Sovereign of the Infinite Clones [Novel] Chapter 439

My Alter Ego’S Path To Greatness Chapter 439

***

The Black Dragon Society (1)

‘Tsk, I can’t resist.’

Black Shadow gritted his teeth.

He had never imagined things would turn out like this.

Instead of shaking up the Blood Alliance that ruled Korea’s underworld and creating an opening as planned, he had ended up being turned against them and reduced to this state!

Who could have imagined that he would personally lead Phantom, the master of the Blood Alliance, to the Black Dragon Society’s secret base?

‘The concentration of blood inside my body isn’t particularly high now that I’ve been turned into a vampire. Then why? Why can’t I resist the compulsion?!’

Most of the enormous amount of [Refined Blood Crystals] Heinz II had used on him had been consumed to break through his resistance.

In other words, not much vampiric essence had actually been needed to alter Black Shadow’s bodily structure and bind him with the blood’s restraints.

In fact, his current level as a vampire wasn’t particularly high.

By Auterica’s standards, he had only barely broken past Lesser Blood and reached Pureblood, and even by Earth’s standards, he was only around Level 4~5.

Considering that his combat ability as a martial artist at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm was comparable to that of a Level 8 vampire, normally, Black Shadow’s identity as a martial artist should have overwhelmed the effects of becoming a vampire.

But reality was the exact opposite.

For some reason, he simply couldn’t ignore the blood’s restraints and had no choice but to obediently follow the commands of the one who had turned him.

Without making any other schemes, he had no choice but to give it his absolute best.

“Gah!”

“Ugh, Black Shadow! Why are you—?!”

“This aura… Could he have become a vampire? How could a Transcendent master…?”

That was the result.

The secret base had been thrown into chaos by a sudden attack from one of their own allies.

As an assassin, he was an unusual presence within the Black Dragon Society, which primarily consisted of martial artists, but in terms of cultivation, he could be considered second only to the Black Dragon Lord.

On top of that, due to the nature of his profession, he was already intimately familiar with the formations and traps installed throughout the headquarters, while knowing the habits and weaknesses of those who had until recently been his comrades better than they did themselves.

And now that he had deliberately set out to ‘clear’ them…

Clang!

Those who lacked even the minimum qualifications to stand against him had no choice but to be helplessly knocked aside, just as they were now.

The only fortunate thing was that he had never intended to kill them from the beginning, so their injuries were limited to a level they could recover from after resting for a while.

Black Shadow let out a small sigh. A young woman wielding a red sword that seemed to be ablaze, clashing it against his sickle and shouting at him.

Like him, she was a martial artist of the Transcendent Realm within the Black Dragon Society.

“Calm yourself, Yeonhwa Sword. You know what state Black Shadow is in.”

“This is impossible. Black Shadow, who was on the verge of reaching the Peak, was unable to overcome the blood’s corruption and became a vampire? How could that happen?”

“Indeed. Even if Phantom is a transcendent vampire, still…”

A group of martial artists surrounded the two of them.

A middle-aged man with a long beard wearing green robes and wielding a crescent-bladed guandao, a slender man dressed in hip-hop fashion and holding twin swords, a sharp-looking middle-aged woman covered in luxury brands, and a muscular man aiming a large bow from farther away.

All of them were Transcendent masters who had somehow kept the declining Black Dragon Society afloat.

“What about the Asura Fist King? Is he safe?”

“He’s not in any danger of dying. He was poisoned, but he’s a sturdy fellow. I’m sure he’ll shake it off and get back on his feet.”

“…I see.”

At the middle-aged man’s answer, Yeonhwa Sword caught her breath and slowly stepped backward.

She too had reached the Transcendent Realm, but she wasn’t confident she could face Black Shadow one on one.

No matter how specialized he was as an assassin in ambushes, there were still differences in strength even among those at the Transcendent Realm.

‘But if there are five of us!’

In fact, they probably didn’t even need all five.

If Black Shadow could continue relying on his specialty of ambushes, things might be different, but now that he had completely revealed himself, even two of them would be enough to guarantee victory.

The five of them, along with Black Shadow and the Asura Fist King, who had been attacked and incapacitated first because he had been on duty, were known collectively as the Black Dragon Society’s Seven Dragons.

And yet, all of them had stepped forward for one reason only—to capture Black Shadow alive.

There might still be a way to return him to normal.

The fact that there had been no casualties so far was another factor that fueled that hope.

“Surrender peacefully, Black Shadow. We’ll find some way to return you to normal. You should do that too…”

“Do you really think he’ll listen just because you say that? If things were that simple, we wouldn’t be making such a mess in the first place.”

