The wooden door creaked loudly.
A curved blade slipped through the gap, wavered, then pulled back. The bandit outside was extremely cautious.
After a long pause, the gap widened. A head peeked in, then a torch was thrown inside. Still… nothing.
Thinking he was just overreacting, the bandit stepped forward.
Suddenly, a hand shot out from above the door like lightning. It grabbed his face and dragged him into the cellar. The door slammed shut instantly.
A horrible scream erupted.
The sound crushed the bandits' fragile courage. They surged out of the basement, panicked.
"Don't panic! Don't panic!" Guguka roared, brandishing his curved blade. But his words did little to restore morale.
The bandits gathered at the tunnel entrance. None dared step forward. Despite their daily bloodshed, these men were cowards at heart.
Eyewitnesses described the vampire as extraordinarily strong—no signs of weakness. Likely… an ancient vampire.
At sunrise, they began scouring the castle. Fingerprints on the walls, the two unknown corpses, and the completely drained camels terrified them the most.
The vampire wanted everyone trapped inside, one by one.
Guguka shivered. How had he encountered such a creature? Ancient vampires were supposed to be extremely rare.
Without camels, leaving the castle was impossible. Their only hope: kill the vampire in daylight. Otherwise… nightfall would bring unknown horrors.
He jabbed a bandit with his sword hilt.
"Lead me to where you spotted it!"
The bandit's face turned pale. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He almost dropped to his knees to beg for forgiveness. But he knew better. One wrong word now, and blood would spill instantly.
Trembling, he took hesitant steps toward the tunnel entrance.
"Follow him!" Guguka barked at the others, retreating slowly himself. No one dared challenge him—the captain was the strongest.
After endless threats and intimidation, the bandits finally entered the tunnel, inching forward. Guguka brought up the rear, knife in hand, warning anyone who dared step back would be killed.
Adam's cellar was only twenty meters from the tunnel entrance, yet it took the bandits nearly an hour to cover that short distance. The constant threats barely moved them.
"Here…" the trembling lead bandit pointed at the wooden cellar door, pale and sniffling.
"Kick it open, you coward! What are you waiting for?" Guguka shouted in rage.
It took another ten minutes of hesitation before the bandit finally summoned courage and kicked the door open, retreating immediately.
Nothing happened.
Peering inside, the bandits saw only the corpse of the man previously dragged in—nothing else.
"Are you looking for me?" a voice echoed from the far end of the tunnel. A figure emerged from the shadows—Adam.
The flickering torchlight revealed him: covered in pus, teeth bared, white breath escaping his mouth, bulging eyes terrifyingly unnatural.
Panic erupted. Screams, curses, chaos. Every bandit instinctively stepped back.
This wasn't a vampire. It wasn't any bloodline Guguka had described. This… was a full-fledged zombie!
Stories of zombies existed across ages, nations, and peoples. Few could confirm their reality. Perhaps Adam was the embodiment of humanity's fear of death itself.
If it had been a human-looking vampire, the bandits might have rallied. But this… this was nightmare made flesh.
Fear overtook reason. Guguka's threats were forgotten. The bandits only wanted to flee.
Guguka attempted to assert control, swinging his blade to cut down a retreating bandit.
"Don't step back! Charge! Step back, and you die!"
He roared. But the bandits did the unthinkable—they charged him.
Before he could react, seven or eight knives pierced his body. He fell.
Terrified, the remaining bandits trampled over him and fled the tunnel. Fear had overpowered logic. To them, killing Guguka was easier than confronting Adam.
Adam sighed at their lack of brains. Slowly, he approached, lifting the barely conscious bandit Guguka had struck down.
"Don't waste anything." He bit into him.
The bandits fled the tunnel in panic.
Guguka was dead. Their captain gone. The plan to kill a vampire in daylight? Useless nonsense now.
What to do next? No camels. No escape.
"I think he's hiding in the cellar during the day. Maybe afraid of sunlight… maybe only slightly weakened," a bandit finally reasoned.
Most agreed. They packed their belongings and moved outside, choosing open terrain to avoid surprise attacks and make running easier. When the lizard lord returned, they'd decide their next move.
They camped on the desert sands, avoiding the oasis. Trees could conceal the monster's ambush.
To handle food and water, they split into two groups, taking turns fetching supplies from the castle.
Adam had become the master of the castle.
As the sun set, darkness fell again. Bandits stayed alert, unable to sleep, forced into a reversed day-night schedule to survive.
Adam prowled the castle, exploring in shadows.
After a day of rest, he fully experienced the vitality of a vampire.
Pus had vanished. Wounds healed. Pink, flawless skin returned. With enough blood, even the gravest injuries were trivial.
He washed in the well, examined his reflection. Apart from lacking eyebrows and hair, his body was flawless. Even better than before.
Smooth face, proud gaze, piercing eyes deeper than ever.
Fat replaced with solid muscle. Tall, powerful.
He cracked his neck. Spine clicking. Admiring himself, Adam smiled.
A completely different Adam, unrecognizable—except the same arrogance in his expression.
"Hey—anyone there? Water… food?" a voice called out.
The panicked bandits had forgotten the prisoner in the dungeon…