Chapter 37. Battle
"Didn't you say they would take half a day? Why are they already here in two hours?"
The blind vampire, Audric, became flustered upon hearing Charles' question. He didn't know how to respond to Charles' question and muttered something incoherent under his breath. Emerging from n0v@lbin☆, this material harbors clandestine details.
Charles gestured to his crew members with a wave of his hand and commanded, "We can't wait any longer. All aboard!"
***
The vampire duchess, Akasha, looked at the locked shipyard ahead as a hint of amusement flashed through her eyes. The corners of her lips curled into a smile and revealed her pearly white pointed fangs.
"How interesting. These humans seem to be somewhat capable. Armand, won't you let me have a taste of them this time? It's been a while since I had some fresh blood," Akasha commented.
The vampire duke next to her shook his head. "My love, that won't do. We had an agreement."
"You are just like your sister—stingy." Akasha replied with a sneer. Her disdain was apparent as she approached the locked doors.
Standing at the height of only 150 centimeters, the petite vampire stuck her fingers into the gap between the thick metal doors and effortlessly pulled them open.
The metal doors grating against the floor produced an ear-piercing noise. Half a second later, the half-foot thick steel yielded like flimsy paper under her strength.
However, the sight that welcomed the two vampire nobles was beyond their comprehension. They were startled to find a heap of explosives on the spacious ground in front of them, and a dwindling fuse right at the top of the pile.
Before they could even react, a deafening explosion erupted and towering flames engulfed the shipyard.
Amidst the billowing smoke, a charred corpse emerged from the sea of flames as she watched the Narwhale moving into the distance. The body swiftly regenerated to reveal Akasha, this time stark naked.
"Well well. A powerful prey is more delicious," Akasha remarked, her voice tinged with a sinister delight.
As soon as she spoke her last word, black fur started growing all over her fair skin as she rapidly transformed. Within moments, a half-human, half-bat monster standing at a towering height of three meters appeared in her spot.
Screech!
The deformed creature disintegrated into groups of smaller bats, and they swarmed toward the Narwhale.
"Ahhhh! Hurts!! It hurts!!" Hearing James' cries from behind him, a sense of urgency gawed at Charles' heart. The situation didn't seem favorable on the other side, and if things dragged on, he might soon find himself facing two half-bat monsters instead.
He turned to Audric who was cowering in the pilot house and shouted, "Hey! Blind man! Do you know the weakness of these blood-sucking tampons?"
Feeling apprehensive, Audric immediately revealed, "Her heart is her only weakness. You must thoroughly crush it to stop her from regenerating."
"Hmph!" For the first time, visible anger was displayed on Akasha's terrifying face. With a flap of her gigantic wings on her back, she charged toward the bridge. The betrayal of one's own kind was more detestable than an enemy.
With a resounding crash, the window of the pilothouse shattered into pieces as Akasha easily caught Audric in her claws. The latter had no chance of escaping. With her sharp fangs, she bit down fiercely and tore off half of Audric's neck. A gruesome scream instantly pierced the air.
Just as she was about to devour and swallow the traitor, Charles stealthily appeared behind her. A black blade glinting coldly in the spotlights pierced through her chest.
The creature flapped its wings, forcing Charles to do a couple of backflips in retreat. Lowering her gaze toward the wound on her chest, a look of menace appeared on Akasha's face.
"I've changed my mind. I will send you humans to the bottom of the sea!"
She reached behind her with her left hand and took out a round mirror that was the size of a palm. The moment the mirror appeared, the air filled with an increasingly strong, blood-sweet scent.
"Fuck! She actually has a relic too!" Charles was about to push off against the ground to charge at her but Akasha soared into the air as her wings extended.
Under the illumination of the Narwhale's searchlight, her grotesque body underwent yet another metamorphosis. From a half-human, half-bat monster, she transformed into a colossal five-meter-long pig-nosed bat.
Parting its beastly maws, the pig-nosed bat emitted an ear-piercing screech like a haunting melody from hell.
Instinctively, everyone, including the transformed Armand, covered their ears with their hands in an attempt to block out the screech. In just a few moments, blood began to seep from their ears.
In the midst of all this, Charles witnessed another chilling sight—a crack had appeared along the rail of the Narwhale and was rapidly expanding downward.
The Narwhale was made of steel! The duchess' sonic attack was not only effective on living creatures but also dealt huge damage to the ship. If he allowed her to continue with her sonic attack, the Narwhale would probably disintegrate!
Scanning the chaotic environment around him, Charles jumped onto James' wounded chest. He then pointed to the bat in the sky and then at his own hand.
James remained motionless, and his gaze was completely blank. Charles had no choice but to slap him across the face, waking him from his stupor. The giant then grabbed Charles by the legs and hurled him into the air.
Charles crashed into the bat like a projectile flying out of a cannon, and the excruciatingly painful sonic screech in the air came to a halt.
Driving his blade as deep as he could into the bat's body, Charles exerted all his strength and bellowed, "Lily! Fire the cannon!"