Virginia cut through the dense crowd of undead and unleashed a few blood spears from the ground, impaling the ghoulish creatures. To her disgust, they continued to writhe and squirm along the red length of her stakes, despite suffering injuries that would have killed any mortal being.
"Those lich lords create nothing but abominations," she sneered. Twirling her huge crimson spear in both hands, she cut down another mob of zombies. "Cut them all down!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Her loyal Vampire Valkyries closed ranks and guarded her back fiercely, slashing and slicing apart the undead that threatened to overwhelm them.
Then a few dozen spells shrieked overhead before crashing into their lines, hurtling them apart. Several of the female vampire knights were incinerated outright, others were frozen and many sliced into pieces or impaled by rock. Most of them survived, though, but they were stunned from the tremendous impact or immobilized by more exotic spells such as vines.
"Everyone!" Virginia shouted, turning to check on them. She gritted her teeth and returned her attention to the enemy, seeing that the spells came from a row of dark mages and elves further back. Guarded by shield-bearing orcs and kobolds, they cast a second volley of spells.
Lowering her spear, she charged. Blood shields formed around her while blood spears were fired consecutively at the ranged spell casters, who were forced onto the defensive. The orcs tried to raise their shields to deflect the attacks, but the blood spears soared high above their heads before curving in the air to crash onto the line of mages.
Fortunately, the elves and dark mages were able to work together to erect a shimmering barrier that repelled the blood spears. Virginia clicked her tongue in frustration when she saw that her attack had been deflected.
Then the kobolds bounded toward her. Shaking her head in annoyance, Virginia swung her spear and engaged the fierce demons.
Before, she could, however, a group of Vampire Valkyries crashed into the approaching line of kobolds, knocking them back. Virginia's eyes widened when she saw who was leading them.
"Veronica!"
"My lady!" her second-in-command gasped as she grappled with a kobold. His claws left marks on her red armor and she responded with a slash of her spear, keeping the feral creature at bay. "Go! Leave this rabble to us!"
"Who are you calling rabble!?" Kelvin the kobold snapped, annoyed. He skillfully ducked under Veronica's spear before lashing out with his claws and leaving a mark on her breastplate. "The Grey Hunters are more than a match for the likes of you arrogant vampires!"
Veronica did not bother with a verbal riposte and instead struck back with her spear. She nodded in the direction of the fiercest battle and Virginia caught her hint. The Blood Queen turned and caught sight of Stryker's forces. Golden and chrome knights were clashing with warriors in black and red armor. In the center of them all, Stryker was dueling with the upstart, their spells clashing in fierce explosions of blood and ice.
"Damn it…Stryker, that bastard! He beat me to it!"
Virginia understood the symbolic victory that would be achieved if the Berserk King was to claim the head of the supposed Demonic Emperor. She couldn't allow that to happen. If Stryker won, he would have a more legitimate claim to the throne than the other warlords.
"Hurry, my lady!" Veronica cried. With a surge of strength, she knocked Kelvin back. The kobold rolled away from her striking spear and bounded to his feet, clumsily swatting away her weapon. Veronica then conjured a bunch of blood stakes to stab him, forcing him to retreat.
She almost didn't see her new assailant in time. The first sign that she realized there was danger was the sudden darkness where her surroundings were cast in a deep, massive shadow. She instinctively threw herself to the side and rolled away. A massive two-headed zombie landed where she had been a second ago, leaving a crater with its four fists.
"What the hell is that?!" Veronica demanded, her eyes widening in disbelief.
It was the fused body of Miranda and Mikhail, the two-headed zombie whirling about to confront her with a low rumble comprising of two voices blended together in unison. Veronica could see the agony and despair in their eyes, and she shuddered. To think that the undead still retained a measure of their sentient consciousness and made aware of their grisly fate.
It was a fate worse than death.
The two-headed zombie that was a merger of Miranda and Mikhail snarled and attacked, their fused bodies slaved to Lindley's will. Even though they didn't want to obey his commands, they had no choice. They were little more than prisoners in their amalgamated bodies, trapped inside their heads yet feeling the full force of agony as Veronica tore strips of flesh and muscle away with her spear.
When the current Demonic Emperor and Lindley performed the surgery, they had ensured that Miranda and Mikhail continued to have working pain receptors. They were unique among zombies in that regard – while most undead couldn't feel pain, their nerves having rotted away, Miranda and Mikhail had to suffer excruciating pain in battle.
