Chapter 753: I’ll Kill Alucard and Come Back Alive
"Good. Then let’s discuss why we lost."
Nikolai’s words extinguished the remaining whispers. He didn’t raise his voice or release his aura. Instead, he leaned back against the Patriarch’s chair and watched the people seated around the enormous circular table.
However, nobody answered immediately... their eyes shifting constantly, gazing at the person beside them like someone trying to cheat in an exam.
Finally, one of the older werewolves cleared his throat.
"We misjudged Alucard, thinking that his power would be lacking; we were caught off guard and lost a great deal of manpower."
"That’s the most obvious answer..."
The old man’s brow twitched.
Nikolai continued before offence could take root in the old man’s heart. "I’m not insulting you. I misjudged him too. I fought that bastard before and still underestimated what an Ancestor of his age could really do."
His gaze moved to Ivan.
His father remained heavily bandaged beneath his dark clothes, yet unlike several others around the table, he didn’t look ashamed of their defeat.
"We expected a powerful vampire," Nikolai continued. "Instead, we faced someone capable of rebuilding his forces during battle, creating clones, controlling the terrain with blood and overwhelming several Great Elders without exhausting himself."
A murmur travelled around the chamber.
"Then what are you suggesting?" another council member asked. "That we abandon the eastern territories?"
"No! How could I do that...?"
Nikolai’s fingers tapped against the table while grinding his fangs.
"We already abandoned the outpost because holding rubble for pride would’ve killed more people. That’s different from surrendering territory and giving up, and there was no value left in that outpost after the battle. No, we need something new to aim for."
Several expressions changed.
Yet Nikolai couldn’t tell whether they supported him or were just hesitant to speak.
One elderly vampire finally spoke from farther down the table.
"And if he attacks again before we recover? Our allies are in ruins, with even Lord Dimitri and Lord Vladimir remaining injured. Lord Ivan has barely left the treatment hall, while Lord Viktor..."
"My Grandfather will not be taking part in the battle, nor returning as Patriarch." Nikolai snarled at the old man, clearly unhappy with such a young lord.
Nikolai glanced towards Viktor before continuing.
"I heard the rumours before entering this room. If anyone believes changing Patriarchs will somehow erase one hundred and thirty-four deaths or make Alucard weaker, speak now."
"Ah... but don’t forget..."
Crack!
His aura instantly increased at an alarming rate, creating dense pressure that enveloped everyone in the room. Many faces turned ashen upon facing the energy of an Ancestor, much worse... a Hybrid’s energy.
’Of course they shut up now.’
Nikolai exhaled slowly.
"This is something those bastards have planned for decades, maybe longer... it is not something we can defeat or counter with some cheap tricks. We need to accept the truth, no matter how bitter it is... we became too comfortable in our easy wins against them."
This time, even the elders remained quiet.
"We reacted to their movements, defended where they attacked and assumed our strongest fighters could clean up whatever remained."
Nikolai placed a hand upon the map spread across the table.
"That ends today."
His finger settled over the western territories.
"We stop waiting for Alucard to choose the battlefield."
Several gazes immediately shifted towards the map.
Nikolai dragged his finger away from the destroyed outpost and slowly traced the western districts.
"If we rebuild the same way we did before, he’ll simply choose another weak point and repeat what happened. What’s worse is that now he knows what Ivan, Dimitri, Vladimir and several of our strongest fighters can do."
Ivan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"So you want to attack him first?"
"Yes, but we cannot launch a blind assault, and now that they’ve turtled together on that little island of theirs, it will be a difficult endeavour."
"That’s exactly what he’d expect."
A few elders exchanged glances.
One of the council representatives leaned forward. "Then what are you proposing, Patriarch?"
"We make his greatest advantage useless."
Nikolai tapped the map again.
"Alucard fought like someone who didn’t care how many soldiers died because every corpse became another weapon. If we throw thousands of men at him, we’re feeding him."
The atmosphere became heavier.
Even his knights standing behind him remained silent.
"So smaller forces?" someone asked.
"Yes, a small, elite force composed of nobody below the Great Elder rank. Ideally, it would be Ancestors only... but that’s a luxury we don’t have, along with time..."
Nikolai leaned back with a brief sigh and then began to explain.