The twin-sword wielder cut off the middle-aged man’s calm words and took a bold step forward.

“Now that things have come to this, all that’s left is to use force! Just beat him until he can’t resist, tie him up, and lock him away, right?”

“Hmm.”

“He’s not wrong~. Seeing that Black Shadow ended up like this, it looks like the operation in Korea has completely fallen apart too. Why not subdue him first and hold him until the Black Dragon Lord returns?”

The woman dressed in luxury brands agreed with him.

If Black Shadow had failed, the migration plan the Black Dragon Lord had been preparing separately would have to be put on hold as well.

They had already contacted him, so it shouldn’t take long for him to return.

If that was the case, then their course of action was practically decided.

“…Fine. There’s nothing to gain from letting this commotion grow any larger, so let’s finish this as quickly as possible.”

The moment he finished speaking, the guandao sliced sharply through the air and pointed straight at Black Shadow.

“Tsk, I don’t like ganging up on someone, but we don’t have a choice.”

The twin swords, brimming with sharp killing intent, and the red sword that seemed to flicker with flames were likewise raised.

Sharp throwing knives emerged from the luxury handbag, their edges gleaming between her fingers.

Yet Black Shadow showed no reaction even as multiple weapons were pointed at him.

It wasn’t because he intended to ignore them.

It was simply because there was no longer any reason for him to step forward himself.

He slowly closed his eyes.

And then…

“Hmm, so the leader really is away? Looks like our timing was off.”

In an instant, the air froze.

A third party’s voice suddenly rang out, carrying an enormous pressure.

The Transcendent masters flinched and hurriedly turned toward the source.

He was there. Wearing a pure white opera mask and calmly looking over each of them…

The very being they had identified as the mastermind behind the incident that had befallen the Black Dragon Society.

‘When?’

‘How?’

No one knew.

When had he appeared there?

How had he deceived all of their senses?

And why had they failed to notice that blood-chilling aura until now?

Thud!

At that moment, a heavy figure dropped into the middle of them, who had been frozen stiff with tension.

There wasn’t a single person present who didn’t know who it was.

“Archer King…!”

The muscular man lay unconscious and limp.

He was one of the Seven Dragons, their comrade who had been aiming his bow from the rear just moments ago.

Even if his bow was his main weapon, how could someone at the Transcendent Realm have been subdued without making the slightest sound?!

‘No, more importantly, how could we not notice anything until he ended up like that…?’

A cold shiver ran down their spines. At the same time, they instinctively realized it.

The man standing there was different from the Transcendents they had encountered until now. It wasn’t simply a matter of him being on a higher level.

It was something beyond that…

As though his very existence possessed an entirely different level of dignity…

“Hmm, you all certainly look quite useful.”

Heinz II calmly muttered as he looked over the frozen martial artists as though assessing them.

Meanwhile, they were so tense that they didn’t dare make a careless move!

But Heinz hadn’t deliberately left everything to Black Shadow and quietly observed them using [Existence Negation] for no reason.

If he wanted to determine whether they were worth recruiting and how they could best be utilized in the future, this was the most efficient method.

‘It would be troublesome if they made a commotion and tried to escape.’

Even if this was a remote region of China, it was still territory belonging to the Transcendence Society.

There was nothing to be gained from attracting their attention before he had even decided how to make use of the Black Dragon Society.

‘…But turning these guys into vampires too would still be far too inefficient.’ He glanced at Black Shadow.

On Earth, aside from the energy required to turn a human into a vampire, an enormous amount of [Refined Blood Crystals] was also required to raise that vampire’s level.

That was why Black Shadow had only reached his current level.

‘If it were that easy, I would’ve raised not only Jin Soran but everyone in Heterosis to Level 8 by now.’

As an individual’s cultivation became higher than the power of their bloodline, the strength of the blood’s restraints would inevitably weaken, but that wasn’t a problem for him.

The dignity he possessed as Divine Blood was one thing, but various skills, including [Blood Sovereign] and [Dominion], supported all of it as well.

‘Still, if the purity is too low, controlling them might become difficult, so I suppose that level of investment is necessary.’

But investing any more than that would be wasteful even for him.

They had already cultivated their internal energy and accumulated martial principles to reach their current realms. Even if their depth as vampires increased, their combat abilities wouldn’t necessarily rise dramatically.

‘If anything, it would be a blessing if their balance didn’t become disrupted and make them weaker.’

