Vampire Four

Rhode stared at the Vampire not far away. During this observation, Rhode seemed to have discovered something.

As soon as the Vampire had recovered its form, it charged towards Rhode. Since there were many injured Undead Creatures around, Rhode did not let them surround the Vampire, but instead met it head-on.

In the arena, Rhode and the Vampire's figures crossed, swords and claws clashing, emitting the sound of metal striking metal. For a time, Rhode, relying on Expert Swordsmanship and his decent stats, fought the Vampire to a standstill.

As the battle progressed and through personal perception, Rhode came to understand the Vampire's attributes.

Among third-tier creatures, the Vampire's attributes were balanced; neither its Strength, Speed, nor Constitution had any obvious weaknesses. Coupled with its Bat Form ability and the characteristics of an Undead Creature, it was generally more focused on survivability and dealing with large groups of low-tier enemies. Therefore, based on its moves alone, it couldn't quickly defeat Rhode.

For Rhode's current situation, opponents who were strong in one specific attribute were difficult to deal with. Enemies like this Vampire, with balanced attributes, could be handled by Rhode's Expert Swordsmanship as long as none of its attributes had reached the elite stage.

Although there was a gap in their base attributes, Rhode's Expert Swordsmanship was precisely about using skill to compensate for attribute deficiencies.

Rhode also gained some understanding of the damage the Vampire could inflict by observing the injuries of the Undead Creatures. Rhode believed that if the Vampire grabbed his neck, it could also instantly kill him.

Rhode's combat style against the Vampire primarily involved counter-attacks and controlling distance, parrying the Vampire's claws with his blade and dodging nimbly, preventing the Vampire from attacking him.

At this moment, the effects of Expert Swordsmanship were maximized; based on its moves alone, the Vampire couldn't get close to Rhode at all. Instead, Rhode inflicted multiple wounds on the Vampire.

However, Rhode's expression was not one of ease from having the upper hand, but rather more solemn.

The Vampire's combat experience, while not as refined as Rhode's Expert Swordsmanship, surpassed all of Rhode's previous enemies.

Whenever Rhode attempted to attack the Vampire's vital points, the Vampire would either dodge or aggressively charge at Rhode by relying on its formidable Constitution.

Rhode naturally would not trade blows with the Vampire and could only give up the opportunity to attack.

At the same time, Rhode realized that with this combat method, each of his attacks could only inflict shallow wounds on the Vampire. These shallow wounds had almost no effect on the Vampire's high Constitution, and instead made the Vampire more ferocious.

The Undead Creatures around were not idle either. Under Rhode's control, whenever the Vampire attempted to tank Rhode's attacks or aggressively charge at Rhode, the surrounding Undead Creatures would immediately move forward.

Ghouls would block damage beside Rhode, while Corpse Wolves would seize the opportunity to harass the Vampire with their attacks.

However, this also led to a steady decrease in the number of Undead Creatures Rhode controlled. Both Ghouls and Corpse Wolves could barely withstand a full claw strike from the Vampire.

Watching the Undead Creatures around die one by one, Rhode began to feel anxious, but remembering his method for dealing with the Vampire, he knew he had to wait for an opportunity...

Originally, the Vampire only needed two uses of Bat Form to eliminate all the surrounding Undead Creatures, after which it could directly attack Rhode. But due to having used Bat Form too many times in the Crypt beforehand, the limited uses meant the Vampire could only fight with its base attributes.

Gradually, the Vampire sustained more and more wounds, but they were clearly minor and inconsequential. The characteristics of Undead Creatures meant the Vampire's combat power would not be reduced by these wounds. Rhode had not managed to strike the Vampire's true vital points even once.

The Vampire swung a claw at Rhode, who raised his blade to block the attack. To his surprise, the Vampire changed its grab to a palm strike, disregarding the potential damage from the blade and grabbing it, while simultaneously swinging its other claw at Rhode.

At this point, apart from the Corpse Wolf King, who was heavily injured but not dead from a Vampire attack, there were not many Undead Creatures left around.

The Vampire noticed this and, taking advantage of the lack of interference from the surrounding Undead Creatures, intended to heavily wound Rhode with a single blow.

With its rich combat experience, the Vampire understood that a human's flesh and blood, even if superior in technique, could not match its Constitution. As long as it could heavily wound the human before him in this manner, it could then kill him.

"Here it comes..."

Rhode's eyes sharpened; he clearly understood the Vampire's intentions, but at the same time, this was the opportunity Rhode had been waiting for.

Apart from the initial summoning of the Corpse Wolf and later lighting the torch, Rhode's Mana had not been consumed. The remaining Mana Rhode possessed was only enough to cast two spells.

Rhode did not choose spells related to attributes. Even if he used magic to temporarily boost his base attributes, Rhode wouldn't be able to kill the Vampire within the duration, especially since the Vampire could still use Bat Form. Rhode didn't believe the Vampire would expend all its Bat Form uses.

Rhode chose Magic Arrow, a spell that could change the tide of battle. In the previous fight, Rhode understood that even if Magic Arrow hit the Vampire, it would only cause minor damage unless it struck a vital point.

Therefore, the use of Magic Arrow required Rhode to find a very opportune moment.

With his weapon caught by the Vampire, and watching the Vampire's claw strike, Rhode did not dodge. Instead, he raised his other hand towards the Vampire in front of him.

A bright light rapidly formed in Rhode's hand. Taking advantage of the Vampire's lack of defense while attacking, the light shot towards the Vampire.

Magic Arrow!

Vampires have few vital points. High-tier Vampires can continue fighting for a while even if decapitated.

However, for a third-tier Vampire, it clearly lacked such capabilities; its head was considered its most critical area.

Therefore, facing a Vampire with its entire body exposed, the Magic Arrow Rhode aimed for was the place that would inflict the most damage: the Vampire's head.

The Vampire grabbed Rhode's neck with one claw, its sharp talons just piercing it, ready to tear out flesh and blood, when Rhode's Magic Arrow struck the Vampire's head!

The close-range casting caused the Vampire's head to be directly pierced by the Magic Arrow, and a mist of blood erupted before Rhode's eyes. The fatal damage caused the Vampire's grip on Rhode to weaken.

The Vampire's tenacious vitality meant it did not die even with its head pierced.

Rhode pressed his advantage, preparing to thrust his sword forward, when the Vampire's body split apart, and a large cloud of black mist erupted in front of Rhode.