As the shrill scream reverberated, agony contorted Olynda’s face.
He desperately tried to withdraw his arm, but it seemed as though something inside gripped him with formidable strength.
“Damn it, I knew it wasn’t right!” Carlos Bartel urgently commanded, “Quick, help Olynda out!”
Before his order even fully resonated, the other guards had already lunged towards Olynda, pulling at his trapped arm with all their might.
A sharp crack resounded, and Olynda, freed, staggered back, collapsing heavily.
What followed was a harrowing scream, so visceral that many of the students couldn’t help but look away in horror.
Glancing at Olynda’s wrist, they saw a gory scratch, the skin torn away, revealing the raw flesh beneath – a nauseating sight.
“Dammit, there’s something inside that coffin!”
Panicking, Olynda exclaimed, “Don’t open it any further!”
However, it was too late.
As his warning filled the air, the silvery lid of the coffin was forcefully flung open, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The next moment, a swarm of blood-red bats burst forth from the silver coffin.
Their presence against the backdrop of the coffin rendered an eerie juxtaposition.
“Bats?”
“It wasn’t a bat that grabbed me! It felt more like… a person!”
Olynda’s scream sent a wave of trepidation through the students.
Fortunately, the four guards were indeed seasoned veterans. They swiftly stepped forward, weapons at the ready, shielding Carlos Bartel and his group behind them.
The blood-red bats emerged, yet instead of launching an attack on the group, they coalesced and hovered above the coffin.
Soon after, a figure dressed in opulent attire, draped with a cloak, floated out from the coffin.
Astonishingly, beneath him, hundreds of those blood-red bats held him aloft in flight!
Suddenly, with a swift turn from the bats, the previously horizontal figure stood vertically, directly confronting the group.
His face was pallid but strikingly handsome, unmarred by any scars, appearing almost human.
However, when he opened his eyes, the emerald pupils and sharp fangs revealed his inhuman nature.
“My God, is that a vampire?!”
“Are you kidding me? Aren’t vampires just creatures of legend? How can such a monster exist?”
Fortunately, the students were well-educated and quickly recognized the mythical being.
For a moment, everyone, including Carlos Bartel, took several steps back in alarm.
They all had heard tales of vampires and were well aware of the formidable power these beings held.
Only Howard discreetly checked the vampire’s attributes.
[Vampire Baron·Huesman] (BOSS)
[Level: 30]
[Tier: Silver]
[Description: The Vampire Baron, the lowest ranking of the nobility. For unknown reasons, he has fled from the Castle of Vampires and taken refuge in a bat cave. If slain, perhaps one might gain guidance to the Castle of Vampires.]
[HP: 51000/51000]
[Attack Power: 3257-4177]
[Defense Value: 1500]
[Skills: Life Drain, Bloodthirsty Bat Strike, Hemotoxin, Crimson Cloak]
With only four skills and attributes that didn’t seem too high, Howard lost interest after a brief glance.
The only thing that piqued his interest was the description.
If they were to defeat Vampire Baron·Huesman, they could obtain guidance to the Castle of Vampires!
Inside the Castle of Vampires, wouldn’t there be a plethora of BOSS-level vampires?
The rewards for vanquishing them all would surely be immense, right?
The more Howard contemplated it, the more eager he became, even contemplating unleashing his SS-level skill without reserve!
Fortunately, before Howard could make his move, the four guards already lunged forward.
Acting in perfect harmony, they split in an instant, charging at Vampire Baron·Huesman from different directions.
However, facing the coordinated onslaught of the four guards, Vampire Baron·Huesman merely smirked in derision.
The next moment, with a slight flick of his right hand, the bloodthirsty bats behind him surged forward like a torrential flood, heading straight for the guards.
“Ah—”
In an instant, screams echoed as the bloodthirsty bats blocked the guards’ path.
With their swift flight, their sharp fangs dodged the guards’ blows, biting into them.
“Damn it, how can this be?”
“In a LV20 dungeon, even if it’s connected to the Ruins, a BOSS exceeding LV30 shouldn’t appear!”
Witnessing the guards swiftly overwhelmed by the tide of bloodthirsty bats, Carlos Bartel couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
Boom, boom, boom—
Suddenly, a series of explosions resounded.
