Chapter: Vampire Encounter
The red-haired youth and his companions lay on the ground, motionless.
Ivennie had never killed anyone before. She timidly pulled the corner of Cheng Yu's clothes, her little face full of nervousness. "Master Cheng Yu, those people aren't dead, are they?"
"If they're dead, they're dead."
Cheng Yu wouldn't have any sympathy for people looking for trouble like that.
I'll drag them to the ravine to feed wild dogs later.
However, at that moment, the "corpses" on the ground moved.
The red-haired youth in the lead stood up. His black pupils turned red. His face was bloodless—pale as white paper. Two sharp fangs grew in his mouth. His muscles swelled. His body hunched. A pair of bare red wings grew on his back.
The other few people were exactly the same as the red-haired youth. All stood up and grew fangs and wings.
This feature didn't belong to humans but to the Blood Clan.
Seeing this scene, everyone present was shocked.
"Everyone be careful! Don't get bitten by the vampires, or you may be assimilated into vampires!"
"Aren't the vampires outside the northern border? How did they come to human territory?"
"The northern border is impregnable. How did vampires invade?"
The vampires and demons were both under the Demon King's command and lived in the northern demon domain. There were no vampires in the Black Sun Empire.
"Wait. They're not vampires but humans who've been transformed into vampires."
The old priest of the Order God Cult was knowledgeable. He could tell at a glance these people weren't real vampires.
Though vampires could assimilate humans into vampires through special methods, there were still some differences.
Cheng Yu suddenly remembered Barney had said yesterday the northern border was breached half a month ago. Since then, Blood Queen Aphra had disappeared.
At the time, Joyce had guessed Aphra might have run into the Black Sun Empire through the gap in the northern border.
Looking at the situation, Joyce seemed to have guessed correctly. Aphra really had run to the Black Sun Empire and transformed humans into vampires.
Such a great demon was extremely dangerous. Once encountered, even a fifth-tier powerhouse might perish.
"I originally wanted to taste the blood of elves, but I didn't expect her to be so strong."
The red-haired young man laughed grimly.
I'm tired of drinking human blood. Wanted to change my taste. Just now he'd pretended to be attracted by Ivennie's beauty, but he was actually interested in elven blood.
As a result, Ivennie's strength had exceeded his imagination.
"The identity has been exposed. Let's go quickly," another vampire said.
There were so many adventurers here, and people from the Order God Cult. They definitely wouldn't be able to win.
Several vampires flapped their wings and flew away.
"Order!"
With a light shout, the old man of the Order God Cult—less than 1.5 meters tall—slammed the magic staff in his hand on the ground. A circular magic array ten meters in diameter immediately appeared on the ground.
Several vampires who'd just flown into the sky were dragged down by an invisible force and pulled in front of the priest. They stood in a row in order from short to tall, with equal distance between each person.
Those vampires were terrified and couldn't move.
"Vampires, die!"
The priest was about to kill them, but Cheng Yu suddenly said, "Old man, wait!"
"My friend, what's the matter?" The priest stopped what he was doing.
"Let me ask a question first."
"Alright. You ask. They can't move for the time being."
The priest walked aside and let Cheng Yu ask the question.
Cheng Yu walked over, looked at the few people, and asked, "Tell me—how did you become vampires?"
"Why should I tell you?"
Though imprisoned, the red-haired young man's face was still full of arrogance and stubbornness. He lacked self-awareness.
A half-meter-long machete appeared in Cheng Yu's hand, shining brightly. He raised his hand and chopped off the head of a nearby vampire. The head and body separated. Bright red blood gushed out.
"Can you tell me now?"
Cheng Yu had a wicked smile on his face. He shook the bloody machete in front of the red-haired young man.
"You..."
The red-haired young man was shocked. He hadn't expected this human to be so decisive—killing a person like killing a chicken.
Scared! So scared!
He didn't dare hide it. "I was bitten by a woman in red. Then I became a vampire."
"Where is that woman now?" Cheng Yu asked again.
The woman who bit him should be Blood Queen Aphra.
This was important military intelligence for the Northern Fortress.
"I don't know. The woman sucked my blood and left. To survive, I had to suck other people's blood," the red-haired young man said helplessly.
"When and where were you bitten?"
"Ten days ago, in Kanli Town."
