Chapter 142

Vampires had two major skill trees.

Physical Enhancement and Blood Magic.

They appeared to be completely different skill trees, but in fact, their principles were the same.

Vampires used the essence of life stolen from others as fuel.

That fuel was combusted inside the body to enhance physical strength or combusted outside to cast magic.

It was merely a difference of whether to channel energy into the body or into magic.

They both used the life force stolen from others as the source.

Therefore, vampires inevitably possessed a fundamental weakness.

If they couldn't replenish their blood by killing enemies on the battlefield, their power, which was highly consumptive, would eventually run out, sooner or later.

That's why vampires always tried to suck the blood of their opponents whenever possible.

The pattern to be targeted was exactly this.

***

Pwoosh-!

Blood splattered.

A cavalry lance pierced under the jaw of Alpha, who was trying to bite into Evangeline's neck.

The lance penetrated the jaw, skewered the tongue, and got stuck in the palate.

"Khugh...?!"

Alpha let out a filthy sound.

Normally, he would automatically transform into a mist to avoid the attack. However, this lance was a demon-breaking weapon, coated with holy energy.

Evasion didn't work, and Alpha, who was trying to seize the opportunity and suck blood, ended up with his jaw skewered.

Startled, Alpha glared at his opponent. Evangeline was leisurely chuckling.

"Sorry, but I've heard all about it from my senior, your pattern."

Alpha's close combat pattern.

He shot blood bullets and scattered blood fog.

Just with the blood bullets, most opponents would be annihilated, and those who survived the blood bullet baptism would be bound by the blood fog left after the explosion of the blood bullet.

And then Alpha would safely absorb the blood of the bound enemy.

However, Evangeline's trait [Unstoppable] was completely immune to all movement-hindering status effects.

The binding by blood fog didn't work in the first place.

She had just 'pretended' to be hit.

"Who are you to touch the neck of a blossoming sixteen-year-old. I'll only let my loved one touch it."

Evangeline caressed her pale neck with her gauntlet-covered hand and smirked mischievously.

Alpha growled strenuously with his jaw still skewered.

"How did you know...my battle style...?!"

"Huh?"

"Our legion's invasion of the human race...hasn't happened in hundreds of years...!"

Blood bullet rain, blood fog deployment, and blood-sucking.

Even during the wars with ancient kingdoms when Celendion's legion was thriving, enemies hardly knew of this close combat tactic.

How did she know about this and prepare to counter it in advance?

"Hmm, well, our commander is a bit frighteningly competent."

Evangeline shrugged her shoulders as she praised Ash.

"Very thoughtful, takes good care of us, cooks great late-night snacks... and risks his life to save his subordinates..."

Shortly after, Evangeline stroked her neck thoughtfully as if she was deeply absorbed in some idea.

"Hmm? Hmm... No, it can't be. No, no."

Taht!

Taking advantage of this moment, Alpha pulled his jaw off the lance and rolled his body backwards.

"Oh, he got away."

Evangeline, seemingly unconcerned, gripped her lance tightly.

"Kuh, kuhuk...!"

His jaw, penetrated by a holy weapon, was slow to recover. While catching his dripping blood in his hand, Alpha gritted his teeth.

"You, bastard... A mere human...!"

"You guys are funny, always saying 'mere humans', 'inferior humans', and stuff."

Evangeline chuckled and prepared for another charge.

"So, what does that make you, who live by sucking our blood?"

"Shut up, you insect-like-!"

Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-!

Behind Alpha, an array of magical circles, far more than before, spread out like wings.

This time, it wasn't blood bullets.

The origin of the Celendion legion, the ice attribute, and blood magic combined, creating a bloody blizzard that burst out from the magic circles.

Kwaaaaaaa!

The pouring bloody blizzard devastated the fortress wall.

Alpha may have taken his pride back, but he was a veteran of countless battles.

He could accurately assess an opponent's capabilities after a brief skirmish.

Alpha clearly knew the extent of Evangeline's defensive capabilities.

'With this level of attack, no matter how excellent her defensive skills are, she will die!'

However.

There was one thing Alpha overlooked.

It was 'technology' that humanity had developed over the past hundreds of years.

Swish-!

Evangeline soared through the blizzard.

"What...?"

In front of Alpha, who was astonished.

Swish!

The golem gloves, hanging heavily on Evangeline's armor, activated their Purge sequence, detaching and falling away one by one. 

Over the past several centuries, humanity had advanced technology as much as they had lost the ancient magic. 

Armor crafting was no exception. 

And this golem armor was a culmination of the current empire's armor crafting techniques. 

Like reactive armor attached to tanks on Earth, it absorbed enemy attacks and when its durability was depleted, it fell off to minimize damage. 

Wearing only the frame of the armor, Evangeline smiled mischievously. 

"I always preferred to travel light."

Pipipipip!

Alpha furiously fired its blood bullets.

In front of the downpour of blood bullets, Evangeline's emerald eyes sparked with brilliance. 

Her unique equipment trait, [Crossroad], activated, showing her the optimal path right before her eyes. 

Thwack!

Avoiding or deflecting the blood bullets fired furiously by Alpha with her shield, Evangeline quickly closed the distance between them.

"Such audacity, you, you little blood clot!"

"Do you not look in the mirror? The blood clot here is you. Also, you always act so high and mighty!"

Evangeline thrust her spear forward with force. 

