Chapter 52 The Hunter Moves Out

Right now, the entire Sword Claw faction is plunged into a frenzy, frantically expanding its ranks with fresh blood. As for why the government has yet to crack down hard on the vampires, it can only be said that politicians are endlessly tangled in their own petty schemes, while the military's attention is entirely consumed by the impeachment of Thaddeus Ross.

They seem completely unable to spare any manpower.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D.…

Nick Fury had just stormed furiously out of a conference room at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters in the D.C. District. Coulson had previously submitted a report detailing vampire activities, along with a proposed operation to purge them.

The vampires had indeed been acting far too high-profile in New York recently. After reviewing Coulson’s proposal and acknowledging its feasibility, Fury intended to recall all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s external special operations teams while ordering the Technical Division and Hammer Industries to procure the corresponding equipment.

He planned to use this opportunity to wipe out the vampires in New York once and for all.

However, this process encountered unprecedented resistance. S.H.I.E.L.D. not only had to answer to the White House, but it was also monitored by the Security Council composed of various funding nations. Yet, this resistance did not come from the Security Council, which typically dragged its feet.

"Director, I suppose Minister Pierce told you once again that he was being pressured by the White House?"

"Not just the White House. It seems those old fossils all want a potential means to eternal life, completely unconcerned about whether they transform into abominations that feed on humans."

"The way you phrase that makes it sound as if they ever possessed any sense of justice or grand ambitions to begin with."

"Expecting them to maintain even a shred of human baseline morality was indeed my mistake."

"So what now? The vampires are making massive moves, and all of Jersey City is gradually slipping out of control. If they blindly compromise, I suspect—"

"There's no need to suspect. They are definitely plotting something. Jersey City right now is basically a vampire nest, even though they haven't yet made any moves to cross the Hudson River.

"To be honest, I think it's only a matter of time. I have a very bad feeling about this. Is there any intelligence from Barton?"

Hill shook her head and said with a hint of worry:

"Barton is still trying to figure out what those vampires are up to. However, following the continuous troop expansions by the Sword Claw leader, the vampire population has become quite massive...

"Moreover, he also submitted a rather disturbing report."

"Come to my office to discuss it."

Upon entering Fury's office, Hill quickly pulled up a file on her computer. It was a video recording.

It appeared to have been filmed by Hawkeye from a first-person perspective using a camera.

The video featured a high-ranking vampire.

"A high-ranking vampire. We have their data."

"Not just a high-ranking vampire, Director."

As the video progressed, it became clear that this high-ranking vampire was quite different from ordinary ones. Ordinarily, they should only possess dark magic along with the strength and speed characteristic of high-ranking vampires.

However, from Hawkeye's perspective, his opponent not only possessed the inherent power of high-ranking vampires, but also wielded crimson claws crackling with electrical arcs, as well as energy shields capable of deflecting arrows and bullets.

Not only that, they could also project red magical lightning to strike distant enemies.

Clearly, these vampires were evolving, changing in a direction that made them far more difficult to handle.

"Director, we've got a huge problem on our hands. They aren't just plotting something—they are actively in the middle of executing a plot, and they have already achieved a considerable degree of progress."

In the video footage, although Hawkeye ultimately eliminated the high-ranking vampire, it took a significant amount of effort, and he sustained considerable injuries himself.

Of course, this was also related to the fact that his equipment was incomplete; the silver arrows originally meant for dealing with vampires failed to function properly, making the entire ordeal much more troublesome. After all, vampires are exceptionally difficult to kill with conventional physical attacks.

"How is the situation on Coulson's end?"

"He's in New York, but there are only three special operations teams available. The good news is that the Captain is also there."

"It seems those are the only hands we have."

"Do we need to recall Agent Romanoff?"

"No, let her continue searching for Bruce Banner. I just hope Coulson's progress can be a bit faster."

***

Coulson, who was currently monitoring vampires in Hell's Kitchen, suddenly sneezed, feeling as though his Director might be planning to assign him some extra work.

"Are you catching a cold?" Melinda asked, glancing up from the documents she was organizing.

"No."

"If you aren't catching a cold, then it must mean your proposal got rejected."

