Chapter 263: The Vampires Finally Appear

It wasn’t the cry of beasts—it was clearly a sound only humans could make, and it came from the direction of Collins Forest! Realizing this, Rod’s expression changed instantly as he hurriedly turned to look into the distance.
In the darkness, several purple figures could be faintly seen rushing toward them at a speed impossible to discern with the naked eye.
“They’ve appeared!” Upon seeing them, Rod’s heart sank. He narrowed his eyes slightly and thought to himself, “There’s no doubt about it. What I feared has finally happened. They’ve shown up after all.” For some reason, instead of the tension and fear he had imagined, seeing these people appear actually eased his worries. The anxiety that had plagued him all this time vanished instantly, leaving him feeling much more relaxed. It was better to have them appear than not—had they not shown up, he would have had to worry constantly about when they might appear and what they would do. Now, since they had appeared, he only needed to focus on facing them and doing his best to stop them. Everything else was beyond his control.
Another series of howls echoed, and more figures gradually appeared. From afar, there were dozens of purple figures, followed by some red or golden ones coming into sight.
Clearly, this group consisted of at least dozens of Saint-level warriors. As for Emperor-level and Golden Warrior-level fighters, there were roughly over a hundred of them.
Though such a force was formidable, under the defenses of Iron Bar Town, it wasn’t considered a major threat.
The appearance of this group immediately caused turmoil among the beast armies. As if sensing the arrival of their masters, the beasts slowed down their attacks and voluntarily made way for these people.
Rushing swiftly from behind, the group soon appeared before everyone. Everyone in the city noticed this scene. First were the dozen or so vampire warriors of Saint-level, floating in midair. With their prominent fleshy wings, they flew like birds high above, overlooking the beast armies and the defenders below.

A moment later, another forty or fifty vampires of the imperial and gold ranks arrived in front of the city walls. Their flying altitude reached almost the same height as the walls themselves. They stared at the defenders across with disdainful looks, showing their arrogance. Despite being a hundred meters apart, one could still sense their overconfident arrogance.

Soon after, howls echoed, and nearly a hundred werewolves appeared on the ground. Tall and covered in silver or blue fur, they howled at the moonlight, giving off a chilling atmosphere.

Finally, Rod got to see these creatures. For the first time, he gained some understanding of them, but due to the darkness and distance, he couldn’t see their faces clearly.

Watching this group, Rod was deeply alarmed. It seemed the news he had heard at Holy Light Academy was true—these guys had already taken action. Together, their strength was truly extraordinary. It was clear that those who had come were merely the vanguard force, sent to test the defenses here. Yet even so, there were so many powerful individuals.

There were over a dozen vampires and werewolves of the saint rank. These individuals must hold high status within their clans. From what Rod knew at Holy Light Academy, the vampire hierarchy went as follows: at the top was the Blood Emperor, followed by Princes, Dukes, Counts, Marquises, Viscounts, and Barons, with the lowest being Blood Slaves! The Blood Emperor was said to be the most powerful being among vampires, and there were very few of them—probably only one per clan, or even none at all. Princes could be considered the strongest in a clan, with no more than three per clan, usually just one. Their strength already reached the divine level. Next were Dukes, whose strength reached near-divine levels. The number of vampires at this rank increased significantly—about eight to ten per clan! Then there were Counts and Marquises with saint-level strength, just like these saint-ranked vampires before him. They must be at the count level among vampires! There were more of them at this rank. In their race, true strength determined status, and as their blood purity increased, they could advance to higher ranks and become nobles of even greater status!

Those vampires with imperial-level strength should be at the marquis level, while golden warriors should be at the viscount level! Barons are said to possess the strength of silver warriors, and those blood slaves are vampires who have only achieved the strength of high-level warriors after being initiated—unless they can inherit bloodline power, their strength will never improve even slightly throughout their lives! As for the rest of the vampires, ordinary free vampires have the strength of bronze warriors, and they can only improve through training! As for the classification of werewolves, Rod isn’t sure; he really hasn’t found any information on that.

