At this very moment.
In the deepest part of the Eternal Night Temple, there was a massive cylindrical chamber, dozens of meters deep.
At the bottom was a round, altar-like platform, inscribed with strange runic patterns. Twelve stone pillars, also marked with runes, circled the periphery.
Bound to the base of each pillar were twelve vampires, all of them without exception pure-blood vampire elders.
"Let us go!"
"Deacon Frost, we are pure-bloods! How dare you treat us like this!"
"Frost, you bastard! You will regret this!"
The vampire elders cursed and swore.
They had been sleeping peacefully in their coffins, only for Frost to suddenly show up with his subordinates and flip open their lids.
The vampire elders immediately flew into a rage and started to resist.
Then, they were promptly defeated.
It couldn't be helped; the vampire elders had lived too long and their mindset was too archaic.
While they were still using the traditional vampire attacks of biting and gnawing, the younger generation of vampires, led by Frost, were using firearms, perfectly demonstrating the quick and accurate shot from seven paces away.
Furthermore, these young vampires were dishonorable.
They were even using silver bullets!
Frost scoffed, "Who says vampires can't use weapons meant to fight other vampires?"
No matter how much the vampire elders protested, Frost, standing in the center of the altar, remained unmoved.
He looked up at the blood gradually condensing on the dome, his face alight with excitement.
"This moment is finally at hand!"
According to ancient vampire scriptures, there was a forbidden ritual known as the Blood God Sacrifice.
It used the blood of a half-human, half-vampire as an intermediary to concentrate the power of twelve pure-blood vampires onto a single vampire, thereby granting power far exceeding that of any regular vampire.
Many years ago, Frost deliberately sought out a pregnant woman, infected her to turn her into a vampire, and had her give birth to a half-human, half-vampire child.
That child, needless to say, was the unfortunate Blade.
Frost had been preparing for this ritual for a long time, pouring countless hours and effort into the process.
"Once the ritual is complete, I will become the God of Vampires and control the entire world!"
Frost spread his arms wide in a maniacal embrace.
Soon, the blood on the dome converged, dripping down onto Frost's forehead due to gravity.
Outside the Eternal Night Temple, the night sky suddenly changed.
Dark clouds gathered over the temple, and thunder rolled restlessly within them.
Boom!
In an instant, a thick bolt of lightning suddenly struck the Eternal Night Temple!
The terrifying power of the lightning surged down the twelve runic stone pillars, fiercely striking the vampire elders bound beneath them!
"Aaaahhh!!!"
The elders let out heart-rending screams!
In the wild lightning, their bodies rapidly disintegrated into ash. Twelve grey skeletal frames with bat wings burst forth from the ashes, flying frantically around the altar like vengeful spirits from hell!
What in God's name is happening?!
Seeing such a terrifying sight, the vampire subordinates guarding the edge of the altar couldn't help but shrink back.
Although they were vampires, they were still afraid of ghosts.
After circling in the air a few times, the grey skeletons were drawn by an invisible force. They abruptly changed direction, surging toward the center of the altar and fiercely drilling into Frost's body!
Frost's eyes were wide, his pupils and whites instantly saturated with an intense, frightening crimson.
"Frost!!"
A roar filled with towering hatred exploded!
Blade descended from the ceiling, slamming heavily onto the edge of the altar, his eyes burning with fury as he looked at Frost.
Frost was already his mortal enemy, and now with the added identity of being his "stepfather," Blade's intent to kill Frost reached its peak!
Blade had recovered his gear. He grabbed his silver longsword and charged toward Frost without a word!
"Damn it! It's the Daywalker! Stop him!"
The vampires were startled by Blade's appearance and immediately rushed to intercept him, engaging in a fierce battle.
Meanwhile, on the platform above the altar, several vampires aimed their firearms at Blade, preparing to pull the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Silver bullets shot out, instantly piercing the heads of several vampire gunmen.
Immediately following, several concentrated garlic-essence grenades were thrown from a higher position, arcing through the air towards various spots on the platform!
Hiss—!
A dense yellow smoke violently exploded and rapidly spread!
The vampires enveloped in the garlic-essence fog let out shrill screams. Their bodies sizzled as if splashed with strong acid, turning into piles of charred ash in the blink of an eye!
"He's up there!"
A sharp-eyed vampire spotted the source of the attack, pointing towards Du Mu, who was standing upside down on the highest ceiling.
What the hell is that thing, too?!
The vampires were confused.
First, there were the ghostly skeletons, and now a human hanging from the ceiling.
Compared to them, they, the vampires, actually seemed incredibly normal.
They snapped back to attention, hastily turning their guns and maniacally spraying bullets at the eerie figure on the ceiling!
Relying on his magnetic boots, Du Mu flitted like a phantom between the ceiling and the vertical walls. While dodging, he raised his gun and fired single shots, eliminating the vampires within his field of vision one by one.
In no time, the vampires on the platform were cleared out.
Du Mu looked down at the platform below and saw Blade still locked in intense combat with over a dozen vampires.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Following five gunshots, the heads of several vampires who were about to pounce on Blade burst open and instantly turned to dust!
"I've cleared my side. Why haven't you finished up yet?"
Du Mu executed a perfect superhero landing, leaping stably down in front of Blade.
Blade cleaved a lunging vampire with his sword, but stubbornly retorted, "Just give me a few more seconds, and I'll take care of them!"
Seeing Du Mu and Blade join forces and close in, the remaining vampires retreated in fear, backing all the way to the center of the altar.
Suddenly, a pale, bloodless hand gently rested on the shoulder of one of the vampires.
The vampire subordinate turned around. The owner of the hand was Frost.
Frost was now greatly changed. His complexion was an unnatural, deathly white, his two eyeballs glowed crimson, and he radiated a chilling, eerie aura.
The vampire subordinate exclaimed in surprise, "Boss, you succeeded?"
Frost's lips curled into a sinister, strange smile. "Yes, but now I feel very hungry. Terribly hungry..."
"I'll go get you fresh blood bags right now!" the subordinate hastily offered.
"No need to bother."
Frost's crimson eyes locked onto the vampire subordinate. "There are already fresh ones... right here!"
The moment the words left his mouth!
Frost lunged with blinding speed, a movement too fast for the eye to track. A pair of sharp fangs brutally sank into the subordinate's neck!
"Ugh!"
The subordinate only managed a brief gasp of surprise before his body visibly and rapidly shriveled!
In less than half a second, he was reduced to a skin-and-bones mummy.
"A vampire drinking a vampire's blood?"
Du Mu's expression was strange.
He had curiously asked Blade a while ago if vampires could drink the blood of other creatures.
Blade's answer at the time was that although blood was the vampire's only food, they only drank human blood—chilled or fresh was fine.
As for the blood of their own kind or animals?
To a vampire, the taste and texture were no different from eating filth.