Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 212: Humans 1: Vampires 0

Grommash was struck hard in the face and hurled backward, skidding nearly three meters across the bloodstained forest floor. His thoughts reeled. Why hadn’t his orc reinforcements attacked yet? The human couldn’t be right—he had brought seven full groups, all seasoned warriors, early E-grade and fiercely loyal. Who could have possibly wiped them out? There had only been that small girl in their group, right? If more assassins had made their way through the jungle, surely they would’ve noticed.

But no signals came through the communication crystals. Just static silence.

Before he could dwell on it, a massive mace came down from above, aiming to shatter his skull. He rolled aside just in time, dodging the deadly arc, then countered with a brutal punch. His fist slammed into the other orc’s face—though at the last moment, the warrior headbutted into the strike, meeting blow with blow. The impact knocked the orc back, buying Grommash a moment.

He turned to glance at his warbeast. The wyvern was in bad shape—sprawled on the forest floor, its ribs heaving—but it was still alive. Grommash clenched his jaw. If its own regeneration couldn’t save it, the blood witch would have to.

The human with the violet eyes had vanished again, and the insect-man was blasting at him from afar, his attacks relentless and irritatingly precise. Grommash snarled. That one was proving to be a real nuisance.

“Cathrin! Begin the teleportation—we’re leaving!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the trees.

High above, the witch was still darting between branches, pursued by the enraged sky turtle. He couldn’t tell if she’d heard him—but it didn’t matter. If he didn’t keep fighting, he wouldn’t survive long enough to find out. Thankfully, his body still outmatched his opponents in speed and resilience. That other orc—Kargul—might have a slight edge in raw strength, but his tactics were crude, relying solely on brute force.

Grommash ducked beneath a flurry of strikes from the insect-man and retaliated with a vicious kick that sent his opponent crashing into a tree. The trunk splintered on impact. He lunged to finish him off—but Kargul was already back, blocking his path. Again.

With a guttural snarl, Grommash lashed out, but before the strike landed, a burst of crimson light erupted at the center of the battlefield. Cathrin stood within a ritual circle, her eyes blazing. With both hands pressed against the earth, she released a shockwave of blood magic that blasted all enemies backward. The ground beneath the circle flared with renewed energy—it was the emergency teleportation spell she had embedded into the ritual, just in case.

The others noticed immediately. They began to rush forward—but Grommash cut them off, sending a barrage of red energy slashes to keep them at bay.

“Ha! Running again?” Kargul growled, his voice thick with scorn. “Coward.”

The insult lit a fire in Grommash’s chest. “You weak, spineless piece of Gumta-sh—”

But the teleportation activated before he could finish. A flash of crimson light engulfed him, the blood witch, and his broken wyvern—then they were gone.

“I can’t believe they ran again. Always with the damn teleportation circles,” Kargul muttered, rage simmering in his voice as the bloodlust in his aura slowly dissipated.

Vorlok let out a low, grumbling huff. His prey had escaped, his rightful feast denied. Still, he nibbled at the blood left behind, licking the traces from the grass like a predator reluctant to leave the kill.

“Hey, tentacle guy! Where’s Evelyn? And who smashed all the orcs in the forest?” Kargul yelled into the trees, clearly unsure where Jack had vanished to this time.

“Uh, that was Eve,” Jack’s voice came lazily from somewhere unseen. “She told me to hold back as long as possible—keep the enemies busy so she had time to take out all the orcs hidden in the jungle.”

“What? Eve? Our healer? You’re telling me she went into the jungle alone to face all those orcs?” Josh gasped, now back in his human form, his voice full of disbelief.

“Wait… You mean Evelyn took down all the hidden orcs?” Kargul also asked, his tone shifting to something almost reverent—half incredulous, half proud.

“Uh, yeah, pretty sure,” Jack replied. “But don’t take my word for it—ask her yourself. Look behind you.”

Kargul turned.

Out of the underbrush, Evelyn emerged—calm, composed, and eerily quiet. Her pale hands still dripped crimson, and a faint trail of blood followed her footsteps across the clearing. She looked just like she always did… except for the splatters painting her sleeves and the silent storm in her eyes.

“Oh, Eve! I missed you,” Kargul grinned, bounding over with open arms. “Did you smash them all with your hands? Damn. That’s it—next time we hit the system shop, I’m buying you a big stick for bashing. You deserve an upgrade!”

He hugged her tightly, unbothered by the blood or the silence, grinning like a proud brother.

