The battles continued as Minvera City’s outer districts gradually turned into a battlefield.
Buildings had collapsed, streets were covered in cracks, and the remains of countless Vampires were scattered throughout the area. The undead armies continued advancing, leaving very few places untouched.
Kaiser remained on the rooftop, observing everything through his connection with his summons.
Although he was enjoying the opportunity to collect rewards and Wisdom Points, he was also paying attention to the performance of his undead champions.
After all, this was the first time he had allowed them to fight so many powerful opponents without directly interfering.
At Frank’s location, the battle had become increasingly destructive.
BOOM!
A massive explosion sent Frank crashing through the walls of another building.
His three-headed Chimera body was covered in burns. Several parts of his flesh had been completely destroyed, and one of his six arms was missing.
However, before the Vampire Baroness could launch another attack, the missing arm began growing back.
The damaged flesh twisted and reformed, while the bones beneath it changed their structure.
Frank slowly stood up.
His three heads looked towards the woman standing in the distance.
The Vampire Baroness narrowed her crimson eyes.
"You’re still alive?"
She raised her hand, and several crimson flames appeared around her.
"How many times do I have to burn you before you finally stop moving?"
The flames quickly gathered into enormous spears.
"Bloodflame Spear!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several crimson spears shot towards Frank.
Frank didn’t attempt to dodge all of them.
Instead, two of his arms moved forward, while the remaining arms formed defensive barriers using his hardened bones and flesh.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The spears exploded upon impact.
Frank’s body was once again covered in flames, and several parts of his defensive structure were destroyed.
However, something had changed.
The flames weren’t spreading through his body as quickly as before.
His newly formed flesh had a different structure. Frank had modified his organs and blood vessels, creating several layers of protection against the intense heat.
Although it wasn’t enough to completely resist the Bloodflames, it had improved his survival considerably.
The Vampire Baroness noticed the difference.
’He’s adapting to my attacks?’
Her expression became slightly colder.
She had fought countless enemies throughout her life, but this undead was particularly troublesome.
His regeneration was already abnormal, and his ability to change his body during battle made it difficult to find a permanent way to damage him.
Frank, meanwhile, continued observing her movements.
He wasn’t intelligent in the same way as Kaiser, but his Supreme Rule of Amalgamation allowed him to process the characteristics of different bodies and combine them into more suitable forms.
Every time he received damage, his body learned something from the attack.
And with every modification, his Chimera form became more suitable for fighting the Vampire Baroness.
At Selene’s location, Darius Ironblood was beginning to lose his patience.
His enormous battle hammer struck another group of Blood Rose Knights, sending them flying across the street.
However, before he could continue his attack, the knights that had been thrown away began recovering.
Their damaged bodies were restored by Immortal Blood, and they returned to the battlefield as if nothing had happened.
Darius gritted his teeth.
"Are you people incapable of dying?"
He raised his hammer and gathered more Ironblood energy around his body.
His skin became increasingly metallic, and even the veins beneath it began shining with a dark crimson light.
"Since you can keep recovering, I’ll simply crush you until nothing remains!"
He charged forward.
The Blood Rose Knight Captain stepped in front of him.
CLANG!
The hammer collided with the captain’s greatsword.
A powerful shockwave spread through the street, shattering nearby windows and damaging the surrounding buildings.
Darius pushed forward with his enormous strength.
The captain was forced backwards, but it maintained its balance.
Several Blood Rose Knights immediately attacked from the sides.
Darius twisted his body and swung his hammer in a wide arc.
BOOM!
The knights were thrown backwards.
However, the moment he tried to follow up, several Blood Rose vines emerged from beneath the ground and wrapped around his legs.
He looked down.
"What?"
The vines tightened.
Their thorns pierced his metallic skin, although they struggled to penetrate deeply.
Darius released his Ironblood energy and attempted to tear them apart.
But more vines appeared, wrapping around his arms and waist.
Selene watched from the captain’s shoulder.
She had been observing Darius’s fighting style for some time.
His physical strength was considerable, and the High-level Lesser Rule of Ironblood made his body extremely difficult to damage.
However, his fighting style relied heavily on direct physical attacks.
That made it easier for her to coordinate her knights and restrict his movements.
Selene raised her hand again.
The Blood Rose Knights immediately changed their formation.
The shield-bearing knights moved forward to restrict Darius’s movement, while the greatsword-wielding soldiers attacked his exposed areas.
Darius roared and released another burst of Ironblood energy.
The vines around his body shattered.
But before he could break free completely, the Blood Rose Knight Captain raised its greatsword.
A powerful red aura gathered around the weapon.
The greatsword descended.
BOOM!
Darius crossed both arms to block the attack.
His feet sank into the stone pavement, and several cracks spread beneath him.
For the first time, his expression showed a hint of surprise.
The strength of the undead captain was greater than he had initially expected.
Selene continued watching.
She still hadn’t personally entered the battle.
Meanwhile, Rachel’s battle against Seraphina was becoming increasingly dangerous.
The purple miasma had covered a large section of the street, and several buildings were beginning to crumble under its influence.
The Ruination Knights continued fighting within the poisonous fog.
Some had already lost their armour, while others had suffered severe damage to their bodies.
However, their support units continued releasing Fallen Light energy, allowing the remaining knights to maintain their formation.
Seraphina watched them with a displeased expression.
"Why won’t these things collapse?"
She raised both hands.
The purple mist around her began gathering towards a single point.
The surrounding blood energy was drawn into the mist, causing it to become denser and darker.
"Blood Miasma Domain!"
The moment she activated the ability, the entire street changed.
A massive purple field spread across the area, covering the Ruination Knights and restricting their movements.
The poisonous energy became several times stronger.
