My Players Are So Fierce

The little players were now well-versed in rescue operations.

Although ghouls and wraiths were scattered everywhere, with occasional strange skeletal warriors, the all-Black Iron rank assault team didn’t care about these obstacles.

Niuniu, Brother Stick and Orchid, the three tank players, stood at the front, allowing those behind to attack freely. After completing the Black Iron trial and advancing to higher professions, the Spirit Mages who had previously underperformed finally began to show their potential. Leading Pigeon used spirit bindings for large-scale slowing, while the two Spirit Mages in Tiger Leopard Rider summoned blazing fire walls and spirit lightning to incinerate enemies.

Constantly thrown combustion oil was ignited, making the players look as if they were traversing through raging fires.

Even when elite ghouls occasionally jumped out, they were quickly taken down by the increasingly deadly bullets of the shooters. It was evident that everyone’s combat style was gradually taking shape, and their teamwork was becoming smooth and enjoyable.

Of course, considering they were all in the “T1” tier of players, this level of skill wasn’t surprising.

However, this joy of “monster farming” didn’t last long. When they reached the area where the survivors were imprisoned, Leading Pigeon exclaimed:

“Damn! This is too brutal!”

The other players were speechless.

The gathering area before them was at the edge of an underground river in a cavern, with no proper buildings to speak of, just a mass of shacks piled together. The men and women inside had blank expressions, were dressed in rags, and their bodies were covered in whip marks.

Their minds seemed to have been “dulled” by some force. Even when they saw the players coming to rescue them, no one welcomed them. Like beasts hiding in a lair, they huddled together trembling, looking at the fully armed warriors before them with terrified eyes.

There were quite a few people here, with each shack packed tightly. Little Ashina flapped her wings, circled in the air, and came back to report:

“About 600 plus people, I couldn’t count exactly, but some guys are tied to poles in the back, seems like they’re being punished. Should we save them too?”

“Save them!”

Sister Pomegranate sighed and said:

“In this situation, we should rescue everyone we can.”

“Alright.”

Ashina drew her gun in mid-air and fired a few shots towards the back, freeing those tied to the poles. But the moans and curses they made when they hit the ground surprised the players.

These guys were still conscious?

Sister Pomegranate quickly spread her wings and glided over, grabbing a woman who wasn’t too dirty but had disheveled hair and “Griffin” tattooed on her shoulders and arms.

Looking at the woman’s weak but clearly conscious eyes, she asked:

“How many people are here exactly?”

“Who knows?”

The rescued woman responded in a very displeased tone:

“If they weren’t killed by the Plague Rat King, then pretty much everyone is here, about 700 plus? I don’t know, I’ve been tied up here for many days, I feel like I’m about to die. Got any water? Bread will do too, let me have a bite!”

“Cut the crap!”

Hearing the woman’s glib tone, Sister Pomegranate knew this woman probably wasn’t from any decent profession before. Her tone turned cold as she questioned:

“Is there a second way out of here? We need to rescue you all.”

“Huh? Get out? There’s no way out.”

The woman looked back and saw several Blood Vulture matriarch’s guards on high alert. Recognizing these vampires’ identities, she shrank her head, knowing she had encountered tough characters. Her tone was no longer so arrogant, but instead, she sighed and waved her hand weakly, saying:

“The only way out is guarded by several battle gargoyles under the Rat King’s command. My brothers knew that order had been restored on the surface and wanted to escape, but guess what?

Heh, that night their corpses were thrown into the cave as snacks for that monster.”

“So there is indeed a way out, right?”

Sister Pomegranate grasped the key information.

She took out several apples from her spirit bag and tossed them to the woman, who gratefully took them and took a few bites, but didn’t eat them all. Instead, she threw the rest to three other people beside her who were in equally miserable conditions.

Those guys didn’t even bother to thank her before biting into the apples. It was clear they were starving, not even sparing the apple cores as they chewed and swallowed them.

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“Who exactly are you?”

This scene made Sister Pomegranate suspicious about the identity of the woman before her, and she asked.

The woman rubbed her stomach, revealing a pitiful smile on her dirty face, probably trying to express goodwill, but then lost interest and pouted, saying:

“Dorothy, people in the outer city call me ‘Razor’, that’s just them giving me face. I used to be the boss of the Rat Gang, making a living running black market deals in the sewers, but that damn Rat King took my power.

He made me manage these poor souls, but only gave me a little food each day, clearly wanting me to actively kill these poor wretches and send them to feed his monsters.

Sigh, I couldn’t bring myself to do it, after all, we’re all neighbors.”

“So that’s why you were tied up?”

Brother Stick beside her also looked at the woman suspiciously. He could sense that she might not be telling the whole truth, but now wasn’t the time to discuss this. He said in a deep voice:

“Take us to that exit guarded by gargoyles immediately!”

“You really want to take these people out?”

Dorothy looked at these “blood servants” in surprise, muttering in a low voice:

“They’ve all been drugged by the Rat King, completely dazed and unaware of resisting. Even if you take them out, they’ll just be a burden. In Transia, no one would risk their lives for these already dead people.”

