Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King’s Personal Knight - [Chapter 41]: Journey to the East - Part 5 Fierce Battles

Sharp spikes, like thorns, stood between Alaric and Vlad III. But Alaric, already crouched and ready, moved even faster!

[Thunderclap Flash]

Crimson lightning suddenly burst forth, heating the atmosphere. Moving as swiftly as the red lightning, Alaric pressed his palm against Vlad III’s eager face, shattering all the surrounding spikes simultaneously. The air seemed to compress to its limit, emitting sharp, explosive sounds. Crimson currents of electricity danced wildly, spreading like real lightning and evaporating the entire sea of blood and fire!

Boom!!

In an instant, the figures of Alaric and Vlad III vanished from their original positions, leaving behind a massive trench that extended forward. Even the sea of blood and fire surrounding Vlad III stretched into a brilliant trail in mid-air. Vlad III, with Alaric’s palm pressed against his face, let out wheezing breaths like a broken bellows.

“Haa… haa…!”

Suddenly, iron stakes shot out of thin air, appearing even further along Alaric’s path.

Smack!

Vlad III grabbed Alaric’s wrist with a grip so strong that he couldn’t break free!

‘His strength is still increasing?’

Alaric immediately noticed that Vlad III’s strength had risen significantly.

‘Is this the strength enhancement from Berserk?’

Alaric knew the Berserker class’s Berserk state increased combat power. Though he wasn’t sure of Vlad III’s class, it seemed that the Crusaders’ imposed Berserk state similarly enhanced his strength. Even if the effect was weak, it still gave Vlad III an advantage in sheer power!

Before the iron stakes could pierce him, Alaric twisted his body, attempting to hurl Vlad III like a cannonball into the distance. But Vlad III resisted, retaining the combat skills honed through countless battles. A cold glint appeared—a spear had materialized in Vlad III’s hand.

‘!’

Alaric’s pupils constricted as he sensed danger. But it was too late to avoid it. With Vlad III gripping his wrist tightly, Alaric couldn’t pull away and could only watch as the spearhead neared!

Pffshh—

A spray of blood erupted as the upward swing of the spear tore through Alaric’s defense and flesh without resistance, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound that threatened to cleave him in two! Immediately, blood spikes shot from Vlad III’s palm like iron stakes, piercing Alaric’s wrist!

Ignoring the pain, Alaric quickly summoned the Holy Grail’s magical power. A surge of crimson energy evaporated the blood spikes instantly.

Crack!

As Alaric and Vlad III continued moving at high speed, they crashed through iron stakes, leaving only debris in their wake. But the real threat had just begun!

When Alaric’s blood fell into the surrounding sea of blood and fire, it was like adding fuel to a flame—the fire surged! The cursed energy within the blood sea grew even more intense. Alaric released Vlad III, grasped the hand that held him, and forced him to let go. Excess magical energy gathered in Alaric’s arm, fueling the force with which he slammed Vlad III into the ground!

Boom!!

After sliding more than ten meters, Alaric finally came to a stop.

“Impressive, Vlad the Impaler!”

Clutching his chest, Alaric tried using the Holy Grail’s magic to heal his wound. But the curse embedded in the injury prevented healing, leaving blood to spill out. The curse and the wound caused the dragon blood within Alaric to stir, beginning to awaken on its own. The faint pressure of dragon energy spread, exciting Vlad III even more.

Yet, Alaric smiled as if the injury was nothing. Gazing at the crimson blood seeping through his fingers, a similar feeling to Vlad III’s emerged in his pale gold, slit-pupil eyes.

Desire.

After Sanzang’s guidance, Alaric accepted all his desires. The desire to live, to see everything, to save others, to keep moving forward…

Desire is justice.

Absolute self—desire born from that self now filled Alaric’s heart. It was—the desire to clash with countless heroes! Whether it was the combat instinct from his dragon blood or his desires, they intertwined, becoming inseparable.

Even though Alaric was at a disadvantage—facing Vlad III with a spear while he was unarmed—he remained cautious of Vlad III’s Noble Phantasms.

The C-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm: [Kazikli Bey – Fortress of Impalement]

It summoned countless spears from the ground to execute enemies, releasing a curse upon them. It was a torture castle of impaling stakes! This Noble Phantasm increased inflicted pain based on the opponent’s sins of injustice or corruption. The greater the “cowardice,” “immorality,” or “violence” of the target, the greater the destructive force.

In addition to Kazikli Bey, Alaric was wary of Vlad III’s other Noble Phantasm: [Legend of Dracula – Legacy of Blood]

This transformed Vlad into the Dracula of legend, making him a true vampire! If Vlad III became Count Dracula, many of his usual skills and Noble Phantasms would be sealed, but he would gain immense physical strength, shapeshifting abilities, regeneration, and Mystic Eyes of Enchantment.

Most concerning was Vlad III’s inherent skill, [Demonic Defender of the State].

By securing the leyline beforehand, Vlad III could designate a specific area as his “territory” and fight with amplified strength within it. As a ruler, this skill enhancement allowed Vlad III to achieve combat power equivalent to an A-rank Berserker. Additionally, within this territory, he could unleash his powerful Noble Phantasm, Kazikli Bey, the King of Punishment. This allowed him to summon a vast number of stakes from space to impale his enemies, with an attack radius spanning one kilometer and up to 20,000 stakes.

Moreover, each strike of Vlad III’s spear inflicted the concept of an “already impaled” state on his enemies, causing stakes to erupt from the target’s heart and expand outward—an unavoidable death blow. Fortunately, since Vlad III had only just been summoned, he hadn’t secured the leyline necessary to activate Demonic Defender of the State, meaning Alaric didn’t have to worry about Kazikli Bey for now. But against Vlad III, who possessed such formidable abilities, Alaric had little to rely on beyond his Mana Burst and Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

“Fists will do just fine—”

Alaric assumed a boxing stance, arcs of electricity crackling around his fists.

