The forest surrounding the Great Demon King Castle was occupied by many powerful monsters, but it was nothing compared to the massive Vampire Army, whose average strength was quite high. The Vanguard Legion had already crossed the entire forest before the monsters could even serve as a delay.
“Hmm? Hey, who are you?”
A knight guarding the gate of the Demon King Castle stepped forward, intending to ask questions as he noticed several vampires emerging from the forest.
In the next moment, his weapon and his arm fell to the ground simultaneously.
“What…!? Aaaaah!!”
“Time for you to exit, trash.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the knight was kicked away, slamming directly into the side of the gate. His entire body was embedded into the wall, and he lost consciousness.
“ENEMY ATTACK! ENEMY ATTACK! EVERYONE, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”
Due to the commotion, those nearby who witnessed the event quickly sounded the alarm.
“What’s going on? Why wasn’t there any notification from the town?”
“Could they have been defeated in a single moment, before they even had time to send a message?”
“How is that possible!? I’d believe it if you said the signal was jammed!”
Because the town surrounding the Demon King Castle served as the first line of defense and had failed to provide any notice, the castle was completely unprepared. Warriors stationed at various posts to guard the area rushed to provide support.
“Time to get to work!”
“Push through! Push through! Press their spawn point!”
“CRUSH THEM!!”
The rest of the vampire soldiers rushed out, quickly engaging in a chaotic battle with the knights.
However, it was clear that the knights of the Demon King Castle could not handle this army alone.
The Vampire Army consisted of individuals who were Level 40 on average, and those in the Vanguard Legion here were as high as Level 45. Against the ordinary knights serving as the vanguard, it was an **[Overwhelming Victory]**.
The performance of weapons formed from blood depended on the strength of the user. Furthermore, as long as there was Magic Power and blood, they could be repaired even if destroyed. Neither of these was an issue for the Blood Race.
The Blood Race naturally possessed a high amount of Magic Power. Furthermore, they could use not only their own blood but also that of their enemies. The injuries sustained by the Demon King Castle Knights only allowed the Vampire Army to grow stronger, like a snowball rolling downhill.
Before long, the first wave of knights who came to support were all defeated.
“Let’s go! Eliminate everyone else!”
“Reclaim our status!”
The morale of the Vampire Army surged, and with such shouts, they swarmed into the Demon King Castle.
However, the guards of the Great Demon King Castle were no pushovers. Seeing the first wave of knights fall into a disadvantage, the remaining defenders adopted a different strategy.
Just as the Vampire Army began to scatter due to the branching corridors, traps were triggered, separating the vampire soldiers into units of just a few individuals.
The knights seized this moment to rush out from the blind spots.
“Take this! [UNDEAD SLASH]!“
A handsome knight swung his sword. With the enhancement of his sword skill, multiple afterimages appeared on the blade, making its path impossible to discern.
Looking closely, this person was the same ordinary knight who had previously had a flirtatious encounter with the Goblin Head Chef, the one who had caused Ai Yue to feel intense fear.
With the surprise attack and his bizarre sword path, he successfully eliminated two vampire soldiers. However, the remaining vampires reacted, jumping back to dodge the attack.
“Be careful. The ones appearing now are stronger than those outside…”
“Gah!”
Before one of the vampire soldiers could finish speaking, he heard another scream and saw a comrade fall.
“This is…!?”
“Not just strong. What do you think we’ve been practicing for?”
The knights of the Demon King Castle were divided into different roles. Those responsible for internal defense were specifically trained in techniques for guerrilla warfare and alley fighting within the castle. Moreover, hidden mechanisms and traps were set throughout the castle, and they knew them all like the backs of their hands.
“Those who dare to rebel against the Great Demon King, repent for your sins!”
“Stop talking such boring nonsense, you featureless Glasses Knight!!”
Suddenly, the remaining vampire soldier let out a roar. Veins bulged across the surface of his body, and the blood flowing rapidly beneath his skin could be seen through his expanded vessels, looking like wriggling worms.
Simultaneously with this change, his Magic Power and strength skyrocketed. Red blood mist erupted from his body, and his eyes became bloodshot.
This was one application of the Blood Race’s blood manipulation ability — [Burning Blood]. The effect was straightforward: it forced the user’s blood to flow at high speeds to achieve an enhancement effect similar to [Overclocking].
Because of the high-speed blood flow, all attributes were enhanced, and the body generated high temperatures. In exchange, it consumed a massive amount of blood, making it a skill used to decide a battle in a short time.
“DIE!!”
The soldier using [Burning Blood] shouted, stomping the ground and lunging forward. He intended to grab the plain Glasses Knight and snap his neck.
However, just as his hand was about to touch the opponent, another thick hand grabbed his wrist.
Looking closely, that arm was several times thicker than the vampire’s own.
“Although we were ordered by the Great Demon King to never appear before her again, unfortunately, that lady won’t be coming here. Besides, we move in teams based on complementary specialties.”
The Burly Knight applied sudden force, and the sound of bones snapping echoed from the vampire soldier’s captured arm. Crunch-crunch.
Although the soldier’s strength was not bad and he had the enhancement from [Burning Blood], his stats were relatively balanced. On the other hand, because the knights of the Demon King Castle moved in teams with complementary specialties, the Burly Knight focused primarily on Strength. His STR was already twice that of the vampire, making it impossible for the latter to withstand the pressure of such grip strength.
Sensing the crisis, the vampire soldier ignored everything else and steeled himself to forcibly sever his own arm to escape.
As a member of the Blood Race, as long as he spent some time and Magic Power, he could regenerate a mere arm.
“I didn’t expect there to be people here who could actually oppose us. It seems the title of Great Demon King isn’t just for show.”
“What do you mean ‘there to be people’? Didn’t I just say we work in teams? This means in other parts of the castle, other squads — the same as us or even stronger — are picking off you invaders one by one.”
In places they couldn’t see, other knight squads were indeed doing exactly as described. They systematically defeated the rabble who had lost their rhythm and had no ability to cooperate after being separated by the sudden traps. Indeed, compared to soldiers, this group was more like mountain bandits who had been forcibly gathered together.
“Give up. You have no chance of winning.”
“…No… chance? Heh… HAHAHA!”
The vampire soldier burst out laughing for some reason upon hearing the knights urge him to surrender. He then looked at them with a mocking expression.
“Did you think this was all the military power we had?”