131 – The Kingdom Where the Sun Does Not Rise – 1

The moment the party entered Kudlak’s territory through the gate Lora opened, what welcomed them was a gloomy land where dark, red clouds filled the sky.

—You have set foot in Kudlak’s headquarters, the sub-space [Valahia]. In the vampire kingdom where eternal night continues, all those belonging to the Light Faction will have all stats weakened by 20%, and those with a Blood Power-related stat will have all stats enhanced by 20%.

—A temporary sanction has been imposed on the unique territory due to the confirmed system exploitation by the Dark Faction. Until the Grand Quest ends, the Light Faction will not receive penalties, and the Dark Faction will not receive advantages.

—You have set foot in Kudlak’s headquarters, the sub-space [Valahia]. In the vampire kingdom where eternal night continues, all those belonging to the Light Faction will have all stats weakened by 20%, and those with a Blood Power-related stat will have all stats enhanced by 20%.

—A temporary sanction has been imposed on the unique territory due to the confirmed system exploitation by the Dark Faction. Until the Grand Quest ends, the Light Faction will not receive penalties, and the Dark Faction will not receive advantages.

While they were dumbfounded by the vastly wide and bleak environment, messages floated up in front of the party’s eyes.

Valahia was the Romanian name for the Principality of Wallachia, which was actually ruled by ‘Vlad the Impaler,’ the model for the protagonist in Bram Stoker’s famous vampire novel, Dracula.

As he already knew that many things seen here in Leta were directly or indirectly influenced by Earth’s myths or literature, it was not that surprising, but the content of the messages that followed was unusual.

‘A sanction is being imposed on the unique territory?’

Gi-jun froze for a moment as he looked at it, then spoke, dumbfounded.

“Surely… this doesn’t mean this entire place is a unique territory, does it?”

“No matter how many holy relics they gather, they cannot create and maintain a unique territory of this scale. At most, wouldn’t it be about the size of a town?”

When Lectus interjected, Patum, who was next to him, opened his mouth.

“However, they must have received the help of holy relics to construct this sub-space. It was truly fortunate that we were able to detect their foul play before the operation began.”

Patum swept his hand over his chest, looking truly relieved.

Seeing the Hero, who rarely showed emotion, reveal his inner thoughts quite honestly in front of Gi-jun, the warriors belonging to the party led by Patum all wore surprised expressions.

For reference, they were all Draconians, and not only was everyone’s species rank Unique, but in terms of pure ability alone, they were by far top-class among those gathered here.

“We almost received an absurd debuff just by infiltrating this place.”

“Preventing that was entirely your achievement. If we succeed in the Grand Quest, those achievements will all be calculated into the reward, so I hope you will do your best.”

“I intend to do so even if you do not tell me.”

Gi-jun snorted and replied to Lectus’s additional comment.

He knew he was trying to boost morale, but right now, he did not want to think about rewards or anything like that.

Since he had already sent his precious party member to a perilous place to act as bait, did he have the time to be leisurely calculating money?

‘Of course, since it is Min-i, she won’t be attacked until she draws her sword first—but Lucy, how are things going over there?’

Since he thought of it, he checked the situation with Lucy, who was connected to him through the thread of the soul.

Seeing that his spiritual power was not heavily consumed, it was clear that an all-out war had not broken out yet…

—She is really unbelievable, Contractor. I don’t think she even said much, but the vampires are serving her on their own! I saw it with my own eyes, but I still don’t understand!

‘She’s always been like that.’

Fortunately, the situation seemed to be flowing according to Ye-min’s wishes.

It was something Gi-jun had always thought, but to make even a spirit who had reached the legendary realm react with surprise, it seemed Ye-min’s Charm was indeed Legendary-grade after all.

—But Contractor, if your Charm is also Legendary, doesn’t that mean you also have the potential to make this possible?

‘You do remember that I was driven out by Earthlings as soon as I came to Leta, right, Lucy?’

As he shared such a silly conversation with Lucy to catch his breath, a report arrived from Ye-min herself just in time.

It stated that the expedition team that started from Cor had also entered Valahia and safely joined up with the expedition teams that had started from other cities.

Since their numbers reached a whopping two million, his heart sank at the thought that all of them could have fallen into a trap and died.

