"Blade, why are you dragging your feet?"
Darian waited for quite a while in the passage before seeing Blade follow him with heavy steps.
Blade's face was ashen, and he remained silent.
Earlier, he had emptied all the cash in his wallet and still couldn't scrape together two thousand U.S. dollars. In the end, he had to pawn a few valuable items on him to the bartender just to settle the bill.
This only added insult to injury for his already struggling finances.
Seeing that Blade had no intention of answering, Darian didn't press the matter, assuming the other man just had a low alcohol tolerance.
"Follow me, I found the entrance."
He led Blade to the end of the passage, where several unconscious security personnel—ordinary people—lay on the ground, clearly his handiwork.
Darian didn't care about schemes like feigning injury for compensation.
He was S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA's most loyal employee, the top Agent of the S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA organization!
Who dared to mess with him? Who dared to expose his secrets?
If someone really dared to expose him, they would probably be invited for tea at the S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA organization that very day.
Besides, he had even beaten up Nick Fury, the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and not long ago, he had beaten up Strucker, the controller of HYDRA's European forces. What were a few ordinary people?
There was an iron door at the end of the passage. Darian pulled out a skeleton key and easily opened it, revealing a downward staircase.
The two descended the stairs to the basement level, where a massive underground space gradually unfolded before their eyes.
This was clearly a fully equipped underground factory, but it was strangely silent. Many vacuum containment pods were neatly lined up, but their doors were all wide open, and they were empty inside.
The battle-hardened Blade quickly sensed something was wrong.
"Look out! It's a trap!"
The moment he spoke, several strange figures dropped down from the shadows of the ceiling, lunging straight for their position!
Darian and Blade reacted extremely fast, immediately dodging to the side.
Using the faint light, they clearly saw the appearance of their attackers.
These strange, bony figures were sickly pale all over, and their hands had mutated into large, suction-cup-like organs.
Their mouths were even more terrifying; the entire lower jaw split into two halves, revealing a maw filled with spiral-shaped sharp teeth, creating a powerful visual shock.
Darian raised an eyebrow: "This little novelty certainly looks... unique."
Before they could think further, one of the monsters lunged violently, opening its massive, bloody mouth and rushing towards their faces with a foul stench!
Blade remained calm in the face of danger, his silver longsword quickly leaving its sheath, tracing a cold arc as it slashed toward the monster's neck!
The silver longsword easily cut through the monster's flesh, nearly severing its neck!
However, something unexpected happened.
This monster did not instantly burst into flames and turn to ash upon being damaged by silver, like a typical Vampire; instead, it stood there as if nothing had happened.
The horrifying wound on its neck violently writhed, healing rapidly at a visible speed.
In the blink of an eye, it was completely restored.
"Damn it, they really are Reapers!"
Blade's expression turned grim; he had clearly recognized the identity of these monsters.
"What are Reapers?" Darian asked, not understanding.
Blade spoke quickly: "Reapers are genetically modified Vampire variants. Their physical abilities are stronger than regular Vampires, they possess extremely powerful regeneration, and they are immune to all other Vampire weaknesses except the Sun."
"The most terrifying thing is that they don't just feed on human blood; they also prey on Vampires. Whether human or Vampire, anyone bitten by them will be converted into one of their kind in a short amount of time."
Darian was astonished. Weren't these just the Vampire version of zombies?
And why did these abilities sound so familiar? Aside from not being immune to the Sun, they were practically indistinguishable from Fis after he gained the Blood God's power. Even their unique appetite was the same; calling them a group of mini-Fis wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Blade's voice grew heavier: "I only recently became aware of these monsters' existence. I didn't expect them to have reached such a scale. Someone must be deliberately cultivating them."
"Screeeech—!!"
Just then, the group of Reapers let out a chorus of piercing howls and surged forward from all directions!
Darian didn't hesitate, pulling out his golden desert eagle and continuously pulling the trigger!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
The muzzle spat fire, and the head of the foremost Reaper exploded instantly. Its body spontaneously ignited and quickly turned to ash.
Clearly, Darian's energy still had a restraining effect on these dark creatures.
But the Reapers seemed completely fearless, stepping over the remains of their comrades and rushing toward Darian regardless of the danger.
One of them lunged violently right in front of him, its massive, bloody mouth savagely aiming for his neck!
