Chapter 203 - The Outbreak ( 3 )

Lawren suddenly instructed the group and without any hesitation, they quickly went to the shopping center.

"Vampire Knights… I heard that they're strong. Perhaps as agile as Forest Elves and as strong as a Lich." Eron said to everyone while they are running.

However, his sister didn't seem to agree at all.

"What kind of comparison was that? Those Vampire Knights are just as strong as Death Knights but they can transform into a bat and suck blood to regain strength. However, they are nowhere near a Doom Knight at all." Evalia shared her opinion about the strength of these Vampire Knights.

On the other hand, Melody and the others only listened since they have no idea at all.

"Aaacckk—Get away from me!"

As they started getting closer. The group heard the shout of a young man who seemed to be really scared.

They hurried with their steps as their faces turned grim. After all, they smell the scent of blood from where they are.

It seems that they were already too late and they've already caused a lot of deaths.

"Everyone, do not jump in so quickly. Let me see the situation first. Just back me up once I attacked. These guys are completely different from those Thralls you just defeated." Melody reminded them and as soon as they turned to another corner, they found one of the Vampire Knights licking the blood out of a chopped hand.

Unfortunately, the Awakened who was screaming just now has lost his limb.

Melody carefully checked the surroundings and confirmed that the other Vampire Knights are nowhere in sight. This is an opportunity to kill a higher-level vampire.

She locked her gaze at the tall and pale vampire wearing dark clothes resembling a normal human. However, his glowing red eyes, long tongue, and sharp fangs show that the one in front of them is not a normal being.

"I'll go now… Do not let this one escape… Surround him!"

Melody instructed as she showed the might of her Spear Art, the Barbaric Impaler.

Her Aura covered her entire body before suddenly concentrating at the tip of her spear… The spear she has is a Rank-B Foldable Magicspear.

When she met Cyril, she was only using an Enchanted Spear as it greatly suited her Barbaric Impaler's style.

However, after getting enough money and paying some of her debts, she was able to shop at the black market's Zero Trust Trading, which Cyril introduced, and found this Magicspear.

Thanks to this, she's able to carry her spear anywhere and it greatly solved her security issues and relieved her from her anxiety.

"Haa!"

Finally, after reaching a critical point, Melody thrust her spear at the Vampire Knight who seemed unbothered by her appearance.

The vampire raised his hands and he appeared to be confident enough to stop her spear with bare hands!

"Arrogant!"

Melody couldn't help but shout in disdain as she added more strength on her first strike.

The Aura covering her spear moved like a vortex and affected the wind in the surrounding area. This is the only time the Vampire poured more power in his arms as if he just realized how strong her attack was…

Bang!

The tip of the spear hit the Vampire's hands…

"You-!"

Melody thought that she would shred his arm into pieces. However, the Vampire Knights appear to be stronger than she initially thought.

Speaking of which, this Vampire Knight is already weird considering it was capable of moving during the day… even the Thralls. Although there is no direct sunlight since it's a cloudy day, they should still be weakened at this point.

Is it related to the fact that their Entrance Crystal was just broken? Did it give them some boost in their strength?

Melody can't answer her own questions. However, she knows that she has to treat these Vampire Knights as Monsters that only exist in the High-Class Arcane World.

Clang! Clang!

Eron and Evalia who noticed that Melody's move was infected, used their Swiftblade's Cry but their attacks were just deflected so easily.

The Vampire Knight did not even release the chopped hands he was eating.

"So strong?!"

"How come they're this good?"

"Don't tell me--this guy is not a Vampire Knight! What if he's a Noble?! A Vampire Baron? Or maybe even a Viscount?"

From what they know, only A-Rank or S-Rank Awakened are capable of dealing with Noble Vampires.

This would greatly affect their plans if they were stopped by the Noble Vampire here. Luckily, they didn't have to worry for long as the Vampire spoke with an amused tone.

"Hahaha! I'm not a Noble, don't worry. However, I'm not a Vampire Knight either. However, you can call me a Shadow."

The Vampire spoke calmly after hearing their conversation. He would pass as a gentleman if they didn't know that he's drinking blood from a severed hand right now.

"What's a Shadow?"

One of the D-Rank Awakened whispered. Real Vampires were out of their deal since they would never appear inside a low-class Arcane World.

This is why they haven't done their research about them.

"They're unaffiliated Vampires… They aren't Nobles and they are not serving any vampire as well. You can think of them as Rogue Knights."

Eron said as he held his sword tightly. He wanted to fully try his new sword technique on this seemingly strong Vampire.

Evalia was the same as she readily positioned herself so she can pounce at the Vampire as soon as her brother signaled the attack.

There is one thing they didn't mention about the Vampire Shadows. In terms of strength, the Vampire Shadows can be as strong as Vampire Knights but they can never be as strong as a Baron.

Aside from that, their kind has the ability to pull their targets inside their shadows!

This is the unique ability they have that only the Vampires who aren't serving any Noble Vampires are capable of learning.

Nevertheless, the two didn't think it was worth mentioning since they know that it has a long casting time and it's impossible for a Shadow to do it under their watch.

"Focus! He's coming!"

Melody interrupted their thought as she noticed that the Vampire Shadow's eyes turned black. It would normally turn like that once their blood lust has disappeared. However, it also means that the Vampire is now fully focused on hunting them instead of eating them.

"Second Form…"

Melody pounced at the rushing Shadow Vampire with her Magicspear raised above her head. This time, she's using the second spear movement of her Barbaric Impaler.

"Haaa!"

With a single downward movement, the spear formed like a snake and chased the throat of the Vampire!

It happened so fast that the other Awakened were unable to see anything…

Bam!

Melody's spear hit something hard. It felt like she hit a still instead of a Vampire's body.

'Too tough… What kind of technique is this? It's impossible for its flesh to be this tough… Perhaps it's some kind of Artifact I'm not aware of.'

Melody saw that the tip of her spear hit the Vampire's chest.

However, her hands went numb after that collision which is completely ridiculous in her thought.

Nevertheless, her attack didn't go to waste as the four D-Rank Awakened saved the injured and brought them elsewhere.

"We got them, Miss Melody! Please don't hold back anymore! Finish that Vampire!"

"Right! We'll take care of the injured!"

"We'll make sure no one will interrupt your fight."

"You siblings, help her with all your might!"

The four entrusted the fight to Melody, Eron, and Evalia.

They realized that they aren't a match against the Vampire so they decided to play a safer role. If a Rank-B Artifact is incapable of injuring a Vampire Shadow, what more for their Rank-D Artifacts that can only light wound an Orc's skin?

On the other hand, they also noticed that there are more groups of Awakened coming to this place. Perhaps they are groups sent by other guilds stationed in the city. Seeing this, they felt that they shouldn't have to work that hard to fight against the Vampire. There seems to be a lot of strong Awakened to help them in the first place.

However, as they were thinking of this, a deafening explosion from the direction of the Saint Torido Clan's Headquarters occurred again!

Boom!

This time, the explosion shook the ground followed by an enormous power that made the others kneel in fear!

[ Melody! Everyone! Retreat! Move as fast as you can! Thousands of Vampires even some Noble Vampires are coming out! The Entrance Crystal has opened a path of escape for these monsters! Run! ]

Lawren's voice panicked and finished the call immediately.

Without any hesitation, Melody activated her smoke ring to cover their escape. There was no way they could face thousand of Vampire with their group of Awakened.

There wasn't even an A-Rank Awakened in sight!

It's impossible for a B-Rank like her to deal with this problem!