Chương 122

The 14th Vampire City was just as dark and dusty as the last one. Rudra walked down the wide, cobblestone street, spinning his newly repaired Staff of the Fire Lord. Mumud followed closely behind, wearing a spare leather jacket, while Kratos trotted ahead, sniffing the air for enemies.

"Halt, human," a smooth, arrogant voice echoed from the shadows. Five True Blood Vampires stepped out of an alleyway. They wore fancy red tailcoats and held thin rapiers. [True Blood Vampire - Lv. 320] [True Blood Vampire - Lv. 325] As soon as their red eyes locked onto Rudra, a blaring system window popped up. [Warning! You are engaging monsters significantly higher than your current level (Level Gap: 319)!] [Due to the extreme level difference, physical and magical damage dealt is severely reduced to 20%.] [Damage taken is increased by 80%.] [This penalty cannot be resisted.] [The overwhelming presence of the enemies has caused a 'Fear' and 'Stun' effect.] [You have resisted!]"Okay, doing only twenty percent damage is horrible," Rudra complained, gripping his bone staff. He didn't back down. He dashed forward, swinging the staff in a heavy, horizontal arc. The ironwood smashed into the lead vampire's chest. Clang! The hit felt like swinging a bat underwater.

The massive level suppression completely smothered his physical force. The vampire didn't even flinch. It just laughed, stepping inside Rudra's guard and thrusting its rapier straight at his ribs. Rudra barely managed to twist his body away. The blade scraped against his black trench coat, taking a massive, painful chunk out of his health bar despite his heavy defenses.

"Yeah, I can't just steamroll these guys right now," Rudra grunted, hopping backward to create distance. My stats aren't at their prime, and that level gap is no joke, he thought.

"Allow me, Lord Rudra," Mumud said, stepping forward. The silver-haired mage raised his pale hands. The ambient mana in the city violently rushed toward him, forming a massive, terrifyingly complex magic circle in the air. Rudra's eyes went wide.

"Wait! Stop!" Mumud paused, the magic circle flickering.

"The body constructed is not strong enough to withstand your full strength!" Rudra yelled, waving his arms.

"If you cast a High-ranking spell right now, your new heart is going to explode from the mana pressure!" Mumud looked down at his chest. He tapped his ribs, feeling the fragile, newly formed organs beating inside.

"Ah," Mumud murmured softly.

"You are correct. My mana pathways are completely bottlenecked. If I draw too much power, my flesh will tear apart." As a magic genius, Mumud's true power lay in his absolutely broken, high-level spells. Stripped of his grandest formulas due to his fragile new body, he had to settle for mid-tier magic. Mumud waved his hand, dismissing the massive spell. He drew a much smaller, dense purple rune in the air.

"[Mana Compression]." It wasn't a flashy spell, but the sheer gravity of it was heavy. A concentrated wave of dense magical pressure slammed down on the five True Blood Vampires. The cobblestones beneath them shattered. The vampires shrieked as their bodies were violently crushed into the dirt, their health bars plummeting instantly. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Mumud didn't kill them.

He carefully held the spell back just enough, dropping their health to a tiny, blinking red sliver.

"Lord Rudra," Mumud panted slightly, wiping a bead of sweat from his pale forehead.

"I have weakened them. Please, take the finishing blow."

"Perfect!" Rudra grinned. He gripped his staff and jumped into the middle of the crushed vampires.

"[Typhoon]!" He spun the heavy bone staff. A violent vacuum formed instantly, dragging the five crippled vampires into a tight, messy pile right in front of him. Rudra abruptly stopped the spin, letting the explosive shockwave keep them pinned, and immediately pulled the staff back over his shoulder.

"[Avalanche]!" He brought the staff down on the pile. The first hit bounced off their tough skin, but Rudra rode the recoil, bringing the staff right back down. With every hit, his swing speed and attack weight increased by 50%. The combo got heavier and faster. Thwack! CRACK! The insane, stacking weight completely shredded their remaining armor durability. The level penalty couldn't protect the vampires once their defenses were broken.

