It seemed there had been a slight misunderstanding between him and Blade.
In Duval’s mind, the plan was to quietly kidnap candidates.
In Blade’s mind, why bother with stealth when you could bait the vampires into coming to you, leaving the rest for Duval to handle?
“Six of them…
That works.” Duval counted them.
With the power currently at his disposal, dealing with these six was more than manageable.
George Stacy, seeing this harmless-looking young man, panicked and shouted, “Run!
These guys are dangerous!” “I know, I know,” Duval murmured, acting completely oblivious to the bloody scene on the ground.
It was a plausible reaction—it was nighttime, and they were a hundred meters apart.
One of the vampires raised his head, licked the blood from his lips, and charged at Duval with a giddy grin.
Dennis felt something was off, but he stayed silent, relying on his enhanced vision to watch.
If everything went as expected, the human would soon be pinned to the ground and have his neck torn open—a vampire’s absolute speed and strength far exceeded that of an ordinary mortal.
George’s expression turned pale.
He desperately wanted to save the young man, knowing all too well what kind of monsters vampires were.
But at this distance, it was already too late.
The attacking vampire was an instant away from sinking his fangs into Duval’s neck.
In that exact split second— *Swish!* A metallic, silver-sheened tail suddenly whipped out from the dark.
It grazed past Duval’s shoulder and thrust forward with quiet, lethal precision, aimed directly at the charging vampire’s face.
“Chest,” Duval commanded just in time.
The tip of the tail shifted slightly downward, impaling the vampire right through the sternum.
Like a stick through candied fruit, it skewered him completely and hoisted him high into the air.
A shrill scream tore through the night.
His robust vampire vitality kept him from dying instantly, leaving him suspended in a state of sheer horror and disbelief.
What on earth was this thing?!
*Click-clack!* A series of faint, skittering noises sounded.
Immediately after, several spectral silhouettes darted through the shadows, fanning out to encircle the vampires at close range.
Dennis frowned, staring at these strange creatures.
“Four of them…
What kind of beasts are these?” Astonishment washed over Dennis’s face.
So this was the place.
Strange police officers arriving out of nowhere, a strange human, accompanied by strange creatures.
Recalling the peculiar blood Blade possessed, Dennis used his superior night vision to examine the Xenomorphs.
Looking closely, the creatures shared the same overall silhouette, yet subtle differences existed between them.
Some were slightly bulkier, while others were leaner, possessing greater speed and agility.
The only common trait was that all four Xenomorphs moved on all fours…
Yet Dennis had the eerie feeling that animals of completely different anatomical structures had been forced into identical shells, crawling right in front of him.
George and his men were equally dumbfounded, their jaws slung low.
The scene unfolding before them had completely shattered their expectations.
“You know Blade?
I take it you’re the one supplying him with those strange weapons,” Dennis spoke up.
At this distance, even with a normal tone of voice, both sides could hear each other clearly.
“That’s right.
Although things drifted a bit off course, killing you all might help set them straight again.” As Duval spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the vampire skewered by the Xenomorph’s tail.
*Good.
It’s just a hole in his chest.
He won’t die.
Take him back in time, and he can still be saved.* “The liquid you gave Blade was blood, wasn’t it?
Where did it come from?
Don’t tell me you manufactured it yourself, or could it be…” Dennis scanned the Xenomorphs again and again.
Absurd as it sounded, once all other possibilities were ruled out, it had to be related to these strange, formidable creatures.
Lifting a heavily built vampire effortlessly with a single tail already proved their physical strength was beyond normal limits.
“Attack,” Duval ordered flatly.
The other three Xenomorphs moved like lightning, pouncing on their targets first, and the one beside Duval instantly joined the fray.
The vampires quickly pulled out handguns and opened fire.
They were smart enough to deduce that the Xenomorphs specialized in melee combat, so using firearms seemed like the logical choice.
*Bang!
Bang!
Bang!* Minor wounds opened on the Xenomorphs’ hides, but they pressed their assault as if entirely immune to pain.
As they closed the distance, blood began to drip from their wounds, splashing onto the vampires with a harsh, sizzling sound.
“Ahhh!!” “My foot!
It burned right through my foot!” “Be careful!
Their blood is highly corrosive—just like the weapon the Daywalker used!
It burns through steel instantly, but it wasn’t even this concentrated before…!” The truth was laid bare, but the realization only deepened the vampires’ terror.
How could such abnormal creatures exist in this world?
Even the blood they shed when injured possessed such devastating offensive capability!
No—the fact that their bodies could hold such corrosive blood in the first place defied all logic.
These creatures were biological weapons born purely for war!
A frenzy of gunfire echoed in the darkness.
Driven mad by desperation, a few vampires abandoned their guns and lunged into hand-to-hand combat, but they quickly realized what a fatal mistake that was.
The moment one closed in, a Xenomorph snapped its jaws open and deliberately spat a mouthful of acidic blood.
That single action instantly neutralized one vampire.
Vampires collapsed one after another, injured yet inexplicably kept alive.
Their limbs were violently torn off by the Xenomorphs, leaving them writhing and shrieking on the cold ground.
The harder they fought, the more wounds they inflicted on the Xenomorphs—and the more acidic blood splashed back onto them, exacting a terrible price.
Even Dennis was horrified.
The combat efficiency of these Xenomorphs was terrifying.
They moved with absolute tactical precision, like unit drills practiced a thousand times.
Without making a single sound or exchanging a single gesture, their coordination was seamless.
Their individual prowess was terrifyingly stubborn, completely fearless of pain and death.
Or rather, since their spilled blood inflicted severe damage on their foes, being wounded or killed was merely another tactical asset these creatures leveraged in battle.
“Enough!
Stop!
I came here to negotiate!” Dennis kicked away a Xenomorph that lunged at him.
Seeing his subordinates fall one by one, he couldn’t help but shout, waving his arms dramatically—while subtly aiming his gun straight at Duval.
He pulled the trigger.
His marksmanship was flawless.
Yet Duval merely tilted his head slightly, dodging the bullet with precise ease.
Dennis’s face turned pale.
He fired several shots in rapid succession, but with his elite marksmanship, not a single bullet hit the target!
This wasn’t something that could be explained by mere luck.
It meant the human’s physical attributes exceeded ordinary human limits—or at the very least, he possessed hyper-heightened perception.
Before Dennis could fire again, a Xenomorph tackled him to the ground.
Corrosive blood burned deeply into his flesh, wringing an agonizing scream from his throat.
Deep remorse flooded his mind.
He had been far too arrogant; he should have brought a much larger force.
Yet, even with more men, facing opponents this agile, stopping them from escaping seemed almost impossible.
More importantly, Dennis felt bewildered to the very end.
God knew he didn’t even know who his opponent was or where he came from!
“Six vampires.
Truly magnificent.” Duval finally stepped over, completely unblemished, looking down approvingly at the six bloody, crippled survivors.
“You…
you didn’t kill us…
You want to negotiate?” Dennis gasped, feeling a flicker of relief when he saw none of his men were dead.
“Tell me…
what do you want?
Money?
Status?
Power?” As long as there was room for dialogue, there was a chance to survive—and plan his revenge later.
“None of the above.
I just need you all to stay alive for the next few hours,” Duval replied, his voice carrying an unsettling curiosity, like the murmur of a devil.
“I can hardly wait to verify a vital theory…
using creatures that depend on human blood to survive.”