Looked like Vlad managed to get to his friends before it was too late. Sparing a glance, he noticed how injured his closest friends were. Arthur was bleeding from the forehead and had an arrow lodged into his shoulder. Lucy mostly looked exhausted, but Vlad could still spot several cut and stab wounds on her body like her arm, side, and legs. Thanks to her wearing those white robes, the blood was a lot more visible where the wounds were located. As for Chloe, she looked just as bad as Arthur. Her leg was cut up and bleeding, and she had several slash marks on his face like her cheek and forehead. Her stomach was also injured as well, likely from a stab since her shirt was soaked in red.
Looking at how injured they were, Vlad couldn’t help but feel enraged. Not just at the monsters that harmed his loved ones, but also the fact that he couldn’t get here fast enough to prevent them from getting this badly injured. Although he felt guilty that he was late, at least he got here before something worse could’ve happened to them. And judging from how they were surrounded by a lot of goblins right now, that scenario was certainly possible.
Standing before the horde, Vlad glared at the goblins, his crimson eyes glowing slightly as he expressed his rage and fury toward the ones who harmed his friends. Making eye contact with the vampire, some of the goblins actually began to cower in fear, a couple of them fearfully stepping back as if to try and put some distance between them and Vlad. However, several of the other goblins knocked their heads and gestured for them to stay focused while pointing at Vlad and his friends. That seemed to have done the trick because even when they turned to face Vlad, they weren’t as intimidated by him as before.
All Vlad could do was scoff at the sight, a slight grin appearing on his face. Then raising his hand, he gestured to the goblins to come at him.
“You little shits just gonna stand there like a bunch of losers?” He mocked the horde. “Or are you going to attack me?!”
“V-Vlad…?!” Chloe called out to him, her voice sounding concerned.
Vlad didn’t reply to Chloe, his attention fully focused on the goblin in front of him. Neither the green gremlins nor Vlad moved for a few moments. However, when one goblin charged toward the vampire, all of them did, acting like an angry mob about to kill the big bad monster. Little did they know that their deaths were imminent.
Vlad stood there for a moment, waiting until the horde got a little closer to the group. Meanwhile, in the back, Chloe and Arthur panicked over how close the goblins were getting, fearing for the worse as they closed their eyes.
Just then, Vlad took action and raised both hands while conjuring up his [Blood Strike] skill. The warm energy resonated with his soul as it pulsed through his body, traveling to his hands. The moment the vampire felt his palms start to get warm, he knew at that moment it was time to strike. And with a single slash with both arms, Vlad delivered two large, wave-like condensed blades of blood toward the horde.
The goblins at the front noticed the crimson wave coming their way, but before they could do anything to avoid it, they were immediately cut in half, along with the rest of the horde. The crimson blade wave mowed down the horde in a matter of seconds, cutting through all of the monsters without losing consistency, and even made it through the entire horde before clashing against the wall, leaving a large slash mark splattered with blood.
As all the goblins hit by the crimson wave collapsed, a stream of messages flooded Vlad’s vision.
[Goblins has been defeated! 45 EXP has been obtained!]
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[Goblins has been defeated! 45 EXP has been obtained!]
[Goblins has been defeated! 45 EXP has been obtained!]
[Goblins has been defeated! 225 EXP has been obtained!]
[Goblins has been defeated! 225 EXP has been obtained!]
[Goblins has been defeated! 225 EXP has been obtained!]
[Goblins has been defeated…]
[Player is experiencing a Level-Up! Player is now Level 12!]
[5 SP has been obtained!]
Unable to handle all the messages bombarding him, he dismissed them immediately before spinning around to face his friends. Once he saw them, he noticed how both Chloe and Arthur were wide-eyed as they gawked at the devastating sight they just witnessed.
They then turn to look at Vlad, their expressions still the same as before. Vlad couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed by their gawking but did his best to ignore it as he spoke up.
“Well, that was pretty easy…” He lightly chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, but was unsure if he was successful since his friends didn’t react all that much to it.
He nervously scratched his head while walking over to the trio. Thankfully, none of them made any attempts to back away in fear, so at least they weren’t afraid of him. Though, he wasn’t sure how long that would last till he told them about his vampirism.
Standing in front of them, Vlad crouched down in front of Chloe, his face filled with concern.
“You think you can walk on your own, or should I carry you?” He asked.
Looking almost offended, Chloe scoffed. “I…can walk on my own, thank you very much.”
Moving Vlad aside, Chloe attempted to pull herself up, but by the time she was halfway standing, she immediately collapsed to her knees again, groaning in pain. Seeing this, Vlad knew what his next step was.
He then turned around to where his back was facing Chloe. “Alright, hop on.” He gestured for Chloe to get on his back.
Chloe got flustered, seeing this. “W-what?! I-I told you that I’m fine, okay?! I-I don’t need you to carry me!”
Before responding, Vlad let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, you either climb on my back or I’ll have to carry you Princess-style. Which do you prefer?”
Even though Vlad’s back was turned on Chloe, he could easily imagine how red her face was getting. Chloe wasn’t your typical girl. Most of the time, she acted like a guy and tried to be tough. And considering how she was raised, it wasn’t all that surprising.
Of course, Vlad knew she would be stubborn, which was why he gave her that ultimatum. Either keep some of your dignity by getting carried on his back or lose all of it by getting princess carried. Since Vlad knew Chloe well, her next move was obvious.
As if on cue, Chloe begrudgingly started to climb onto Vlad’s back. Once she wrapped her arms around his neck, Vlad stood up, easily carrying the brawler without an ounce of struggle. Chloe took note of this with a remark.
“You’re a lot stronger than before. Are you a warrior class or something?”
“What makes you think I wasn’t this strong before I got a class?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that one time you tried to carry me as a bet and you almost instantly collapsed before even walking a couple of steps while holding me?”
Vlad grimaced at the memory, not finding it in himself to retaliate, knowing full well that Chloe would have more ammo than him to fire back.
“Arthur, I’m assuming you can last long enough to get to the fourth floor? Or do I need to carry you two as well?”
Arthur scoffed. “As much as I would love to see you try…I’ll manage.”
Vlad shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. Just so you know, I would’ve been carrying you guys under my arms.”
Arthur lets out a laugh before slowly standing up, still carrying Lucy in his back, who was still fading in and out of consciousness. When Vlad noticed Lucy’s shallow breathing and how weak her pulse was, he grew concerned.
“Lucy’s doesn’t look too good,” He noted.
“She used up a lot of her mana when trying to heal us. That and she also got hurt by some goblins, so there’s that.”
That certainly explained her current condition. Although she wasn’t severely injured, thanks to Vlad’s heightened senses, he could tell that she was exhausted and drained. He was afraid that if they didn’t get her healed up quickly, more problems would arise.
While Vlad fretted over Lucy’s condition, Chloe soon asked the big question.
“Where the hell have you been, anyway, Vlad?”
The vampire couldn’t help but laugh while carrying her along as Arthur did the same with Lucy right beside him.
“It’s…a long story.”