Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 477: Release the bats Part 2
The foul stench combined with the possibility to move all across the north district unnoticed made the sewers the perfect vampire nest. Nosferatus of all levels were able to hunt to their belly's content turning the unsuspecting citizens into an easy meal.
Granted, most of the citizens were regular humans, but their blood still sated their hunger and provided some manner of sustenance, especially for the lower level vampires.
By dawn, those who went out to hunt returned to their nest with their victims still unconscious to share the freshly acquired blood with their brethren. That way, even those who remained guarding the nest were able to feed. The same applied for the horror level nosferatu, who rarely got out to prevent getting spotted.
By working together, vampires accomplished things that were unthinkable for other cryptids giving them a strategic advantage compared with other cryptids. The beast level vampires were mindless creatures that either advanced rapidly to the monster rank by consuming enough blood or starved to dead in a single night.
Strength, power and abilities increased as they advanced in level, but the most important change that took place was their intelligence.
It could be said that an entity level nosferatu was the same as a human being, but the horror rank was on a completely different level. Not only was it more intelligent, it was also more cunning than the rest of its kin, with the added bonus of being thousands of years old and carrying the wisdom that came with age.
In spites of its unsightly appearance and deformity, the horror rank nosferatu was curious about human society and it even learned to speak human language, which wasn't unusual for horror rank cryptids, though this was a well kept secret only a few people in the world knew.
Uriel wasn't among those people, which is why he was vastly surprised when he saw the vampires returning to their nest. Most of them were carrying victims, building materials and even flux orbs, which wasn't unexpected.
What surprised Uriel was that some of them were carrying huge piles of books back to their nest, which made him wonder whether they wanted to used them as building material or to learn more about humans.
Just the thought of a cryptid race strong enough to outmatch humans in single combat and smart enough to mimic their technology sent shivers down Uriel's spine and he inwardly congratulated himself for using the Jaguar spirit as a diversion rather than combat.
He summoned it as soon as he spotted the first vampires, knowing full well it would seek for vengeance and head straight to fight against the horror rank cryptid. Instead of following the jaguar, though, Uriel concealed his flux energy to the best of his ability and remained hidden in the sewers to spy on the vampires.
He felt a bit of pity when he saw them carrying live humans like groceries, but he wasn't going to sabotage his own hunt by saving people he didn't even know.
He didn't feel any responsibility towards them, though if he knew at the time that it was him who forced vampires to hunt by compromising the hospital and cutting their blood supply chain, he might have thrown caution out the window and jump into action.
But that wasn't the case and he limited himself to watch in silence and gather as much data as he could until the last vampire crossed the threshold to their nest.
The entrance was a hole they dug in the sewers that went down in an inclined angle until it reached a freshly built stony hall that led to an iron studded door that was closed as soon as the last vampire entered. As an archaeologist, Uriel was able to recognize the building patterns and techniques they used and he was left agape once more.
'They're using medieval techniques to build a lair! All cryptids in the world destroyed everything on sight, but cryptids learning and building are way more dangerous.' Uriel reflected. At first he expected the cryptids to simply pile up the building materials to form a blockade. Such behavior was pretty common among cryptids, but he never heard of any cryptid capable of building.
This reaffirmed Uriel that even if the pay he received wasn't that great, going inside was the only option. Even if it wasn't made by humans, the building in front of him was a testament of the cryptids that may shed light about their relationship with humans. It also made him realize that Luna was right all along, though he was unable to confirm to what extent.
Thankfully, even if the building looked like a fortress, it was still made with simple materials which meant he didn't have to worry about a way to get in. All he did was to activate his Dash skill for a brief period, long enough to break through the door and shoot point blank at the two monster rank cryptids guarding the entrance.
The sound alerted the others and all hell broke loose. Growls, howls and screams echoed in the vast lair, accompanied by the rushed steps of the nasty creatures who defended it. Instead of retreating like any sane heavenly rank hunter would, Uriel held his ground. It wasn't as much a menace to him as it was an opportunity to try out his newly acquired weapon.
He summoned the 'Red thread of fate' and pierced through the cryptids with the same ease he would be cutting butter. Four monster ranks were reduced to piles of ash in a matter of seconds in spites of their regeneration, but not because of some hidden ability in the dagger but due to Uriel targeting their flux orbs which was made possible by his mystical sense.
A crowd of monster rank cryptids came running at him without showing a hint of fear, followed by a creature at least a head taller. Its eyes, black as voids gazing directly at Uriel and when the latter wanted to realize, he was already on the ground with many deep cuts covering his body.
[System notice] Bloodbag: a highly nutricious meal for vampires.
"This worthless system!" Uriel shouted before activating his Dash skill and shaking off as many vampires as he could, though one was latched on his back sucking his blood through an open wound on his neck. He pierced his head with the dagger, but that wasn't enough to take him off of him and he was unable to reach the cryptid's flux orb.
To make matter worse, the entity rank nosferatu remained at a distance, laughing with a mocking grin as he watched the hunter struggle against a single monster rank vampire.
Uriel attempted to cause it as much damage as he could by crushing it against the walls, cutting its arms and even tearing them apart. But no matter how much he struggled, the vampire kept regenerating thanks to the constant stream of blood he was consuming.
"What are you laughing at!?" Uriel snarled at the entity rank cryptid who continued its mockery, but that only lasted until Uriel summoned his revolver and aimed it directly at its head bursting it to pieces.
Uriel knew the cryptid would be able to regenerate, even from such a grievous wound, but shooting at it still brought him a great deal of satisfaction. Uriel didn't understand what was the cause of what happened, but he was certain it had to do with the entity rank cryptid's eyes. They gave off an uncanny feeling, something similar to Medusa's trait, but also different.
The fast regeneration innate to cryptids allowed the entity rank cryptid to regenerate in time to be conscious as Uriel's dagger pierced through its chest and shattered its flux orb until it became nothing but a pile of dust.
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"Try laughing now!" Uriel kicked the pile of ash, in frustration. He hated being ridiculed, more so if it was a cryptid the one making fun of him. Now that the most dangerous opponent was taken care of, Uriel was finally able to solve his inconvenient by grabbing the vampire's head and tearing it off with his bare hands.
The disembodied head still carried the disgusting ecstatic face it was making as it fed off of Uriel, which prompted him to kick it like a soccer ball.
"Who's next?" Uriel asked as he scanned his surroundings, only to realize that all the enemies had retreated as soon as the entity rank cryptid disappeared showing signs of intelligence behind their behavior.
Beast and monster rank vampires were evidently stupid, but that wasn't the case for the entity rank one. This allowed him to conclude that, without an entity rank cryptid to command them vampires would retreat, thus saving some of their fighting power for later when the invader becomes tired.
It was a primitive strategy Uriel knew like the back of his hand. It was the same strategy used by those who defended their city during a siege, though knowing about it didn't make it any less effective.