Cheng Yu held his chin with one hand and thought for a while. Aphra had entered the Black Sun Empire over half a month ago. This person was bitten ten days ago. The timing almost matched.
Cheng Yu looked at the Order God Cult priest. "Old man, leave this vampire to me. Kill the others."
The red-haired young man looked at Cheng Yu with complicated eyes. He hadn't expected Cheng Yu to spare his life. He felt touched. There are still many good people in the world.
The priest looked puzzled. "Why keep him? Vampires are a nuisance."
"Explore the labyrinth. Let him go in front as cannon fodder. Isn't that great?"
Cheng Yu planned to wait until the system task was completed, then explore the labyrinth to find treasure.
However, the labyrinth was full of traps. This guy could be used as cannon fodder.
The red-haired young man had been touched the previous second. His mentality collapsed the next second—sad face.
The priest slapped his forehead and suddenly realized. "Yes! They can be used as cannon fodder. Why didn't I think of it?"
So the Order God Cult handed the red-haired young man to Cheng Yu, drove the remaining vampires into the labyrinth, and let them go in front to clear the way.
When encountering any traps, these vampires would die first.
"Ivennie, tie this guy up with vines."
"Okay!"
Holding the magic staff, Ivennie released vine magic.
A green vine burst from the ground and tied the red-haired young man into a bundle.
Cheng Yu threw the red-haired young man next to the barbecue stall to use when exploring the labyrinth.
Time passed. Adventurers went in and out of the labyrinth entrance.
Some were injured and helped out by teammates. Some found gold and silver jewelry and were ecstatic. Some went in intact but only had their bodies left when they came out—their heads left in the labyrinth...
The aroma of barbecue was so tempting that almost everyone who passed by Cheng Yu's barbecue stall would buy a few skewers.
[Positive Emotion Value +7]
[Positive Emotion Value +4]
[Positive Emotion Value +5]
[System Task Progress: 2,446/10,000]
After the first day, Cheng Yu had gained 2,446 points of positive emotion value.
As the sun was setting, people who'd entered the labyrinth to explore came out one after another.
The Order God Cult people also came out of the labyrinth. There had been six vampires when they entered, but only two were left when they came out.
The priest saw Cheng Yu selling barbecue at the entrance and said with a smile, "My friend, your method is really useful! With the vampires leading the way, it's much safer. We successfully made it to the fifth floor of the labyrinth."
"Where are the other four vampires?"
"One fell into a fire pit trap and burned to death. One fell into a strong acid pool trap and dissolved. One was swallowed by a monster. One was crushed into powder by a large stone ball."
"Holy crap, is the labyrinth that intense?"
Cheng Yu hadn't expected there to be so many traps in the labyrinth.
"The first three floors are okay, but there are more traps on the fourth and fifth floors."
After the Order God Cult people left, Joyce walked out—wounds all over his body, staggering.
Seeing Joyce in such a sorry state, Cheng Yu hurried over to support him. "What happened to you?"
"Hehe~ I broke into the third floor of the labyrinth. The monster in the last room of the third floor was too fierce. Fortunately, I ran fast," Joyce said.
"What monster?"
"A third-tier Ice Bear."
Joyce was a third-tier mage. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult for a third-tier mage to defeat a third-tier monster.
"What did you say? Ice Bear?"
Joyce was stunned. "What's so surprising about this?"
"The bear paw of an Ice Bear is plump—top-quality food!"
"???"
Joyce thought Cheng Yu was excited about something important, but it turned out to be this.
"Let's go together tomorrow."
Cheng Yu was very interested in bear paw.
"Sure."
Joyce thought of the last time he and Cheng Yu killed the third-tier monster Black Armored Pig. Cheng Yu's strength wasn't as simple as it seemed. Taking Cheng Yu along, maybe they could kill the third-tier Ice Demon Bear.
"By the way, I have something else to tell you. The great demon Aphra has invaded the Black Sun Empire."
"Aphra invaded the Black Sun Empire? How did you know?"
Hearing this, Joyce's eyes were full of shock.
Cheng Yu told Joyce what had happened in the morning and pointed to the red-haired young man.
"Such an important matter can't be delayed. The general must be notified as soon as possible!"
Joyce stood up—regardless of the injuries on his body—and ran toward the Northern Fortress, disappearing into the vast night.