“Sizzle! What was that, why was it so bright?”


    The sudden burst of light in the Smuggler’s Woods caused a stir among the tense yers.


    That light and me werepletely different. If one had to describe it, it was more like the blinding beam of a powerful searchlight illuminating an entire area, making the surroundings seem even darker by contrast.


    But Murphy was clearly able to see more.


    He was also a spirit user of sorts, and Lady Femis’s notes recorded simr things.


    “Sr Spirit! The most effective method against dark creatures, and one of the most mysterious and rarest forms of spirit energy. It seems thedy has run into a formidable foe.”


    Murphy spoke in a low voice, and the other yers, realizing their nefarious strategy had seeded, immediately erupted in celebration, behaving as if they were fishermen watching ms and cranes fighting. They acted as if they only needed to wait for the two sides to exhaust each other before rushing in to seize any leftovers, and everything would be fine.


    However, this joy did notst long. Only a few minutester, Murphy’s keen senses, honed in the darkness, picked up faint signs of movement.


    “Shh!”He hushed the yers, cing his hand on the ground and infusing it with spirit energy. Soon, the clear sound of hoofbeats entered his perception.


    “Someone’sing, move in quickly, they’ll arrive in about five minutes. Prepare to ambush!”


    With a sweeping gesture from Murphy, the yers quickly scurried back to their assigned positions. The vampire retreated into the darkness but gave Maxim a hand signal before disappearing.


    The white-haired servant took a deep breath, pulled down his mask, and strode toward the yers in the ambush circle.


    He knew his duty.


    He had to y the role of “Murphy” to ensure his master’s safety and seize this opportunity.


    He had noints about this, while Murphy himself hid in the ever-present darkness, as the strongest fighter in the yers’ group. He had to patiently wait for the most critical moment to appear.


    Soon, twenty Goldflower Kingdom cuirassiers appeared on the abandoned trail in the Smuggler’s Woods. They were not wearing full armor, maintaining a lighter and more agile stance, each holding a cavalry rifle. They were leading the way cautiously.


    Behind them was a heavy ck wagon drawn by two horses, with armed footmen guarding the front and rear.


    As they rapidly approached the ambush circle, the sniper Lumina, lying in the branches, began taking aim. Lady Femis’s spirit practitioners had camouged this area, ensuring that ordinary people could not detect their presence.


    But just as the cuirassiers were about to reach the pit trap area, a voice suddenly rang out from inside the wagon:


    “There’s an ambush ahead! You fools! Stop!”


    “Bang”


    Seeing the well-trained cuirassiers slowing down, Lumina panicked but did not fire recklessly. Instead, she immediately swiveled her gun and pulled the trigger.


    The bullet did not hit anyone but viciously struck the rump of one of the draft horses pulling the wagon.


    The spurt of blood and excruciating pain startled the horse, causing it to neigh and charge forward. The driver could not control the suddenly frenzied animal and could only watch helplessly as the wagon crashed through the cuirassiers and careened down the dimly lit path.


    The poor draft horse stepped into a pit trap, tumbling head over hooves and getting impaled by the vicious wooden stakes within. The heavy four-wheeled wagon also violently overturned in the jarring impact, spilling the boxes it carried everywhere and tragically crushing several footmen beneath it in a muffled explosion.


    “Got it! Quick! Open fire!”


    Onboard Joy Stick, whose heart was in his throat, could no longer wait and shouted at the top of his lungs. Hisrades in the trenches and the Six Dorm Brothers in the foxholes immediately poked their heads out, unleashing a chaotic barrage of bullets and crossbow bolts.


    Their blind firing was unsurprisingly inurate!


    But the sheer volume was enough, and the volleys from over a dozen people managed to bring down a few cuirassiers.


    From the side wagons where Dump Truck and Bulldozer Man were stationed, the two old buddies grinned and activated their heavy automatic crossbows, taking advantage of the scattered cuirassiers to unleash a satisfying barrage of bolts.


    These old-fashioned weapons were incredibly intimidating.


    The hail of crossbow bolts swept across the convoy like a raging storm, ripping apart the unprotected warhorses and forcing the well-trained cuirassiers to take cover behind the overturned wagons.


    Everything was proceeding ording to Joy Stick’s tactics, finally allowing the anxiousmander to rx.


