"Alan! Don't rush in!"
Olivia's warning came from behind.
"Inside the castle, a barrier called 'Evil Dwelling' has been set up."
"The power of undead creatures is enhanced, while the living are suppressed."
"In addition, the Evil Dwelling suppresses all light magic below level 5."
As she spoke, Olivia threw a stone enchanted with "Daylight" toward the castle gate.
The glowing stone quickly dimmed and lost its luster the moment it passed the castle threshold.
"The castle's owner, a former elven prince, is both a vampire and a level 6 necromancer."
Flora took over, speaking to Alan and Ella.
"In the lightless Palace of the Dead, the vampires' regenerative abilities are unrestricted. Only weapons enchanted with silver at level 3 or above can inflict fatal damage."
"Meanwhile, while we're in the castle, we're constantly being eroded by negative energy, and our vitality is rapidly draining."
"If we rashly barge in like this, we'll probably die before even meeting the Vampire Count."
"I'll cast 'Death Ward' on everyone. This fourth-level spell blocks negative energy and offers some resistance to vampire necromancy."
"Avril will also cast 'Protection from Evil' on everyone, increasing their mental resistance to evil creatures."
"The Vampire Count's gaze possesses a powerful spiritual power that can control the hearts of people."
Avril, clutching a small packet of silver powder, issued a warning as she cast the spell.
"If we're not on guard, even a brief moment of eye contact with him will lead us to lose our true nature and become his puppet."
"Sister, after pre-casting these spells, how confident are you in hunting down the Vampire Count?" Ella asked.
"This..."
Olivia, Flora, and Avril exchanged bewilderment.
"Honestly, we three have to thank our ancestors for their support in escaping the Palace of the Dead unscathed."
"Hunting the Vampire Count is beyond our capabilities. We can only rely on Alan," Olivia said frankly.
Everyone's gaze shifted to Alan.
They hoped he would give an encouraging answer.
Everyone knew that while Alan was powerful, his rank was similar to the Vampire Count's, he didn't stand a chance in a fair duel.
The castle, protected by the evil barrier, was the Vampire Count's home turf.
There are at least fifty vampire spawn in the castle.
No matter how strong Allen was, it would be difficult for him to complete this overly difficult challenge under such extremely unfavorable circumstances.
A 50% chance of success would be enough to impress the girls.
"Before we discuss this, I have a question."
Alan pointed to the darkened Palace of the Dead and asked Olivia, Avril, and Flora:
"Since the environment inside the castle is so hostile to us, why do we have to go in?"
"What else?"Olivia rolled her eyes at him. "If you're planning to lure the vampire lord out, you better stop dreaming!"
"The monster is sleeping in a coffin in the castle's attic. He won't leave unless the castle is demolished."
"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly what I mean!" Allen nodded with a smile. "Tear down this castle, and the problem will be solved."
"Bye!" "Oh! Stop daydreaming, okay?" Olivia laughed at his indignation. "The castle is protected by a barrier; every brick, tile, and wood is as strong as steel!"
"Even attacking the castle from the outside with magic from the outside won't work. Any magic below the 6th level will be ineffective; the magic will be absorbed by the protective barrier."
Avril dismissed Alan's wild thoughts and said unhappily:
"Unless you master some powerful 7th-level magic or 7th-level magical martial arts, demolishing the castle will be even more difficult than breaking into it and hunting the vampire lord!"
"Hearing you say that, I'm relieved."
Alan smiled faintly and turned to face the castle gate.
As the girls stared in confusion, he snapped his fingers with a dashing gesture.
Crack!
Thunderclap! The earth cracked and the sky collapsed!
...
The Palace of the Dead trembled violently!
The magic-reinforced walls crumbled under the thunder's impact.
As Olivia and the other three watched in disbelief, it collapsed!
From within the castle ruins, the wails of the vampires echoed.
They had slept soundly in their coffins, never dreaming of such a catastrophe.
