My Players Are So Fierce

Chapter 214:

There were still massive numbers of ghouls active in the tunnels of the “third level” of the sewers, including some elite undead transformed by the strengthened Netherworld Aura. However, due to the successive deaths of the “Plague Rat King” and the Plague Ghoul Overlord, these undead creatures lost control from the source.

They reverted from their previous frenzied charges back to aimless wandering.

Especially after the survivors with life force were transferred out, no longer sensing the presence of “food” made them quiet down again. The undead are usually quiet most of the time, unless you provoke them or they get “hungry”.

But the sight of so many ghouls gathered together was quite terrifying, even to the point of worrying Murphy.

He knew that what he saw before him wasn’t even the total of all the corpses in the sewers.

In the honeycomb-like stone caverns, there were even more corpses that had been moved here undergoing the infusion and transformation of death spirit energy. Natalie said that for the Plague Ghoul Overlord to be born smoothly, the Plague Rat King had used dark magic here, enveloping the area in massive amounts of death spirit energy and Netherworld Aura, which would be difficult to dispel in a short time.

Therefore, this sewer cavern must be sealed off and isolated from the surface!

If this isn’t done, perhaps in no time at all, more combinations of ghouls, water ghosts, and wraiths would once again fill the recently cleared first level of the sewers.

But if it’s completely sealed off, these undead creatures won’t be able to naturally perish either. With the continuous strengthening of the Netherworld Aura, perhaps after a few months, Murphy would have to organize another little player cleanup of the sewer caverns, and by then he might be facing nearly 10,000 fully elite undead.

It was a very headache-inducing problem.

But on second thought, Murphy realized that in a few months, he would definitely have over a thousand players at his disposal. By then, opening another team instance wouldn’t that be a piece of cake?

From this perspective, Murphy felt he wasn’t at a loss at all, and could even prepare in advance for the new instance a few months later.

This was a big victory for the “development team”!

So his mood turned from cloudy to sunny, and beside him, Dorothy, the original boss of the Rat Gang who had been brought over, had been secretly observing the vampire’s changing expressions.

This cunning woman knew she had to make a last-ditch effort for her life, but as a very shrewd gang leader, she didn’t immediately rush to answer Murphy’s questions. Instead, while Murphy was thinking, she also went over her miserable experiences of the past period in her mind.

After organizing her words sufficiently, she changed to a pitiful tone and said:

“We had never seen Zweig before, Lord Murphy. This is not a lie. Although he had always been active in the sewer area, he always appeared in a mysterious image. Long before he appeared, my buddies and I had already formed the Rat Gang and were running a black market business in the sewers of Kadman City.

For a period of time before the Astral Realm disaster broke out in the city, our relationship with him was nothing more than that of buyer and merchant. He would occasionally spend money to order some spirit ritual items from us, mostly strange materials that were expensive and of no use to ordinary people.

Come to think of it, my guys were actually quite annoyed doing business with him.

Although he was generous, it wasn’t easy to get those things in the war-torn Transia, and the time spent was far less profitable than smuggling more daily necessities.

But unfortunately, I was blinded by greed.”

Dorothy sighed, and in a weakened posture, under Murphy’s calm gaze, she honestly said:

“I thought at the time that he was someone with power and background, and that making connections might be useful in the future. After all, a vampire living in the sewers was quite rare, so I kept maintaining a not-too-close, not-too-distant relationship with him.

As it turned out, this ‘investment’ of mine did pay off handsomely.

On the eve of the Astral Realm disaster outbreak, he suddenly approached us, mysteriously declaring to us that disaster was imminent.”

“So, Zweig knew in advance that the Circle Tower would release some spells capable of destroying the city in Kadman City?” Murphy interrupted Dorothy and asked.

The original leader of the Rat Gang nodded vigorously, saying:

“Yes, he knew! And not just a little bit. I still remember how he smugly described to me what would happen in Kadman City the next day, speaking vividly.

About the Astral Realm tearing, about material engulfment, about the Blood Vulture’s demise.

Like a prophetic, crazy fortune-teller.

But as it turned out, everything he said was right. Things happened almost exactly as that bastard described, even the time of the disaster outbreak was accurate to the hour.

We were able to move our dwelling place here in advance and thus escaped disaster, but just as we were rejoicing in our survival, that guy suddenly turned on us.

He commanded ghouls to surround us, demanding that we immediately return to the sewers to lure more survivors down.

This was clearly up to no good.

But you know, we ordinary people have no power to resist the strength of a Spirit Mage like him.”

“You mean to say that a Black Iron rank rogue and thief can also call themselves ‘ordinary people’?” Murphy looked Dorothy up and down.

Although the latter was weak, the calluses on her fingers from long-term training and her surprisingly well-proportioned physique, as well as her unique silent gait when walking, indicated that this person was not someone without any fighting ability.

She was a very excellent and well-trained shadow walker.

Faced with Murphy’s questioning, Dorothy was not flustered. She sighed and said:

“You’re right, I could have escaped, but what about my brothers? The wealth I had accumulated over several years of hard work was all here too, I couldn’t just abandon them and leave.

