Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 157: The fight in the forest

Only the rulers have control over the awakening of these special creatures.

"No one can sense our presence this fast. No wonder we were warned to be wary of you, even though I think you’re just a small twig I can step on and smash into the ground. I can’t help but wonder what’s so special about you that our aura alone hasn’t knocked you off your feet," remarked one of the Gaggers, who looked to be their leader, his raspy, thick voice the kind that could scar a small child and give them nightmares.

The Gaggers’ aura had always been overwhelming, and vampires feared them deeply, as their dangerous presence suppressed that of any other creature in the land. They stood at the top of the power chain when it came to strength.

Nonetheless, despite the immense power they held, the Gaggers still only gave respect to the rulers of the land and took any orders given to them. They were the right-hand strength of anyone who sat on the throne.

The leader had felt insulted when he was told to bring more of his kind to get rid of this one vampire—he believed he could have done the job himself.

However, seeing how this man didn’t tremble, didn’t hold an ounce of fear in his eyes as he watched them, made the leader curious and intrigued.

Rohan had expected the king to pull some strings during this hunt, but he had not expected him to send these creatures after him. He glanced up at the sky through the canopy of leaves and saw lightning flashes, then sighed.

"You should really watch the way you talk, Gag. Underestimating a twig might just be the highlight of your downfall. You never know how sharp one can be, step on it wrong, and it might pierce your foot deep enough to ruin your whole life. Tsk. I’m really not in the mood to fight, but if I absolutely must, then don’t drag it out. Bring it on and stop wasting my time."

Rohan was so calm and unbothered that even the Gaggers were stunned enough to exchange looks at his attitude.

The Gaggers, who had been extremely respected and feared through time by everyone, could not believe that a mere pureblood vampire would dare talk to them like this—with arrogance—when he should be begging. But then they had been told that he was mad. Perhaps his madness did not allow him to sense the danger he had fallen into.

"Let Simo take him on. The rest of you stand back. It’s quite unfair of all of us to gather on a twig," ordered the leader to his comrade as he watched Rohan, his voice thick with the ancient accent.

"Your arrogance is amazing, madman. It makes me wonder if your madness has clouded your sense of danger. I heard you killed our previous rulers?" said the leader as he beckoned for the Gagger named Simo to take position and prepare to get rid of the mad vampire.

Meanwhile, Rohan began to roll up his shirtsleeves with a smirk playing on his face.

"Why is it that everyone can’t seem to take the fact that I fucking killed them and move on from it? I killed them, so?" He arched a brow at the leader, his eyes filled with boredom.

"Kill him," the leader ordered through gritted teeth as he stood back to watch how this arrogant man would be brought down. Their orders were simple: they were to kill him and bring back his head.

"He has black eyes. Interesting," Simo mused as he pulled out a massive, double-edged blade from the leather strap hooked around his waist. The metal shimmered faintly under the dim light, jagged at the edges like it had tasted flesh too many times. He swirled it around his hand with ease, as though it weighed nothing, then began to approach Rohan.

Rohan’s dark eyes zeroed in when the creature came at him with a swing of his large sword, moving with the speed of light that would have been nearly impossible to evade. But with even faster reflexes than the creature, he shifted to the side and then used his leg to slam into the side of the creature’s stomach, his strength so great that it made the mighty man stagger on his feet, though he did not fall.

Simo exchanged a surprised look with their leader, who was watching from the side, clearly taken aback by the force of the kick that had nearly thrown him off balance. He turned back to Rohan, his expression turning murderous.

"It seems I underestimated your strength and came at you with a baby step. Let’s get into a real fight."

Simo moved with greater speed this time, a blur of motion that Rohan didn’t see coming—until the man used the edge of his big sword to jab at his head and sent him crashing with force against a tree.

The impact was so strong the thick trunk groaned beneath the collision, shaking violently as its leaves came swaying and rustling down to the ground. Rohan felt a warm trickle down his forehead. He touched his fingers to it and saw the dark liquid that was his blood smeared on his gloved hand. It rolled slowly down his lid and onto his cheek.

He’d never fought with anyone with such brute strength before, and instead of sensing danger, he found himself laughing softly as he pushed up from the ground with a grin.

"Ouch. That was a kick, but how about this—"

Rohan moved, flipping in the air with effortless grace, and then landed behind Simo. Before the mighty man could turn and strike again, Rohan spread his wings wide and with one powerful sweep, he slammed them into Simo. The blow was fierce, stronger than any punch, and it lifted the massive Gagger clean off his feet, sending him soaring through the air like a ragdoll.

