The lair of the vampires, since it’s referred to as such, this place is not a castle where vampires would dwell in some works; it’s simply a den.
Vampires in this world also don’t dress in noble attire, holding red wine in their hands, with pale faces and elegant demeanor. The vampires of this world are monsters, hideous in appearance, with sharp fangs—a bite from one wouldn’t leave just two holes but would take out a chunk of flesh.
The clothes they wear are not elegant noble costumes but ragged, torn rags. Vampires hardly look human and can use some spells to affect the human mind, but don’t expect to acquire any proper clothing through such means. Occasionally, some of their clothes are still ripped from their victims.
"This is too shabby, isn’t it?" Zheng Yichen looked at the state of those vampires and couldn’t help but be taken aback. Along the way, they had encountered quite a number of traps, but here they were experienced Hunter-Demons adept at dealing with such traps, and their journey had been safe albeit not without its scares, even when they came across things like controlled lions, which were also dealt with by the Hunter-Demons.
Some dealt with the lions directly, while others used something resembling firecrackers to startle the lions out of their controlled state.
So, the special powers in this world really are weak, well, it might not just be weakness, but due to Environmental Adjustment—like the witch, such beings in other worlds might become very powerful sorceresses.
For example, the necromantic skill of the Forest Witch might be able to pull the souls from Hell directly in other worlds, instead of just calling them. Katrina’s refuge magic and Blessing Magic could grant someone a high degree of immunity to attacks with evil attributes, and so on.
The magic that appears weak in this world might not be weak in others; it’s only seeming weak in this one. In such an environment, it’s not going to be easy to develop these abilities, mainly because it’s challenging to obtain results.
In worlds where Environmental Adjustment is lax, it’s easy to churn out corresponding research results, while in stringent worlds, the same research methods might fail due to different environmental conditions, making progress talk even less likely. Zheng Yichen felt that if Katrina and the Forest Witch were to go to a world with more lenient Environmental Adjustment, they would likely soar.
Being witches in a harsh environment, in those more relaxed settings, they could certainly be seen as geniuses.
"Hunter-Demons!!" The hideous vampires fixed their gaze on the approaching Zheng Yichen and his group, with no hesitation to attack. The traps and controlled animals may not have played a significant role, but at least they had reduced the stamina of the group of Hunter-Demons.
Here, they were a clan, numbering over twenty individuals, while there were only six Hunter-Demons, giving them a substantial advantage.
Moreover, this was a forest - with the trees offering cover, they could easily avoid the Hunter-Demons’ attacks.
"Be careful, these vampires have special thermal vision," Raymond said as he passed by Zheng Yichen. It’s hard to ambush vampires; the thermal vision allows them to easily detect traces of human activity. This isn’t a modern world where equipment could be used to negate a vampire’s thermal vision.
As long as you get close to these vampires, they are bound to notice. When fighting vampires, you don’t need to think too much—just find them and take them down.
"Spread out to fight and don’t stray too far," John immediately said. "If we stick together, this group of vampires won’t attack easily. They’ll just hide and try to outlast us, draining our energy. Vampires have much greater stamina than humans, even more than wolves!"
Vampires will launch surprise attacks; it’s easier for vampires to hide in the forest.
Splitting up and each acting as bait to deal with these creatures...
Zheng Yichen watched those Hunter-Demons coordinating silently. He was just a temporary addition, not as well-coordinated with these Hunters who always acted together. In fact, Zheng Yichen even felt that his presence was purely to spread the pressure. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t defeat the vampires; as long as he could draw some of them away from these Hunters, he’d be contributing enough.
"The world of adults is really complicated. Wouldn’t a bit more sincerity be better..." he muttered to himself, watching those scattered yet well-coordinated Hunter-Demons. Zheng Yichen flicked the fishing rod in his hand. He didn’t just carry the rod; he’d use a gun if he could avoid it.
Not to mention the Sword of Hell from the Headless Knight, even less of something to use casually.
But... these vampires seemed much weaker than the Headless Knight.
A vampire suddenly pounced from a tree with shocking ugliness but attacked like a hunter, silent, swift, and deadly.
At the same time, two other vampires launched surprise attacks on Zheng Yichen from different angles.
The vampire that attacked Zheng Yichen first was pierced through the head by the unextended fishing rod. The vampire tried to extend its claws to block the attack as Zheng Yichen struck, but Zheng Yichen’s thrust was faster, his only specialty in hand-to-hand combat.
The vampire caught the rod but failed to stop the attack; after being pierced through the head, it didn’t die immediately. Its body twitched and struggled as the black spear’s vampiric feedback made Zheng Yichen raise his eyebrows slightly; the feedback was a different "flavor" this time.
He felt his blood flow quickening, and everything around him seemed to slow down slightly, which didn’t help him much at that moment. After kicking another vampire away, the third vampire still managed to catch Zheng Yichen, leaving shallow marks on his chest.
The claws were sharp, but the bulletproof vest was also strong; the scratch didn’t penetrate the defense but merely made Zheng Yichen absorb some of the impact. However, being strong and healthy, he shrugged it off without injury.
The vampire that failed to injure him screamed and fled back into the forest, while the one Zheng Yichen had kicked away vanished without a trace. As for the vampire pierced through the head, it had already lost all signs of life. Just then, a vampire suddenly leaped down from a tree, its sharp claws aiming for Zheng Yichen’s head.
"Fuck!" Zheng Yichen’s scalp tingled as he reached up to grab the vampire’s claws. The sharp claws tore through his sleeve, leaving several bloody marks on his arm, the wounds burning fiercely.
Grinding his teeth in anger, Zheng Yichen slammed the vampire to the ground, smacking it violently against the ground. Before it could struggle further, he smashed it against a tree, accompanied by the sound of breaking bones, the vampire spat out a mouthful of dark blood.
"Their hearts are more fatal." John’s voice came from a distance. The Hunter-Demon was wielding a two-handed sword; after parrying an attack from a vampire, he stabbed another vampire in the chest with his other sword. The amount of blood gushing out was like a severed artery, the dark blood spurting out forcefully.