[Ye-min(Leta): If there is a minor problem, it is that quite a few Earthlings are mixed in here. Honestly, I don’t know how such weak humans dared to poke their heads into a deadly place like this.]

[Master Devotee(Leta): You remember what I said, right? Take care of yourself and Shin first. After that, if you have room to spare… help our compatriots then.]

[Ye-min(Leta): Of course. Leave this side to me, Oppa, and go kill all the vampires!]

Gi-jun sent a reply back to Ye-min, who had messaged back energetically, and raised his head.

Everyone in the suicide squad was looking at Lora, because she was the one who was supposed to guide them in Valahia.

But, as expected, had becoming Carmilla’s kin had a negative impact on her?

She had been keeping a frown, covering her face with one hand ever since she arrived here.

“Lora, are you okay? Is there something wrong with your body by any chance?”

“No—Jun-nim, I am fine. Rather…”

When Gi-jun spoke in a worried voice, she opened her mouth in a hurry and tried to say something, but stopped and shut her mouth again, mindful of their surroundings.

No matter how much Gi-jun, whose reputation as a Divine Beast Hunter had risen, had threatened them, the other members of the suicide squad were still casting suspicious glances at Lora.

“Huu… O You who drives out darkness and brings light, please cast away the darkness lingering in my heart as well.”

However, even those glances subsided once Lora chanted a holy spell of light on herself.

“She really is a priest. And a priest who wields light, which is the most fatal to vampires, at that.”

“Who were the gods in charge of light? Belobog? Mithra?”

“Isn’t it Baldur? He is the god with the most influence in Leta right now.”

“It is Lady Ishtar.”

As priests who wielded the power of light commanded respect anywhere, people popped up here and there guessing the name of the god, but unfortunately, every single one of them chose the wrong answer.

Lora, slightly piqued, retorted, then shut her mouth and stepped forward.

“Since I am fine now, I will guide you. Even though it looks like nothing is here on the surface, we do not know where the vampires’ magic might be, so please follow precisely behind me.”

Spitting those words in a cold voice, Lora suddenly glanced at Gi-jun and began to lead the way.

Gi-jun caught the anxiety lingering in Lora’s eyes for a split second.

As he approached her side holding his two shields, Lora looked visibly relieved.

“Jun-nim…”

“We don’t know when Carmilla might appear, after all. Let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

“Wow.”

Ji-hye, who witnessed in real-time the sight of Lora’s heart being smitten by Gi-jun’s natural consideration, turned to Gin and sent him a look asking what he was doing instead of scoring points at a time like this—but Gin did not even notice her gaze because he was too busy glaring at the people who doubted Lora one by one.

“As expected, the difference in popularity here…”

“Huh? Sister Ji-hye, what do you mean?”

“It is nothing. Stop glaring at people and just get in line.”

The suicide squad began to walk across the red earth that looked like a wilderness.

The procession stretched out in a precise single file behind Lora.

Although it was possible that someone who disliked Lora might act out on impulse, they indeed behaved like a suicide squad carefully selected by the Gratia Royal Family, obeying her words implicitly.

If anyone had looked at them from afar, they might have seemed quite foolish, but every single one of them was more serious than anyone else.

How much longer did they walk across the wilderness where nothing appeared?

“I will increase our speed slightly from now on. Please follow without falling more than three meters behind the person directly in front of you.”

Perhaps convinced that the line would not break now, Lora made that brief declaration and increased her speed, starting to run.

Gi-jun, who was running right behind Lora so that he could protect her immediately if anything happened, faltered as he felt a blood-colored mist slowly beginning to roll in around them.

It was a trace of magic that he had felt somewhere before.

Yes, when he fought the vampires who had infiltrated the Species Alliance.

“Lora, this.”

“They set up a sort of barrier inside the sub-space using blood magic so that anyone who happens to enter Valahia cannot find the city. There was a staggering number of traps even in the wilderness that seemed to have nothing.”

“Man—they really aren’t easy to deal with.”

If Lora had not been there, even if they had figured out how to enter Valahia, there was a high probability they would have failed the infiltration.

Of course, usually Lucy would have been there to help him see through all the traps and even breach the barrier, but she was not here right now.

