The Regressed Blood Knight’s Strategy

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Lucky]

Chapter 11

“Kreeee!!!”

[Lv.30 King Speeder]

The level above its head was visible, it was a level 30 mutated monster. It was an opponent that only mid-tier 3rd Class adventurers could handle.

‘It’s underestimating me.’

Normally, the King Speeder is extremely cautious and rarely reveals itself. It spins its web in its territory and only appears when it is certain its prey has been captured.

This was why the hunting party had failed to capture it repeatedly; it never revealed itself until its prey was caught.

‘Now… my mana must look extremely appetizing to it, so it couldn’t help but reveal itself.’

Kane’s mana was not the usual kind commonly found around. It was blood mana.

Rare mana created by the “Blood Mark”. It was the kind of taste that a mutated monster would go crazy to sample.

“Kreee—!”

The King Speeder screeched once more.

At the same time, the venom exuded from its body, and the miasma began to press down on him.

“What a terrifying voice.”

The roaring King Speeder jumped into the air. Its target was Kane.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

The Blood mark formed in Kane’s eyes and a purple haze emanated from his sword.

Simultaneously, he dashed toward the mother Speeder.

‘To use a chain skill, I need to gather Blood Energy first.’

Swoosh-!

Kane, who had reached right next to the mother Speeder, slashed with his sword.

The mother Speeder’s steel legs were cut in one stroke.

Splat-!

“Kreeeehh!”

The mother Speeder screamed.

Kane’s sword did not stop moving. Before it had any chance to counterattack, he cut off all its legs.

Thud.

The mother Speeder collapsed. It was writhing on the ground, bleeding green blood.

With his left hand, which wasn’t holding the sword, Kane collected the blood.

[Blood Energy has stacked x1.]

[Attack power has increased by 1%.]

The mother Speeder’s blood gathered in his left hand.

The true terror of the skill “Blood Sword” is demonstrated when Blood Energy is stacked many times.

The Blood Energy accumulated by killing enemies or monsters became his own strength.

“Kreeek!”

Enraged by the death of its kin, the King Speeder spewed a blob of venom at Kane. However, Kane did not engage the King Speeder. He moved towards another mother Speeder.

Splat!

Using his mana to the maximum, the mother Speeder was unable to block his sword, and its body was cut in half.

[Blood Energy has stacked x2.]

[Attack power has increased by 2%.]

[Blood Energy has stacked x3.]

[Attack power has increased by 3%.]

……

……

……

Kane’s steps never ceased.

As he moved, he continued to slash through mutated monsters.

Kane was completely drenched in blood, squeezing out every last bit of Blood Energy.

[Blood Energy has stacked x15.]

[Attack power has increased by 15%.]

‘Now.’

He released the accumulated Blood Energy on the spot.

[Skill: Blood Dance – Blood Wave, has been activated.]

A wave radiated outwards. It was like a massive tidal wave sweeping through the Speeders.

“Kreee!”

“Keee.”

Those touched by the Blood Energy screamed as they melted away.

[You have defeated the mutated monster ‘Mother Speeder’.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have defeated the mutated monster ‘Mother Speeder’.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[Your level has increased.]

[You have defeated the mutated monster ‘Mother Speeder’.]

[You have gained experience points.]

The King Speeder shot webs towards the wave of blood.

Even though its webs could block most attacks…

What Kane had used was a chain skill.

He had stacked Blood Energy with the “Blood Sword” and unleashed it with “Blood Wave”. Moreover, the Blood Energy was stronger than King Speeder’s miasma and venom.

No matter how strong the King Speeder was, it couldn’t withstand the burst of Blood Energy all at once.

“Kreeeeeek!”

* * *

“……”

Camilla’s eyes widened like saucers. She seemed to be in a state of shock, frozen in place.

“My… God…”

The opponent was the King Speeder. Although it was known to be one of the weaker monsters within the hidden realms, it was still a mid-boss monster for a mid-tier 3rd Class.

If it had been this easy to defeat, it would have been hunted down long ago.

Contrary to its notorious reputation, the King Speeder had died too easily at Kane’s hands.

Camilla stood there, stunned.

She heard Kane’s voice.

“What are you doing? Pick up the Mana Stones on the ground.”

“…What? What?”

She still appeared to be struggling to adapt to the new Kane.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“N-no.”

