Chapter 141: Grilled Fish and Fishmen

Although most elemental creatures are inedible, the Water Elemental Realm is not populated solely by them. For instance, the two large silver fish that the little wolf-girl had just caught were magical beasts. They possessed the ability to control water and shift its shape at will, much like Sherry’s ability to manipulate ice-based weaponry.

Of course, they were significantly weaker. The little wolf-girl was already scurrying about, searching for a spot to build a fire for roasting.

"There is a highland over there," Vinigo kindly reminded her. "Go find some firewood and sticks. I’ll be done here shortly."

Sona floated timidly toward Vinigo and asked, "Can I help?"

"Vampiric Drain won’t be enough; you need this." Vinigo produced a small copper flask and two daggers, tossing them to Sona. "Coat the blades with this."

Sona followed his instructions. Once the daggers were soaked in the bright yellow, viscous liquid, they began to flicker with intense electric arcs.

The daggers were "Lightless Blades" that Vinigo had crafted using his blacksmithing skills. They possessed no inherent magic, specifically so they could be coated with enchanting potions. The potion inside the small copper flask was a "Thunderbolt Potion" purchased from a genuine alchemist under Sir Newton, capable of imbuing weapons with a powerful electric shock effect.

"The effect is quite short-lived, only five minutes," Vinigo warned.

Compared to the standard Thunderbolt Potion, the improved version Vinigo had refined through alchemy was more potent but lasted for a shorter duration. However, what he needed right now was raw explosive power, especially for Sona’s assassin-style combat.

Sona let out a soft sound and vanished from Vinigo’s sight in an instant. Not long after, she darted out from the shadows on the other side, stabbing a young dragon turtle in the neck and knocking it unconscious.

Vinigo gave a shout of approval and rushed over. The Chapter of Ghosts and Gods, combined with his strength enhancement, granted Vinigo giant-like power. He easily dragged the young dragon turtle out of the water and tossed it onto the highland.

"Should we roast this one too?" the little wolf-girl asked excitedly.

"This one doesn't taste good," Vinigo replied with a shake of his head. "I have a use for it. Help me tie it up."

The little wolf-girl took the reinforced rope Vinigo threw at her and vented her frustration on the dragon turtle with a huff. Vinigo chuckled, turned, and dove back into the water.

It was as if he were playing a game; he would dip in and out of the water, occasionally taking the life of some aquatic creature with his short blades or bringing back spoils to the highland.

Ramen was waiting there, ready to provide support. Although it lacked the lightning breath of a normal Sky-Sea Whale, it could still easily launch lethal attacks from mid-air using its unique parasitic tentacles.

Whenever Vinigo obtained valuable loot, Ramen would float down, use its tentacles to take the turtle shells, shark teeth, or crystals Vinigo tossed up, and store them in its saddlebag. Ramen had become quite proficient at this.

It enjoyed this life as a familiar, which required very little movement.

BOOM!

A water spout over ten meters high suddenly erupted from the water. Amidst the scattering spray, a dark shadow lunged forward.

It was a human—or rather, someone who had once been human.

He wore the chainmail and tabard typically favored by the Silver Helm Swordsmen, wielding a longsword in one hand. His eyes were fixed on Vinigo, his hatred undisguised. However, where a human's mouth and nose should have been, the area was now covered in eerie, pulsating bubbles, and several gill-like slits had appeared along the sides of his face.

"A merman?" Vinigo asked. "Hmm, it seems there are some strange little things around the heart as well. Are those used to provide control over water?"

The Silver Helm Swordsman, now transformed into a merman, was clearly startled by how quickly Vinigo had identified his trump cards. Nevertheless, he performed his swordsmanship with textbook precision, thrusting his blade straight toward Vinigo’s heart.

"That kind of swordsmanship isn't enough," Vinigo roared with laughter.

He swung his blade. The Lightless Blade, moving twice as fast as his opponent’s, landed heavily on the spine of the sword. Most professions within the Royal Knights system lacked complex skills; they relied on overwhelming advantages in pure strength, speed, and lethality to crush their enemies.

The Silver Helm Swordsman’s longsword was like a sea snake—treacherous, unpredictable, and as lethal as venom. Yet, every time he moved his arm or twisted his wrist, Vinigo’s short blade would strike the base of his sword spine, often arriving before the swordsman could complete his motion. A few times, he nearly severed the hand gripping the sword.

This made it impossible for the swordsman to utilize his exceptional sword skills.

"Not enough, not enough!" Vinigo shouted. He suddenly slid backward, dodged, and flicked his fingers.

Shuriken.

