Chapter 164 – Diversion Operation (2)

The battle of the ghost warriors, which I secretly followed, was overwhelmingly powerful, to the point where they didn’t need anyone’s help.

Whether they were facing undead ghost warriors or the sudden emergence of the divine tree’s roots, they handled everything with confidence and skill far beyond expectations.

The magic they unleashed against their enemies was truly remarkable.

The magic they simultaneously cast seemed even more impressive than the mage corps of Ea, and the ghost warrior, who was said to be the first son of the divine tree, wielded magic as powerful as the empire’s grand mage that I had seen from afar.

Seeing that they didn’t seem to need our help, we relaxed and moved across the rooftops of the human-made houses, keeping our distance.

Their incredible skills drew so much attention that the enemies didn’t notice us following from afar.

The divine tree, the undead, and even the vampires.

Thanks to that, we managed to stay out of the range of the fog spread by the vampires.

Unfortunately, because of that, we couldn’t respond to the sudden ambush on the ghost warriors by the enemies.

In the blink of an eye, the fog spread, and from outside the fog, we couldn’t see what was happening inside.

The battle erupted instantly, and as we heard the ghost warriors’ screams, we ran across the rooftops.

Towards the vampires standing on the rooftops around the fog-covered streets.

The fog that suddenly appeared was clearly an upgraded version of the black veil, or rather, the black fog that had recently spread in the subway.

If that was the case, then this fog was undoubtedly created by vampire magic.

However, since we couldn’t tell which vampire had cast it, there was only one thing we could do.

Kill every vampire in sight.

To do that, I leaped across the rooftops as if flying, swinging my sword.

*Swish.*

The first vampire to lose its head floated in the air, its mouth gaping at me.

‘How is a human here?’

No sound came out, but I understood what the flying head was saying.

It must have been thanks to Jahina’s translation magic.

It was a strange feeling, but it helped me avoid making mistakes.

I plunged my sword deep into the chest of the decapitated vampire.

*Splat!*

Black blood gushed out, and the head, which had been staring at me even as it flew through the air, rapidly shriveled up.

‘Kyaaaak!’

The legends that came down from the mountain villages weren’t wrong.

If there was no priest, you had to destroy the heart with a mana-infused sword.

Even the old men from the mountain villages who told those legends didn’t believe them, but I had kept those stories in my memory.

They were very similar to the weaknesses of vampires I had seen in novels and movies in my past life.

And now, seeing the vampire that still looked intact even with only its head remaining, that memory came back to me.

I didn’t need to explain anything to Jahina.

As I killed the vampire, Jahina also created a spear with her magic and hurled it at another vampire on a nearby rooftop.

The ice spear pierced the vampire’s chest, and as its heart disappeared, the vampire rapidly aged and turned to dust.

We continued to leap across buildings, taking down vampires one by one, but unfortunately, the fog didn’t dissipate.

Instead, countless undead ghost warriors poured into the fog, and within the fog, a massive root shot up into the sky.

And now, instead of the ghost warriors’ screams, their cries of pain began to echo from within the fog.

Worried that we might be too late, we continued to cut down the vampires when I saw Jahina’s magic slice through the air.

There were times when her attacks didn’t kill instantly, but she never missed.

This time, however, the vampire easily dodged Jahina’s ice spear. No, perhaps it wasn’t a dodge.

In any case, this vampire wasn’t ordinary.

Without waiting for the vampire I had stabbed in the chest to turn to dust, I ran towards the source of the sound.

Now, it didn’t matter which house it was; I leaped across any rooftop in front of me, heading towards where Jahina and the vampire were fighting.

Unlike the other vampires, who seemed to have difficulty hiding their bodies in bright light, the vampire fighting Jahina was shrouded in a misty fog.

Because of that, Jahina’s powerful magic wasn’t having much effect.

The ice spears passed through the fog, and even when lightning scorched the entire house where the vampire stood, the fog surrounding the vampire remained unchanged.

“Was there a ghost warrior who wasn’t trapped? How could I make such a mistake?”

The vampire, hidden within the small fog, clicked its tongue softly and then tried to jump down into the fog-covered street.

Seeing that it didn’t counterattack despite Jahina’s fierce assault, it was clear that this vampire was the one who had spread the fog in the street.

The fog surrounding its body seemed to be the same magic, and the fact that it could block the attacks of Jahina, a grand mage, was proof that this vampire was no ordinary foe.

The reason it wasn’t counterattacking was likely to maintain the fog.

To capture it, now was the opportunity while it couldn’t counterattack, and to do that, we had to prevent it from descending into the street and hiding in the fog.

Fortunately, the direction it was running wasn’t too different from the direction I was heading.

As it tried to jump down, it noticed me running towards it and let out a surprised voice.

“A human knight? How are you here? Weren’t you supposed to have left?”

It seemed the vampires thought we had left the city.