Alright, alright, I admit, I thought that in such a desperate situation, aligning with a powerful figure might also be a way to survive. After all, for us ‘sewer rats’, it doesn’t matter who we serve.

Moreover, he was a vampire.

The Blood Vulture Clan are the rulers of this land, aren’t they?

I admit it, my lord.

We did bad things for him, very, very bad things. Most of the people who fled into the sewers in panic were killed by the Astral Realm forces that followed, but some of them were brought down here by us.

I remember clearly, we saved at least 2,000 people, which was also the limit this cavern could accommodate. I originally thought he was planning to set up a ‘vampire kingdom’ here, which was actually still within our tolerance range.

It’s not shameful to become a blood servant to survive, especially here in Transia.

But then, that bastard exposed his villainous nature!”

Dorothy said with a gloomy face, gritting her teeth:

“He ordered us to move corpses!

To bring back the remains of the victims from the first and second levels and desecrate them with evil spells, transforming the corpses into monsters. Like a snowball effect, in just a few days, his ghouls and wraiths occupied the sewers.

By then, everyone already knew this guy was no good, but we were in too deep.

We couldn’t escape anymore.

I remember clearly, on the seventh day after the disaster, a rebellion broke out here. It started when someone discovered survivors active on the surface while out.

The survivors were burning the surface, seemingly trying to reclaim the city. At that time, we desperately wanted to go up and join them, and that bastard mercilessly launched a massacre against those who wanted to leave.

He commanded the ghouls to kill at least half, and the remaining people didn’t dare say anything more.

I didn’t want to die like that!

I knew that guy wouldn’t spare us in the end either, no matter how much we offered him it wouldn’t be enough. Our lives were the fruits he would harvest at the last moment.

I’d had enough, so I planned to run.

However, I overestimated the loyalty my brothers could maintain under the threat of death.”

At this point, Dorothy raised her head, trying hard to make her currently terrible expression look more sincere. She said to Murphy:

“My lord, I don’t deny that I did bad things, and I have no right to claim that I protected these people, but I think you need people now, your territory needs people! I can serve you.

I used to work in slave-catching teams, I’m well-versed in this line of work.”

“If you’ll pardon my saying so, this ‘job application’ of yours is terrible,” Murphy glanced at this person full of survival instinct and continued to ask:

“So, before the Astral Realm disaster broke out, Zweig already had a batch of ghouls in his hands?”

“Yes! Those were carefully cultivated by him,” Dorothy hurriedly said:

“I heard that he excavated graveyards to create them. I also heard that this cavern was once the training ground for the Blood Vulture Clan during the Second Night War, but was abandoned due to difficult access.

And when we first started cooperating with that bastard, he would disappear for one day every week.

I suspected he might be going to meet someone, but although he had become a vampire, he couldn’t hide his inherent shamelessness and lowliness.

He would always shamelessly proclaim that he would become the Undead King of Transia, but in my view, he was nothing more than a disposable pawn that others would discard after use.

At most, he was a spy.

To put it bluntly, with that guy’s qualifications, he would have a hard time making it even in a gang. He was addicted to pleasure, always choosing those… ahem, let’s just say not very respectable ‘female slaves’ for himself.

But he was also very brutal. Once he got bored with them, he would throw them to the ghouls.

He even tried to recruit me, saying he wanted to give me the Embrace to become his descendant, but I knew exactly what he was up to, and I refused him several times when he brought it up.

Perhaps it was because of this that he became enraged.

But even if I was truly at a dead end, I wouldn’t submit to such a short-sighted bastard.”

“Do you know where that guy met his contact?” Murphy asked, and Dorothy shook her head, saying:

“How could I possibly know that? I hadn’t even left this cavern. But if I had to say, every time he came back, there was a faint, strange fragrance on him. Although he was very careful about it, I’m a thief.

I’m very sensitive to these things.

It was the scent of a woman’s perfume, a very unique smell.

There was a woody freshness to it, not the kind of perfume human women would typically choose.

And when he came back, the mud on his feet wasn’t the color of the soil around here. If I had to say, it seemed like the black mud from deep in the mines.

Before I worked in the slave-catching team, I was also a mine accountant for a while, so I recognized those soils.”

“Your career path is quite diverse,” Murphy couldn’t help but comment. Dorothy gave an awkward smile.

But the information she provided was valuable. Murphy had basically guessed where Zweig was meeting that “source”.

The Transia region didn’t have many resources, and there were only a few mines in the southern mountains, but according to Zweig’s previous statement, that place was probably long deserted.

He pondered whether he should go there himself, while Dorothy beside him had already provided all the information she knew. Now, whether she could survive depended on whether this vampire lord would accept her.

As an experienced gang leader, she knew that at times like these, she couldn’t passively wait.

She had to take the initiative!

