Reincarnated as a Vampire Who Acquires Skills Through Blood

CLANG!

The centaur chief was able to raise his massive war axe just in time to block the mana slash Verc launched.

The speed at which he reacted was truly worthy of the ruler of the west side of the forest. The dark iron of his weapon met the flying crescent of red light, the impact sending out a high-pitched ring that hurt the ears of the surrounding warriors.

And as he felt the heaviness of the attack on his arms—BOOM!

The centaur chief deflected it to the side; making it explode behind him!

The whole ground behind the him looks like a grenade just went out there; a small crater was created.

”...”

The centaur chief looked at it with a frown on his face, then turning back to Verc and his dead elite group—

His eyes tracked the smoking ruins behind him for a brief second before his gaze fell onto the five severed bodies of his personal guards, who were now nothing more than lifeless heaps in the mud.

”You really like putting massive holes on other’s home, huh.”

He said that, his voice low.

The tone was steady, but it was filled with a deep, vibrating resonance that made the nearby air feel incredibly heavy and hard to breathe.

Rage can be felt on his words, and his mana level was rising terrifyingly.

The initial restraint he had maintained vanished completely, replaced by a massive surge of pressure that caused the small pebbles around his hooves to float up into the air before snapping in two.

His mana coated his whole massive war axe, indicating that the centaur chief was ready to fight and attack any moment now.

The dark metal of his weapon began to glow with a dense, suffocating aura of pure combat energy, the light twisting around the sharp edge like a living flame.

Verc smiled seeing that, and taking a stance—

He lowered his center of gravity slightly, his fingers wrapping firmly around the handle of the [Moon Blade] as he felt the chief’s massive aura pressing against his own skin.

”I apologize for that—I still can’t control my full strength that well after all.”

He stated that.

He gave a small, unbothered shrug, his casual demeanor remaining completely unchanged even when faced with the full, unbridled fury of the western king.

BAM!

Without a warning or another word; the two then launched at each other!

The ground beneath their respective positions completely blew outward from the raw force of their sudden takeoff, sending a massive cloud of dust into the air.

Their figures disappeared, leaving a blur to where they were before and in the next second—

The speed of their approach was so extreme that the human eye wouldn’t have been able to track their movements at all.

TIIIIING!!!

SWOOOOOSH—!!!

They reappeared a few meters away, their weapons clashing!

The exact point where the edge of the [Moon Blade] met the glowing aura of the massive war axe became the center of a brilliant flash of light.

It produced a loud metallic clang that echoed throughout the centaur tribe’s settlement, and it was followed by a strong shockwave as their mana collided violently!

”...”

”...”

Verc and the centaur chief looked at each other mid-clash.

Their blades were locked tight against each other, the metal scraping with a harsh, grating sound as they maintained their positions in the center of the broken square.

None of them put their all in this exchange, it was more on to try on to get a feel of the strength of each other.

They were testing the structural density of their opponent’s mana, gauging the response time and physical weight behind the initial contact before committing to a full scale engagement.

And after this first exchange; like they had talked beforehand—they started clashing with all their might!

SWISH~!

Verc vanished again, and reappeared behind the centaur chief—he was so fast!

He utilized his maximum physical acceleration, stepping through the shadow of the dust cloud to position himself right at the blind spot of the massive beastman’s lower body.

But the centaur chief just swung his war axe behind him—TIIINK!

He didn’t even turn his head to look, relying entirely on his highly refined combat instincts and the vibration of the air to track the incoming trajectory.

And he was able to block the attack attempt of Verc that was aimed at the back of his head!

The broad flat of his dark iron blade met the tip of Verc’s sword with absolute precision, stopping the sudden thrust dead in its tracks.

Then contrary to his size—he moved swiftly and rotated his body—the massive upper body of the chief twisted with incredible agility, his front hooves executing a sharp, sweeping pivot that allowed him to harness his full physical weight.

SWOOSH!

Then he followed a horizontal attack, countering Verc!

The war axe tore through the air in a wide, vicious arc that aimed to cut the pale enemy completely in two at the waist.

Verc covered his hand with mana and [Black Scales]—CLANK!

He didn’t try to retreat or parry the strike with his sword; instead, he dropped his left palm directly into the path of the oncoming weapon. The dark, hardened skin of his skill manifested instantly, reinforced by a dense layer of defensive energy.

And he caught the head of the centaur chief’s war axe!

His fingers clamped down tightly around the iron edge, the friction producing a sharp screech as he stopped the massive momentum of the swing using nothing but his raw physical strength.

The centaur chief was surprised, but before he could even react—FWOOSH!

Verc thrust [Moon Blade] forward, aiming at the chief’s head!

The silver steel moved in a straight, lethal line, cutting through the narrow space between them with absolute velocity.

