Masked Knight

Dark retreated swiftly, racing up the slope on the steep roof. It all seemed so effortless as he seemed to be running on a flat surface.He then pointed his sword at the black-clothed man.

“Who are you?” The black-clothed man’s voice sounded sharp as he shouted, “How come you have ‘blood destroying arrows’?”

Dark’s forehead started to have cold sweat, but he still sneered and replied, “Looks like I am right. You all are really vampires1. What do you think of those arrows that I shot just now?”

The black-clothed man burst out into laughter and replied, “What a joke! Are you relying on those’ blood destroying arrows’? You have not mastered the skill, and even if you had, you would only be able to deal with a few of my unworthy subordinates. However, I never expected that young boy of the Tulip Family to have a person like you with him.”

He slowly stretched out his black claws and continued, “Boy, you used ’blood destroying arrows’, and that means you are the vampires’ enemy. Tonight, you definitely must die!”

Dark laughed and shouted, “Nonsense! Let’s see whether someone like you, who is neither man nor ghost, will die first or if I will die first!” Dark suddenly put his index finger in his mouth and bit it. He then dripped a drop of his blood onto his sword and silently chanted some kind of incantation. Suddenly, a red light emerged from his sword. The red light became more and more dazzling. Dark started to sweat more profusely, and he looked pale.

The black-clothed man seemed to be afraid of the light. He hid behind his black cloak to protect his face. He then revealed his bloody red eyes and shouted, “Good! I had never thought that you were actually an exorcist! Looks like there is a big harvest for me today!”

“An exorcist? Haha, I have not heard this term in a long time.” Dark laughed somewhat sadly.

“Since you are an exorcist, then there is a better reason why I cannot let you live!”

Dark’s voice sounded weak, but he still ferociously swung his sword and shouted, “Come on! Old monster! Let’s see if your claws are harder than my sword!”

After that, Dark rushed forward, and the sword in his hand swung like the wind. The black-clothed man seemed afraid of the red light from the sword and kept moving backward to evade. Occasionally, he was too slow and when his cloak caught the red light, it immediately burst into a green flame. He cried out in alarm and retreated even further.

Dark continued to shout as he swung his sword faster and faster as if he was not concerned about his life. He attacked blindly and did not defend.

However, the black-clothed man had already adapted and calmed down. He had ascertained that the exorcist was not very skillful. He only had average ability. He was initially shocked by the ’blood destroying arrows’. However, he had calmed down. With that speed, Dark would not be able to hurt him.

Dark’s breathing became heavier, and he started to slow down. The black-clothed man sneered at him and said, “Boy, you actually know how to use ‘blood destroying blood’2. Haha, let’s see how long you can last! Do you have so much blood to consecrate your sword? The longer you use this technique, the more blood you will consume! You better let go... Let me gently bite you once, and you will be freed... You must be having a tough time trying to hold on...Let me gently bite you... You will be freed... Will no longer need to suffer... You are quickly using up all your blood... Just let go...”

The man’s tone became softer as he spoke with an evil glint in his eyes. Sweat gathered on Dark’s forehead, and his movements became slower. He was as pale as paper and had already reached his limit.

“Give up... my subordinates have already gone to kill the Duke of the Tulip Family. Your actions no longer have any meaning... exorcist...” The man spoke with an unusual intonation.

Dark gritted his teeth and shouted, “Shut your damn mouth!” He ferociously bit his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood all over his sword. The red light from the sword became more vigorous. From afar, it looked like a red light was dancing in Dark’s hand, forcing the black clothed man to continuously retreat.

That black clothed man was busy dodging and could no longer use his words to confuse Dark. The man’s eyes showed excitement and viciousness. He was in high spirits. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his back. He hurriedly dodged to the side. However, he was too slow and a dagger had pierced his body. He could see the blade protruding out from his chest. He cried out as he floated up into mid air like a bat. After that, he angrily shouted, “Bastard! You actually dared to backstab me! Who is it?”

He looked everywhere but he could only see the exorcist on the roof.