Both the bodies and their coffins were buried deep within the ruins.
Whether this constituted "buried alive" remains to be seen.
After all, they were no longer alive.
Even more shocking things were yet to come.
The theoretically more sturdy lower levels of the castle were shattered by Alan's "Finger Thunder."
The seemingly more fragile attic at the top of the tower remained largely intact.
After the earth-shattering lightning strike, the attic hovered in mid-air, becoming a true sky-high attic.
Through the doors, windows, and cracks in the walls, a mass of red flesh and blood gushed out, twisting and writhing.
This deformed flesh, parasitic within the attic, acted like living mortar, forcibly patching the broken structure together and barely maintaining its shape.
From the attic's main entrance and the stained-glass window opposite, two large masses of flesh and blood sprouted, unfurling into the night sky, forming a pair of membranous wings.
On the surface of these wings, a dense network of protruding blood vessels was clearly visible, as if pulsating with the heart hidden within the attic.
These frail wings alone could not support the heavy attic's suspension.
This bizarre combination of flesh and blood and masonry slowly descended.
The moment it touched the ground, a crimson wave erupted.
The glare rivaled that of a solar explosion! The negative energy unleashed was dark and chilling, sending chills down the spines of Olivia and the others a hundred meters away, leaving them feeling inexplicably weak and exhausted!
Sixth-level necromancy magic—Death Wave!!
…
As the Death Wave erupted, Allen suddenly leaped forward.
Before his feet left the ground, he remained in human form.
The moment he leaped into the air, he had already initiated a sixth-level atavism, transforming into a giant blue beast!
And that wasn't the end!
Alan, reverting to his ancestral form, activated his sixth-level self-created form, "Lightning Control"!
Crack!
As thunder roared, the blue lightning of the giant beast had already struck the attic, where flesh and blood were parasitic.
Blood and lightning burst forth in succession, eventually merging! Ella, Olivia, Avril, and Flora watched as the flowers and trees before them were stripped of their life force by the "Death Wave," instantly withering and dying.
Then they watched as the flesh-and-blood monster that had triggered the "Death Wave" was struck by an unstoppable bolt of blue lightning, flung hundreds of feet away, leaving a trail of foul, stinking blood in its wake.
The four sorceresses were horrified, their minds blank.
It took them a long time to recover.
They realized they had just faced death.
If Alan hadn't intervened in time, transforming into lightning and knocking the flesh-and-blood monster away, the four beautiful women would have been drained of their life force by the "Death Wave," reduced to dry bones.
"This... doesn't seem like the place we're meant to be."
Avril lamented bitterly.
Olivia and Flora shared the same sentiment. How could I have been so blinded by greed that I actually considered breaking into the Palace of the Dead?!
"Don't be afraid! My senior brother can handle it!"
Ella remained composed.
Her faith in Allen was like a fanatic's devotion to an idol.
At this moment, the attic, struck by the "Lightning Flash" attack, had completely shattered, spewing a cloud of blood.
Two blurry figures engaged in a fierce battle within the bloody mist.
When the mist was blown away by the night wind, the fierce battle came to an end.
The two combatants were locked in a strange stalemate.
Alan's incarnation, the Sky Behemoth, was covered in bloody scratches.
The wounds were gray, and the muscles showed obvious signs of withering.
These were symptoms of being eroded by negative energy.
This was all thanks to Allen's previous experience hunting low-level undead, which had granted him Level 5 negative energy resistance. Otherwise, his injuries would have been far worse.
His opponent, the Vampire Count, was in no better shape.
Blood seeping from his body stained his pale skin red.
Most of his body was tightly gripped by a giant blue claw.
A single exertion of force from Allen would have crushed him to pieces!
However, the Vampire Count pointed a slender finger at the behemoth Allen's head.
The long, sharp nails shone with a frightening deep green luster.
Indeed, Allen could crush his head at any moment.
However, the Vampire Count's well-prepared "Disintegration" could have inflicted the same devastating damage on Allen.
