Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 790: Melee

Helberg felt sheer terror gripping him.

Even though he'd served as a Vampire Count for many years, never before had he faced anything quite this eerie and unnatural.

Was it possible that the strange treasure was behind all of this madness?

At the center of the basin surrounded by the four dark towers, faint outlines of crystalline formations appeared, resembling bizarre plant-like growths made of crystal. The buds on these formations trembled nonstop, as if something inside was on the verge of emerging.

Without needing any radar equipment, Helberg detected a powerful pull emanating from those crystals — a treasure lay hidden within, just like the Prince described, an invaluable item that could shift the entire power dynamics if returned to Europe.

However… it looked like that treasure hadn't fully emerged yet?

“Roar—!”

A guttural series of deep growls erupted abruptly from the nearby woods, overlapping without end. Innumerable red eyes blazed to life, and the overwhelming demonic energy sent shivers through Helberg's entire frame.

As the earth quivered faintly, hordes of demonic beasts burst from the darkness, eyeing the intruders with ravenous hunger.

These creatures had trailed the Demon Sealing Pagoda all the way here.

The pagodas had been shifted around freely, leaving the beasts agitated and savage.

Now, with an unfamiliar energy invading, their killing urge had reached a fever pitch.

Helberg's features hardened, and he unleashed the bloodline pressure unique to vampire counts.

Though it did nothing to these demonic beasts, the force roused all the vampires nearby from their stupor.

“Why are you all sprawled on the dirt? Rise up and get ready to battle!”

Meanwhile, the three Demon Hunters began to stir back to awareness.

“Heavens… what sort of hellhole is this?!”

They too found themselves dumbfounded by the abrupt chaos unfolding around them.

The elder leading them scanned the area with sharp eyes. He focused particularly on the four black towers and the odd crystal formations in the basin, his face turning more solemn by the second.

“Master Norman, where… where exactly are we?” one of the younger Demon Hunters managed to ask, clutching his head in pain.

Master Norman drew in a steadying breath and willed himself to stay composed.

He sensed the tangled demonic energy filling the atmosphere, the subtle but pristine essence of heaven-and-earth, and the tempting glow from the crystals. In a hushed tone, he declared, “Based on the building designs and the ‘qi’ hanging in the air, we're probably still somewhere in the East, though certainly not out at sea.

Those towers… I've come across mentions of similar structures in the Church's old texts. They look like the sealing pagodas from Eastern tales, built to hold back malevolent demons.

And those monsters…”

He gestured toward the demonic beasts advancing from the forest, each one uniquely shaped yet all exuding savage hostility, his throat parched as he continued: “They're Eastern demons, nothing like the devils or werewolves we're familiar with! Our standard tactics against dark beings likely won't work well on them.”

One of the other Demon Hunters fiddled with his communicator, but the display flickered with nothing but messy interference.

“No signal at all, Master Norman. We're cut off from calling the Church for backup!”

Master Norman eyed the swelling ranks of demonic beasts and clenched his silver blade tighter. “Evidently, that underwater treasure holds a force we can't comprehend. It dragged everyone who got close straight to its birthplace… and we've ended up as the initial observers — maybe even the first victims.”

Determination flickered in his gaze. “One of us has to make it out alive and report this to His Holiness the Pope!

This Eastern relic and the weird events here pose a threat way bigger than we thought!

Gear up for combat! We'll carve our way through the slaughter!”

Even as his words trailed off, he unleashed a fierce grunt, and a soft golden glow ignited across his form.

Ancient-looking armor inscribed with glowing runes quickly formed around him, translucent and reminiscent of a sacred knight from medieval times.

With a mighty sweep of his silver sword, bursts of holy light exploded outward, cleaving into a wolf-like demon that pounced his way. The creature let out scorched fumes and a wail of torment.

Norman's expression soured.

Had these been ordinary devils, vampires, or werewolves, a single strike would've ended such underlings.

Yet these demons merely recoiled in pain; the holy light barely fazed them.

Another Demon Hunter whipped out a pair of custom twin-barreled shotguns, their lengths carved with mystical runes.

He darted with agility, firing shots laced with silvery gleam that tore apart a few smaller demons charging from the side, splattering them into bloody chunks.

Empty shells rattled onto the ground, yet they couldn't stem the endless beastly surge.

In the past, his gunplay had kept devils at bay.

But these demonic beasts ignored all suffering.

Everyone grasped that the fight had turned dire…

“For the holy light!” Norman thundered.

“For the Prince and the Blood Clan's honor!” Helberg III shouted while giving commands.

The remaining vampires exposed their sharp teeth and charged into the fray against the onrushing demons.

The Blood Clan's swiftness and power shone in melee combat; their talons ripped through beastly hides effortlessly, while fangs sought out vital arteries.

Still, the beasts outnumbered them vastly, with tough skins and stubborn life force; it took repeated hits to bring one down.

Vampires kept getting toppled and pulled into the mass, echoing with horrifying rips and fleeting cries of anguish.

The clash erupted fully in moments.

Holy radiance, silver projectiles, vampire talons, the beasts' vicious bites, and ferocious rams all clashed together, sparking a wildly disordered and gory brawl.

Body parts and gore sprayed in every direction. Roars from beasts, howls from vampires, yells from Demon Hunters, and the clamor of arms echoed in a deafening uproar.

Master Norman charged ahead. His holy-light armor shielded him from deadly assaults, and each arc of his silver sword flung demon ichor far and wide, though the young Demon Hunter at his side soon fell critically injured under a barrage from stronger beasts.

Helberg III struggled even more. The top vampires under his lead took devastating losses amid the beasts' relentless attacks.

He got smashed by a huge demon resembling a rhinoceros, crashing into a heap of sharp rocks. The Vampire Count's fancy attire hung in shreds, caked in grime, with gashes revealing bone and crimson blood staining his neckline.

Ultimately, the cost was staggeringly high.

From the Demon Hunters, just Master Norman, thanks to his superior might and the holy-light armor's guard, broke free from the beastly ring, drenched in gore, and lurched off into the warped wilderness.

From the Blood Clan, only Helberg III plus two viscount-rank vampires, by scorched Vital Essence, escaped in battered states toward a different path.

All this time, from a high rocky outcrop overlooking them, the massive form of Chen Niu — that ox-headed behemoth with a dragon's body — lounged lazily, gazing impassively at the carnage below like a brutal mill.

Its presence stayed hidden, blending seamlessly with the stone.

The turmoil and fatalities underneath felt distant from its concerns.

It breathed in the thickening heaven-and-earth qi and demonic energy in silence, replenishing the Immortal Essence it'd almost drained after deploying the Mountain-Moving Divine Ability and the Mountain-Moving Seal.

The Blood Clan and Demon Hunters had been deliberately spared by it to flee.

Even drained of demonic energy, dispatching these minor nuisances would've been simple.

At first, it planned to wipe them out completely.

But then it reconsidered. Faced with unpredictability, why not stir up greater disorder?

No matter how tiny the bug, a larger one always lurked in its shadow.

…