    He emptied his lead ammunition, grabbed a halberd nearby, and with a howl, leapt out of the trench, yelling excitedly amid the echoing volleys of the crossbows:


    “Everyone, charge with your knives! Brothers, follow me!”


    “What knives are you talking about? Can you be a little more sensible?”


    Meow King also grabbed a pike and jumped out, mocking the overly enthusiastic Joy Stick while following his charge. He turned to Subus Old Tune and ck Stockings, saying:


    “It just doesn’t feel right without a battle cry.”


    “Yeah, it’scking that vor.”


    “Next time, let’s get one! Find a brother who can blow the charge call!”


    The group of men, their adrenaline surging, charged along the foxholes toward the copsed wagon. Seeing theirrades’ bravery, the young Six Dorm Brothers in the foxholes decided they couldn’t fall behind. They grabbed their gear and joined the fray.


    “Quick! Niuniu, meat shield up front!”


    Ah Yuen shouted, grabbing his twin des. The well-prepared Niuniu seized the battleaxe and crimson cloak gifted by their NPC ally, donned his leather armor, and with a howl, leapt out.


    The tall and muscr athlete was swift, quickly overtaking the charging and howling Joy Stick to be the first to engage the enemy.


    His bold swagger, entuated by the crimson midnight cloak, made him the most dashing figure in the crowd.


    The dismounted cuirassiers, pinned down by the crossbow barrage, immediately engaged the approaching force. As veteran elites of the Goldflower Kingdom’s pioneer corps, they were not afraid to grapple with the enemy at close quarters.


    But as the cuirassiers charged out from behind cover, one was immediately taken down by Lumina, the waiting sniper. The charging Niuniu witnessed a head explode right in front of him, startling him momentarily.


    But the atmosphere was already heated, right?


    He simply closed his eyes, shouting wildly while swinging his de. With his height advantage, he bashed his shield against the second cuirassier, knocking him to the ground.


    The unfortunate soldier tried to get up, but Joy Stick, who had charged out from the side, let out a howl and executed a standard killing move, stabbing him through the chest with his pike.


    The double kill boosted the yers’ morale tremendously.


    Driven by Meow King and others’ relentless assault, they fearlessly charged and engaged in meleebat, decisively driving the resisting cuirassiers out from behind cover with their des.


    The cunning Pigeon and Ah Yuen even picked up dropped cavalry rifles and fired wildly, sowing confusion and pushing the enemy deeper into the ambush circle’s final trench.


    With its depth, any ordinary soldiers who fell into that pit would be unable to climb out for some time!


    “We won!”


    Murphy, hiding in the darkness, was relieved to see his yers fighting so skillfully. He thought having a strategy made a real difference, much more effective than a disorganized melee.


    With sixteen against over twenty, theirbat prowess was overflowing.


    But at this juncture, a dark figure suddenly burst from the overturned wagon, charging toward Dump Truck and Bulldozer Man, who were firing relentlessly.


    The two middle-aged buddies, lost in the heat of battle, didn’t realize what was happening until they saw crimson light shing through blinding, crisscrossing w marks, tearing Dump Truck and his armor into three pieces. With a crunch, he bid farewell to this savage, thrilling world.


    Bulldozer Man was dumbfounded.


    He instinctively looked up but was immediately seized by the throat and lifted into the air. With the flickering light of Sr Spirit from afar, he saw their attacker clearly.


    Dressed in an Europe-style suit with a tall ck hat, the pristine white shirt and green vest painted an image of a refined gentleman. His well-groomed mutton chops and the wolf-head bloodstone ring on his finger suggested he was someone of status, hardly the type expected on a battlefield.


    Yet his left hand’s slender fingernails extended into wolf-like ws, dripping fresh blood.


    “The Blood Vultures trained their dogs well.”


    The man said through gritted teeth:


    “Such lively blood servants are rare in this age.”


    “What the hell is this NPC babbling about? I can’t understand a single word!”


    The choked Bulldozer Man struggled, cursing inwardly.


    Seeing death approaching, he grew reckless, pulling out a dagger from his waist and stabbing at the figure in his struggle.


    Unsurprisingly, he missed.


    The power gap between the yers, who had not yet unlocked upgrades, and the NPCs was too vast. Bulldozer Man’s desperate counterattack didn’t even graze his opponent’s clothes before his neck was twisted with a crunch.


