Hearing Charles's question, the blind Vampire panicked, stammering and not knowing what to say.
Charles waved his hand at the other crew. "No time to wait! Everyone, get on board!"
Akasha looked with interest at the tightly shut shipyard ahead, a smirk lifting her lips to reveal her sharp little vampire fangs. "How interesting. It looks like these humans have some skill after all. Armand, can I have these humans? It's been so long since I've tasted blood from outsiders."
The male Vampire Duke next to her shook his head. "That won't do, my dear. We must stick to our agreement."
"Figures. You're just as stingy as your sister." Akasha rolled her eyes at her companion and strode toward the large gate.
The petite, five-foot-tall Vampire reached out with pale hands, sank her fingers into the thick door seam, and pulled hard.
A harsh screech echoed as the half-foot-thick iron gate was torn open like paper in her hands.
The scene that greeted the two Vampire Dukes made them freeze. In the empty yard lay a small pile of explosives, its fuse nearly burned out.
Before they could react, a thunderous boom erupted. The entire shipyard exploded, and flames shot skyward, engulfing the two Dukes.
Out of the rolling smoke, a charred corpse, burned pitch-black, walked out of the inferno, staring at the distant Narwhal as it sped away.
The scorched corpse rapidly healed, and before long, a stark-naked Akasha reappeared on the spot.
"Not bad. Only strong prey tastes this good."
No sooner had she spoken than black fur sprouted from her body. Her pale, curvaceous form twisted and mutated, and soon, a three-meter-tall half-human, half-bat monstrosity stood where she had been.
"SCREECH!" The grotesque Monster's body instantly split into a swarm of small bats, swarming toward the Narwhal.
From the black smoke behind her, another swarm of bats emerged and gave chase.
Seeing the swarm of bats speeding through the air, Charles, standing on deck, shouted toward the deck gun, "Lily! Shoot them down!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" Shellfire thundered without pause. Bat fragments torn apart by the shells rained down into the sea, but there were simply too many of them—the shells couldn't possibly take them all out.
The bats drew closer and closer, the beating of their wings in the air like a death curse. Every heart on deck went taut in an instant.
Soon, the bats arrived, merging midair into a hulking half-human, half-bat monster that crashed onto the deck with a heavy impact.
With a sweep of its razor claws aimed at the brown rat atop the gun turret, blood and flesh splattered. Lily shrieked in terror.
Akasha fixed her crimson, enormous eyes on the scattering rats. A ball of Flames appeared in her palm.
Just as she was about to hurl the fire at the rats, the masked Charles appeared beneath her as if from nowhere.
With a slash of the Black Blade, he sliced across her arm. The right arm gripping the Flames fell to the deck.
"Hey there, gorgeous. Did you lose this hand of yours?"
"Your smile really pisses me off." Akasha kicked off with both feet, tangling with Charles in a furious melee.
At the same time, another Half-bat Monster charged onto the deck. This one was four meters tall with green snot dripping from its nose. James, wielding a steel beam, went to meet it head-on.
The other crew members stood back, providing covering fire with whatever weapons they had.
Charles backflipped to dodge the sharp claws, his right hand never idle as he slashed again at those horrifying talons.
The two clashed and crossed past each other. Charles leaped backward, landing steadily on the ship's railing.
Akasha didn't pursue, instead fixing him with those huge red eyes, studying her foe.
Seeing the Monster's arm already fully healed, Charles cursed under his breath. This is bullshit, totally cheating!
"Young man, that thing on your face looks nice. Where did you get it? A shame it has the wrong master."
Charles's demeanor immediately became cocky. "How about I give you this thing, and you let us go?"
Akasha giggled behind her hand. "Do you think that's possible? No rush, really. We've got all the time in the world to chat."
"Aaaah! It hurts! It hurts so much!" Hearing James's screams behind him, Charles's heart tightened. Things were getting worse over there by the second. If he kept talking, he'd soon be facing a two-on-one fight.
He turned and yelled toward Audric, hiding in the cockpit, "Hey! Blind guy! Do you bloodsuckers have any weaknesses or what?!"
A trembling Audric quickly answered, "The Dukes have only one weakness: the heart! You must completely destroy it to stop their regeneration!"
"Hmph!" For the first time, fury twisted Akasha's monstrous face. Spreading her wings, she shot toward the cockpit. A traitor is always more hated than an enemy.
CRASH! Glass from the cockpit scattered everywhere as Akasha easily grabbed the fleeing Audric. Her mouth, full of fangs, clamped down. An agonized scream tore through the air as half the blind painter's neck vanished in an instant.
As she prepared to swallow the traitor whole, Charles had slipped behind her unseen, the Black Blade glinting as it drove straight through her chest.
The Bat Monster flapped her wings, forcing Charles back. She glanced down at the wound in her chest, her terrifying face ice cold. "I've changed my mind. You humans can feed the sea instead!"
She snatched something from behind her with her left hand, and a small, palm-sized round mirror appeared. The moment it surfaced, the air thickened with the sweet, metallic scent of blood, a scent that grew steadily stronger.
Shit! She has a relic too! Charles sprang forward to stop her, but Akasha spread her wings and shot into the air.
Under the glaring spotlights, her monstrous body changed again, transforming from a half-human, half-bat Monster into a five-meter-long, pig-nosed Bat Monster.
The pig-nosed bat opened its jaws wide. A shrill, soul-piercing screech, like a dirge from Hell, stabbed into everyone's ears.
Everyone instinctively clamped their hands over their ears. Even the other half-human, half-bat Monster wasn't immune. Within seconds, blood began to trickle from everyone's ears.
Then Charles saw a sight that chilled him to the bone. A crack appeared along the Narwhal's railing, snaking downward.
That rail is made of steel! The sonic attack isn't just hitting flesh—it's tearing up the ship as well! If she keeps this up, the entire Narwhal will be ripped apart!
Casting his gaze around the chaos, Charles leaped onto the chest of the wounded James, then pointed at the bat in the sky, and then at James's hands.
James stared blankly, frozen. Charles slapped him hard across the face. The Giant finally moved, grabbing Charles by the legs and hurling him.
Charles slammed into the Bat Monster like a cannonball, and at last, the skull-splitting shriek fell silent.
Jamming his blade into the Bat Monster's body, Charles yelled at the top of his lungs, "Lily! Fire!"