"Don't be like that. The Director hasn't even assigned me a mission yet. The vampires are making huge moves right now; as long as I clarify the stakes, I believe the Director will take action."

"Fury might take action, but S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't run by him alone."

***

"..."

Now it was Coulson's turn to fall silent. Just as he was about to add something, he heard the notification chime of his phone. It was a call from Hill.

"It's me. What? It didn't pass? But... Alright, I understand. I'll continue monitoring the vampires, but their recent movements are massive, and many civilians have fallen victim.

"Understood, I'll dispatch the special operations teams..."

Hanging up the phone, Coulson looked at Melinda, but his longtime partner merely shook her head and continued with her work, sparing him any further pressure. Clearly, she knew that the report Coulson submitted had indeed vanished like a stone sinking into the sea.

"May, help me assemble the special operations teams."

"Oh? What did higher-ups say?"

"It's an operation authorized directly by the Director. We're heading to Jersey City..."

"Just with three special operations teams? They only add up to forty-five people total!"

"That's why our plan needs to be thorough, and we'll need to prepare some other equipment. What did the tech department say?"

"They analyzed the vampire samples and developed a ray gun capable of injuring vampires through direct illumination, alongside specialized lethal bullets. As far as equipment goes, we do have the means to deal with them."

"Good. Let's plan our next steps."

Clearly, Coulson could not afford to sit around waiting. Fury authorizing him to mobilize the special ops teams could be considered a consolation to the agent...

***

Rachel had been filled with regret ever since her impulsive act that night. She had accidentally snapped several of Hannibal's ribs and, after finally managing to get him to a hospital in Hell's Kitchen, was told the man had suffered severe fractures and might be bedridden for three consecutive months.

Following surgery, Hannibal was left to lie in the hospital.

Since becoming vampire hunters, they had never sustained such severe injuries.

Rachel was currently in Queens, after all, she still had a transaction to complete. Dressed in her signature leather jacket, equipped with her custom crossbow and silver-plated weapons, she was plotting how to assassinate her target vampire.

Her target was a mid-level leader of the Mourn Cloth.

"According to the intel, it should be that building right ahead..."

Rachel stared at the distant building, confirming the intelligence once again.

"Gillaume Christie, Mourn Cloth leader, operating out of an office building in Queens... Mainly responsible for the 'human resources' operations, securing human supplies for the Mourn Cloth..."

Rachel was feeling rather nervous. In truth, the power dynamic between the Hunter Alliance and the vampires was asymmetrical; essentially, they were just a mutual aid group composed of survivors, devoid of any supernatural powers. Before meeting Blade, they rarely dealt with vampires of this caliber.

Most of the time, they only cleared out low-level grunts...

This was her first time independently dealing with a vampire of this rank. Previously, whenever the Hunter Alliance wanted to kill a high-ranking vampire, they always had to pay a heavy price, and over time, they engaged in such operations less and less.

Yet now, she still had a transaction to fulfill.

"It's daytime, the optimal time. The building layout..."

After mapping out her route for a moment, Rachel retrieved some necessary tools from the backpack slung over her shoulder, then stepped out of the room she had rented. Killing vampires was best done during the day; previously restricted by this limitation, she was finally able to secure some home-field advantage.

Crossing the street, Rachel looked over at the target building.

Just as she had anticipated, the windows of this building were tightly shut, curtains drawn even in daylight, and the exterior glass was reflective, making it nearly impossible to make out the interior structure.

"There's a maintenance entrance and ventilation shafts on the roof..."

With that, she glanced at an adjacent building and strode toward it.

After a bit of scrambling, she reached the top of the building neighboring the vampire den. Utilizing the superhuman strength she had gained from Lynn, Rachel leaped upward, bridging a distance of over a dozen meters with effortless ease.

Landing steadily on the roof, there were no guards posted here. After all, it was daytime, and they would never expect someone to infiltrate this safehouse to hunt them down.

Rachel took a deep breath.

Her gaze ultimately settled on the ventilation shaft nearby.

Stepping inside, she secured her trusty crossbow, removed the grate panel, and crawled in.

***

Inside the vampire den, several vampires were resting in a recreation room. There were very few things capable of bringing them joy, and the majority of them preferred purely sensory stimuli.

