Chapter 70: Count Nana Lu (Part 1)
Blackshine City, a third-rate city standing at the empire’s frontier, had quietly become a logistics hub for mercenary groups and armies.
Once a vital fortress resisting invasions from blood clans and dark elves, it had shifted into a rear-line city as the human empire expanded its frontlines.
Now, after so many years, Blackshine City was once again engulfed in the flames of war.
A group of black-clad attendants escorted a petite figure, swiftly navigating through the chaotic streets of Blackshine City.
Moments later, they stopped on a street littered with corpses and scarred by battle.
The petite figure stepped out from her protective circle, slowly approaching a blood clan swordsman kneeling on one knee nearby.
Her radiant, silky blonde hair was dazzling, her crimson eyes strikingly alluring.
A subtle curve at the corner of her lips gave her a faint, slightly seductive smile.
Her ornate lace gothic dress, embroidered with her family crest, proclaimed her noble status.
She was from the Brujah Clan, the most battle-hardened of the thirteen blood clans!
“My dear Viscount Badka, do you remember the task I entrusted to you with a hundred head of livestock?”
The girl spoke with a sweet smile, addressing the radiant golden-rank blood clan swordsman as if chatting with an old friend about last night’s dinner.
“…Y-Yes… It was to lead the blood zombies to cause as much destruction and draw as much attention as possible in Blackshine City…”
“But why, after dealing with a mere squad of a few dozen, are all the blood zombies we painstakingly created and hid in Blackshine City gone?”
“Tch… That’s because…”
“…Speak. Why, exactly?”
The girl stepped before the once-proud swordsman, lifting her alluring foot, clad in white silk, and unceremoniously pressed it onto his head.
At that moment, a slight tilt of the head would’ve revealed the captivating view beneath her skirt.
Yet Viscount Badka remained kneeling, his head nearly touching the ground.
“…L-Lady Countess… It’s because… I was dragging a silver-rank city guard captain to lure others out, but… but a noble squad jumped in. Their setup was impeccable—a shield warrior blocked my attacks… I-I couldn’t break through quickly, and the others wiped out the blood zombies… S-So I didn’t keep engaging…”
Viscount Badka, head bowed, spoke timidly to the girl stepping on him.
The blood clan was a race of both etiquette and savagery.
Stepping on a noble’s head was tantamount to declaring war.
The only reason this radiant golden-rank swordsman humbled himself was that the girl’s strength and status far surpassed his own.
“…Hmph. Just for that, you lost a hundred blood zombies?”
The girl twisted her foot back and forth on Viscount Badka’s head, as if trying to wipe every bit of dirt from her sole onto his forehead.
“…Countess Nanaru!”
Despite her being his superior, Viscount Badka couldn’t endure the humiliation and shouted her name.
“…Hmph.”
The girl, called Nanaru, let out a cold snort and finally withdrew her foot.
Though she found the man bothersome, she had no authority to kill him—humiliating him like this was already the limit.
But then, as a high-ranking blood clan, she caught a faint… scent.