"Theresa, draw him over here!"
Charles kept leading the operation. At the Death Knight's position, Hattie summoned a wide circle of tentacles, surrounding the Death Knight, letting him smash, rip, and tear through them at will. As soon as he destroyed one, she'd immediately replace it—burning mana to buy time, an absolutely lavish and wasteful tactic.
Meanwhile, Theresa hovered in midair, sending Guiding Bolts flying one after the other, smacking right into the Death Knight's face. The damage wasn't high, but the insult certainly was. Her only object was to keep his full attention on her.
All the while, that guy seemed to be mowing down Hattie's tentacles while swinging his flail, occasionally hurling bursts of necrotic energy at Theresa or Hattie, making their lives hell!
Yep—this guy hit hard, had high defense, was immune to control, incredibly fast, lethal up close, deadly at range—short of having some huge AoE killer move, this BOSS had basically no weaknesses!
But as much as a numbers-monster BOSS had its strengths, its weakness was just as glaring: Once his stats are below his enemies', he had no hope of a comeback!
Charles and the others charged in, Anno—toughest of all—leading with her shield, Charles and Nymeria flanking her in a V-formation.
They closed in fast, and as soon as they were face-to-face with the Death Knight, Anno didn't immediately go on the offensive. Instead, sticking to the tactics she and Charles had mapped out back on the ship, she started by ramming forward with her shield—
But the Death Knight was quick. He spun around, door-sized shield locked onto Anno, meeting her charge head-on—
CLANG—
The harsh ring of metal echoed. The Death Knight only staggered half a step, while Anno was shoved three steps back before barely regaining her balance. But it worked—Charles and Nymeria now had him surrounded!
"Hyaa—!"
Nymeria swung her greatsword, sending it spinning horizontally toward the Death Knight's head. Charles, holding back, waited for Nymeria's strike to force the Death Knight into defense—then suddenly surged forward, unleashing an Eldritch Smite straight at the BOSS's body—
It would have landed, but at just that moment, the Death Knight spun back, shield raised high!
Boom—!
His blade had no choice but to crash straight into the shield, magical energy rippling across the field, but the guy merely staggered back half a step—unharmed!
Nymeria's magic-charged blade struck the back of his helmet, jerking his head awkwardly and making him sway, but somehow, he kept his shield aimed at Charles, refusing to shift aggro away—it was as if his battlefield instincts from life remained, and he saw Charles as the greatest threat of all, under no circumstances moving his attention to the other two!
Damn, what a pain…
Charles cursed silently, but didn't panic. He quickly switched tactics: "Theresa, Anno, Nymeria—don't worry about me! Pour on the damage!"
"Hattie, as soon as his shield's not facing me, grab for his arm!"
They'd already discussed contingency plans before—so the girls adapted instantly. Anno dashed behind the Death Knight, falling in beside Nymeria; suddenly, the red flames on their blades burst into gold as they hacked at the boss's back!
"Raaaugh—!"
The dazzling radiance made their blades like white-hot steel, and the Death Knight's once-impenetrable plate mail seemed to melt like cheese. The golden blades easily sliced through his defenses, bringing wisps of smoke and searing, agonizing pain, forcing a harsh scream from the Death Knight.
Divine Smite: the deadliest attack a mortal can deliver—and for undead like him, it was devastating!
He twisted, flail lashing out at those behind, but his shield stubbornly stayed between him and Charles. Being caught between front and back, he couldn't stop the attacks he was most vulnerable to!
Anno blocked his retaliatory chains with her shield, then struck back with another blow. Nymeria kept up her own rhythm, her greatsword biting into his battered form.
Though Anno's every swing packed a Divine Smite punch, Nymeria's raw weapon power and Crusader's Mantle buff steadily added up—her damage was nothing to sneeze at!
With his wounds piling up from behind, the Death Knight was visibly losing ground, while Charles simply kept maneuvering in front of him, careful and patient.
Finally, when the pain became too much, the Death Knight let out a furious bellow, spinning—and swinging his shield to block both attackers behind him—
CLANG—
A sharp crash, and Anno and Nymeria's swords bounced off, the jolt sending them stumbling back half a step, almost off-balance.
But Charles's eyes lit up. "Hattie!"