And the types of stimuli vampires could experience were limited to just a few.

Either drinking blood, or slaughtering.

Right now, they were busy surrounding a victim. Rather than a recreation room, the place felt more like some sort of torture chamber, filled with bizarre and eccentric instruments, every single one of them razor-sharp and stained with blood and rust.

Several vampires had various metals pierced through their flesh, using iron hooks to flip back their outer skin to expose crimson muscle.

Their bodies were covered in modifications that looked intensely painful.

And right now, they were in the process of turning an ordinary human into one of their own, using small knives to slice open the outer skin, tearing the flesh and muscle apart crudely, before sewing up and ripping open those wounds over and over again without any protection.

Throughout the process, they reveled in the victim's fresh blood, only stopping once the person lost all responsiveness, at which point the vampires set about collecting the victim's blood.

This was the entertainment activity of this pack of vampires...

"It's all because of that Sword Claw business. Our recent supply of goods has dropped significantly, and we can't even carry out our entertainment daily."

"The Lord is planning to go to war with Sword Claw."

"Oh? That's great news, but why are we still holed up here? If we're going to war, why are we still hiding?"

"It's the condition of the Secrecy Pact. The Secrecy Pact has a very good relationship with humans."

"Tch, the Secrecy Pact again. If you ask me... Wait, did you hear something?"

Suddenly, a crossbow bolt whizzed through the air, powerfully piercing a vampire's head. Under the effect of the silver-plated tip, he rapidly dissolved into a pile of ashes.

Rachel leaped down from the ventilation shaft, her silver-plated curved blade slipping from her back into her hand. Before the remaining vampire could react, the blade drove straight into his skull.

Both vampires dissolved into ashes simultaneously in an instant.

The last remaining vampire quickly snatched up a blood-stained sickle from beside him and slashed toward Rachel.

However, Rachel swiftly parried and grabbed his arm. For the first time, the vampire felt an irresistible, immense force. Looking at Rachel in astonishment, he was met with the gleam of a silver-plated curved blade.

Guided by Rachel, the silver-white blade smoothly sliced into the vampire's neck. Previously, Rachel could sever a vampire's head using purely human strength.

After undergoing Lynn's physical conditioning, it was even easier.

With a swift flash of the blade, before this vampire could take any further action, he began to burn away, vanishing from the world.

Having cleared the vampires in this small room and surveying the blood-stained floor, Rachel walked over to the victim.

Naturally, the person had already lost their life, as not a single patch of skin remained intact on their body, having been cut open and stitched together by these vampires.

"These damned things..."

She couldn't help but feel grateful that she had temporarily escaped the torment of being a vampire, while silently praying she would never turn back.

Rachel slowly pushed open the door, peering out into the hallway. It was completely deserted.

They apparently did not believe anyone would come here, seeming quite confident in their information security...

"To deal with that leader, I'd better clear them out room by room..."

Reloading her crossbow, Rachel pushed open the next door.

And at the very moment she stepped into the vampire den, Lynn's subordinates were closely watching the building while starting a timer.

"How long do you think it'll take her to come out?"

"If we use Ms. Maria as a benchmark, probably about an hour."

"The target on the other side is also a high-ranking vampire. Can she really finish it in an hour?"

"Judging by what you're saying, you used to be with the Nosferatu, right? First mission?"

"I—"

"You'll understand once you've seen the Doctor's creations. Now, keep your eyes focused on the building and don't miss anything, or neither of us will be able to report back!"

Inside the vampire den, Rachel had finally cleared out the vampires on the lower level. These Mourn Cloth vampires were clearly no ordinary fodder; they rarely recruited fresh blood, meaning the vampires on this floor had all undergone considerable combat training.

Their skills were not simple, and coupled with their penchant for implanting various spikes and iron plates into their own bodies, it made dealing with them quite troublesome for Rachel. Had it been her old self, even with Hannibal's help, she could not have accomplished this so easily.

At this point, she also realized that her beloved crossbow was proving somewhat inefficient compared to simply drawing her blade for close-quarters combat.

With mixed feelings, Rachel looked at her prized crossbow and ultimately decided to leave it on this floor. After all, she still had to fight high-ranking vampires later; she didn't want her precious weapon to break.