Those four guards were undoubtedly formidable.
They had simply been caught off guard by the unexpected speed of the bats swirling around Vampire Baron·Huesman.
Clad in silver armor, and even their regular clothes being of special make, they managed to withstand a significant amount of damage, preventing the swarm of bloodthirsty bats from hitting their vital points.
After unleashing their skills, the swarm of bats was immediately repelled, landing and flapping helplessly on the ground, unable to rise again.
“We can’t split up, surround and strike!”
“Number two, lead the charge!”
The guards quickly shifted their strategy.
One particularly robust guard sheathed his longsword and pulled a shield from his Storage Bag.
With both hands gripping the shield, he fiercely charged towards Vampire Baron.
In this world, which was an amalgamation of reality and game, everything was digitized, yet it wasn’t bound by many restrictions.
Even if you awakened a magical talent and selected the magus class, you could still wield physical gear.
The only limitation was that you couldn’t invoke skills with them.
Earlier, to swiftly grind through enemies, one guard had abandoned his class shield in favor of a longsword.
But now, facing the BOSS, he certainly needed to switch back to the shield to defend his team from harm.
“Heh heh heh heh!”
“You insolent fools, interrupting my slumber and still daring to be so audacious! Today, I shall turn you all into my blood servants!”
Vampire Baron·Huesman bared a menacing grin.
Without concern for the guard brandishing the shield, with a swift gesture of his right hand, another crimson torrent howled forth.
Yet, this time, the tide formed by the bloodthirsty bats crashed incessantly against the guard’s shield.
While this onslaught slightly slowed the guard’s movements, a radiant silver glow emanated from his shield, purifying all the bloodthirsty bats that struck it.
“Roar! Shield strike!”
As the guard, bracing against the charge of the bats, approached Vampire Baron·Huesman, he leapt into the air with a fierce shout.
The shield, shimmering with a silver luminescence, was thrust directly at Vampire Baron·Huesman’s face.
For a moment, all the students held their breath, eyes riveted on Vampire Baron·Huesman.
Alas, just as the shield was about to land, Vampire Baron·Huesman swirled his cloak.
In the next instant, his entire form transformed into a crimson whirlwind, spinning rapidly, and he effortlessly repelled the guard, sending both him and his shield flying.
“It’s not enough; they might not be his match alone!”
“All of us, charge together!”
“As long as we can control this BOSS, victory is within our grasp!” Carlos Bartel immediately took command.
As his words echoed, the students quickly realized that they needed to give their all.
Otherwise, if the four guards were to perish, their fate would likely be grim, and they’d have a hard time resisting the Vampire Baron.
“We must fight with all we’ve got!”
“It’s just one BOSS. Even if our damage output is low, we need to unleash skills with control effects. As long as we can restrain it, we have a chance!”
Amidst the chatter, the students began to unleash their skills, Abby included.
Too innocent to understand Carlos Bartel’s machinations, she naturally thought of the team’s welfare at this crucial juncture.
Of course, her primary goal was still to protect Howard.
Witnessing the scene, Howard could no longer stand idly by. .
He invoked the Frost Arrow Spell.
Though it might appear as a mere F-level skill, the effects were drastically different when cast under Howard’s immense spirit attribute of nearly a thousand points.
Most of the students’ skills landed on Vampire Baron·Huesman with little to no effect, either missing entirely or dealing negligible single-digit damage, without even triggering the skill’s intended effects.
This only fueled the Vampire Baron·Huesman’s boisterous laughter, causing him to overlook the onslaught of skills.
That was until Howard’s Frost Arrow Spell struck him.
In an instant, a crisp sound echoed, and Vampire Baron·Huesman was rendered immobile.
A faint blue frost began to emerge from his body.
Within mere moments, he was completely encased in ice.
“-1766!”
A deep red damage number appeared.
“What the…?”
“Who was that? So lucky to trigger a freezing effect!”
Unfortunately, the darkness of the cavern obscured the number, and the students only saw the frozen Vampire Baron·Huesman without noticing the damage inflicted.
Nonetheless, they were all profoundly astonished.
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