Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 461: Escape from the Duchy No.3

Long ago, humans were weaker and slower than the beasts they hunted. To survive, they had to rely on their strengths—endurance, adaptability, and sheer persistence.

Unlike fleet-footed predators, humans could run for hours without tiring, sustaining their chase until their prey collapsed from exhaustion.

Perhaps this was some ancient revenge.

Because now, I was the prey.

“Find them! Do not let them escape!”

“Search everywhere!”

“You don’t need to capture them—just don’t lose them! Once night falls, the Yeilings will take over the pursuit!”

Baron Jenryu, along with several other Ains, led a band of humans in relentless pursuit. While only a handful of them had properly trained in qi techniques, they didn’t need to be individually threatening—because they were tracking us down with unyielding persistence, never losing our trail.

Hilde glanced behind us and groaned.

“Ugh! These damn vampires! They don’t get tired, do they?”

“You’re saying something ridiculous. Vampires can’t get tired.”

“I know that! That’s not what I meant! It’s broad daylight, and they’re still chasing us! They should at least pretend to act like vampires!”

“The problem is sunlight, not the time of day. As long as they have a way to block it, they can move just fine.”

My plan had hit a snag.

For vampires, sunlight wasn’t just an inconvenience—it was a lethal threat, like a room full of wasps ready to sting at any moment. That’s why I had targeted Baron Jenryu first, disabling him and stealing his horse.

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But I had overlooked something.

He was an Ain of the Dark Knight, Dullahan. And like any true knight, he had spare horses prepared. The moment we fled, he simply switched mounts and resumed the chase.

He wasn’t as fast under the sun, but he could still command his forces well enough.

Hilde, watching the headless vampire knight galloping after us, clicked her tongue.

“Look at him! He’s so smug because he knows he won’t die! I really want to punch that face!”

“I wouldn’t call it smugness. I just have a plan.”

“Oh? And what is it?”

“We need to take Baron Jenryu out of the picture.”

“...You’re not planning to ambush him again, are you? Because that would be stupid.”

Hilde gave me an incredulous look.

“You never turn around when you’re running! That’s like, the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) number-one rule of escaping! And he’s not just some low-rank Yeiling—he’s an Ain! Even if you completely kill him, it’d take at least a week! By then, we’d be surrounded ten times over!”

I smirked.

“That was... a very detailed explanation. You seem like you’ve been in this situation before.”

“...Tch.”

Of course, she had.

Hilde had once been known as the Faceless One, a fugitive and a sworn enemy of the Empire. Before she joined the Holy Sword Order, she had spent years on the run, evading capture. The entire reason she had learned transformation techniques was to escape.

If she weren’t carrying me on her back right now, she probably would’ve already slipped through the net effortlessly.

Her grumbling was entirely justified.

“Relax. My plan isn’t that reckless.”

“Oh yeah? Then what is it?”

I took a deep breath, turned my head, and shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Baron Jenryu! I have something very important to tell you, so open your ears and listen carefully!”

My voice echoed across the gorge.

There was no reason for him to respond—but, being a knight, Baron Jenryu had his pride.

He answered.

“Hmph! Speak! I will listen—after I’ve captured you!”

So he could hear me clearly, even from this distance. Good.

I raised my voice even further, my words carrying through the canyon.

“Your lord, Sir Dullahan, is in grave danger! When I escaped, there was already chaos in the Castle of the Full Moon! He’s been framed! He’s being hunted! He needs you right now!”

A brief silence.

Then—

“Hah! You expect me to believe such nonsense?!”

“Believe what you want, but if you don’t check soon, Sir Dullahan might not be alive much longer! Will you really abandon your lord in his moment of need?”

“You seek only to distract me and divide my forces! If you think I would fall for such a blatant trick, you are sorely mistaken!”

...I wasn’t even lying.

Sir Dullahan was in grave danger.

Well. He was probably already dead by now, but that wasn’t my fault.

“Sir Dullahan is a knight of honor! He would never rebel! You dare slander his name?! I will capture you and make you pay for this insult!”

...Oh, great. He’s fallen for his own delusions.

Dullahan had been many things, but a loyal servant? That was pushing it.

“I’m telling you the truth! If you don’t believe me, at least wait for your fellow knights returning from the Castle of the Full Moon and ask them what happened!”

“Silence! All troops, move toward the source of that voice!”

