Chapter 24 24. Vampire

A total of 90 gold coins.

This was the income Dylan earned after selling all the parasitic tree species he brought out, and this was the result of packaging them at a low price because he was in urgent need of money.

He still remembered the flickering look in the goateed merchant's eyes when he deliberately lowered the price.

If you can spend more time, it wouldn't be surprising if it doubles.

But what he lacks now is time.

This was the largest sum of money he had ever received in his life, and he spent it without any hesitation.

After buying the anti-rebirth potion at a premium of 55 gold coins, Dylan rushed to Finrad without stopping - a border village where all residents had been relocated inland and transformed into a place to treat the wounded.

After Bella was infected with the blood poison, she was sent to the church in Finrad, along with other victims, where the priest used holy light to suppress her transformation progress every day.

But even so, it could only last for three months at most, and it was a month later that Dylan received the news.

Now that the deadline is approaching, Dylan dares not delay even a moment.

Maybe it’s because of the parasite, but Dylan needs less and less sleep recently.

This should be considered a good thing, as it gives us more time to travel.

At the same time, thanks to the extra gold coins, I could change horses constantly along the way and travel day and night.

Although we encountered some dangers, we finally arrived at the border earlier than expected.

Dylan dismounted early on the trail. The village was still a little distance away, so he didn't plan to ride in on horseback.

That half of the face covered by mycelium could not withstand scrutiny no matter how you looked at it, so the only way to see his daughter was to sneak in quietly.

Dylan untied the reins and slapped the horse on its butt, watching the horse going away. He never thought that he would have such a luxurious day.

The sun has already set, and I can sneak in under the cover of night.

Dylan guarded the package containing the medicine tightly and became more nervous the closer he got to the village.

It's almost the three-month deadline. Has Bella really persisted until now?

Will the anti-rebirth potion in my hand be ineffective?

Or maybe there is something...

"Bella, you have to be okay..."

Suddenly, Dylan frowned and sniffed hard.

At some point a burnt smell mixed with blood wafted into the air.

He was stunned for a moment, then rushed to the top of the hill - the entire village of Finrad was burning in flames.

Figures swayed in the flickering firelight, and sounds of crying and fighting could be heard faintly, mixed with the sound of metal colliding.

What's going on? Are vampires coming?

No, it was a sneak attack. A large army could not stop such a small stronghold.

Where is Bella?

Dylan saw the direction of the church at a glance. Fortunately, there was no fire, but he was still in danger at any time.

I have to get to Bella quickly!

The moment Dylan stepped into the village, he felt like he had arrived in hell.

Thick smoke wrapped in sparks rolled in the night sky, the soles of my boots were stained with sticky blood plasma, and the thatched roofs on both sides were burning and collapsing.

Three defeated soldiers suddenly rushed out of a house, their smoke-blackened faces full of fear. They passed Dylan and fled out of the village.

Just a moment later, terrified wails were heard from behind.

Looking back, I saw one of them lying on the ground with his chest peeled open. He was twitching and obviously dying. The other two soldiers had disappeared.

Beside him, a figure that looked neither human nor human was eating the still fresh flesh and blood like a wild beast.

"Blood-eating vampire..."

The vampire seemed to be momentarily absorbed in the food in front of him and not paying attention to Dylan.

Dylan didn't want to get entangled here, so he turned around and wanted to leave, but he found another one standing in front of him.

The young vampire stared at Dylan with her scarlet eyes, which were full of hungry desire.

Looking closely, she had many protruding keratin cells on her skin, making her look even less human than Dylan.

It seemed that this vampire would not let him go easily, so Dylan could only draw the long sword at his waist.

This weapon was made of fine steel, and was of much better quality than the one he lost in the dungeon, but he had no idea if it could deal with the vampire in front of him.

The vampire bent his knees slightly and suddenly rushed towards Dylan.

So fast!

【Parry LV4】

Dylan barely managed to hold the sword across his chest before the attack came. The moment the sharp claws and the sword blade collided and sparks flew, the huge force blasted him and his weapon several meters away.

Dylan slammed heavily against the wall, his internal organs churning and spurting out a mouthful of blood mixed with mycelium.

With just this one strike he clearly realized that his opponent's attributes far exceeded his own in his prime.

The strength of a vampire is directly related to the strength of the person being transformed.

Dylan was already cursing in his heart. What had happened to these people at the border? Why had so many strong men been poisoned by blood?

The vampire didn't intend to give Dylan a chance to breathe and stabbed him in the neck a second time.

In the crisis, Dylan took out a scroll from his body and used it on the vampire.

【Blindness】

“Gahhhhhh!”

How could Dylan not be prepared when he knew that he was going to face a dangerous border?

A scroll costing 5 gold coins temporarily blocked her sight.

But Dylan didn't expect that the vampire not only did not stop the attack, but stabbed at him more violently based on his sense.

"ah!"

The sharp claws originally aimed at Dylan's neck pierced his left arm, and the huge force nailed Dylan to the wall behind him.

At this moment, the vampire showed a bloodthirsty smile.

The other claw blindly grabbed towards Dylan's body.

The sharp claws left a claw mark on the wall, but did not touch the prey's body! ?

“Go to hell!”

Dylan's roar came from behind, and he used all his strength in his first attack.

【Fury LV3】

【Spin Slash LV5】

The fine steel sword slashed at the vampire's keratinized neck, cutting two-thirds of the way before the vampire's claws barely blocked it.

The vampire couldn't understand why this man appeared behind him, as he had clearly nailed him to the wall just now.

She tried to push the sword away, but after her neck was cut open, blood gushed out uncontrollably, and her strength was fading away...

"Die!"

After a brief stalemate, the vampire's head and hand were chopped off amid Dylan's roar.

"Ha ha……"

Dylan, covered in blood and gasping for breath, kicked the headless corpse on the ground away in anger.

He stepped forward and picked up the arm that he had torn off on his own initiative.

He simply bandaged the broken arm back together, feeling the creeping sensation of the mycelium slowly repairing the broken end.

Dylan felt that he was becoming more and more adapted to this mutated body.

I just don’t know how much flesh and blood will merge with the mycelium this time. There are not many parts of me that are completely human left.

The other vampire behind him was indifferent to the death of his companion and just continued to feast on the remaining half of the soldiers.

Dylan sincerely thanked the soldier for his efforts. He couldn't handle facing another vampire at this time.

He gulped down a whole bottle of magic potion, which helped the mycelium in his body to repair his internal injuries.

Dylan dragged his heavy body towards the church.

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but the noise around me gradually died down.

Is the battle coming to an end?

I hope the vampire doesn’t win, and I also hope I don’t have to see my daughter become a vampire.

If Bella had really been transformed.

Dylan clenched the sword in his hand.

Let him help his daughter to be free...

(End of this chapter)