The Battle at Vampire Headquarters (End)

After helping Abigail relieve the pressure, Hannibal made his way to the stairwell. Hearing the constant sounds of fighting, wails, and screams inside, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Xiahou could come back to life after dying, they couldn't afford to lose him as a fighter right now. Hannibal entered the stairwell and saw Xiahou slaughtering vampires left and right with the Red Queen.

His movements were no longer as awkward as they had been when he fought Blade. Instead, they possessed an indescribable beauty. Every swing seemed utterly natural, and his transitions between slashes, thrusts, and upward strikes were seamless.

The vampires fighting him were like a group of ordinary people who had wandered onto a Dynasty Warriors battlefield. Xiahou unleashed his musou and cut them down in an instant. The ashes they became after death added a beautiful quality to the scene.

"Xiahou, miss me? I'm here to help!"

Hannibal pulled out an ultraviolet grenade and tossed it into the central opening of the stairwell as he spoke. The grenade emitted a brilliant light in midair, and every vampire it touched instantly burned into ash.

Xiahou heard Hannibal's voice, and then a beam of light swept past, setting the vampires before him ablaze. He turned to look at Hannibal above him and asked:

"What are you doing here? Have you dealt with all the vampires upstairs? Give me a moment! I can definitely kill them all!"

(Don't steal my experience! he screamed inwardly.)

In the short time he had been fighting, Xiahou had killed at least 300 vampires. His level, which had long remained unchanged, had soared to level 12-a full ten levels higher.

Hannibal watched Xiahou prepare to charge into the vampires who had just swarmed up and hurriedly said, "Hey! Wait, this isn't the time to fight these small fries. Abigail and I can barely hold on! There are too many of them; we can't possibly kill them all. Go help Blade kill Drake first, then come back and deal with these vampire lackeys! Don't forget Daystar!"

Xiahou thought about it and realized he was right. Once Drake was dead, this walking experience wouldn't be able to escape!

He turned and ran upstairs. When he reached Hannibal, he asked, "But if I don't hold them back, it'll be a problem if they charge up here! Can you handle them?"

Hannibal pulled out two glass balls and gave him a confident smile. "That's why I prepared a lot of these!"

He tossed the glass balls in an arc through the air, and they shattered at two different corners of the stairwell. A cloud of dust instantly filled the stairs. The moment the vampires smelled it, they began painfully spewing fire and no longer dared enter the area covered by the dust.

"This stuff works great, doesn't it? At least it's definitely enough to buy us time!" Hannibal turned to Xiahou and flashed a set of pearly white teeth, looking thoroughly smug, as if to say, Come on, praise me already!

Xiahou obliged him emotionally, giving him a thumbs-up as he said, "Very nice! But why didn't you bring them out earlier?"

"Mainly because I didn't bring many. I had to save them for a crucial moment. Come on, let's go! Don't waste time!" As Hannibal explained, he pulled Xiahou toward the place where they had just been fighting.

When they reached the elevator lobby where they had fought earlier, Abigail was once again surrounded by a group of vampires. The two men each drew a gun and helped her break free.

The three regrouped, and Hannibal pointed Xiahou in a direction and said:

"Blade and the others went that way. Abigail and I will stay here and keep these lackeys back. Go help Blade finish off Drake as quickly as you can."

Xiahou nodded to them. "All right, leave it to me! I'm counting on you two here. I'll be as quick as I can!"

With that, he rushed off in Blade's direction. He shot the vampires who stood in his way from a distance and cut down those nearby with a single stroke, reducing them all to ash. Not a single one could stop him.

Hannibal watched him go and said to Abigail with a look of amazement, "I can't believe he was still a weakling a few days ago, just a little unusual!"

Abigail looked equally convinced and added, "When I first met him, he fired two shots, and the recoil made his hand hurt for a long time! He didn't say anything, but I could tell. Ordinary people like us just can't compare to nonhumans like them!"

After they spoke, their expressions darkened. Perhaps before long, they would be nothing but burdens.

Xiahou had not gone far when the burly vampire he had encountered earlier blocked his path, accompanied by his three vampire dogs.

The vampire chuckled and said to Xiahou, "You can't get through here! Get him, bite him to death!"

The three dogs' mouths split open like a Predator's, spreading into chrysanthemums as they charged at Xiahou. The burly vampire charged alongside them.

But Xiahou simply sent three flashes of sword light past them, and the vampire and all three dogs turned to ash.

"Whoa, they were that weak? I thought they'd be strong!" Xiahou muttered before continuing deeper inside in search of Blade and Drake.

At last, in the hall with the large floor-to-ceiling windows, he saw the two men passionately hacking away at each other.

"Looks like I came at the wrong time! You two look so passionate, I feel like I've interrupted you!"

Xiahou spoke as he entered the hall. After exchanging another blow, the two men backed away from each other and looked at the newcomer.

When Blade saw it was Xiahou, he asked, "Is it settled outside?"

Xiahou walked to his side and looked at Drake, who was watching them warily from across the room. "Not yet! There are too many vampires. They sent me to help you deal with him first!"

Hearing Xiahou's answer, Blade said no more. He raised his sword, ready to attack Drake again.

Xiahou also took an attacking stance and activated the Red Queen's "EX" mode.