He crashed into a thick tree trunk with a loud, splitting clash that bent the tree backwards, bark cracking and splintering under the weight of the impact. The force of it left a dent in the bark, and Simo groaned as he dropped to the ground in a heap.

The leader was visibly taken aback as he watched the wings, the enormous, shadowy wings, that the mad vampire had opened and used against Simo.

"What are you?" the leader demanded, never seeing or hearing of a vampire with wings.

"I am the man who will kill you." Rohan smirked.

The fight spiraled out of proportion once they realized the king had sent them in this number for a reason. It turned out this vampire was not normal.

The leader sent the rest of his men to join Simo, who had already recovered from the previous blow, while he watched from the sidelines as the vampire fought them off, evading their hits with fluid movements. Though their blows occasionally caught him off guard and injured him, he rose every time with vengeance burning in his eyes, determined to fight back.

It was after he took down the four Gaggers, stabbing one through the stomach with the creature’s own sword, that Rohan truly understood he was in a fight against enemies who didn’t seem to want to die... or even stay injured for more than a second before lunging at him again.

Gaggers were infamous for their fast healing. Even when Rohan managed to stab or strike any one of them, they stood back up as if nothing had happened, returning to battle with relentless fury and energy that looked unreal.

And to make matters worse, he was far from being in his best condition. The more he used his wings to fight, the more weakened and sluggish his movements became, his strength slowly draining, his body growing clumsier with each heavy beat of his wings.

Just when he would blow and hit one, the other would come at him from behind. He fought with his hands and legs and wings, hitting and cutting them at whatever opportunity he got. The king had well prepared for this—he had sent creatures known for their loyalty and stubbornness. Once given orders, they would not leave unless they killed him, and dying he could not afford.

Rohan was fighting head-on with Simo again when he felt the piercing of a sharp, cold blade slide into his stomach from the side.

He let go of the grip he had on Simo’s neck and staggered back as blood began to ooze out of the deep wound. He looked down at the gash, and for the first time in a long while, the pain wasn’t dull—like it usually was for him.

Normally, there was always something inside him that dulled the pain of any injury he sustained, but it seemed his already weakened body had deteriorated enough that the pain wasn’t numb this time around. He felt it sharply, just like he did when that witch had used her voodoo on him.

Rohan was still staring at the wound when another cut came at him unexpectedly—this time slicing across his upper arm. He almost flinched at the sudden pain, then gritted his teeth. The cold sting of the blade against his flesh pulled at a memory he had long buried and never wanted to recall.

Not wanting to be cut again, he began watching the movements of his opponents carefully. The only way to kill this creature was by getting rid of its head. And Rohan, with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes, silently calculated his next move as they began to circle him like predators.

That was when a loud gunshot rang out, echoing through the trees—closely followed by a female scream.

His head jerked toward the sound in alarm. There was no mistaking it. But turning away from the Gaggers to the direction of the scream was a mistake, one that cost him dearly. He was stabbed again, this time so forcefully that the sword stuck out from his back.

Rohan barely felt the pain, because he recognized the scream. He would know that voice anywhere. It belonged to his wife.

His sharp senses, despite the cotton still packed in his ears, did not fail him. He had heard her scream.

Gritting his teeth, Rohan grabbed the hilt of the sword and, with one sharp, agonized tug, pulled it from his stomach and wrenched it from the Gagger’s grip. Then, using his wings to lift himself off the ground, he twisted and used that very sword to rip the head off the creature who had stabbed him.

He didn’t stop there.

He moved again, fast and furious, and before the next Gagger could see it coming, his head was rolling on the ground as well. He killed the four of them, leaving only the leader, who now stood watching him with disbelief widening his eyes.

But when Rohan reached to do the same to the last of them, the creature revealed himself to be more powerful than all four combined.

Just like the vampires, Gaggers were ranked as well by their powers. They had the normal ones, and then the purebloods, those who came directly from the first makers. The ones he’d killed were the normal ones, and their leader was a pureblood.

He transformed before Rohan’s eyes into a mighty beast and then leapt forward, grabbing Rohan by the wing.

With brute strength, he flung him against a tree.

"I have really underestimated you, Duke. You are more powerful than I thought. But killing my men will cost you your head," the Gagger snarled. Now in the form of a monstrous, beast-like wolf, he towered above any man, his height almost the size of an elephant, casting a terrifying shadow on the ground.