Published at 23rd of December 2025 8:13 am

Chapter 1649: The Vampire Village (Part 1)

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Because of Bluebird’s earlier decision, not dealing with the threat when it was still manageable, something that could have been resolved quickly had now grown into a colossal, overwhelming task. What might have been a simple containment situation had become a battlefield waiting to erupt.

As the night sky finally swallowed the last traces of daylight, everything Bluebird feared became reality.

The infected, those cursed by whatever force was controlling them, began stepping out of their shelters one by one. The moment the moonlight touched their faces, their skin no longer burned or sizzled. Instead, their expressions twisted unnervingly. Wide, unnatural smiles split across their faces, revealing rows of enlarged teeth.

Then they moved.

Four figures sprang upward at once, leaping high into the air toward the group like predators pouncing on prey. Before they even reached halfway across the distance, Bluebird slashed his sword across the air.

The cut itself made no sound, but the effect did.

A nearly invisible wave of Qi shot forward, striking each of the airborne attackers square in the stomach. Their bodies split cleanly into two halves before crashing into the dirt with sickening thuds.

“Stay close together!” Bluebird barked. “Hold formation and watch each other’s backs!”

The two knights didn’t need to be told twice. They shifted to Bluebird’s left and right, trying to cover his flanks as the next wave came rushing out of nearby cabins and tents.

The knights quickly realized they couldn’t rely on simple swordsmanship. Every strike from the infected was fast, fast and powerful. A single arm swipe carried enough force to send a grown man tumbling. When they blocked one attack, another would come from a different angle. Their formation became a constant dance, swaying and shifting just to stay alive.

Whenever one of them slipped or nearly took a claw to the throat, an invisible Qi strike from Bluebird blasted the attacker away, saving them at the very last second.

“It’s good we have one of the old Heroes with us,” Rike muttered through gritted teeth. “Otherwise we’d be dead already.”

They pushed forward and forced themselves into one of the houses the creatures had emerged from. Once they were inside, Bluebird spun around and brought his sword crashing straight down.

His blade sliced the first attacker clean in half, then continued through, hitting two more behind it. The momentum of the strike alone caused a shockwave that shook dust from the rafters.

The knights had always known Gary Bluebird was strong. They knew his title as one of the kingdom’s Heroes wasn’t for show. But witnessing him now, using this much power, displaying such precision, was far beyond what they imagined.

There was only one entrance to the house now, and Bluebird used that advantage fully. The white Qi-guidance lines in his vision lit up every weak point, every incoming strike, and every angle of danger. His sword moved in a perfect arc, blocking incoming claws while countering with deadly precision, cutting down attacker after attacker.

But even he hadn’t anticipated their relentlessness.

Several infected stopped trying to push through the doorway and instead battered the wooden walls. Their claws tore through timber as though it were rotting paper. In a matter of seconds, they ripped open new entrances, flooding into the house from both sides.

Now they were surrounded.

Rike and the other knight found themselves backed against broken tables as the creatures swarmed the interior.

Bluebird realized the growing problem immediately.

‘They aren’t difficult individually... but their sheer number, their durability... Even those I’ve already cut down are rising again!’

He had two problems:

First, he was forced to block dozens of attacks at once, meaning his sword movements were shallow, more defensive swipes than lethal cuts.

Second, deep down, he still hesitated.

He remembered the Shadow Plague. He remembered what it felt like to lose control of his own mind. He remembered the faces of those who had been forced to kill loved ones just to survive.

He remembered that some infected back then could be saved.

Part of him was still holding back, hoping the same was true now.

‘But if I don’t act, these villagers will kill innocent people... and the infection will spread. I... I have to make the choice before it’s too late!’

Bluebird clenched his teeth.

With a roar, he swung his sword down with a surge of Qi so immense that the floor beneath him cracked apart. Dust exploded upward as stones shattered, shaking the entire cabin.

Then he moved.

Utilizing the assassination footwork he had mastered long ago as a Black Sash knight, Bluebird vanished in a blur. He reappeared behind three infected simultaneously, striking the back of their skulls with perfect precision.

His blade sank deep. One by one, their bodies collapsed forward, rolling lifelessly across the floor.

Seeing the opening Bluebird created, the two knights rushed through the broken wall and escaped into the open night. Bluebird followed right behind them,

Only to stop dead in his tracks as his sword collided with another blade.

The ringing clash echoed through the entire village.

“What...?” Rike breathed out in horror.

Standing in front of Bluebird was a figure entirely different from the rampaging infected. His red eyes glowed just like the others, but his posture was relaxed, controlled. His movements were precise, not wild. And most disturbing of all,

He was wearing the Red Wing Kingdom’s knight armor.

The symbol of the kingdom gleamed on his chestplate.

Rike’s face went pale.

“T-That’s the Captain Knight!” he shouted.

The man who was supposed to evaluate the threat.

The man who vanished a week ago.

The man who should have been one of the kingdom’s strongest defenders.

Now... he was one of them.

And judging by his stance and presence, he was far stronger than any villager they had faced so far.

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