"I will do my best to end your agony," Veronica vowed, her intentions kind if misguided. Then she and her comrades were forced back by the rampaging two-headed zombie and the flanking kobolds.
"Our battle isn't over yet!" Kelvin snarled. Veronica sneered at him.
"Once our queen kills the upstart, it will all be over."
Kelvin actually laughed at that. "She can't kill Klein."
"Ho…?" Veronica raised an eyebrow while fending off his claws. The two of them traded several swift blows, sparks flying in their exchange. "You have an awful lot of faith in that young upstart."
"Well, you'll see for yourself soon enough."
Despite herself, Veronica glanced to the side to check on her lady. Sure enough, Virginia was rapidly approaching the upstart and Stryker's position.
She never reached the furiously dueling pair. A crimson blade sliced toward her neck and the Blood Queen was forced to parry it with her spear, skidding to a stop and swinging her lance around to repel her attacker.
"I won't let you anywhere near my lord," Stella declared, pointing her sword at Virginia. The archduchess frowned, initially wondering if her attacker was a subordinate who had mistaken her for the enemy. Then she noted that Stella's armor was divided into black and red halves, which was distinct from the fully crimson armor that her Vampire Valkyries wore.
Not that Stella cared. She was already lunging forward, swinging her sword determinedly at the Blood Queen. Virginia deflected the blow with her spear before twirling it around and slashing back. Stella practically waltzed across the ground, parrying and blocking the strikes before countering with a riposte that Virginia stopped with the shaft of her blood-red lance.
Blood stakes then burst out of the ground, forcing Stella to withdraw. Her sword transformed into a crimson blur as she repelled and deflected the blood stakes. Spinning around, she shattered the incoming blood projectiles in a single strike before launching herself at Virginia with such speed that even the veteran vampire was taken aback.
"Kuh!"
Virginia took several steps backward, spinning her spear about as she defended herself from Stella's furious blows. Their movements were almost too quick for the human eye to follow, sparks flying as their weapons clashed again and again. Even though Stella was not as adept as Virginia in casting blood magic, she had mastered the blood spells to strengthen her body and thus augment her physical power and speed.
Thanks to that, she was able to blow through Virginia's hasty eruption of blood stakes and knocked her opponent back. Spinning her body in the air, Stella swung her sword and struck Virginia. The Blood Queen grunted despite being barely able to parry the blow with the shaft of her spear. Even so, the ground beneath her feet shattered from the tremendous impact and the both of them were blown apart.
Whirling around, Stella landed on the ground with her knees bent before springing forward once more. Like a bullet, she streaked toward Virginia in a blur of black and red, catching the archduchess off guard and knocking her back. Virginia frantically responded, twirling her spear and countering. The both of them exchanged several desperate blows before Virginia finally broke away and retreated several dozen meters away.
"Not bad." She lowered her spear, noticing that her arms were trembling violently from the impact. "What is your name, young lady? I am Virginia Wolfe, and I would like the honor of knowing the name of my opponent."
Stella kept her sword raised, having no intention to lower her guard against such an opponent. However, she was polite and honorable enough to respond to Virginia's question, recognizing that the Blood Queen was a noble warrior.
"Stella Nightsworth."
"I see. So your name is Stella. What a lovely name." Virginia smiled and extended a gauntleted had toward the red-haired vampire knight. "You have superb sword skills and tremendous potential. It is a waste for someone of your caliber to fight on that side. If possible, I would like you to join my Vampire Valkyries indeed. I will ensure that you receive a high rank."
"No." Stella's rejection was immediate and flat. "I thank you for your kind compliments, but I fear that you overestimate my abilities. Not that it matters. My loyalty is to my lord and no other."
"A pity." Virginia closed her eyes for a brief moment, sounding disappointed. "But I did expect that an honorable knight like you will never renege on her oath. If only I had met you sooner."
"My lord was the one who saved me and turned me into a vampire, so that isn't possible." Stella paused and her eyes flashed with anger. "And you underestimate Sir Klein. It is not a waste to serve him at all."
