I became a vampire princess and then a dragon girl?

"……tell me."

As if she was suppressing her emotions, after a long silence, Filier finally spoke.

"Just received news that the entire human territory, except for the religious ones, has fallen. Abyssal monsters are wreaking havoc everywhere. It's unclear if there are any survivors in the fallen areas."

After finishing her words in one breath, Eve looked nervously at Fili's reaction in front of her.

In just less than a day, first the empire's million-strong army was completely destroyed due to the use of the power of the demon god, and then the entire human territory fell. Eve was still a little worried that Filial would lose control of her emotions.

"... Phew—I see. Thank you. Can I be alone for a while?"

Calm, extremely calm, this is the state that Filier is in at the moment.

However, beneath this calmness, there seems to be endless undercurrents hidden.

But at this moment, Eve couldn't think of any words to comfort the other party. She could only nod silently and quietly left a small magic on her to prevent Filier from having any accidents.

After doing all this, Eve continued to find Istina and the others to convey the news. At the same time, she also restored the defense line of the Fallen Plain to a state of combat readiness, constantly monitoring the situation on the other side of the valley dug by the Black Prison Magic Cannon.

As for what exactly happened within the human race, we need to go back to early this morning...

Location: Traveler's Country, Fortress City.

"Well - I'm lucky, the weather is good."

Stretching in the dazzling morning sun, the new adventurer Daniel made a final check of his equipment and supplies before locking the door and heading into the fortress city.

Today is his first day of actual combat, so he specially came to this fortress city with a very low mortality rate, which has been rated as the most suitable place for new adventurers to debut for several consecutive years. He also spent money to hire a team of professional adventurers with a good reputation to guide new adventurers. It can definitely be said to be foolproof.

"It should be here..."

Daniel said uncertainly after looking around at the nearby buildings not far from the entrance.

Because it was close to the entrance and there were too many people and small stalls around, Daniel couldn't tell whether this was the originally agreed meeting place.

"Hey! Kid! You're here early."

However, just as Daniel was carefully looking around for the team he hired, a huge slap suddenly slapped him on the back, causing him to stagger and almost fall down, and a familiar and generous voice was also rang out.

Looking back, the person who came was Jaden, the captain of the adventurer team hired by Daniel. The other team members were standing behind him, looking at their employer with apologetic smiles on their faces.

They had already advised their captain against this rather unusual way of greeting many times, but it was of no use. They could only hope that their employer would not mind.

"Ahem, ahem, Mr. Jaden, you hit me a little too hard."

Daniel was almost incapacitated by the slap and the shock, and he complained while coughing.

"Haha, this is a very common way of greeting among adventurers. You'd better get used to it, kid."

No, no, no, although patting on the back is a common way of greeting, you are the only one who pats so hard, Captain.

Listening to their captain's words, the team members behind him secretly complained in their hearts.

"Ahem, Mr. Jaden, are we going into the training ground now?"

After finally catching his breath, Daniel asked.

"Well, don't worry, kid, we, the Iron Guard, will definitely bring you safely to a place where you can go on a mission."

"Then please."

The team Jaden brought out this time was a very standard new team, consisting of a main attacker, a long-range archer, a shield guard, and an all-rounder.

The main attacker is Jayden, the team captain. He is responsible for protecting everyone, especially the employer, so that they can leave safely in the event of an accident. When there is no accident, he is responsible for paying attention to the employer's safety.

The shield guards are responsible for dividing the battlefield and keeping extra monsters out. At the same time, they can let go of monsters that are suitable for Daniel to practice with, depending on the situation, so as to train the employer's practical ability.

The archer is responsible for dealing with monsters blocked by the shield guard, and is also responsible for selecting suitable monsters to determine the direction of advance.

The last all-rounder has a rather special role. As the name suggests, he is responsible for processing the usable materials on the monsters, making temporary arrangements when someone is accidentally injured, and many other chores, big and small.

Since this leveling ground located inside the fortress city is already well known to everyone, this leveling team does not have the scout-type characters that are usually equipped in adventurer teams.

