Chapter 25:

Just as Joban wanted to grant Murphy eternal rest by draining his blood, severing his power, even after being repeatedly bombed by more than a dozen explosions and pierced by the arrows of Witch Hunters, the elite rioter of the Wolfsbane Clan did not die under the night sky.

His body had been charred black, but as crimson cracks erupted from beneath the charred skin, amidst the hair-raising sounds, Joban’s weak moans and venomous curses could still be heard.

Physical exorcism methods are ineffective against vampires.

At the very least, in most cases, they can only make them feel pain. If the force cannot reach the point of crushing bones and scattering ashes, then “traditional methods” must be employed to solve the problem.

“Grant him eternal rest! Quickly!”

Adele, who had lost a quarter of her blood to Joban, was now swaying. Placed by Murphy under a tree, she still held his wrist and reminded him:

“Execute him! Then go help the young lady! I know what you’ve done, but she needs your help now, Murphy!

You may detest the Blood Vultures, but she’s the only one in the squad who has been kind to you!

You must help her!”

“I will, Lady. Rest now.”

Murphy responded rather perfunctorily, then summoned Miriam to help Adele stop the bleeding and treat the wound on her neck.

She had been bitten by a vampire, and not in the “gentle” form of initial embrace.

This meant she would suffer more later.

“I apologize for my reckless words and actions earlier, Lady.”

Murphy pulled out the Wolfsbane staff sword embedded in his chest and tossed it into his spirit pouch, saying softly to Adele, who stared at him unblinkingly:

“I will do everything I can to help you recover.”

“I can die, but the young lady must survive! Murphy, I helped you, now you go help her! A life for a life, quickly!”

Adele almost pleaded, but she really couldn’t hold on much longer.

Murphy nodded at her, then signaled to Maxim. The loyal servant stepped forward and knocked the excited maid unconscious with a thud to the back of her head, making it easier for Miriam to stop her bleeding.

“Protect her.”

Murphy said to his two assistants, then propped himself up with the Blade of the Desire Clan and limped away.

The little players had formed a circle, their eyes wide as they watched the vampire recover after being severely injured.

It must be said that this process was truly filled with an indescribable sense of horror and disgust, especially watching fresh flesh grow out from beneath the charred skin.

“I think I’m going to have nightmares tonight.”

Ah Yuen said, covering his eyes. The Joy Stick older brother next to him also gagged and said:

“I won’t want to eat steak for a month.”

“Man! Stick Brother, what kind of family are you from that you can just eat steak whenever?”

They started their usual banter, treating the scene before them like a horror movie. However, when they saw Murphy approaching, the little players politely cleared a path for him.

“To truly kill a vampire is very difficult. We are born with a certain ‘eternal’ dark quality, and you will soon witness a scene that, in most cases, only exists in legend.”

Murphy said softly to his warriors:

“I am about to execute him, granting him eternal rest. May the Night Mother have mercy on his ruthless, homeless soul.”

“The Night Mother? Is that your deity?”

The ever-curious Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche asked in a low voice. Murphy, now half-kneeling by Joban’s charred bones, shook his head and replied:

“No, my warriors, vampires are the ‘Eternal Sin Descendants’. No deity will cast Its gaze upon us, whether merciful or cruel.

Only darkness will embrace us, giving us our final refuge. Thus, we revere the night as our mother.

We do not dare hope to have our own god.”

Murphy extended his hand and, following the steps Tris had once drunkenly told him, enveloped his fingertips in dark spirits, then tore open Joban’s charred bones and gripped his weakly throbbing, regenerated heart. He then forcefully pulled it out.

This scene was not insane.

At least for the players watching, its impact paled in comparison to the horrific process of Joban’s revival from charred bones. Perhaps it was because Murphy’s hand was swift enough, not intending to inflict too much suffering on Joban, who had nearly killed him.

The removal of the heart stopped his self-healing.

Amid Joban’s agonized, wolf-like howls of despair, his own fresh blood was drawn out as well, wreathing the vampire’s heart in Murphy’s hand like a red aura.

A vampire’s power comes from blood.

When this blood, symbolizing power, was drained, it marked the eternal death of a vampire. But this process not only represented the advent of eternal rest but also the night’s reward for the victor.

Under Murphy’s gaze, as Joban’s blood gathered, the still-beating fleshy heart rapidly transformed into a blood-red stone, growing cold and hard.

