Chapter 825: The Vampire Lord
The bombardment continued without pause.
Spirit shells passed through the air before slamming into the city below...
Each impact would shake the already ruined streets like an earthquake. The western boulevard had already become a cratered ruin, but Cloud wasn’t letting up.
Cannons shifted angles and soon, they also dropped precise strikes deeper into the citadel district... This move easily collapsed the few working towers and scattered the vampires who tried to regroup.
Boom!
Boom!
Stone and dust rose into the sky as Shane didn’t let the bombardment stop... He wouldn’t stop until there was no Vampire in sight.
On the other hand, amidst the chaos, Tessa and her team moved swiftly.
Various stealth abilities or illusion skills were used around them. They wanted to remain undetected as much as possible.
Soon, they ushered the thirty-four survivors through the aqueduct.
Throughout this process, the captives stumbled, but they continued.
They were malnourished and terrified, so it was quite understandable. However, Tessa’s was able to at least distribute some Aura Sentinel Tokens, allow them to regenerate a little, and have some strength to continue.
"Keep moving. One step at a time. Don’t look back."
Her scouts also moved, covering every angle to ensure that no one would fall behind or get lost... Of course, they were also monitoring for any Vampires that might get closer to them.
Two of them, armed with Epic-grade bows, suddenly loosed silent arrows that skewered a patrolling vampire before he could sound an alarm to notify the other vampires.
Then, another scout used a silver dagger to pierce through the heart of a Vampire Knight that tried to attack them...
But their luck didn’t hold forever.
A trio of Vampire Knights swooped down from above...
"There! The cattle are escaping!" one of them roared as he flew down.
However, the scouts or assassins under Tessa weren’t easily detected. Because of that, they seemed to have failed to notice their presence and thought that the prisoners were alone and just using this chaos to escape.
But as the Vampire got closer, he realized that he had made a mistake as he finally felt the presence of the hidden figures.
At this point, Tessa raised her silver dagger...
Her Legendary Dusk Cloak hid her figure once again. Her movements seemed to slip in and out of the vampires’ sight like a phantom. Then, she used her Five-Meter Jump Skill...
Ssaaakk~
When the Vampire realized what was going on, she already slashed upward. The silver dagger cut into its flesh, and one Knight dropped to the ground...
Bam!
The other two pressed on, only to be met by Tessa’s companions.
They used epic-grade swords and clashed against the Vampire Knights. However, it wasn’t that easy.
One scout’s shield shattered under a blow, but another rammed a spear clean through a Knight’s chest, pinning him to the aqueduct wall.
Thud!
Blood mist filled the air.
Then, the last Vampire Knight tried to pounce on the survivors, only for Tessa to intercept...
Clank!
Her blade moved so swiftly, and in just a few moments, the Vampire Knight’s head rolled across the broken stone.
The survivors huddled together after seeing the Vampire Knight so class... However, their path remained open.
"Go! The exit is ahead!" Tessa barked.
The aqueduct’s path continued before them. They then saw its half-buried passage sloping east.
From here, scouts guided the survivors into the dark tunnel, shielding them with cloaks and weapons or whatever items they had...
Bit by bit, the sound of their footsteps faded, and the few Vampires around the area could no longer find their presence.
Only then did Tessa send a message to Shane through the system’s private Message.
[ Tessa: Leader Shane. Survivors secured. Strike at will. ]
Shane had been waiting for this message all this time. The moment her words came through, he finally turned to Cloud.
"Cloud. Intensify the bombardment."
[ Acknowledged. Adjusting firepower. Targeting underground resonance signatures. ]
Indeed, Cloud was already made aware of the huge underground network of the city.
This underground network was so deep that it would definitely be dangerous to explore. Of course, they didn’t immediately try to collapse it, as Tessa’s group might be affected by its sudden collapse.
This time, however, they no longer had to worry.
Soon, the Floating Fortress slowly turned, and its Spirit Cannons started are glowing brighter. It was preparing for a powerful strike!
Still, it didn’t last that long...
Boom!
Boom!
The bombardment finally came as the spirit shells punched deeper, cracking open the subterranean base of the Vampires!
Just like that, Statham failed to block the attack as his hidden base collapsed under the force.
"Shane... It can only be him!" Statham, the Vampire Lord, growled as he looked at the Floating Fortress above his city...
He could only watch as the screams of vampires were swallowed by fire and rubble...
The caverns he built with so many slaves caved in. In just a few moments, the entire structure vanished under falling stone.
Even the citadel itself was split in two as a concentrated barrage tore its foundations apart.
"Enough!"
Statham roared as he was now filled with fury...
He didn’t even care about the rescued survivors at this point.
The bombardment reduced his year of work to ash. His vampiric aura burst as the ground beneath his feet cracked...
At once, seven figures appeared behind him. They were his strongest Vampire Knights, and they were all ready to die for him.
With a wave of his hand, Statham condensed his power.
A massive Blood Sphere formed, enveloping him and his seven Knights in a cocoon...
Soon, the sphere pulsed, shielding them from falling debris or bullets from coming from the sky...
"We will tear that fortress..."
Then, with explosive force, the Blood Sphere shot upward.
Fwoooosh!
The vampires almost seemed like a blazing comet as they dashed toward the Floating Fortress!
Shane smiled as he finally saw Statham.
He wasn’t worried at all, and he remained in his seat. He just calmly watched the incoming threat...
"Cloud. Incoming. Marked priority targets."
[ Acknowledged. Locking targets. Deploying interception protocols. ]