"No, Sir Morphy, this is a gift from Mr. Jed, I can't..."
Maxim immediately declined, but Morphy peeled back his cloak, pointing at the elder's armor he wore, obviously more luxurious and high-grade, saying,
"I have no use for it. You just wear it. I don't like the things I give out being handed back to me. It's like a insult to a vampire's rare flare of kindness."
Having said this much, Maxim quickly changed into that old armor, strapped the sharpened Swift Sword to his waist and finally re-cloaked himself.
He respected Morphy even more and, glancing at the village in the distance, he said,
"We will arrive at Morlan Village soon, sir. There are only two hours left until dawn. We can rest here and set out at dusk.
Don't worry, I'm very familiar with this journey. We will reach the hunters' camp by tomorrow night."
Morphy nodded.
He didn't particularly look forward to this suicide mission.
He now sat atop the carriage, looking left and right, just like a pirate king seated at the prow of a ship. He even threw out his newly acquired perception detection skills towards the village.
Just considering it a practice session.
However, this random throw revealed something. A faint red glow mysteriously appeared before Morphy's eyes, encasing two houses at the edge of the village.
Morphy's heart shuddered and he narrowed his eyes immediately.
As a vampire, his pupils adjusted rapidly, zooming in on his field of vision. The faint red light coalesced into four human figures.
[Unknown hostile targets are on alert, threat level unknown.]
"Wait!"
Morphy grabbed ahold of the whipping crop that Maxim had raised in his hand.
The latter looked at Morphy in surprise, and Morphy gripped the hilt of his sword and leaped off the slowly moving carriage with Maxim, delivering a harsh whip to the old horse along the way.
"Hey, you guys go ahead to the village."
Morphy yelled at the eight Blood Servants in the carriage, their bodies gaunt and zombified.
"I have some things to take care of. I'll catch up later."
The Blood Servants, who had been drained into a zombified state through lengthy bloodletting, showed no reaction. Still, spurred by the cracking whip, the old horse pulling the carriage slowly sped up, rushing towards the Morlan Village ahead.
Morphy pulled his assistant into the bushes outside the village and watched.
Maxim sensed something was wrong by now, but clearly he was hesitating to speak up. He was about to say something when Morphy gestured for him to stop.
"Like you said, this is a 'cleaning waste' mission, so we must make the most of it! Death is more dignified than their current existence.
Stop talking, get ready!"
As his words fell, the carriage near the village entrance was bombarded with crossbow arrows from both sides. The old horse pulling the cart was killed by an arrow and collapsed. Some people rushed out from the houses on both sides and into the carriage, slaughtering mercilessly.
The moans of the eight Blood Servants at the moment of death broke the silence of the night, making the two individuals hidden in the bushes shiver.
"We are less than a day's distance from Cardman City!"
Maxim trembled as he whispered,
"How dare they!"
Morphy was scared, too.
But he performed a bit better than Maxim. After all, the physical fitness of supernatural beings is superior. Even the most incompetent can easily trample over human veterans.
"They dare indeed! It seems the so-called midnight majesty of the Blood Vulture Clan no longer deters anyone. It's nothing more than a paper tiger."
The unlucky vampire snarled at Maxim beside him, then squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the entrance of the village.
Upon discovering that their target wasn't among those on the carriage, the hidden witch hunters rushed out of the village in search of them.
Fortunately, there were only four of them.
Morphy breathed a sigh of relief and crouched down, preparing to cast a spell.
Yes, he was about to "go all out".
A sensation akin to midday sunburst erupted within Morphy. This time, the summoning process demanded a larger number of players, nearly draining his feeble dark spiritual energy within seconds. Six flickering light threads swiftly intertwined, forming humanoid figures by Morphy's side.
Lead Dove, who had experienced this once already, skillfully flexed his body.
The other five fellows from his dormitory blinked themselves awake, looking around foolishly, clearly astounded by the realistic "game graphics".
Gebao did not lie to them!
The game graphic is as real as life!
"Damn! Awesome!"
One of them shouted excitedly, reaching for his trousers. But his loud exclamation immediately attracted the attention of the four incoming witch hunters.
Although it was dark, the sound of his wild cry pinpointed their location.
The lead hunter raised his hand-crossbow and immediately pulled the trigger. With a "plop", the excited man grasping his crotch was shot right in the head.
With an arrow protruding from his head, he dropped to his knees without a single sound, collapsing into flying light particles.
This stunned both Morphy and Maxim.
What the !
Kicked the bucket not even 3 seconds into the game.
Are you messing with me?
You're quite experienced, huh?
The commotion startled the others, and they instinctively dropped to the ground, avoiding the dark salvo of crossbow arrows.
"Why are there only six of my warriors?"
Morphy counted the heads and was shocked.
He had clearly summoned ten people. At this moment, Lead Dove, trembling alongside him on his belly, turned his head and grumbled,
"It's working hours now, big brother.
Not everyone has as much free time as us poor students... What's going on? Who are these people? Why are they attacking us?"
Hearing that his "otherworldly warriors" had to work, Morphy was on the verge of losing it. We're talking about a world-saving mission here! And you're telling me you have to work?
Are you okay with that?
Work, work, work, my arse! Is working as fun as playing games?
But Morphy took a deep breath, quickly adjusted his mood, and said in the tone of an NPC issuing a mission,
"It's the grand plan!
To be precise, it's the first step of the grand plan!
I need to make you brave but inexperienced otherworldly warriors familiar with the brutality of this primitive world.
I must train you into one-man armies before the grand plan begins. But your initial performance in battle is disappointing ...
Perhaps becoming 'walking blood bags' is what was meant for you.
Stand up!
My warriors, don't cower and shiver like chicks; it's too shameful and disgraceful.
Listen!
My servant and I will charge from the front; you'll provide cover from the back!
Otherworldly people, this is your last chance. If you're as useless as this, I'll have no choice but to abandon you and find other more qualified warriors.
Now!
Charge, for our grand plan!
Warriors, charge!"