Chapter 74:

“Come on!” On top of the ash-covered city dome, Lumina, who had already activated her abilities, arrogantly made a taunting gesture towards the vampire in front of her after dropping her hunting rifle. The latter was almost instantly provoked, baring its fangs and pouncing towards her with movements too fast for her to even perceive. At this stage, the individual strength of the little players is still not enough compared to the servants of these patriarchs’ guards, even if weakened by the Daylight Potions. These guys, at the Black Iron rank, can overwhelm the players with their attributes and absolute strength. Ah, I am going to die again. But this time, being dragged down is less embarrassing than the last time when she disgracefully fell to her death. Thinking this, she simply closed her eyes and waved her sword randomly. But the next second, three consecutive gunshots came from midair, causing her to open her eyes again. She then saw a huge pair of bat wings descending from the sky. After that, an elegant and graceful sliding assault left afterimages, allowing the crimson stabbing sword to bite into the opponent’s neck like a venomous snake. It was simply an elegant yet breathtaking slaughter. In less than five seconds, the ferocious but weakened creature fell in front of her. Lady Adele, having retracted her wings, executed it brutally by driving her claws into its chest and digging out its heart. Originating from the rare template given by Murphy during her initial embrace, Lady Adele was far superior to ordinary warriors at the Black Iron rank. Not to mention her half-elf bloodline granted her greater night agility than ordinary vampires. The vampire at her feet turned into a twisted statue amidst its dying screams. After this cruel permanent execution, this lady, holding the pulsating crimson heart, stood up, glanced at the stunned Lumina, and shook her head, saying: “You still need to practice your sword skills, warrior. If the Shadow Sword Chanters of the Mejeva family saw your unsightly form just now, they would laugh their teeth out.” “Wow, was that just the elven sword art? It’s so cool with the built-in blink!” Longing appeared in Lumina’s eyes. But Lady Adele had no time to talk more with this “elf fanatic” now. She stepped back, retracted her wings, and leapt down from the fire platform like a Leap of Faith. This was her first kill. To make a request to her lord Murphy, she needed at least five. Hopefully, dawn would come a little later, allowing her to fulfill her own last wish before completely becoming Murphy’s descendant. Inside the Dark House, the vampires were being badly beaten, not only were they struck down from the sky, but they were also surrounded and kicked by the excited little players who had triggered battle frenzy. However, this was only the surface. The players and the Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force could only stop the lower-ranking vampires. The true higher-ranking vampires, that is, six out of the seven patriarchs’ guards besides Jed who was being kept occupied by the little lady, had already fled. These guys had unlocked more racial powers at the White Silver rank. The boost they received in the night was far stronger than individual Black Iron ranks. In fact, as long as they were determined enough, the little players’ formation could not harm any of them. But the more powerful these guys were, the more they cared about their lives. Especially since they had just escaped from the hellish Blood Vulture Halls and become like startled birds. It was impossible for them to go back and fight desperately again. They decisively sold out their own subordinates to buy time for their safe escape, since those servants were meant to be used as cannon fodder when being turned in the Blood Vulture Halls anyway. Would any vampire elder really be willing to put themselves in danger for the safety of their subordinates? Probably not, right? However, their escape was not smooth sailing either. As soon as a few of them landed outside Kadman City ruins, intending to sneak into the survivor camps for some “snacks” to recover a bit of strength, they were immediately entangled by the eruption of natural spirit magic. The spirit illusions of the forests and green woodlands enveloped them in an instant, dragging them into the hunting illusion set up in advance by the Witch Hunters. “The hunters have been waiting for a long time!” Natalie, acting as the temporary commander, drew the two war daggers from her waist with crossed arms. Her wrists moved, producing a whistling sound, while the other elite Witch Hunters hid within this natural spirit illusion formed woodland, their home turf. Such a large-scale spirit illusion would only be used when hunting high-ranking vampires like these. “Kill them!” The white-haired vampire who had previously flirted with Jed waved her hideous claws. Three of the higher-ranking vampires beside her immediately charged in different directions. She went straight for Natalie. This gray-haired Witch Hunter, a mere Black Iron small fry, dared to talk big! “Bang” A gunshot rang out from the woodland illusion behind Natalie, and the scorching deer bullet swept across a wide area in front, forcing the charging female vampire to agilely retreat several steps in surprise as she looked ahead. Then, she saw Major Frayzer, dressed in the uniform of a Goldflower Kingdom lieutenant colonel, stride