Undying Warlord

Dilan's senses were razor sharp and he could clearly detect the Vampires all around him. Their power was leaking and so was their bloodlust.

They had to unleash everything to heal from the injuries they had just sustained.

This was exactly what he and Sven had planned when they created the 'Rumbling', to lure the Vampires into a trap and kill them when they were at their weakest.

None of them could have known how bad Dilan's injuries would be after a skyscraper collapsed on him but that was a risk they took as it seemed worth it.

Dilan was fine being the bait, and facing dangerous situations because he was confident of surviving the catastrophe. Who else would be capable of increasing their Health stat close to 500 times stronger than the average human before the Primordial Ascension?

Nobody! Not while they were Tier-1 existences and shackled by the restrictions of being one.

Even Dilan was astonished that the system didn't do anything against him, especially since his Health stat was something that strengthened his body, meaning that he wouldn't burst apart.

The only issue was the tremendous vigor that swept through his body. It regenerated everything at a rapid speed, decreasing the effectiveness of the passive occupational ability [Bracing Pain].

His injuries would heal within two minutes, and [Bracing Pain]'s passive effect would wear off completely the moment [Switch]'s duration would be over.

By then, he might face more serious problems, which was why Dilan had to move fast.

He fought through the piles of heavy rubble and debris, ignoring the fact that he could barely breathe. The first body he saw was not of the Bryte family's patriarch, which was a shame. Dilan had sincerely hoped that the Bryte family's patriarch would be his first encounter because he had to defeat him as quickly as possible.

However, he couldn't let go of the half-dead opponent either which is why Dilan pierced through the chest of the mangled body in front of him.

He made sure that the Vampire's heart was pierced before he moved over to the head, and pierced it as well.

Dilan killed the first unmoving opponent in an instant and he absorbed the body's Blood Essence the moment he grasped it.

[<Bronze> Blood Essence of Tier-2 Level 1 Blood Berserker(Vampire) has been absorbed→ +0.9 Strength, +3.1 Health, +1.4 Stamina, 0.1 Agility, +2.1 Mana]

Dilan ignored the notification and he averted his attention. His eyes glowed brightly as he looked through the darkness.

'Looks like only the frontside and parts of the side of the skyscrapers have been demolished. There is some open space!' Dilan wanted to move faster and the open space that was void of light seemed to be the best way to advance unhindered. He crawled below some rubble and found his way to the open space.

Through his [Nightvision] passive ability, Dilan was able to see in darkness but it was still quite problematic. His passive ability was ungraded and of a low star rating, which was still somewhat fine right now.

His head flicked in all directions and he tried to analyze the fastest way to eliminate as many threats as possible. When the dust had settled down, the Vampires decided to move as well. Some of them merely escaped with shallow injuries and others sacrificed their body and life to make sure that their masters were fine.

Dilan could see a bright light along with blazing lights in a particular direction. They blinded him and he had to look away as a strong gust of wind hit him hard, pushing him a few steps backward.

'So that's where the Melza family's patriarch is. He seems to be fine....lucky bastard,' Dilan grumbled before he turned his attention in the other direction.

More mangled bodies of Vampires seemed to be lying in that direction. Thus, Dilan made his way in the darkness, where he had to tear apart some rubble to find a small path that led through the collapsed remains of the once tall skyscraper.

Dilan felt lucky, especially when he found more than eight more Vampire corpses in the next two minutes.

He killed all of them without hesitation to get his hands on their Blood Essences, which he absorbed quickly as well.

[Eight Blood Essences have been absorbed→ +5.7 Strength, +9.4 Health, +6.3 Stamina, +4.9 Agility, +7.3 Mana]

Dilan's stats increased rapidly, simply because the ordinary Blood Essences were of Tier-2 Vampires, while the Purified Blood Essences were of powerful noble Vampires at Tier-1.

This was great but the increase in stats was something Dilan had expected. He was actually not surprised because the opportunity of fighting the Vampires was something Dilan chose to take, especially since the Blood Essences of Vampires refined one's blood and increased one's stats by a lot.

Dilan's stats were not restricted in the slightest, which he didn't quite understand. Fortunately, it was not necessary to understand something to know that one was lucky.

After two minutes had passed, Dilan's condition improved tremendously. He was basically unscathed, nine powerful Vampires had been killed and there were only 30ish troublesome Vampires left for him to finish off.

Dilan hoped that the others were doing fine with killing the ordinary Vampires behind the Blood-Ice wall as he believed in his group just as much as they believed in their leader.

With that in mind, Dilan emerged from the rubble, feeling fully energized.

The dazzling sun forced Dilan to shut his eyes for a moment. However, no sooner, he was forced to use all his strength to push himself back into the rubble.

He had not even completely stepped out of the debris when he was forced inside as something grasped his feet tightly. Dilan hadn't sensed it before but he immediately knew what, or rather, who had grasped him.

Thorny vines made out of flesh and bones coiled around his left leg. The thorns were made out of jagged bones that pierced into his leg and he was tossed away just a moment later.

Being flung around within the rubble was certainly not a pleasant feeling but Dilan was smiling nonetheless.

"I finally found you!"

Dilan was not scared of the form the Bryte's patriarch had taken. He smiled crazily as he bent his body to lunge out with his free hand.

His heart had already prepared itself for the injuries his body would sustain as he lunged out. Thus, it was no surprise for him when the vines he was reaching out for suddenly transformed into something even more vicious.

Razor-sharp knife-like needles tried to pierce into Dilan's hand that held the vines tightly. His expression turned odd when the needles collided with his skin. They wanted to pierce inside but barely managed to leave scratches.

With some force, the tiny scratches turned into small cuts but Dilan ignored them entirely. He could easily heal after the battle, which was what Dilan had planned from the beginning.

Dilan pulled the vines closer to himself. He didn't initiate a cut with the Thunderbolt Dagger but forced the remaining part of the Bryte family patriarch's body to be unveiled.

Based on his surveillance and Sven's comment, the Bryte family patriarch had only two disadvantages; he couldn't shapeshift his heart, and it was impossible for the Vampire to shapeshift his brain as well.

Both were Dilan's designated targets, and alive organs that could be pulled through the body of the shapeshifting Vampire as if they were individual entities.

Pulling the Bryte patriarch's body toward him, Dilan tried to find his way to the heart and the brain. Unfortunately, the thorny veins he had gotten his hands on didn't remain idle.

They wiggled around his body and dug into his skin from all sides.

'How cumbersome…'