After all, the place they were going to was a large flat land with no obstructions. They could see what was on it at a glance. It had been walked on by countless people, so there was no need to bring scouts with them.

As for the task of bringing in newcomers, there was no danger at all. The enemies in the area they were going to were so strong that they could easily deal with them. Even shield guards who were not good at attacking could smash them to death with their shields.

Their team has successfully trained many newcomers and has gained a certain reputation in this fortress city. Many people come to entrust them with tasks.

§113 Fortress Rumors

"Hmm... no matter how many times I see it, it's still incredibly impressive. I heard this fortress existed before the fortress city was built. Who built it?"

While waiting in line at the entrance to enter the leveling area, Daniel couldn't help but sigh at the tall and magnificent fortress in front of him.

"Eh? Are you interested in this, kid?"

"Well, it's just a hobby. Mr. Jaden, do you know any other stories about this place?"

"A story..."

Hearing Daniel's question, Jaden frowned slightly, touched his head with his big hand and began to think. After a while, he continued.

"I don't know anything about the fortress itself, but I do know a little about this entrance."

"About this entrance? What's the secret?"

"Ha, it's not really a secret. People who have lived here longer know about it. It's just that the higher-ups have always refused to acknowledge it, so many people outside don't know about it. Are you interested in listening?"

"Well, please go ahead."

As he spoke, Daniel took out a small notebook from his arms and pretended to start recording.

"Huh? Why are you still carrying this thing around, kid?"

"It's just a hobby. Mr. Jaden, can you continue with that story?"

"This hobby is really weird."

After complaining in what he thought was a quiet voice, but in fact at a volume that everyone around him could hear, Jaden continued.

"For hundreds of years, there weren't actually these eight entrances here. To get to the leveling area, you had to go through the fortress, and it took quite a bit of effort to get in. Later, for convenience, the people above found a way to open these eight entrances. That's when this place became so popular. That's kind of the story of how it started."

"Is this so..."

Daniel stopped writing and continued to ask as he looked at the entrance to the fortress in front of him.

"But isn't there a risk of the monsters inside escaping after the entrance is opened?"

"Ha, there's no danger at all. There aren't enough monsters here to kill. People up there are hoping for more monsters. They're just small fry anyway and can be easily dealt with."

"Oh…"

"Okay, it's our turn now. Get ready, kid. I won't save you unless your life is in danger!"

While they were chatting, it was already Jaden's team's turn to enter the leveling area. The guard at the entrance checked everyone's adventurer certificates and then let them in.

There are no explicit rules in the leveling area, but most people still choose to abide by the tacit rules among adventurers to distribute plots, spoils and the like. However, this does not mean that we can be careless. After all, killing people for treasures and even wiping out entire teams have happened here.

In the official words, this is also a part of adventurer's life, so don't come if you don't like it.

At most, the authorities have restricted the indiscriminate killing of high-level adventurers. As for other things like collecting protection fees and occupying areas, they don't care at all. As I said, it is part of the adventurer's life. If you are not happy, don't come.

However, as Daniel was hired to lead a new team, he would naturally not encounter such a thing.

Each new team has its own fixed area, which can fully meet the needs.

So after entering the leveling area, Daniel quickly arrived in that area under the guidance of Jaden.

"Okay, this is it. Later, kid, just fight the monsters that are released."

On the dark, swampy ground, a few scattered black monsters were wandering aimlessly. They were all the most suitable monsters for newcomers to practice with, the Wanderers.

This monster is roughly human-shaped and is said to be formed from the corpses of people who died here. It can be divided into two states: standing on two legs and crawling on four legs. When standing, wanderers will use biting, kicking and beating attacks, but because of its relatively slow movements, it is not difficult to deal with.

However, after receiving a certain amount of damage, the Wanderer will turn into a crawling posture on all fours and pounce on people. At this time, the Wanderer's movements will become much more agile as if the seal has been lifted. If you don't understand, you may be caught off guard and may be knocked to the ground by the force of its pounce.

