Chapter 325 - Vampire Bat

Kopofiel’s face was so dark it seemed water could drip from it as he growled, "Kregi, why didn’t you report such important news earlier? Do you have any idea how many more villagers have suffered because of this delay?"Unable to help himself, Kregi defended, "At first, our suspicions were directed towards the Mage Tower of the Tooth of Good Fortune, suspecting the Red Robe Mages or those Dwarves Elves, without even considering the Kosoman Great Forest.

What’s more, that cave was collapsed by a wild boar. We only glanced at it without going deeper. Who would associate it with anything? If Mr. Gaven hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t even have remembered it. And I wasn’t the only one present; didn’t the others forget too?"

"It’s expected they would forget, but you are different, you are their leader, you should have noticed anything out of the ordinary," Kopofiel, making it nearly explicit that since Kregi was his sonhe should bear more responsibility, applied a clear double standard to his own son and the ordinary soldiers and villagers.

Seeing Kregi was about to retort, Regina hurriedly mediated, "Now is not the time to assign blame. What’s most important is confirming who the enemy is and how we can safely rescue the villagers."

"Be careful."

"Get out of the way!"

Squeak, squeak!

A swarming black cloud surged out from the depths of the Kosoman forest.

Gaven, who had been following closely behind the Dog Demon, was the first to confront it.

But before the cloud could reach him, it scattered away at an even faster speed.

Dazzling light emitted from Gaven’s body just as the black cloud was upon him, his armor already donned—a Crown Shield in one hand, a Revolving Hand Cannon in the other.

The light shining from his Combat Armor revealed every detail of the cloud; it was a swarm of exceptionally large Vampire Bats with blood-red eyes and protruding fangs.

Being enveloped in such a cloud of Vampire Bats would leave a Combat Profession Practitioner maimed, if not dead.

The light emitted from the Combat Armor was the bane of these creatures.

Caught off guard, the sudden burst of illumination blinded many of them.

Although bats do not rely on sight, the sudden blindness still led to panic, stirring the entire cloud of Vampire Bats into disarray, forsaking their attack on the others to try and gain altitude swiftly.

They wanted to flee, but that didn’t mean Gaven would let them off easily.

Crystal Cluster.

Pointing the Revolving Hand Cannon and channeling Spiritual Energy into it, the entire gun lit up, especially the crystal attachments on the lower half of the barrel, where mysterious spiritual glyphs circulated and countless silver starlights converged, forming tiny fragments not much larger than grains of rice that blasted out everywhere.

This was not the Crystal Cluster that Gaven had previously improved using Spirit Crystal Stones.

It was the true Crystal Cluster, drawing star material from the Starry Realm.

The Crystal Cluster, amplified by the Revolving Hand Cannon, was slightly weaker than the version Gaven had paid to upgrade. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

But its virtue was that it cost no money, only Psychic Power Points, making it less painful to use each time.

Crystal Cluster proved its potency in combat once more, its previous ineffectiveness against the Wandering Spirit Group due to the enemy’s uniqueness. Against a physical cluster, its might was terrifying.

The Vampire Bats attempting to flee fell like dumplings, pitter-pattering down in droves—at least forty or fifty at a conservative estimate.

The remaining Vampire Bat cloud, not waiting for Gaven’s second attack, dived back into the Comanso Great Forest, disappearing into the darkness.

If it weren’t for the numerous plump bats screeching and flapping about on the ground, one might wonder if all that had just happened was an illusion.

Most of the Vampire Bats brought down by the Crystal Cluster were wounded but not dead, more likely to have been struck in their broad, flesh-rich wings than in their bodies.

Gaven dismounted, stomping two fiercely struggling bats that tried to launch at him into mush, and holding up a severely injured bat by its two wings like a little chicken, he carefully observed it for several seconds, "Indeed, these are mutated Vampire Bats."

Kopofiel’s expression grew uglier as he said, "So, the one responsible for the mass disappearances of our villagers is a Vampire?"

Humans, taken in large numbers.

Silently charming Humans.

Plants withering wherever it passed.

Vampire Bats appearing.

When all these pieces of information merged, the conclusion became quite clear.

"Yes," Gaven nodded, "not just a Vampire, but quite likely an Elf Vampire that’s newly awakened and ravenous. A normal Vampire doesn’t need so much blood. There’s something that doesn’t add up; Vampires typically feed directly, so why go to the trouble of carrying the humans away?"

Gaven didn’t dwell on this question for long but swept his gaze over everyone before continuing, "If we’re facing one or more Vampires, having so many of us here won’t be a help but a hindrance instead."

Kopofiel, evidently knowledgeable about Vampires, nodded in agreement, "That’s right. The commanding power of Vampires will plunge us into chaos and infighting. To counter these bloodthirsty monsters, we should adopt elite tactics, leave the rest here, and a few of us can go in to scout."

"General Kopofiel stays behind, it’s enough if Miss Regina, my servant, and I go," Gaven overruled Kopofiel’s suggestion.

Excluding Kopofiel wasn’t because he lacked fighting ability; quite the opposite, he was too powerful, which made Gaven reluctant to bring him.

