Corrupted blood lord

Their travels were surprisingly peaceful.

They did not encounter any beasts or bandits waiting along the road. It was fortunate for the beasts and bandits that they did not encounter the two travelers, who looked like easy targets from a distance but were actually a death sentence.

A shame, really. Teclos would have liked to let off some steam.

Axel rode ahead with his usual relaxed posture, looking more like an old man enjoying a quiet journey than an assassin sent to kill a noblewoman. Teclos followed closely behind him, silent under his dark cloak, one hand resting near his sword while the other held the reins.

The road stretched west under the pale gray sky. The trip quickly became boring. Trees lined both sides of the road, their branches and overgrowth heavily obscuring the forest. Their horses moved at a steady pace, and for a long while, only the creak of leather and the dull thud of hooves could be heard.

Eventually, Axel glanced at him.

"So," the old man said, his voice light. "You killed a wyvern, huh? Color me surprised, kid. In the blink of an eye, you became stronger than me. Haha."

He chuckled, completely unaware that Teclos could actually kill him now.

Teclos just looked ahead as he remembered the fight. "I did almost die."

Axel tilted his head toward him. "Well, it’s half a dragon, after all. I might be able to kill one too if I ambushed it properly."

That was either a lie, or he was completely delusional.

Teclos thought about it immediately and imagined Axel fighting it. He might have wounded it with an ambush, maybe even crippled a wing if everything went perfectly.

But after that, the wyvern would have filled the air with frost, and the old man would have frozen to death before his tricks could save him.

"Vampires are such unfair creatures," Axel continued, shaking his head. "Two years, and suddenly you’re stronger than me. How does that work?"

"I can answer if you want," Teclos said calmly. "But Luther might kill you if you pry too much into vampires."

Axel’s smile paused for half a second.

Then he chuckled and looked back at the road.

"Fair enough. Some things are better left unknown."

Teclos almost smiled.

He did not know a more cowardly old man than Axel. The man acted wise, calm, and untouchable, but most of it was just avoidance disguised as experience. Assassination was not some grand philosophy to him. It was a way to never face his opponent directly.

Like with the orc.

Once the assassination failed, Axel had become an average fighter.

Or worse...

—

By afternoon, they reached the first village on the road west.

It was small, muddy, and poor, with smoke rising from crooked chimneys and chickens scattering between carts. A few villagers stopped what they were doing when they saw them arrive. Most looked at Axel first, since he looked like a regal envoy, but when their eyes wandered to Teclos, they quickly became much more interested in looking at the ground.

Axel stopped near an old man carrying firewood.

"Where is the tavern?"

The villager swallowed and pointed down the road. "End of the street, beside the well."

"Thank you." Axel looked at Teclos. "Wait there. I will speak with the chief."

Teclos glanced at him when the order pressed against his mind. Of course, he could resist it now, but there was no reason to argue.

He dismounted his horse and walked toward the tavern.

The moment he stepped through the door, the room quieted.

It was almost impressive how quickly it happened. A few men had been laughing at a table near the hearth, playing dice. Two women near the counter had been arguing over something unimportant.

All of that noise died down the moment Teclos entered.

He looked around once, then walked to the corner and sat down.

Teclos waited, but no one came to take his order...

The villagers stared into their cups, trying very hard not to make eye contact. The tavern keeper wiped the same spot on the counter three times without moving from his spot by even a millimeter.

After a while, Teclos sighed. He really missed that northern village.

"I guess they really were special up there," he muttered.

He stood and walked to the counter himself.

The tavern keeper flinched.

"Give me ale," Teclos said, not bothering to sound polite.

The man nodded quickly and poured it without asking for coin until Teclos placed some on the counter. Then Teclos returned to his corner and drank in silence, knowing there would be no time for a proper meal.

Half an hour later, Axel came through the door and beckoned him closer.

Teclos stood up and obliged.

As soon as he left, a collective sigh of relief passed through the tavern.

Axel laughed once they were outside. "It is always fascinating how you can quiet a whole crowd without saying anything."

"Annoying talent."

"I agree. It’s terrible for friendly conversation."

"I’ll survive without it."

—

They moved on.

Three days passed before they finally reached Skallion County.

The main city was smaller than Lupos, but cleaner. Its walls were lower and its streets were narrower. The market was less grand, yet the place felt more alive.

Stalls filled the square, selling bread, fruit, cloth, tools, and smoked meat. The atmosphere was relaxed here.

There were no slums pressing against the outer walls as well.

That alone made it better for Teclos.

People looked happy here. Chirpy, even. Teclos found that mildly amusing as they walked through the streets.

Axel led them to a tavern near the center of the city and paid for two rooms without using his real name.

Once they were upstairs, he spread a map across the table.

"All right," he said. "This is the countess’s manor. Once night falls, we execute the mission. Clean entry, clean kill, clean exit. Like always."

Teclos leaned over the map.

The manor stood near the northern edge of the city, surrounded by a wall, gardens, servant quarters, and a decent-sized garrison. The layout was simple enough. Main hall, east wing, west wing, private chambers, office, library, kitchens, storage, and a rear courtyard.

