allendalepharm Page 332
Page 332
—A mouth so big it could swallow a person's head whole.
Its gaping maw, splitting open to its ears, was semi-circular, from which protruded two sharp canine teeth nearly reaching its chin. Its scarlet eyes gleamed with a blood-red light, and its withered, tree-like limbs extended sharp claws several centimeters long.
Like a feline attack posture, it arched its body and pounced on him.
Like a toy held together by rubber, or like a leech, Shalltear bit into Brian's throat.
"Alas--"
Perhaps it was an instinctive reaction to being attacked, or perhaps it was the sound of air being squeezed out of his throat, but Brian let out a soft cry.
He felt as if dozens of needles were piercing his throat at the same time, and a burning sensation like being on fire came over him. At the same time, he heard what sounded like a dozen straws, as if people were sucking on a drink.
My hands and feet had no strength at all, and my vision went dark at an unimaginable speed.
"Ahhh, hehehehe, it's so delicious—hahahaha—"
This was the last sound that could be heard, and it was slightly muffled, perhaps because something was still being chewed on.
Brian then lost consciousness...
……
call--
The cold air blew through the hall, passing through the makeshift barrier and brushing against the remaining members of the mercenary group who had spread the Sword of Death.
This is the most spacious area in the cave, usually used as a place to eat, but now it has become a temporary base.
However, this position was quite rudimentary.
First, they dragged out all the tables they could find and pushed them over, then piled up some boxes to form a simple barrier. Next, they tied several ropes, about waist-high, between the entrance to the hall and the barrier.
Use such barriers to defend against enemy advances.
The surviving members, regardless of formation or unit type, all huddled behind the barrier, holding crossbows and waiting for orders.
Logically speaking, if someone were to attack, whether it be an adventure team or a small army used to suppress bandits, they would suffer considerable casualties from such a head-on concentrated fire attack.
However, everyone behind the barrier looked uneasy.
The terrifying, manic laughter that had echoed through the cave earlier, creating a cacophony of sounds, was the source of their unease.
As the strongest man in the Death Sword mercenary group, Brian Anglaus's strength is undeniable.
He can kill an ogre with a single move, single-handedly charge into a goblin army and mow them down, and even if the whole group attacks together, he will still cut off their heads one by one.
But, it's obvious.
The laughter did not come from the man.
The implications of the outcome are self-evident, but no one dares to say it aloud.
Everyone was clinging to a sliver of hope.
What if.
A sense of tension swelled within the not-so-large area, and just then, the sound of slow, heavy footsteps reached everyone's ears.
Almost simultaneously, everyone loaded their crossbows and made a final check.
At the same time, his eyes were fixed on the entrance.
Under the watchful eyes of the mercenaries, a swaying man appeared at the entrance of the hall.
"Brian!"
The mercenary leader breathed a sigh of relief as he called out the man's name. A moment later, the other mercenaries also breathed a sigh of relief and even cheered in celebration.
After all, the fact that they could walk back with such a leisurely, swaying gait suggests they must have won.
But Brian didn't approach them again and cheer with them as usual. Instead, he stood at the door and silently looked at their faces one by one, as if he were counting heads.
This unusual situation caused the cheers to falter and gradually fade away.
"What's wrong, Mr. Brian? You don't seem very happy?"
One of the mercenaries who was familiar with Brian asked the question as soon as he saw this.
“No, quite the opposite, I’m very happy right now.” Brian’s face showed an unprecedented bliss, as if he were immersed in a beautiful dream. “Because I have finally found a master for whom I should give everything and serve with all my heart.”
That was an expression none of the mercenaries had ever seen before, not even the leader.
"Hey, Brian, don't do that, I'm scared." The captain said in a joking tone, revealing his true feelings. "By the way, are you injured? You look terrible."
It was a deathly pale color, devoid of any blood, like a corpse that had been dead for three days.
Not only that, the other person's eyes also turned red, as if stained with blood, a scarlet color.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Blood Flows, Not a Single One Left Behind
In fact, because of his strange expression just now, everyone else also noticed his unusual complexion and eye color.
However, he didn't say it aloud. Only after the leader subtly hinted at it did he aim his crossbow at the former strongest man in the mercenary group.
The atmosphere became tense once again.
"My master, ah—the beautiful, enchanting, and supreme Lady Shalltear!"
But Brian seemed oblivious to the strange atmosphere, continuing to ramble on and on about things that were hard to understand.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they don't care at all.
The vampire race possesses the ability to create subspecies that are absolutely obedient to them by draining their blood.
He has now been completely transformed into a vampire because of Shalltear's draining of his blood.
If it's a vampire bride, or a vampire of a lower racial level like a regular vampire, then it can only create lower-level vampires that are even less capable of speaking.