Black Shadow was reasonably compatible with vampirism because he had been an assassin, but the others were a different story.

So how could he make effective use of these people…?

Clang—!

A loud metallic clang interrupted his thoughts.

A guandao filled with powerful qi was swung at Heinz’s neck with all its might, only to be stopped by a single finger, the resulting sound reverberating throughout the space.

The surprise attack did not end there.

Whoosh—

A dozen throwing knives shot toward his vital points like lightning.

At the same time, three swords pierced toward his exposed body, aiming for openings.

Destructive qi, burning fiercely with thick killing intent, tore through the space.

“Oh?”

Heinz slowly nodded.

“Huh?”

“Cough!”

“W-What…?”

And then, as though time itself had been cut apart, he looked down at those writhing on the floor, who had no idea why they had fallen, and gave a faint smile.

Their determination to resist despite recognizing the overwhelming gap in strength was commendable.

But how could those who had not even reached the level of the Mind Sword possibly touch him, even with a fingertip?

‘Still, these guys are stronger than I expected.’

‘The fact that they managed to break through my pressure and attempt a surprise attack is impressive. There’s something more than just the energy they possess.’

He looked over those rolling around on the floor with a peculiar expression.

It was only because their opponent happened to be Heinz that they had been defeated so effortlessly.

Objectively speaking, they possessed abilities far beyond those of ordinary Transcendent masters.

It wasn’t simply the influence of the system, including their unique skills.

He could distinctly sense something more than that.

‘Come to think of it, Black Shadow was like that too. Regardless of whether he was merely at the edge of the realm, the fact that he managed to play cat-and-mouse with Harley for quite some time despite being at the level of the Extreme Realm…’

He stroked his chin as he pondered before reaching a conclusion.

Indeed, these people were talents too valuable to simply throw away.

‘Come to think of it, the Black Dragon Society has survived for more than twenty years within the Transcendence Society’s sphere of influence.’

There had to be a reason they had managed to accomplish that.

Even the fact that martial-world returnees continued to support them despite their difficult circumstances, to the point that they were now considering migrating to another country…

‘This smells like a big catch.’

Heinz looked at Black Shadow, who subtly avoided his gaze, and curled up the corners of his lips.

Apparently, there were quite a few things that this new vampire hadn’t mentioned when he claimed he hadn’t asked.

It was an unavoidable problem when attempting to forcibly bind someone who lacked loyalty.

Still, now that he had encountered the situation himself, he couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed.

‘I’d like to meet this Black Dragon Lord soon, too.’

This connection would be of considerable help to him as well.

Not merely as a force that would oppose the Transcendence Society alongside him…

But also in helping him overcome the wall that another version of himself had encountered.

***

“Master Ha? Are you all right?”

A cautious female voice reached his ears as he was briefly lost in thought.

Ha Seunghoon-Hugo, turned toward her with a faint smile.

“Ah, something just crossed my mind for a moment. I’m fine, Miss Jegal.”

“…I-I didn’t interrupt you, did I? Was it perhaps a moment of enlightenment or something…?”

“It wasn’t anything like that, so don’t worry. I was just thinking about where we should go next now that things here are finished.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. I realized my mistake right after I called out to you earlier. I heard that when something like that happens, you’re supposed to just wait quietly, but I’ve never really traveled around with other people before…”

Relieved by his calm answer, Jegal Hyemi began chattering away.

Her hair, which had been bleached white in places as though she had gotten highlights due to the aftermath of participating in the ritual to restore the world, swayed as she spoke.

“What?! Why are you two the only ones having fun together? I worked hard and came back all sweaty!”

Just then, a young girl with her hair tied up with a hairpin for greater mobility squeezed herself between them.

She was a teenage girl in her late teens, radiating a healthy and lively atmosphere, her large, mischievous eyes sparkling with playfulness.

“Sorry, Soran.”

“Hehe, since you apologized, I’ll forgive you! But you know what I want instead, right?”

“Hehehe, of course.”

“Seriously, I don’t know how I ever traveled without you, Sis. Just being able to wash properly on time has changed my life this much!”

Seeing Namgung Soran embrace the youthful-looking Jegal Hyemi and chatter away happily, Hugo let out a quiet laugh.

Indeed, Jegal Hyemi, who had long since become capable of freely using the dragon’s sorcery and summoning water at will, had become an indispensable member of their group in more ways than one.

Without her, he probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid looking like a beggar during his travels through the martial world.

‘Well, I never expected things to turn out like this either.’

He alternated his gaze between the two women, who had already become absorbed in their own little world, and let out a small sigh.