Vampire One

Rhode ignited the torches he had prepared with a few points of Mana, handed them to the Ghoul beside him, and retreated to the side of the passage.

Rhode had stationed two Ghouls in the Crypt. One was clad in Iron Armor and held a damaged Iron Shield, standing at the entrance of the passage. The other was in its original state, located inside the Crypt. Both Ghouls were holding torches at this moment.

Through Mental Mark, Rhode controlled the Ghouls and began to set the Crypt ablaze.

The Ghoul, holding a torch, walked to the coffin at the end of the passage and placed the torch beside it. Flames immediately erupted.

Without stopping, under Rhode's control, the Ghoul hobbled towards various other locations with the torch, setting fire along the way. It finally arrived in front of the armored Ghoul and ignited the pile of wood stacked at the entrance of the passage.

At this point, all the wood placed inside the Crypt had been ignited. The Crypt was now a sea of fire.

The Death Energy within the Crypt was significantly driven away by the burning flames.

Rhode continued to control the Ghouls. After igniting the entire Crypt, the Ghouls passed through the sea of fire, placed the torch on the coffin, and began to set it ablaze.

At this moment, the entire coffin began to shake violently. The Undead Creature sleeping inside the coffin awoke.

The Ghoul's feet were already charred black, and a foul odor, a mixture of rotten corpses and burnt material, emanated from it. Despite this, the Ghoul's Undead Creature characteristics allowed it to continue igniting the coffin as Rhode commanded. Its high Constitution attribute prevented it from dying in a short period.

Bang! Bang!

Heavy thuds echoed from within the coffin. The Undead Creature inside also sensed that something was wrong and tried to break free from the coffin.

Rhode attempted to have the Ghouls open the coffin, but it was ineffective; the surface was clearly nailed shut.

During the preparations over the past few days, Rhode had observed the coffin multiple times. There were no special markings or patterns around it. Rhode dared not touch the coffin directly, fearing that the Undead Creature inside might sense him.

Only now did Rhode have the Ghouls attempt to open the coffin. This was also to quickly release the Undead Creature inside, preventing the air in the Crypt from being wasted unnecessarily after the flames ignited.

Bang!

Just as the Ghoul was attempting to push the coffin from the side, a hand punched through the burning coffin lid and extended out, only to be scorched by the flames on the lid. The hand quickly retracted, and muffled thuds sounded from within the coffin again.

Seizing the opportunity, Rhode controlled the Ghoul to directly thrust the burning torch into the hole that the arm had punched through.

The struggle inside the coffin intensified. The Ghoul seemed to exert considerable effort to push the torch down.

The flames caused significant damage to the Undead Creature inside. The coffin began to shake wildly, then cracked open, and countless bats flew out!

"A Vampire...?"

Seeing the bats flying out of the coffin, Rhode immediately understood the identity of the Undead Creature before him: a Vampire!

Bat Form was a signature skill of Vampires.

According to Rhode's plan, no matter what Undead Creature was inside the coffin, once it broke out, the Ghoul in front would use its own body to hold it back, trapping it in the sea of fire.

However, the appearance of the bats rendered the Ghoul, which was supposed to hold back the Undead Creature, completely useless. The Ghoul wildly swung its torch, trying to attack the swarm of bats.

The bats were numerous. But as the Ghoul swung its torch, the swarm of bats could quickly part a path, precisely avoiding the Ghoul's attacks.

Ignoring the Ghoul holding the torch, the bats flew towards the back of the Crypt. The Ghoul's swings were ineffective. It tried to lunge forward to catch the departing bats, but its feet were so burnt they were close to melting, rendering it immobile. It could only remain in the sea of fire and await its death.

After confirming the type of Undead Creature, Rhode did not bother with the Ghoul left behind. Instead, he retreated to the Crypt's passage and released several large wooden blocks from his Space Ring to block the Crypt's entrance.

Rhode walked towards the rear, simultaneously using his Space Ring to retrieve the large wooden blocks he had set aside earlier.

Inside the Crypt, the armored Ghoul ignited the stacked wooden blocks behind it, as well as all the wooden blocks placed on the ground beneath its feet.

Since all these stacked wooden blocks, which were meant to form an obstacle, needed to be ignited, Rhode alone could not accomplish this. He had to rely on the Ghoul left inside to complete the task.

The bats rushed towards the armored Ghoul. The armored Ghoul threw its torch to the ground and raised its shield to protect its head.

In the blink of an eye, the Ghoul was covered in bats. The bats embedded their claws into the Ghoul's body and tore at its flesh. The Ghoul remained motionless, merely blocking the passage as commanded by Rhode.

Many bats crashed against the Ghoul's Iron Shield, but it was of no use. Because the flames were stacked behind the Ghoul, the bats could not attack its back and could only tear at its legs.

The flames inside the Crypt grew larger, and black smoke billowed outwards. Many bats fell into the sea of fire, dissolving into a cloud of black mist without leaving any corpses.

For a moment, many bats fell.

Finally, just before the Ghoul collapsed, the bats began to gather in front of the Ghoul. As a large cloud of black mist surged out, the Vampire's figure appeared.

The Vampire stood before the Ghoul. The Ghoul, still following Rhode's instructions, completely retracted its upper body behind its shield, unaware of what was happening.

Unfortunately, due to the obstructed view, Rhode could not give commands to the Ghoul. If Rhode could see the situation inside the Crypt, he would have immediately ordered the Ghoul to charge at the Vampire with its shield, using the impact to block it. Any delay would have been beneficial.

Flames instantly scorched the Vampire's legs and climbed upwards along its decaying clothes.

The Vampire charged directly at the Ghoul and pushed with all its might against the Iron Shield the Ghoul was holding. Its immense Strength attribute left the Ghoul with no resistance, and it was knocked backward into the ignited wooden blocks. The barrier, which was supposed to obstruct the Vampire, was now used by the Vampire to push the Ghoul into it.

Under the Vampire's immense strength, the Ghoul's entire body crashed into the barrier. Flames scorched the Ghoul's back, emitting a sizzling sound. The Ghoul created a gap in the stacked wooden blocks.

At this moment, the Vampire was also suffering, its feet constantly being scorched by the flames.

Since the Ghoul was still blocking the front, the gap was not very large.

Choosing not to push the Ghoul further, to prevent the flames from continuing to burn, a large cloud of black mist erupted from within the Vampire. Its human form disappeared, and a swarm of bats shot out, flying rapidly through the gap past the Ghoul.

The Ghoul felt the pushing force in front of its body lighten, but with its limited intelligence, it could not comprehend what had happened. It simply held its shield, remaining in the sea of fire.

Seeing the scattered wooden blocks and the swarm of bats flying out from behind, Rhode knew that the first barrier had been breached by the Vampire.

The bats regrouped in front of the hall. The Vampire's figure had just appeared when it only saw Rhode's retreating back as he exited the hall.