Chapter 24: 24 Blood-Eating Ghost

A full 90 gold coins.

This was the income Dilan received after selling all the parasitic tree seeds he brought out, and even that was the result of a low-price bulk sale due to his urgent need for money.

He still remembered the flickering look in the goat-bearded merchant's eyes when he deliberately drove down the price.

If he had spent a bit more time, doubling the amount would not have been strange.

But what he lacked now was time.

This was the largest sum of money he had ever held in his life, and he spent it without the slightest hesitation.

After buying the Rebirth Potion at a premium of 55 gold coins, Dilan rushed non-stop to Finlad—a border village where all residents had been relocated internally and transformed into a facility for treating the wounded.

After Bella was infected with the blood poison, she was sent to the church in Finlad, where, along with other victims, a priest suppressed the transformation progress with holy light every day.

But even so, she could last at most three months, and Dilan had received the news a month later.

Now the deadline was approaching, and Dilan dared not delay for a single moment.

Whether it was due to the parasitic infection or not, the amount of sleep Dilan needed recently had been decreasing.

It should be considered a good thing, as this gave him more time to travel.

At the same time, thanks to the extra gold coins, he could keep changing horses along the way, traveling day and night.

Although he encountered some dangers, he arrived at the border earlier than expected.

On the small path, Dilan dismounted early; this place was still a bit away from the village, and he did not plan to ride in openly.

That half of his face covered by mycelium looked like it could not withstand questioning in any way; only by sneaking in quietly could he see his daughter.

Untying the reins, he slapped the horse's hindquarters; watching the horse gradually ride away, Dilan never thought he would have such a luxurious day.

The sun had already set behind Luoshan, and he could slip in under the cover of night.

Protecting the package containing the potion tightly, the closer Dilan got to the village, the more nervous he became inside.

The three-month deadline was almost up; had Bella really held on until now?

Would the Rebirth Potion in his hand be ineffective?

Or perhaps something else...

"Bella, you must be okay..."

Suddenly, Dilan frowned and sniffed hard.

A burnt smell mixed with blood had drifted into the air at some point.

He froze for a moment, then suddenly rushed to the top of the hill—the entire Finlad village was burning in a sea of fire.

Amidst the flickering flames, figures moved, and faintly came cries and the sounds of fighting, wrapped in the clashing of metal.

What happened? Have the vampires attacked?

No, it was a surprise attack; a small outpost like this could not withstand a large army.

Where is Bella?

Dilan saw the direction of the church at a glance; fortunately, it was not on fire, but it was in constant danger.

He must reach Bella's side quickly!

The moment he stepped into the village, Dilan felt as if he had arrived in hell.

Thick smoke rolled in the night sky with sparks, his boot soles were stained with sticky blood, and the thatched roofs on both sides were burning and collapsing.

Three routed soldiers suddenly rushed out of a house; their faces blackened by smoke were full of fear, and after brushing past Dilan, they fled out of the village.

Just a moment later, terrified wails came from behind.

Looking back, one of them lay on the ground with his chest flayed open, twitching and clearly beyond saving, while the other two soldiers were nowhere to be seen.

Beside him, a figure that was neither human nor not-human was gnawing on fresh flesh and blood like a wild beast.

"Blood-Eating Ghost..."

This Blood-Eating Ghost seemed temporarily immersed in the food before it and paid no attention to Dilan.

Dilan did not want to get entangled here either; he turned to leave but found another one standing in front.

The Blood-Eating Ghost in the form of a young girl stared straight at Dilan with scarlet eyes, full of hungry desire.

Looking closely, many protruding keratin grew on her skin, making her look even less human than Dilan.

This Blood-Eating Ghost did not seem likely to let him pass easily, so Dilan could only draw the long sword from his waist.

This was a weapon forged from refined steel, much better in quality than the one he lost in the dungeon, but he had no confidence in whether it could deal with the Blood-Eating Ghost before him.

The Blood-Eating Ghost bent its knees slightly and suddenly rushed at Dilan at high speed.

So fast!

【Parry LV4】

Dilan barely held his sword horizontally across his chest before the attack arrived; the instant the sharp claws collided with the blade, sending up sparks, tremendous force blasted him and his weapon several meters away.

Dilan crashed heavily against the wall, and amidst the churning of his internal organs, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood mixed with mycelium.

Strong; with just this one strike, he clearly realized that his opponent's attributes far exceeded his own at full strength.

The strength of a Blood-Eating Ghost is directly related to the strength of the person who was transformed.

Dilan was already cursing in his heart; what were the people at the border doing, letting so many powerful people get infected with the blood poison?

The Blood-Eating Ghost did not intend to give Dilan a chance to catch his breath and stabbed at his neck a second time.

In the crisis, Dilan pulled out a scroll from his body and used it on the Blood-Eating Ghost.

【Blindness Spell】

"Gaaaaaaah!"

How could Dilan not have prepared for the dangerous border he knew was coming?

The scroll, costing 5 gold coins each, temporarily blocked her vision.

It was just that Dilan did not expect the Blood-Eating Ghost not only to stop its attack but to stab at him even more furiously based on feeling.

"Ah!"

The sharp claw, originally aimed at Dylan's neck, pierced his left arm, and the tremendous force pinned Dylan against the wall behind him.

At this moment, the Blood-Eating Demon revealed a bloodthirsty smile.

The other claw blindly swiped toward Dylan's body.

The sharp claw carved a mark on the wall but failed to touch the prey's body!?

"Die!"

Dylan's roar came from behind, and his very first strike was his full power.

【Fury LV3】

【Spinning Slash LV5】

The polished steel longsword struck the Blood-Eating Demon's keratinized neck, slicing all the way to two-thirds of the way before the Blood-Eating Demon barely blocked it with its claw.

The Blood-Eating Demon could not understand how this person appeared behind her; she had clearly pinned him against the wall just now.

She tried to push the longsword away, but after her neck was cut more than halfway, blood sprayed out uncontrollably, and the strength in her body grew weaker and weaker...

"Die for me!"

After a brief stalemate, amidst Dylan's furious roar, the Blood-Eating Demon's head and hand were both chopped off.

"Hah... hah..."

Covered in blood and panting heavily, Dylan kicked the headless corpse on the ground away as if venting his anger.

He stepped forward and picked up his own arm that he had torn off.

He simply bound the severed arm back on with bandages, feeling the slow, wriggling sensation of the mycelium repairing the wound at the break.

Dylan felt he was adapting more and more to this mutated body.

He just didn't know how much flesh and blood would fuse with the mycelium this time; there wasn't much of him left that was purely human.

The other Blood-Eating Demon behind him paid no attention to the death of its companion and simply continued to feast heartily on the soldier who was only half left.

Dylan sincerely thanked this soldier for his sacrifice; facing another Blood-Eating Demon at this moment would be more than he could handle.

He gulped down an entire bottle of Mana Potion, which would help the mycelium inside his body repair his internal injuries.

Dylan dragged his heavy body toward the church.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the surrounding noise gradually died down.

Was the battle nearing its end?

He hoped the Blood-Eating Demons hadn't won, and he hoped he wouldn't have to see his daughter already turned into a Blood-Eating Demon.

If Bella had truly been transformed.

Dylan tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.

Then let him personally grant his daughter release...

(End of this chapter)