To Ella and the others observing the battle, it seemed as if Allen and the Vampire Count were wary of each other, neither daring to strike first. So, should I step forward to help Allen fight the Vampire Count?
In a duel of this magnitude, would a weakling's reckless meddling only make matters worse?
Ella and the others had to carefully consider these questions.
Before they could make up their minds, someone appeared to disrupt the situation.
A humanoid blood mist drifted from the castle ruins.
"Is that... the Crimson Mist Demon?!"
Flora exclaimed.
Then she quickly realized she had made a mistake.
At first glance, the humanoid blood mist looked very similar to the Crimson Mist Demon.
A closer look revealed that the upper body of the blood mist resembled a long-haired girl.
Flora's gaze fell on the rag doll clasped in the blood mist girl's left hand, and she immediately guessed her identity.
Nora Ganesa!
This mysterious little girl devoured the Crimson Mist Demon and, incidentally, fused with its bloodline, gaining the ability to transform into a blood mist.
Afterwards, she entered the Palace of the Dead before everyone else and apparently engaged in a battle with the Vampire Count.
The Vampire Count, blessed by the barrier within his own castle, possessed immense strength far surpassing that of the Crimson Mist Demon.
Common sense suggests that while Nora is undoubtedly formidable, it's unlikely she could defeat the Vampire Count within the Palace of the Dead.
Unless someone helps her dismantle the Palace of the Dead and eliminate the Vampire Count's home-field advantage.
By some strange coincidence, Alan inadvertently played the role of assisting Nora.
Unfortunately, the other party didn't seem grateful.
Crimson Mist Nora, holding a rag doll in her left hand.
In her right, she held a small bone scimitar.
It looked like a work of art carved from ivory.
Nora seriously assumed the starting stance of the "Sword Drawing Technique."
The little girl, wielding this knife, looked almost comically serious.
But no one dared to underestimate her.
Including Alan and the Vampire Count.
The ivory knife trembled in Nora's hand.
It emanated magical fluctuations that distorted space.
This single swing would surely cleave the void!
Alan, the Vampire Count, and Nora, wielding the knife.
The three of them formed the vertices of a triangle.
Each of them harbored their own agenda, restraining each other.
In this three-way game, Nora took the initiative.
Alan and the Vampire Count, each holding the other in check. Neither of them could guess: would Nora's blade strike them or their opponent?
Nora had infiltrated the Palace of the Dead with the intention of slaying the Vampire Count.
However, Allen wasn't naive enough to believe that Nora was on his side.
Who had killed Nora's brother and father?
Alan knew the answer.
The three parties confronted each other, each with their own agenda.
The tense atmosphere made the onlookers, Ella, Tona, Avril, and Flora, breathless.
Their pounding hearts nearly leaped out of their throats.
The tense standoff finally came to an end.
The Vampire Count was the first to lose his composure.
Swish!
A beam of emerald green light suddenly shot out from his fingertips, striking Allen squarely in the face.
The Sky Behemoth's massive head instantly disintegrated into dust.
At the same time, Alan suddenly clenched his fingers.
Puff!
The Vampire Count in his palm was instantly crushed by his crush!
Blood seeped through his fingers, dispersing into the night sky, transforming into a turbid blood mist before reconsolidating into a humanoid form.
Across from him, Alan's headless corpse remained standing.
Muscles and bones wriggled from its broken neck, regenerating its head at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Olivia and the others' eyes widened, speechless with shock!
It was understandable that the Vampire Count wasn't so easy to kill; that wasn't surprising.
But Alan... his head had been blown to smithereens, yet he wasn't dead, and could even regenerate?!
A terrifying regenerative ability, even stronger than that of a vampire!
Swish!
Nora finally struck.
A simple, unadorned strike, based on the Ganesha family's inherited fifth-level swordsmanship, incorporated two fourth-ring spatial magics: "Anywhere Door" and "Dimensional Anchor," as well as the special effect of "Instant Super Magic."