“Vampires! Heaven! Vampires, I see vampires!” Moments later, panicked screams came from the city.

“There are also werewolves! Damn it, how did they appear here?” More exclamations followed. Seeing these people appear, the once deathly silent defensive walls immediately became chaotic, and the news spread like lightning to every corner.

As the noise spread, everyone in the city began to panic. The appearance of vampires and werewolves far exceeded everyone’s imagination; no one could have thought they would appear here.

The panic from a thousand years ago still seemed unresolved. As soon as these names were heard, morale plummeted to its lowest point—even without fighting, there was a sense of retreating without a fight. These soldiers and reinforcements might face magical beasts, no matter how fierce their attacks or how terrifying they were, even the famous dragon clans, without feeling fear or hesitation, and could fight to the death. But against vampires and werewolves, they couldn’t. Too many rumors, stories, and histories had made them feel fear and desire to retreat deep in their hearts.

“Damn it! This won’t work!” Sensing the change in atmosphere, Rod cursed inwardly. It seemed that vampires and werewolves had left an indelible impression on people a thousand years ago, their reputations still lingering to this day. If things continued like this and the enemy launched an attack, it would be the end. By then, not to mention resistance, the entire continent would truly be in crisis.

Turning to look at Skora and his group behind him, even they had pale faces, filled with despair.

“What’s the matter? Why are you standing there in a daze? Snap out of it! If you don’t want to see the continent fall, if you don’t want to see the bloodshed of a thousand years ago spread across the land once again, if you don’t want to see your loved ones displaced and suffering, if you don’t want to see rivers of blood and families destroyed, if you don’t want to see your loved ones die at the hands of these guys, then snap out of it and fight alongside me against them! Protect our homeland and our loved ones—we must not let this continent face the disasters of a thousand years ago again!” Walking forward and climbing to the top of the high defensive wall, Rod looked down at the stunned crowd below and shouted loudly at them. Morale had to be restored now; otherwise, the battle could not continue! With the help of his combat energy, his voice carried clearly across the quiet walls, reaching every corner and every ear.

Unconsciously, Rod displayed his leadership skills. Though it was his first time speaking such inspiring words, the simplest language touched everyone’s deepest thoughts. These words awakened their most primal instincts—family and homeland were the most important things in everyone’s heart, sacred and inviolable. Even a beggar would hesitate none in standing up and fighting fiercely for them.

As Rod had expected, after his words fell, there was initially silence, followed by chaos. Everyone’s gaze became resolute again; the fear and hesitation from before vanished almost instantly, and enthusiasm and passion surged once more. Some impatient people even started shouting in agreement. “Kill them! We can’t let these demons enter the continent!” “Fight to the death!” One cry after another echoed. “Fight to the death…” The slogan spread across the entire defensive wall like waves, one after another, growing stronger with each wave! In an instant, passion boiled over, and fighting spirit was rekindled.

Seeing this, Rod finally breathed a sigh of relief, a faint smile appearing on his face. He was secretly glad—his words had had such a huge effect. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late; with this momentum, he could feel more at ease.

“Good boy, you’ve done it again!” Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Amio muttered to himself as he looked at Rod in the distance, expressing the thoughts of high-ranking commanders like Nagran. The situation just now really made them break into a cold sweat. It was undeniable that the moment they saw the vampires and werewolves appear, even they were deeply shocked and struck, their confidence plummeting to rock bottom. They knew they would surely lose if they fought in that state. Thankfully, this guy played a crucial role in turning the situation around and saving them a glimmer of hope!
“Hmph, overconfident humans! Kill that guy!” Sensing the change in the humans across from them, the vampires flying in the air wore cold expressions, staring intently at the most prominent Rod. The lead vampire let out a cold snort and said indifferently to those around him.
A howling sound came, as a black figure, accompanied by the sound of tearing through the air and a fierce momentum, rushed toward Rod’s location.