Chapter 82: Encirclement

While events unfolded in the sewers, the Nightblades outside continued their operation methodically without missing a beat. Compared to the city guards, who were rather hit-or-miss, even the lowest-ranking Nightblades exhibited unwavering discipline and obedience.

Despite the lack of immediate results from the chlorine gas, no one grew impatient or voiced their doubts. The soldiers stood in formation, ready and waiting. The mages sustained their spellcasting, pouring dense clouds of yellow-green corrosive gas steadily into the sewer entrances.

Wang Yu, Edward, and the squad leader formed a triangular formation at the forefront. Nearly two hours had passed, and the sun was at its zenith, blazing in the midday sky. Perhaps this was the ideal time to face off against vampires.

Expression grim and his ripples fully engaged, Wang Yu kept a vigilant eye on the situation within the sewers. After two hours of concentrated chlorine gas injection, unless the enemy had escaped through some extraordinary means, they were undoubtedly suffering significant damage.

If they didn't come out to fight now, it would mean either that they had fled or that they were preparing some other strategy. For the former, Wang Yu was ready to continue the purge until nightfall before conducting a thorough cleanup. For the latter, he remained on high alert.

Maintaining absolute focus for two hours was no challenge for Wang Yu. If necessary, he could keep it up indefinitely. Soon enough, he discovered just how justified his caution was.

A blood-red figure appeared at a bend in the sewers in range of his ripples. With black bat's wings, the figure transformed into a crimson blur and shot right out.

Startled, Wang Yu activated his Bloodburn Drive without hesitation. The sudden surge in his physical abilities barely allowed him to capture the appearance of the red figure—a being cloaked in blood, its eyes faintly glowing. Those eyes showed no trace of emotion, only boundless bloodlust and malice.

Its skin, entirely blood-red, resembled human flesh in texture but was pitted and writhing as if regenerating. Its bat-like wings were similarly riddled with small corrosive holes, which were slowly being filled by creeping threads of blood. Despite its incredible speed, this creature was ultimately one of flesh and blood.

"Enemy attack! All soldiers, fall back! Edward, squad leader, prepare to intercept! Mages, cease casting and stand by for support! Soldiers, shield the mages!" Wang Yu barked orders the moment he sensed the crimson creature's emergence.

The soldiers moved quickly, positioning themselves as shields to protect the mages. By the time Wang Yu gave his commands, the blood-red figure had already burst out of the sewers. It left a scarlet trail as it shot into the sky, spreading its bat-like wings in the glaring midday sun.

The three warriors at the front frowned deeply. So this was a "blessed vampire." It was completely unafraid of sunlight—and even seemed to revel in it. The massive shadow it cast resembled a giant bat silhouetted against the full moon.

However, the overly excited vampire quickly learned what it meant to face the Nightblades. Several streaks of blue lightning tore through the air, converging on their target. The older mages, who had been guiding the electrical currents, did not remain idle. Lightning was the ideal weapon against a foe who could move this swiftly.

Several bolts merged into a single thick arc that struck the vampire's body. The flash of lightning outshone even the blazing sun for an instant.

"Watch out! It's unharmed—prepare to intercept!" Wang Yu's perception, enhanced by his ripples, granted him full knowledge of the battlefield within a 15-meter radius. The lightning strike had been incredibly potent, but it had only singed the vampire's body. While others couldn't discern its movements, Wang Yu could—it was already on the move!

A loud boom, like the bursting of a balloon, reverberated as the vampire forcefully flapped its wings to create a deafening shockwave. The crimson figure, seemingly unaffected, lunged directly at the source of the lightning. It was acting on instinct; the lightning had been ineffective, but painful.

"Edward!" Charles' shout rang out as a tarot card was hurled into the vampire's path. The upright Star card glowed as Edward quickly pulled a reversed Star card from his pouch.

The two tarot cards flashed. Edward suddenly teleported to where the upright Star was. He raised his gleaming Lion Shield up high. The high-grade knight's artifact converted fighting spirit into raw impact, and Edward's mastery of fighting spirit was unmatched among the three warriors.

His incredible talent and hard work meant that his control of fighting spirit was enhanced beyond the limits of his rank.

Channeling his fighting spirit to its utmost, Edward pushed the artifact to its limits. Holding back wasn't an option; the moment he saw the vampire, he knew it would take everything he had to bring it down.

A resounding clang echoed as the vampire collided with the shield. The force stored within the shield exploded outward, creating a tangible shockwave that left the nearby soldiers reeling in pain, their unprotected ears bleeding.

Both Edward and the vampire were sent flying. Despite his effort, Edward was clearly at a disadvantage. His body slammed into the ground, leaving a crater behind as his shield was flung aside. Gritting his teeth, he snapped his dislocated wrist back into place with his left hand and charged back into the fray.

The vampire, on the other hand, merely shook its head and regained its balance with a few powerful wingbeats. Its malevolent eyes locked onto Edward, brimming with primal hunger. The attack had been ineffective, just like the lightning, but painful. Its crude logic drove it forward as it attempted to feast on Edward.

Sensing danger, the vampire abruptly veered to the side, avoiding a sudden strike from Wang Yu's axe. Its blood-red eyes focused on Wang Yu. "This one's blood... delicious..."

Suddenly, Wang Yu tossed a vial at him.

The vampire, lacking intelligence, didn't even consider avoiding the projectile—perhaps because it had been birthed prematurely, and it was largely operating on instinct than intelligent thought.

The glass shattered, releasing a viscous liquid that began writhing—a semi-processed, unneutralized acidic regeneration potion, teeming with ravenous slimes.

The slimes, drawn to the vampire's nutrient-rich flesh, latched on instantly. They secreted corrosive fluids, their gelatinous digestive organs pressing against the vampire's body as they began consuming it.

