The Eternal Night Organization's unusual behavior made the two of them a little wary.
Especially Darian. According to his game experience, such abnormal behavior usually meant a big event was coming.
Of course, wariness aside, the mission still had to continue.
Darian and Blade's operational efficiency was extremely high.
In just a few days, they completely eradicated the remaining Vampire factories of the Eternal Night Organization with overwhelming force.
However, after the last Vampire factory was cleared by the two, the mission still didn't show as complete; it only updated with a new mission objective location.
An ancient castle located in the suburbs.
It was the true core lair of the Eternal Night Organization.
This location was extremely remote, far from human habitation, and impossible to find by ordinary means.
But in front of Darian's game system, all hiding was futile.
As long as it was a key location related to the mission, no matter how deeply hidden, the system would mercilessly mark it out, far more efficient than any organization's intelligence network.
Led by Darian, the two easily traversed the surrounding wild grass and dead woods, arriving at the huge iron gate outside the castle.
"There's an ambush."
As they approached the outer wall of the castle, Darian glanced at the dense red dots on the mini-map in his consciousness and couldn't help but warn Blade.
"It's just a futile struggle."
Blade sneered dismissively, without the slightest tension on his face.
After successively destroying several Vampire factories, Darian requested a large batch of specialized anti-Vampire artifacts from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
These weapons had little effect on humans, but for Vampires, their suppressive effect was like a wax statue next to a high-temperature furnace, instantly disintegrating and melting.
One ultraviolet grenade thrown out would turn all Vampires within its range into ashes, its clearing efficiency comparable to Darian's Illumination spell.
Blade, being close, also enjoyed this benefit, and his equipment received a comprehensive upgrade.
Now he no longer needed to hack Vampires one by one with a sword like before, which was inefficient and carried a certain risk of injury.
But now, just one ultraviolet grenade was enough to kill most of the Vampires on the field.
There was no Vampire that one ultraviolet grenade couldn't solve.
If there was, then two!
And the effects of other anti-Vampire artifacts were largely similar to ultraviolet grenades, truly opening Blade's eyes as a professional Vampire hunter, as if he had opened a new World.
Wielding such divine weapons, Blade could be said to have completely swelled with confidence, not putting ordinary Vampires in his eyes at all.
"Let me do it, this kind of scene isn't for you to act."
Blade raised his hand to stop Darian, and with the full confidence of his upgraded equipment, he kicked open the iron gate and walked towards the castle first.
Not many steps in, several Vampires hidden in the dark suddenly jumped out, their eyes flashing with bloodthirsty red light, staring intently at Blade.
Blade's mouth curved slightly, not at all surprised by this.
He reached for the ultraviolet grenade on his waist, preparing to let these ignorant monsters taste the power of technology.
However, the next second, his movements froze.
He saw that the Vampires directly facing him were carrying RPG Rocket launchers on their shoulders!
Blade: "..."
Nobody told me Vampires' equipment also got upgraded!
The Vampires grinned and pulled the triggers without hesitation, the Rocket-propelled grenades trailing flames, directly blasting towards Blade!
In the nick of time, Blade, relying on instincts honed through a hundred battles, desperately sprinted backwards and sideways.
Boom—!
A huge explosion sounded, and hot air currents, carrying rubble and grass clippings, swept in all directions, smacking against Blade's tactical vest with crackling sounds.
The spot where he had just stood had been blown into a scorched shallow pit, and the churning soil was still smoking.
However, the smoke of the explosion had not yet dissipated when another group of Vampires swiftly emerged from all sides.
They were covered head-to-toe in matte black tactical armor and helmets, each holding a standard automatic rifle, moving in unison and well-trained.
Without giving Blade any chance to breathe, a dense burst of gunfire erupted instantly!
Da da da da da—!
Countless bullets poured in, and Blade quickly rolled, hiding behind a decorative stone fountain base.
The sound of bullets hitting echoed continuously in his ears, and shattered stone chips flew everywhere.
Taking advantage of a lull in the firing, Blade immediately pulled out an ultraviolet grenade and threw it into the densest area of the Vampire squad.
Intense ultraviolet light was instantly released, but the Vampires illuminated by it showed no reaction.
Clearly, their equipment had been specially treated to effectively resist ultraviolet damage.