“What is this mist? It’s creepy.”

“Could it have a bad effect on our bodies by any chance?”

“The composition of the mana flowing in the atmosphere is different. It seems they used that to construct a natural barrier.”

Although the members of the suicide squad voiced a complaint or two, they followed closely behind the procession with even more serious expressions, contrary to their words.

This was because they instinctively felt that if they accidentally fell behind the ranks now that their surroundings were filled with blood mist, they would be completely finished.

Since the blood mist itself did not have any effect, no system messages appeared—but because it seemed to gradually drain the party’s morale, Gi-jun was beginning to hesitate whether he should gather everyone and feed them some Cooking of Light at this point, when.

“I can see it, Jun-nim.”

The wilderness, which they had thought they would have to run through for at least a few days, suddenly came to an end.

“Huh? Ah.”

Gi-jun, who raised his head at Lora’s words, was left speechless as he looked at the massive castle wall that had entered their sight.

‘If I had brought Fortis, we could have easily crossed it.’

Of course, if they had acted so conspicuously, they would have been caught in an instant.

Gi-jun brushed off his thoughts and examined the castle wall that filled his vision.

A castle wall at least a hundred meters high was built using translucent bricks with a glass-like texture and a color that seemed to be obsidian mixed with blood, but what was even more surprising was the inner castle, which could not be hidden even by such a high wall.

The top of the castle, rising sharply to pierce the sky as if symbolizing the Lord of Thorns, looked more like a tower than a castle.

Perhaps the absolute being who constructed this overwhelming territory was looking down at them from the top of that tower.

“Fortunately, I know a way to secretly breach the castle wall, but please keep in mind that from the moment we step inside, it wouldn’t be strange for us to be discovered at any time. The ruler’s authority envelops the entire city.”

Lora readily confirmed Gi-jun’s thoughts, which he had hoped were just a foolish delusion.

“What is this?”

“…I don’t know if we can really go inside.”

The suicide squad, who had well known the strength of Kudlak’s force—or rather, who had believed they knew it—were also dumbfounded as they saw the sight that transcended their imagination.

To think they would infiltrate first and take the leader’s head before the enemies invaded Gratia; recalling that goal with this brutal scenery before their eyes made them wonder if they had been under some huge misunderstanding.

“Do not be afraid, everyone.”

Patum said in a growling voice.

“Everyone must have known from the beginning that this would be a perilous mission where we risk our lives. Furthermore, this is a time when a significant portion of their internal forces has left.”

“T-that is…”

“But, still, even more than we expected…”

“Sigh, come to think of it, there was no way it would go so easily.”

There were those who were afraid, those who sighed, and those who had steeled their resolve with flashing eyes.

The Hero looked around at all of them and thumped his chest lightly, boosting the morale of the entire group.

“This is something we cannot accomplish if we do not target this moment. It means this is a miraculous opportunity to achieve this absurd mission. If we succeed in this quest, all of our names will be engraved in the history of Leta. Do you understand what this means?”

“History…!”

“Is this a chance to become a part of an epic?”

Beyond a vague legend, they would become part of a great history that left a footprint across the entire continent.

Thinking of the sweet reward upon completing the quest, the morale of the suicide squad finally rose again.

Gi-jun also felt his eyes light up at Patum’s words.

‘An epic? Don’t tell me this is about the grade? In order to glimpse the next realm beyond legendary, you have to leave a footprint in Leta’s history in one way or another, is that it?’

A legend was, after all, merely a tale spoken by many people.

Although its influence was great, it was merely a story passed down vaguely without any authenticity.

However, if one reached the realm of epics—it meant leaving a massive footprint that no one could dare deny.

“If it’s Jun, you will surely reach it someday.”

“Although it still seems infinitely far away.”

Gi-jun replied with a bitter smile to Tilla, who quietly approached and whispered to him.

If Epic really existed beyond Legendary, for Gi-jun, who was still only Rare-grade no matter how outstanding his stats were, there were quite a few mountains he had to cross.

Of course, since there were some skills and stats that had already reached Legendary, if they were to become Epic, those would definitely be first.

“Then, let’s enter.”

Lora, who had been watching the scene of the Hero leading the group with somewhat cold eyes, let out a light sigh and placed her hand on the castle wall.

