At this moment, Blade was in a tough fight. Just now, with the help of his companions, he successfully escaped and rushed non-stop to the center of the Temple of Eternal Night's altar.
He had cut through many enemies along the way, expecting the same at the altar's center. But events unfolded completely beyond his expectations.
Perhaps I should escape first?
...
When S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier arrived at the Temple of Eternal Night, the Vampire extermination battle officially began.
The helicarrier flew directly above the Temple of Eternal Night, with dozens of powerful ultraviolet spotlights mounted on its deck. The ultraviolet light shone down, enveloping the Temple of Eternal Night and all nearby buildings.
Outside the Temple of Eternal Night, the Vampires were caught off guard by this sudden attack.
Thousands of Vampires turned to ash under the ultraviolet light. Only a few quick-reacting mixed-blood Vampires and pure-blood Vampires with higher resistance to ultraviolet light managed to escape by quickly hiding in nearby buildings.
Drones were launched, continuously spraying concentrated garlic extract liquid downwards. The garlic extract liquid quickly atomized upon landing, permeating into the buildings.
Agonized screams of Vampires sounded from within the buildings, one after another.
The pain of corroded lungs was not something ordinary beings could endure.
The garlic extract gas was not enough to kill Vampires, but it could temporarily incapacitate them.
Some Vampires wearing protective suits and anti-garlic masks attempted to escape, but they were gunned down by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents using silver bullets.
The very few Vampires who were either exceptionally strong or blessed by Lady Luck, successfully breaking through the hail of bullets, would face their final judgment—an arrow.
It was the man with a hundred percent win rate in team fights.
Hawkeye, Clinton Francis Barton.
Lucas noticed that while Clint was picking off elite Vampires, he also took the time to shoot specialized arrows from various tricky angles into the buildings where Vampires were hiding.
As expected of a veteran, his output was fierce.
But if that's the case, won't I just be a bystander?
Why are these Vampires so weak? Knowing their racial weaknesses, why don't they dig tunnels and fight a guerrilla war instead of direct confrontation?
"Stark, Stacy, Lucas." Hill's voice came through the comms channel.
"You have high mobility. If any Vampires emerge from the tunnels, provide timely support. I've sent the topographic scan to Jarvis, all exits are marked."
"Received." x3.
Finally, something to do.
Whack-A-Mole was an easy and enjoyable task.
Under Lucas's powerful perception, the Vampires' footsteps in the tunnels were clearly audible.
One, two, three.
For a time, outside the Temple of Eternal Night, S.H.I.E.L.D. had the upper hand.
But Lucas knew things weren't that simple. The Blood God's power was still continuously pouring into the Temple of Eternal Night.
Just then, a dashing figure rushed out of the Temple of Eternal Night, sprinting towards the blockade.
He bathed in the ultraviolet light, breathed the garlic-filled air, and remained unharmed. As for the specialized silver bullets, they were also useless against him.
Clint drew his bow and nocked an arrow, but seeing who it was, he lowered his hand.
This dashing figure was none other than Blade, who had escaped from the center of the Temple of Eternal Night's altar.
"I have important information."
With that one sentence, Blade attracted everyone's attention.
"Inside the Temple of Eternal Night, the Blood God's descent ritual is still ongoing. Hundreds of Vampires have already transformed into Blood, and thousands more are in the process of transforming."
"The Blood's strength, speed, and physique are all stronger than Vampires'. And they are immune to silver, garlic extract, and ultraviolet light."
"They have super self-healing abilities. When damaged, their limbs will decompose into blood and then rapidly reorganize. Their only weakness is anticoagulant."
"Are the Vampires outside just pawns, meant to distract us?" Maria Hill frowned.
As Commander, she quickly reacted, realizing Deacon Frost's strategy.
"Director Fury, I request a fire-support bombardment to destroy the Temple of Eternal Night, and the deployment of a batch of anticoagulants."
Although they had tried their best to control the scale of the battle, as it began, more than a dozen media outlets, either by helicopter or car, rushed to the scene, but all were intercepted.
A large-scale military operation occurring on the outskirts of New York, even involving high-yield destructive missiles.
Nick Fury could already imagine how tomorrow's New York media would report it.
This decision was not easy to make.
"Approved."
Ignoring the potential Impact, Nick Fury agreed to Maria Hill's decision.
Bombard the area, level the Temple of Eternal Night, and probe the Blood's true strength in the process.
As for the New York media's reaction, that could be dealt with later.
If the Blood truly were as Blade described, there might not even be a New York after tonight.
A missile was launched from the helicarrier, directly targeting the Temple of Eternal Night.
Jericho missile!
Tony recognized it as a Jericho missile produced by Stark Industries.
"Get down!"
Boom! Boom! Boom...
An impact swept across the surroundings, followed by rising dust and smoke.
As the smoke and dust dispersed, the ruins of the Temple of Eternal Night appeared before everyone's eyes.
Deprived of the Temple of Eternal Night's protection, exposed to the ultraviolet spotlights.
Thousands of Vampires who had not yet transformed wailed, slowly turning to ash.
The power of the Jericho missile lived up to expectations but another scene was even more chilling.
The surviving Vampires, no, Blood, still numbered nearly a thousand.
Many of them had lost limbs in the explosion, or were even reduced to less than half their bodies. But without exception, they were all rapidly recovering at this moment.
A clump of bloody foam condensed, and severed limbs regenerated from nothing, returning to their original state in just over ten seconds.
"Good news, at least we didn't see anyone who was blown to smithereens recover completely."
Tony told a cold joke, and everyone felt only cold, not amused.
Except for Lucas.
"That really is good news."
Energy Absorption can draw energy from bloody foam.
Although the distance was too great and the absorption ratio wasn't high, there were many of them. The hundreds of injured Blood just now provided over four hundred stat points in total.
Can I directly absorb the Blood God's energy? I'll try later.
"Do you see? This is the Blood, this is the power our God has bestowed upon us! Human weapons are useless against us!"
Deacon Frost stepped forward, pointed towards New York behind the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, and swung his arm down.
"Now, kill them all, and feast on their blood!"
"Then, offer New York to my God!"
"Charge!"
Nearly a thousand Blood rushed towards S.H.I.E.L.D.'s blockade, bullets striking them only left fleeting bullet holes.
"Helicarrier provide artillery cover, ground personnel get in vehicles and evacuate."
Seeing that the prepared weapons were ineffective against the Blood, Maria Hill quickly issued the order for cover and retreat.
She did not intend to sacrifice the lives of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to briefly delay the Blood's advance. The immediate priority was the anticoagulant, and finding other weaknesses of the Blood.
As the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel evacuated, Lucas, Gwen, and Tony moved against the flow.
When Gwen used her webs to trip the Blood's legs, hindering their pursuit, she found that they couldn't break free immediately.
She immediately shared this information on the operational channel.
"Lucas, Mr. Stark, let's weave a big net for them."
"Huh, Lucas, where are you?"
"Why did you rush in?!"