“Better spend your credits on some armor. I’m fine,” Evelyn said, her voice cold and distant. The chill in her tone sent an involuntary shiver crawling down Jack and Josh’s spines.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Only Kargul seemed unaffected, grinning as always, and Vorlok was fluttering through the air in wide loops, joyfully nuzzling against Evelyn like a dog greeting its master.

“Yes! Next time, that red bastard gets crushed,” Kargul declared, slamming his fists together. “Should we head back and help with the vampires? I bet things are messy inside the base.”

“Probably,” Josh replied, glancing at the others. “Anyone heard from Maike or Kaldrek?”

Everyone shrugged—except for Jack, who answered with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Yep! They're doing just fine for now. The high-ranked vampires ran off after losing the fight against Thalion, and our guys are cleaning up the battlefield. We should get moving if we still want a piece of the action.”

“Thalion defeated those vampires... by himself?” Josh muttered, raising an eyebrow. “Well, probably with some support weapons or something.”

“Oh no, only at the very end did a couple of ballistae help,” Jack said, smug as ever.

<--

“Alright, so Kargul, Evelyn, and the others made it out, right?” Thalion asked through the mental link, having caught fragments of what happened out in the woods.

“Yes, they’re all safe—and according to Jack, they’re coming to ‘farm’ some undead,” Maike responded, her tone dry.

“Good. I’m heading back out to hunt vampires. Can you give the command to capture as many as possible? I’ve got questions I’d like answered,” Thalion said, tightening his gauntlet straps, readying himself for more bloodshed.

“I just sent out the order. But... don’t you still have that vampiress you took from the tower?” Maike asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.

“She didn’t make it,” Thalion said flatly. “And don’t forget to have people gather all the spilled blood in flasks—I have plans for it.”

With that, he cut the connection. His form blurred, then dissolved into mist. A second later, he was gone, racing through the air toward a fresh group of vampires hiding within the ruined city. With his newly awakened senses, he could see them—clear as day. Unfortunate for them.

He still had an unused Fear Pillar. It needed... occupants. And perhaps, just maybe, he would purchase another. One pillar for prisoners, and the other to fuel his armor and blood crystals. This base held plenty of test subjects—and now that some were vampires, he might even enjoy it.

He thought briefly about going full "anime protagonist"—blindfolded, cursed, eyes sealed. But no, that wasn’t his style. He had other plans.

The confrontation with Amalia and Jim in the catacombs was drawing close. Soon, the special quest would start. He wondered how much time they’d have to destroy the blood pillars once the tunnels opened. Not much, probably. The tutorial phase was nearing its end.

For now, though, he had vampires to collect.

Thalion dropped like a phantom into the middle of a group of seven unsuspecting bloodspawn. Without hesitation, he activated his Fear Armor, a suffocating aura exploding outward and freezing them in place. In one fluid swing of the Crimson Virethorn, legs were severed from bodies.

Two vampires were instantly consumed, their chests ruptured as red vines burst through their hearts. The living weapon was greedy, and it feasted without mercy.

The rest weren’t so lucky. He punched them into unconsciousness one by one, blood splattering against the cobblestones. When it was done, he contacted Maike and Kaldrek, ordering them to send guards to collect the crippled vampires and toss them in the prison block.

While waiting, he opened his status screen. The days battles had earned him two levels. He had been close to 75, and now stood at early 76. If his pace held, he’d evolve before the tutorial ended. That was the dream.

Once he evolved, the experience throttling would disappear. He’d level like the rest of the E-Grade elites. No more grinding for scraps.

He dropped his newly gained stat points into Agility. Unlike Vitality, Wisdom, or Intelligence, agility couldn’t be passively boosted by consuming rare plants. And speed... speed won fights, especially against apex enemies like the vampires.

He wondered how strong the other undead might be. The blood witch had conjured a massive ritual—clearly no ordinary caster. She would make an excellent addition to his Fear Pillar. He would enjoy learning the secrets she kept—how her blood curse worked, the nature of her dark magic. If he could gain a similar ability, he could build a personal undead army, powered by her lost knowledge.

The guards arrived faster than expected—just under two minutes, which felt like an eternity in battle terms. These vampires hadn’t offered much experience, but Thalion reminded himself: this was about more than just XP. He had to lead by example.

As soon as the prisoners were secured, he took off once more. The day had ended poorly for the vampires—they’d lost their undead army, their foothold, and a dozen or more of their kin.

Thalion, on the other hand, had gained fresh "material" for experimentation.

Now, it was time to prepare for the next confrontation.

Yes, they had survived the assault—but the path to the catacombs led through a dark fortress. It would make for a satisfying warm-up.