Camilla snapped out of her daze.

It wasn’t the time to be shocked; for now, she needed to do what he asked.

She started to pick up the Mana Stones scattered on the ground.

“Th-these are all Water Mana Stones!?”

She was astonished once again.

Mana Stones are stones that contain mana.

Water Mana Stones, as the name suggests, contain water mana. These rare elemental stones only drop from mutated monsters.

Besides Water Mana Stones, there are fire, wind, and wood Mana Stones.

These are far more valuable than regular Mana Stones. And there were dozens of Water Mana Stones on the ground.

It was like finding gold scattered everywhere.

“Y-Young Master! Look at this. Water Mana Stones!”

“Handle them carefully. They’re very expensive.”

The reason Water Mana Stones were so valuable was because of their use in enchantments.

‘Mana Stones are used as materials for accessories and armor, and when they are enchanted, they can also increase the item’s stats. However, regular Mana Stones have a low probability of successful enchantment—around 10%’

In contrast, elemental stones had a 40% success rate for enchantments. A remarkable 30% higher success rate. This is why elemental stones were so highly prized.

‘Even as Ray, I prioritized claiming the demon forests and hidden territories because of this.’

The stones on the ground were 1-star Water Mana Stones.

Each elemental stone was worth 100,000 gold. Just ten of them could be enough to build a whole building.

‘It’s a pity I don’t have crafting skills yet, but for now, I’ll have to sell them all.’

One of the reasons he survived when he first transmigrated was due to enchantment.

And, if he enchanted an expensive accessory, its value would skyrocket.

Typically, those who wore such accessories were high-ranking nobles. For them, accessories were also fashion items.

The moment an accessory had an enchantment, it elevated the pride of the noble wearing it.

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Lucky]

‘Until then, I’ll convert them all to money.’

In the past, he had used this to secure an endless flow of wealth.

He now intended to amass great wealth under the name Kane Rehinar rather than Ray Hatzfeld.

Unaware of this, Camilla was diligently picking up the Water Mana Stones.

[You have acquired Water Mana Stone (★).]

[You have acquired Water Mana Stone (★).]

[You have acquired Water Mana Stone (★).]

Since she was registered as his partner, everything she picked up belonged to him.

“Wow! Young Master, look at the size of this Water Mana Stone!”

There was a Mana Stone the size of a human head hidden in the body of a mother speeder.

“That should be worth quite a bit.”

Judging by the quality of the mana, it looked like a 2-star Water Mana Stone.

A 2-star Water Mana Stone was worth approximately one million gold.

“Making money is fucking amazing.”

There’s definitely no place better for earning money than an unexplored region.

[You have acquired a Water Mana Stone (★).]

[You have acquired a Water Mana Stone (★).]

[You have acquired a Water Mana Stone (★).]

……

……

……

[You have acquired a Water Mana Stone (★★).]

“More than that, my whole body is sore.”

Kane walked awkwardly over to King Speeder’s corpse.

He touched the crystal embedded in its shell.

Whoosh-!

A vast amount of mana surged out.

The wounds on his skin, caused by the Speeders, healed quickly.

Even some of his depleted mana was restored.

“The more I look at it, the more it resembles the Herb of Life.”

The Herb of Life was an ingredient essential for all healing potions.

On the other hand, the similarly-looking Mana Crystal Herb was used to make a deadly poison.

A very rare and extremely potent poison.

It was one of the main ingredients for the Formlessness Poison.

‘There’s a specific blending ratio to create a poison that causes mana hemorrhage.’

‘The ratio is 0.5 parts Mana Crystal Herb to 9.5 parts blood of a mutated troll.’

‘Finally, if you just add a single drop of healing potion to that mixture, a lethal poison is created.’

Once someone is poisoned by it, no treatment will work.

In fact, treatments only exacerbate the symptoms.

‘Well, detoxifying it is surprisingly simple. You just need to ingest the Formlessness Poison again.’

Using poison to fight poison.

It was insane to drink the Formlessness Poison twice.

But it was the only way to treat ‘Mana Hemorrhage’.

Kane carefully wrapped the Mana Crystal Herb in a cloth and placed it in his pocket.

“If we take the monster’s corpse and sell it, it should fetch a good price.”

Corpses were scattered all over the ground.

