Reaper

Bloodpack, elite agents secretly trained by the Vampire Kingdom for two years, originally meant to deal with Blade.

Lighthammer, Verlaine, Priest, Snowman, Chupa, Reinhardt, along with Nyssa and Asad—eight in total.

The only one who caught Mike's attention was Snowman. Snowman was Asian and looked seventy or eighty percent like Yuzhou Dan. His weapon was a katana.

"Human!"

Lighthammer stared fixedly at Mike.

Lighthammer was a huge bald man with tattoos covering half his face, dressed like a Spartan. His head turned with Mike's every movement, as though he were watching a juicy steak.

The other members were equally puzzled by Mike's appearance.

Reinhardt held considerable authority within the Bloodpack. He asked, "Nyssa, who is this human?"

"Mike, Blade's helper."

"Weren't two enough? Now there's another one. This isn't part of the plan."

Nyssa turned to Blade, meaning for him to explain.

Mike curled his lip. They had clearly invited Blade over to help, yet they still wanted to give him a show of force.

How childish.

Blade said expressionlessly, "I don't know what the original plan was. If there's a problem, change the plan."

Reinhardt said, "What I mean is, not just any stray can join the operation. We're not babysitters."

Blade sneered. "Oh, I get it. You trained for two years to kill me, but things ended up like this. You're pretty upset, huh? Fine, I'll give you a chance. Come on, you go first..."

Reinhardt's face darkened.

Chupa suddenly said, "I know who he is. That famous Mike from Hell's Kitchen. Rumor has it vampires aren't allowed in his territory."

Mike said, "Correction: it's not a rumor. It's a fact. One comes, I kill one. Two come, I kill both. A group comes, and I'll throw them a free group funeral."

Lighthammer stepped forward. "I'd like to see whether you're really as impressive as the rumors say."

Mike waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no. Someone will die."

Lighthammer burst out laughing. "Don't worry, I'll hold back..."

Mike narrowed his eyes and interrupted him with a cold sneer. "I mean, you'll die."

Mike turned to Nyssa. "Is it fine if I kill him?"

Nyssa said coldly, "Whether you like it or not, from this moment on, the Daywalker is everyone's leader. This is the will of the High Grand Duke. Does anyone object?"

High Grand Duke Makinos was the leader of the Vampire Kingdom. Others might dare pay lip service to Nyssa while defying her behind her back, but none dared show Makinos any disrespect.

The scene fell into brief silence.

Reinhardt said, "I have no issue with the Daywalker giving orders. What's the new plan?"

Blade said, "If you want to catch a hunter, keep your eyes on the prey. Blood banks, nests—the bigger, the better."

"House of Pain." Nyssa gave an address.

"Move out."

Reinhardt's gaze beneath his sunglasses was icy. He snorted inwardly, Once the mission is over, I'll kill the Daywalker with my own hands, then eat that human sidekick.

From the beginning, the whole thing had been a lie, from Blade rescuing Whistler to the mutants.

The so-called mutants were actually defective experimental products artificially created through DNA recombination by the Vampire Kingdom.

The entire plan was to have Blade and the Reapers kill each other, while Makinos reaped the benefits.

It was a nice dream, but it was doomed to fail.

House of Pain was a large vampire nest, home to more than three hundred vampires.

The Bloodpack, along with Blade's mentor Whistler and his new assistant Scud, gathered at House of Pain to distribute weapons.

Mike chose two automatic pistols and a dagger. The pistols had been modified to hold twenty-five rounds and used silver nitrate bullets. The dagger was made of teak, intended for piercing vampire hearts.

Since they were free anyway, Mike casually picked a few things out. They might come in handy, and if not, he could sell them cheaply to Fat Jerry.

Tsk, tsk. What a thrifty homemaker.

Mike, Whistler, and Scud stayed outside. All three were human; entering a nest full of vampires would make them like light bulbs in the darkness.

Their target was the Reapers, not the ordinary vampires inside the nest.

Whistler and Scud were rather curious about Mike. Blade's nature meant he could not live like an ordinary person, nor could he make friends like one.

Had something happened while he was being held captive by the vampires?

Scud said excitedly, "I've heard of you. There are rumors that you killed Deacon Frost and his men."

Mike said, "You said yourself they were rumors."

Scud was a Vampire Cultist, a spy the Vampire Kingdom had planted beside Blade. His famous saying was, "Being a pet is better than being food."

Mike had nothing to discuss with someone destined to die.

In the end, Scud remained in the car, Whistler took up position on the rooftop as a sniper, and Mike lay in ambush near the nest's exit.

A few minutes later, it unexpectedly began to rain.

Mike found a spot where he could shelter from the rain.

"They're fighting."

Faint gunfire echoed from within the building, and vampires began fleeing outside.

Mike ignored the ordinary vampires who escaped. Instead, he drew his knife and thrust upward fiercely.

A mutant crouched above like a monkey, its jaw splitting open as it extended a tongue tipped with a barbed oral appendage.

The silver blade struck the tongue dead on. Mike twisted the hilt, shredding the flower-like oral appendage into pulp.

"Screeech!"

The Reaper fled with a scream.

"Fear, hatred in its eyes. It hasn't fully regressed into a Beast, but it seems to have lost its ability to speak. Its intelligence has declined."

"Silver and garlic can harm Reapers, but not kill them. The virus has further enhanced their physical abilities. Their strength and speed exceed those of ordinary vampires."

"Huh, it actually knows how to call for backup."

Mike saw the injured Reaper from earlier running toward him with another one.

"The wound healed, but its body has grown thinner. Its recovery speed is much faster than an ordinary vampire's, but it consumes a tremendous amount of energy."

The Reaper suddenly leaped up and pounced at Mike.

"Jumping into the air with nowhere to brace yourself—unless you have some special method, that's a major taboo."

Mike slashed across the Reaper's waist. With the creature suspended in midair, its organs and yellow pus splattered across the ground.

Even cut in half, the Reaper did not die. It let out a bizarre shriek as its upper body desperately crawled toward its lower half, trying to piece its severed body back together.

The yellow pus was like special-effects glue. It actually fused the two halves back together.

Losing so many organs apparently did not affect the Reaper's survival.

"How fascinating. It feels like a vampire with zombie traits."

Mike stabbed the Reaper from the side, piercing its heart through a gap in its skeleton.

Amid its screams, the Reaper turned to ash.

"It can't be said that silver weapons are completely ineffective. The heart is simply encased in bone. The weak point is at the side of the body."

Mike looked like a medical student conducting an experiment. The other Reaper stared blankly, then instinctively backed away.

"Don't run." Mike beckoned at the other Reaper, but it retreated even faster.

Three seconds later, Mike kicked the Reaper in the back. The Reaper rolled and adjusted its posture, then shot its oral appendage at Mike.

"This one is seriously disgusting."

Mike swung his blade and chopped off the appendage. The silver blade pierced through the Reaper and pinned it to the ground. He then took out the teak dagger and drove it into the Reaper's heart. It twitched a few times before collapsing limply like mud.

Mike pulled out the dagger. The Reaper suddenly opened its eyes, so Mike stabbed the dagger back in. The Reaper stopped moving again.

"A teak dagger can temporarily seal a Reaper's movements, but it can't kill it."

"In the long run, Reapers are actually less of a threat to humans than ordinary vampires. Although they are individually stronger, their reduced intelligence and mutated appearance prevent them from blending into human society like ordinary vampires."

That was Mike's conclusion.