Although dawn was approaching and the environment would soon enter the daytime which severely weakens vampires, it was still the darkest moment of the day. The blessing of night enhanced Murphy’s senses far beyond normal.
After hearing the gunshots, he and Maxim immediately rushed towards the source. As they got closer, their supernatural senses allowed them to detect slight movementsing from a cer below, where a body was pinning down the entrance.
There was someone hiding there!
A woman!
In the vige filled with the stench of blood, Murphy caught a faint whiff of perfume. Though not overpowering, it made him narrow his eyes as his left hand rested on the hilt of the crimson cage sword at his waist.
This weapon his mother Tris once used was imbued with the intricate artistic sense that vampires harbor, the cage guard intricately carved with vulture patterns.
It was the symbol of the Blood Vulture, one of the seven major vampire ns.
Its name was the “de of the Desire n,” and “Desire” was the original sin of the Blood Vulture n.
A rather peculiar concept in vampire traditional culture, each of the seven major ns had a corresponding original sin to represent their identity as the “Eternal Sinful Progeny.”“Bang!”
Murphy heard another gunshot.
The deep boom came from inside the cer, wood splinters flying as three small yers shouted nearby, having taken cover.
“Hey, isn’t this supposed to be a fantasy game? How can there be such an outrageous thing as a gun?”
The Leading Pigeon covered his bleeding forehead, having narrowly avoided being hit by the bullet. His luck was truly good to have dodged it.
“Don’t ask me, who am I supposed to ask? This is my first time ying such an intense game too. It’s like jumping straight from The Witcher into GTA! Just awhile ago we were fighting Witch Hunters with des, and now we’re having to do some American quick-draw thing.”
Ah Yuen spat out a cynical remark from the other side of the cer, having just regained his vision. The Spicy Gugu Chicken was about to rashly charge in half-sword drawn, but Ah Yuen firmly held him back.
The enemy had guns, they couldn’t just brute force it!
They needed to be smart.
“My naive warriors, do you think our world is ruled by some primitive folks?”
Murphy approached and signaled for his newbie yer-warriors not to panic. As he pushed aside the body pinning down the cer entrance, he exined to the three novices:
“The Dwarven records show they had already started using firearms when theyid the first brick for the Bronze Citadel in the year 400. The Western Kingdom that these Witch Hunters belong to had also fully adopted Dwarven weapons during their military reform in 1040. That one-year reform gave the country steel fangs, allowing them to quickly absorb another nation and form the current Goldflower Kingdom.
What I’m saying is, this world is far moreplex than what you’ve seen.
You should be more humble.”
“What year is it now?”
The most diligent student among the dormitory six, Ah Yuen, couldn’t help but ask. Murphy nced at him and said:
“It’s the 10th year of the Decade War, August of Year 1111 in the Age. But we’ll talk about history lessonster, shh.”
He made a gesture for silence, then stood by the cer entrance and drew out his words as he spoke downwards:
“Girl, are youing out yourself? Or do I have to drag you out?”
The weak, raspy voice imbued with the poisoned blood made him sound sinister in that moment, like an evil cat about to torment a poor, captured mouse.
But the next second, Murphy’s keen senses picked up the sound of a gun being cocked from below the cer, making the unfortunate vampire jerk back two steps in reflex.
“Bang!”
Another muffled boom as the cer door was struck again by a scorching copper bullet, wood chips flying amid a panicked, furious shriek from the woman.
It was clear she utterly despised vampires.
Murphy didn’t immediately advance. After waiting several seconds for her to reload, ensuring the timing, he continued knocking on the cer door to bait her shot, then charged in during the interval.
Leaping through the dpidated entrance into the darkness, the retreating woman appeared to Murphy’s eyes as red infrared dots.
Her blood had to be clean.
It made the vampire feel a pang of thirst.
He licked his lips and pounced, not even needing to draw his sword as he batted away the heavy hunting rifle she gripped. Seizing her throat, he pinned her against the cer wall.
Dust flew as the supernatural strength was undeniably disyed.
Though not very effective against Witch Hunters, it was as easy as cutting vegetables when used to oppress ordinary humans. Just Murphy’s rapid movements in the darkness would have been impossible for the girl to track.
At such speed, even guns and bullets in human hands could provide no protection.
“Ah!”
The young woman Murphy had by the throat let out a shriek.