The Silver Helm Swordsman’s longsword moved with blinding speed, parrying and deflecting the series of invisible shuriken flying toward him. He lunged forward, chasing after Vinigo to continue his onslaught.

However, Vinigo simply kept running, occasionally tossing another set of shuriken to bait the Silver Helm Swordsman’s rage.

Vinigo suddenly stopped. Beneath his feet, a massive burst of airflow agitated the water surface, kicking up a thick mist. Just as the Silver Helm Swordsman’s vision blurred, a chilling sensation of danger came from his left.

Without thinking, he slashed his sword in that direction.

CLANG!

*Oh no!*

The Silver Helm Swordsman immediately realized he had made a mistake—a fatal one. He should have used his superior swordsmanship to deflect Vinigo’s power and find an opening to counterattack. Instead, consumed by rage, he had committed his full strength to a single strike.

And Vinigo had also struck with his full force. In a head-on collision, who would end up at a disadvantage?

Could it possibly be Vinigo, who possessed the Chapter of Ghosts and Gods and strength enhancement?

The longsword flew out of the swordsman’s hand with a metallic ring. Vinigo surged forward, delivering a clean, throat-slitting strike that resolved the conflict instantly.

He shook the blood droplets off his short blade and jumped back onto the highland.

By now, Akana had collected plenty of firewood. Vinigo did not stand on ceremony; using his sharp Lightless Blade, he deftly gutted and cleaned the two large fish. He selected the longest branches to skewer them and set them over the fire.

"Go, go, don't let those guys disturb my roasting," Vinigo told Akana. "While you're at it, find some smaller ones as side dishes. I'll get a stomachache if I only eat one kind of fish."

Akana responded eagerly and dove into the water. Just then, Sona emerged from behind Vinigo, looking at the two large fish and swallowing hard.

Vinigo realized someone had approached and turned around, surprised.

"Can this be roasted? Akana seems to like it quite a bit." Sona carefully held up her hands; she was carrying two white, blade-like creatures.

"You’ve got good luck," Vinigo praised. "Leave them to me."

And so, a battle was transformed by Vinigo and Akana into a picnic.

==The Youth's Picnic==

Akana ate until her mouth was covered in grease, constantly shoving large pieces of roasted fish toward Sona, completely failing to notice the strange expression on the little vampire’s face.

It wasn't until Vinigo saved the little vampire... he flipped the living dragon turtle over and gestured for her to drink its blood. To the little vampire, the blood, rich with water elemental energy, was like a delicious dessert.

"It's fine, just leave it with a breath of life," Vinigo said. "If I don't keep it weakened, the subsequent processing won't be very convenient."

Processing? The little vampire tilted her head, looking at the struggling young dragon turtle in confusion.

Once Sona finished drinking, Vinigo’s "processing" began. He took out a prepared genetic modulation injection and plunged it into the turtle.

The advantage of a dragon turtle was its immense vitality. When in areas rich with water elemental energy, these ferocious aquatic creatures possessed nearly inexhaustible life force.

It was exactly that vitality that Vinigo valued. After the large dose of genetic modulation serum was injected, visible changes began to occur on the turtle's body. Its skin turned bright red, its muscles and veins bulged, and the water elements within its body erupted from its pores like boiling blue mist. Yet, even more water elements flowed into its body with each breath, surging in through its wide-open mouth like a giant blue serpent.

Slowly, the dragon turtle turned an eye-searing, incandescent red. With a *bang*, it exploded into pieces, splashing blood in a huge, radial crimson pattern.

Except for its shell.

Vinigo stepped forward, picked up the shell, and shook it, pouring a small cup of bright red liquid from within. These droplets landed in Vinigo’s hand like beads, refusing to mix together.

"This is..." Sona leaned in, puzzled, a look of intoxication on her face. Vinigo chuckled and poured the beads of liquid toward Sona’s mouth.

Sona swallowed them by reflex. She let out a cry of surprise and then froze in place, unmoving.

Suddenly, Sona’s body shuddered violently, turning ethereal and scattered into a cloud of void-like black mist, before instantly condensing and reforming into her human shape on the other side.

"Nice, a complete success," Vinigo said, clapping his hands.

"What... was that?" Sona asked, confused. "What happened to me?"

"Just an advancement," Vinigo replied nonchalantly. "You could have advanced a long time ago. This was just a key to open the door you hadn't been willing to open until now."

Vampire Lord. Or, if one preferred a more localized translation, Vampire Master—it didn't matter.

An advanced vampire could master the ability to turn into mist and charm others. At the same time, the previously mastered Vampiric Drain and Levitation would see a qualitative improvement.

It had been a bottleneck. Breaking through it naturally revealed much broader horizons.