“That’s for us to consider.”

Leading Pigeon was kind-hearted and couldn’t bear to see people suffer. Seeing this woman still rambling, he shouted:

“You! Lead the way quickly! Otherwise, we’ll execute you as an accomplice of that damn Rat King!”

“Ah, don’t shout, young man, I’ll lead the way, okay?”

Dorothy got up weakly, saying with some concern:

“But the gargoyles over there are very powerful, much more so than those used by vampires. They say it’s a combat model the Rat King got from somewhere else. I’m afraid it might be a bit risky with just your few people.”

“Hmph, we’ve already taken down Salrokdar, mere gargoyles are nothing. You! Lead the way now!”

Niuniu said disdainfully, carrying his shield.

These words made Dorothy’s eyes narrow. She immediately realized that the surface must have undergone tremendous changes. No wonder the Rat King had been hiding in this godforsaken place, not daring to go out. But this was good news for her current situation!

Great news!

Hey, there’s hope now!

——

“Bang”

The masterwork shield in Maxim’s hand was hit hard again, with enchanted shield face dented and clawed. The horrifying force of the blow made the “monster”, known for his strength, feel like his arm was about to break.

The ghoul overlord before him roared and struck again. Maxim dared not block head-on this time, seizing the opportunity to use night bat swiftness, transforming into a bat and perfectly dodging the blow.

But failing to hit the target made the not-yet-fully-formed ghoul overlord even more furious. The bone spikes protruding from its shoulders, after a charge-up, shot out in all directions like cannonballs.

The force was strong enough to split mountains and crack rocks.

Fortunately, both Natalie and Lainnia were agile and wouldn’t be hit by such straightforward attacks.

The bow knight glided and dodged in the air while continuously shooting crimson arrows. These armor-piercing arrows, specially made for the Blood Pact Knights, were imbued with spirit energy. Upon hitting the target, they would ignite the enemy’s blood, causing excruciating pain.

However, the armor-piercing arrows that could penetrate steel armor found it very difficult to cause effective damage to the ghoul overlord’s netherworld skin. Only Lainnia’s full-power kill shot arrows could pierce the creature’s body.

Among the three, the one capable of dealing effective damage was the Great Oak Sacred Blade.

The purifying spirit energy inherent to the Guardian needed no explanation in its effectiveness against evil spirits. Each slash caused indescribable pain and damage to the monster.

However, what they faced was a gold-rank undead creature!

Although not yet fully formed and stuck between silver and gold ranks, its ability to summon undead servants with death power and its terrifying necrotic poison were not something to be dealt with casually. Maxim’s close combat movements had already begun to lose form, indicating he was under tremendous pressure.

After using his night bat transformation to escape the ghoul overlord’s frenzied slashing once again, Natalie immediately moved forward to take Maxim’s place, allowing him to retreat.

“We need backup!”

Quickly clearing the ghoul minions awakened around the foul blood pool with rapid-fire arrows, Lainnia shouted while nocking another arrow:

“This thing’s netherworld aura is infecting our bodies. We need a large-scale spirit purification to sever its connection to the netherworld plane, otherwise we have no chance of winning!”

“At a time like this! Where do you expect me to find a purifier? You elves really do talk nonsense with your eyes wide open.”

Maxim coughed up black blood while checking the information on his Computation Bead, saying:

“Lady Tris is already on her way. She’s bringing spellcasting materials. Just hold on.”

“Bang”

Before he could finish speaking, Natalie was blasted away like a cannonball, crashing next to Maxim covered in dust.

But even so, she still gripped the Great Oak Blade tightly in her hand.

With both melee fighters pushed back, the now unobstructed ghoul overlord let out an excited war roar. Under the constant pull of its soul-wrenching howl, Lainnia was soon chased around frantically.

But this silver-rank bow knight truly had real skills. Even in close-quarters pursuit, she could still shoot without interruption.

“You two get out of here!”

Natalie got up, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, and planted her sacred blade on the ground. She seemed to be preparing to cast a spell that looked extraordinary.

Emerald runes danced on her cheeks.

Suppressing the discomfort in her body, she said hoarsely:

“The divine nature-imbued spirit energy explosion will affect you too. Don’t come back in for at least a minute!”

“Can you handle this?”

Maxim asked, and Natalie replied in a raspy voice:

“Whether I can or not, I have to try. It’s my first time using divine magic, but I hope Avalon’s god blesses us tonight.”

“If the merciful Avalon really bestows blessings here, then we two are definitely dead.”

Lainnia activated her hunter’s secret technique, making a long-distance blink to Maxim’s side, and pulled the injured monster towards the cave exit.

She was quite decisive, not doubting Natalie’s battle resolve at all.

After all, as a “chosen one” who could wield the sacred blade, she wouldn’t die here in confusion.

Well, probably not, right?

But just as Natalie’s nature divine spell chant reached its final moment, a crimson rift quietly opened in this filthy place. Tris, holding the Nocturne Scepter and humming a tune, had just walked out carrying a box of spellcasting materials.

