As the leader and ruler of the underground world of the Re-Estize Kingdom, the criminal organization known as Eight Fingers seemed to have more than just one hideout in the royal capital.
Eight Fingers was divided into eight departments based on their business dealings, each responsible for activities like slave trafficking, assassinations, smuggling, larceny, drug trade, security, banking, and gambling.
While these departments worked together for mutual benefit in the big picture, they kept to themselves on a day-to-day basis, each running its own operations, and it was even said that their relationships with each other were far from good.
Because of this, there were at least eight hideouts scattered throughout the royal capital, possibly even more.
Moreover, these hideouts were actually protected by corrupted nobles who had business dealings with Eight Fingers, making them quite well hidden.
Normally, even finding these hideouts would be an extremely difficult task, and if someone did manage to find them and wanted to confront them, they would have to deal with the kingdom's corrupted nobles first.
However, since the leaders of Eight Fingers had already been enslaved by the monster that snuck into the royal capital and cut ties with humans, the third princess was able to successfully acquire information about their hideouts this time and bypass the obstacles posed by the corrupted nobles.
Apparently, the nobles who had cooperated with Eight Fingers or had been bribed by them ultimately lacked the courage to continue protecting these criminals once they were under the control of an unknown monster, so many of them chose to remain neutral this time, not obstructing the operation, which, in turn, allowed Blue Roses to obtain the necessary information and take action against Eight Fingers.
According to Lakyus, the place they were about to visit was one of Eight Fingers' hideouts, specifically the one mentioned in the intelligence gathered from the fallen troops, where they were expected to encounter Six Arms.
Shortly after Lakyus warned everyone, the group immediately set off to the hideout.
As for why they chose to act during the daytime rather than at night, it was mainly because many members of Eight Fingers had already been turned into vampires, so considering they were no longer humans, Lakyus judged it was better to strike during the day rather than at night.
"Vampires are weakened by sunlight, while at night they gain various advantages, so it's better to fight them now while the sun is still up before they gain those advantages at night."
Lakyus's reasoning was thorough, and it made one realize why she was the leader of Blue Roses.
However, in Riezel's eyes, her reasoning didn't hold much weight.
Vampires who were weakened by sunlight were generally low-tier vampires, while higher-tier vampires could almost ignore this weakness.
If the vampire controlling Eight Fingers was really Shalltear, they would be facing the highest-tier vampire ever seen in this world—far stronger than even the legendary vampire known as Landfall.
Shalltear was, after all, a Floor Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, a Level 100 True Vampire, so there was no way she would have a weakness to sunlight.
As for the low-tier vampires that would be weakened by the sun, honestly, even if they were twice as strong, they could easily be defeated by any Adamantite Adventurers—whether they were weakened or not made little difference.
If the ones heading to the hideout of Eight Fingers had been made up of lower-ranked adventurers, they might have considered taking advantage of the said weakness, but this time, their group consisted entirely of the highest-ranked Adamantite Adventurers, with even Brain, who was just a step away from the Realm of Heroes, so there was no need to worry about such a small advantage.
More importantly, the hideout they were heading to was not in the city center, but in a more remote area, some distance from the bustling parts of the royal capital.
It was an area that felt as though the entire region had been sealed off in darkness since the surrounding buildings were tall, blocking most of the sunlight, so even during the day, very little light managed to filter through.
Moreover, given that the weather in the royal capital had been bad recently, and the sun rarely appeared, under such conditions, the vampires' weakening from sunlight would be minimal.
"Seriously... looks like the gods aren't on our side, after all..."
Lakyus gradually started noticing the problem, glanced up at the gloomy sky, and forced a bitter smile.
"I actually kinda like this kind of weather."
"For us, fighting in this kinda weather is actually an advantage."
Tia and Tina, the twin assassins, had different opinions on this.
Because they were best at fighting in the dark, and many of their techniques and abilities only reached their full potential in dark environments, this weather, in fact, worked to their advantage.
"I feel the same way."
Evileye was just as relaxed, clearly aware of the advantage of fighting in this kind of environment.
"Well, I've got a magic item to help me, so I won't be affected even in complete darkness."
Even Brain said as much, patting the Necklace of Eye hanging around his neck, confirming to everyone that he was telling the truth.
Gagaran, standing beside Brain, looked at him with raised eyebrows before speaking up.
"By the way, I didn't expect you to come along too, Unglaus."
Among the group, only Brain wasn't an adventurer, and considering he had no ties to the royal capital, even if something happened to the royal capital, it probably wouldn't affect him.
For this reason, Gagaran was surprised that Brain decided to join them in doing this dangerous commission.
"I'm just following Lord Brynhart. You don't need to worry about me." Brain replied lightly, his reason unexpectedly simple.
"Well, I'm actually glad you're here with us." Gagaran said with a big grin. "A powerful guy like you coming along makes me feel a lot more at ease."
It was no joke.
Having someone who could go toe-to-toe with Gazef, known as the strongest warrior, made the members of Blue Roses feel more secure.
At the very least, Gagaran didn't think she could match Brain's skills, and Tia and Tina probably weren't his equals either. Among Blue Roses, the only ones who could likely defeat Brain were Lakyus and Evileye.
Having someone of Brain's caliber join their group—it would be impossible not to feel grateful for his presence.
However, Brain's response to Gagaran's words was surprisingly calm.
"Don't expect too much from me. If our opponent is really that vampire, someone of my level would be killed instantly."
