Heji Stone had made this journey entirely to show off.
Rewriting continental history—and of the crucial era of the Demonic Dragon War, no less—was an earth-shattering feat for any historian.
Heji Stone had originally hoped to bask in a chorus of praise, but to his dismay, the members of the Elegy Poetry Society were utterly indifferent.
He could hardly blame them. Aige was old enough to rival the span of time between the Demonic Dragon War and the present day. Gareth and Canggu were somewhat younger, but skimming the chronicle felt to them like reading someone else's diary—and a poorly written one at that.
To undead with infinite lifespans, history was merely their own lived experience. What Heji Stone had recorded was little more than an old newspaper article covering a brief slice of their lives—nothing more.
The only one who recognized the chronicle's true worth was that greedy, shameless lich. Yet instead of being awestruck by Heji's accomplishment, he had bared a hyena-like snout, bent on snatching away the glory that rightfully belonged to him.
Damn that wretched lich!
Heji Stone took a swig of Githyanki blood. It carried a slightly fishy tang, yet there was something peculiar about the flavor that compelled him to take a few more sips.
Still, dragon blood tasted far better. Blood saturated with mana was truly a vampire's favorite.
Unfortunately, the dragons were finished, packaged and sold off by that lich. The dragon clan was pitiful in its own right—covered in treasures from head to toe, where even weeds fertilized by dragon dung were worth hundreds of gold coins, yet entirely lacking sales channels.
Materials from the dragon race piled up like mountains, utterly unsellable. Previously, Gareth had only managed to squirrel away his private stash because the Elegy Poetry Society helped him sell things off.
Now that the lich was running a monopoly, dragon blood was bound to be driven up to astronomical prices.
Heji Stone simply couldn't stomach the lich's smug face as he schemed with the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss to chop up the dragons and sell them off piece by piece. Carrying an umbrella, he walked alone to the shore to take in the sea breeze and clear his head.
Vampires feared sunlight—a direct touch was practically lethal—but Heji Stone had slathered on a thick layer of sunscreen, donned sunglasses, held up an umbrella, and had the island's concealing illusion in play... In short, he could gaze at the sea just fine.
The inability to bask in sunlight was merely the price paid to retain his emotions and sensory pleasures. Heji Stone felt it was well worth it. At least he didn't have to fixate obsessively on a single pursuit day in and day out like a lich. A dwarven vampire could enjoy countless hobbies and find joy in endless diversions.
"Hmph. Miserly bonehead. Go ahead and spend your days clutching gold coins. I can change hobbies every single day."
Envious and resentful, Heji Stone skipped a stone across the sea. The pebble shot out across the water like a quarrel from a heavy crossbow.
Watching the stone skip into the distance, Heji Stone felt as though he had cast out some of his lingering frustration with it.
Yet just as the pebble skimmed past a particular wave, Heji Stone suddenly snapped to his feet.
Though standing barely made him look any taller than crouching, Heji Stone's aura surged dozens of meters high.
Streaks of crimson manifested before him, coalescing into blood-red bats that plunged straight into the ocean.
A few seconds later, a dark shadow surfaced from the waters.
"An orc?"
Heji Stone was slightly puzzled. Why would an orc show up on an island crawling with undead? Had he lost his fear of death?
Kargor Kluman was even more shocked than Heji Stone. He had been gliding through the shadows within the seawater, practically imperceptible to ordinary folk. How had this dwarf, wrapped up like a body bag, managed to spot him?
And what method had he used just now to forcibly drag him out of the shadows?
He had drifted on the open ocean for so long, only for the very first islet he reached to be inhabited. Talk about rotten luck.
Still, a dwarf was meat he hadn't tasted before. Kargor Kluman was eager to see how it tasted.
Heji Stone frowned, eyeing the orc, and pulled out his Necrotic Codex to message Anbaixiu.
[Dislikes Humans: An orc just washed up on your island. What's the deal?]
[Ultraman Tiga: Anyone sneaking onto this island right now is my enemy. If it's just one orc, deal with him as you see fit. If you can't be bothered, have Melina kill him. I don't have time for trivial matters right now.]
Anbaixiu was currently hashing out plans with Gareth on how to package and sell off the dragons. How could he possibly be distracted from something so momentous?
Heji Stone read the reply and couldn't help cursing, "The God of Wealth must be blind for not taking you as a subordinate deity."
Looking up at the orc soaking in the water, Heji Stone suddenly felt the urge to stretch his limbs. He might look like a frail, bookish historian on the surface, but he was still a legendary vampire!
Heji Stone could hardly remember when his last real battle had been. The most recent had merely been tagging along with his Elegy Poetry Society companions to bully the weak down in the Underdark.
This orc's abilities seemed utterly countered by his own, so he might as well play around with him. In Heji Stone's experience, an orc's blood tasted much better after it was warmed up by physical exertion.
The dwarven vampire floated into the air and hooked a finger at Kargor Kluman.
Kargor Kluman narrowed his eyes. He didn't know the dwarf's true depth, but Kargor had his own distinct method of assessment: reading shadows.
A shadow was a companion present from the moment of birth. A great deal could be deciphered from a person's shadow.
Kargor Kluman could deduce a person's general temperament and history from their shadow, but this dwarf... Dammit, the guy was holding an umbrella, making it impossible for Kargor to read Heji Stone's shadow.
What Kargor didn't know was that even if Heji Stone threw away the umbrella, no shadow would appear.