Even the Fallen Light energy released by the knights struggled to keep it under control.
Seraphina smiled.
"Let’s see how long you can resist this."
Rachel looked around.
Her expression remained playful, but she understood that Seraphina was finally using one of her stronger abilities.
"That’s quite troublesome."
She raised her hand.
Dark golden light spread from her body, and the power of her Supreme Rule of Fallen Light began gathering around her.
Unlike the ordinary light-based abilities used by the Ruination Knights, Rachel’s Rule Power possessed a much higher level of authority.
The purple miasma began retreating wherever the dark golden light spread.
Seraphina’s smile disappeared.
’That Supreme Rule again.’
She had already realised that Rachel’s power wasn’t something she could easily suppress.
However, she wasn’t planning to retreat.
Both women continued releasing their respective Rule Powers, causing the surrounding buildings to shake under the pressure.
While the three battles continued, Night was still hunting through the city.
She had already reached Level 300 and could no longer gain additional levels because of Kaiser’s current level limit.
However, that didn’t mean she had stopped improving.
Every battle gave her more experience, and her control over her existing abilities continued becoming more refined.
She moved through the shadows of a ruined building.
Several Vampires were gathered inside, discussing the sudden disappearance of their companions.
"Where did the patrol from the western street go?"
"I don’t know. We haven’t received any messages from them."
"Could those undead have already reached this district?"
One of the Vampires frowned.
"We should inform the Baroness."
Before he could finish speaking, the shadow beneath his feet suddenly moved.
A thin black hand emerged from it and grabbed his ankle.
"What—?!"
The Vampire tried to release his energy, but another shadow appeared behind him.
A dark blade pierced through his chest.
His body collapsed before he could even scream.
The remaining Vampires immediately turned around.
"Who’s there?"
They released their senses and searched the surrounding area.
However, Night had already disappeared.
A moment later, another Vampire collapsed.
Then another.
The remaining guards panicked and began attacking the shadows around them.
But their attacks only struck empty ground.
Night appeared behind the last Vampire.
Her shadow-covered hand moved across his neck.
The Vampire fell.
Night looked at the bodies for a moment before disappearing into the shadows again.
She didn’t waste time.
Her task was simple: eliminate as many Vampires as possible without attracting unnecessary attention.
And she was performing that task exceptionally well.
Back on the rooftop, Kaiser received another series of notifications.
[Your Undead Army has killed a Vampire.]
[You have obtained Vampire Blood Essence.]
[You have obtained a Low-Grade Blood Rule Crystal.]
[Wisdom Points +12]
Another notification appeared shortly afterwards.
[Your Undead Night has killed a Vampire.]
[Wisdom Points +8]
Kaiser glanced at the rewards.
’Not bad.’
The Rule Crystals were particularly useful.
Although most of the Vampires didn’t possess developed Rules, their bodies contained traces of Rule energy. Some of them carried small amounts of that energy in the form of crystals.
Kaiser collected them all into his inventory.
He had already gathered a considerable number since entering Minvera City.
’This trial is turning out to be quite profitable.’
He then checked the number of ordinary undead connected to Death Transfer.
More than 10,000 had been connected when he first activated the skill, but that number was gradually decreasing.
Several ordinary undead had already died from the transferred damage.
Others were still alive, but their bodies had suffered considerable injuries.
Kaiser wasn’t particularly concerned.
He could create more ordinary undead whenever he needed them.
However, he kept an eye on the remaining number.
’As long as enough of them remain, my important summons should be fine.’
He shifted his attention towards his pets.
Lime, Diablo, Garuk, Luna, and Ripple were still hunting through the outer districts.
They had also encountered several groups of Vampires, but none of their current opponents possessed a developed Rule.
Lime continued using gravity to restrict enemy movements.
Diablo attacked with his blood-red sword, while Garuk relied on his enormous physical strength to crush anything in his path.
Luna moved quickly between enemies, attacking from unexpected angles.
Ripple, meanwhile, continued using Fate King’s Arsenal.
Golden spears appeared above the streets before raining down upon groups of Vampires.
Every time Ripple killed an enemy, Kaiser received the benefits through their Soul Bond connection.
Kaiser glanced at the golden-haired teenager floating beside a ruined building.
’He’s enjoying himself quite a bit.’
Ripple had become increasingly confident after gaining more combat experience.
However, Kaiser still reminded him to avoid opponents with Rule Power.
Although Ripple possessed extraordinary potential as a Rank 8 Solar Beast, he hadn’t yet comprehended a Rule of his own.
There was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
Several minutes passed.
The outer districts were almost completely cleared of ordinary Vampire guards.
The remaining Vampires had either gathered around their Barons or retreated towards the central castle.
Kaiser noticed the change through the reports he received.
’It seems they’ve finally started gathering their forces.’
He looked towards the enormous castle standing at the centre of Minvera City.
The structure was surrounded by several layers of black walls, and its tall towers rose above the surrounding buildings.
A powerful aura continued spreading from within it.
Compared to the three Rank 5 Vampires fighting his champions, the presence inside the castle was considerably stronger.
Kaiser narrowed his eyes.
’There are more powerful Vampires inside.’
He didn’t immediately send his summons towards the castle.
There was no need to rush.
His objective was to complete the Rank-Up Trial, and he still had plenty of enemies to hunt in the city.
More importantly, the three battles were providing valuable experience to Frank, Selene, and Rachel.
He wanted them to continue fighting until they had gained enough practical experience.
Kaiser leaned back against his sofa.
"Let’s clear the outer districts first."
He picked up another snack and continued watching the battlefield.
The Vampires of Minvera City had finally begun organising their forces.
However, by the time they were ready to respond properly, a large portion of their outer districts had already fallen.
And the undead army was still advancing.