    Bulldozer Man’s corpse hit the ground, disintegrating into light particles, causing the assant to widen his eyes in realization that something was amiss.


    These were not Blood Vulture blood servants!


    These were summons!


    Damn it!


    The enemy had a summoner hiding in the shadows?


    Another trap?


    Sensing trouble, he resorted to his family’s special ability. Under the twinkling starlight and a haunting howl, two massive pale Astral wolves from another realm appeared at his feet.


    With a wave of his hand, the ferocious otherworldly beasts charged toward the yers ughtering the cuirassiers, snarling.


    Then, a de thrust at him, forcing the assant back. After blocking a few strikes with the staff at his waist, he drew his sword with his left hand, catching the staff de in his palm to engage the enemy.


    The arriving Maxim stood with sword in hand, eyeing the figure warily.


    The pierced tall hat slid off and wobbled to the ground. As it settled, the assant grinned, his eyes glowing eerie green in the night.


    He appraised Maxim’s luxurious mail and weapons, nostrils ring as his fangs protruded. Licking his lips, he said:


    “You’re the Blood Vulture’s dog! A true loyal blood servant, I can even smell your beating heart. Your blood must be delicious? State your name,mander!


    I’ll include it in my battle report.”


    “Maxim Cena d!”


    The servant knew what this meant.


    He recognized the assant as a vampire, but not of the Blood Vulture n. So, following his teachings, he responded solemnly:


    “Jed…no, progeny of Murphy!”


    “Murphy? Never heard that name, must not be important in the Blood Vulture n.”


    The assant scoffed, adopting a unique sword stance, eyeing Maxim like a starving wolf spotting prey, and said darkly:


    “Joban Marci Gongreau! Greyw Faction of the Wolfsbane n, progeny of Cndo!”


    Announcing one’s bloodline was a vampire custom.


    The ancient tradition ensured every bloodline death was urately ryed, with the survivor responsible for delivering the message.


    As the words fell, the two attacked simultaneously.


    Maxim’s swordsmanship was decent, but his physical attributes were clearly inferior to a true vampire. After just a few exchanges, he was on the defensive.


    Yet Maxim remained unfazed, his attacks growing more vicious. Relying on his sturdy mail, he weathered the blows like a wolf pup on its first hunt, determined to inflict wounds despite injuries.


    Maxim’s sword was soon knocked away, but he charged recklessly, grappling with Joban at the cost of broken bones.


    The Wolfsbane bloodline realized something was amiss and kicked Maxim away. However, the chilling spirit binding that manifested behind him made retreat impossible.


    “Poof”


    At the moment Joban was restrained by the “proficient” level Dark Spirit st: Bind, the de of the Desire n, wrapped in cold spirit energy, fell from above as Murphy descended, its impact-enhanced thrust piercing deep into Joban’s back.


    Completing the sneak attack, blood lingered at the corner of Murphy’s mouth, freshly consumed from an unfortunate cuirassier. The sated bloodlust made him even more vicious andbative.


    This sneak attack would not kill an elite vampire.


    Far from enough.


    But it drew this dangerous foe’s attention, giving the yers more time to handle the chaotic battlefield.


    “Revnor Murphy Lessenbra, Blood Vulture n, Fringe Faction, progeny of Tris!”


    His voice rang in Joban’s ear, following the ancient bloodline dueling custom of introduction, but then mocked:


    “Why put on such airs of ancient bloodline, you pathetic Wolfsbane runt? You even botched the courtesy when fighting my servant earlier. No fancy clothes can conceal your wretched lower-ss stench.


    Come with me! Disgraceful brute.


    Let the blood of eternal sin reach Heaven’s ears, witnessed by the Night Mother in this eternal eclipse.”


    “Bastard!”


    The stabbed Wolfsbane brute’s face contorted as his human guise shattered, revealing his true inhuman Wolfsbane vampire form.


    A grotesque hybrid of bat and wolf, the “Wilderness Transformation” unique to the Wolfsbane n.


    Joban’s wolf-like gaze followed Murphy’s movements in the darkness. Gripping his staff de, he spread his small wings and glided over.


    One bloodline had challenged another to eternal eclipse!


    No self-respecting vampire would refuse, let alone with the centuries-old feud between the Blood Vultures and Wolfsbane. Plus, that guy was the summoner behind these summons.


    Kill him!


    This crisis would then resolve itself!


    So, let the hunt begin!