Chapter 279: Raging Surge

"I'm going in, follow me."

Lei En said it without turning his head, hoisting his shield and mithril greatsword, and leapt forward into the passage.

Luo Jie kept his sword and followed behind him, Mei Lige and Ya Si Ke kept close, and Yisu's silhouette vanished, slipping into the shadow plane.

The passage was deep, the walls lacked lighting, and vampires are born with night vision, so unless necessary their nests are usually dim.

Lei En, Luo Jie and Yisu all possessed Dark Vision, but the two casters did not; Ya Si Ke raised his hand and tossed three Glowing Herbs, whose light blossomed like three crystal lamps floating above the party, illuminating the surroundings.

The moment the light flared, two blood‑colored silhouettes appeared.

A male and a female vampire, unable to gauge the invader's strength, screamed and lunged, their four claws tearing the air.

Boom!

Lei En's Voice of All Things detected them a step ahead and launched another charge.

A two‑thousand‑pound spiked greatshield pressed before him; he moved like a boulder barreling through the passage, swift and fierce, the gust it raised engulfing the two vampires with no escape.

He struck forward with the shield.

The passage shuddered, dust rattling down, and the vampires, like mantises before a steam train, were instantly crushed into mush.

Having slain the two foes, Lei En immediately fell back into the lit area to avoid straying too far from his teammates.

"What a speed!"

Luo Jie muttered an approving hum; having fought side‑by‑side with Lei En before, he instantly sensed Lei En's speed was many times faster than before.

Even he couldn't get a swing in before Lei En dealt with the enemies.

The passage delved underground; after three bends, the party entered a spacious cavern.

While sprinting, Luo Jie kept hurling alchemical bombs. Finally, he tossed a specially‑made large‑size Burst Flame; flames erupted, the ground trembled, and the passage collapsed amid a roar.

That was part of the plan—to prevent any vampire from escaping.

"Continue."

Through the cavern, a fork appeared ahead.

Lei En chose one path without hesitation, ran a few steps, then suddenly sidestepped half a step and swung his mithril greatsword.

A silver blade flash streaked through the air.

Blood spattered as a high‑level invisible vampire was cut cleanly at the waist, its eyes filled with bewilderment, not understanding how it had been seen through.

The high‑level vampire's vitality was extremely tenacious; even after being bisected it did not die instantly. Its upper half was about to transform into a bat and flee, when a sword tip thrust from its brow, killing it outright.

Behind the vampire, Yisu's white silhouette flickered into view, then vanished again.

The two coordinated flawlessly, and the high‑level vampire was eliminated in an instant.

Lei En's steps never ceased, he kept running forward.

He had already memorized the three upper layers of the vampire nest's layout and snapped map photos with his phone; the forward route was crystal clear.

In under two minutes, Lei En led a sweep of the first cavern layer, casually slashing six vampires.

Then he charged into the second layer.

Lei En's towering frame, clad in heavy armor, surged ahead; his movements were not a hint of clumsiness, steps light and swift like a thunderclap, his strength and speed perfectly fused, leaving the three behind Luo Jie astonished and profoundly reassured.

Moreover, they found Lei En's perception extremely keen.

No matter where vampires hid or launched ambushes from dark corners, Lei En always sensed them a step ahead and responded calmly.

Two vampires hid exceptionally well, deliberately keeping distance, yet Lei En still tracked them down and eliminated them.

The shield in his hand was like the world's most solid bulwark; no vampire could breach it to reach the teammates behind.

Except for Yisu's two assists, the three behind Luo Jie never got a chance to act; Lei En handled everything himself.

Luo Jie, as a veteran legendary demon hunter, was familiar with Lei En, knowing his power far exceeded his own rank, so he felt fine.

Mei Lige and Ya Si Ke, however, were utterly amazed.

As casters, they dreaded close‑quarters enemy contact; having such a powerful defensive teammate allowed them to cast without worry, fully unleashing their spells' might.

"If only Lei En could protect us in every future battle..."

The two thought the same, then realized they were dreaming; given Lei En's status, how could he willingly serve as a protector for casters?

Moreover, they hadn't forgotten that Lei En is also a Wizard!

The second‑layer cavern of the nest was larger, no longer a raw carved cave but a renovated underground dwelling, complete with a grand hall, bedroom, study, training arena, alchemy room… all facilities in place, corridors linking them, and crystal lamps installed on the walls.

Emerging from a corridor, a spacious grand hall lay before them.

The hall spanned over a hundred square meters, with a long table and chairs in the center, lavishly decorated, resembling a vampires' banquet hall.

The crystal lamps were extinguished, and darkness shrouded the hall.

Lei En heard no heartbeat in his ears, likely masked by a spell.

He sensed a trace of danger, his gaze cautiously scanning; under the Will of Truth, he instantly spotted the enemies—seven vampires lurking in the hall.

Three hung from the ceiling, the other four scattered around, all invisible.