Muay Thai warning!
Darian retaliated instinctively, delivering a fierce elbow strike squarely to the face of the pouncing Reaper.
Boom!!
A dull thud echoed throughout the factory!
Under Darian's elbow strike, the Reaper's face instantly caved in and deformed. Its entire body was sent flying backward as if struck by a heavy hammer, consecutively knocking over three or four of its comrades before finally slamming heavily into the wall with a tremendous crash.
Spiderweb cracks spread across the wall, and the Reaper was practically embedded in it.
Most of its head had collapsed, its features twisted into a flattened mess, and various unknown liquids constantly seeped from its nose, eyes, and ears, making it a horrific sight.
Darian's strength attribute, which surpassed one hundred, was not something ordinary people could withstand. Even though these Reapers' physical toughness far exceeded that of Vampires, they could barely resist his power.
This horrifying sight caused the other Reapers to pause momentarily.
What the heck, is he a poet?
"It looks like you guys still have some intelligence."
Darian saw the Reapers' reaction and slowly curved his lips into a smile: "Keep coming. Don't spare me just because I'm a delicate flower."
The Reapers: "..."
After a brief hesitation, the Reapers charged toward Darian again.
Darian simply put away the golden desert eagle and actively rushed into the densest area of Reapers, engaging them in close combat. The Muay Thai Warning skill basically never stopped; he kept elbowing them through four full quarters of the fight!
If we're going to elbow, we'll elbow!
You have it, he has it, everyone has it!
Under Darian's elbow strikes, the surrounding Reapers were sent flying backward one by one like cannonballs.
However, pure elbow strikes couldn't truly harm these Reapers, so Darian cast a Shielding Spell on himself, his body enveloped in a layer of light attribute barrier.
Though it was called a shield, it actually possessed a certain amount of offensive power.
Just like Tony's Iron Man armor, when energy was low, he often used his multi-ton iron fists for close-quarters combat, and he even fought using Wing Chun, showing impressive proficiency.
Fully enchanted by the Shielding Spell, every one of Darian's elbow strikes gained a Light Attribute boost. Combined with his strength attribute of over one hundred, he was essentially a human-shaped hundred-ton king to dark creatures like the Reapers.
One elbow strike, and the creature was sent flying, ready to prepare for reincarnation.
After being struck by the Light-Attribute-enhanced elbow, the Reapers had no chance to heal. Their entire bodies gradually burned away, leaving nothing behind.
Compared to the Reapers, Darian seemed more like the true Reapers!
On the other side, Blade's situation was much more difficult.
The silver longsword in his hand was practically smoking from use, yet the surrounding Reapers were not decreasing; instead, they were gathering in greater numbers.
Blade did not possess Darian's abilities. Lacking an effective means to restrain the enemy, every one of his attacks felt like half the results for twice the effort. No matter how much damage he dealt, the Reapers' injuries quickly healed, allowing them to return to the fight.
As time passed, Blade's stamina plummeted. His breathing grew heavy, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
However, the worst part was that the Reapers seemed endless. A continuous stream of Reapers swarmed in from every corner of the blood factory, a dense mass that frantically squeezed the limited space around them.
"There are too many of them! We can't kill them all!"
Blade swung his sword again, forcing back the two Reapers in front of him, and seized the chance to shout toward Darian, his voice carrying an undisguised hint of exhaustion.
"Come over here."
Darian cleared a small area with a punch and responded loudly.
Blade didn't know what he intended to do, but he obediently moved closer.
His movement seemed to form the center of a vortex.
Seeing the two targets converge, the previously scattered Reapers immediately surged in frantically from all sides, and the encirclement rapidly tightened.
Within their field of vision, there were countless Reapers, ready to completely swallow the two of them at any moment.
Just at that moment, Darian materialized a dazzling magic sword in his hand and raised it sharply above his head.
"Illumination Spell!"
In an instant, the magic sword burst forth with an intense, blinding light, erupting violently in Darian's hand!
This light was like a miniature Sun suddenly rising within the dark factory. Centered on him, it instantly engulfed every inch of space.
Wherever the light passed, darkness could not hide. The entire factory interior was illuminated as brightly as day, and every corner was exposed beneath this sacred radiance.
"Screeeaaaw—!!!"
