The battle was fierce, as Rena stood before Yuzu, smashing the zombies that approached while laughing loudly as she enjoyed crushing their skulls and limbs.
However, Rena was not the main attacker...
I dashed through the village, slaughtering zombies and bandits like the Grim Reaper—Feeling confident, I jumped into their huge gathering, holding my Blood Drinking lance.
With my increased DEF, their rotten teeth or nails couldn't penetrate my clothes or even scratch my body as the zombies' blood dyed my spear crimson, causing a tingling feeling to rush through my body as it felt like a warm embrace.
My spear stabbed out dozens of times, creating piles of zombies on the ground as my body moved around like a crimson comet—I felt so exhilarated as the zombies were no different from the training dummies at the castle, allowing me to test my increased body's power to the limit.
The bandits watched us while raising their weapons, but suddenly fireballs came from the distance and burned their bodies, saving my ass. A cute Fox winked at me when I saw Rena fighting hard against the returning bandits.
Things were good now, but it might not last, so we needed to get serious.
I didn't get the bonus attributes until after we finished, so I needed to be careful, as my eyes could see the movement of the bandit chief, who was watching for now.
The necromancer seemed to be summoning more zombies constantly to try and tire us out.
"Rena, grab Yuzu and move deeper into the forest."
"Why!?" Rena growled a little, crushing zombies' heads and frowning.
"I must deal with the bandit chief and necromancer, and I cannot protect you both..."
"Aki... Oh?"
It seemed she finally noticed my hand pointing towards the bandit's hideout—instead of carrying Yuzu into the forest, she moved towards the bandit's hut. My body followed, slicing across the zombies with my blade before suddenly seeing the glorious indication!
[You Gained 720 Experience (828/1000)] x 120 Zombies
[You Gained 216 Experience (44/2000)] x 27 Bandits
[Level UP!]
The power gained was nothing special, but I was earning the speed and skill boost that Rena skilled up.
My strength reached ninety points, allowing me to push down on the ground, tensing my thighs and calves to jump into the air, past the zombies and into the bandit chief's hut with my spear lunging towards his chest, but the bandit chief wasn't weak.
His sword parried my spear before trying to slice my chest with a clean flick of his wrist, causing me to frown as my left hand held his throat and tossed him into the wooden wall.
"Aki... Do you think you can kill Gray Swifthand so easily!?" Rena shouted, her mace crushing several zombies while Yuzu burned down more, increasing our experience rapidly.
I couldn't help pulling myself from the wall with a bloody chest caused by his blade and lunging forward. In retaliation, the bandit chief rushed at me, pushing down with all his power as our weapons struggled, causing sparks to fly from the strain.
Our strength was the same, causing him to frown while my eyes became crimson and my fangs grew larger, revealing my vampiric traits due to using my entire power for once; it felt exhilarating to feel the beating of his heart, the scent of the blood of all the people around me.
Especially Yuzu and Rena, I wanted to drink them dry... savour their bodies and blood until I died.
"Vampire!? So that is why you are so strong!"
I pushed him back, causing him to stumble before my spear lunged forward, but Gray Swifthand wasn't a bandit chief for nothing—his skill and talent were monstrous, moving with a strange pattern and causing my attacks to miss or only creating scratches on his leather armour.
However, I didn't panic as my spear twisted, causing him to step back before feeling Rena's mace smash his spine and ribs—The bandit chief screamed as Yuzu burned down zombies outside, reducing their number.
As Rena rushed forward, I pulled him towards me before my fangs pierced his neck, draining his blood and becoming excited, causing Gray Swifhand to struggle desperately, punching and slamming his head into my nose to make me release him and use the momentum to roll backwards.
The burst of power from drinking his blood allowed me to run along the wall.
I followed his skilful retreat with rapid steps, and he couldn't escape as my left leg whipped towards his face like a snake striking a mouse and smashing into his unguarded temple, knocking him unconscious.
I licked my lips and fangs before looking at Rena and Yuzu as they destroyed the zombies, causing a tingling feeling in my chest from the bonus experience; now, I could finally drink their blood and feel it beneath my body...
At that moment when my desire to feed surged, I suddenly felt a moment of clarity like you might before falling from a cliff; the entire room moved slowly as if time was being squished.
I then saw a green and black aura being tethered into a ball as the Necromancer seemed to be casting a spell towards Rena, who was unaware.
My spear lunged forward, trying to block the magic. However, the eerie eyes of the man just looked dark, like swamps of the abyss, before his rotting lips opened, "Necro Blast."
The spell blasted my spear, forcing me to slide back, and the rest of the spell impacted my right arm and cheek, the green bolt burning, melting and decaying my flesh in seconds.
The pain was indescribable...
My HP seemed to vanish like a bubble popping, causing me to feel unbearable pain. I desperately raised my spear as Rena turned to see me, but the necromancer was like a cockroach, hidden in the bandit chief's house, as I screamed at Rena to run.
"Aki!?"
Fuck... If she died... No...
I grasped my spear like a weapon, closed my eyes, and listened to his morbid, rotting heart beating.
The sound was nothing like a normal heart.
It was vile... and disgusting.
Even the scent made my nose twitch; the imprint of his body, the blood flowing through his veins was visible in my mind, hiding behind a wall and casting another spell... the foul energy still eating away at my body, stopping my regeneration as the zombies seemed to become lethargic when he focused on spells.
"Rena, crush the zombies outside. I don't want to see your beautiful skin hurt, so show me your best and kill those garbage while your man crushes this damn necrophiliac."
My words caused Rena to blush before charging outside as zombies seemed to vanish under her mace, Yuzu supporting her.
I focused my crimson eyes... There was nowhere he could run.
My muscles tightened with each moment that passed, pulling back my spear while his spell inched closer to perfection, a spell that could probably end my life, or Rena's at that!
I charged, jumping along the walls again like a crimson viper before launching my spear, the speed causing the entire room to howl, the wooden walls to shake as it penetrated the wood, and aimed at his heart...
"Necro Blast." He laughed as my spear penetrated his heart, causing his spell to shoot towards Rena, the magic becoming a beam that burned trees and zombies...
Fuck...
I abandoned my spear, charging forward like a madman as Rena crushed zombies...
I couldn't lose her... Not now...
My hand stretched, touching the blast and pulling it apart, causing me to scream as my HP vanished again, and blood dripped from my hand, but I didn't care...
I just cared about Rena's life...
Rena suddenly turned, her eyes widening as Yuzu appeared above the bandit chief and cast a fireball at his and the necromancer's heads.
The explosion was massive, causing zombies to collapse while Rena rushed towards me... but my vision began to fade, although I managed to increase my physical defence... It seemed magic was still a problem...
"Aki... You idiot!"
My eyes couldn't focus as the world spun, and my world turned black.