“You must be the famous Vlad the Impaler, right? A hero of renown, and yet you let the Crusaders manipulate you like this?”

“Hand over the Grail—!”

Vlad III, gripping his spear in one hand, glared at Alaric with bloodshot eyes, as though he wanted to devour him whole.

‘He still has some rationality left. It seems he’s not a Berserker—’

At that moment, Alaric realized that Vlad III had been summoned as a Lancer. With no other figures present, he ruled out the possibility of a direct Berserk spell cast upon him. Although the Crusaders’ Berserk curse had affected Vlad III, it hadn’t altered his class.

Vlad III had resisted becoming a vampire; even under the Berserk curse, his only desires were for blood, destruction, and the Holy Grail. To be summoned by the Crusaders, Vlad III must have shared some connection or common desire with his summoner. Yet Alaric couldn’t understand how Vlad III knew that he possessed the Holy Grail, which was contained within his body, unlike when it had hung visibly at his waist.

Unless Alaric himself had spoken of it or tapped into the Grail’s infinite magical energy, no one should have been able to detect it. So how did Vlad III know from the start that the Grail was with him?

Alaric began to understand Vlad’s targeting of him. Even with his thirst for blood, Vlad III wasn’t irrational enough to attack without purpose—unless there was something more alluring than blood. The Grail itself.

‘Does Vlad III still share a connection with his Master?’

Alaric wondered, certain that Vlad hadn’t encountered anyone since his summoning. Where, then, was his magical energy coming from?

As a Lancer, Vlad III lacked the Independent Action skill, and without immediate access to a leyline, he couldn’t sustain himself. The only explanation was that his yet-unseen Master was supplying him with mana.

‘Could such a summoning ritual still establish a mana link?’

Alaric had only a rudimentary understanding of Heroic Spirit summoning, but this situation seemed off. The summoning had succeeded without the summoner present, which was strange enough; the immediate application of a Berserk curse suggested the summoner didn’t want a rational Vlad III.

“Why do you need the Grail, Vlad the Impaler, even if it means sacrificing human values?”

Alaric asked, using the brief lull in the fight to recover from his injuries. The surge of magical energy continued to clash against the curse in his chest, working to purge it completely.

“Give… me… the Grail!”

Vlad III snarled, unwilling to converse with Alaric, his bloodshot eyes growing more ferocious.

Seeing that words were pointless, Vlad III charged forward, and Alaric followed suit, channeling the Grail’s magic to empower his body before launching into battle!

Now that he had resolved to fight Vlad III barehanded, Alaric knew he needed to close the distance—that was where his advantage lay. Compared to Vlad III, Alaric’s greatest asset was his unparalleled speed!

Bang!

With a heavy stomp, Alaric accelerated, and in the blink of an eye, he was upon Vlad III, delivering a powerful punch! Infused with tremendous magic, the force behind Alaric’s punch was beyond anything Vlad III could match, yet Vlad met the attack with a punch of his own!

Their fists collided, releasing a gust of wind from the impact. Naturally, Vlad III was at a disadvantage. With Alaric’s overwhelming infusion of magic, he couldn’t hope to compete in raw power.

The contest of strength didn’t last long. Within seconds, Vlad III was forced to retreat several steps.

Alaric seized the opportunity and moved to close the gap for another attack, but unexpectedly, Vlad III gripped his spear with both hands and swept it toward him!

Simultaneously, the surrounding sea of blood and fire launched a torrent of stabs at Alaric, all targeting the unhealed wound on his chest. Iron spikes shot up from beneath him, seemingly intent on piercing him through!

Despite being surrounded on three sides, Alaric remained unfazed, smiling excitedly.

“Is this what you’re willing to do to obtain the Grail, Vlad the Impaler?!”

Alaric’s movements were fast, swiftly dodging Vlad III’s spear, yet the iron stakes and blood arrows relentlessly pursued him, determined to impale him!

However, Vlad III did not pursue him further. Instead, he raised his hand, aiming at Alaric from a distance. Thin streams of blood seeped from his palm, intertwining into a shape.

‘What is that?’

Alaric noticed Vlad III’s actions, but before he could decipher the magic Vlad was preparing, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

Thump!

The curse surged—not from the outside, but from within Alaric’s body! Although he had confined it near his chest wound, the curse’s eruption caused a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart. It felt as if a giant hand had gripped his heart, followed by searing pain in his chest.

‘Vlad III’s blood?’

In that instant, Alaric realized that Vlad III had smeared his blood on the spearhead. When the spear had pierced him, the blood entered his body and transformed into spikes!

Pffshh!!

With a spray of blood, sharp spikes shot out from Alaric’s chest.

“Guh!”

Caught off guard by the attack, Alaric’s movements briefly halted. In that instant, the iron stakes and blood arrows closed in!

But Alaric reacted faster! Ignoring the spikes protruding from his chest, he stomped the ground with tremendous force, shaking the earth beneath him. The stakes extended toward him shattered under the pressure of his overwhelming strength!

As for the blood arrows, Alaric grabbed a broken iron stake and swept it through the air. Infused with his magic, it became a formidable weapon, dissolving the blood arrows wherever it passed.

Laughing wildly, Alaric spat out a mouthful of thick blood.

“Is that all, Vlad the Impaler?!”

Even before his words ended, Alaric raised his hand and struck his chest, shattering the spikes protruding from his body. Fresh blood poured out instantly.

“You’re strong, but you’re not worthy of the Grail yet!”

Vlad III’s low voice echoed as he swung his spear, aiming to pierce Alaric completely.

In response, Alaric only laughed harder.

“We’re just getting started!”