Dark staggered and whispered, “Is that you? Are you the one that helped me?”

A soft voice suddenly replied, “Don’t worry. I have already injured him. Quickly retreat. Go and look for the Duke of the Tulip Family. Something is strange about him tonight. Despite all the ruckus outside, he does not seem to have any reaction.”

Dark shook his head and said, “Leave quickly, whoever you are. Although I cannot see you, you must quickly leave! Leave before he notices you! Your attack will not kill him. Go and find the Duke of the Tulip Family. You must make sure he safely escape!”

In the dark, the voice sounded urgent, “What? I had just stabbed through him!”

Dark smiled and looked at the flying black figure. “Stupid, have you ever seen ordinary people fly like that? Even a high ranked magician cannot fly so easily... In other words, they are not human! You will not understand! Run quickly! Run before he finds you! I can only hold him back for a while! Find that fatty! Shit. Where did that fatty go? Find that fatty, and you will be able to save the Duke.”

The voice replied in a soft voice, “I went to look. When you were busy fighting just now, I already went. However, that guy had disappeared...”

The voice could only say a little more before there was a long shout. Suddenly, the black figure in the air stopped. His pale face had turned green, and he revealed the fangs in his mouth. He grabbed the hilt of the dagger that was stuck on his back and then pulled it out, bit by bit. He held the dagger in his hand and looked at it.

A long and cruel laughter echoed in the air. “Despicable person! Do you think this ordinary thing could kill me? You have angered me! You actually dared to hurt my noble body! You actually made me bleed! Exorcist! You should know the punishments for hurting our body!”

After that, the black figure’s body then opened up. His black cloak turned into a pair of black wings that slowly flapped in the air like a real, giant bat.

“Run! Quickly run!” Dark shouted. “Find the Duke and then quickly escape! If you cannot escape, find the nearest religious building to hide! This is the only way you can save your life!” Dark once again pointed his sword to the sky and sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the sword.

The sword gently trembled and hummed as if it could not support anymore. Dark exerted himself and muttered, “Do you still not understand? They are not human... they are vampires!”

Dark then gave a desperate smile and said, “If you manage to escape, tell the Duke that... the person who promised to wait for him for ten years may not be able to keep his promise.”

After that, Dark’s body suddenly soared a little bit. He held his sword and shouted. His body then shot towards the black figure in the sky.

...

At that moment, Rody was sleeping.

That night, after he making a vow in front of the mirror, he felt extremely murky. There seemed to be some kind of power boiling in his body. It was as if something was trying to break out of his body. He managed to calm himself down, but the energy in his body, which he could hardly control, seemed to have some kind of reaction. Masses of fighting energy were surging all over his body and seemed chaotic. Finally, Rody felt a powerful force trying to tear apart his heart. He shouted and spat out blood before fainting...

Although he was unconscious, his brain continued to roar. He could hear thunder bombarding his ears. The endless thundering sound made him dizzy, and he felt like his head was about to burst.

Not knowing after much later, he gradually regained a little bit of consciousness and found that he was no longer in the room. He felt his body shaking non-stop. Rody also felt extremely weak, as if someone had emptied his body. He even needed to take a long time just to open his eyes.

Finally, Rody saw his surroundings and found himself being carried on someone’s back. The person carrying him was the captain of his bodyguards. The captain was breathing heavily and seemed to have great difficulty.

“What’s... wrong...” Rody’s voice was weak.

When the captain heard the Duke speak, he immediately whispered, “Your Excellency the Duke, you have finally woken up! Tonight, you fainted in your room... this is not the time for this. Your Excellency, someone broke in here trying to assassinate you. Your subordinates were desperately fighting them but were not able to hold out any longer. Now I am carrying Your Excellency to escape...”

Rody was surprised and his voice became louder. “What happened?” He looked around and saw that he had already left the inn. He was now surrounded by trees and grass.

“Where are the others?” Rody whispered but it seemed his tongue was not behaving accordingly.