Soul Eye discerned their strength: two high‑level, two Mid-stage, the rest first‑level vampires; they had turned the hall into a trap, awaiting prey.

In an instant, Lei En judged, his movement briefly pausing, subtly signaling his teammates.

Then he pretended nothing was noticed and led the charge into the hall.

The magical trap on the floor spanned a wide area, unavoidable; Lei En reached its edge, about to step in, then halted abruptly and dashed back to the two casters.

Luo Jie hurled several Silver Moon Dust charges that detonated mid‑air.

Bang bang bang…

Silver dust swirled across half the hall, and the seven diving vampires instantly lost invisibility, revealing their true forms.

Boom!

Raising a seal with his left hand, Luo Jie unleashed a blast of white icy force upward, knocking the three vampires above down; two froze solid and were beheaded by his silver sword before they hit the ground.

One high‑level vampire reacted quickly, letting the icy force graze only its edge, flipping onto the ground beside Mei Lige, its claws slashing toward her neck.

At this moment, Meili Ge is using "Air Cut", slicing the vampire that rushed out from the corner into fragments; the vampire's claws slash across her flame shield, not only failing to injure her, but its own hands are burned black and ache terribly.

"Legend!"

The vampire screams, and before it can escape, a spiked shield smashes it to pieces.

The remaining two vampires are still relatively close; before they can get near, Yisu suddenly appears behind them, and with both hands he flicks out sleeve swords that pierce their heads.

Within two or three breaths, all the attacking vampires are killed cleanly.

Seven souls fly out and are absorbed by Lei En.

Vampires are followers of the Lord of Chaos; their souls will return to the Abyss. Lei En only absorbs about two‑thirds, while the remaining one‑third carries their deep consciousness away and may revive in the Abyss later.

The two vampires beheaded by Luo Jie have portions of their souls Tear by the silver sword; the soul fragments are stored in the corpse.

Luo Jie takes out a crystal and collects the soul fragments; the party continues onward.

Perhaps the vampires realized the enemy's strength was overwhelming, beyond what they could block, and retreated deeper; Lei En and the others did not encounter them again in the second level of the cavern.

Entering the third level of the cavern, the space becomes larger and more complex, like a massive underground maze.

It goes without saying that most vampires are hidden on this level, lurking in every corner, and they cannot be eradicated all at once in a short time.

Luo Jie thinks for a few seconds, then turns and detonates the passage to the second level.

"Saving time, finding Ai Rui Ting is the primary goal."

Lei En nods in agreement.

In truth he is a bit surprised that Ai Rui Ting has not yet appeared; his own nest was invaded by a strong enemy yet remains safely hidden deep, so could they really expect to deal with it using vampires below legend?

The worst case is that Ai Rui Ting is not inside the nest.

Lei En thinks this while sprinting.

The group slays a few unlucky vampires along the way, and soon finally finds what may be Ai Rui Ting's hideout.

A massive stone gate nearly ten meters tall blocks the path.

The gate is etched with intricate patterns; dozens of eerie runes form a blood‑colored formation that glows with blood‑red light, a strong scent of blood emanates from behind the gate, and the air is filled with a sinister aura that, even with a slight whiff, makes one's head spin, brain swell, and sparks a thirst for blood.

Lei En, protected by Truth Willpower, is unaffected.

Ya Si Ke's "Purification Technique" takes effect, clearing the invasive bloody odor for everyone; spirits lift, and consciousness regains clarity.

Meili Ge observes the blood‑colored formation on the stone gate and says, "This is a magical gate; I can open it, but it will take some time."

"How long?" Luo Jie asks.

"Even at best it will take twenty minutes," Meili Ge replies uncertainly, "I'm not very familiar with the blood rune system, so I can't be sure I can open it."

Hearing this, Luo Jie furrows his brow; this stone gate is both good news and bad news.

The good news is that Ai Rui Ting should be hidden behind the gate.

The bad news is that he had not explored this gate before, so he was unprepared; in the best case Meili Ge would need only twenty minutes to open it, but the remaining duration of the spatial anchor is short, and if Ai Rui Ting has a teleportation spell, it will be hard to stop him from escaping.

Moreover, the vampires lurking nearby cannot let them quietly crack the magical gate; they will launch wave after wave of attacks.

Luo Jie thinks, could years of planning be wasted now?

This time has alerted Ai Rui Ting; given vampires' cautious nature, there will almost certainly be no further chance, and they may face retaliation.

Just as he feels helpless, he sees Lei En step forward to push the gate.

Luo Jie assumes Lei En will rely on brute force to break the gate; he begins to speak, noting that such a huge magical gate, meticulously arranged by the vampire count, is hard to smash with violence.

Yet the gate is pushed open!

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(PS: A new book by a friend titled "From Gene Fusion to Evolution", apocalyptic war style, the protagonist becomes a genetically engineered super‑soldier fighting alien invaders; interested readers may check it out.)

There's a second chapter tonight.

(End of chapter)