Nora's own seventh-level swordsmanship, "Sky Slash," disregarded spatial scale.
Aiming to strike wherever she saw, her strike guaranteed a hit, with the added bonus of a seal and teleport!
Puff!
The space-shattering blade struck the Vampire Count's regenerating body, instantly cleaving it in two!
During the regeneration process, it suffered another severe blow, one too powerful even for the Vampire Count to withstand.
Barely keeping its intact heart, it fell from the shattered frame.
The blood vessels connecting to the heart transformed into a pair of blood-red membrane wings.
The winged heart, puffing, attempted to soar deep into the night sky.
A massive hand reached out just in time, grabbing the Vampire Count's heart.
Alan's head was still a work in progress.
The skull and brain were already formed, but the facial features had yet to be reshaped.
No eyes, no problem.
He could still use "Qi Sensing" to keenly detect the Vampire Count's escape route and precisely intercept him!
Poof!
A bone spur popped out from his palm, and the alchemical enchantment activated!
The bone spur, transformed into silver, the very substance vampires feared, pierced deep into his heart, frantically draining his blood essence.
At the same time, a series of system prompts entered...his still incomplete mind.
Alan was now certain that the Gluttony system was bound to his own soul and consciousness, unrelated to his physical brain.
"Consume special ingredient: Vampire Heart Blood!"
"Potential +4!"
"Constitution +1!"
"Choose one of three: Cold, Electric, or Negative Energy Resistance!"
"Choose Negative Energy Resistance!"
"Increase Negative Energy Resistance to Level 7!"
Current Attributes: Constitution 62, Agility 58, Spirit 63
Current Resistances: Virus Level 8 / Electric Level 7 / Sonic Level 7 / Cold Level 5 / Negative Energy Level 7
Potential Reserve: 25 points
...
Alan closed the system page.
His nerves were tense, yet the slaying of the Vampire Count hadn't relaxed.
In the ruins of the castle across from him, Nora maintained her sword drawn.
Her sleepy, narrow eyes widened slightly, her gaze fixed on
In Alan's hand.
Alan's head had been restored to its original state.
Now, he could observe Nora's expression directly with his own eyes.
It was easy to see that this ghostly little girl was very interested in the still-vibrant vampire heart in his hand.
Nora didn't express any strong hatred towards him personally.
Whether she simply didn't want to avenge her father and brother, or perhaps she felt the timing wasn't right and was keeping her hatred hidden for the time being, Alan couldn't tell.
Nora possessed a strong mental resistance, and her "telepathy" was completely unable to penetrate her thoughts.
Alan's gaze shifted to the heart in his hand.
He absorbed a portion of the heart's essence.
The remaining essence was enough to purify a bloodline essence, which would clearly be very useful to Nora.
Alan shook the Vampire Count's heart at Nora, breaking the deadlock.
"Miss Nora, are you planning to use the blood essence of the vampire lord to strengthen your vampire talents?"
He had heard from Pamela that Nora possessed a thin layer of vampire blood.
This might be why her skin looked pale, and why she had to use an umbrella to block the sun even when the sunlight wasn't strong enough.
Nora remained silent.
Her face was expressionless.
Her eyes remained blank.
If it weren't for the Qi sensor, and the feeling of her breathing and heartbeat, Allen would have suspected she had become an undead creature.
"If you're willing to put down the knife, I'd like to make a deal with you," Allen continued.
"What deal?"
It wasn't Nora who answered, but the rag doll in her arms.
Alan examined the doll curiously.
It was hard to tell for a moment whether this doll, which looked like a miniature version of Nora, was an intelligent construct or a prop used by Nora to transmit her voice through ventriloquism, a deceptive trick.
"Staring at me with wide eyes is so rude! Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman?"
The doll said sternly.
Alan couldn't help but laugh.
"I've seen many beautiful women, but I'm the first one as special as you. It's inevitable that I'm curious."