At this moment, Blade was numb.
He had thought that after upgrading his equipment, he would easily crush this group of Vampires.
He never expected that the opponent's equipment would also be upgraded.
Not only could they completely resist ultraviolet attacks, but they even pulled out RPGs!
Blade was pinned behind the base, making it extremely difficult even to raise his head to observe the situation.
He could only pull out the automatic rifle filled with silver bullets, a friendly gift from Darian, and instinctively used the marksmanship etched into his genes, holding it high above his head and sweeping wildly.
This fighting style was quite safe, but whether it hit anything was entirely up to luck.
In an instant, the outer perimeter of the castle had become a modern battlefield, with gunshots rising and falling, completely devoid of any trace of supernatural combat.
However, Blade was ultimately only one person, with limited firepower.
Facing this overwhelming firepower, he quickly fell into a disadvantage, and several times bullets grazed past him.
Just as the Vampires were pulling out grenades, preparing to bomb, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out from not far away!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
The four Vampires preparing to throw grenades fell to the ground in response, turning into ashes.
The grenades in their hands rolled to the ground and exploded with a roar amidst the dense Vampire formation.
Boom—!
The violent explosion sent nearby Vampires flying, dismembered limbs scattered, and piercing screams immediately erupted.
Grenades couldn't directly kill Vampires, but they would suffer every bit of the pain they were supposed to endure, pure torture.
The surviving Vampires immediately looked in the direction of the gunfire.
They saw Darian walking slowly, holding a golden desert eagle in each hand, radiating a dazzling, holy glow that made all Vampires feel a shudder and repulsion from their souls, as if they had encountered their natural predator.
The Vampires were somewhat afraid; the situation before them was a bit beyond their comprehension.
Even though they were wearing protective suits that could completely resist ultraviolet rays, they couldn't withstand the light emanating from Darian's body. Just getting close made their whole bodies tingle and feel uncomfortable, like facing the scorching midday sun.
"Could it be... Holy Light!?"
A Vampire couldn't help but exclaim.
But his remark was immediately refuted by his companion: "What a joke, how can there really be such a thing as Holy Light in this World? Those things in churches are just a bunch of tricks to deceive people."
Although Vampires have a lot of weaknesses, they are uniquely unafraid of so-called crucifixes and holy Water.
Unlike what is portrayed in many movies and TV shows, where Vampires are afraid of crucifixes and turn to dust when touched by holy Water from churches.
Real-life Vampires are only afraid of physical attacks, not these magic damages at all.
If they wanted to, they could very well hold a crucifix in one hand, a Bible in the other, and drink holy Water like wine to their heart's content in a church.
These words instantly resonated with the other Vampires.
As Vampires of the new era, they had always only believed in science, scoffing at miracles and superstitious methods.
In their view, churches were just decorations, and only humans and those newborn Vampires would believe in that sort of thing.
Hearing their conversation, Darian narrowed his eyes: "Evil spirits, the gates of Heaven have reopened, and the will of God has returned to the human World. It is time to settle your accumulated sins."
This statement contained too much information, and the Vampires expressed disbelief, or rather, dared not believe it.
"Fire! Kill him!"
The leading Vampire immediately ordered.
The best way to eliminate fear is to face it!
At his command, the Vampires all raised their muzzles, which instantly spat fire, wildly spraying bullets at Darian.
After the deafening gunfire, bullet casings clinked and scattered across the ground.
As the smoke cleared slightly, all the Vampires were stunned.
Darian still stood in place, the white light around him like an invisible barrier, blocking all the bullets, leaving only a pile of twisted bullet heads on the ground.
And he himself was completely unharmed, not even a corner of his clothes was damaged.
"H-how is that possible?"
The Vampires swallowed hard.
At this moment, they finally somewhat believed Darian's words, but unfortunately, it was of no use.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
Darian activated God of Death's Eye, and the two golden desert eagles in his hands roared in response, spitting fire. Energy-infused bullets easily pierced through tactical helmets and embedded themselves in the Vampires' heads.
In an instant, crimson blood mists exploded one after another within the Vampire ranks!
A Vampire carrying an RPG tried to retaliate, but the Rocket-propelled grenade was blasted mid-air by an energy bullet just as it left the barrel.
