Chapter 41: Late Night Hunting

IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE!

Before I say anything, I would like to greatly apologize from the bottom of my heart.

I deleted the last chapter because it was brought to my attention that it did not make sense for what I had established in the story. Just forget that chapter ever happened. I beg for your forgiveness, I truly let you down. But please, if you ever find any problems, don't be afraid to let me know, I'm always open to and even greatly appreciate feedback criticism and I'm always looking to improve. My goal is to give you the best story I can and nothing else. Thank you to those who have supported me all this time, that truly means the world to me and motivates me unlike anything else. I truly appreciate every single one of you.

And with that being said, here is the rewritten, new chapter, I hope you enjoy it...

************************

The night-time, stary sky felt brighter than usual, yet Alucard could not peer up at it through the thick layer of trees where he laid. The air was calming, nothing but the sound of forest ambiance and night-time crickets.

He slept in a small dip on the ground with a book in hand, looking up and trying his best to read the pages. Despite the complete lack of light, he had no problems reading it considering his night-vision.

The flowery grass all around him had a refreshing scent, and his head felt more comfortable resting on the grass than on his dorm-room pillow which seemed like a rock in comparison.

He hadn't felt more relaxed in a very long time, the bustling city was filled with much headache and anxiety, but out in the forest near the main path around the outskirts of the city, it was like a whole new world.

"Luck, do you see anyone yet?" Alucard whispered, casually looking up at the book he had in hand, the same one he had borrowed from Havel when they had first met.

"Not yet my lord…" Luck yawned a tired response.

It was the second day that they had been camping the same area late at night, yet nothing seemed to be showing up.

In those two days, Alucard had told Havel that he would not be returning to the library for quite some time.

The sudden break was all due to two major reasons, and luckily for him, he felt like his reading abilities were more than good enough for now. the first reason was that in the coming days, there would be a special event at the guild that he certainly did not want to miss, and in order to take advantage of it, a silver rank needed to be attained, two ranks above his current copper.

However, that was not the main problem. No, it was all due to his sudden hunger for blood. Alucard had assumed that he had more than enough time until the next time he was forced to feed, after all, the first time he went into a frenzy he lasted weeks without the taste of human blood. But now, in less than seven days, he felt that hunger crawling ever so closer towards him once more.

To him, it made no sense and it interfered with his planning and organization. The only reason he could conclude was that his lack of sleep and immense mental fatigue over the past few study days were the culprits and it had greatly sped up his need for blood.

It was not something overwhelming, he could more than control it with ease, but the fact it was even there was reason enough for Alucard to hunt before it got out of hand.

At first, he tried to satisfy his hunger by hunting wild animals, but that soon proved ineffective, so he quickly changed his plans, which was why he sat where he did today.

Finding a meal within the city would be too risky, and Alucard was not willing to take such a massive risk. So, every night for the past two days, he and Luck sat in the exact same spot near the main, slightly lit road, a place that after many hours of scouting the area, concluded would be the most likely place to wait for some sort of bandits to arrive due to the hilly nature were cover was easily found.

Considering the state of the city, Alucard assumed that it would not be too long until he found someone, but seeing how things had been going for the past two days, that certainly did not seem like the case.

'Maybe we need to switch hiding spots…' He sighed, pondering to himself.

"My lord… I'm sorry if this is not my place to ask, but why would we not attack unarmed villagers, travellers or caravans, we had seen much of them isolated." Luck whispered.

"Simple, I'm really in no rush and I'd rather fill myself up with quality blood. Innocent villagers and merchants are probably weak, their blood would be of lower quality while the bandits would be stronger. The stronger the opponent, the better quality blood it is… Anything else is not worth my time since it wouldn't really satisfy my needs for long and I'd much rather spend it reading. Besides, bandits are nobodies, no one would bat an eye if they're gone…" Alucard casually spoke, flipping through a page of his book.

To Alucard, his reasoning made sense. However, at the same time, he could not help but feel like a part of him was fighting to convince himself it was more sound in comparison to Luck's suggestion.

"I see… it makes sense to me now… I thought you were having mercy on these humans... Thank you for enlightening me,"

"Well, Luck, that is also part of the reason in the end. I'd rather not take my chances with that kind of thing unless absolutely necessary. For all we know, this world is predominantly ruled by humans and we would be forced to live amongst their ranks. It would be a good idea to not risk trouble and even build up a good reputation,"

"You know… I never thought of it like that…" Luck replied, his previous half-asleep eyes wide in realization. "I re—"

"Shhhh…"

But before Luck could continue what he had to say, he was promptly interrupted by his lord.

"I think I hear something coming this way…"

It was a familiar sound that he had heard many times before, the sound of wheels rolling and bumping on a hard surface. However, this time it was accompanied by another sound, one far more subtle… It was the sound of footsteps...

"Luck, fly up and don't come down unless absolutely necessary, understood?" Alucard whispered, and with nothing but a look of acknowledgement, the dimly lit Luck did as he was told, flying high up in the sky.

Alucard closed his book and put it away, yet he did not move from his position where no light would reach. He waited patiently still, not even taking a single breath as he heard the sound of footsteps in the forest and the rolling wheels approaching ever louder.

In that entire time, he spoke nothing but a single word that he mumbled in a low breath. [ Nightstalker…], a new spell from his vampire class that reduced his visibility at night. It did not make him invisible, but with it, he was much better able to camouflage within the darkness and disappear from anyone other than the keen-eyed.

As he waited still as a pebble on the side of the road, he noticed a slight light in the distance from whatever vehicle was approaching, and not too long after did he notice the sound of footsteps growing even louder, and a figure suddenly bursting out from behind him, jumping straight over him to land directly on the small hill to his right.

Although the enemy was mere meters away, Alucard remained unmoving, and only when the carriage drew even nearer did he find it safe to finally move, crouching to peer up at his target as the sound of his movements were drowned out by the rolling wheels.

He could not help but inwardly smile under his expressionless mask. He could not believe his luck, it seemed like his patience had paid off in full. Yet, that did not mean that he could be careless or that it was going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination, strategy and using his night-time advantages were imperative for success.

Ahead of him was a hooded man dressed in all black, crouched down overlooking the lit, main road with a sword in hand, completely oblivious to the man behind him who was bathed in the night-time dark where that light did not reach. To Alucard, it was clear that they planned an ambush, and he was certainly not alone.

His window of opportunity was slowly closing, and Alucard had to act quickly. Yet, there was no panic in his movements, almost like he was a trained predator. He sharpened his mind and dampened his steps, slowly approaching his target, knowing exactly when to strike...