"While the strike force makes way to the island, the rest of our forces will swoop through the entirety of S-City and devour all possible locations, wipe out any enemy forces and take complete control before reinforcing the port and coastline."
Though many members seemed more accepting of the idea, Nikolai kept his goal clear.
"We force the Nosferatu to defend ten places instead of attacking one. We make Alucard decide which forces are worth saving, and every time he chooses one..."
Nikolai moved several markers across the map.
"...we take something elsewhere."
Several council members lowered their gazes towards the map, following the markers Nikolai had moved across S-City.
It wasn’t complicated.
Rather than concentrating everything on Alucard and allowing the Nosferatu to dictate the flow of battle, they would force them to choose between protecting their remaining territory and reinforcing the island.
"But the strike force..." One of the older Tepes vampires frowned. "Even if everyone is above Great Elder, how many people could possibly fight against Alucard after what happened at the outpost?"
"Not many."
Nikolai didn’t bother pretending otherwise; even the Great Elders here were mostly garbage, old men who gained power while sitting on their asses.
"And that’s exactly why I don’t want fifty or a hundred people following me onto that island."
"You intend to go personally?"
Several voices rose as if they didn’t expect this, which confused Nikolai, who glanced at the people making a fuss. He tilted his head and stroked his jawline, a little amused by how they spoke and complained.
"Who else?"
"You are the Patriarch!"
"Exactly."
He leaned forward, resting both forearms against the table.
"If I’m asking our strongest people to walk into the Nosferatu’s stronghold, then I’m not sitting safely inside the mansion while they do it for me. Especially when I am one of the strongest fighters we have here... I am not picking those who have achieved Great Elder through laziness. Only those who have reached it by fighting, enduring and striving to become stronger."
A few expressions became complicated, some approving while others clearly thought he was insane.
"Who goes is up to me." Nikolai spread his arms.
"I’ll go."
"No."
Nikolai answered so quickly that even his father looked surprised.
Ivan’s eyes narrowed.
"I’m capable of fighting."
"You can barely move your left shoulder without reopening the wounds on your chest."
"That won’t stop me."
"And that’s why I’m stopping you. Your power is needed elsewhere. Father, to capture the entirety of S-City, you are vital to leading them all."
A tense silence followed.
Nikolai stared directly at his father without yielding.
"We just spoke about becoming too reliant on our strongest elders. If every battle requires you, Dimitri, Vladimir and Grandfather to carry us, then nothing has or will ever change. It is time for the new blood to step up, instead of hiding behind your broad shoulders."
Ivan remained silent for several seconds before slowly leaning back.
"Can you do it?"
’...Dad...’
"I can."
Arguing with his father in front of the entire council wasn’t how Nikolai wanted to begin this operation. But he also wanted to earn his father’s acceptance and approval first, before anyone else he valued Ivan’s opinion.
"Understood, I will do as the Patriarch says."
"Ivan?" Even Viktor looked quite shocked that his son stepped down and submitted to his grandson.
Nikolai glanced towards the six knights standing behind him.
"Do not apply for this mission if you aren’t willing to fight to the death. Don’t worry, you will not be punished for refusing this mission."
A few annoyed grunts echoed around the room.
Nikolai ignored them.
"I’ll select the remaining members based on ability, not family name or seniority. We need people capable of surviving Alucard’s blood arts, breaking through large numbers quickly and retreating without becoming liabilities."
"And the objective?" Viktor asked.
Nikolai’s gaze returned to the small island marked beyond S-City’s coastline.
"The objective is simple. We destroy whatever they’ve prepared there, cripple the Nosferatu forces and force Alucard into a battle where he cannot hide behind an army of corpses."
His fingertip pressed against the centre of the island.
"And then I’ll kill him."
The chamber became silent enough for Nikolai to hear the slight changes in their breathing.
One elder frowned. "Patriarch... even if you succeed, escaping afterwards—"
"I know."
Nikolai slowly rose from his chair.
"I’m not planning some glorious suicide mission. I have wives waiting for me, newborn children I’ve barely held and an entire clan depending on me."
His eyes shifted towards Ivan, then Viktor, before sweeping across every face surrounding the table.
"So understand this clearly."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I’m going to that island."
His black blood stirred beneath his skin, filling the chamber with a subtle pressure.
"I’ll kill Alucard."
Nikolai tapped the map once more.
"And then I’m coming home alive."