The ones that surrounded them were humans, albeit somewhat pale looking. If not for the fact that they appeared out of nowhere and encircled the group, they might have been mistaken for regular civilians.
Duncan frowned, ready to use [Shimmer Dome] to protect the squad, and asked, "Who are you, and why are you collecting so much blood?"
One of the eight pale humans laughed mockingly. "Heh, and why would we tell you—"
Sol's voice cut him off. "They're vampires. All B-Rankers."
Name: Brekster
Race: Vampire/Human
Talents: [Vampiric], [Blood Whip]
Level: 91
Name: Ilmar
Race: Vampire/Human
Talents: [Vampiric], [Bat Swarm]
Level: 84
Name: Condea
Race: Vampire/Human
Talents: [Vampiric], [Charmer]
Level: 86
The moment they appeared, Sol used [Analysis] on them and instantly identified who they were.
"Vampires? I thought they all died out or something." Lazuli commented. She recalled reading about them out of curiosity once, but there hadn't been any vampire activity for many years.
Brekster, the vampire who had been speaking, was caught off guard. "How did you—? Ah! You have [Analysis]! But it doesn't matter. Soon, you'll be working for us as well. Get them!"
The vampires jumped at his command, revealing their weapons. But before they could approach, a silver barrier appeared between them and expanded outward, pushing the vampires away.
It was Duncan, who had been refining his [Shimmer Dome] into a law technique, that acted first, giving the squad some breathing room and breaking the encirclement.
Sol stepped forward and drew his Lipon to take down the closest vampire, but Duncan called out to him before he could act.
While maintaining the barrier, Duncan said, "Captain, wait! Let us handle them."
Sol paused and looked back at him. "Are you sure? We're outnumbered here. I can at least even the odds."
It would be child's play for Sol to take care of them without even using his law technique.
Duncan nodded resolutely. "Let us show you we can take care of ourselves."
"We can handle it." Not surprisingly, Lapis was the first to support Duncan's request.
"I'd rather he joined in and made it easier for us…" Rex muttered, thinking they could wrap things up faster with Sol's help.
"Nah, we got this. I've been itching for a good fight all week!" Aron said, cracking his knuckles. "Drop the barrier, Duncan. Let me at 'em."
While Nataly and Lazuli didn't speak, the way they held their staffs made it clear they were on board as well.
Seeing how eager they were to fight without him, Sol smiled and said, "Alright, I know you all can handle them just fine. Just be careful of the one on our right, he has charm skills."
On the other side of the barrier, Brekster frowned. Judging by how the Royal Knights were acting, he could tell their captain wasn't someone to be taken lightly. But since Sol had chosen to stay back, there was still a decent chance for them to win.
Brekster quickly analysed the situation and thought to himself, 'He called out our only charmer, but it doesn't matter. If we can charm one of the other knights, we can take them hostage. With the way he appears to care for them we can easily force him to obey.'
Charmers were vampires with talents related to charming and beguiling targets, converting them into thralls. While all vampires could enthrall, they were limited to weaker targets and they would lose most if not all signs of intelligence, similarly to the adventurers and civilians that had been commanded to collect blood. Against stronger opponents, only charmers could be of any use to turn them into thralls.
If they enthralled one of the knights, they could force their captain to comply in exchange for restoring their ally. Even though Sol had [Analysis] and knew about their skills, Brekster was confident from the way Lazuli spoke that they hadn't interacted with vampires before and if so they wouldn't know that once someone was enthralled, it couldn't be undone.
One glance at his allies was enough for them to understand the plan. As Duncan lowered the barrier, the vampires leapt forward to attack again.
Aron, Rex, and Lapis charged out in different directions while Duncan stayed behind, protecting the two mages of the team as they began casting their spells.
Aron rushed toward two vampires. One extended long claws while the other formed blood blades and sent them flying toward him.
Before the blades could reach Aron, Duncan manifested a silver barrier midair, blocking the attack. Aron's fist collided with the other vampire's claws.
Though the claws were sharp enough to easily cut through flesh, Aron's fists were covered in a bronze glow. With his skill [Bronze Fists], his punches had the properties of metal, making them even deadlier.
"Hahaha! Is that all you got?!" Aron taunted the vampire.
The vampire didn't respond but used [Ace Slash] with [Bone Sever], enhancing his claws to cut through Aron's fists. But before he could slash at him, Aron's foot swept in from the side, knocking the vampire off his feet. Before the vampire hit the ground, Aron delivered an [Echo Strike], creating three mirages of fists that slammed into the vampire simultaneously, sending him crashing into his ally.
Though the other vampire caught his comrade safely, Aron immediately followed up with [Howling Fist], unleashing a powerful force blast that sent both vampires flying into the sewer walls.
Grinning, Aron prepared to finish them off, but before he could move, a green orb flew over his head and exploded into a noxious cloud over the vampires. As the smoke cleared, the two vampires lay dead.
Aron's grin disappeared, and he turned to Lazuli, annoyed. "Hey! I had them!"
Lazuli made an apologetic gesture. "Sorry! You were lagging behind, so I thought I'd help."
"Lagging behind?" Curious, Aron turned to Rex, who had already taken down one vampire and was now fighting the second alongside vines Nataly had summoned. Lapis had finished off three vampires and was now fighting Brekster.
In the brief time Aron had been fighting, most of the vampires had already been defeated, with only two remaining.
Amazed, Aron asked, "Are they weak, or are we just that strong?"