The vampire screeched in agony as the slimes ate away at its flesh. With their unique properties, slimes proved highly effective against such resilient targets. While fists might fail to break stone, acid could dissolve it entirely.

Overwhelmed by pain and rage, the vampire locked onto Wang Yu as its next target.

It lunged at Wang Yu with terrifying speed, propelling itself forward with its wings. Even Wang Yu's reflexes as a mid-rank knight were insufficient for him to respond in time. If the strike were to land, Wang Yu would be incapacitated.

But unlike the vampire, Wang Yu wasn't alone.

Just as the vampire closed in, it felt a massive force pulling it backward. No amount of wing-flapping could counteract this drag—even the very air seemed to be conspiring against it.

Beneath his armor, the squad leader's eyes were fixed on the vampire. He barely caught a glimpse of it—just enough to activate his potential.

The trees, rocks, and soil around them were pulled downward by a strange force. Some branches snapped under the strain, breaking off from their trunks. Within the influence of the squad leader's potential, everything was dragged toward the ground—including the squad leader himself.

His potential, Earthbound Return, increased the force of gravity up to fourfold within a localized domain. As the caster, he only experienced half the effect, and, through years of practice, he had enhanced his potential further. The targets he focused on would feel an immense pull in addition to the localized gravity.

At that moment, the vampire found itself facing nearly ten times the usual force of gravity. Even its terrifying physical strength couldn't withstand this magnified force. Its body, which had previously been charging forward, was now uncontrollably careening toward the ground.

Desperately flapping its wings, the vampire created turbulent airflow to buffer its descent. However, another threat remained within the range of Earthbound Return. Wang Yu stood ready, his axe raised high. The blade gleamed menacingly under the blazing sun.

The fourfold force of gravity meant that falling objects would have devastating momentum. Wang Yu, who had prepared in advance, had jumped up to a high vantage point with repeated applications of Barrier. Now, he and the vampire were simultaneously plunging toward the ground.

Wang Yu gripped his axe with both hands and descended from the sky. His incredible momentum transformed his attack into something truly extraordinary—and unstoppable. The steel-forged axe, far more durable than flesh and bone, slammed into the vampire's crimson skull.

The blade cleaved through the vampire's bald, blood-red head. Bone fragments exploded like an egg shattered by a rock, spraying blood and tissue in all directions.

Although Wang Yu had split the vampire's skull, he now faced another critical problem: his fall. He had jumped down from a height of over ten meters. Even though the squad leader had canceled Earthbound Return just in time, the momentum Wang Yu had already accumulated was incredibly dangerous. Direct impact with the ground would have serious consequences.

But Wang Yu was never one to act recklessly. While he thrived on the edge, he wasn't careless. The upright Chariot, Steel Sunlight, his own Barriers, and even some wind-based protective spells cast from afar by nearby magicians—all of them were in place to cushion Wang Yu's landing. A cloud of dust mushroomed up as he fell. Though his whole body ached, he escaped serious injury.

Rolling to his feet, Wang Yu glanced at the vampire whose head had been cleaved open. He refrained from approaching recklessly. Even with its brains spilled across the ground, the creature wasn't dead. The ripples he relied on to confirm his kills couldn't penetrate the vampire's body, meaning that it still clung to life.

Recalling how his Blood Tempest could weaponize spilled blood, Wang Yu grew even more cautious.

He turned to signal the Nightblades to stay away, only to find that they had already prepared a massive fireball. Suspended above their heads, the fireball—formed through the combined efforts of dozens of magicians—was as radiant as a miniature sun.

Satisfied, Wang Yu shifted his focus back to the vampire on the ground. He was relieved to have such reliable teammates. Under the fireball's immense heat, no matter how resilient this vampire was, it would inevitably be reduced to ash.

Wang Yu concentrated. He viewed the seemingly inert vampire as a ticking time bomb—and indeed, he was right. What he hadn't anticipated was how much more troublesome the creature would become once grounded.

Thin, blood-red tendrils sprouted from the vampire's body, anchoring it to the ground. These appendages clawed and tore at the earth with astonishing speed, propelling the vampire's broken body forward in rapid movement.

Simultaneously, these tendrils worked like a high-speed sewing machine, stitching together the creature's shattered skull and missing tissues with grotesque efficiency.

"Damn it!" Wang Yu cursed. The vampire, despite its injuries, now moved even faster than before. Its swift recovery nullified the devastating blows he had landed earlier.

Worse still, the vampire wasn't retreating—it was heading straight for the soldiers and magicians. Wang Yu's heart sank. If this creature truly developed intelligence, it would become an even greater nightmare. Once among the soldiers and magicians, the vampire could tear through them like paper dolls.

Wang Yu charged after it, gritting his teeth. The squad leader and Edward followed suit, all sprinting toward the vampire crawling across the ground with terrifying speed.

In reality, Wang Yu's fears were unfounded. Intelligence didn't emerge so easily. The vampire's charge toward the soldiers wasn't a strategic move born of intellect; rather, it was driven by primal hunger.

Blessed by Erphine's gift, this vampire not only endured sunlight but also possessed a unique ability akin to an inner potential: Blood Pool. As long as it had blood, it wouldn't die—unending blood, unyielding life.

Wang Yu's strike had grievously injured the vampire, but its Blood Pool rapidly repaired the damage. Even so, there simply wasn't that much energy present in human blood to repair the vampire's formidable body. Nearly all of its blood was consumed in reconstructing its brain, and the rest had been overdrawn for other repairs.

It needed blood—more blood. This primal thirst drove it toward the soldiers, who were both numerous and vulnerable. Unfortunately for Wang Yu, this instinctive choice was also the most logical and, for his team, the most disastrous.