The chief saw the attack getting close to him fast—he can’t move—he will be pierced.

His axe was stuck in Verc’s grip, and his massive lower body wasn’t positioned to allow a quick backward leap in such a confined space.

But as if not wanting to lose to Verc; he covered his teeth with dense mana, and with them—TIIINK!

He opened his jaws slightly, forcing a massive concentration of his remaining combat aura directly into his skull structure.

”GURGH...!”

He caught Verc’s blade!

He clamped his jaws shut onto the steel of the [Moon Blade], the metallic impact producing a sharp chime right in front of his face!

”?!”

It was so absurd that Verc couldn’t help but be surprise. Even him wouldn’t dare to do something like this!

The centaur chief really has a massive amount and dense mana.

The sheer volume of energy required to reinforce a biological feature against a weapon of that caliber without having his entire jaw shattered into pieces was immense.

Blood dripped at the corner of the chief’s mouth—he wasn’t able to completely stop Verc’s attack because he was so strong.

The sword’s tip had still managed to pierce past his lips, cutting the flesh slightly before the density of his mana—reinforced teeth could fully halt the forward momentum.

But seeing that he still succeeded and kept his life—a crazed smile appeared on his face!

The red fluid ran down his chin, but his expression was filled with a wild, battle-hungry satisfaction as he held the sword tightly within his grip.

The chief then raised his front hooves—TWHACK!

Then he kicked Verc to make him go away!

He utilized the leverage of his position to drive his massive forward legs directly into Verc’s exposed torso.

”Ugh...!”

The heavy impact forced a short grunt from Verc’s lips as the sheer weight of the double-hoof strike connected with his chest.

The force of the push was immense, designed to create immediate distance and free his war axe from the youth’s left hand.

Verc was able to block the impact with [Black Scales] reinforced with mana—but he was still flung away.

Tap-

And just as he landed on the ground—TAK!

SWOOSH!

The centaur chief rushed in himself and swung diagonally down!

He didn’t waste a single second, charging across the clearing with his massive hooves pounding the earth like a runaway train.

He was aiming to cut Verc’s neck!

The dark iron war axe was raised high above his shoulders, coming down with a terrifying, crushing trajectory that intended to end the fight right then and there.

BAM!

The weapon struck the exact spot where Verc had been standing a fraction of a second before, splitting the ground open in a deep, jagged trench.

Verc jumped a bit, the chief’s war axe completely missed him—FWISH~

Verc then twisted his body while in the air—SLASH!

And he cut the right arm of the centaur chief, the one he was using to hold his weapon!

His sword flashed under the afternoon sun as he executed a precise, lightning-fast counter-cut during his rotation.

The edge of his sword severed the deep muscle tissue along the bicep, causing a bright spray of red to stain the wooden platform below.

”HMPH!”

But the centaur chief just ignored the pain like it wasn’t even there in the first place!

His eyes didn’t even blink, his grip on the long handle of his axe remaining completely firm as he immediately shifted his weight to launch a follow-up strike from the left side!

TIIIIING--!

And just like that—the war chief and Verc exchanged violent clashes; attack after attack, block, parry, dodge.

CLANG!

TWHACK!

THUD!

TAAAANG! CLANG! TIIIIINK!

The entire center of the settlement became a dangerous zone of flying debris, broken timber, and exploding mana waves as the two entities moved across the area in a continuous blur of motion.

They moved too fast for even the warriors at the sideline to see what was happening!

The injured vanguard units and the guards on the distant could only follow the trail of destruction left behind by their movements, their eyes entirely unable to lock onto their physical forms.

All they can see were flashes every time the two’s weapons met and sparks flies.

TANG! CLINK!

The constant metallic screech of steel against iron echoed continuously through the plains, accompanied by brief, blinding bursts of white and dark energy.

SWAAAAAH~!!!

Shockwaves, strong and weak were also produced in each of their exchange—it was a fight between monsters!

The air pressure within the village kept shifting violently, forcing the onlookers to hold onto their positions to keep from being knocked over by the residual wind.

Minutes passed as they fought.

Then it turned into hours... and before they even knew it...

The sun set; and the moon arrived.

...

The golden light of the afternoon slowly faded away into the deep purple of twilight, until the silver glow of the night sky began to illuminate the broken remains of the assembly square.

And once that happened, not even a minute after the sun hid itself—

THUD!

”Huff... huff... huff...”

The sound of heavy, ragged breathing was the only noise left in the quiet courtyard.

The centaur chief was brought to his knees by Verc.

His massive body was covered in numerous shallow cuts, his dark iron axe resting uselessly on the cracked earth beside him as he used both of his trembling front legs to keep his upper torso from collapsing entirely into the mud.

”...”

Verc stood over him, his silver blade completely clean of blood, his expression entirely calm under the cool light of the moon.