha

Lv. 80

Rank: A

————————————

The minion Nuadha kicked off the ground and stood before Leni.

What he held was a dagger like the one stuck in Leni’s shoulder.

He wore only gray rags.

“···You.”

Leni frowned and muttered in a distorted pronunciation.

At that moment, Nuadha kicked off the ground.

Clang!

The blade stopped a hand span away from her white neck.

What blocked Nuadha’s dagger was Leni’s dagger.

Blood Clan members usually don’t use weapons, but some were exceptions.

Leni was one of those exceptions and mainly used daggers.

“······.”

“······.”

The daggers that touched each other repeatedly pushed and were pushed back.

The minions and Blood Clan members trembled as they competed in strength.

The tense standoff ended when Nuadha kicked Leni in the stomach.

“Kugh!”

Leni was pushed far back, and Nuadha chased after her.

“Leniiii!”

Josef’s voice was as miserable as a scream.

Because Leni was pushed back by Nuadha, his subordinates swarmed him.

Gerhard and Griff and almost all the minions stuck to him.

The pendulum that had been tilting little by little completely tilted and hit the floor.

“Where do you think you’re going, leaving me behind?”

Nuadha swung his arm at Leni, who glanced at her brother.

She paid the price for showing a gap in an instant, and her nose was cut off.

“······!”

Leni clutched her severed nose and trembled her eyes.

I read the despair in her eyes.

She realized that there was no hope left.

“Don’t come! I told you to go away! Until when—!”

Clearly, Josef was strong.

But he was starting to get tired.

Clearly, the minions were weak by his standards.

But they were not opponents who would die just by blowing a breeze.

To kill one minion, he had to move his arm with all his might.

But no matter how many he killed, they pushed him without gaps or retreat.

The minions had no shortage of will, stamina, or numbers.

What was lacking was Josef’s strength, and the price was death.

“Stop! Stop! Stop ittttttt!”

Stab!

At the peak of the moment, Gerhard’s spear pierced Josef’s heart.

Josef couldn’t avoid the spear that was clearly stabbing him even though he saw it.

His arms, his legs, his body were grabbed.

The minions, with no place on their limbs intact, grabbed him.

Like a sinner nailed to a cross, he was held.

Then Gerhard stabbed his heart with the spear.

“Keuh, eugh!”

He spat out the reversed blood.

As blood flowed out, his strength also rapidly drained.

His wide-open eyes denied reality and searched for a place to put his gaze.

His gaze reached Leni, who had her head cut off at the same time as him.

Nuadha killed Leni alone and took her dagger.

“This is··· It can’t be, it can’t be···.”

The blood flowing from the wound bubbled and turned white.

Soon, the flesh also lost its color, crystallized, and decomposed.

Only traces like salt remained where the two Blood Clan members had been.

————————————

Legion Commander

Gerhard

Lv. 73 -> Lv. 76

Rank: A

————————————

“Too cheap compared to the value of my brothers and sisters.”

Gerhard pulled out the spear stuck in the wall and spat out blood-mixed saliva.