When the group of Magi entered the cavern, the scene that greeted them left them shocked!
More than a hundred residents of the city were lying unconscious on the ground, in some sort of strange pattern. Meanwhile, one vampire spawn was nervously placing them at different points of the ritual formation.
Moreover, the two headless corpses of the other vampire spawns by the ritual formation made them wonder just what exactly had taken place here.
And finally, their eyes landed on the vampire who was responsible for the entire tragedy befalling the city. However, he was currently stomping on Adam while laughing maniacally.
Seeing such a gruesome scene made Magus Emory and Magus Karl freeze on the spot, their bodies trembling. After becoming Magi, they lived a life of luxury. Hence, they weren't used to such situations.
Meanwhile, Count Hannes, Edward, and Lisa, who had managed to keep their composure, looked at one another and nodded. Following that, Lisa dashed toward the last vampire spawn, whereas the other two went toward the Vampire Magus.
The vampire, sensing the killing intent directed at him, coldly smiled. "I've been waiting for you."
Just when the Count's and Edward's swords were about to touch his neck, he brought forth his pale claws and grabbed the blades.
CLANG!
A clear sound of metal hitting against metal resounded in the underground cavern. Seeing their swords blocked—no, grasped with such ease, Count Hannes and Edward were astonished!
Both their swords were magic artifacts but the vampire was able to grab them with his bare hands like he was grabbing mere twigs.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Taking advantage of their momentary state of shock, the vampire twisted his body and redirected both swords in the opposite direction. The Count and Edward were flung to the far ends of the cavern as a result.
But during this split second, Aquila had rushed toward Adam, grabbed his shoulders, and sped off into the distance away from the vampire.
The vampire didn't pay attention to Adam and the griffin though. He turned around, while at the same time weaving hand signs at quick speeds, and then aimed his hand at Lisa who was moments away from reaching the last spawn.
Rank 1 Spell: Hail of Blood!
Several magic circles materialized in front of him, and from them, dozens of blood thorns, the size of an adult finger, shot out toward Lisa.
Lisa, who was just inches away from the spawn, had no choice but to retreat to dodge the blood thorns. This spell sent shivers down her spine, and she believed that if she were to be scratched by even a single blood thorn, then the outcome would be dire.
Within just a few seconds, the vampire had effectively countered the frontal attack of two Magi and also protected his spawn from a third Magus!
Seeing such a level of prowess, everyone present was shocked. Lisa, who had deduced by now that the vampire was only a Rank 1 Magus, couldn't believe that someone of the same rank as her could be so fierce at combat.
The only other person she knew who was this monstrous was also in the same cavern. Her gaze subconsciously landed on Adam, who was now lying motionlessly after having been saved by Aquila.
"Is this how you treat a stranger?" The vampire looked at all the Magi that had just entered the cavern with a cold smile. "How rude."
Then, he looked at his vampire spawn who was about to finish the preparation for the ritual, and his smile turned even wider.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Well, it doesn't matter." He elegantly walked toward the ritual formation with his hands behind his back. "Although it would have been much better if I had a few more sacrifices, I can still make do with this."
No one interrupted the vampire. No, to be more precise, no one dared to. All the Magi were struck with terror after witnessing the vampire deal with them so effortlessly.
They walked around the ritual formation and slowly made their way to where Adam was.
Seeing this, the vampire didn't stop them at all. He simply didn't care. His entire attention was on his spawn who was placing the last few sacrifices on the formation with trembling hands.
Meanwhile, Edward crouched down beside Adam and helped him up. Seeing his bloodied face, the youth was taken aback. But what surprised him even more was that Adam seemed to be… crying.
Edward was dumbfounded. "Adam, you… are you crying?"
"Of course, I'm not!" Adam barked like a mad dog. He pointed at the vampire and spoke full of grievance. "That bastard broke my nose. And now… my eyes won't stop sweating! Uwaahhh!"
Hearing him, everyone was speechless. Lisa looked at him with a solemn expression. "Can you fight him?"
Adam looked at her and confidently said, "That goes without saying."
"Good." Lisa nodded. "Then all of us will fight him together—"
But Adam interrupted her. "No, leave him to me."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})The Count chimed in with a stern expression. "Magus Adam, this is not the time to flaunt your powers. We'll have a much better chance at defeating him if we work together."
"No, you don't get it." Adam shook his head. He pointed his finger toward the cavern ceiling and solemnly said, "There are still those guys that you have to take care of."
The vampire's ears suddenly twitched and he looked at Adam in surprise. "You were able to sense them? Your spiritual powers are quite strong for someone your age."
Everyone turned to look at the ceiling, but they couldn't sense anything at all. Even Count Hannes who was the strongest in the group couldn't perceive a thing. The ceiling was obscured in darkness, preventing anyone from seeing anything.
Adam slowly got to his feet, his face solemn. He looked at Edward and asked, "You got my stuff?"
Edward nodded and handed him his Holding Pouch and a pair of black gauntlets.
Adam tied the Holding Pouch to his waist and then grabbed the gauntlets from Edward. These pair of gauntlets were Rank 1 magic artifacts and this would be the first time he'd be wearing them.
After putting them on, Adam grinned from ear to ear. "Now, that's more like it!"
He then instructed the rest of the Magi, "You all huddle together and focus more on defending. It'll be difficult for you all to kill every one of them. But don't worry, all you need to do is last long enough till I kill the vampire."
Sensing the seriousness in Adam's tone, Lisa clenched her fists tightly as a drop of sweat rolled down her forehead. "What exactly is up there? What are we fighting against?"
Before Adam could reply, the vampire had already completed a series of hand signs and aimed his finger at them. He revealed his sharp fangs and displayed a cruel smile as he said, "See for yourself."
Following that, countless pairs of blood-red eyes became visible across the entire ceiling.
SCREEECH!
