With the vampires leading the way, the rescuers split into three groups and finally entered the city. Most of the survivors on the outer streets had already been escorted out by the little players, so the rest needed these people to venture deeper into the outer districts.
There was no doubt this was dangerous.
But more than a hundred people carrying bright torches and advancing into the Eternal Night under the vampires' leadership made quite an imposing sight. At the very least, the fearspawn lurking in the shadows no longer dared to pop out at random.
These invisible creatures were manifestations of the Astral Realm's tainted energy, shaped by mortal emotions. In other words, as the collective fear subsided, the number of despairspawn would also decrease.
To put it simply, the more you feared them, the more of them there were.
At that moment, the fires flickering across the ruined city at night formed an unbroken swath of light. Those flames had restored the Transians' courage. In their culture, fire was sacred. Just like a traveler's campfire in the dark could frighten the wicked things lurking in the shadows and keep them from acting with impunity.
Of course, Murphy and the other two vampires, Maxim, and the little players still had to occasionally take on the role of combatants. The despairspawn were only the least of their troubles. The astral beasts that periodically sprang out to scare people were the real source of danger.
The young lady and Lady Adele had no trouble dealing with creatures that could only hunt in the outer city's fringes, but Murphy found them a bit challenging.
He was currently on the outskirts of the area he was responsible for, fighting a pack of astral hounds.
Compared with dogs in the material world, these creatures were exceptionally vicious. Their incorporeal forms made it possible to see their bones inside, and their eyes burned with a dim fire in the dark. Their fangs and claws were imbued with tainted energy, and even a single hit carried a mild mental shock.
These traits were unique to astral creatures.
They existed beyond the material world, born and raised in the Astral Realm's tainted psychic energy. As a result, they were adept at damaging the minds of material beings.
The good news was that Murphy wasn't fighting alone.
The astral direwolf he had summoned was an excellent fighter, loyal and fierce, and it helped take a lot of the pressure off him.
The vampire wasn't using the Graveguard swordsmanship he had just learned or the Shadow Elf secret swordsmanship he had "gotten for free" from Adele. Both were advanced sword arts, powerful but requiring time to master.
For this intense battle, the Blood Vulture Swordsmanship was a better choice. He had already mastered it, and its wide, forceful strokes packed a decent punch.
With the astral direwolf providing cover, Murphy quickly killed four of the six astral hounds with his sword and crossbow. The remaining two saw that things were going badly and tried to flee, but the vicious direwolf leaped after them and killed one.
The last one ran into the night. Murphy didn't chase it. Instead, he unclipped the permanently poisoned psychic hand crossbow at his waist and raised it to aim with practiced ease.
He had only used ranged weapons a few times, but it didn't feel unfamiliar.
That was probably thanks to the shooting proficiency Adele had passed on to him. Combined with a vampire's precise, unobstructed vision in the dark, it was easy to lock on to his target. A few seconds later, he pulled the trigger.
"Whoosh."
With a light twang, the short but razor-sharp bolt shot out in a streak of green light. The limping astral hound was struck in the head from behind. Its body flew forward, hit the ground, and quickly dissipated.
Shooting Skill: Hand Crossbow proficiency increased. Current level: "Beginner."
A notification appeared before his eyes, and Murphy breathed a sigh of relief.
He actually had a dwarven hunting rifle he'd confiscated from a Witch Hunter in his bag, but it was too noisy and didn't suit a vampire's dark aesthetic. Besides, it didn't fit Murphy's idea of what a "firearm" should be.
Still, it packed a punch and could be paired with the hand crossbow for close-quarters combat.
Mirian had told him that the rifle's lead bullets contained a special engineering powder called "burning gold," which made them quite destructive at medium and long range. Apparently, the dwarves' Earth Priests also had a special kind of dragon's-breath ammunition that could ignite every dark abomination nearby.
Priests carrying large-caliber guns and exorcising abominations through sheer physical force?
That was great. That was very dwarf. And that was impressively martial.
"Lord Murphy, we've finished searching this block. We rescued another 37 people. Should we keep going?"
Brother Black Silk hurried over to report. His face was smeared with soot, and his armor was covered in dust, making him look as though he'd crawled out of a coal mine.
He carried a shovel, while the new recruit's greatsword he used in battle was strapped to his back.
He seemed to be in pretty good spirits. Murphy glanced back at the people behind him. The men carrying torches had voluntarily formed a ring around the women and children they'd rescued, while a few others were searching through the ruins.
Compared with when they had set out, their morale had quietly improved quite a bit.
"First, withdraw to the city wall defenses. There's water and food there."
Murphy replied:
"Rest for 15 minutes, then come back in. Also, make a note of the most active people and have Mirian issue them weapons. Maxim will recruit them into the militia. We'll conduct another search before dawn, this time deeper in and in more dangerous areas—"
"Hm?"