There were no intact bodies due to “Blood Wave”, but there were still quite a few usable parts.

Selling those alone would bring in a lot of money.

On top of that, there were the Water Mana Stones.

This is why unexplored regions in the territory need to be regularly cleared out.

Only then can the territory be managed comfortably.

“My level is more satisfactory now.”

Kane Rehinar looked at his status window with contentment.

[Kane Rehinar (Lv. 40)(MAX)]

Grade: ★★★☆☆

Age: 21

Occupation: Grand Duke of Rehinar

Mana Affinity: Blood Mark (D-) (2 Runes)

-Basic Stats-

[Health: D-]

[Mana: D-]

[Physical: S-]

[Strength: D-]

[Agility: D-]

Traits: Pure-Blooded (UR), Timid (B+), Frail (B+), Kindness (B+), Endurance(B), Concentration (B)

Skills: Blue Tiger’s Breath (D-), Phoenix’s Breath (D-), Blood Dance (S)

“Beginner 3rd Class Knight. It’s finally becoming somewhat respectable.”

It was an insane growth rate.

This was the result of effectively using the Express Pass for beginners.

Satisfied, Kane closed the status window.

Now, it was time to handle the last task.

He turned his head and called out to the awake, but deathly still Rivan.

* * *

“How long will you pretend to be asleep?”

Kane nudged Rivan with his foot.

“Ugh…”

Rivan groaned and opened his eyes.

His face was covered with a black cloth, making it impossible to see.

“…Where am I? It’s chilly and my skin feels prickly.”

“You should be proud of your background as a Paladin, you endured the poison miasma spectacularly.”

Kane abruptly removed the black cloth from Rivan’s head.

Rivan was startled as he realized the area was filled with toxic miasma.

“This place is called the Forest of Deadly Poison. How do you like it as your grave?”

“You think you’ll get away with this?!”

Rivan shouted in panic.

“My father won’t leave you alone! Let me go right now!”

“You still don’t get the situation, do you?”

Kane’s eyes gleamed with a purple hue.

This phenomenon only occurred when the Blood Mark and the Blood Energy concentrated in his eyes.

Coupled with his murderous intent, it was more than Rivan could handle.

‘Those eyes… he’s really planning to kill me.’

Rivan involuntarily swallowed hard.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead.

The fear of death gripped him.

He struggled to break free, but his hands and feet were bound by ropes, rendering his efforts useless.

“L-Let’s make a deal.”

“Why should I?”

“I’ll use all of Dyer’s power to help revive Rehinar!”

“Not an enticing offer.”

“M-Money! The Rehinar family needs money to avoid ruin, right? If you spare me, I’ll give you all the wealth under my name!”

“Hmm.”

Seeing Kane contemplating the offer, Rivan seized the opportunity.

“I can also give you the 30 million gold my brother hid away!”

“Thirty million gold…”

Rivan’s words caught Kane’s interest.

With 30 million gold, one could build dozens of buildings.

It was an enormous amount of money.

“Tempting, isn’t it?”

Rivan waited for Kane’s response, but the words that came out were unexpected.

“Do you think I went after you just to get that measly sum?”

“M-Measly sum?!”

“I’m asking, is your life worth only 30 million gold? You, the second son of the Dyer family.”

“Th-That right!”

Even in this situation, Rivan was agreeing with him.

His stupidity knew no bounds.

Realizing his mistake, Rivan’s face turned red as he shouted.

“Then what do you want?Just tell me, and I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Can you offer me the entirety of Dyer?”

“Y-You insane bastard.”

Rivan was flabbergasted.

“You messed with an insane bastard.”

“If I die, Dyer will use this as an excuse to swallow the entire Rehinar family. Will you be fine with that?”

“Heh. That’s exactly why I’m killing you.”

“What?”

Rivan’s face twisted in confusion.

What the hell was Kane thinking?

Even if Rivan wanted to negotiate, it was impossible to understand what Kane wanted.

He was just spouting whatever that came to his mind.

Then, Kane’s voice cut through again.

“I’ve given Dyer a reason to invade Rehinar, so you should give me a reason too.”

Kane’s lips curled into a grin.

His smile grew darker, his eyes gleamed.

It seemed like he was eagerly anticipating something.

It was the expression of someone who couldn’t wait for war to break out.

[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Lucky]