As soon as the vampire's body fell at his feet, Vicente used what little mana he had left to store the corpse in his spatial ring.
Vampires weren't just terrible when they were alive. Their bodies were precious. That was particularly true for the bodies of noble vampires, i.e. those born into the race.
That seemed to be the case with Vicente's enemy creature!
How could a vampire's body be used? Well, there were several uses for it.
They could be used as a high-level marionette. Their blood could be collected and used as a magical essence to strengthen beings of practically all races. Scholars, theorists, and doctors could study their bodies to improve the knowledge of these types of magicians. Their bones and teeth could be used as components of enchantments. Their skin could be used as components of highly resistant magical garments. Ultimately, each of a vampire's organs had different uses for alchemists, and beasts could benefit greatly from devouring the rest of their bodies.
In a way, the bodies of vampires had as many uses for magicians as the bodies of cows on Earth had for humanity!
There were so many different applications that Vicente couldn't leave that valuable body behind!
'Congratulations, master. With this victory, you will reach a higher level.' Torne commented as he felt not only his own exhaustion but also that of Vicente. 'You and other High-level Mages can use this vampire's blood. Each magician who consumes this blood can raise their magic level in a few weeks.
You can remove the vampire's organs to produce 3rd-grade pills and potions and use the teeth, nails, skin, and bones to create artifacts for the family and the remaining meat for Onyx. That bird will probably approach the 5th stage with such a body and some time sleeping.'
Beasts didn't meditate. They ate food or resources especially rich in mana and then slept until they had absorbed all the power of their food.
'Hmm, this will really help us a bit. I'll share this blood with Rory, Nova, and some of my men in Saltstar City.'
As much as he liked Layla and Nova, he knew that his family needed people around to make a difference for them.
Layla could be sent out of the kingdom at any time, so he wasn't sure if he should use that resource on her. She would still serve her group even if she were far away, but he didn't think it was the best time for her to get involved with the Congregation of Revelations headquarters. The same went for Jasmine.
As for Nova, she would at most be sent to the kingdom's capital if she continued to progress, which was not out of Vicente's plans. So he intended to help her in order to be helped back by her in the short term.
With that in mind, he sighed as he saw the chaos in his surroundings, noting that he had destroyed a little more of Saltstar City than he would have liked.
Unfortunately, the enemy was so terrible that he had to use all his power to eliminate the vampire!
'I'll have to give some resources to the local forces.' He thought as he looked at the ruined buildings, flooded streets, and many sounds of innocent people injured or worried about their relatives.
He regretted this situation, but it was out of his control. A vampire and a powerful group had attacked his family in the middle of the city!
Anyway, he wouldn't stand there for long. Soon he would return to the front of his property, where he imagined he would have to justify himself to many people today. But he wouldn't even have to get to his house to face people full of questions. Halfway there, a group led by Jasmine would appear in front of him.
"Vicente, did you make it?" Jasmine asked as the nobles and some soldiers in the surrounding area looked at him strangely.
"Yes, the vampire is dead." He confirmed the city's victory, making some of his allies there sigh in relief.
But then, one of the nobles there, a local Marquis, asked. "Where is his body?"
"It's with me." Vicente turned his attention to the man.
"Can we see?" A Count asked as he clenched his fists.
"No." Vicente smiled. I killed him and prevented him from causing any more disasters in this city, so he belongs to me. I will compensate the city's losses because of this battle, but the vampire's corpse will stay with me."
Those nobles didn't like it, and one of them said. "That's wrong. That's not fair, Vicente... Oh, by the way, should I call you Vicente Fuller or Cesar Mazzanti?"
Everyone else had noticed Vicente's powers and associated his identity with that of the criminal wanted for murdering a 4th stage soldier in Millfall and breaking into a prison.
Vicente already knew this would happen since his pentagram configuration and powers couldn't be used publicly without people noticing.
He smiled momentarily, seeing that at least some of those people didn't seem to fear him.
"You will all sign agreements with me and keep confidential how we eliminate the vampire today." He said in a somber tone as his murderous intent appeared in the air.
"Otherwise, I'm afraid the kingdom will face another significant threat before The Purification." He was pretty clear, not bothering to threaten many of these people with whom he had already done business before that day.
"Vicente!"
"Would you?" Asked one of the Counts there while all those nobles, their trusted subordinates, and some of the soldiers there fretted, already putting their hands on their weapons.
Jasmine broke out in a cold sweat, seeing that the situation had developed in a direction she hadn't expected.
In the midst of this, Nova felt under pressure, sensing that this was their decisive moment.
She stepped forward and said aloud. "All the soldiers here will follow what Vicente is saying. That is my order."
The soldiers who were part of the faction she had already created lowered their tempers while the others looked at Nova strangely.
"Commander, you..."
Vicente then raised his tone while making these less obedient soldiers close their mouths, immobilizing them. "You have no choice. Would you rather die or ally yourselves with someone who can protect you during The Purification? Those who sign the agreement with me will be guaranteed a place in my metal city. Not only that, I will provide each of you with a pill or potion derived from the vampire's organs."
Some were tempted by Vicente's offer, as now the metal city seemed more indispensable than ever, and they could see the potential for Vice in such a place. Meanwhile, a single pill or potion from that vampire's body could help them grow stronger, get closer to breakthroughs, or even save their lives in desperation.
But some of them had not yet been conquered and believed that they could gain more by standing against Vicente at that moment.
"That can't happen. You can't act against us, Vicente! How will you be when the royal forces find out? Are you going to kill us all? Humph! You may have the power, but you can't get away with this!"
"Is that so?" Vicente looked in the direction of that bold Count. "I think the vampire we faced here might have killed you..."
"What?" The man exclaimed without understanding.
But then his body exploded, showing everyone how serious Vicente was!