The vampire's keen senses made his ears twitch. He turned toward the darkness ahead and said to Brother Black Silk, who had begun to feel uneasy:
"Go back without me. I'll stay here. There's a 'big one' up ahead!"
"I can fight alongside you!"
Brother Black Silk immediately straightened up and offered a fine-sounding line. Clearly, he wanted to take the opportunity to earn some favor. Murphy glanced at him, gave him a warm smile, and patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
"Another time. Your potential needs time to be realized. The precious blood of a brave warrior shouldn't be wasted here."
My favorability went up!
It definitely went up!
Seeing Murphy's gentle expression, Brother Black Silk felt a thrill of delight, then obediently withdrew.
Watching the delighted look on his face as he left, Murphy couldn't help thinking that his acting skills had been improving by the day ever since he started dealing with the little players. At this rate, he'd soon be the best actor in the Blood Eagle Clan.
With Brother Black Silk and Lumina escorting them, the torch-bearing search party soon retreated toward the outskirts. Murphy gripped his hand crossbow and rapier, patted the astral direwolf crouching by his side, then led it into the darkness ahead.
He sent out an area scan. Before long, a blurry, dark red label floated in the night:
Astral Lynx · Hunting · High Danger
"Is this thing invisible?"
Even with a vampire's night vision, Murphy could barely make out anything ahead. The creature seemed like a mass of invisible mist, pacing back and forth among the ruins.
The astral direwolf at his feet let out a low whine, just like a dog. It had clearly sensed the danger.
According to Triss, astral wolves weren't particularly powerful among astral creatures. They were individually weak, but had keen senses and excellent hunting instincts. They usually had to form a pack to stand up to more dangerous creatures.
The astral lynx before him clearly belonged to the "more dangerous" category.
But Triss had also said that astral wolves could become true overlords if they formed a sizable pack in the Astral Realm. Every creature, it seemed, had its own way of surviving.
"Don't be afraid."
Murphy crouched and stroked the astral direwolf's restless head. He spoke softly:
"We're a pack of two, and I'm your alpha. Follow me. Let's hunt it."
The astral direwolf seemed to understand what Murphy meant.
It calmed down, licked Murphy's fingers with its rough, phantom tongue, then went searching through the darkness to the side at Murphy's signal.
Seeing Murphy alone, the cunning astral lynx lurking nearby perked up at once. It began circling closer, making the vampire's back prickle as if pierced by needles.
The vampire was no longer a novice in combat.
He steadied his breathing and gripped the Blade of the Desire Lineage at his waist. His other hand quietly rested on the trigger of his crossbow.
This was a classical weapon. It packed a decent punch, but had to be reloaded after every shot.
He might need a more flexible ranged weapon, like the crimson hand cannon Lady Adele carried, which could fire six shots. But that looked like a custom weapon the young lady had made for her butler.
In Transia, this isolated and conservative land, firearms were seen as cowardly by the people, who were known for their fierce temperament. They weren't popular.
Perhaps sensing that Murphy's mind had wandered, the hidden astral lynx soon attacked from behind.
It dropped swiftly like a mass of mist, intending to kill Murphy with a feline's signature throat bite. But just as it pounced, the vampire slipped aside with a graceful, flowing step, dodging the attack by the narrowest margin.
Shadow Elf Family Secret Swordsmanship · Shadowstep.
Murphy hadn't had the time to study the elven swordsmanship Adele had passed on to him in detail, but he had been secretly practicing its evasive techniques. Now, with his agility boosted to 16 by his rare template, he counterattacked in the very instant he dodged.
The Blade of the Desire Lineage became a serpent striking for prey, biting deep into the astral lynx's phantom hide. His hand crossbow fired at the same time, but the cunning beast dodged the bolt with its strange phasing ability.
The vampire didn't hesitate. He immediately fought the vicious lynx with his sword in one hand.
Despite its name, this creature had nothing in common with an ordinary lynx. If he had to compare it to something, it was like a leopard twice as large—almost the size of a tiger.
Aside from the signature phantom hide, burning eyes, and tainted fangs of astral creatures, it had three tails, each tipped with a scorpion-like barb.
"Whap!"
One of the barbs flew like a knife, grazing Murphy's cheek and striking the wall behind him.
The flying bricks showed just how destructive it was. But Murphy immediately swung his sword and severed the tail, making the astral lynx retreat in pain.
Then, with a low pant, the astral direwolf that had run off came charging back at full speed. It slammed into the lynx's flank and knocked it onto the ground.
The two astral beasts tore into each other, snarling and yelping. Murphy seized the chance to pounce and land a couple of vicious blows on the lynx.