Baron Jenryu gave the order, and the human forces began closing in.

Hilde let out an exasperated sigh and spurred the horse faster.

“Oh, wonderful. So instead of fighting him, you just called all the enemies to us. Brilliant plan!”

“It is a brilliant plan. I didn’t tell a single lie. Give it some time, and he will fall out of the chase.”

“Oh? And how long is ‘some time’?”

“Let’s see... The news from the duchy needs to spread, so... about two days?”

“...Wow. That’s vampire ‘soon.’ We’re going to be dead by tonight!”

“Not necessarily.”

Night was the worst time for us.

The terrain wasn’t smooth, meaning we wouldn’t be able to ride.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

We couldn’t light torches, because that would make us visible.

And if we hid in the darkness, the vampires—stronger and faster at night—would track us down.

Hilde groaned.

“So how exactly are we supposed to survive the night?”

I smiled.

“Tell me, Hilde. Do you remember how we escaped from the Military Nation?”

Hilde wasn’t there for it personally, but she was a high-ranking member of the Six Generals and a close aide to Saintess Yuel.

She must have heard about it.

“...You’re talking about when you used Lalion as a decoy? Yuel couldn’t see through the darkness, so she was fooled... but that only worked because you were moving on a giant, shifting battlefield! That’s way too situational to reuse!”

“Situational? No, no, no. It’s traditional. You can’t bluff every time. Sometimes, you just have to win with a classic move.”

“...A classic move, huh?”

“Exactly.”

Of course, to pull this off, I needed better cards than my opponent.

And recently, I had acquired a very good card.

Seeing my confidence, Hilde sighed.

“...Ugh. Fine. Whatever. Let’s do it.”

***

The time of the vampires had arrived. As the sun had set far enough, Baron Jenryu finally shed his heavy armor.

"You've done well, squire."

"Ugh, that was heavy... You’re finally getting up now?"

The human squire, who had been holding an umbrella over the baron’s head all day, groaned as he clutched his aching arms. Baron Jenryu frowned slightly.

"One day. Just one day, and you're already whining about holding an umbrella? In my time, standard-bearers couldn't lower their flags even if their arms were falling off! If their arms stopped working, they’d hold the pole with their teeth!"

"That's something only a great baron like you could manage..."

"I wasn’t great and strong from the beginning! I endured and overcame suffering and hardship to become who I am today! And you are the same. If you carry that umbrella more dutifully, one day, you too could become a great knight like me!"

"You're an Ain, Baron. No matter what happens, I’ll never become one..."

"Life is unpredictable! I never dreamed that I would be knighted by the honorable Sir Dullahan and become an Ain!"

"...Is that so?"

Baron Jenryu, never even considering the possibility that Sir Dullahan might be dead, threw out a promise that could never be fulfilled.

As his squire's expression softened slightly, Jenryu patted his shoulder with great enthusiasm.

"Take a rest. You'll be holding that umbrella again tomorrow!"

"...All day again...?"

Leaving his despairing squire behind, Baron Jenryu raised his hand and signaled. A ripple of blood energy flickered from his fingertips like a banner, waving twice.

Soon, dark-armored knights began emerging from the night one by one.

"Knight Puanieu, responding to the baron's summons under the Oath of Blood."

"Knight Maini of the Warden Hills, responding to the baron's summons under the Oath of Blood."

"The Red Stray, responding to the baron's summons under the Red Covenant!"

Ten mounted knights in total.

Baron Jenryu’s Yeilings.

These were the knights he had personally selected and turned into vampires, forming his own elite order.

As they assembled behind him, glowing with crimson energy under the dark sky, Baron Jenryu regarded them with satisfaction and began his speech.

"Before we ride forth, I extend my gratitude to you—my loyal vassals and devoted knights. You have answered my call without hesitation, bound by the Oath of Blood, and your loyalty has been acknowledged."

One of the perks of being a vampire was the ability to listen to such long-winded speeches without ever feeling boredom.

His human soldiers, however, looked absolutely miserable.

Jenryu paid them no mind and continued.

"The night is ours. We shall hunt down the fugitive who dared to attack me, impersonate the Progenitor’s consort, and insult our noble lord, Sir Dullahan! Though his skill in decapitation was formidable, we are the knights of Sir Dullahan, the protectors of this land! No one shall strip us of our honor, our lives, or our pride!"

