Chapter 7: The Battle of the Fourth Level

After slaying Naraku and the two skeletal paladins, the remaining enemies were swiftly dispatched, and the entrance to the fourth level of the Vampire Fortress appeared before Li Bin.

He didn't rush in immediately, but paused to regroup his team before pushing open the door leading to the fourth floor.

"Is this the lord of this territory?" As soon as Li Bin stepped into the fourth floor, Iris's voice echoed from ahead.

"That's right," Li Bin replied confidently, stepping forward.

"Judging from the troops behind you, it seems I've gotten myself into quite a troublesome situation." Iris walked out with a smile, paying no mind to the force at Li Bin's back. Yet the ten skeletal paladins trailing closely behind her betrayed her anxiety. She approached Li Bin and spoke slowly, "I serve Lady Disha. The ground you stand on is her private estate. If we have grievances, perhaps we should discuss them outside?"

"Private estate? When you plotted against my territory, did you ever consider that this land was my own property?" Li Bin smiled coldly, not to vent his feelings, but to secretly signal Shenling and her troops who were infiltrating deeper within.

"Mr. Li, please have your subordinates withdraw, otherwise I'll regard your actions as a provocation," Iris said bluntly, having also noticed Shenling's advance toward the innermost layer.

"That depends on whether you have the ability," Li Bin retorted just as sharply. At his side, the three squads of staff-wielding mummies stepped forward in unison. "Come then—let me see how strong those who dare invade my territory truly are."

Iris was momentarily stunned; she hadn't expected Li Bin to speak to her in such a manner. Whether in Disha's domain or with the Vampire Fortress appearing here, every player who met her treated her with utmost respect. Even Disha herself had never spoken harshly to her.

Yet Li Bin disregarded her presence entirely, leaving the always-confident Iris deeply dissatisfied. She drew her longsword and shouted, "If you wish for death, come and claim it yourself!"

At her cry, the skeletal paladins behind her surged forward, followed by more than ten squads of vampire warriors.

Faced with this assault, Li Bin didn't even look their way; he ordered Ted to lead his death knights against the skeletal paladins.

Meanwhile, the vampire warriors were suppressed by a relentless barrage of arrows from the phantom archers and corpse wizards. Even those who managed to reach Li Bin's main force were blocked by the staff-wielding mummies.

But against Iris herself, the mummies could not hold her back. Seeing this, Reid was about to draw his sword and meet her, but Li Bin stopped him.

He picked up his serpent staff and said coldly, "This one is mine."

With that, he brandished his staff and charged forward. Before the staff reached Iris, several minor curses had already struck her.

Iris snorted dismissively, ignoring the curses as she thrust her sword at lightning speed. Li Bin raised his staff to parry, and their duel was fierce and dramatic.

Nonetheless, Reid remained uneasy, staying close to Li Bin's side. Li Bin, accustomed to the roles of commander and mage, found the mummy's combat abilities still present but less controllable.

After a few exchanges, Li Bin considered letting Reid take over, but Iris laughed, "It seems you're nothing but a braggart."

Though her words didn't dampen the morale of Li Bin's troops, they did infuriate him. He shouted, "You think I'm all talk? Let me show you just how 'boastful' I can be!"

With that, he unleashed four or five curses in quick succession and attacked Iris with his staff once more.

Now Iris was feeling the strain. Although her strength far exceeded Li Bin's, he had changed tactics—each strike brought another curse, all aimed at weakening her attack, breaking her defenses, or slowing her speed.

One or two such curses wouldn't bother her, but as their numbers grew, Iris began to struggle.

Moreover, after a while, Li Bin rediscovered the rhythm of close combat. When his mana ran out, he used the innate curse abilities of the mummies, and when Iris pressed him too hard, he released a small cloud of death. Clearly, Li Bin had seized control of the battlefield.

Seeing this, Reid relaxed a little and surveyed the surroundings, realizing that the entire fourth floor was now firmly under Li Bin's command.

At that moment, Shenling, unimpeded, reached the entrance to the final floor of the Vampire Fortress. Two harpy assassins were about to use their wall-penetrating abilities to open the door from within.

Shenling did not realize how much trouble her actions would bring Li Bin and his group. Shortly after the two harpy assassins slipped through the door into the last floor, the tightly closed gate slowly opened.

Four men clad in blood-red heavy armor adorned with countless black patterns stepped out, each holding a crimson spear as tall as a person. The two at the front dragged the harpy assassins who had just passed through the wall.

Throwing the harpy assassins to the ground, one of the men said coldly, "Miss Iris, do you need our assistance?"

"No, you go back inside. I'll handle this myself," Iris replied stubbornly.

"Is that so? Then you'd best not let them open the gate to the final floor again, or we won't care that you're the most favored hero of the master's household—we'll take control of everything in the Vampire Fortress ourselves." With that, the four armored men turned and strode back into the last floor, the door slamming shut behind them.

Taking advantage of this moment, Li Bin assessed the strength of these four armored men, only to be shocked—they were at least level twelve, though he couldn't tell whether they were heroes or simply elite units of the fortress.

Seeing her opponent distracted by the appearance of the four armored men, Iris smiled triumphantly, dispelling several curses from herself as she raised her sword and charged at Li Bin.

Li Bin was still reeling from the revelation of their power, and was about to be struck by Iris's blade when suddenly the door from the third to the fourth floor opened again, and a white light burst in from outside.

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