The astral wolf's weakness in individual combat quickly became apparent. The desperate lynx bit down on its throat with lightning speed and refused to let go. But just like a wolf in a pack led by its alpha, before its projection in the material world disappeared, the direwolf struck back with its paws and jaws, tearing off the lynx's entire left paw.
At this point, Murphy had already won.
He wasn't saddened by the astral wolf's death, not because he was cold-blooded, but because astral creatures were only projections in the material world, just like players. Once the skill's cooldown ended, he could summon it again, and it would be back.
They only truly died if they perished in the Astral Realm. In that respect, they were much like certain demons from another world.
"Pfft."
Murphy's quivering rapier thrust forward. With a flick of his wrist, he sliced a bloodied eyeball out of the astral lynx's socket. The pain drove the beast into a frenzy, but without its eye, paw, or tail, all it could do was wait for death at Murphy's hands.
Two minutes later, Murphy drove his sword into the lynx's ear and churned its brains to pulp, winning the hunt cleanly and decisively.
The reward wasn't just a sense of accomplishment. There were more practical gains as well:
Blood Vulture Swordsmanship proficiency increased. Current level: "Master"!
This swordsmanship has reached its proficiency cap and cannot be improved further!
Blood Vulture Swordsman class level reached 10!
This class has reached its level cap and cannot be improved further. Please find a way to change classes.
Notice!
The standard advanced class for Blood Vulture Swordsman is Blood Vulture · Graveguard. You have already learned Graveguard Swordsmanship. Raise it to "Proficient" and craft a Graveguard insignia to complete the class change.
You have learned the Shadow Elf · Majewa Family Secret Swordsmanship. Available class change: Shadow Elf Swordchanter.
To change classes, raise Majewa Secret Swordsmanship to "Proficient," then visit the Majewa Family Shrine and complete the class change with the Weaver Maiden's help.
Character level reached 10!
"Trial of Strength · Black Iron Body" triggered! Read the rules for strength tiers and trials carefully, then complete the Trial of Strength.
The flood of notifications put Murphy in a good mood.
It wasn't the usual kill-monsters-and-level-up routine, but there was no doubt that his intense battle with the astral lynx had helped his basic Blood Vulture Swordsmanship break through its final bottleneck.
It hadn't been that difficult, after all. No matter how complicated it seemed, it was still just a collection of basic techniques.
But what surprised Murphy was that the elven swordsmanship he had gotten from Adele for free could actually unlock a special class change. That gave him a rather bold idea.
Perhaps—
This foreign sword art could be a "hidden reward" for little players who made outstanding contributions?
And if there was already a hidden reward, it would be a waste not to gather other rare treasures and throw in a lucky prize wheel or blind-box bonanza. If this "game" allowed players to pay to win, then a mysterious elven swordsmanship like this would surely be worth at least a VIP 3 membership reward, wouldn't it?
With that regretful thought, Murphy found the details of "Trial of Strength · Black Iron Body" in the strength-tier section of his character card:
Term Explanation · Black Iron Body:
A system of strength classification derived from an ancient elven tradition divides individuals into several stages: Mortal → Classed → Black Iron Body → Silver Body → Transcendent · Golden Body → Transcendent · Perfect Body / Demigod Threshold.
These stages represent the ancient elves' descriptions of the different levels of power attainable by living beings.
The Black Iron Body can be explained as the state in which ordinary people, after rigorous training and constant combat, gain complete mastery over their bodies and unleash their full destructive potential. The purpose of the Black Iron Trial is to unlock and continually develop an individual's hidden potential by challenging powerful foes.
Throughout the Black Iron Body stage, an individual's potential will continually be unearthed, reshaping them into a more powerful form of life. After that, they will face the Silver Trial and truly enter the transcendent tier, gaining the power that comes from embracing psychic energy.
"Not bad! It isn't hard to understand, and the elves' system really does feel like a proper game power hierarchy. It's so complete that I could use it as game lore without changing a thing."
Murphy gave the explanation a like.
Then he looked at the details of his own Black Iron Trial, and his expression darkened.
Trial of Strength · Black Iron Body · Vampire Exclusive: Independently hunt a Black Iron-tier enemy and drink its blood until your potential is unlocked, or independently challenge a Black Iron-tier elite creature to unlock your potential.
This trial must be completed alone. Any outside assistance will count as a failed trial!
"Damn it!"
Murphy grumbled furiously in the dark:
"So it really is just a simple matter of punching above my weight? To become Black Iron, I have to kill a Black Iron elite first? And does this mean I need to pick something with blood, too?
So astral creatures won't count?
Damn!
With Cadman City in such chaos, where am I supposed to find a blood-bearing enemy at the Black Iron tier?
Why don't you just spawn one right in front of me?
That old saying is true: reality really is a trash game!"
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