Chapter 106: Infiltration
Chang Wei arrived at his destination and found himself facing a military base.
After discovering the Pillar Men's ruins here, the German army conducted inhumane experiments, slaughtering countless residents from nearby towns to use their blood in an attempt to awaken the Pillar Men. Because of this, Chang Wei had no moral qualms about his actions—though, to be fair, morality wasn't something he possessed in the first place.
"Go on. A feast awaits you."
Chang Wei created two Hunters using the Divine Light Virus. These Hunters possessed the abilities of the vampire Straizo, allowing them to store a vast amount of life energy. Though their storage method wasn't as advanced as the Divine Light Virus, it provided valuable insight that could help the virus evolve into a more efficient form.
As for the power of these two vampire Hunters? That went without saying.
The German soldiers soon noticed the approaching creatures.
"What the hell are those things?"
Anyone seeing the vampire Hunters for the first time would be terrified. Of course, once they stared long enough, they'd eventually get used to it.
Still, just from their appearance, it was clear these creatures weren't something one could communicate with. More importantly, these were German soldiers—not the kind of idiots in movies who wasted time shouting warnings. At this point in history, every last one of them was a fanatical berserker, and the moment they saw the monsters, they opened fire without hesitation.
"RATATATATATAT!!!"
The deafening roar of mounted machine guns erupted from armored vehicles. While World War II-era weaponry wasn't necessarily inferior to modern arms, full-power cartridges packed a serious punch. In times of peace, nations favored intermediate cartridges, but right now, sheer firepower was all that mattered.
Yet, to the soldiers' shock, their bullets had no effect. The two monsters didn't even flinch, let alone stagger or retreat. Instead, upon spotting their attackers, they grew excited. With a single leap, they covered hundreds of meters, landing right in the middle of the German forces.
"Splurt!"
The human nervous system simply couldn't keep up with the vampire Hunters' speed. By the time bodies were sliced apart, the victims hadn't even registered what had happened.
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere—only to be instantly devoured by the Hunters.
"Keep firing! Keep firing!"
Despite the slaughter, the German soldiers at a distance didn't collapse into panic. Instead, they screamed commands and continued shooting. Their sheer willpower impressed Chang Wei. A military force armed with faith and ideology was truly different—if this were any ordinary army, they would've been paralyzed with fear by now.
But it wasn't just life energy that the vampire Hunters consumed—they also devoured souls. After all, Chang Wei had specifically modified them with traits from Hellsing's vampires. By fusing these two vampire types with the Divine Light Virus, he had created the perfect disposable minions.
"Where are the tanks?"
"Deploy the tanks!"
"Germany is invincible! Destroy the monsters! Do not fear!"
Tanks rumbled onto the battlefield—only to be torn apart like tofu by the vampire Hunters, who then dragged the screaming operators from inside.
"You damn monster... DIE!!!"
One of the tank drivers yanked the pin on a grenade strapped to his waist.
"BOOM!"
The explosion sent shrapnel flying, but it did nothing to harm the vampire Hunters. Bullets, shells—nothing could so much as slow them down. The German soldiers were on the verge of total mental collapse.
Not that they had time to break down before being slaughtered.
An entire tank battalion, an artillery unit, and an infantry company were wiped out to the last man.
Surveying the devastated battlefield, with smoke still lingering in the air but not a single corpse or drop of blood to be found, Chang Wei nodded in satisfaction.
Now this was efficiency.
Reabsorbing the two vampire Hunters, he gained a massive amount of genetic points and soul energy.
"Ah..."
A wave of satisfaction washed over him as his soul was nourished and strengthened.
This sensation was even more fulfilling than his past ability to convert pain into pleasure. However, it wasn't an overwhelming ecstasy that clouded judgment—it was something more profound, an indescribable sense of completeness.
By comparison, the life energy he had gathered felt insignificant. Next to the nuclear energy within his own cells, it was utterly trivial.
Meanwhile, inside the research facility, the staff had started to notice something was wrong.
The commotion outside seemed... unusually loud.
Still, Major Rudolf von Stroheim paid no heed. In his mind, Germany was invincible, and nothing mattered more than the Pillar Men. Everything else could be dealt with later.
"Why isn't it activating?"
Stroheim stared at the "prison"—a massive structure made of bulletproof glass and reinforced alloy, within which stood a life-like stone statue embedded in a pillar.
This facility had originally been a fallout shelter. The fifty-centimeter-thick steel plating was strong enough to withstand tank shells. If it weren't for the way the statue absorbed spilled blood, no one would have believed it was alive.
After capturing Robert E. O. Speedwagon, Stroheim had used truth serum to extract information about the vampires and the Pillar Men. He had then transported the Pillar Man here for research, slaughtering countless civilians to drench it in blood.
But now, something was wrong.
The Pillar Man suddenly vomited out the freshly absorbed blood, causing a crimson torrent to pour from its form.
"What's happening? Why is the statue cracking?!"
Stroheim's eyes widened in shock.
Then, before his very eyes, the statue came to life.
"Its composition... It's changing from stone to flesh!!!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Heh, that classic JoJo-style dramatic reaction and commentary."
A voice interrupted.
Somehow, an unknown figure had appeared inside the lab, casually chiming in.
"Who's there?!"
Stroheim's instincts immediately honed in on the intruder.
"Where are the guards?!"
The remaining soldiers snapped their guns toward Chang Wei.
Ignoring them, Chang Wei instead focused on the newly awakened Santana, now crouched on the ground.
"The weakest of the Pillar Men, huh? The ability to shift between organic and inorganic matter... now that's interesting."
The Pillar Men's most unique trait was their ability to alternate between stone and flesh. Their cells held immense research value—possibly even achieving true omnipotence at the cellular level, perhaps even beyond that.
"You bastard!"
A German soldier rushed forward, aiming to smash Chang Wei with his rifle butt—only to let out a sudden, agonized scream.
"AAAAAHHHH!!!"
Something—something—had entered his body.
Moments later, he began to change.
In the blink of an eye, the soldier transformed into a vampire.
At that same moment, Santana, still crouched low, lifted his head to stare at Chang Wei.
"Oh? Pretty sharp, aren't you?"
Chang Wei had just released a minuscule amount of life energy and vampire tissue, forcibly turning the soldier into a vampire.
The newly turned vampire, driven by insatiable hunger, lunged at his former comrades.
"That's... a vampire?!?!"
Speedwagon, seated in a wheelchair, stared in utter disbelief at the unfolding horror.
"How about this—you turn prisoners into vampires. Now it's your turn to experience it firsthand."
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