out from the illusion with a cold expression. He was still holding a gray-gold double-barreled trench gun that was clearly a dwarven masterwork, a brutal weapon with two gun barrels and an axe-blade bayonet, each barrel wide enough to fit an infant’s fist. “Click” The major coolly loaded the deer bullet with a slick motion. Under Natalie’s bewildered gaze, he shrugged and said: “Battalion Commander Finoch insists bullets can’t deal with vampires. I beg to differ. General Loren taught us to find answers through actual combat, so, sorry. May I borrow your prey for a firepower experiment?” “Why are you in the hunting illusion?” Natalie asked sternly: “You’re a non-combatant!” “Ah, you guys activated the illusion too suddenly. I couldn’t get out,” the major said with a headache. “Max! Put your weapon away!” The vampire had realized something was off. He gripped the rapier of the same style at his waist and turned to face Maxim, who had taken the opening stance of the Blood Vulture Sword Arts, saying: “Don’t be foolish!” Maxim’s response to this final warning was... To charge! “Clang” The two blades clashed in an instant. Maxim’s charge was easily blocked by the vampire Arthur, who was renowned for his brute strength even before the initial embrace, and had clearly been enhanced in power after becoming a vampire. The immense force of their crossed weapons sent sparks flying along the blades as they faced each other just outside the desolate village. Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Those crimson eyes stared at the masked face before them, but could still see the disappointed yet fiery eyes through the gap. “You rigged the lottery, didn’t you?” Maxim said hoarsely: “It should have been you leading the eight Blood Thralls to support Lord Murphy. You know in Jed’s eyes, we lower Blood Servants are less than human. You know the outcome of that trip. But you still chose to push me out!” He was met with silence and a sudden surge of killing intent. As Arthur thrust his arm forward, Maxim was pushed back. He then shifted his stance to steady himself again, sword tip lowered. “Isn’t surviving a good thing?” Arthur’s Blood Wings spread and folded behind him. In the increasingly cold wind, a few tumbleweeds rolled carelessly past the two as the now fully-fledged vampire Arthur said in a deep voice: “Why dwell on unpleasant things? You don’t know how happy I was to see you alive, my monster brother.” “No, I don’t blame you.” Maxim advanced again to attack. The Blood Vulture Sword Arts he had broken through to master in life-and-death battles flashed deadly brilliance in the night, but it was not fatal to a vampire. After all, it was only a basic sword art. And now, still empowered by the night, Arthur, though only a “vampire baby” born seven days ago, could easily react to Maxim’s sword strikes through sheer instinct. “I should even thank you! It seems like stabbing your ‘monster’ brother in the back allowed us both to find what we craved. You gained Jed’s favor. And I found a true lord worthy of my loyalty, giving value to my devotion that had nowhere to be pledged.” Maxim’s voice grew louder, his attacks more frantic. Across from him, Arthur remained silent until Maxim had vented his thoughts. He then suddenly broke through Maxim’s sword stance with one strike aimed at his shoulder, as if intending to stop Maxim’s “suicidal actions” with this blow. However, this seemingly inevitable strike was dodged by Maxim’s bizarre sliding steps. In the next instant, he blinked to Arthur’s side and struck, the whistling blade knocking off Arthur’s elaborate crimson helmet and sending it spinning away to hit the ground. A strand of Arthur’s vampire hair and a few drops of fresh blood also flew out. “I really don’t blame you, brother.” Maxim retracted his stance. Before Arthur’s astonished gaze, he gripped the sword in one hand and held it level in front of his body. Behind him, the first rays of dawn slowly appeared, and the still cold wind howled past their armor and hair. “This battle has no personal vendettas. You simply have to complete Jed’s orders, while I must remain loyal to my lord. That’s all.” The loyal servant adjusted his mask and said deeply: “Arthur, only one of us brothers will leave here alive. Please, take this seriously!” “You monster!” The instant the vampire saw the dawn, he realized Maxim had lured him into a trap. This guy had been stalling with strange words to negate Arthur’s night advantage. Arthur felt deceived, Maxim had never been so cunning before! It seemed he wasn’t the only one who had transformed over the past seven days. The anger from his heart, perhaps mixed with guilt and humiliation at having his trick exposed, finally made him hold nothing back. Drawing his sword, he advanced with the more dangerous Tomb Guard Sword Arts, confident he could kill Maxim with this style personally taught by Lord Jed. However, after five consecutive strikes missed their mark, Arthur’s premonition of doom grew stronger. In the next instant, Maxim countered with the same Tomb Guard stance but clearly more skilled, piercing Arthur’s left shoulder with one strike. The blade slid, and blood gushed out. “You! How can you...” “Ah, Lord Murphy taught me! He values me and has nurtured me to his fullest, giving me not only hope but wisdom. My lord is far more generous than that dog Jed, I told you Arthur. Get serious! My brother. Otherwise... You will die!”