The charred bones at his feet underwent the same transformation.

At the moment when the last breath was completely expelled from Joban’s lungs, he took his final breath in this world.

He turned into a cold, faded stone statue, his expression frozen in the despair of his death.

Feeling his all-around 50% power surge, Murphy was suddenly filled with sorrow.

The poor, unfortunate Tris had really done herself in. But thankfully, he had finally become “rare” now.

Even the semi-transparent outline of his character card was now wreathed in a silver frame, representing Murphy’s departure from the pitiful rank of ordinary monster to the noble and extraordinary rank of rare monster.

According to the explanation of biological templates, the next template upgrade would probably be “elite creature”, right?

Hooray!

A cool golden dragon avatar frame awaits!

These good times were still to come.

But then he realized, if he was a rare monster, would little players try to knock him out and steal his exclusive drops when he walked around?

Speaking of which, this Elder Armor he wore was both expensive and rare...

But then again, in their eyes this was a game, so as long as he maintained control, didn’t act recklessly, and didn’t display his health bar, it would probably be very difficult for players to obtain his exclusive drops, no matter how covetous they were, right?

Murphy smiled and quickly dismissed these random thoughts, reconstituting the remaining blood essence into a translucent blood crystal in his hand.

This thing could still be absorbed by other vampires once more. Murphy could happily trade it with other vampires, but in the next moment, he casually tossed this precious blood essence to Maxim behind him.

The albino blood servant was completely dumbfounded.

He had only heard of this powerful thing called a blood essence but had never actually seen one before.

“Burning loyalty should be rewarded, to distinguish it from cowardly betrayal.”

Having fully recovered to a healthy state, Murphy stretched his elbows and said to Maxim:

“After I help you complete your initial embrace, you can absorb it. That way, you won’t have to follow in my footsteps and will be stronger than other new vampires right from the start.”

“Sir! This is too precious, this...”

Maxim wanted to refuse.

But Murphy didn’t give him the chance, gesturing to stop his loyal servant’s words. He then glanced back towards the direction of the Smuggler’s Woods with narrowed eyes.

He could just leave now.

But after thinking it over, he looked back at his cute little players and asked them very seriously:

“Well then, my warriors, what do you say? Shall we go assist that young lady now?”

“Man! Branch storyline incoming!”

The little players immediately understood.

They realized that through their efforts in advancing the plot, they had now reached a branch point in the story, equivalent to a free choice where their NPC companion would make different decisions based on their choice.

In this current situation, if they chose not to help, that poverty-stricken noble loli would probably perish.

“Please allow us to discuss, Lord Murphy.”

Meow King said, and Murphy nodded:

“Of course. The glory belongs to you, my warriors. Without you, there would be no victory today. You certainly have the right to enjoy all of this.

But time is of the essence, so please make your decision quickly.”

The little players moved aside and began a heated discussion, while Murphy watched them with an odd expression.

Well, well.

These guys were really getting into character.

Giving them a bit of agency and letting them play around might effectively enhance their gaming experience. As for whether the young lady lived or died, to be honest, Murphy really didn’t care much.

Come on!

Her old man was the Patriarch, you know.

The young lady had lived in luxury. Did she really need Murphy, an outcast, to worry about her? That was basically as ludicrous and laughable as a proletariat empathizing with a capitalist, right?

Moreover, when the young lady had thrown him and the little players into the battlefield as cannon fodder, no one else had come to pity them.

However, his cute little players were probably just too excited and didn’t look at their own strength. All in all, with Murphy’s recent template upgrade, he was the only one barely capable of fighting. Even if they did go now, they would just be watching a cutscene while respectfully collecting the young lady’s remains...

“Lord Murphy! We have made our decision.”

Behind him, Meow King, representing the little players, stepped forward and performed a decent Blood Vulture bow to Murphy. He said seriously:

“We should not abandon the young lady. After all, she has helped us before, so our decision is that we will go and help her!”

It sounded noble and righteous.

But in reality, the little players’ thoughts were quite understandable and not unexpected by Murphy.

They simply didn’t want to miss out on any side storylines worth experiencing! Moreover, this was a poverty-stricken noble loli vampire, a perfect two-dimensional ape bait, right?

Heh heh, this dog planner was really good at setting things up!