When Kargor Kluman opened his eyes once more, he found himself lying on a sandy beach.
Above him was no sun, but a sky full of stars.
"I'm still alive?"
Startled, Kargor scrambled up from the sand and carefully examined his body, amazed to discover that his flesh was full and whole again.
Just before dying, he had clearly seen that vampire sink its fangs into his neck. How could he have survived?
This couldn't be hell, could it?
Kargor hurried to survey his surroundings, and the moment he looked, something felt bizarrely off.
It was clearly a desolate beach, yet the grains of sand felt alive. Countless eyes seemed to be staring at him from the shore, but when he looked closer, it was just ordinary sand.
Even the rocks were the same—as if mouths had sprouted upon them, whispering words he could not hear.
"Gruumsh above! Is this some kind of divine punishment?!"
Kargor shouted the name of the orc deity. Normally, he had little faith in the god of orcs, but the situation was far too eerie, and he could not help praying for divine protection.
Just then, Heji Stone's voice drifted over: "Quit crying for Gruumsh. The one you should worship now is Kanchelsis. He is the deity of us vampires."
Kargor jumped in fright and instinctively tried to meld into the shadows to flee, only to find that his body refused to budge.
Heji Stone drifted leisurely in front of him and said, "Save your breath. What flows through your veins now is my blood. You are my blood thrall. Understand?"
Acting as if he hadn't heard a word, Kargor continued to struggle with all his might, shouting, "I will never be anyone's slave again! Never!"
His fierce resistance caused strange lumps to bulge across his skin—Heji Stone's blood punishing the disobedient slave.
One of the main reasons turning someone into a vampire required using one's own blood was to achieve absolute control.
A vampire sire could completely dominate the actions of their bloodkin and even influence their thoughts. Heji Stone had taken a liking to Kargor Kluman's abilities, which was why he had turned him into a vampire. He felt that among the members of the Elegy Poetry Society, his own life was currently the most pitiful; if he didn't secure a powerful thug, how would he get by in the future?
That was why Heji Stone hadn't asked Anbaixiu for help, intending to keep this orc for himself.
If that damned lich found out, he would probably pluck away several of the orc's bones.
As for Kargor's defiance, Heji Stone didn't care in the slightest. Every newly turned vampire went through this phase, thinking they could choose death over submission, but it was entirely futile. Unless this orc had a massive empire backing him that could send hundreds of thousands of soldiers to slay Heji Stone, the bond could never be broken.
So Heji Stone couldn't even be bothered to intervene, letting Kargor struggle as much as he liked.
Sure enough, after holding out for a few minutes, Kargor collapsed from excruciating pain racking his entire body.
This was not an agony that willpower alone could endure. The blood burrowed deep into the marrow of his bones, as though someone were carving directly into his soul. No amount of endurance helped; there was no numbness to be found, only pain that grew sharper and sharper.
"Not bad. Almost ten minutes. You're the longest-lasting one I've ever seen. Now, do you see reality clearly?" Heji Stone asked.
Lying on the sand, Kargor said helplessly, "I know I've lost. How long must I work for you before you grant me my freedom?"
Heji Stone chuckled. "Don't even dream about it. Your eternal life belongs to me now."
Kargor said grimly, "Then kill me. I won't be a slave again."
"That is not up to you!" Heji Stone snapped angrily. "If you won't accept it, then keep suffering!"
Heji Stone manipulated the blood inside Kargor, inflicting boundless agony that caused the orc to curl up like a boiled shrimp.
Yet this time, Kargor did not thrash about. He merely gritted his teeth and endured the torment.
When Heji Stone finally let him catch his breath, Kargor spoke again: "Kill me. Don't waste your time."
Heji Stone was stunned. He hadn't pulled his punches in the slightest just now. A normal person would have been driven mad by the agony long ago, so how could this orc still say such things?
Heji Stone subjected the orc to cruel punishment once more, but after thrashing and rolling all over the sand in torment, Kargor uttered the exact same words.
If he could not have his freedom, then end his life right now.
Heji Stone was genuinely dumbfounded. Could this fellow's will truly be this unyielding? If Kargor truly chose to lie flat and offer no resistance, Heji Stone genuinely had no other way to deal with him—it wasn't as if he could rely on Charm spells or similar effects to force loyal service forever.
What he wanted was a subordinate with free will, not a walking corpse.
A mere puppet had no mind to speak of, let alone the ability to bring out its full power.