The gunfire erupted and subsided abruptly, quickly coming to a complete halt.
The castle's exterior returned to a deathly silence, with only the pungent smell of blood and gunpowder lingering in the wind.
Darian lowered his hands, the muzzles of his Desert Eagles still emitting wisps of smoke, and the ground around him was covered with the ashes of Vampires and scattered equipment.
Blade, holding his empty automatic rifle, emerged from behind the fountain base, silently pulling out a small silver knife to finish off the few Vampires on the ground who had been shot but not killed.
With Darian's marksmanship, he naturally wouldn't miss.
These Vampires had been accidentally hit by Blade's "Africa-style" shooting; it was hard to say whether they were lucky or unlucky to be hit by Blade's aim. It was precisely because of this that they were injured and fell, narrowly escaping Darian's clean-up.
Unfortunately, Blade would absolutely not leave them alive, as it would detract from his image.
Blade finished the cover-up, returned to Darian's side as if nothing had happened, his eyes filled with unconcealed astonishment.
"Are you really connected to Heaven?"
Darian smiled slightly: "It's normal. Clergy members in churches are more or less connected to Heaven. Don't forget who is at the very top of the church."
Blade instantly understood Darian's meaning. In America, no one didn't know that person.
Just as in the East, no one wouldn't know Sun Wukong.
Blade immediately looked respectful: "So, everything you are doing now is at his instruction?"
"More or less."
Darian knew Blade was completely fooled, but fundamentally, there wasn't much difference.
He indeed had someone above him, but it wasn't the person Blade thought it was, but rather the game system, which was much more powerful than that person.
After all, no matter how amazing an NPC or background character, they were just a string of data.
"Then what is your mission? Maybe I can help."
Seeing Darian admit it, Blade's expression became much more serious, and his tone grew cautious.
Although he was an atheist, he should still maintain a certain reverence for certain existences.
Darian cheerfully said: "Don't worry, I'm just here to boost my performance. I'll go back once I meet enough KPI."
Blade's mouth twitched slightly: "You guys have KPIs too?"
"Of course."
Darian nodded solemnly: "But right now, my KPI is a bit short. I see you're half-human, half-Vampire, so you're half a Vampire, so how about you help a brother out and let me hit my target?"
Blade: "..."
I don't think so.
After dealing with these modernized Vampires, the two walked side-by-side into the castle entrance.
Unlike the outside, the castle interior was unusually quiet.
It still retained the ancient style of several centuries ago, with cold, damp air carrying faint smells of mold and candlelight, perfectly matching Darian's stereotypical impression of a Vampire lair.
However, surprisingly, they didn't encounter any decent defensive forces along the way.
It wasn't until they passed through the front hall that they saw a female Vampire in a maid uniform under the archway leading to the inner corridor.
Hmm, not the kind worn by hotel cleaning ladies, but a real maid uniform.
A black and White mini-skirt, ample bosom, plus blonde hair and blue eyes, a very traditional maid.
The female Vampire servant bowed slightly: "Welcome, gentlemen, to Eternal Night Castle. Several of My Lord have been awaiting you in the inner hall for some time."
Blade narrowed his eyes; her demeanor easily made him think of a trap.
But Darian was fearless, waving his hand.
"Lead the way!"
The female Vampire servant turned and led the way, with Darian and Blade following behind.
Soon, they entered a very spacious hall.
Candlelight flickered in the hall, a huge long table stretched across the center, and five Vampires dressed in ancient noble attire sat at the table.
They were the five Vampire Elders of the Eternal Night Organization, also known as the Five Elders.
After Darian and Blade entered, the Five Elders' blood-red eyes observed the two, their gaze calm and full of pressure.
Darian's gaze swept over their information, pausing slightly.
A few seconds later, he slowly spoke: "You must be the Four Elders of the Eternal Night Organization, correct?"
Hearing Darian's words, a tall, thin Vampire Elder sneered: "Young man, your eyesight isn't very good. There are clearly five of us here."
Bang!
A gunshot suddenly rang out, and the tall, thin Vampire's head instantly exploded, sending him to his grave with a smile.
Darian put down his golden desert eagle and chuckled: "What a joke, how can the Four Elders be five people?"
The Four Elders: "..."