However, as the true progenitor of high-level vampire monsters, Shalltear, who was personally drained of her blood and created by her, could not possibly be cannon fodder.
Although becoming a vampire would reduce his skill level to half of what it was before, causing his skill level to decline significantly, this is not a game world where there is no need to fight monsters and level up.
Those skills acquired through hard work are relatively easy to regain with a little time.
Moreover, they gained over twenty levels of racial rank for free, resulting in a significant improvement in physical abilities and senses.
When Brian was originally human, his professional level was already close to level 29. Although he had not yet reached level 29, which is beyond the level of ordinary people and enters the hero level (level 29-35), he was not far off.
Although the professional level has been halved, with the addition of the racial level of over twenty, the raw strength has even surpassed the hero level and entered the level of the abnormal.
Against these mercenaries who are just strong, ordinary people, it wouldn't be much different from mowing grass.
Therefore, they naturally wouldn't take them seriously.
"Then, please come and witness, welcome, my supreme master!"
Rather than acting like a sycophant, his attitude was more like that of a dutiful son or grandson.
Driven by the vampire's instinct to be absolutely obedient to the superior being who created him, Brian looked back and stepped aside, clearing the entrance.
He welcomed Shalltear's arrival with the flattering words he had racked his brains to come up with.
The mercenary leader raised his hand, signaling his men behind him to take aim, but he did not give the order to fire.
Judging from Brian's attitude, it's clear that the person who came out after him was even more important.
Although crossbows are much easier to train with than bows and arrows, and even ordinary people can shoot accurately with just a little practice, their disadvantage is that reloading is far less convenient than with bows and arrows.
Since Brian doesn't seem to be planning an attack, it's best not to act rashly.
Everyone remained silent, their eyes fixed intently on the entrance. The silence enveloped the space, making the friction sound of their chainmail trembling as their bodies shook clearly audible.
The shivering was not caused by the temperature.
Although the temperature inside the cave is not high, and it remains cool even in the hot summer, what is attacking them now is completely different from the cold.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, light footsteps gradually approached, and an unfamiliar figure slowly emerged from the entrance.
Her figure has nothing to do with being tall; she looks like a petite young girl, but she exudes a chilling aura that makes people feel as if they have fallen into an ice cellar.
The other person's posture was very strange. Their hands hung limply at their sides, as if they were hanging on their body, swaying slightly with their steps. Their head was also completely lowered, so that their face could not be seen.
But strangely, judging from the position of the head and the base of the neck, the other person's neck was three times as long as that of an average person.
Her long, silver hair, as smooth as silk and as gorgeous as moonlight, trailed on the ground, but the man paid it no heed.
Despite being an exquisitely crafted and expensive black dress, it now seemed more like a sinister shadow concealing a man-eating monster.
Its eerie appearance was so striking that just looking at it sent chills down your spine, making your heart feel as if it were being covered in cold air and about to stop beating.
The figure slowly raised its head, and two red lights flashed on the face hidden by silver hair. However, what lay beneath the hair was not as terrifying as everyone had imagined, but rather a beautiful and pretty face.
But it's like a terrifying monster donning human skin and transforming into a charming and lovely young girl.
On the contrary, it made people even more terrified.
Because even more terrifying than the monster charging into the crowd and wreaking havoc is the monster transforming into a human and blending into the crowd.
However, Shalltear would never lower herself to mingle with these humans whom she regarded as maggots.
Good news: although monsters can transform into humans, they disdain to disguise themselves.
The bad news is that a single dog can destroy a country through sheer force.
"Hey, hey—why are you all staring blankly? How disrespectful! Hurry up and kneel down! This is my great master, Lady Shalltear!"
Although the mercenaries were distracted by the bizarre scene of him transforming into a human, Brian didn't falter and seized the opportunity to express his loyalty to Shalltear.
"Haha, hahaha, no need, no need! This is great, hahaha, there are so many left, did they all gather together on purpose? Well then, let me have my fill of this! Hahahaha—"
"Hahahaha, haha ...
The girl's voice, which was originally mad but still pleasant to the ear, now sounded as if her vocal cords had been torn apart, mixed with strange reverberation, and echoed through the rock walls like the roar of a monster.
Shalltear's mouth stretched all the way to her ears as she shouted and laughed wildly.
The air in the hall trembled with her laughter, emitting a mournful sound.
Shalltear was in a good mood.
Having completed my assigned part of the task, receiving a reward from the Supreme Being is inevitable.
The bedbugs that were originally running around now cleverly gathered together, making them easy to kill without having to play hide-and-seek, which made her feel even better.
Unlike the previous bandit strongholds that were wiped out, where we had to painstakingly select targets only to end up with nothing, this is simply the best possible outcome.