"Haha! Big brother, you're quite sweet! Are you popular with girls?"
"Not really."
Noticing the strange looks from Ella and the others, Alan put on a serious expression and got back to the point.
"If you want the heart of the Vampire Count, exchange it for two Crimson Mist Blood Essences."
"Two won't do. One at most!"
The doll bargained expertly. Alan looked at Nora.
She stood there in a daze, completely letting the doll in her arms make all the decisions.
Judging from the doll's assertive attitude, it seemed as if she was Nora's mistress, and she was just her doll.
"Big brother! Don't look at my mom! I can definitely make decisions for her on such trivial matters!" The doll had a stern face, sounding a little unhappy.
"Are you Nora's daughter?" Alan's heart skipped a beat.
Hadn't Nora's daughter died at birth? Could it be that the vengeful spirit of the baby had taken possession of the doll, creating the so-called "ghost baby"? Recovering from his thoughts, Alan asked the doll, "Would you mind telling me your name?"
"My name is Cynthia."
"It's a nice name, perfect for tonight's moonlight."
"Oh? Big brother, you actually know that Cynthia is the name of the ancient moon goddess?"
The doll's eyes widened.
"I also know that Cynthia is the goddess of virginity and hunting, who loves running naked in the moonlight. If a man sees her, she curses him to turn into a white stag..."
With a sigh, Alan emphasized this solemnly.
"Cynthia, don't call me big brother, call me uncle."
"You're so nagging, big brother!" the doll said capriciously. "One Crimson Mist Demon Bloodline Essence in exchange for the heart in your hand, okay? Just give me a straight answer!"
"You have to give me another thousand Wind Demon Stones, or no deal," Alan bargained calmly.
"Wow! Big brother, how can you be so stingy!"
"Cynthia, if you can't make up your mind, you'd better ask Nora," Allen said calmly. "The Crimson Mist Demon's bloodline essence is insignificant to me, but the heart of the Vampire Count is of immeasurable value to your mother."
"This vampire heart is the only one in the entire Trial Space, and it's in my hands."
"If this deal doesn't go through, I don't mind. Just don't regret it, mother and daughter."
"Damn man..."
Cynthia's eyes widened with anger.
It was a shame her little face was made of cotton; even when angry, it still looked adorably puffy.
Her mouth stretched wide, as if she were laughing happily.
Nora finally made a move.
She put away her ivory knife, freed her left hand, and caressed Cynthia's hair, as if trying to calm her daughter down.
"I don't have any Wind Magic Stones. Can I trade them for Black Magic Stones?"
Cynthia asked Alan, suppressing her anger.
Hearing her words, Alan had an idea.
"Black Magic Stones are useless to me."
"But if you'll give me ten Black Magic Stones infused with Soul Fire, the deal's done."
"Hmph! Your appetite is too great! Too much! The most I can give you is... eight saturated Black Magic Stones!" Cynthia bargained.
"Deal!" Alan held out her hand.
Cynthia flew over from Nora's arms, extending her small cotton hand for a high-five, then opened the chest pocket of her suspender dress.
Alan wrapped the still-beating vampire heart in oil paper and stuffed it into the doll's storage bag.
Then, like Doraemon, Cynthia continued to pull things out of her chest pocket.
First, a reagent bottle shrouded in blood mist, followed by eight black magic stones filled with soul fire.
Unfortunately, the undead spirits sealed within these black magic stones were only ghouls, will-o'-the-wisp, and vampires, providing no fresh special ingredients for Alan.
The blood essence of the Crimson Mist Demon would be a new dish.
Ding-diao—
"Consume special ingredient: Crimson Mist Demon's undead essence!"
"Potential +4!"
"Agility +1!"
Current Attributes: Constitution 62, Agility 59, Spirit 63
Current Resistances: Virus Level 8 / Electric Shock Level 7 / Sonic Level 7 / Cold Level 5 / Negative Energy Level 7
Potential Reserve: 29 points