"Fifty! I'd rather not have come out at all! What can fifty Blood Corpse do? I'd be lucky if I could even run a little."
Earl Luoli's mournful wail echoed from the sarcophagus, at which point Bennett began to play hard to get:
"Come out or not, it's up to you. Let me tell you, there's a large settlement nearby with five or six thousand people. If I could take it down by myself, I wouldn't be searching the world for help."
Bennett wasn't lying; there was indeed a human settlement less than a day's journey from here, without even a wall, filled with fresh, delicious, and well-proportioned humans.
Aside from the fact that the place was called Valhalla, he didn't hide any other information.
Even five or six thousand people could be considered a conservative estimate. If Valhalla hadn't been positioned as a starting area, and if a large number of players hadn't rushed to the front lines after Ed opened new events, Valhalla's population would have easily exceeded ten thousand.
Although there aren't actually that many houses here, most players don't stop once they log in, and whether or not they have a settlement in Valhalla is completely unimportant to them.
Under Bennett's selective description of facts, Luoli in the sarcophagus fell into deep thought.
Large settlements?
Five or six thousand people?
Even if he could eat a quarter or even a fifth of it, and give the rest to Bennett, his own strength would be enough to recover to its peak level.
In that case, it doesn't matter if I'm a little weaker when the seal is broken.
He never imagined that Bennett wanted to harm his fellow countryman.
Although the title of "Vampire Count" sounds intimidating, it actually doesn't exceed the limitations of the Initial Tier, and can only command a maximum of a little over a thousand Blood Corpse.
Fifty Blood Corpse are not a small number for an earl. Unless he was starving, Bennett had no reason to be so reckless.
Moreover, the human settlements he described sounded quite realistic; this fellow member of the Antos Lineage probably just wanted to find a henchman or cannon fodder.
However, as a vampire of the Adelaide Lineage, it would be unwise to confront the other party head-on. The most urgent task is to leave the seal as soon as possible, and then perhaps find an opportunity to escape.
Although vampires have near-infinite lifespans, being sealed away for almost a century is still unbearable, and the yearning for freedom temporarily overshadows the doubts arising from instinct.
Thinking of this, Luoli added:
"Alright, fifty it is, but Lord Bennett..."
"What's up?"
"I smell fresh humans. Fifty Blood Corpse are barely enough for me to break the seal. To help me recover some strength, could you give me some of the humans around you to satisfy my craving? This is for your own good. Once we've gathered enough Blood Corpse, I'll definitely cooperate fully with you to take down that human settlement."
"Oh? Your nose is quite sensitive."
Bennett drew out the sound as he turned to look at [Autumn Light Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows behind him, who then looked at [ Soaring Clouds ] who was crawling into the tomb.
[ Soaring Clouds ] met his gaze and gave him a thumbs up...
Bennett then said in a somewhat arrogant tone:
"It's not impossible, but once you regain your strength, remember to behave yourself. I'll make sure you get a taste of prison food."
"Okay, okay."
A series of urgent words came through, and Luoli almost clapped inside the sarcophagus.
He had already devised his next plan: the fifty Blood Corpse would break the seal, devour a dozen or so humans to regain their strength, gather more Blood Corpse, and together with Bennett, attack human settlements and perform a blood sacrifice.
If it succeeds, it will be a great achievement; if things go wrong, run away as fast as you can.
Anyway, I'm just standing in the back applying debuffs, so no one should notice if I secretly apply them.
Through the heavy stone coffin, Luoli heard Bennett's hoarse but authoritative voice:
"All of you, come in and prepare to become food for Earl Luoli's revival."
"Yes, Lord Bennett."
The players then pretended to be hypnotized and gave emotionless replies before entering the tomb one by one and surrounding the stone coffin.
Luoli didn't see anything wrong with it. Vampire nobles had a wide variety of abilities, and he didn't think hypnosis was some unattainable skill.
As for the players, they didn't know just how powerful a count could be after a minimum level of resurrection. Perhaps they could defeat him, perhaps they couldn't, but since things had come to this point, everyone had to give it a try.
This is their only chance. If they fail, Count Luoli will surely kill them all after his resurrection, including the unarmed Bennett.
According to the contract they signed with Gray, if this comes to fruition, all the " Soaring Clouds xxxx" will have to spend the next two months working endlessly to pay off their debts...
Fifty Blood Corpse entered the tomb one after another. They came to the profound runes that were either emitting a faint light or flickering. They used their claws to tear open their wrists and splashed their thick, almost black blood into the runes.
A strong stench of blood filled everyone's nostrils, and the blood spread, covering the dark blue runes like extinguishing a flame.
Each time a rune completely extinguishes, the stone coffin trembles violently once.
The first batch of Blood Corpse quickly bled out and collapsed on the ground of the tomb.
Bennett summoned a second batch of Blood Corpse into the tomb. He first cleaned up the Blood Corpse that were already dead, and then repeated the process of cutting his wrists to bleed them out.
The Blood Corpse made quite a commotion while cleaning up, and the players exchanged glances and took the opportunity to arm themselves.
Including [ Autumn Light and Osmanthus Shadows ], who was a temporary worker, there were a total of sixteen Soul Returner present.
At this moment, each of them was fully armed, wearing soft armor standard for the Second Holy See, and wielding either Directed Alienation plant weapons or directly purchased swords and knives.
As a drop of blood was sprinkled into the next rune in its active state, everyone held their breath, ready to plunge their weapons into the resurrected count's body.
"Sizzle~"
A faint, chilling sound echoed down the spine, and the last ray of blue light vanished into the cavern tomb.
The seal on Count Luoli Adelaide the vampire has been broken!
"Bang!"
The stone coffin suddenly shook, followed by a loud bang. The players trembled violently, startled by the sight.
"Bang!"
One end of the stone coffin jumped up and then crashed down heavily. Several players quickly dodged backward, fearing that they would be pierced by a thousand arrows at any moment.
"Bang!"
The entire stone coffin leaped up and slammed solidly back to the ground. This happened three times already; by this point, the players were starting to get used to it...
The crowd surrounded the stone coffin, unsure of what to do.
Is the count aware of the danger outside and therefore not planning to come out?
Or is he planning an opportunity to launch a surprise attack?
Just as everyone was having doubts, they suddenly heard Bennett, who was in a wheelchair, say leisurely:
"It's a slider."