Vlad and the level fifteen lizardman stood on opposite ends of the hall, both of them glaring at one another without taking their eyes off each other. The vampire straightened, trying to shake off the pain from his previous collision with the wall. Meanwhile, the lizardman swung its sword around, either taking a few practice swings to prepare for the fight or to show off to Vlad. Either way, he found it annoying and also concerning.
His legs still felt a bit weak and his muscles ached painfully. To keep himself from falling, he used his spear as support while also making sure he had it ready when the fight started.
Before beginning, Vlad briefly checked his Blood Points to see if he wasn’t in danger. However, when he did look at his status, his face instantly contorted with fear.
[BP: 66/325]
“Dammit…” Vlad swore, realizing how bad the situation was. As if on cue, he felt his stomach violently churn inside, rumbling like thunder as it demanded blood. The vampire winced in pain while clutching his gut.
Because Vlad leveled up twice, his Blood Point capacity increased a lot. And because he didn’t feed on the lizards, he was really low on blood now. To the point where it was extremely dangerous to keep going like this. If he didn’t feed soon, he was bound to either die or go into a blood frenzy.
He also couldn’t risk using [Blood Strike] or his other skills either. Not unless it was his last resort and if he was desperate enough to risk it. Of course, he only had six attempts to try and finish the fight. And that’s only at the moment. If Vlad wasted time in this fight, his BP would decrease even more, depleting his attempts as time passed.
So, he only had one choice. Finish this fight as fast as possible.
To save himself the trouble, Vlad made the first move and sprinted at the level 15 monster. The lizard took a defensive stance and waited for the vampire to get close to it. The moment he got to the creature, his spear was thrust multiple times, all of them aimed at a different body part from its head, shoulder, legs, and even chest. However, the lizardman easily deflected or blocked Vlad’s attack, swatting them away with its sword as if they were flies.
Frustration filled Vlad as he pulled back his spear and swung it at the lizardman’s legs, attempting to trip it. That was when the monster brought up its sword before stabbing the ground, its blade blocking Vlad’s path with his spear. As his weapon clashed with the monster’s, the vampire’s eyes widened with shock while looking down where their weapons were. His spear didn’t even budge the sword as it stood in place like a statue. Vlad’s weapon vibrated uncontrollably from the collision, making his entire arm that wielded it tremble as well.
Panic squeezed the vampire’s heart, forcing him to take evasive maneuvers. He quickly pulled his spear away and attempted to leap back to put some space between them. As he did, his free hand was positioned into a swiping motion, initiating [Blood Strike]. Vlad aimed right for the lizard’s neck, hoping that his attack will either kill it or at least stun the damn thing. However, before he could, something unexpected occurred.
As Vlad’s hand was raised to slash a blood blade, the lizardman blurred toward the vampire, instantly reaching for his hand. The monster grabbed his wrist and squeezed it tightly, grinding his wrist bones against one another. He winced in pain while his hand tensed from the grinding.
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Then without even hesitating, the monster raised him by his wrist and swung him against the wall, cracking the brick wall instantly. Vlad coughed up a little blood as a groan escaped his lips. Not only was his wrist was hurting, but now his back and the back of his head, giving him a splitting headache. Not letting go of the vampire, the reptilian monster firmly held onto Vlad. Keeping him in the air as he hung there in pain, unable to break free.
As for the lizard, it eerily stared at Vlad, its slit eyes trained on him and his hands. For a moment, he had no idea what was going on, but as soon as the lizard whipped its head over to its fallen brethren and shifted back to him, he underwent an epiphany. The lizardmen knew about Vlad’s [Blood Strike], that was the only explanation as to why it was cautiously looking at his hand while peering over at its dead comrades.
That was when the vampire came to a conclusion. This lizard was watching Vlad’s fight with the other lizardman. It used its men as bait to make Vlad fight them and see what he could do. This bastard…was studying his skills and moves before entering the fight. Like a hunter analyzing its prey’s behavior and patterns before trying to kill it.
It was no wonder that Vlad felt that something was watching him other than the other lizards he was facing. It was this bastard stalking him from the darkness.
“Dammit…” While swearing, the vampire quickly raised his spear and tried to stab the lizardman’s wrist, so it would release him.
But, before the spearhead could even get close to its target, the monster grabbed Vlad’s other wrist that held the weapon. He let out a painful grunt, trying to break free from the monster’s grasp. Sadly, the lizard proved too strong to overpower it with his own strength.
He contemplated whether he should put his remaining five SP into his Strength Stat, preying that it would make a difference and get him out of this situation. But, he hesitated, afraid that he was going to waste them, especially when they didn’t work. Though, considering his current predicament, he didn’t have a lot of options.
The lizardman continued to squeeze Vlad’s wrists, slowly crushing the bones and making Vlad feel every bit of it. He shouted in pain while losing feeling in his hands. If he didn’t break out of the monster’s grasp, he could kiss his hands goodbye. Vlad lifted his head while wincing and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, and suddenly came up with an idea. He turned his eyes toward his hands and saw that his fingers were aimed at the ceiling.
Then, he closed his eyes and focused on [Blood Strike]. Instead of channeling the warm energy into his hand to slash, he concentrated even harder, pouring the energy into his index fingers. His fingers started to heat up, feeling the energy gingerly poured into it. Once there was enough energy, the vampire then flicked his fingers at the ceiling, forming an X cut. The lizardman looked up at what Vlad had just done, only to witness a part of the ceiling collapsed and fell on both of them.
Dust and debris were everywhere, obscuring the entire corridor. Hastily emerging from that dust was Vlad, desperately running away from the lizardman. He held onto one of his wrists and rubbed it gently, still in pain from the monster’s tight grip. When Vlad looked back into the dust, he angrily slashed at it, launching a third [Blood Strike] into the dust cloud before him. He suddenly heard a loud screech that wasn’t from a human.
The Blood Hunter smiled evilly. It looked like his attack actually made contact. He didn’t know where he hit the lizard, but as long as he injured it, that was all that mattered to him for the moment. Without looking back, Vlad turned around and ran down the hall. Before he got too far away from the lizardman, he shouted at it.
“Hey, lizard breath! Come and get me, you scaly bastard!”
Vlad heard another loud screech, this time filled with anger, not pain. He didn’t waste time seeing if the monster was following him as he continued scurrying away, trying to figure out his next move.
In the distance, the sound of stomping and monster-like screeching continued to follow behind him, eerily getting closer by the minute. If Vlad didn’t come up with a plan soon, he knew right then and there that he was going to be lizard food.