Chapter 23 Shut the Door, Release the Dogs

Darkness surged.

A massive figure silently crawled over the stone wall, rushing forward like a fish. Then, it abruptly stopped and inverted itself on the ceiling like a spider.

Not far below it, three fully armed warriors cautiously advanced, torches held high, vigilantly watching the darkness around them, ready to face any potential traps or various monsters.

There must be a way to separate them...

Looking at the search team before him, Zane frowned. If possible, he too wished to activate traps to split these people up, as dealing with one person was always better than dealing with three. Unfortunately, activating traps required magic, and Zane's level two dungeon only had four basic traps available. Thus, apart from setting up two sets of traps at the entrance, most of the traps were placed in the core area of the dungeon, leaving no spare traps here.

However, Zane was already prepared for this. In fact, he had an idea.

The composition of Elis's search team was no different from before, with the thief and spy Tavlin still leading the way, while the serpent-man and vampire were responsible for alerting on both sides. But unfortunately, they never dreamed that death had already silently descended above their heads.

Now is the time!

After the three passed below, Zane controlled the alien to slowly and silently extend its sharp, slender tail, aiming at the back of the last serpent-man, then suddenly thrusting forward!

The alien's tail spike was highly stealthy, making almost no sound due to its small amplitude. However, its power should not be underestimated; even fully armed steel armor was no different from thin paper in front of the alien's tail spike. It was clear that if the serpent-man was pierced by the alien's tail spike, he would have no choice but death!

But to Zane's surprise, just as the alien's tail spike was about to pierce the serpent-man's body, suddenly, a cold light flashed. The previously silent vampire suddenly raised his hand to draw his sword, and in the next moment, the magically glowing long sword precisely blocked the alien's attack.

Damn, elite vampires are such a hassle!

Seeing the failed sneak attack, Zane was just stunned, then he quickly ordered the alien to retreat. But as fast as the alien moved, the opponent was not slow either. Just as the vampire blocked the sneak attack, the serpent-man had already turned around, roaring and raising his four-armed long sword high, then forcefully chopping down.

"Shushushu—!!"

With the crossing sword light, the alien, unable to dodge in time, was squarely hit, and its rapidly retracting tail was cut off. Blood splattered out, scattering in all directions. Seeing this scene, Zane's eyes lit up!

Attack!

Following the command, the wounded alien, instead of retreating, advanced. It screeched, raising its tail, and swung forcefully at its prey. Accompanied by the alien's movement, green blood sprayed from the wound on its tail, enveloping the three people in front of it like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

"Get away!!"

Seeing the green blood spraying over, the three knew the situation was bad. They were not rookies who had just entered the dark realm, aware that the monsters here were much more terrifying than the beasts on the surface. However, unfortunately, the alien was too close, and the blood sprayed too much, so even though the three desperately dodged, they were still sprayed with blood on their faces and heads.

"Ugh ahhhh!!"

The serpent-man at the forefront immediately let out a piercing scream. The alien's highly corrosive blood corroded his flesh in the blink of an eye, and not even the fine steel armor could protect his body. Accompanied by the piercing scream, the once valiant serpent-man warrior collapsed on the ground, twitching his body no longer moving. Only his corroded flesh and blurred body told of his agony before death.

"You damn monster!!"

Seeing his companion killed, Tavlin glared angrily, staring at the alien clinging to the ceiling. He raised his hands, and soon, several throwing knives appeared between Tavlin's fingers. However, his actions stopped there because, at the same time, a sharp, slender tail silently cut through the darkness, piercing Tavlin's body.

"Puff!"

Blood splattered, and Tavlin stared at the sharp blade protruding from his chest, seemingly unable to react to what had happened. When he turned his head, he saw another alien had arrived above him, noticing Tavlin's gaze. The dark reaper opened its mouth, emitting a victorious roar.

"You monster..."

Tavlin's words were not finished when the alien's soft yet sharp tail wrapped around his neck, and with a "snap" sound, Tavlin's head fell to the ground, his unfinished words sinking into eternal silence.

Seeing his companions being killed one after another, even the half-vampire was secretly alarmed. However, his situation was not much better. Although the serpent-man warrior took the brunt, allowing the half-vampire to avoid being corroded into dregs by the alien's blood, his left hand was still splashed with the alien's blood. Even the half-vampire himself did not expect the alien's blood's corrosive power to be so strong. In just a few seconds, his right arm was completely ruined, bones and flesh utterly destroyed!

What kind of monster is this!

The half-vampire immediately made a decision. He knew staying here was useless. The most important thing now was to leave and report these monsters' situation to Elis. Clearly, this was a trap! Thinking this, the half-vampire no longer hesitated. Taking advantage of the moment the two aliens were not reacting, he quickly dashed towards the way they came. He was confident in his speed; as long as he could leave this place, these two monsters definitely couldn't catch up!

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Just as the half-vampire turned to try to escape, he did not see a banshee quietly floating out from the wall behind him. Her black, hollow eyes stared dead at the half-vampire, then she opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

"Ah——————!!"

The sharp, mixed with cold negative energy, wail of the banshee instantly filled the entire tunnel. The voice, filled with death energy, swept through like a bone-chilling cold air, turning into a howling cold wind sweeping everything.

Even the half-vampire felt uncomfortable after hearing this wail. If he were a pure vampire, the wail of the banshee would have no effect on him. But the problem was he was only a half-vampire, still a living being. Thus, the banshee's claws of death mercilessly grasped the flame of life burning within his body. Feeling the invasion of negative energy, the half-vampire's vision darkened. Before he could react, accompanied by the howling wind, the dark alien leaped down, pinning him firmly to the ground.

However, the half-vampire's reaction was not slow. Although the negative energy made his body much weaker, facing a life-and-death situation, he erupted with unprecedented power. Just as the alien pounced on its prey, the half-vampire roared and kicked the massive creature away.

Now is the time!!

Feeling the heavy pressure leaving him, the half-vampire's heart leaped. Just give him two more seconds, and he could stand up and avoid these terrifying monsters!

But at that moment, the half-vampire was shocked to see the creature he had kicked away roaring and opening its mouth at him. The next moment, a shadow flashed before his eyes.

That is...

"Pfft!"

With a light sound, the inner jaws shot from the alien's mouth easily penetrated the half-vampire's skull. The severe impact brought up skull fragments and viscous brain matter, blood splashing on the stone walls, leaving only a nauseating trace of blood. The kicked alien spun in the air, then steadied itself on the wall. The half-vampire's body thudded to the ground, his mutilated head showing he was dead beyond doubt.

"Phew... Finally dealt with."

It was not until then that Zane breathed a sigh of relief. He had to admit, these elites had some skills. If Zane had faced them head-on with three aliens, the outcome would undoubtedly be a dead end. Fortunately, the opponents were unfamiliar with this kind of monster, allowing Zane to seize the opportunity; otherwise, it would be uncertain who would be unfortunate now.

Thinking this, Zane perked up and looked again at the system panel before him.

[Killed three invaders, gained 380 experience points]

[Dungeon development progress: 500/2400]

Killing three invaders increased the development progress by nearly one-fifth, showing that taking action oneself indeed brings many benefits.

Seeing this, Zane nodded and then made another gesture.

Quickly, following Zane's movement, the aliens swiftly disappeared into the darkness, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

For them, this was just the beginning.