Published at 12th of February 2026 7:14 am

Chapter 1726 A Clash

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The group remained down in the main console room, standing amidst the wreckage. They were surrounded by shattered screens and the heavy, metallic scent of the massacre. They had yet to explore the entirety of the dam, as the sheer scale of the carnage in the control center had forced them to a halt.

They didn’t even know where to head next. Usually, Marcus would be the one to lead them through the facility's labyrinthine corridors, but ever since he had seen the bodies of his people, he had gone somewhat silent. He stood staring at a broken console, his expression unreadable.

It felt a little awkward for the others to speak. They knew Marcus needed time to process his feelings, the shock of seeing a base he once managed turned into a graveyard wasn't something that could be brushed off easily.

However, as they waited in the heavy silence, Olivia’s eyes darted toward one of the few monitors that hadn't been smashed.

“Over here!” she shouted, her voice cutting through the gloom. “On the camera, quick! It looks like something’s going on outside.”

The group crowded around the flickering screen. The outside cameras, still operational despite the chaos inside, showed three large, black vehicles pulling up to the entrance. Several figures stepped out, moving with a grace that was entirely too smooth for humans.

When they saw the way the newcomers were dressed, dark, expensive robes and sunglasses that masked their eyes, there was an instinctual reaction that flared up inside everyone in the room. Even without being close enough to smell them, their supernatural senses were screaming at them.

“It’s the vampires,” Xin said, her voice dropping to a low, serious tone. “This place was hit recently. I thought it was a bit strange that they would just leave it in this state after a massacre. They must be coming back to clean up the evidence of what happened here.”

Luzen didn't hesitate. He reached back and quickly pulled his bow from his shoulder, knocking the string as he looked up toward the second-floor balcony. If they were coming through the same entrance the group had used, he knew exactly where they would emerge.

“They don’t know we are in here yet. We have the element of surprise,” Luzen claimed, his eyes narrowing as he tracked the doorway above. “Even if they outnumber us, we can take them if we strike first and fast.”

Marcus tightened his grip on the console edge, his knuckles turning white. He was inclined to agree with Luzen. More than anything, he wanted to fight. He needed to get the frustration and grief off his chest, and tearing into a few vampires seemed like the perfect outlet. He only wished he had some type of beast weapon in his hand to make the slaughter more efficient.

“No!” Xin ordered, her voice carrying the weight of leadership. “Remember what I said before we got here. We are not the Lupus pack, who has had blood split between their two groups for generations.”

She looked at Marcus and then at Luzen. “Neither are we part of the Dark Guild. We are representing the Howlers today. Although we’ve had small issues with vampires in the past, that was down to individuals and isolated incidents, not as a group-wide conflict.”

Xin stood tall, her presence expanding. “Right now, my position is acting as the leader of the Howlers. I can’t have us just attacking the Vampires without provocation. I won't give them a valid excuse to declare war and go after our entire pack. There’s a chance that not all of them want the same thing and we could be the excuse to give one side to do what they wish.”

When hearing these words, Olivia realized that Xin was playing the long game. She wasn't just a fighter; she was a strategist.

“Marcus,” Xin called out, turning to the Guild member. “I need you to hide somewhere. Right now. You should know that your presence is more trouble for us than anyone else's. If they see a member of the Dark Guild with us, the leader that they have been chasing, negotiations are over.”

Marcus started to protest, but Xin cut him off. “It shouldn't be a problem in terms of smell. There are a lot of dead human bodies all over the place to mask your scent, but you need to get somewhere silent. You need to be in a spot where they can’t hear your breathing or your heartbeat. I know how you feel about your people, but as a favor for us taking you in and protecting you, we need you to do this.”

The Howlers weren’t Marcus's people, and he knew it. The Dark Guild had done next to nothing to support the Howlers in their past troubles. In short, the Howlers owed him nothing. He felt the weight of the debt, and the only thing he could do was comply. With a final, lingering look at the carnage, he quickly ventured out of the control room to find a deep corner to hide in.

Now, the three that remained, Xin, Olivia, and Luzen, were staring at the entrance above, trying not to miss a single movement.

“I know I said not to engage, but be prepared for anything. These guys might not be in the mood for talking. They might even want to get rid of us just to cover their tracks,” Xin said. She shuffled her feet, shifting her weight as she got ready to transform at any moment.

Since Luzen was now part of the pack, he could feel a faint boost of power radiating from Xin’s presence as an Alpha figure. Although they were only three against a potential dozen, they were strong.

Right then, they saw the first two people walk down the stairs onto the balcony.

“What the—?” one of the vampires said, stopping dead in his tracks. He looked down into the control room and saw the three intruders standing among the bodies. “There are people here! There are intruders inside the facility!”

“We have to get rid of them!” the other shouted.

Immediately, the first vampire charged forward. He slammed his fist against the reinforced glass of the second-floor balcony, shattering it into a thousand shards. He didn't use the stairs; he leaped through the broken frame.

His ally jumped forward as well, and the two of them swung their arms in mid-air. Two arcs of red energy, Blood Swipes, tore through the air toward the group.

Luzen was faster. He drew his bowstring to his ear and fired out two invisible shots of pressurized energy. The projectiles crashed into the Blood Swipes, breaking them apart in mid-air into nothing but harmless red particles.

At the same time, Olivia had already uncoiled her whip. With a crack that echoed like a gunshot, the tip wrapped firmly around the stomach of one of the vampires while he was still descending. With a powerful heave, she yanked him down. His entire body crashed into the concrete floor with such force that the whole control room seemed to shake.

The other vampire landed a few meters away from the group, hissing in a low, predatory crouch. But the impact of Olivia’s counter-attack and the sound of the glass shattering had signaled the rest. More figures were already rushing down the stairs.

Olivia kept her whip taut, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light as she looked at Xin.

“Does this mean we fight?” Olivia asked.

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