So, Dorothy hesitated for a moment, then said:

“My lord, I can serve you, and not just as basic labor or a warrior. I have more value! Your territory must be in urgent need of various supplies now. I can go and find my former smuggling partners again. I can provide you with…”

“Is your former smuggling partner Franks Shovan?” Murphy glanced at her and asked. Dorothy was immediately stunned.

Her expression changed dramatically, and she stammered:

“Can you really hear my thoughts? How did you know this…”

“Shovan is now my Administrative Knight. He and his brother-in-law have already set out for eastern Prussia to negotiate the purchase of firearms for me,” Murphy said, measuring his tone as he looked at the thief before him. He drawled:

“So your last trump card is of no use in my eyes, dear Lady Dorothy. If you want to be of use… No, if you still plan to survive, then you need to show more value.”

“Uh, well… I mean, if you trust me, I can bring you a fortune!” Dorothy gritted her teeth, deciding to “play her ace”. She said in a low voice:

“Actually, before I worked as a mine accountant, I also worked for a while as, um, an archaeologist! That’s right, I have skills in this area. I happen to know that in the forests near Seicob City, the tomb of the first Count of Seicob is buried!

That place was destroyed during the war.

Rather than letting that legendary wealth remain buried underground, it’s better to bring it to light and put it to better use in your hands.”

“Oh, your career path is quite remarkable,” Murphy said in surprise:

“From grave robber to mine accountant, then to city gangster, and finally to black market smuggler and cultist. Your life has been far more colorful than most people’s, Lady Dorothy.”

“Well, it’s good to have many skills, just trying to make a living,” Dorothy smiled awkwardly.

She was very nervous inside. That was her last trump card, and if it didn’t work, she really had no other options.

But Murphy asked another question. He said:

“I have a standard for recruiting people, which is that their background must be clear. So you need to tell me where you’re really from? And what kind of tumultuous first half of life have you had?”

“This… I don’t think you need to know…” Dorothy seemed very resistant to this question.

But before she could finish speaking, she saw Maxim raise his left hand beside her, his fingers elongating like claws amidst the flickering crimson light.

The meaning of this gesture was very clear.

In this land, there was nothing Lord Murphy didn’t need to know!

Of course, except for the secrets of the dead.

“I can’t say!” Dorothy said through gritted teeth:

“If I say it, I’m finished, unless… unless you can give me real protection. I mean, become one of you, my lord.”

“Oh? You want to end your tumultuous life by becoming a vampire to complete the challenge of immortality? You truly have an admirable ambition.”

Murphy grinned, waving his hand as he said:

“It’s not impossible, but it depends on how much information you can offer in exchange for this blessing of immortality. I’m always very lenient towards capable subordinates. You will be rewarded, Dorothy. Provided that you can really offer something that interests me.

Speak, your true background.”

“Alright,” the gang boss sighed deeply.

She knew she had no choice, and finally decided to reveal her life’s experiences. She pulled something out from her close-fitting corset and held it in her hand as she said:

“Before becoming a grave robber, I was a noble’s attendant on Greenleaf Island for a while, and before that, I was an explorer, a certified, legitimate explorer!

I was born in the Cato region.

That place is close to the Genoa Peninsula, so I grew up listening to stories of the Explorers’ Association, and naturally came to aspire to that kind of life. When I was 25, I took my first step towards my ‘ideal’ and joined that organization.

But I failed on my first official mission.”

Dorothy covered her face and said in a sorrowful tone:

“We were ordered to investigate a human relic in the Antani Region. It was said to be one of the locations where the first Elder Council of the Avalon Church was once situated, deep in the verdant forest.

We found it.

But when we were about to start the archaeological excavation, we accidentally discovered some terrifying things…”

“Hmm?” Murphy and Maxim’s expressions both changed slightly.

He made a nasal sound of inquiry, and Dorothy didn’t hold back. She said shakily:

“That holy site had been desecrated! And it was done by the Gray Knights of the Avalon Church themselves. Can you imagine? The most fanatical group in the largest religion of the human world was personally desecrating their initial connection to the divine.

It was terrifying!

That incident shocked all of us.

But what was more shocking was that less than a month after that investigation ended, the Avalon Church launched a rebellion.

I don’t know if humans losing divine favor was related to what we discovered, but the fact is that the people who participated in that investigation died mysteriously one after another.

I knew I couldn’t sit and wait for death, so I fled from my hometown.

That was ten years ago. In these years, except for the northerners’ territory, I’ve traveled almost half the continent. Finally, I chose to settle in Kadman City and started running a gang business.”

“You’re very honest, and this matter itself is quite interesting,” Murphy rubbed his chin. After a few seconds, he said to Dorothy:

“Go! Go find the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild, that valiant lady holding the sacred blade. Tell her what you know, don’t hide anything, then gather your remaining subordinates who are still alive and wait for assignment in the camp.

You’ve survived, Lady Dorothy.

Congratulations.

As for whether you can join the Blood Vulture, it depends on how much you can contribute to this land. I promise you, Transia will not mistreat any meritorious servant!

Even if she can only live in darkness for the rest of her life.”