Extremely agonizing screams instantly rang out in unison!
All the Reapers directly hit by the light immediately began emitting thick, rolling smoke, as if concentrated sulfuric acid had been poured over their bodies.
Bathed in this light filled with the power of the Light Attribute, the Reapers reacted as if they had encountered true sunlight. Their bodies hissed with burning sounds, and they turned into little Pyros, spontaneously combusting.
The monsters that were fiercely roaring one moment turned into black ashes scattering through the air the next!
The light lasted for several seconds before gradually receding.
When visibility returned, the area within a radius of over ten meters, centered on the two men, was completely clear.
The encirclement that had been impenetrable moments ago now only left a thick layer of ash on the ground; the Reapers were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing this sight, Blade couldn't help but widen his eyes.
The Reapers he had just been struggling against were completely wiped out by Darian with a single Area of Effect attack.
He couldn't help but ask: "Are all the clergy at your church as strong as you?"
Blade originally didn't believe Darian was affiliated with a church; how could someone with his terrible personality be a man of the cloth?
Even if he was, he had to be an undercover Agent sent by Satan!
But now that he had witnessed this, he had no choice but to believe it.
A single beam of light could so easily eliminate this group of Reapers; he truly couldn't think of any other explanation besides the legendary Holy Light.
Blade felt conflicted, wondering if he should send an anonymous tip to Darian's church to investigate internal conduct issues, perhaps exposing Darian, this suspected mole.
Of course, there was also the possibility of exposing the priest who performed exorcisms on little boys.
Darian, unaware of the extent of Blade's thoughts, answered cheerfully: "I'm just a little newbie in the church. There are tons of people much more powerful than me. The high-ranking clergy have much stronger exorcism methods than I do."
Blade asked curiously: "Do they possess abilities even stronger than your light?"
"Oh no, that's heretical magic. Powerful clergy like that usually perform exorcisms by piloting mechas and using missiles. I'm currently only at the pistol level, nowhere near as strong as the mecha-level clergy."
Blade: "???"
Wait, aren't your church's exorcism methods a little too hardcore!?
And is this ranking system really reasonable?
Although Blade was filled with doubt, the pure and intense Holy Light in Darian's hand was a genuine, undeniable power.
Blade lightly coughed a few times, lowering his voice to ask: "Can others learn abilities like yours?"
For Blade, who frequently battled dark creatures, he was extremely envious of Darian's abilities.
One blast of Holy Light was more effective than his half-day of hard fighting.
Most importantly, the Holy Light looked very cost-effective; it even saved money on weapons and ammunition.
Darian nodded: "Of course, but you need a certain level of talent to get started."
He wasn't lying.
The Shielding Spell was one of Kamar-Taj's magic spells. Not everyone could learn it; without magic talent, practicing it would be futile.
Blade asked hesitantly: "Do you think I have this talent?"
Darian carefully examined Blade, then shook his head: "My skill belongs to the Light Attribute, which isn't very suitable for you to learn. You clearly have the makings of a Dark Attribute talent."
Blade: "..."
Well it's reasonable for a Vampire to have Dark Attribute talent, Right?
The two did not immediately leave the blood factory.
According to the mini-map display, Darian found quite a few missed Reapers deep within the factory.
He immediately activated the Shielding Spell and elbow-struck them all to death, preventing the creation of a Reapers Universe similar to the Zombie Universe.
Other servers didn't matter, but this was his main server.
In Darian's view, the entire server belonged to the player, so naturally, he had to protect his own server to prevent file corruption that would make it completely unplayable.
After clearing out the blood factory, the two wasted no time and immediately rushed to the next destination marked on the map.
To their surprise, the subsequent operations went unusually smoothly.
They had expected the Eternal Night Organization to escalate things after suffering such heavy losses, setting up more dangerous traps or sending out more guards.
However, apart from the previous massive wave of Reapers, they encountered no further significant resistance. The defenses at the remaining few blood factories were severely weakened, almost returning to their initial state.
Darian didn't even need to take action; Blade alone could easily destroy an entire blood factory.
The Eternal Night Organization seemed to have suddenly given up the struggle, showing indifference to the continuous destruction of its key strongholds, adopting a posture of letting things slide and completely giving up.
Something unusual is definitely afoot!