That was right. Stella had resolved to help him fulfil his dream. She was sick of all this violence, these wars and pointless struggles. She yearned for the peaceful coexistence that her lord had promised. She could tell that Virginia's ambition was boundless. Even if she succeeded in becoming the next Divine General of the vampire legion, and perhaps the Demonic Empress, she would continue to plunge the Demonic Empire into a war against the humans.
That was the kind of people the warlords were. Or at least the bloodthirsty vampire queen before her was. Stella could feel it in her bones, having traded blows with her. No wonder Archduchess Virginia Wolfe stood at the pinnacle of the warlords and was generally recognized as the most powerful among the five.
"Is that the case?" Virginia was unable to conceal the skepticism in her voice. "Nonetheless, he stands in my way of becoming the empress. If you insist on siding with him and barring my ambition, then I'm afraid I cannot spare you either."
"I never expected you to," Stella replied coldly, pointing her sword at Virginia and rushing forward to thrust her blade at her opponent.
The Blood Queen conjured a fresh wave of blood stakes to impale Stella, but the female knight was too fast, moving too quickly for any of the stakes to hit her. Those that did manage to strike shattered against the blood-red aura that protectively wreathed her body.
Virginia deflected Stella's thrust and bludgeoned her with her spear, spinning and twirling her longer weapon about to force some distance. She whirled away before thrusting her lance at Stella's chest, but the vampire knight parried it before countering with a riposte. Then blood stakes erupted from the ground, almost impaling Stella's foot and pinning her to the ground. Twisting about, Stella lashed out with her sword, but Virginia blocked it with her spear.
"Not bad at all…but you're still too naïve."
"Huh?!"
Stella cried out before Virginia kicked her in the knee, causing her to tumble forward. The red-haired knight hastily flung herself to the side when she sensed the blood stakes rupturing the ground from below, spearing the space her body had occupied a second ago. Before she could right herself fully, Virginia's spear lanced into her chest.
Despite intuitively dropping to dodge blow, Virginia's spear still caught Stella in her shoulder and blew her several meters back. Stella hit the ground and rolled, intense pain blurring her vision. Heaving, she continued to hold onto her sword with on hand while clutching at her wound with the other. Blood poured through her gauntleted fingers, staining the black metal red.
"Your skills are impressive for someone so young, but you still lack the decades of experience I have on the battlefield." Virginia shook her head and took a step forward. Her hands glowed as she began casting another blood spell. "I will ask you again. Will you join my Vampire Valkyries?"
"And my answer is the same, no matter how many times you ask." Stella's tone was steely. "I refuse."
"A great pity." Virginia shook her head and raised her hand. "Then you will die."
Before the blood stakes could erupt from the ground and impale Stella, Virginia was forced to leap several paces back. In an instant, the entire space between them was shrouded in ice, the blood stakes frozen in mid-emergence.
"You!" Virginia snarled as she shattered a cluster of icicles that sprang up to lance her, the frosty fragments spiraling away like snow. Several meters away, a single figure came to stand beside Stella, whose wound had already closed up and was on the way to healing.
"Yes, me."
Silvia Winters interposed herself protectively between Stella and Virginia. More ice formed around her, freezing the crimson armored vampires who surged forward to reinforce their lady. Veronica tried to break away, but Kelvin and the two-headed zombie barred her way. Most of the Vampire Valkyries found themselves mired in a vicious melee with the elite Grey Hunters.
"The Witch of Winter." Virginia straightened herself before smashing apart another mass of ice. "I was wondering when you would show up."
"I told you to wait for me," Silvia told Stella in a disapproving tone. "You shouldn't have run off on your own."
"If I had waited for you, I wouldn't have made it in time." Stella's voice was as flat as ever. "She would have reached Sir Klein."
"True." Silvia sighed and raised both her hands, which were shrouded in azure mana. "In any event, I'm finally here. We take her on together."
"But…"
"Do you deem this dishonorable?" Silvia asked icily. "But you don't have a choice. You can only care about preserving your honor when you've grown strong enough. Right now, you don't have the right to speak about honor. Our priority is to defend our liege at all costs."
Stella lowered her head. Virginia smiled.
"If it's of any comfort, I do not deem this dishonorable." She rested her gaze on Stella. "I take no pride in bullying an opponent much younger, weaker and less experienced than myself. Besides…"
She slammed her lance against the ground, conjuring a rain of blood spears that clashed against Silvia's hail of frozen icicles.
"I always wanted to fight against you once, Witch of Winter."