The Vampire, Part Three

Seeing the vampire continue charging toward him, Rhode hurriedly controlled the nearby undead creatures and directed them toward it.

The vampire rushed up beside Rhode. He swung his sword upward in a backhanded strike, clashing with the vampire's claws.

Taking advantage of the vampire's attack, Rhode directed the undead creatures nearby. The closest corpse wolf leaped into the air under his control, preparing to bite the vampire.

The vampire flashed aside, its claws slicing through the air at lightning speed. The corpse wolf's already broken body was cut in two. Blood splashed across the vampire's face. Rather than slowing its advance, the blood seemed to excite it, making it even more frenzied.

The other undead creatures had also arrived and began closing in around the vampire.

Back in the tomb, Rhode had only ever seen the vampire in Bat Form, so he hadn't had a clear idea of its true strength. Now, under the bright light outside the tomb, he finally got a good look at it.

The vampire's build was no different from an ordinary person's. Its long robe had been reduced to rags by the passage of time and the flames, barely covering its body.

Burn marks covered it, especially around its feet, where hardly any unburned skin remained. But thanks to its powerful physique, the injuries did nothing to hinder its movements.

Rhode paid particular attention to the vampire's hands and face. Its bloodstained claws and the teeth protruding from its mouth were undoubtedly its deadliest weapons.

After a brief inspection, Rhode identified the type of vampire before him by its distinctive features.

There were two kinds of vampires. One was the traditional kind, hidden among human city-states throughout the land. Even at only the second rank, they looked human, and their behavior was no different from ordinary people's. They liked to drink human blood and could use it to increase their rank.

Taking advantage of their human appearance, they secretly built up influence within human city-states. But they generally couldn't escape the notice of the Thieves' Guild in those cities. Once discovered, they were often driven out or even judged as heretics.

The other kind of vampire was like the one before Rhode. Though its build was no different from a human's, it had razor-sharp claws and teeth suited to tearing apart and devouring prey, making it easy to identify.

This kind also craved human blood, but unlike the first kind, it didn't obtain it in secret. It hunted people openly, then devoured their flesh and blood.

For this reason, every human faction hunted this kind of vampire, forcing them to flee back to their place of origin. Rhode knew that place was in Dya, and that these vampires had close ties to necromancers.

It was said that the two kinds of vampires shared a common ancestor, but they were also at war with each other.

While Rhode watched, the vampire was already locked in battle with the undead creatures surrounding it.

A walking corpse lunged at the vampire. It struck back with one claw, its arm moving so fast that it became a blur. Before the walking corpse's attack could land, the vampire had grabbed it by the neck, driving its claws deep into the flesh. Then it yanked backward, tearing away a huge chunk.

Half the walking corpse's neck vanished in an instant. The tremendous damage snuffed out its Soul Fire, and it collapsed to the ground.

The vampire didn't stop after killing the walking corpse. It continued after a corpse wolf on the ground. The wolf couldn't dodge in time, and a long gash opened across its front. The vampire struck again, plunging its claws into the wolf's neck, and a large chunk of flesh flew away.

By then, the undead creatures had closed in and were attacking the vampire from all sides. Though it could kill them with ease, they still managed to trap it temporarily. Rhode seized the opportunity and thrust his sword into its side.

The vampire seemed to have anticipated this. Before the undead creatures could reach it, a great cloud of black mist erupted among them.

A swarm of bats poured from the black mist, swooping straight at the nearest walking corpses and corpse wolves. They were too close for the undead creatures to dodge. The bats began tearing into their bodies with frenzied bites.

The instant Rhode thrust his sword, he sensed something was wrong. Before he could make the undead creatures retreat, the vampire had transformed into bats and descended upon them. Several bats were also flying straight at Rhode.

Rhode thrust his sword. The bat tried to dodge, but his blade seemed to lock onto it in midair. No matter which direction it flew, he could make tiny adjustments to his sword, keeping the tip aimed directly at the bat in front of him.

The bat was pierced through and vanished in a puff of black mist.

To deal with flying creatures like bats, Rhode chose to use thrusts. He thrust again and again, the sword in his hand blossoming into a flurry of strikes as black mist burst through the air.

The bats had already shown they could dodge with great agility, using their flight to evade weapons swung at them. But against Rhode, whose Expert Swordsmanship was at work, they seemed to lose that ability. One by one, he pierced them through, and they vanished into black mist.

After quickly clearing the bats flying straight at him, Rhode didn't pause. Sensing the Mental Marks growing weak one after another, he immediately went to help the fallen undead creatures, stabbing the bats clinging to them.

Just as Rhode had knocked a few bats away, the rest retreated without a moment's hesitation, ignoring the remaining undead creatures.

Looking at the blood-covered undead creatures around him, Rhode knew they had suffered heavy losses.

Unlike Rhode, the undead creatures had little means of dealing with the bats. They had relied entirely on his support.

The bats hooked their claws into the walking corpses and clung to them, tearing at them with their teeth. Without Rhode's help, it was difficult for a walking corpse to pull a bat off by itself. If it tried to tear one away by force, the bat's claws would simply rip off a huge chunk of flesh.

Many walking corpses were missing several fingers. The bats had bitten their hands as they tried to pull them off. Nearly every walking corpse had hands slick with blood.

The corpse wolves were in even worse shape. Their physiques were already weak, and once the bats latched on, their only way of getting them to release their claws was to roll on the ground. But the bats' claws seemed to have special barbs, making them almost impossible to tear free once they were hooked into their prey.

The only one that came through relatively unscathed was the corpse wolf king. After being turned into an undead creature, it put its powerful physique to good use. During the battle, Rhode had seen it leap into the air several times and bite bats out of the sky with perfect accuracy.

The bats gathered at a distance. As black mist swept over them, the vampire's figure reappeared.

Looking at the vampire, Rhode knew all too well that the undead creatures could only serve as cover, distracting the powerful vampire for a little while. He was the only one who could truly fight it head-on.