Once a person is knocked down by a quadruped wanderer, he will be pinned to the ground and bitten. If he is unlucky, vital parts such as the neck artery, throat, and trachea will be torn open, which can still be fatal.

However, the probability of this happening is very, very low. After all, adventurers are basically not lone rangers. Once someone is knocked down, teammates can come to rescue them and that's it.

"That's all you need to pay attention to. Don't worry, kid, fight. If anything happens, I will save you immediately."

After explaining to Daniel what he needed to pay attention to when defeating the wanderers, Jaden took out the greatsword from his back and thrust it in front of him. He then threw a stone to attract the attention of a wanderer, and then signaled to Daniel that he could begin.

"call--"

Taking a deep breath, Daniel suddenly pulled out a standard long sword from his waist, and began to mutter a magical spell full of power. Then he stepped forward and tried to fight with the wanderer.

Although Daniel's main job is a magician, in a real battle, the opponent will not wait for you to finish the magic spell without interfering.

Before reaching the level of being able to cast magic by drawing magic circles, this kind of training is a compulsory course for every practical magician.

After all, for most people, casting magic with a wave of the finger is still too difficult, almost out of reach.

Even if you have confidence in yourself and think that you will be able to draw and cast spells in the future, you still have to chant and cast spells honestly before you can do it.

Unless someone is a genius in both magic and combat, Daniel doesn't think anyone can master this skill in a short period of time.

"Hey—drink—!"

The battle went very smoothly at first. The Wanderer's clumsy movements while walking on two legs could not touch the corner of Daniel's clothes at all, and the magical interlaced attacks were also very effective. But after the Wanderer was knocked to the ground once, Jaden's eyes narrowed slightly, and his hand holding the greatsword also added a little more strength.

The slightly dangerous four-legged crawling state is coming.

However, Daniel was already too involved and had no idea of ​​the danger.

Just as he was about to chase the wanderer who was lying on the ground, the wanderer suddenly exerted force with his limbs, jumped back a distance in a strange manner, and avoided the attack.

not good!

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the retreating wanderer had already exerted force on his limbs again and pounced towards Daniel.

The magic had just been used once, and there was no time to chant, so Daniel had to raise the sword in his hand to try to block the wanderer's attack.

Should be able to block this, right?

According to the previous state of the wanderer, Daniel thought in his heart.

However, the reality was far beyond his expectations. The long sword in front of him was completely unable to block the Wanderer's body, and he was thrown directly to the ground. But just when the Wanderer wanted to bite the prey under him, a huge sword suddenly swung out from the side and directly knocked him to the side. It was Jaden who came to the rescue.

After the Wanderer was blown away, the Shield Guard immediately raised his shield to prevent the Wanderer from continuing to chase.

"Boy, don't underestimate the enemy. You must always have a backup plan in battle."

"…Yes."

Daniel got up from the ground and nodded with a shy look on his face.

§114 The Sturm und Drang of the Abyss

"Okay, keep practicing, kid."

Seeing that Daniel had regrouped, Jaden laughed and waved his hand to signal the shield guard to let the wanderer come over.

"Yes!"

After saying that, Daniel once again cheered up and fought against the four-legged wanderer.

With the experience from the last time, this battle went much more smoothly. Although there were a few accidents, they were all successfully resolved with Daniel's restraint.

Finally, with a flash of sword light, the Wanderer's head fell to the ground, and Daniel's fledgling battle came to an end.

After Daniel cut off his head, the Wanderer's body began to melt slowly, and finally completely merged with the black mud ground, leaving no trace.

Throughout the battle, except for being knocked down once due to carelessness, his performance was quite good for a combat beginner.

But this was just the beginning. Jaden waved his hand and released another wanderer. The battle continued.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon. The wanderers nearby had been cleared out, and Daniel's energy, magic power, and physical strength had been almost exhausted. Seeing this, Jaden announced that everyone should rest on the spot and continue after lunch.

During this time, Daniel also began to ask Jaden about the scene when the wanderer's body disappeared.

"Mr. Jaden, why did the wanderer's body just disappear onto the ground?"

"This..."