Gaven was well aware of a warrior’s weakness, and he didn’t want to have to overcome a powerful warrior from his own ranks, should they encounter a Vampire.

"To risk your lives for something happening in our village..." Kopofiel certainly knew he was at a disadvantage facing a Vampire, but it was difficult for him to just sit and wait.

Gaven earnestly said, "They are not only your villagers, General, but also my kin. I will do everything in my power to ensure their safety. Besides, we are only going to scout and verify the situation further. If we truly need to infiltrate the lair and face off a Vampire, our current preparations are far from sufficient. We’ll need to seek out appropriate reinforcements."

When it came to reinforcements, Gaven’s first thought was not Lord Virginia, but Darnell.

This Transcendent Holy Knight specialized in dealing with vampires.

Miss Regina agreed, "Village chief, someone also needs to stay here to keep watch. If any vampire servants break through, we’ll need your help to deal with them. If we really encounter problems inside, I hope you won’t recklessly come to our aid but rather, flee as quickly as possible to Dun Hills in Taser Valley to seek help from the paladins of the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice."

The bard made her escape routes perfectly clear.

"Alright," said General Kopofiel, taking a deep breath and nodding solemnly.

He knew that seeking help from paladins was the wisest move when facing a vampire.

But there were so many villagers who had been abducted; they could not wait that long.

Gaven checked and arranged his equipment as he said to Regina, "Wait, our main task is scouting, to confirm whether our enemy this time is indeed a vampire. You’ll cover our retreat once we lead the way. If we encounter an enemy we cannot hold off, I ask that Miss Regina flee immediately. We all have our own means to escape."

His luxurious outfit and the Flawless Teleportation of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree were Gaven’s trump cards, especially the Crown Shield, which made him immune to charms and domination; otherwise, he would have already gone back for reinforcements.

Living off a woman, not shameful.

The shame lies in not being able to do so.

Taking Regina with him, Gaven naturally had his own plans.

First, a Transcendent Bard indeed possessed a natural advantage in resisting the charms of vampires, not to mention, Regina was an expert in this area, so her resistance was undoubtedly even higher.

Second, he had already tasted the sweetness of having a Transcendent Bard compose an ode for him. Some things only become widely known when they are sung about, bringing him enough fame.

What one needs varies by environment.

In Rocklands, Gaven did not need fame because he knew the Gnolls valued something else; they pledged allegiance to him because he had enough strength to feed them and because he had a dragon.

The latter was far more important than fame.

In the Valley, however, the case was different. not only did Gaven need fame, but he also needed a great deal of positive reputation. With this advantage, whether it was attracting refugees to settle or dealing with good forces and the public, things would be easier.

Third, Gaven knew that her true strength was extraordinarily formidable, never once revealing her true power. He had reason to believe that her combat ability was not much less than Darnell’s.

"Alright," Regina agreed crisply.

She wasn’t just carefree but also believed that Gaven truly had unknown trump cards up his sleeve.

Prophecy spells were of no use to Gaven, but connections and networks were very useful.

Regina had already plucked out Gaven’s true background through her merchant contacts; he must be that Half-Elf who, accompanied by a band of Gnolls, had caused a stir in the Rocklands and risen to fame.

In this matter, Gaven had made no effort to hide; it was not something that could be concealed, nor was there a need to.

Previously, no one paid attention to Gaven, but once they did, uncovering this fact was not difficult, given that Blackwell had a certain level of fame in both Komeer and the Valley.

Under the guidance of the Dog Demon, Gaven and Regina cautiously entered the Comanso Great Forest, one in front and one behind.

Within the Kosoman Great Forest, the trees were dominated by massive maple trees and towering oaks, the youngest of which had been around for hundreds of years; their canopies merged into one.

Even if one entered at noon, walking on the forest floor, not a single ray of sunlight could be hoped for, as they were completely blocked by the dense tree crowns thoroughly soaking up every bit of light.

Along the way, not only was the number of bats frighteningly high, but the numbers of rats and wolves had also clearly increased.

However, because of the Dog Demon, the wolves didn’t dare approach and all fled with their tails tucked between their legs.

This reaction was itself an anomaly.

Normally, wolves would come forward to pledge allegiance upon seeing a Dog Demon.

The current situation was more like them being caught between two powerful beings; they dared not provoke either and escape was the best choice.

As the vegetation began to distort with thorns covering the branches and the enormous tree shadows casting an exceptionally gaunt and restless appearance, as if something was about to leap out, Gaven knew they were close to their target.

All these strange phenomena were indirectly warning outsiders that a vampire’s lair existed here, where an extraordinarily powerful vampire resided.

Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!

Three sharp whistles of warning arrows zipped through the air, landing not far from Gaven.

Gaven instinctively raised his shield to protect his face.

A sharp voice came from the depths of the forest, "Don’t go any further; ahead lies an evil you cannot provoke, growing in power."

Only then did Gaven see clearly that the arrows at his feet were warning arrows, used specifically for signaling alarm.

If the shooter had wished to hit him, with the archery skill demonstrated, Gaven would have had no chance to raise his shield.

Fae Race?

Gaven was not alarmed but pleased.

Just as he was worrying about a lack of intelligence, it seemed to have come knocking on his door.