Jenryu was still a vampire.

He didn’t actually feel any stirring emotions from his own speech.

But he gave the speech anyway—because he was a knight, and this was simply what knights did before battle.

For the human soldiers, this fact was even more terrifying.

A leader who could rally his forces without needing to believe in his own words...

Such a thing was truly monstrous.

Baron Jenryu, having diminished morale rather than boosting it, finally pointed forward and concluded,

"...Time is of the essence. That is all. Begin the pursuit. Glory to the Progenitor."

"Yes, sir!"

Once feared in old legends, the Knights of the Night rode forth—an order of dark warriors galloping into the abyss, hunting their fleeing prey.

Tracking them was not difficult.

A horse carrying two riders left deep hoofprints, and it had bolted across the land with reckless urgency.

"My noble steed, Nox, is indeed a fine stallion," Jenryu mused. "However, those two are not vampires. They will not be able to sustain their speed through the night. They cannot have gone far. Follow their trail."

"Yes, sir!"

The Yeilings spread out, forming a wide net across the road and its surroundings.

Meanwhile, Baron Jenryu rode at a steady pace, keeping himself at a position where he could move in any direction.

The tracks were clear and easy to follow.

After a while, as they steadily pursued their prey, a human squire hesitated before approaching him.

"Baron... Are we sure about following this trail?"

"Of course. Nox’s tracks are here, are they not?"

"Hmm... I suppose so..."

As the squire trailed off uncertainly, Baron Jenryu, sensing his doubt, answered before he could even voice his suspicions.

"You are wondering if perhaps they abandoned the horse and fled in another direction?"

"Yes... That thought did cross my mind. We’ve been chasing at full speed all this time, and even though Nox is a fine horse, I don’t think it would have enough stamina to carry two people uphill for this long..."

"A reasonable deduction. However, there are two flaws in your thinking."

Jenryu held up two fingers and began counting down.

"First. My horse, Nox, is an exceptionally tenacious steed. Carrying a mere two passengers—especially a frail, scholarly man and a woman half my weight—is nothing for him!"

The old-school knight mentality.

The squire had to bite his tongue to keep from blurting out, Your horse isn’t a vampire like you!

More than Jenryu’s anger, he feared the lecture that would inevitably follow.

Jenryu, oblivious to his suffering, continued.

"And second. Have you seen any footprints? Any disturbances in the underbrush?"

"...No, sir."

"Exactly. The road is singular. Dense forest lines the sides, and the ground is soft. Any human passing through would inevitably leave noticeable traces. If they had entered the woods, even you would have seen it."

"...They could have erased their tracks."

"Erased their tracks?" Jenryu scoffed.

"You think removing tracks is like sweeping a floor? What nonsense."

He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"To leave no footprints requires mastery of movement techniques. They would need to use Qi Concealment to protect themselves from branches, Qi Lightness to move without disturbing the ground, and carefully ensure that not a single branch snapped or stone was displaced. Do you truly believe such a master exists?"

"Ah...! You did consider everything, Baron!"

"You are simply too ignorant. I shall not blame you for your lack of wisdom. Knowledge, like skill, is honed through experience. But if you lack understanding, you should at least listen with humility! With my years of experience, do you truly believe I would overlook such an obvious detail? It is insulting—"

"Baron, please just scold me instead!"

As the pursuit dragged on, so too did Jenryu’s lecture.

But at that moment, one of the leading Yeilings signaled from ahead.

Jenryu finally ceased his scolding and turned to his men.

"All troops, halt. Remain on alert."

"Shall we engage?"

"No. Even if there is combat, it will be handled by the knights. You will focus on reconnaissance and securing the perimeter."

Humans were resources.

More than their strength, their blood was valuable.

If they perished, the vampires lost something irreplaceable.

Thus, combat was left to the ones who could not die.

It was a principle that conveniently aligned with Jenryu’s knightly ideals.

With discipline, he gathered his forces and approached the location of the signal.

"This way!"

One by one, the Yeilings joined him, closing in.

In the distance, a horse’s snorting was heard.

Weapons were drawn.

But when they pushed past the underbrush, what they found was...

Nox, standing alone, panting heavily, munching on grass.

No riders in sight.

Jenryu frowned.

"Find their tracks. They must be nearby."

But in the end...

The fugitives had left no trace.