Axel tapped the upper floor. "Her bedchamber is here. We go in through the garden wall, avoid the patrols, enter through the balcony, and finish it before anyone knows we are there."

"Sure," Teclos said.

Axel looked at him for a second, then continued explaining guard routes, windows, likely wards, and escape paths.

Teclos listened to the plan half-heartedly.

—

At nightfall, when the city quieted and the manor lights dimmed, they moved out.

The infiltration was easy.

Too easy, really, Teclos thought.

Axel crossed the wall in the blink of an eye, and Teclos followed closely after through the shadows. The patrolling guards never saw them. Two guards standing near the servants’ door were knocked unconscious without even knowing what happened.

Another one, overseeing that entrance from the balcony, collapsed when Axel’s hand touched the back of his neck.

They moved through the manor like ghosts.

Every guard they came across went down silently. They left no witness standing wherever they crossed, and the sleeping bodies were then hidden where it was unlikely that anyone would find them.

Soon, they stood outside the countess’s bedchamber.

Axel raised two fingers, then pointed at the door.

Teclos just nodded.

They destroyed the alarm runes and broke through together.

But the room was empty.

The bed had not even been touched yet.

Axel’s expression darkened. "Shit. Where is she?"

Teclos tilted his head slightly.

He could sense her.

Farther east inside the castle. Sitting in an office, surrounded by papers, still awake and working...

"I can’t sense her," Teclos said.

He smiled internally.

Axel clicked his tongue. "Find her. Let’s split up, as we don’t have much time."

"Ok."

"I will take the west side. You check east."

Teclos nodded, then Axel moved out immediately. He was silent and quick despite his age.

Teclos watched him go and smiled.

"Idiot."

He vanished into the shadows and reappeared inside the countess’s office.

Meralyn Skallion sat behind a large desk covered in documents. She looked to be in her late thirties, sharp-eyed and clearly exhausted.

Surprisingly, she was already dressed in her nightgown, though sleep was clearly not what she had in mind. A lamp burned beside her hand, illuminating the half-empty cup of tea near a stack of sealed letters. Teclos recognized the scent immediately.

A tea meant to keep someone awake.

She looked up, and her eyes widened.

"Hello, Countess," Teclos said. "I hope you are having a pleasant evening."

She tried to scream and summon her mana.

But in the next second, darkness wrapped around her before she could do anything. The bindings snapped around her wrists, ankles, and shoulders, pinning her to the chair. She still tried to summon mana, but Teclos released his aura and pressed it down on her like a hand around her throat.

Her face went white, and her body trembled as a dark stain spread across her nightclothes.

Teclos looked down at it, then back at her.

"Oops. I guess that was a bit too much for you. I am not used to intimidation yet, so my apologies."

Her eyes trembled with fear.

"We do not have time, so I will make this quick," Teclos continued. "I am not going to kill you."

She did not relax entirely. She was not stupid. But some of the panic in her eyes shifted into focus, and Teclos could tell she was ready to listen.

At least to some extent.

He nodded.

"Good. Thank god you are not an idiot."

He moved one hand, and a thin layer of darkness spread around the room, sealing sound and blurring mana from the outside.

"Listen carefully. I am a vampire and a thrall to Luther Vael’thorr. Sadly for you, he wants you dead, which means you were supposed to die tonight. Luther is working with Count Aweq Van Denos, so you have no chance of winning this fight as you are now."

Her eyes narrowed despite the fear.

Teclos gestured around the room. "Look at how easily I entered your manor. If I wanted you dead, your head would already be on the floor without you even knowing."

She swallowed against the gag.

"Due to some circumstances, I can resist Luther’s orders to an extent. That is why you are still breathing. But there is another assassin in your manor, and if he reports my failure, my life becomes very unpleasant."

Footsteps moved somewhere beyond the eastern hall.

Axel was getting closer, and Teclos thickened the barrier.

"Long story short, I am going to cut off your hand. The non-dominant one. I will drain some of your blood, spread it across the floor, and leave your arm here. Then I will raise the alarm and teleport you away."

The countess stared at him in horror.

Teclos continued before she could panic again. "Your job is to survive. Run, hide, and contact the Dawn Church. Those bastards may be corrupt, but if there is one thing they hate unanimously, it is the undead. Us vampires happen to be included."

He then stepped closer.

"This will hurt."

Her eyes widened.

Teclos drew his sword and cut through her left arm in one clean motion.

Her scream died against the gag, and her blood poured over the desk.

Teclos caught the severed hand before it hit the floor, then splattered the blood across the room. The countess shook violently, but before shock could take her, Teclos pulled a small flask from his dark dimension and forced it between her lips.

"Drink."

She had no choice anyway.

The potion went down her throat, and within seconds, the bleeding slowed to a halt. The wound was perfectly sealed.

Teclos leaned closer. "You are going to live. I hope you’ll be grateful later."

Axel was near now, so he had to make haste.

Teclos tightened the bindings around her and opened a dark portal beneath her chair.

"I am teleporting you out now. Run as far as you can. Another kingdom, if possible. And if you are smart, you will not waste the chance I just gave you."

Her eyes locked onto his.

Still terrified and angry, but at least she was alive.

Teclos smiled faintly.

Then the shadows swallowed her.