Chapter 302: The Situation is Getting Out of Control!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Regardless of the absurdity of it, Hessiana's Daredevils were indeed decked out as such, and by the look on her face, she had every confidence that her elite strike force would do their job. At her order, a group of vampires, clad in black robes came forward. In their hands were a bunch of odd-looking sacred relics. They started pouring a white, almost silvery liquid on the Daredevils' RPGs and assault rifles. The bulk of it was of course, reserved for the bombs.
The "priests" were chanting some sort of bizzare incantation and the whole process looked almost like a Catholic ritual, but there were differences. This was clearly more akin to some ancient benedictorial ceremony, or something this bunch of lunatics just cooked up. The benediction process imbued the weapons with powers to excorcise their foes. Meanwhile, a thin mist started to form around the vampires. However, this light burn meant nothing to these warriors. They were capable of going hours on end under this power and this was just the begining.
"This is my recently assembled trump card," Hessiana said with a gleeful smirk on her face as she hugged her teddy bear. "Bethanos should count himself lucky. I didn't settled my negotiations with the arms merchants from the middle east last month."
"What is with this hoard of weapons?" Zeon stared blankly at Hessiana. "You don't mean to tear the whole city down do you? Or do you mean to..."
"Oh, don't you worry. These toys won't blow the city apart and I'm not planning to use it against you either." Hessiana giggled. "Sure, I've thought about it once in a while... but no, it's mainly for self-preservation. I know my family isn't well-received in the city. All those stubborn, rotten-to-the-core idiots have never truly respected us—a family of vampires without a 'proper lineage'. I know what they've been calling us behind our backs: violent mongrels, sewer rats, beggars in king's clothes... They wouldn't dare say it in front of us, but I can't even count the times they've verbally stabbed us behind our backs. So, I need to make sure I have the capability to wipe their insufferable smirk off their faces any time of the day."
Hessiana pointed towards her Daredevils as she laughed. "The good boys and girls here have all went through proper military training. Since World War I, I've allowed them to play with these toys that humans have made. The people here should count themselves lucky. No one has dared to cross us in the last hundred odd years... until today."
Zeon's face was a steely green. He realised the true horrifying power of these young vampires that took the same path as Vivian. It was not mere strength or rhetoric, it was their ability to think and adapt.
...Well, pretty much everyone in the shelter who was stuck in time was f*cked, himself included.
Zeon Lucas could only sigh as he crossed his arms. "Well, thankfully we are allies today... But, how effective are these against otherworldlings anyway? Have you tried it before?"
"Of course." Hessiana pointed towards her men again. "Humans are a race that we really need to marvel at. They're weak in flesh and because they're weak in flesh, they're willing to go tooth and limb to master powers beyond their mortal self. That has ensured their survival in this planet. With fire and explosions, they've created weapons that have far exceeded the powers of many supernatural races. Their only shortcoming is that they lack the ability to counter magic. Your usual bullets may maim and kill, but most of the time their power is drastically reduced by magically enhanced bodies or barriers. Hence, I thought to imbue these weapons with enchanments; sprinkle some holy water on the weapons, carve some spell runes on the bullets or even use blessed silver to make the projectiles. Sure, they may not be as effective against otherworldlings as they are against humans, but believe me, these toys will make those Shadelings cry 'mommy'."
Each and every one of the weapons on hand were technological marvels. They had been reconfigured from the inside out to counter any form of magical protection. The weapons themselves were imprinted with long lasting enchantments and sacred materials. Before they even go into combat, they would be further blessed with holy water and other temporary buffs. Hao Ren believed that all the gears present were at least very least, rare items with Holy Attributes +10, Critical Hit +15 and Hit Rate +100...
Zeon looked at Hessiana. "...This would need some massive overhaul... You can't purchase this kind of stuff, how do you do it?"
Hessiana grinned. "I'm not stupid. How can I let you in on that? Go figure it out yourself."
Zeon rubbed his nose as he gave out an awkward laugh. Lily too had finally realised something. "These wouldn't be cheap, no?"
"Premium player's rage, heh." Hessiana shrugged. "Our family never had a penchant for the luxurious life like your normal vampires. Heck, we don't even hold banquets all that often. So, all the money we saved went into purchasing arms. We even have a couple of old Tiger tanks that we got from the Germans in the warehouse... Oh, right! Those! Eaton! Let those beasts out for a roar! Bring out the holy water pump! Give them a good bath!"
"Mistress... We can't use holy water like this! We'll run out of it sooner than we can replace it!" One vampire finally managed to muster the courage to calm Hessiana down.
That snapped Hessiana out of her excitement as she rubbed her chin. "Oh... so be it then... but still, bring them out for a blast or two. Let's light the city up..."
Vivian finally lost it and smacked Hessiana in the back of her head. "There's a limit to everything!"
The benedictorial ritual was completed by then and Hessiana's Daredevils shrieked towards the sky and soon disappeared from their sights. These extremely armed group was a sight to behold. Their bat wings however, could only carry so much weight (that half-a-tonne bomb was just foul play) therefore, as they flew, they augmented themselves with weight-reducing magic or wind magic to drive themselves forward. Their plan was to rain hell upon Bethanos' stronghold before the spell ended, and to clean up any remaining survivors.
Hessiana briefly explained their strategy. First, the team was to charge forth and lob the bombs onto the barrier. The impact would almost be close to taking out the energy barrier. After that, they would fire their RPGs into the mix and that should take the barrier out of action. They were to then douse holy water all over the place, cleansing the shadow energy around the area. Then, the assault team would fly in with guns blazing, and start hacking once they run out of ammunitions. They would also be setting the place on fire and shoud in theory, take out most of the stronghold. "I even sent a group to blow up the Bethanos Family Tomb and Memorial Hall. F*ckers, how dare they harm Lady Vivian. Don't blame me for taking the fight up to their ancestors..."
Everyone around Hessiana started to break out in cold sweat. Lily quickly pulled Vivian's arm as she nagged at her. "Look at what you've done. The lack of proper education and motherly love have drove her to this..."
The battle was spreading throughout the city at this point.
There were no talks, no negotiations, no quarter, no mercy. The shadelings had dared to provoke the vampires and now, the latter were striking back with vengeance. This was how the unusual creatures operated. When they fought, it was until the end unlike humans, who would still try to talk things out. Thus, Hao Ren and his merry little band were also dragged into the heat of battle. They followed Hessiana towards the territory of Bethanos on the far side of the city. Before they could even reach the hot zone, thundering explosions roared some distance away.
Zeon Lucas had already left the group as he led his family to fend off the invading shadelings. The fighting had already escalated from a skirmish to an outright battle. The northeastern side of the city was laid in crimson as flames erupted across the battlefield. That was the Lucas' fight.
Another explosion lit the skies with a murderous din and after the initial flash cleared, a whole portion of the stronghold was ablaze. The Daredevils' bombing run had just ended and they were now firing their RPGs towards any surviving ground forces. Hessiana's ears perked up as she caught the noise of combat from the other side of town and unease appeared across her face. "This doesn't sound right... That movement doesn't seem to be coming from Zeon's side..."
The cacophony of combat started to come from all sides of the city. Even smaller families who kept themselves hidden to weather through the storm of battle started sending word of some unusual movement. The flames of combat were starting to come from behind them as well and now the whole city was on fire. Things were clearly not right.
Suddenly, a frantic voice rang out from Hessiana's communicator, which was hanging down her chest. "Mistress! Demon hunters! The demon hunters are here!"