Her face was smeared with soot, dress tattered. Murphy nced around, noticing a Witch Hunter’s corpse in the cer as well.
Thetter’s trousers were down around his knees, a dagger protruding from his chest while half his head was blown off.
Hmm, it seemed some rather unsavory events had urred here before their arrival, no wonder only five of the six Witch Hunters appeared.
Thest one must have gotten into trouble trying to have his way with the girl.
The stench of blood in the cer stimted Murphy’s eyes to glow faintly red as he felt the girl’s struggles. He could almost see with his eyes the hot blood coursing through her pale skin, making his vampiric fangs ache to extend.
His weakened body craved fresh blood.
But upon noticing his three small yers watching from above, Murphy immediately regained his senses. With a wave of his hand, he flung the girl out as she scrambled frantically from the cer, only to be caught by the three “warriors” blocking the exit.
“Ah!”
Amid shrill screams outside, the crisp sound of a p rang out as Murphy’s bloodlust receded. Crouching in the darkness, he picked up the hunting rifle and searched the Witch Hunter’s corpse for usable ammunition pouches.
“You are not a monster, Murphy!” he reminded himself silently.
“Drinking the blood of an innocent will make it impossible to turn back. I don’t think you want to see the 25-yer raid knocking on your door in the future, do you?”
As he was convincing himself, his hand brushed against something in the dead Witch Hunter’s pouch.
The bloodstained scroll unfurled before his eyes, depicting a handsome portrait of himself with details listed below. The bold words made Murphy’s brow furrow:
High Priority Target, Kill on Sight?
“F**k!”
The portrait made Murphy realize the severity of the situation.
Although he knew the Patriarch had sent him out as bait and cannon fodder, the Patriarch’s malicious intent was one thing. But for his urate portrait to end up in the Witch Hunters’ hands just one day after leaving town was quite another matter.
Without considering unpredictable spirit magic, if calcted by time alone, it meant the Witch Hunters already knew Murphy’s identity, specific information, and route even before he set out!
Otherwise, there was no exining how they could haveid an ambush in Mond Vige ahead of time.
Tonight’s events were not just Murphy’s bad luck, this was a calcted trap set specifically for him! Had it not been for the small yers’ heroic intervention, his life would have ended right here!
There was a traitor in the Blood Vulture n!
Moreover, it was a traitor with direct ess to the Patriarch’smands.
“No wonder Tris told me to hurry and run. The Blood Vulture n may seem to have the upper hand on their own turf, but they’ve practically been infiltrated to the core. What’s even the point of fighting?”
A surge of anger rose within Murphy.
Suppressing his rage, he emerged from the cer with a cold expression. After instructing the three yers to continue searching the vige for valuables, he signaled to Maxim, who had tied up the unfamiliar girl.
The two of them, plus one “spare blood pack”, entered a house that was still standing.
The fire on the other side of the vige had died down, with only a few dozen minutes left before it extinguishedpletely. But no one paid attention to those mes anymore, not even the small yers.
Murphy handed Maxim the Witch Hunter’s scroll bearing his portrait. Maxim’s eyes widened as he looked at it and eximed:
“There’s really a traitor in the n? It’s hard to imagine.”
Maxim’s words made Murphy roll his eyes.
Hey, brother, you haven’t even gone through the Embrace ritual yet, you’re still human. Why are you constantly going on about “the n” as if you’re more loyal than an actual Blood Vulture like me?
“The situation has taken a delicate turn, Maxim.”
Murphy said, sitting on a chair with a broken leg. He massaged his temples, methodically analyzing the current circumstances, trying toe up with a solution using the life experiences he had umted over a decade of struggling.
He told the tense Maxim:
“The Witch Hunters, those vicious bastards trained by the Old Faith, are notorious across the continent for their ruthlessness and precision in hunting. They’ve caught my scent, and won’t give up until they’ve torn out my throat. If I run now, I’ll be ying right into their hands. The surrounding Witch Hunters may already be closing in on this area.”
His pale fingers lightly drummed on the ash-covered table as the jumbled information in his mind gradually unraveled through his thoughts, like a database sorting and extracting the key data.
This was not difficult for Murphy, a former professional software tester. In his past life, he was ustomed to untanglingplex architectures to find those hidden, miraculous bugs. Fortunately, this habit carried over to the other world after his inexplicable transmigration.