Whoosh—
Without needing another signal, four thick tentacles broke through the ground, locking around the Death Knight's arms!
"You… cannot… defeat me!"
The Death Knight roared, ripping at the tentacles and tearing them apart in seconds, scrambling to spin and keep his shield up against Charles.
But it was too late. Charles lunged, pouring two Spell Slots into his strike—the blades slipped past the Death Knight's shield, smashing deep into his armor—
Eldritch Smite!
BOOM—
A blast of arcane power erupted—the Death Knight might've stood over two meters tall, but he couldn't withstand a blow like that. He staggered, and crashed sideways to the ground!
"I… can still… fight!"
The Death Knight howled, trying to crawl up, heavy armor clanking with every movement.
But Charles wasn't about to let him stand again. His twin-bladed polearm spun, raining blow after blow—with every strike layered with Eldritch Smite's force, leaving the BOSS no chance of ever getting to his feet!
Boom—!
Strike after strike, each powered with terrifying energy. There was no way for the Death Knight to hold out. He rolled and thrashed, armor crashing against itself—barely able to muster a counterattack of any sort.
He howled in frustrated rage as Anno's Divine Smite and Nymeria's greatsword battered him further, each new slash carving down to the bone!
The outcome was basically sealed.
"Purified!"
Finally, Charles brought his blade down on the boss's shoulder, quietly chanting the spell. A gentle, milky light flared up, sweeping over the Death Knight's body, and as he gave one last howl of unwilling rage, he was reduced to ashes—leaving only his armor, massive shield, and flail lying quietly on the ground.
And with that, the fight was over.
"Phew…"
Anno let out a long breath, pulling off her helmet and wiping sweat from her brow, still a little shaken. "He was brutal… that flail smacked my arm and left it totally numb. I couldn't block it…"
Charles also looked at the pile of ash with lingering fear. That guy's speed and unrelenting focus on Charles as his prime target had nearly made him doubt his own plan for a moment.
Luckily, the Death Knight, while fast, didn't have overwhelming advantage—and Anno and Nymeria piled on enough damage to keep the aggro shifting back and forth. When Charles finally got the opening for a takedown, the BOSS never got up again.
That was exactly his game plan—the classic warlock tactic. Normally, a 13th-level warlock only had 21 spell slots—unless you skipped vital buffs, there wouldn't be nearly enough resources to keep a BOSS down for good.
But Charles, with his absurdly long mana bar, could keep the BOSS on the ground all fight long—never giving him a chance.
Even so, he'd nearly run himself empty to get that perfect result.
Looking back, the battle nuns had finished tidying up the field. In truth, there wasn't much to loot—those old weapons, armor, and shields were mostly useless now. All they could really do was collect the bones and give the dead a final respect.
Charles went over to the Death Knight's ashes, picked up his heavy black plate, and, turning to Anno and Nymeria, grinned. "This plate is high-quality, magic stuff—it hasn't broken in hundreds of years. Which of you wants it?"
Anno stepped up, eyed it, and frowned. "Doesn't really fit… You know any blacksmiths who can refit magical plate?"
Nymeria shook her head. "No thanks, I don't wear heavy armor—it's way too clunky, not enough Dexterity."
She yawned, showing zero interest in divvying up the loot, and wandered off to rest.
Charles left her be. Hearing Anno's request, he immediately thought of the mountain dwarves. "I'll check with them—I know a master dwarf blacksmith or two who've worked on Storm Warhammers, maybe they can reforge this."
He stored the plate armor, then hefted the flail and shield. "Want either of these? They both suit you."
His own artifact-level twin-bladed polearm made shields unnecessary these days, so even a rare piece of equipment wasn't a must for him.
Anno took the shield and said, "I'll try it out. If it's better than my current one, I'll use it. You hang onto the flail—I'm good with Flametongue."
Pausing, she added, "Any magical weapon with a history like this sells well—if we get lucky, it might fetch a high price."
Charles nodded, then called over to Nymeria, "Nymeria, interested in this flail? It's got some serious power!"
Nymeria shook her head and shouted back, "Nope! My weapon's way better!"
Charles clicked his tongue.
Sheesh—this flail was loaded with necrotic bonus damage, and now nobody wanted it, like it was junk!