Behind her, a complex crimson text composed of spirit energy vibrations was already floating, clearly preparing to cast the Crimson Witch’s secret technique to clear out this not-yet-fully-formed plague ghoul overlord, in order to demonstrate her dignity as the Blood Vulture Grand Duchess.

As a result, the confident Blood Vulture Grand Duchess had just stepped into the cave when she was met face-first with an emerald light, brimming with purifying divinity, that exploded like sunlight.

A divine spell to the face?

Was this a trap? Did the mischievous Witch Hunter intend to take out both the ghoul overlord and herself in one go? Was her heart really that big?

Tris: “???”

Natalie: “…”

There was no helping it. The Adventurer’s Guild Master had already seen Tris, but unfortunately the divine spell had reached its final moment and couldn’t be interrupted. Vines pierced out from the surrounding rock walls, and the purifying power from the deity was charging up like a green Solar Fist.

She didn’t know if it was just her imagination.

Her Avalon god seemed particularly active in responding tonight, as if even the deity was looking forward to seeing a certain unreliable vampire grand duchess suffer.

A few seconds later, Tris’s angry and helpless scream echoed through the emerald cave:

“Natalie! You did this on purpose, didn’t you! Just because I beat up your old man over a hundred years ago? Is it worth holding such a grudge? No wonder you were acknowledged by the Watcher… You and your sword are both so petty!”

Outside the cave, Maxim and Lady Lainnia, supporting each other, stared wide-eyed at this “teleportation accident”.

After several seconds of awkwardness, the silver-rank bow knight coughed and said:

“To take a nature divine spell head-on and still be so vigorous, it seems the legends about the Crimson Witch are all true. She truly is a genius of our clan.”

“I admit our grand duchess is a genius…”

Maxim said quietly:

“But as for her luck, well, as she herself says, it is indeed a bit lacking.”

——

In the upper cave, Murphy suddenly sheathed his Frostfang blade.

As he stepped forward, the four elite ghouls frozen before and behind him shattered like slushies, their foul-smelling frozen corpses exploding into remnants on the ground.

Necessary Evil wasn’t being picky about “not eating rotten blood” anymore. Probably sensing Murphy’s fluctuating foul mood, it obediently entered a fierce cruise-and-kill mode, darting back and forth in the dark cave, swiftly slaughtering those ghouls and wraiths.

Civilian Protection Officer Kudel was now resting against his crimson greatsword in front of a spirit-sealed rock wall ahead. Before Murphy arrived, most of the elite ghouls in this cave had already been slain by him.

Honestly, although Kudel wasn’t the strongest vampire Murphy had ever seen, he was definitely the fiercest vampire swordsman.

Although this guy might still be a bit dim-witted, his destructive power and combat ability were truly absurdly strong, probably stemming from a belief in his heart that other vampires didn’t possess, allowing him to unleash power far beyond his level.

“He’s inside.”

Kudel said to Murphy as he approached:

“Perhaps casting some escape spell, or maybe calling for help from his villainous comrades. I’m not skilled in spirit energy, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Hmm? Since you recognized him as Tris’s descendant, don’t you have even a little interest in learning the grand duchess’s secrets?”

Murphy made a grasping motion in the air, and the speeding Necessary Evil landed steadily in his palm. He flicked his wrist to shake off the foul blood on the blade.

He asked:

“Besides, you’ve pursued him this far. Won’t you feel unsatisfied if you don’t personally witness the ringleader’s submission?”

“I didn’t come here for killing.”

Kudel shouldered his greatsword and turned to leave without hesitation.

He said in a deep voice:

“I’m here only to fulfill my duty. As a Civilian Protection Officer, I must protect the people here.”

“Then please escort them to safety. I will take in those people and treat them.”

Murphy raised Necessary Evil and thrust it into the spirit barrier before him. Under the piercing of the midnight miracle item, this spirit barrier that could withstand Kudel’s greatsword attacks was quickly torn apart.

He didn’t even need to listen to feel the fear of that “Rat King” hiding within.

What a scumbag.

“Kudel!”

As Murphy tore open the spirit barrier and was about to step inside, he called out to the Civilian Protection Officer who had already walked into the darkness:

“I’m about to start clearing out the gnoll bandits within Transia’s borders, to welcome more homeless people to survive better on this land. The Black Disaster that once ruined your life is also coming.

What I mean is, you still have many people to protect.

I don’t know if you’ve regained your sanity, but if you hope to bring the order you want to this land, then I’ll be waiting for you in the Blood Vulture Halls tomorrow night.

I know you despise all vampires, you even despise yourself.

But I promise you, we’re different from Salrokdar, we’re different from other vampires too. We’re all misfits under the midnight sky, we can help each other.”

The Civilian Protection Officer’s footsteps paused for a moment, but he ultimately didn’t give an answer, instead continuing to walk and disappear into the darkness.

Murphy didn’t mind.

As he turned his head, his handsome face was already covered with cold killing intent. The ringleader before him might indeed be Tris’s descendant.

But so what?

Do bad things and you die, isn’t it the same in every world? Why should this scumbag in front of him be an exception?