"You youngsters nowadays have quite the nerve!"

Whoosh!

The silver knight's spear accurately pierced through Alpha's chest. 

***

Ker-slash!

Beta's axe seemed to cut through Lucas' chest. 

Or so it seemed.

"...?"

Confusion flickered across Beta's face. 

There was no sensation in the axe. It definitely cut the opponent accurately. 

Lucas' body was definitely there, but it had become transparent like a ghost, avoiding Beta's attack. 

[Spectralization].

It was a trait attached to Lucas' armor, [Phantom Armor], forged from a magic core obtained from defeating the Stage 1 boss, the Phantom Knight. 

The effect was to become a spectral state, neither receiving nor delivering attacks for 5 seconds.

"...I've practiced a lot, but this is my first time using it in a real fight."

5 seconds later. Lucas, who became solid again after his spectral state ended, swept his hand across his chest. 

Since his equipment had also entered a spectral state and was free from physical interference, he had even recovered his sword that was stuck in Beta's arm. 

"However, I can't just depend on the item's performance."

Lucas looked at Beta with cold eyes.

"I must strengthen myself."

"...?"

Beta looked at Lucas, who suddenly started speaking, with confusion.

"Last time I faced your king, I was powerless."

Lucas remembered the events on the path of the losers. 

Due to Celendion's surprise attack, the main party members couldn't respond and had fallen. 

"After that, my comrades each found and researched ways to confront your king using their unique skills. But I didn't have such a thing."

Clasp.

Lucas' hand holding the sword tightened. 

"Once again, if I met your king, I'd have no way... to protect my lord."

"Grrr!"

There was no need to listen to the enemy's growling. Beta no longer listened and charged forward with his axe. 

"I worried and worried. What can I do, what should I change in order to protect my lord, I stayed up all night training and thinking."

Without paying any attention to Beta, Lucas closed his eyes and talked to himself.

"I've found one, after focusing without considering the means and the method."

The next moment. 

Lucas opened his eyes wide.

"If I..."

His clear blue eyes were burning like a beast's.

"Give up being human, I can do it."

Clang!

Beta's bulging eyes widened even further. 

Beta's axe and Lucas' longsword were interlocked in mid-air.

Until now, Lucas had only deflected or sidetracked Beta's axe. He was always pushed back when he confronted force with force. 

However, this time, he received it head-on. 

The power of Lucas' sword... it implied it matched Beta's axe in strength.

'A mere human? How? How can he have the same strength as me?'

In front of the shocked Beta, Lucas was no longer the same as before. 

The whirlwind caused by the clash of the sword and the axe messed up his always neatly arranged blond hair. 

The robust body, which was always standing straight maintaining the correct posture, was now crouching on all fours, blowing out hot breath in a wolf-like posture. 

"Haaa..."

Long strands of golden hair shrouded Lucas's azure eyes, which glinted dangerously, animal-like.

The hidden attribute forbidden to all players in the growth tree of the SSR grade protagonist character, Lucas McGregor.

[Beast Transformation].

Lucas was the only one who had discovered and accepted this.

Zing. Zing...

In front of the unidentifiable aggression radiating from the young human, Beta, feeling overwhelmed for some reason, took a step back unknowingly.

Something was wrong.

This knight, something had gone awry.

In order to protect what was precious.

He had abandoned something more precious—

"Come at me with all your might, vampire."

The ordinarily docile young man, akin to a golden retriever, was nowhere to be seen.

"I need to see if I can hold up against your king... You'll have to be the one I use to test myself."

In his place stood a wolf, armed with a bloodlust ready to tear anything to shreds.

***

Alpha and Beta had fallen.

Pierced through the heart by Evangeline's lance, ripped apart by Lucas's longsword.

"Phew!"

Having confirmed Alpha's fall, Evangeline wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked towards Lucas.

"We're done over here! How are you holding up, Lucas?"

"..."

"... Lucas? Are you okay?"

From the distance, Lucas's condition was not clearly visible. Evangeline narrowed her eyes. Had he been injured?

Lucas stood still in front of the dismembered corpse of Beta.

The heat bursting from his back distorted the surroundings like a heat mirage.

Evangeline intuitively realized that Lucas had entered 'that state' from their last final battle.

'That looks a bit dangerous...'

But right now, the enemy was too strong.

If a little danger could bring down the enemy, wouldn't that be okay? Evangeline thought.

"Godhand! Bodybag!"

With Lucas falling silent when he should have been issuing commands, Evangeline took the initiative to call the party members.

"Your turn! Get ready!"

Godhand and Bodybag, who had been waiting at the rear, immediately dashed forward.

In front of Godhand was the silver chest he had received before.

Clunk!

As Godhand opened the chest,

Kyaahhhhhhh-!

Alpha and Beta each let out a monstrous scream and rose. The punctured holes in their chests filled in, and their torn bodies stuck back together.

Second phase.

The Vampire General entities could revive through Full Blood even after their spirit cores were destroyed.

Although they lost their minds, their physical specs actually increase.

"I don't know why even non-boss monsters have a second phase..."

Evangeline looked towards Godhand and Bodybag.

Godhand nodded, and Bodybag gave a thumbs up.

When she turned around, Damien and Junior were standing there, preparing their sniping and magic respectively.

Evangeline grinned broadly.

"Well, if we've made it this far, we've pretty much got this in the bag!"