The heavy ironwood smashed through them, triggering the staff's orange fire explosions. The five vampires turned to grey ash. [You have defeated a True Blood Vampire!] [Experience has been acquired.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] Rudra let out a sharp breath as the golden light washed over him. Because he was Level 1 getting the 100% kill experience for Level 320 monsters, his level bar was literally jumping.

"Okay, this is the best strategy ever," Rudra laughed, resting his staff on his shoulder. He looked at Mumud.

"You just crush them down to one percent. I'll sweep them up and take the kills. We share the loot, but I get the full EXP." Mumud offered a crisp, formal bow.

"As you command, Lord Rudra." It quickly turned into a highly optimized, ridiculous factory line of death. They moved from street to street, clearing out the 14th and 15th Vampire Cities. They fought hordes of vampire familiars like giant wolves and bats, normal vampires, and True Bloods. Whenever a group ambushed them, Mumud simply cast [Mana Compression] or [Arcane Collapse]. He crushed the monsters to the brink of death, and Rudra swooped in. [Typhoon] dragged them into a pile. [Avalanche] flattened them.

The pace was grueling. Rudra didn't stop to rest. When his health dropped from a stray attack that slipped through the level gap, or when Mumud started looking dangerously pale from mana exhaustion, Rudra just kicked open the door to an empty stone house. He slammed his Protean Crafting Cauldron onto the floor and tapped it, shifting the heavy metal into a massive, traditional dum pot.

"Biryani time," Rudra announced, pulling out his cooking knife. He layered premium, spicy monster meat with wild rice, deeply toasted spices, and sweet river-kelp. He sealed the pot tight with dough to lock in the steam, letting the rich, complex flavors meld together perfectly. When he cracked the pot open, the heavy, mouth-watering aroma of spiced meat and perfectly cooked rice filled the dark, dusty house.

"Eat it while it's hot," Rudra ordered, shoving a massive plate into Mumud's hands.

"You need the carbs and the vitality buff to keep your core stable." Mumud took a bite. A warm color returned to his pale cheeks.

"Your culinary skills are truly exceptional, Lord Rudra."

"Less talking, more eating," Rudra mumbled, happily chewing on a spicy chunk of meat. Kratos sat beside the table, aggressively devouring his own plate of biryani with happy comments.

"This is the reason I live, eating.." They barely slept. For an entire month, the trio lived underground, methodically sweeping the cities. The endless darkness and repetitive battles would have broken a normal player's mind, but Rudra just treated it like an extended gym session. They fought, ate, and fought again, turning the brutal dungeons into an endless, highly efficient grind. Finally, at the end of the month, they reached the very last courtyard of the 15th city.

A massive swarm of over fifty True Blood Vampires had them completely boxed in.

"Lock them down!" Rudra yelled, his uniform soaked in sweat. Mumud raised both hands.

"[Heavy Gravity Field]." The entire courtyard sank. The cobblestones groaned as the fifty vampires were driven straight into the dirt, their health bars plummeting under the immense magical weight. Rudra didn't hesitate. He dashed into the center of the crushed horde. He spun the staff, initiating the [Avalanche] combo. He moved like a blur, letting the infinite momentum carry his heavy strikes from one skull to the next. Thwack! BOOM! CRACK! Orange fire illuminated the dark courtyard.

For ten straight minutes, Rudra just hammered the ground until his arms felt like lead. When he finally smashed his staff into the skull of the very last True Blood Vampire, the monster turned to ash. [Level Up!] Rudra dropped his staff to his side. The golden light of the level-up washed over him one last time before finally fading away. The city was completely silent. He let out a long, ragged exhale and collapsed backward onto a broken stone pillar.

His stamina bar was completely empty, but a massive, totally satisfied grin spread across his face.

"We did it," Rudra panted, looking over at Mumud and Kratos.

"The cities are completely clear."