In fact, we had considered doing so, so their assumption wasn’t entirely wrong.

Anyway, the vampire’s surprise at seeing me created a brief opening.

However, I couldn’t swing my sword at the vampire shrouded in fog.

If Jahina’s magic didn’t work, there was no way my mana-infused sword would.

If Yerim, the priest, had been here, I wouldn’t have had to worry, but she wasn’t here now.

However, I did have something else.

I pulled out several bottles from the spatial expansion pouch at my waist and threw them at the vampire.

Beer bottles, soju bottles, and even soda bottles.

Brown, green, and transparent bottles flew like Molotov cocktails and shattered in the fog.

*Clink, clink, clink.*

Whether it was because of my unexpected action or the belief that I couldn’t harm it, the vampire didn’t move immediately and instead sniffed the strange scent, speaking in a bewildered tone.

“Alcohol? No, honey water? What are you doing?”

It was understandable that it was surprised.

The scent of soda and alcohol had spread all the way here.

Since I had broken the bottles, it was natural for the smell of alcohol and soda to fill the air.

Inside the bottles, half was filled with alcohol and soda, and the other half was filled with ‘holy water.’

The holy water I had been carefully carrying around.

Not long after coming to this world, I had transferred the holy water into new bottles.

The bottles from this world, made with advanced scientific civilization, were much sturdier.

The holy water itself, blessed by the priest, was what mattered, not the container.

After all, didn’t the god Yerim believed in bless wedding wine?

I had mixed a bit of the original alcohol and soda to make the bland holy water more palatable, but that was absolutely secondary.

Faith in the gods wouldn’t be swayed by mere alcohol and soda flavors.

Even now, because it was in a different bottle, the vampire didn’t realize it was holy water.

Thanks to that, the small fog that had been drenched in the fragrant holy water quickly dissipated, revealing the vampire in front of me.

A much younger-looking vampire than I had expected.

However, judging by its expression and the clothes it wore, it was clear that despite its appearance, it was a rigid old man.

“This is holy water? That’s impossible!”

Now realizing it was holy water, it was furious with me, but it couldn’t attack me.

I also didn’t swing my sword. No, I didn’t have time to.

Because behind the now-visible vampire was a grand mage, Jahina, who had gathered a massive amount of mana.

*Boom!*

Lightning struck from the sky, and multiple ice spears flew in from all directions.

The vampire, paralyzed by the lightning and pierced by the ice spears, showed an incredible will to survive even in that state.

But Jahina’s magic didn’t end there.

A massive fireball followed, landing right where the vampire stood.

The fireball was so intense that even I, standing in front of it, had to scramble to get away.

*Kaboom!*

The house where the fireball landed exploded spectacularly, and the vampire, hit directly by the fireball, was burned to a crisp.

Even if a vampire’s heart remained intact, it couldn’t survive being turned to ash.

Jahina looked down at the burning ruins.

Her beautiful, expressionless face seemed terrifying.

Her expression hadn’t changed, but it was clear she was angry.

The vampire we had killed was indeed the one who had created the fog.

After the vampire turned to ash, the fog that had filled the streets began to dissipate.

The fog receded from the outskirts of the city, and just in time, the cries of the ghost warriors trapped in the fog could be heard.

“……First, let’s get out of the city!”

The voice of the man who was said to be the first son of the divine tree rang out, and the sound of the ghost warriors casting magic as they ran could also be heard.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like we were too late.

Jahina’s expression remained unchanged, but I could see a flicker of relief on her face.

As the surviving ghost warriors fled the city, we ran in the opposite direction.

Towards the center of the city, where the giant tree stood.

With the enemies’ attention focused on the fleeing ghost warriors, now was the perfect time for a surprise attack.

Since we had already taken care of most of the troublesome vampires, it was time to deal with the corrupted divine tree.

The diversion operation, or rather, the decoy operation, had been a great success.

The ghost warriors had effectively drawn the enemies’ attention as they fled.

The undead and the roots of the divine tree chasing after the fleeing ghost warriors were a spectacular sight even from a distance.

Still, the ghost warriors’ skills were impressive.

Even under the concentrated attacks of the corrupted divine tree and the undead, a significant number of ghost warriors managed to escape the city.

As the ghost warriors fled, most of the undead gave up the chase, but fortunately, Jahina and I had already reached our target: the central tree.

A massive tree that reached up to the clouds.

However, like a dead tree, its cracked and blackened trunk writhed unnaturally as it greeted us.

In the middle of the tree, which was thicker than a sports field, was a grotesquely transformed door.

It was the entrance used by the children of the divine tree to communicate with it.

Although the divine tree had been corrupted and transformed grotesquely, the door itself remained intact.

Naturally, there were undead guarding the door, but there weren’t many left, and they all turned to dust under our surprise attack.

Jahina and I entered the tree.