The footsteps echoed in the silent passageway, like ripples spreading endlessly across the water's surface.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
The walls of the stone castle now revealed their true appearance, tufts of withered moss hung in the wall crevices like an old man's white beard, while little spiders traversed the fluffy spider webs.
Not far ahead, they were greeted by a mass of small red eyes, just around the corner of the underground passage, one turn away from meeting them face to face.
Suspended overhead, they were like blood-stained stars in the night sky.
"Bats again."
Strange, why say again?
Su Ming gestured to Palham to take action. These winged, furry creatures were densely packed in the passageway, flipping over on their winged forelimbs, squeezing past their companions and crawling towards the group.
The group in the dark noticed the bats were different because they had disproportionately large fangs, which were brazenly exposed outside their lips.
This caused their mouths to distort, giving the appearance of a sinister grin.
For Su Ming, clad in heavy armor, these small creatures posed no threat unless their teeth were made of Adamantium.
But given that these creatures were set as a defensive mechanism, they must have their special abilities, so Su Ming signaled Palham to strike preemptively, not giving them a chance to display their abilities.
He also took out two incendiary grenades and threw them, the same incendiary grenades he had acquired from the SSR earlier.
The US military has many types of incendiary grenades; Deathstroke commonly uses the M3 Thermite Incendiary Bullet for damaging lightly armored and equipment, and the M15 White Phosphorus Incendiary Bullet for personnel.
Now, Su Ming could tear apart tanks with his hands, so he only needed the M15 to enhance his three-dimensional attack capabilities.
A wave of heat came rolling in immediately; using such a thing at close range is dangerous, but the group was not ordinary. A bit of flame was merely a drizzle.
The bats emitted chilling screams, like a group of children wailing loudly in one's ears at midnight, their sounds reverberating in the confined space, instantly flooding into the group's minds like a torrent.
Su Ming immediately felt his breath catch, Strangulation conveyed a sense of pain, and the noise from thousands of bats was extremely tormenting.
Even though part of the body had formed into armor for the host and was metallized, much of it formed into soft cushioning layers like lining, including the internal connection parts, which could not defend against sonic attacks.
Aside from Palham, Hel and Satanah also clutched their ears in discomfort.
These bats had a strange power; their sonic frequencies seemed to affect the mind, like a tsunami rolling within one's brain.
"Palham, hurry!"
Su Ming, due to the presence of the X Metal Skull, received less impact, but Strangulation was already failing, slowly softening.
The situation now depended on the Evil Spirit Knight, whose skull was filled with flame.
Palham, seeing the state of the three, knew it wasn't the time to delay. He not only spewed fire snakes again but also fired repeatedly from his weapon.
"Hold on."
Su Ming dragged the two women to retreat backwards, but the narrow tunnel continuously transmitted the sound waves far, and as all bats screamed in their direction, there was no escape.
He immediately pulled off another grenade from his chest and threw it out; this time it was a concussion grenade which creates intense light and a massive explosion upon detonation, also a great tool against vampires.
Yet, using it in such a narrow space might also harm the group, but sometimes things must be done decisively, enduring short pain over prolonged suffering.
The concussion grenade is an invention of Rheinmetall Germany, used by World War II German special operations units, and post-WWII, the US's Paperclip Project naturally didn't overlook this technology.
After all, in democratic nations, there are always protests, and now with concussion grenades and tear gas together, there's no more fear of unruly crowds.
The small tubular object suddenly exploded, creating a muffled sound, and everything seemed distant and silent, Su Ming's ears were buzzing.
No matter how enhanced the body is, the eardrums were not among the enhanced parts, causing even him to feel unsteady, clutching the cold stone wall.
The Evil Spirit Knight indeed had an advantage in such situations, with no ears? Eyes? None at all.
He had no brain either, his entire being supported solely by Hellfire, forming a skeleton.
The intense sonic blast caused considerable damage to the bats, and they fell from the ceiling like rain, dropping into the flames below, producing sharp crackling sounds.
Palham seized the opportunity to roast them with fire, and soon a distinct barbecue aroma filled the passages.
It was the kind of meaty scent mixed with the ignition of fur and the burning of bones.
Hel recovered fastest, her demigod and undead nature swiftly freeing her from dizziness just by shaking her head, Satanah took slightly longer, but only by a second's difference.
The slowest to recover was Strangulation, reconnecting with the host only after all the roasting was done.
Su Ming replaced all the grenades on his chest with concussion grenades; if strong sound was effective against the bats, then strong light was the bane of vampires.
Creatures with night vision often had heightened sensitivity to light, similar to the neighboring Sea Trench Race.
Satanah leaned against the wall, reaching up to touch the blood leaking from her ears, extending her tongue for a taste before leaning back on Su Ming, "You broke my eardrums, you'll have to make it up to me."
