CHAPTER 312: BITTEN?

Liang was powerful, and so was Gabriel, even though he was yet to step into the Hero Rank.

In fact, if you were to ask members of the Broken Dawn guild, they would argue that Gabriel was more powerful. That was the level of faith they had in their guild leader.

If the two combined forces, both sides were certain they had the potential to overtake the number one guild, Olympus, with ease.

Though Gabriel had pride and preferred to work alone most of the time, even he could tell the Tower was becoming more difficult as they climbed. A temporary alliance wasn’t too bad.

Liang had similar thoughts going through his head as well.

’Initially, I wanted to spar with...’ his eyes flashed.

During the Inter-Guild Display Event, Gabriel had held his ground against the High Cardinal and Jack—someone Liang wasn’t confident he could beat.

He had been looking forward to meeting Gabriel again ever since that day. The opportunity finally presented itself; however, he never envisioned that the next time they met, his rival would save his close friend, leaving him indebted.

’Well... after this whole thing, I can always invite him over to Tianlan.’ With that thought in mind, he stretched out a hand, locking eyes with Gabriel.

"An alliance wouldn’t be too bad." Liang smirked, then added with a hint of disgust, "Furthermore, I’d rather watch any guild win than let those cocky Olympus bastards take first."

Did Gabriel hold any grudge against Olympus? Definitely not.

The only organization he had problems with right now was the Holy Church.

As for the other guilds—except Crimson Star, of course, who were now on his hit list because they had come for his life—they were among the few that had stood up against the humans, even though they had failed miserably.

Therefore, he held a certain respect for them in his heart.

Regardless... the competitive side of Gabriel also didn’t want to see anyone reach Floor 100 first. Not even Martial Palace.

"The feeling is mutual." Gabriel nodded, shaking Liang’s hand. Then he added in a clearer, more competitive tone, "However, unlike you, I don’t want just anyone to reach Floor 100... I want my Broken Dawn guild to be the first!"

When the others heard this—especially those from Martial Palace—they frowned. They felt the Broken Dawn leader was too arrogant.

But Liang didn’t see it that way. Instead of disgust, flames of burning competitiveness flashed in his eyes, and his smile widened.

"Hahahaha! I love you!" he laughed loudly.

Ragnarok99 looked at him with weird eyes. So did the others.

Feeling the piercing gazes, which made his scalp tingle slightly, Liang quickly coughed. "I mean—I like you! But... well, fuck it, you all probably know what I meant!"

"Actually, we don’t!"

"Shut up!"

...

Martial Palace had arrived on this floor not too long ago. They were still in the outer areas and hadn’t gone too far.

The two guilds combined forces and breezed through the forest effortlessly. There was a thick air of competitiveness across the entire floor as everyone wanted to outdo the other.

You couldn’t blame them when their leaders were the same way.

In one of the passageways, Gabriel’s fist blurred through the air, smashing vampires. Now that they were deep in the Tower, he didn’t dare fight carelessly.

He activated Bull Rush. He moved so fast that the enemies could barely keep up. His normal pace was already terrifying, but with the added skill buff, he was moving at speeds that felt godlike from the vampires’ perspective.

-45!

-1999

-300

Damage bars floated across the room.

"Heok!" a vampire shrieked as its neck was suddenly grabbed by a large, powerful hand that felt like an iron clamp.

Tightening his grip on the unfortunate creature, Gabriel kicked the ground. The sheer force behind the kick propelled him forward.

The distance between him and the closest wall was covered in mere moments. Because the vampire was in his trajectory, it smashed violently into the stone, its skull shattering.

Blood splattered across Gabriel’s face. He wasn’t worried. The only way to become a vampire was through being bitten. Ordinary vampire blood lacked the tier required to infect someone.

Some time later, he shook his greatsword to remove the caked blood on it, then calmly scanned his surroundings.

It looked like a scene where a massacre had taken place. Gabriel was the only person in this hall.

This floor had several branching paths. A temporary three-group formation had been made.

The first passage consisted of only Liang.

The second was assigned to Gabriel.

The last passage contained the combined forces, led by Sophie and Evelyn.

In that third pathway, a serious battle was unfolding between the humans and the vampires. The vampires here were far more numerous than in the other two routes.

Creatures crawled from the ceiling, the cracks in the walls—eyes bloodshot, without even a shred of intelligence.

"Back! Back!! Don’t let them circle us!" Sophie shouted, jumping back to avoid razor-sharp claws.

Evelyn swung her wrist, sending out golden petals that sliced a vampire into multiple pieces.

"Why are so many spawning on this floor?!" Ragnarok99 groaned loudly, swinging his sword at another monster.

"Stop complaining and fight!" shouted a higher-ranking Martial Palace disciple, struggling to parry a vampire knight’s claws.

The group was being pushed into a corner. It wasn’t a trap, but it damn sure felt like one.

Sophie’s breathing grew heavier. Cassie, maintaining her buffs, tugged Sophie’s arm as a vampire lunged from above.

"Sophie! Duck!"

She moved instantly, stabbing a dagger through the creature’s chin. The body dropped at her feet, twitching violently.

But there were too many.

The corridor was the largest of the three paths, but with the current swarm, it felt suffocating—perfect ambush territory.

A vampire knight slammed its blade against Evelyn’s. Her Silver Bell flew out, forming a barrier and intercepting the strike, but the shockwave sent her skidding back.

Then a tremor shook the corridor as three hulking vampire brutes burst up from the earth like enraged boars. Towering, muscle-packed, with pale greenish-white skin and fangs long enough to pierce steel.

The others panicked the moment they saw these new monsters, clearly more powerful than the rest.

"Fall back! FALL BACK!!"

One muscular brute roared and charged, shaking the ground.

Rumble! Rumble!

"S***!"

Sophie and Evelyn sprang aside. The brute bulldozed through three Martial Palace members, sending them flying like rag dolls.

Sophie landed in a crouch, heart racing, eyes searching for openings.

’Fast. Their speed is insane for their size...’ she thought grimly.

Another brute leaped, its shadow swallowing her. Sophie gritted her teeth, summoned a root beneath her feet, and blasted herself backward just in time.

But the moment she regained balance, hands grabbed her from behind.

A vampire had been hiding beneath a pile of corpses. It sprang up, jaw unhinging wider than it should have.

"SOPHIE!" Cassie screamed.

FWOOOSH!

Sophie twisted her body, stabbing the vampire in the temple with her dagger. The creature shrieked and flailed, but its fangs were already inches away.

Her eyes widened. Her heartbeat pounded like a drum.

She dodged—but at such proximity, it was impossible to avoid completely.

CHINK!

A sharp pain ripped across her shoulder.

She froze. Like a robot, she slowly turned her head toward her shoulder... and there it was—

A bite mark, dripping with blood.