“What?!”

“Wait, so rashly—!”

As she, who had been moving with the utmost caution until now, seemed to act rashly, a few of them made a fuss, but they soon quieted down.

Ripples spread through the bricks starting from the spot she touched, and soon, the bricks in a certain area turned completely transparent, forming a circle around her.

An even more unbelievable thing happened next.

“It’s the same as before. Please follow me in one by one.”

“?!”

Lora threw herself through the transparent bricks.

As if there were no physical matter there, her body smoothly slipped through to the other side.

No, if they could pass through like this, what on earth was the reason for building a castle wall nearly a hundred meters high?

“Everyone, hurry up. It won’t last very long.”

Seeing Gi-jun quickly follow behind her and pass through the castle wall, the flustered suicide squad members widened their eyes in astonishment, but they too passed through the wall one after another.

“As expected, that woman…”

“No, but she wields the holy magic of light. No vampire can harbor light inside their body.”

“Even so, how on earth…”

Having breached the castle wall, which had seemed like the biggest obstacle, so effortlessly, questions and doubts about her began to boil up once again.

It was good that they had easily infiltrated the enemy territory—but it had been far too easy.

Although it was incredibly foolish to doubt an ally just because they were helpful, honestly, even Gi-jun had momentarily wondered if she was hiding something from him due to the bizarre ability Lora had just shown.

Even though he could tell with just a little thought that it was the influence of the vampire who had bitten Lora.

“Excuse me, Your Highness. This isn’t really my own will, but my party members have been badgering me… If we fail to maintain morale on the battlefield, it’s a total wipeout, right?”

In the end, the leader of the Golden Spider clan stepped forward with a very troubled expression.

His gaze seemed to look around the interior of the city, which resembled medieval Europe—but in reality, anyone could tell that he was paying attention to Gi-jun and Lora.

“They said sneaking into the city is the hardest part anyway, and from here on, we could get caught at any time. So I think it would be right to act by party from now on. It’s not like we don’t have a way to contact each other, so we will report immediately if any problem occurs.”

“Hmm, yes. Moving in a large group in the city would be more dangerous. As you can see, our target is highly likely to be in that giant inner castle. Let’s agree to meet up there.”

Lectus accepted the request much more readily than expected.

“Understood. Then see you at that castle!”

The leader of the Golden Spider clan, whose expression brightened, led his party and left the spot immediately.

As if Lora might bite them if they stayed like this.

“……”

Lora stared at the sight of them leaving, wearing a blank, expressionless face.

Seeing her weakly hanging hands trembling ever so slightly, Gi-jun took her hand half-impulsively.

“Ah.”

“We were able to infiltrate easily thanks to you, Lora. Let’s hang in there together a bit longer.”

“…Yes!”

“Wow.”

Ji-hye, who was convinced that Gi-jun was a Casanova, looked back at Gin once again, but—

Gin was merely glaring at the giant castle standing in the center of the city, his two triangular ears standing upright on his head.

Ji-hye asked him with a dubious expression.

“…What are you doing, Gin?”

“If we slay the monster lurking inside, Miss Lora won’t have to suffer from unjust criticism anymore.”

“No, I mean, your mindset itself is wonderful, but the direction is just so pitiful…!”

Meanwhile, the Species Alliance party led by Boots also decided to leave the spot.

This was because there were some among them who doubted Lora, and Boots, who led them, also thought that acting individually would be better.

“If we are inevitably caught, we will run amok to draw attention, so complete the mission safely and return, nya.”

“Lord Boots! You must not die, nya!”

“Nabinya, the one in the greatest danger here is your master, nya. Support your master well, nya.”

Boots, who stroked Nabinya’s head, led his group and disappeared into the alleys between the buildings.

Gi-jun looked at the back of that dignified Cait Sith—and realized that Boots was also naturally calling her by the name ‘Nabinya’ by now.

“Then we should move as well. Since it is dangerous for fifteen of us to move in a group, let’s change our formation organically according to the pre-arranged strategy.”

“We are ready.”

After keeping a certain distance from each other, the three parties began to advance through the city while exchanging hand signals.

A kingdom of eternal night where no one was awake.

It did not take long for that ominous silence to be broken.