Currently, a group of vampires was stationed on a swamp-like Planet. They took base on one of the few pieces of land that formed a small island-like structure. The vampires surrounded it to protect the ship from beasts.
The beasts had already destroyed the ship's engine, and at the moment, they didn't even have the time to repair it because nearly all of them were busy fighting the endless hordes of beasts that were coming their way.
Earl Ronsten, who was in charge of the expedition, was currently on top of the ship and staring at the scene.
'My word, what is going on this planet. I can see beasts coming from every direction. Is it because of the nest crystal that we have gathered? But it seems like his majesty is using it for something. All we have to do is keep defending. But, it feels more like a war between our small group and the countless beasts on this planet.'
It certainly did feel that way to everyone, especially those on the ground floor. The beasts weren't extremely powerful like the doppelgangers they had fought, but they still had some strength with them and numbers on their side.
On either side, protecting the north and south sides, were the two Viscounts leading two groups of vampires. Still, they had been fighting for hours and were now getting tired.
"Don't use your blood powers!" Viscount Norvic shouted as he slammed a giant tentacle-like creature on its head, causing black blood to splatter all over him and partly in his mouth. After pushing it back with a few more attacks, he resumed what he was saying.
"Using the blood powers will tire us out quicker; just carry on using your strength!"
The good news was that the other vampires were already used to this. When fighting against the doppelganger, they hadn't used their blood powers or abilities for fear that perhaps there would be more to come.
At the same time, they had done a lot of training and fighting themselves, so they knew what the enemy's weaknesses were. Although fighting against the doppelgangers was frightening and, at the same time, was incredibly frustrating, each of the vampires had improved their combat skills drastically because of it.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"I'm exhausted." Joy complained, her fists obscured in black blood. She was a fighter who mainly just punched her way out of the situation. However, it was using up more energy in this case than in any of her previous fights. Since she would just punch the beasts that came towards her rather than dodge obvious attacks.
"I have no more blood," Moe replied. "I used up what was in the flask. You will just have to hold out."
Unlike when vampires would fight against the Dalki or go against the humans, there was one thing that was different in fighting beasts: blood.
They could always reenergize themselves or restore their blood powers and abilities with blood during a fight. It was one of the scary things about vampires and one of the reasons why they didn't fear the Dalki even after learning a lot about the latter.
However, fighting beasts, they were unable to consume beast blood.
"We have reinforcements coming!" Ric shouted.
The others were finding it hard to split their attention, but they looked up to see just what he was talking about when they could. That's when they saw a ship in the sky, which was quite similar to the vampire ships.
Immediately, a group of about thirty or so vampires dropped down from the ship as reinforcements.
"They are... from the Fifth family." Viscount Nian noticed.
The fourth and fith family always had a close relationship, this was mainly due to Jim and Sunny being close to each other as leaders, and now the vampires were happy to see them more than ever.
A long black braided woman landed in front of one of the groups.
"We will take over from here; you guys rest up a bit."
With the reinforcements having arrived, Ronsten looked at the battlefield, but the number of beasts didn't seem to decrease. Still, the good news was that a mechanic had come with the group, and now, they had enough vampires to defend the place while the others could take the break they deserved.
The other large ship landed, only a few metres away from the ship Quinn and the others had arrived. They had brought supplies with them, including collections of blood which someone handed out to the others.
Of course, when contacting the vampire settlement, Ronsten had informed them of what they needed and the situation, which was why they could prepare everything beforehand.
At the moment, Ronsten had decided to enter the Fifth Family's ship, where he encountered someone, a girl who had a straight cut bang across her forehead and long hair winding on her back. She wasn't a vampire knight, but Ronsten knew her well because she was a decendent from the fifth family, Simer.
"I'm surprised to see you here." Ronsten bowed.
"It is an important task to do with the king, of course, I would be here, and on that note, I have informed my people not to attack the giant Gorilla. I am sorry, we were unaware that it was part of your group."
Ronsten couldn't help but chuckle. Honestly, he had forgotten that the Gorilla named Jesk, as they heard Quinn call him so many times, was still helping them out. However, the Gorilla tried its best to stay away from the ship.
They imagined the beast had a strong will; whatever was tempting the other beasts, the Gorilla was fighting against it to help his master.
"It was a surprise to us as well, and I honestly forgot about it, so my apologies as well."
The two of them went to sit down and continued to chat as Ronsten informed her of what was happening with Quinn and the plan. Should they leave the planet and head back to the shelter once the mechanic repairs the ship?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmQuinn seemed to be unresponsive at the moment, so they were unable to ask him. Whatever the case, staying here wasn't an option. While asking, though, Ronsten noticed that Simer was often staring into space.
"What seems to be the problem?" Ronsten couldn't help but ask.
She was reluctant to tell him, but she eventually revealed after a few moments of silence.
"Before coming here, we had received a report. It was from Sunny herself; she is going up against one of the leaders of the Dalki. I know mothe... I mean, our leader is strong, but I can't help but worry. I was hoping to speak to Quinn, but it looks like it's currently not plausible."
Just then, they heard shouts from outside. The two rushed out of the ship, and they noticed that the sky above them had somewhat darkened. That was because now several winged beasts were hovering above them.
"This…will be troublesome," Ronsten frowned.
In the meantime, Quinn was inside the ship on his own. Everyone had cleared the area so as not to disturb him.
'Finally, I'm getting used to the feeling. The energy doesn't hurt my body anymore, but the energy... it's just swirling around my body. It doesn't feel like I can actually use it… this is a little worrying, but I have to keep absorbing the energy for now.
'If I do this, that pain will come back, but I need to absorb the energy faster. I have no clue how long I have been doing this, and I have no clue what is happening here. I can tell if I break concentration and the connection to the nest crystal... the energy from it will explode and crack. This is the only time I can do this.'
Absorbing more of the energy directly from the crystal, Quinn could feel a tremendous pain crawl through his body, but the process had now sped up. Rather than allowing the power to enter him, he was forcefully sucking it.
[52 percent of Nest crystal has been absorbed.]
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