Vampires cast no shadows. Under direct sunlight, a vampire's body would combust violently, giving off only light and leaving no shadow behind.
Kargor Kluman merely assumed the umbrella was in the way, but that was no big deal. He had ample confidence in his own strength.
It had been far too long since he last tasted fresh meat. He would celebrate his return to land with this dwarf.
Kargor Kluman transformed into shadow once more, plunging into the sea and swiftly swimming toward the shore.
Heji Stone chuckled. If this orc dared to use the exact same trick a second time, he was underestimating him far too much. Heji crushed the unfinished vial of blood in his grip, unleashing a burst of Githyanki blood. Yet the crimson liquid was firmly caught in Heji Stone's hand, looking like a chaotic tangle of red threads.
The blood coalesced into a slender rapier, twice as long as Heji Stone himself.
Umbrella in one hand and sword in the other, Heji Stone flew toward the sea.
Just as he reached the shoreline, dozens of pitch-black blades burst from the seawater, stabbing at Heji Stone.
The cloak behind Heji Stone wrapped around his body like a living creature, rendering the strikes of those shadow blades utterly useless against it.
Waiting for an opening between attacks, Heji Stone thrust the crimson blade down into the seawater.
Concealed within the shadowy depths, Kargor Kluman ought to have been able to dodge most attacks, yet Heji Stone's sword struck true.
The young orc reappeared, Heji Stone's blade having pierced straight through his shoulder. The weapon drank greedily, draining Kargor Kluman's blood as if determined to suck him dry.
Heji Stone chuckled smugly. "Heh-heh. Playing with shadow magic in front of a vampire—isn't that a little too foolish?"
Not every vampire excelled in such arts, but Heji Stone was an exception. Without real skill, the title of historian alone wouldn't have been enough to earn him a place in the Elegy Poetry Society.
Beyond being powerful in their own right, members of the Elegy Poetry Society always possessed unique traits—yet those specialties were merely bonuses; raw strength was the prerequisite.
After all, this was an esoteric society whose minimum threshold for entry was legendary rank.
Heji Stone toyed with his prey in triumph. Kargor Kluman felt the blood in his veins surging outward like a river bursting through a sluice gate.
In mere seconds, his body shriveled, reduced to a skin-and-bones mummified husk.
Only then did Heji Stone withdraw his rapier of blood, watching Kargor Kluman sink beneath the waves.
"A pity. You had some genuine skill, but your power happens to be completely countered by mine."
Heji Stone sighed with sentiment before turning to fly back toward the island.
Yet the moment he turned around, the mummified Kargor Kluman dissolved into an inky shadow, and two dark blades struck out once again.
Heji Stone was mildly surprised. The guy wasn't dead yet? This was definitely no ordinary orc—he had to have mixed blood from some other lineage.
Not that it mattered. With a wrap of his cloak, these shadow blades couldn't hurt him in the slightest.
Just as Heji Stone thought Kargor Kluman was merely making a dying struggle, his hand suddenly felt lighter. The black umbrella he had been holding was sheared in two!
Direct sunlight struck Heji Stone's body, and wisps of pale smoke instantly hissed into the air.
Heji Stone shrieked and bolted toward the shore, casting Darkness on himself in the process.
A thick black mist engulfed a fifty-meter radius, shielding him from the burning sunlight.
The mummified Kargor Kluman bobbed to the surface, baring his teeth. "If you'd said you were a vampire earlier, I wouldn't have bothered with you."
A vampire's flesh and blood were poisonous; they weren't edible at all!
Kargor Kluman operated on a very simple logic: killing was hunting, and there was no point wasting effort on prey you couldn't eat.
Heji Stone roared in fury, "What's wrong with vampires?! What's wrong with vampires?!"
Hundreds of blood-red bats burst from the darkness, swarming toward Kargor Kluman.
Kargor Kluman was surprisingly decisive—he simply lay flat on the ocean's surface, making no move to fight back.
This caught Heji Stone off guard instead. What kind of move was this? What scheme was this orc cooking up now?
Heji Stone barked, "What are you doing? Get up and fight me! I'll show you how formidable vampires really are!"
Kargor Kluman replied weakly, "Can't fight. I lost. I thought that last strike would kill you, but it failed. I don't have any strength left."
Most of his blood had been drained, his shadow form was countered by Heji Stone, and Kargor Kluman didn't even have a single alchemical healing potion on him, let alone expensive enchanted gear.
Now, Kargor truly had no options left. He could only close his eyes and await death.
To a hunter, dying at the hands of prey was perfectly normal. If not this vampire, it would have been some other quarry; once he grew too old to wield a weapon, he would naturally perish in the jaws of a beast.
Kargor Kluman had long known this was his destiny. The only regret in his life was that he had not managed to track down the mortal enemy of his clan.
Kargor Kluman's calm caught Heji Stone by surprise. Facing this dying orc, Heji hesitated before speaking: "Are you seeking death, young orc?"
Using the last dregs of his strength, Kargor Kluman said, "Who seeks death? But whether I live or die... isn't up to me..."
Massive blood loss caused Kargor Kluman's body to spasm, the agonizing pain forcing him to grit his teeth. "Give me a quick end... It is a hunter's mercy..."
Heji Stone opened a fresh umbrella and flew over to Kargor Kluman.
Looking at the mummified orc, he leaned close, parted his jaws, and sank his fangs into Kargor Kluman's neck.
Chapter 395