Heji Stone already had plenty of such puppets; there would have been no need to go through the trouble of turning him into a vampire. Looking at the motionless Kargor lying on the sand, Heji Stone hardened his heart again and plunged him into another round of brutal torment.
Yet after torturing the orc on and off for more than two hours, Kargor Kluman stuck to the same stance: either give him freedom, or grant him death.
"Damn it. That lich can sweet-talk even the Elven Queen into warming his bed, so why can't I even control an orc?!"
Heji Stone was almost tempted to call Anbaixiu over to ask for tips on how to bamboozle someone.
Still, to avoid having the lich pluck away a few of the orc's bones, Heji Stone decided to handle it himself. He spoke up: "What's so bad about following me as a vampire? Eternal life, powerful magic... all it costs is not being able to bask in the sun. Is that tiny price really not worth it?"
Kargor replied once more, "I would rather die than be a slave."
Heji Stone was at a loss for words. This guy was a genuine tough nut to crack.
"Fine, I'll compromise. I'll give you a measure of freedom, but you must work for me and obey my orders."
Hearing that, Kargor lifted his head and looked at Heji Stone. The orc pressed, "I can have freedom? I can sleep whenever I want, and eat meat whenever I want?"
Heji Stone paused, taken aback. "That's the freedom you want?"
Kargor said passionately, "That's right, that's freedom! No one docking my rations, no one forcing me up before dawn to work! Freedom means sleeping when I want to sleep and eating when I want to eat!"
Heji Stone looked at the young orc before him. Faint scars still lingered on his body, marks left from his days as a living man. In another few years, they would probably heal completely, but they were still clearly visible now.
It seemed this orc was a runaway slave. No wonder he was so fiercely averse to the title.
Then again, it was obvious the orc wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so humoring him would be easy enough. If not called a slave, he could be called an employee, a subordinate, a workhorse... It was just a different name; did that mean he wasn't a slave?
Heji Stone broke into a smile and told the orc, "Fine, I agree. From now on, you can sleep when you want and eat when you want, but once you've eaten your fill and slept your share, you work for me!"
Kargor thought it over, then said to Heji Stone, "Swear to Gruumsh... No, swear to your deity, Kan-whatever-sis!"
Heji Stone rolled his eyes and said, "It's Kanchelsis. Remember the name, or if you're punished by the deity, even I won't be able to save you. By then, you'll be someone else's slave for all eternity."
Kargor hastily clamped his mouth shut.
Satisfied, Heji Stone said, "Now, tell me your name and where you come from..."
Heji Stone needed to gather intelligence on this orc, and incidentally get a sense of his true abilities.
Kargor briefly explained his identity. There was nothing to hide: a slave who had just gained his freedom and followed clues about his enemy out to sea.
His luck had been poor, and he had run into Heji Stone, the vampire.
"You're actually that lich's enemy?" Heji Stone said in surprise. Just what had that lich done to have an enemy from ten generations back come knocking at his door? Was that lich truly not afraid of getting killed?
Then Heji Stone's eyes darted as a fine idea crossed his mind.
He stepped up beside Kargor, patted his thigh, and said, "Good. Now you are my sla—my subordinate. Your grudge is my grudge. I'll help you seek justice."
Kargor looked at Heji Stone in astonishment. This vampire was surprisingly nice! He had granted him freedom when asked, and now he was even offering to help him seek revenge?
Meanwhile, Heji Stone was thinking: couldn't he shake down that lich for hundreds of thousands of gold coins? It would make him ache with regret for days at least.
Just as he was preparing to bring Kargor to demand money from Anbaixiu, another disturbance stirred across the ocean. A furious voice boomed across the water:
"Despicable, shameless mortal, I have finally found you!"
Heji Stone turned toward the sea, only to see towering waves churning as a tsunami dozens of meters high surged straight toward them.
And atop that massive wave, a naked, grotesque man was roaring at the two of them.
Heji Stone exclaimed in shock, "What is going on here?"
Kargor was equally astonished. "I clearly chopped off his head! How is he still alive?!"
With that, Kargor turned back to Heji Stone and said, "Boss, you just said my grudge is your grudge, right? Look at this..."
Heji Stone felt a sudden tightness in his chest, so enraged he nearly coughed blood.
"Damn it, I never have good luck!" Heji Stone yelled in fury, then threw his head back and bellowed toward the sky, "Ultraman Tiga! Someone's here to wreck the place!"
Chapter 396