Akun, an ability user from the Demon Hunter Guild, watched in horror as his brother, Ayu, had his throat severed by an unseen entity.
Blood and air gushed out from his lungs, forming a mass of foam that also expelled Ayu's last vestiges of life.
For Akun, the feeling could only be described by four words: it pierced his heart!
"You... you killed my brother! What did you do to him?"
"Haha, you two simian creatures, always playing mysterious. Did you think you were the only ones who could hide in the darkness?"
"You... what do you mean?"
Akun was completely bewildered by Ali's words.
Little did Akun know, hidden in the grass two to three meters behind him, was a large feline. Its fur was dark and lustrous, undoubtedly top-tier. This creature's size even rivaled that of a South China tiger.
However, this was not a South China tiger, but Ling Tian's spirit beast, the Shadow Leopard.
By rights, Ali, having signed a contract with Ling Tian, was also his spirit beast and should not have the ability to command other spirit beasts within Ling Tian's spiritual realm.
But this leopard was different. Perhaps due to their shared feline lineage, the two had much in common. Within the spiritual realm, Ali often awakened the slumbering Shadow Leopard, and they would play and frolic together.
The Shadow Leopard was even more affectionate towards Ali than towards Ling Tian. When Ali asked for its help, the great leopard had come without hesitation.
It activated its Shadow Stealth skill, disappearing into the night, and then used its sharp claws to sever Ayu's windpipe.
In the darkness, the Shadow Leopard's ability to conceal its presence was far superior to these two dark-skinned individuals. Even in daylight, as long as it wasn't an open space bathed in direct sunlight, the Shadow Leopard could hide its tracks to launch surprise attacks on opponents.
"You killed my brother, you must pay with your life!"
Seeing his brother eliminated, Akun could no longer suppress his rage. He reached into his pocket for his handgun. However, before he could even raise the barrel, Ali made her move. The sheep horn hammer in her hand spun through the air, flying towards Akun's head.
"Bang!" A sharp crack echoed through the pitch-black night. The hammerhead of the sheep horn hammer cleanly embedded itself into Akun's forehead.
Akun's body collapsed onto the ground, his eyes wide open in an unseeing stare, dying with regrets!
Ali clapped her hands, a look of disdain on her face. Just as she turned to leave, she heard two "bang" sounds. Two large nets descended from above, entangling her.
"Haha, caught! This is truly a perfect specimen. Lord Draxler will be very pleased!" a sharp voice declared.
"Bruce, don't be careless. This girl is no ordinary person; she's an ability user. If you don't want to end up smashed like that crocodile, I advise you to take this seriously!"
"Don't worry, Cheryl. Our nets are specially made with the most resilient alloy wires. Even the sharpest knives can't cut through them. What if this girl is strong? The harder she struggles, the tighter the net will constrict...
However, we can add a couple of safeguards..."
As soon as the words fell, there were two more "bang" sounds. Another two large nets were thrown over Ali, effectively four nets binding her.
Ali struggled desperately. Just as the person had said, the more she struggled, the tighter the nets became.
At this moment, two figures appeared in the distant forest. They were a man and a woman, both Caucasians. The man was exceptionally handsome, and the woman was extraordinarily beautiful. However, both of them had rather pale complexions, a pallor that seemed somewhat sickly, as if they lacked qi and blood, with faint dark circles around their eyes, resembling smoky makeup.
Ali noticed that when these two spoke, two sharp fangs were revealed beneath their lips.
"Blood race? Interesting. I didn't expect such things to truly exist," Ali chuckled inwardly.
Since meeting Ling Tian, Ali had diligently studied the knowledge of this world and watched many movies, naturally learning about vampires.
Initially, Ali had dismissed such beings as mere fiction. However, after seeing some items in the Myriad Laws Pavilion, she realized that the Blood Race truly existed in this world.
The essence of the Blood Race was a virus originating from bats that infected humans, altering their bodily structure. The normal cells of the human body became part of the virus.
Of course, this virus did not directly kill the host like other viruses. Instead, it modified the host's body.
The infected body cells exhibited whip-like structures resembling nerve cells. These whip-like structures intertwined to form new bodily tissues.
Such bodies possessed reaction speeds, strength, and physical resilience far exceeding those of ordinary humans.
More importantly, these bodily tissues could utilize the body's blood to its utmost efficiency. Even when injured, no blood would flow out.
Furthermore, as long as the heart was not injured, even if the lower body was gone, with sufficient blood and time, and in a suitable environment, damaged and lost bodily tissues could regenerate.
However, the most coveted aspect of the Blood Race was that, with sufficient blood, they could achieve eternal life! This was also a major reason why many willingly degenerated and actively received blood injections to become part of the Blood Race.
Of course, every gain comes with a loss. In this world, obtaining great power also came with a price.
After their bodies were modified by the virus to become the Blood Race, their entire physical attributes became Yin-evil. Such bodies feared sunlight, fire, silver ions, and garlic.
While Prince-level Blood Race members could be exposed to sunlight, their strength was significantly diminished under it.
Those Blood Race members who were not powerful enough could only appear in sunlight for short periods. Sunlight would kill the virus within their bodies, causing fatal damage. If a Blood Race member was exposed to strong sunlight for an extended period, they would die.
Therefore, most of the Blood Race would not venture out during the day unless absolutely necessary. Even when they did, they would be wrapped up tightly.
Silver ions in silver would also kill the virus within the Blood Race. Of course, ordinary silver objects could not kill them; what was fatal to these viruses were silver ions.
For instance, solutions like silver iodide, silver nitrate, and silver chloride. The silver ions in these solutions would dissociate and kill the virus within the Blood Race.
Additionally, silver bullets, when exposed to high temperatures, would also convert into silver ions, inflicting fatal damage on the virus within the Blood Race.