"I'm not trying to sound harsh, but only Lord Brynhart can stand a chance against that vampire, while the rest of us would be wiped out in a flash, even if we all teamed up."
"If Lord Brynhart weren't here, I definitely wouldn't have come along to get myself killed."
Indeed, in Brain's view, what Lakyus and the others planned to do was basically suicide.
If the vampire who controlled Eight Fingers was the same one that had appeared in the northern forests of E-Rantel, even if all the members of Blue Roses teamed up, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"You should consider yourselves lucky that you ran into Lord Brynhart before setting off and convinced him to come along, or else..."
Brain didn't finish his sentence, but Lakyus and the others understood his meaning, causing them to feel quite uncomfortable.
"You know, this hasn't even started yet, and you already think we can't beat that vampire?"
"Honestly, I really doubt you're Brain Unglaus. You've been talking all this gloomy stuff since earlier."
"...I really have been underestimated, huh? I hope that vampire is as powerful as you say."
Tia and Tina both threw jabs at Brain, and even Evileye coldly tossed out a remark, clearly feeling a bit annoyed by his statement.
Who were they?
They were one of the Re-Estize Kingdom's Adamantite Adventurer Groups—Blue Roses.
They weren't unfamiliar with powerful monsters, and no matter how powerful a monster was, it was, in the end, still a solitary creature. As long as they fought together as a group, there wouldn't be many monsters that could handle them on their own.
Naturally, they couldn't imagine such a strong vampire even existing.
In this situation, Brain's statement, which seemed to raise the morale of the enemies while diminishing their own, was truly hard to swallow.
Nevertheless, it seemed Brain had already anticipated such a reaction, so he remained calm.
"Whether you believe it or not, this is just how I feel. I just hope the vampire we're about to face isn't that vampire."
Upon hearing Brain's calm words, Evileye and the others couldn't help but furrow their brows.
"Alright, enough already." Lakyus finally spoke up. "Whatever the case, now that we've already started moving, there's no reason to turn back. We don't have the luxury of retreating."
Because the royal capital, Re-Estize, was the capital city of the Re-Estize Kingdom, it housed not only the royal family and nobles but also many commoners—it was the kingdom's central hub, something that couldn't be afforded to be lost.
Now, such a place had a powerful monster lurking within—no matter how strong the monster was, they had to eliminate it to protect the royal capital and the kingdom from any harm or threat.
As Lakyus said, whatever the case, they couldn't retreat.
"Besides, even if such a powerful vampire really does exist, with Mr. Unglaus's high regard for Sir Brynhart, even if we're totally outmatched, it won't be a big deal, right?"
Lakyus spoke in a light tone, helping to ease the tension.
"You're right. With Lord Brynhart here, even if we run into that vampire, at least we'll have a fighting chance."
Brain showed absolute confidence in Riezel, which made the dissatisfaction on Evileye and the others' faces slowly fade.
In the end, the group glanced toward Riezel, the young man who had been walking in the middle and hadn't said a word since the start.
"We've arrived."
As Riezel noticed that everyone was looking at him, he completely ignored them and simply said these words.
Only then did they realize they had indeed arrived at their destination without even noticing.
They had passed through dimly lit alleys, made their way to the center of a secluded area, and eventually reached the place mentioned in the intel.
It was a building surrounded by towering walls that created an isolated space, looking like a heavily fortified prison.
Seeing the building, a transparent gleam flashed in Riezel's eyes before he turned to Lakyus.
"It's here, right?"
"Yes." Lakyus confirmed the location once more, double-checking the information she had gotten before nodding seriously. "No doubt, this is the place mentioned in the intel. It's where the kingdom's troops were ambushed by Six Arms."
Upon hearing her confirmation, everyone immediately went on high alert.
Since the intel mentioned the appearance of Six Arms, even without considering the vampire who controlled Eight Fingers, they had to prepare for a possible encounter with Six Arms.
Considering the members of Six Arms were all on par with Adamantite Adventurers, it meant they were on the same level as Blue Roses. Even worse, now that almost all of them had turned into vampires, becoming monsters far stronger than humans, the members of Six Arms, aside from Undead King Davernoch, were probably even stronger now—certainly not easy opponents to handle.
Faced with such beings, even Brain was fully alert now, his hand resting on his sword at his waist, ready to spring into action at any moment.
Even Lakyus and Evileye had slightly tensed up, no longer as relaxed as before.
"Tia, Tina."
Without turning around, Lakyus called the twins, who immediately understood her intention.
"We'll go scout ahead."
"You wait here for our report."
As assassins, scouting tasks were Tia and Tina's specialty, so the two immediately vanished into the shadows, blending into their surroundings and the darkness as they headed toward the hideout.
However, at that moment, Riezel, who had been staring in the direction of the building, suddenly spoke up.
"No need to go." Riezel said calmly, gazing at several spots. "We've already been detected. Looks like there's some sort of magic or magic items set up nearby to detect intruders."
In the next second, his words were confirmed.
*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*
Accompanied by countless sky-splitting sounds, a sudden barrage of arrows rained down from the direction of the building, piercing the air and covering the area where Riezel and the others stood.
"Damn it!"
Looking at the barrage of arrows, Lakyus couldn't help but shout in alarm.
"We've been spotted! Get ready for battle!"
As soon as the words left Lakyus's mouth, the arrows began to fall from the sky, raining down on everyone.
Clearly, the battle had come faster than they had expected.