After Blade and Drake exchanged several more attacks, the Red Queen's first stage of charge was complete. Xiahou waited for the right opportunity, then swung the flaming blade at Drake's lower back from a tricky angle.

By the time Drake noticed and tried to dodge, it was too late. He was almost cut in two. Red flames burned along the wound, preventing it from healing.

Seeing this, Blade struck again, severing Drake's right hand. He followed with a spinning kick that sent Drake flying into a wine cabinet. The cabinet shattered on impact, and its fragments buried Drake's body.

Xiahou was speechless. He turned to Blade and asked, "Why did you kick him? Just keep cutting him! Chop him to pieces first! Couldn't you do that?"

Blade awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and said quietly, "I couldn't help myself. My foot just moved, and I kicked him."

While they were talking, Drake had already climbed out of the debris. His severed right hand had returned to normal, and the flames on his waist were gradually dying out as the wound began to heal slowly.

He looked at the Red Queen in Xiahou's hand and asked, "Why can your sword hurt me? I'm supposed to be immortal!" As he spoke, his wound healed completely.

Looking at the fully healed wound, Xiahou sighed inwardly. If he could charge it to the second or third stage, he could definitely kill Drake.

He sneered, "Are you stupid? Why would I tell you? But since you asked, I'll be merciful and tell you! This sword was made to kill demons! A weakling vampire like you is even less of a problem!"

Hearing Xiahou's taunt, Drake was instantly overcome with rage. Do you even hear what you're saying? Me, a weakling?

His fury erupted, and his body began to swell. A pair of bat wings slowly emerged from his back, and his face ceased to look human. He discarded the one-handed sword he held, his hands turned into claws, and he finally became a giant humanoid bat monster nearly three meters tall.

Blade looked at Drake's transformed figure, then turned to Xiahou with an expression of disgust, as if to say, Why did you have to run your mouth? One look at him was enough to tell he would be hard to deal with.

Xiahou was speechless too. Is he really that thin-skinned?

He then said to Blade, "You go first and cover me. I'm going to use my ultimate!"

At the same time, he pulled out the Blue Rose and began pouring magic into the gun.

Seeing Xiahou draw his pistol, Blade didn't hesitate. He took his sword and charged at Drake, who had become a monster.

But Drake's strength had increased by more than one degree after his transformation, and Blade was completely on the defensive.

Even as he fought Blade, Drake didn't forget to roar at Xiahou, "Insect! Come at me!"

By now, the Blue Rose had begun to emit a faint purple glow. Once its color had fully stabilized, Xiahou shouted to Blade, "Blade! Get out of the way!"

Hearing Xiahou's shout, Blade immediately rolled away, putting some distance between them.

A purple bullet from the Blue Rose struck Drake squarely in the chest. Purple flames instantly spread across his entire body, making him burn fiercely as he let out scream after scream.

Seeing Drake burning fiercely, Blade took his sword and started forward to finish him off, but Xiahou pulled him back.

Xiahou explained, "Those flames can spread. Don't go over there."

But as they watched the flames on Drake gradually weaken, Xiahou and Blade's expressions turned grim. Xiahou pulled out Daystar and turned to Blade. "Leave for a little while. I'm going to use Daystar!"

Blade looked deeply at Xiahou, then silently nodded. He smashed through a floor-to-ceiling window and jumped out.

After seeing Blade leave, Xiahou hesitated no longer. He rushed forward, plunged Daystar into Drake's body, and pressed the detonation button.

The toxin instantly spread through Drake's body, causing him to swell like a balloon.

When he had swollen to about five meters, his entire body burst with a loud bang, becoming a rain of blood. At the same time, tiny particles of dust began spreading throughout the building.

The blood did not fall straight to the ground but began to gather. Eventually, it took human form again and lay on the floor. This time, however, he no longer had the strength to stand.

Drake turned to Xiahou and slowly said, "You win! Human, tell me your name! And give me a quick death!"

Hearing Drake's question, Xiahou took out the Red Queen again and walked slowly to his side. "This feels strange, but remember it: my name is Xiahou!"

He severed Drake's neck with a single stroke. This time, Drake did not heal. Instead, his body began to burn, and after speaking his final words, he turned into a pile of ash.

"Don't worry. I'll remember you!"

Elsewhere, Hannibal and Abigail were covered in wounds of all sizes, blood still flowing from them. Dozens of vampires surrounded them, but none continued to attack.

Danica stood behind the vampires and said to Hannibal and Abigail, "King Hannibal, what can you do now? You've already lost. I'll make sure to torture you properly. I won't let you die so easily!"

But Hannibal saw the vampires in the distance begin clutching their throats as their bodies caught fire.

He knew Xiahou must have used Daystar, so he said to Danica, "Danica, you're celebrating too soon! You should have killed us just now. At least then I could have been buried with you, instead of you standing there declaring victory. We've won now!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than all the vampires around them were enveloped in Daystar's dust.

Danica clutched her throat and let out one final scream before her body was gradually burned away.

As the dust continued to spread, the vampires throughout the building vanished in droves.

Blade stood on the roof of a distant building and watched it until the last vampire attempting to escape reached the road and turned to ash.

An indescribable feeling welled up in him. He felt that, at this moment, he could finally lay down the burden he carried. His long battle against the vampires had left him exhausted, but it also gave him an immense sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

After hearing sirens in the distance, he called Hannibal and told them the police were almost there and it was time to leave.