After contemting for a moment, Murphy made up his mind and addressed his loyal vampire servant:
“Dawn is breaking, and I’m extremely weakened right now, unable to travel during the day. But the Witch Hunters areing hard and fast. The only option is for you to take the Patriarch’s sealed orders to the predetermined rendezvous and deliver them to the Midnight Hunters on my behalf, requesting reinforcements.
My portrait is in the Witch Hunters’ hands, making me their primary target, so I can’t leave.
Take the small path heading east towards Prussia first, then loop around the Anderma Hills from the northwest. It’s longer but safer that way, you shouldn’t encounter any obstacles.
But you must be swift.”
“This…”
Maxim looked hesitant.
He was no fool.
Seeing Murphy’s portrait carried by the Witch Hunters made him realize that staying would likely be a death sentence. He had already prepared himself to be abandoned as bait, but never expected Murphy’splete reversal.
This left Maxim utterly astonished. His thoughts at the moment were: Could the great Lord Murphy truly be the legendary Vampire Saint, willing to use himself as bait to protect a lowly Blood Servant?
“No, my lord,”
The albino servant immediately shook his head.
“You should depart first, I will remain and dy them.”
“Don’t be foolish!”
Murphy rebuked:
“You witnessed the Witch Hunters’ viciousness firsthand. Those bastards are formidable! Staying here, you couldn’t possibly dy them for long. If you are truly loyal to the Blood Vultures, then you should know obeying my orders is the only way for both of us to survive!”
He tossed Maxim the hunting rifle he had retrieved from the cer, along with the ammunition pouches.
The weapon’s shape resembled the ssic old Winchester, but with an overall bulkier, exotic ir. The intricate patterns on the barrel and the short axe de beneath the muzzle identified it as a dwarven musket, a high-powered firearm produced by the armories of the Brass Dwarves on the Genoa Penins.
In this region of Transia, such a weapon was synonymous with formidable power.
Even stronger vampires than Murphy would be incapacitated for a while if hit by one. With specialized ammunition piercing the heart, it could even temporarily render them unconscious.
“Take it! Depart immediately, my life is in your hands now.”
Murphy tucked the Patriarch’s spirit-inscribed sealed orders into Maxim’s hands. Patting the shoulder of this servant of another family, he said:
“Maxim, you have proven your loyalty. Now I need you to summon your wisdom and courage. Although you are Lord Jed’s Blood Servant, I hereby swear to you in the ck night name of the Lessenbra Blood Vulture n, if we both survive this, I will perform the Embrace ritual for you.
If you are willing, I will handle the situation with Lord Jed’s side.”
Upon hearing this, Maxim’s eyes immediately lit up with passion.
He was a true vampire worshiper. Ever since Jed picked him up as a child to serve the Blood Vulture n, bing a true vampire had been his ultimate career goal. But he knew his circumstances, if Lord Jed truly valued him, he wouldn’t have sent him on this suicide mission.
So Murphy’s current offer was something he could never refuse. No matter how infamous Murphy’s elder Lady Tris the “Queen of Waste” was, what did that matter?
Even the weakest vampire was still a vampire!
For “blood servants” like them, just having that status was a victory. Their standing within the n was a matter to strive forter.
“I depart immediately, my lord.”
Maxim shouldered the rifle, secured the Patriarch’s sealed orders on his person, gave Murphy the Blood Vulture salute, and then strode out.
After seeing the loyal servant off, Murphy settled ounts with the three small yers still in the vige ruins, “booting them offline” to end this test round.
With only himself and the human captive remaining in the decimated vige, he began strategizing anew.
The Witch Hunters would likely return soon. He would regroup in the ruins of Mond, his forces consisting of three novice small yers and four “disconnected” small yers. Thanks to the “gifts” from the Witch Hunters, he was notcking in weapons or armor. With proper preparation, perhaps they could put up a fight.
It would also serve as an opportunity toplete the fourth Newbie Guide Quest.
He sat on the broken chair and reopened the forum, intending to chat with his yers, partly to better fabricate…no, devise his test ns based on their feedback.
But also, he had many questions that required answers from the yers, most crucially: just how did these small yers manage to enter the game?
Was it truly through keyboard and mouse controls?
Judging by their agility “in-game”, there was probably more to it.