Jo, holding a sharp wooden stick she found somewhere with both hands, tentatively walked into the farm. As soon as she entered, she saw Shane confronting a pair of male and female vampires, with vampire corpses lying all over the ground.
The kind with heads separated from bodies.
Hiss... Jo couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. This scene was too terrifying, wasn't it?
"Just in time, my companion is here." Shane smiled and waved to Jo, pointing at the female vampire Kate, whose face was ashen. "How about I let her spar with you for practice?"
Jo looked at Kate with some lack of confidence. Kate stared angrily at Jo, revealing inhuman fangs.
Insult!
Mockery!
Kate was very familiar with this set, so she was even angrier!
When vampires caught humans, they would also do this—deliberately scaring them, deliberately giving them hope, making them willing to be manipulated to survive, willing to accept the vampires' teasing and arrangements. Then... after the vampires achieved their goal, they would kill them, enjoying the anger, unwillingness, and powerlessness before their death.
For vampires, this was an extremely pleasurable and satisfying game.
"Although you may not believe it, I have a vampire companion by my side. She didn't come this time, so... when I say I'll give you a chance to live, I won't play word games like you guys. Ten minutes. As long as you don't hurt her, and if you're still alive after ten minutes, I'll let you leave. But you must promise never to step into this town again."
Kate hesitated somewhat. She didn't know if she should believe it.
Now she finally understood how those captured humans felt. Knowing clearly that the other party might not keep their promise, but for a sliver of a chance that might not even exist, they chose to compromise.
"I can agree to your conditions. I promise not to hurt her, and I promise never to step into this town again. But you have to let me and Luther leave together."
Kate turned to look at the male vampire beside her.
Luther revealed a sighing smile. It seemed he hadn't expected Kate to still think of him in the face of a chance to survive. He smiled gently and put his hand on Kate's shoulder.
"Ah..."
Before the happy smile on Kate's face could unfold, her body was forcefully pushed toward Shane by Luther.
At the same time, Luther turned and rushed toward the wooden wall behind him.
He was going to run!
"No..." Kate was heartbroken with disappointment.
Why?
Why do I love you so much, why do I want to take you to live and leave together, but you insist on doing this?
At this moment, Kate and Luther were exactly like the human couples captured by them. One side wanted to seize the chance to live and agreed to the vampire's conditions, while the other side used the partner to create a chance to escape.
Good and evil will eventually be repaid; the way of heaven is a cycle.
If you don't believe it, look up; whom does Heaven ever spare!
Bang!
Kate, who was pushed over, fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Luther had already smashed through the wooden wall and rushed out, about to merge into the thick night.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!" (Doton: Doryū Taiga)
Shane formed seals and shouted lightly.
In an instant, the originally hard ground under Luther's feet suddenly changed, as if turning into a mudslide-like liquid, instantly trapping him. immediately after, amidst exclamations and dancing struggles, he was washed back.
The river flowed straight to Shane.
Shane moved aside, held the Executioner's Blade with both hands, and swung the blade at the rushing Luther like swinging a bat.
Swish—
The blade fell, the head flew.
The male vampire Luther's head flew out, a look of surprise still on his face.
Thud.
His head hit the beam of the farm, rolling far away after landing.
The normal usage of Earth Style: Earth Flow River should be to wash the enemy away and prevent them from getting close. But Shane did the opposite, sweeping Luther, who was fleeing in the distance, back to him.
Shane put away the Executioner's Blade, flipped his hand to grab a short sword extracted from the system, and handed it to Jo. "If you kill her within ten minutes, this knife is yours."
"Really?" Jo took the short sword eagerly and looked at the female vampire Kate, who had already stood up.
She couldn't hurt Jo, nor could she run away. Ten minutes. It should be doable, right? After all, Shane seemed to kill vampires very easily just now?
Shane cleared the surrounding vampire corpses to the side and placed the heads separately. He drew a circle on the ground for Jo and Kate to determine the combat range, then formed seals again.
"Shadow Possession Technique!"
Shane's shadow connected with Kate's shadow to ensure he could control her actions at the first moment. Only then did he release control and explain to the panicked Kate: "Just in case. Lest you feel hopeless about surviving and hurt my companion or try to take my companion hostage to escape."
Kate remained silent. She actually did have that thought.
Her companions were all killed, her lover betrayed her. Kate truly felt somewhat disheartened and despairing now. If she couldn't last ten minutes, she might really risk it all to kill Jo to avenge herself...
But now...
Looking at the eager Jo, besides envying that someone was cultivating her so carefully, Kate was prepared to do whatever it took to last ten minutes.
"Start!"
Shane took out his phone and started the timer.
Jo held the short sword and slashed directly at Kate's head. The way to kill a vampire was to decapitate them. Time was only ten minutes. The opponent wouldn't fight back, wouldn't run away. There was no need to consider other issues; just cutting off the opponent's head was enough.
Jo's thought was simple, simple enough that she forgot the most important point: the gap in strength!
Shane dealing with vampires as easily as cutting vegetables was because he had the Byakugan active. Whether in insight or strength, he was far superior to vampires.
Jo didn't have Byakugan, nor did she have much opportunity for close combat with vampires or other creatures. Her strength, her reaction ability, her experience were almost all equal to zero.
Let alone a vampire like Kate with fast reaction speed, even an ordinary hunter, only defending and not attacking, might be able to persist for ten minutes without dying.
Time passed quickly. Jo's movements became more and more disorganized. Because she didn't know the exact time, and every strike was easily dodged by the opponent, this pressure gave her a great sense of urgency.
Calm down! Calm down! I must calm down! There should still be time. My attack intent is too obvious now; there is no chance to cut off the opponent's head at all. I...
Jo slashed out again and was easily dodged by Kate. Giving up on herself, she stopped her movements and said somewhat dejectedly, "Ten minutes is up. I... I lost."
"Phew..." Hearing this, Kate breathed a sigh of relief. She had persevered. It was easier than imagined.
She turned to look at Shane, preparing to confirm if he would keep his word and let her leave. As a result, Jo suddenly used all her strength to swing the short sword horizontally at Kate.
"Ten minutes is up, you can't kill..." Kate, realizing what happened, shouted hurriedly. Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, she was hit in the neck by the short sword and died.
"Huff... huff... huff..." Jo gasped and looked at Shane, who was timing. "How long was it?"
"Nine minutes and twenty-one seconds. You won!"
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