"You have self-healing abilities too, eardrums are worthless to us."
Deathstroke's helmet came off, and he wiped his ears, Strangulation had already repaired the host's body with its own tissues.
"Hmph..." Satanah reluctantly let go of him: "Let's go, hurry up and finish the work so I can leave. Being with you is so boring."
Strangulation spread across Su Ming's face again, and he, holding the Godslayer, walked toward the depths of the passage: "Do you think all the interesting people have been played to death by you? Is it that more interesting souls taste better?"
Satanah pondered, recalling the black ash on the ground: "Seems like that's actually the case..."
"Palham, you take the lead." Su Ming ignored the Female Demon, directly instructing the Evil Spirit Knight: "Do you know how to use grenades?"
The Evil Spirit Knight took several concussion grenades, and the Demon Fire did not detonate them; instead, it turned them into skeletons with fuses.
"Grenadiers are not a new creation."
"Great, if we run into any trouble, just throw the grenades, we'll keep a distance from you." Su Ming pointed to the passage ahead.
"Understood."
The burning skeletons took the firelight with them as they gradually moved away.
With the Evil Spirit Knight paving the way, Su Ming could take it easy. As the group advanced, small rooms began to appear on either side of the corridor, usually with a coffin inside each.
Surrounded by candlelight, the dark coffins exuded a mysterious beauty; these were the beds of the vampires.
The three of them split up to pry open and inspect each coffin, finding them all empty.
By counting the number of coffins, one could estimate the general number of vampires. Judging from the furnishings and decor in each room, one could also approximate the number of Blood Race Sorcerers.
Perhaps their talent could not rival The Ancient One, but if a Blood Race Sorcerer was thousands of years old, they would definitely be stronger than the Magic Prince and his peers.
Armed with this intelligence, they continued forward, always keeping within a reasonable range of the Evil Spirit Knight.
Adjacent to the residential area was the underground restaurant, a restaurant for vampires, which was a prison for humans. Each cell housed pale-skinned individuals.
The cells were filled with women. Blood races with taste only drank the blood of women. Clearly, they had been trapped here for a long time; the cells and their bodies were permeated with a foul odor. Each person exhibited abnormally listless spirits, with only a hint of excitement in their eyes.
Sucking a person to death was what lower-level vampires did; advanced vampires typically engaged in a breeding flow, keeping the flavors they liked to drink, taking just a few sips each time, allowing the blood provider a few days to recuperate, and then repeating the process.
"Come here, hurry up and come here!"
"Huh? Hero, come save us!"
"Set me free, and I'll repay you."
Su Ming and his companions clearly appeared different from the vampires. Some women in the cells started to plead with them.
They stretched their arms out from the windows of the cell doors as if trying to hold them back, faces filled with hope.
Through the darkness and the sturdy iron doors, Su Ming glanced at their necks, each bearing two round holes, as if the wounds would never heal.
Turning his head, he continued forward: "Satanah, they're yours."
"Oh? Does that mean... I can eat them?" The Daughter of the Demon revealed a smile, her little tongue licking her lips as she spoke gloomily.
"Yes, leave none." Su Ming nodded, continuing on with Hel: "Remember to burn the bodies."
Hel listened to the coquettish laughter of Satanah and the screams of humans behind them, growing curious as to why Deathstroke would issue such an order.
It's as if sensing her confusion, Su Ming merely smiled without elaborating.
The bite marks on their necks were clearly formed over many years, suggesting these women had likely become blood slaves. Due to Stockholm syndrome, even if set free, they would seek out new masters.
Being drained by vampires could become addictive; the sheer ecstasy was something ordinary people couldn't escape from — this was the origin of the Death Worship Cult, regardless of gender.
There's an even more critical point.
Su Ming couldn't determine whether they were hosts of vampire bugs.
Just from appearance alone, there's no difference between a host and a human. Ultraviolet light exposure, garlic essence, and silverware are ineffective; one must cut open the brain to inspect the contents, and that means death.
Modern medical technology offers only X-rays, which are for examining bones and don't show brain parasites. Brain CT machines aren't yet invented.
If Strangulation were to burrow into their brains to search, it would also be death for those who lack a self-healing ability.
Neither Satanah nor Hel in the group had any knowledge of parasites, Su Ming couldn't trust any detection methods they might possess.
He couldn't split open every head to check, nor use the Time Gem to resurrect them — such things shouldn't be shown to ordinary people, and it's too draining for him.
If even one host were accidentally released, it could potentially infect a large number of people. The four of them may not be infected, but others might.
Rescuing people seems like a good deed, yet it might lead to more deaths.
In situations like these, one must make rational judgments, not be soft-hearted, and now eliminate them all — better to err on the side of caution.
There might be innocents amongst them, maybe their families are waiting for them, but they must now sacrifice for the world.
This world has never changed; fairness has never truly existed.