Before the captain could reply, an old voice said from behind, “Your subordinates were mostly killed. Your Excellency the Duke! Duke of the Tulip Family!”

As that person talked, he walked up to Rody’s side. Rody opened his eyes and found that that person was the owner of the inn. That old man seemed to have mixed feelings- a bit of sadness and a bit of excitement. It looked weird to have two emotions mixed together.

“You...” The owner of the inn had already rushed to the side of the captain. He then faced the captain who was carrying Rody as he shed tears. “I did not know you are the young Duke of the Tulip Family! I...no, this subordinate was formerly under the command of the late Duke. The inn you entered today is under this subordinate’s management. Tonight, I came out to look when those villains attacked, then I realized something was wrong... If your guards did not risk their lives to defend and shouted to protect the Duke, I would not know that you are the young Duke of the Tulip Family.”

As he spoke, Allier’s tears continued to flow. He held a rusty scimitar in his hand. He then straightened his chest and said, “This subordinate then followed your captain to protect Your Excellency the Duke. However, the assassins are too skillful. We could not defend... Most of your subordinates were already killed in the inn... Those assassins killed everyone they saw... Most probably, there are not many still alive there...”

Rody was startled and he murmured. “Dead... all... dead...?”

Rody did not know where he suddenly got the strength and shouted, “Let me down!”

The captain exclaimed, “Your Excellency the Duke!”

Rody shouted again, “Stop!”

The captain trembled and could not help but let Rody down. Rody struggled to stand and then he took a deep breath. His eyes showed a deep gaze and then he whispered, “Everyone is dead? What about my friend?”

The captain whispered, “I do not know... Tonight, I did not see him... Presumably, he is also...”

Rody shook his head and replied, “He will not die.” He paused for a moment and then he asked, “Tell me, what do those assassins look like?”

The captain whispered, “Those people... they are not like humans. The Wolf Fang warriors were like babies to them and did not have the ability to fight back... They seem to... bite people’s necks and drink their blood.”

Rody was startled and gave a wry smile. He showed a determined gaze and said, “Turn around, go back!”

“What!” The captain and the old man exclaimed, “Your Excellency, this cannot be done! With your current condition, we cannot defeat them! Your subordinate’s responsibility is to ensure Your Excellency’s safety! We definitely cannot let Your Excellency risk your life!”

Rody emitted a murderous aura and coldly asked, “Have you seen the Duke of the Tulip Family escape in defeat? Have you ever seen the Duke of the Tulip Family desert his men and escape on his own?”

Rody’s tone was as cold as ice. That captain could not help but tremble.

Rody did not seem to want a reply. He faintly said, “I have seen it before! I wrongfully did this once in the Northwest! I swore not to let this happen again! Go back!”

“Your Excellency!” The captain knelt down and softly said, “Your Excellency! You shoulder a heavy responsibility for the Empire! The Empire can afford to lose a few Wolf Fang soldiers, but the Empire cannot afford to lose the Duke of the Tulip Family!”

Rody’s body shook and his face showed a strange expression. He whispered so softly that only he could hear what he said, “Duke of the Tulip Family? The Empire has not had a Duke of the Tulip Family for a long time already...”

Rody then gazed fiercely and said, “Even if there were millions of reasons, I am still a man. There are some things that obviously should not be done, but they must be done!”

He supported himself and struggled to walk two steps and suddenly shouted, “Why? Why snatch away my energy? You have turned me into a powerless and useless person!” With great effort, he pulled out his sword and ruthlessly held it in his hand. He sneered, “If God wants me to be like this, then I purposely want to defy his will!”

Rody looked at the sky and roared loudly. With his head high and chest out, he struggled, step by step, back towards the inn..

血族的妖孽. Literally, “evil descendants of the Blood Family” . The only creature I know of that are ‘people’, can ‘vanish’, night themed, and bites necks are vampires. The only other thing I found was a Chinese novel with a similar name about vampires and a particular breed of wormy vampires.

2. 以血破血 yi xue po xue. By means of blood to destroy blood.