Chapter 25: The Vampires I Remember Could Never Be This Ugly

After finishing the hotpot, the group rested for a while. First, Boya slipped into the city to find them some clothes, and then they entered the city in batches.

Previously overlooked within the group, Murong Xun suddenly found himself the center of attention, enjoying a taste of being in the limelight.

This was all thanks to his latest batch of Healing Ramen, made with his own ingredients, which made the others' eyes turn green with envy.

Unlike other items he had created by chance, the Healing Ramen came with a recipe, meaning it could be reproduced multiple times.

[Dark Cuisine: Healing Ramen—Ramen carefully prepared by a master of dark cuisine. Affordable, excellent value for money.]

[Star Rating: Three Stars]

[Effect for Self: Upon first use, +1 Spirit for one day, and rapid recovery of health within the next ten minutes.]

[Effect for Others: Upon first use, +1 Spirit for one day, but only slow health recovery within the next ten minutes. After the effect ends, you will suffer vomiting and diarrhea, attribute boost ends, and Spirit -1 for the rest of the day!]

These were the newly acquired properties of the freshly made ramen. The first use granted a stat boost; although there was a side effect for others, it was a small price to pay.

After all, such a boost could be life-saving in a critical moment!

Once the group realized Murong Xun's value, their attitude toward him shifted dramatically.

Dressed in their new clothes, they passed through the city gate's inspection with ease.

With Nightshade, a master of mental manipulation, among them, deceiving ordinary people was a trivial matter.

After settling down in the city, they didn’t act immediately. They had only one chance, so success on the first attempt was imperative.

Understanding the patrolling habits of the Night Watch was crucial, and knowing their numbers would be even better.

Beyond that, they needed to ferret out the 'rats' lurking in the shadows.

If others were watching, what if they wore themselves out fighting the guardians, only for someone else to swoop in and take advantage?

So, in the days that followed, the group began to head out early and return late, lurking in the shadows, gathering information.

Meanwhile, Wen Feng and Fang Yuan disappeared, claiming they were searching for clues related to their own goals.

Murong Xun suddenly found himself idle.

He called himself a chef, but no one dared to eat what he made. And as for his combat ability, it paled in comparison to the others.

Thus, holed up in the inn, he could only research new recipes on his own.

He currently had only three recipes; with four still locked, all he could do was experiment endlessly with the ones he had.

Southern Kallas City.

On the desolate street, a lone figure walked, the wind whipping through the empty avenues, only accentuating the city’s bleakness.

"Why is there suddenly no one around?"

Letting the wind play with the corners of his daoist robe, the young cultivator’s face was full of confusion.

Just last night, this had been a bustling little city, but now, in the blink of an eye, it had become a deserted ghost town.

His white hair fluttered as he tucked a stray lock behind his ear, then suddenly broke into a sprint toward a distant sound.

Whoosh—

A howling wind echoed, as if massive wings were stirring the air.

The young man moved swiftly, leaping onto rooftops and ignoring obstacles, quickly reaching the source of the noise.

"What in the world is that?"

Hovering in the air was a humanoid creature with two gigantic bat wings, each spanning over ten meters. The youth couldn’t help but mutter in disgust.

"Good grief, that’s ugly!"

It was a humanoid being, with a human-like torso and limbs, but without skin; its entire form was a dark crimson. Its head was triangular, and when it opened its mouth, four rows of razor-sharp teeth—dozens in total—gleamed menacingly.

"Is that an Abyssal Demon?"

Out of curiosity, the young man cast an identification spell.

Vampire High Commander [Vampire]: Spirit: ?? Vitality: ?? Mind: ??

Skill…

"What the—? I, Yi Shisan, have never seen a vampire lord like this!"

He couldn’t help but blurt it out; weren’t vampires supposed to be elegant, handsome men and beautiful women, able to turn into bats, feeding on the blood of fair maidens—a noble class of the abyss?

And now this ghastly thing dared call itself a vampire?

Ridiculous!

"Rooaaar—"

But Yi Shisan’s probing had clearly disturbed the Vampire High Commander, who had been in the midst of a search. With a mighty flap of its wings, it charged straight at him.

"Hmph, do you take me for a soft-shelled clam just because I’ve been quiet?"

Yi Shisan snorted coldly, and thirteen small swords appeared behind him, hovering in a fan shape.

He made a gesture, and the thirteen swords grew to normal size with the wind.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Vampire High Commander flew at him, and the flying swords shot toward it. But to Yi Shisan’s surprise, the swords struck the monster with only a metallic clang, failing to cause any real damage.

"What kind of defense is this?"

Yi Shisan was dumbfounded.

He knew exactly how strong his attacks were—yet now he couldn’t even break through this thing’s defenses?

"Ah, right, I forgot—I can’t use my skills right now, and my attributes are weakened!"

He smacked his forehead, suddenly remembering that he wasn’t at full strength in this world. Hastily summoning a sword, he mounted it and soared away from the monster, controlling the remaining swords to attack from afar.

At this moment, his robe billowed and the yin-yang symbol on his chest shone, painting the picture of a true master.

"Boss, who is that guy? He actually dares to fight that monster."

Several people hid behind a nearby building, one of them whispering.

"Quiet!"

Tang Ao glared at the speaker, warning him not to make a sound.

Of course, he hoped Yi Shisan would win—then they’d be saved. But he also feared that if Yi Shisan triumphed, he’d learn what they’d been up to and wouldn’t let them go.

"That’s Yi Shisan!"

Ad, who also walked the path of a daoist, recognized the man above.

"You know him?" Tang Ao frowned.

"I’ve heard of him," Ad nodded. "He’s on the daoist path too, but he’s a sword immortal, nothing like me. I only know of him from chatting with some first-tier folks—they say he’s a ruthless one."

"Oh?" Tang Ao mused.

"But wait, isn’t he supposed to be second-tier? Why is he in our war quest? This event is high-level, but it’s usually just people like us and a few first-tier ones."

Ad suddenly realized something was off.

"Seems like there’s something strange about this war world," Tang Ao said, then fell silent.

Having just pulled off a major job, all they wanted now was to return safely, avoiding any further complications.