Chapter 597: Castle Defense
Meanwhile, within Magnus' Castle, Vale and the others observed the unfolding battle with mixed emotions.
Chad, in particular, had been fraught with worry since the onset of the bombardment.
He was anxiously bracing himself for the imminent collapse of the protective barrier, ready to invoke his Ghost King Spell to safeguard himself from the impending onslaught of cannon fire.
He really wanted to flee as soon as he saw the six imposing Airships, but he saw numerous knights surrounding the castle!
As the knight brigade approached their stronghold, Vale unexpectedly issued an absurd command!
He insisted that Lisa confront the knights single-handedly—an audacious and seemingly preposterous command that left Chad incredulous.
"Vale, are you serious?! And Lisa, where do you think you're going? This is absurd—" Chad's protestations trailed off as Lisa swiftly soared into the skies to intercept the approaching knights, leaving him bewildered and disconcerted.
'Why is she so confident?! We haven't even learned Spell Fusion!' Chad complained in his mind.
He'd understand Vale if he ordered Magnus to fight since the old man was indeed incredible and could control hundreds of beasts in the forest. However, Lisa was a young commoner who had only learned Arcane Arts in a few years!
"And when did she learn a flight spell? How is she surpassing me in learning speed?!" Chad exclaimed in shock.
Nevertheless, his astonishment didn't end there as Chad's bewilderment deepened when Lisa underwent a startling metamorphosis, assuming the form of a Vampire with an unmistakable aura of ominous allure and an uncanny resemblance to the legendary Vampires of folklore while flying mid-air!
"Ahh!"
Overwhelmed by this astonishing transformation, Chad voiced his disbelief while looking at Lisa's mesmerizing figure...
"How is that possible?! How come I don't know she's a Vampire all along?! Wait, how can she be fine during daylight?!"
He was completely clueless at what was happening, but it seemed that Vale and the others weren't surprised at all!
Pearl and Faith just looked at Lisa with interest, while Vale could only offer a resigned smile in response.
"It was an accident..." Vale admitted wearily.
Lisa's transformation from a human to a vampire stemmed from a casual remark made by Vale.
Just a week prior, Lisa had been expressing her dissatisfaction with her apparent lack of strength and her desire to become a formidable individual, enabling her to once again encounter Lesley.
Despite possessing reasonable talent, she believed it would take years, or even a decade, of dedicated training and study to fully develop her abilities.
Given the pressing nature of the ongoing conflict with the Dark Arts Faction and the imminent threat posed by the Abyss Realm invasion, she felt that a decade was far too long to wait to be of use.
Well, this was all because of her lack of a substantial background and financial means, which restricted her access to expensive potions, artifacts, and unique spell models as an ordinary citizen.
Even with her considerable talent, the costly nature of studying the Arcane Arts made it challenging for her to catch up and reach her full potential.
In a moment of despair, when Vale noticed her melancholy one evening, he jokingly suggested that she could hasten her quest for strength by becoming a vampire.
It was intended as a jest, as he never anticipated that Lisa would seriously consider undergoing such a significant transformation.
However, he had underestimated her determination.
In the end, Vale gave her the Crimson Orb that could help her change her race into a Vampire.
She even gained 9 Vampire Spells aside from her 6 Dark Arts!
It was quite amazing that her Dark Arts remained compatible in her body, allowing her to maintain her status as a Dark Magician.
Furthermore, Vale also gave the Vampire Fang, which he had extracted from the Vampire before. When he used his Appraisal to check this item, he realized that the fang could only be used to craft a weapon or make it into a necklace.
Once it was made into a necklace, the Vampires wearing it could actually hide their identities and live like normal humans.
"Well... I don't intend to leave her to handle all the knights on her own. It's impossible for her to kill them single-handedly. I just wanted her to release all her pent-up frustration... and bloodlust..." Vale reassured Chad.
With his ability to monitor the situation and summon his Shadow Soldiers from Lisa's shadow at any time, he remained unconcerned about her well-being.
'She also has that Mist Form... Even if she gets injured, she can just escape with that cheat-like spell since there are no Shamans or Priests on their side.' Vale mused as he had already used his Divine Sense a while ago and confirmed the absence of such Practitioners.
He then shifted his focus to the descending Airships.
Then, he employed his Dragon's True Sight to observe three individuals inside, each emanating an extraordinary amount of energy similar to the aura exhibited by the Archbishop he had previously confronted.
They were all Arcanists on a different level compared to the Knight below.
"If I'm not mistaken, those three are the Artificial Humans that the Kingdom had made." Vale muttered as he observed them carefully.
Apparently, Magnus also informed him that the rebels in the Kingdom seemed to be a Faction that opposed the creation of Artificial Humans.
Of course, there could be other reasons for this rebellion, but the Kingdom did its best to cover up the story of the rebellion and claimed that it was simply the greediness of the Marquis. That move hinted to Magnus that the Artificial Humans are real.
'Of course, they're real since I already extracted some of them.' Vale thought to himself.
Anyway, despite the three mysterious individuals, he remained unperturbed.
"I'm considering engaging the main airship by myself. Can you handle the others?" Vale abruptly inquired, addressing Pearl and Faith.
"Can't we simply continue using the Summoning Circle that Magnus prepared?" Pearl proposed.
"Let's refrain from depleting the castle's energy. We might use them for an important matter. I believe the spirits and wraiths have already made significant contributions in clearing out the weaker enemies." Vale responded.
"Very well... I'll also experiment with my Psychic Arts..." Pearl agreed.
"I'll just employ my Summoning Techniques from here." Faith declared as she started drawing a magic circle.
Vale smiled upon witnessing their preparations.
Then, he proceeded to retrieve his blindfold and don it in front of them.
As he did so, his aura underwent a transformation.