Then again, he hadn't gone to a tavern and recruited any hero-adventurer units yet…
No big deal—he could hand it to any battle nun as their prize. In the game, they were just a group-unit, no way to equip them, but here? Each was a real person.
These decommissioned weapons and armor would boost their survival and combat strength.
With the battlefield clear, they wasted no time returning to the ship, treating wounds, catching their breath, and regaining their strength.
The nuns got their rest, but Anno and Nymeria still had more work. They had to go over every mistake the battle nuns made—pointing out missteps and showing what should have been done.
With constant correction, the girls advanced quickly—things looked promising. But Charles couldn't help but worry.
Right now, with just a hundred battle nuns, individual coaching was possible. But once his forces began rapid expansion, Anno couldn't possibly give every soldier one-on-one guidance—standards would surely slip, and the new batch might end up nowhere near as strong as this first group…
Thinking of that future, he couldn't help a headache.
Yeah, real life's not a game. You can't just click a button and see perfectly statted troops pop out of the barracks.
So, that night, after their one-on-one lessons, the group conjured fresh water to bathe, then headed to their rooms for some well-earned sleep.
The next morning, Charles didn't rush to finish off the Vampire. Instead, he ordered the battle nuns to keep resting and healing up, giving them more time to process their battle experience. Only once night fell did he lead them back onto the island for the Vampire hunt.
The reason was simple: Vampires fear sunlight. If he stormed in during the day, the Vampire would simply hole up and refuse to come out, forcing Charles to crawl in after him for a cramped cave fight—hardly ideal.
So, he picked night for the raid.
He had the battle nuns form ranks on the shore, ready for the showdown, while he went in alone—climbing the hill above the cave where the Vampire supposedly slept, found the little sealed tree, and cut it down with a single swing.
He turned to hurry back to the nuns—but unlike yesterday's instant earthquake, the ground was eerily silent after the cut.
That gave Charles pause; he stopped, scanning the hillside and mentally reviewing the guides.
He was sure he'd cut the right tree—but the real world wasn't like a game where the event waits for you to trigger it. It might've already been set off.
Had someone else already broken the seal?
Did someone already free the Vampire?
Or was something else at work?
If the Vampire event glitched, what about the other three?
Realizing his entire XP-farming plan might be shot, his heart began to race.
No, I have to check the Vampire's crypt and see what really happened.
Determined, he gathered Hattie, Theresa, Nymeria, and Anno, and together they climbed the hill again, pushing into the sealed cavern with their lights blazing, carefully following every guide to avoid triggering other minibosses.
Everything was exactly as he remembered: collapsing rocks, brambles, poisoned bugs, every trap and solution just as expected.
He led the way, making sure they avoided every hazard, and after a tense half-hour, they reached the very heart of the cave—the crypt sealing the Vampire.
A square chamber, pitch-dark and deathly silent. Theresa flashed her magic light inside, revealing a massive bronze coffin at the center, edged with mithril in a complicated octagram magic circle.
Dust blanketed the floor, with not a single footprint—no sign of visitors. But when Charles looked at the casket lid, seeing its spotless surface, his expression soured.
There should have been dust atop the coffin too, but it was clean—meaning it had been disturbed recently.
And odds were, it wasn't an outsider—none of the traps had been triggered, and no footprints—so, after eliminating all other options, the answer was obvious: the Vampire had already awakened, and had already fled the crypt!
The coffin likely now stood empty, its treasures gone.
He called Hattie and Theresa over to help open it. Sure enough, the seal was broken, and the inside completely empty.
Anno's face fell. "The Vampire escaped?"
Charles rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, he's gone—and by the looks of it, he's been gone for a while now."
Anno's mouth worked, her face clouding with worry. "That Vampire was ancient. If he ran… The nearest major city is Liberl Port. He could be…"
Dread filled her chest.
Charles's face was grim, his heart pounding. Not only had he missed the intended boss fight, but now a cunning, ancient Vampire was on the loose—if he kept his wits and escaped to Liberl Port, who knows what kind of trouble he could stir up in the shadows?
No way to know for sure—but the thought alone was enough to give Charles a headache. That guy's strength wasn't the problem—if need be, even a fully-juiced Anno could probably solo him. The real danger was always in his scheming mind…
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