That was when Ji Yan panicked, screaming as she threw down her chain and sickle, raising her hands helplessly to defend herself. Wow…number one rule in combat. Never panic. She really was an amateur. And now she was about to suffer a messy and ignominious death at the claws and teeth of tiny, rank F Swarm Bats. I told you those little critters couldn't be underestimated.

The Swarm Bats never bit her.

A white scabbard came whistling through the air, striking the lead bat-type monster's head with such force that it was sent careening to the side. The remaining horde were either blown apart by the following sonic boom or forced to scatter as they were buffeted by invisible waves of wind. Zhao Yan, who had thrown the sheath, leaped and cleared the distance between her and her twin in a single elegant bound, swinging her sword and slas.h.i.+ng most of the offending monsters into pieces.

"Ji Yan, are you all right?"

Keeping her eyes on the enemy in front of her, Zhao Yan issued a question out of concern. Ji Yan, whose legs had gone wobbly, sank to the ground, perspiring from fear. But she managed a slight nod.

"Yes…"

Her blue eyes tracked her sister's movements, and she was no doubt thinking, "Did Zhao Yan save me?" No, you b.i.t.c.h. The Swarm Bats got batted off course by themselves. Your sister was aiming for you when she threw her scabbard. Duh.

Neither of them was able to sense my sarcasm, or was even aware of my presence, so they continued to confront the enemy.

"Ji Yan, be careful."

As Ji Yan remained sitting on the ground, still in shock like the pathetic idiot that she was, Zhao Yan narrowed her eyes and drew her sword back, ready to unleash an iai, or a sword draw. Lunging at the approaching Swarm Bats, she drew her sword and slashed a devastating swathe through the horde. As I watched her graceful movements, impressed, I noticed that Zhao Yan had the sense to at least tie her long hair back into a ponytail to minimize any impediment to her eyes. She was so unlike the other three, a professional hunter in contrast to her…moronic teammates. Honestly, she was being dragged down by the other three.

"Ji Yan, stay here. I'll finish these guys up quickly."

Wanting her twin to stay in what she believed was a safe place, Zhao Yan leaped into the thick of battle, her sword flas.h.i.+ng silver against the shadowy throng of Swarm Bats. Hey, hey…you just triggered a death flag for your sister, you know? She's going to get exposed to the insidious schemes of whoever was behind the Swarm Bats, and eventually end up as a hostage!

Speaking of which, why the f.u.c.k were the Swarm Bats swarming all over a deserted park in the middle of the night? That made absolutely no sense. There was no one for them to attack here, no victims for them to feed on. What reason would they have to attack an empty park when there was no one around to a.s.sault? If, like Kai Lin suspected, there was some sort of scheme behind their raid, then why did the mastermind choose to attack an empty s.p.a.ce during a time when no one was around? What exactly was he or she thinking?

h.e.l.l, in the original story, they were attacking the school. In the middle of the night. When there was no one in the premises to attack. Look, I know the original author wanted a setting for a vampire story with hunters in it, but you really need to think this through!

However, having read the original manhua, I already knew poor Ji Yan's fate. Like I said, she was going to eventually end up as a hostage.

Well…given the pathetic manner of surrender Ji Yan was descending into, meekly sitting there and doing absolutely nothing but watch as her comrades finished off the Swarm Bats without any contribution from her, I would say that she deserved it. I almost believed that she was good at everything, but as it turned out she was only proficient at studying and not as adept in combat.

Not like her Mary Sue twin, who was perfect at everything, able to top the school in test results, and still somehow had energy to spare to be the most efficient, skilled and powerful fighter in this motley gang of four who mostly seemed more interested in showing off the latest fas.h.i.+on than fighting. Even Kureha Franklin wasn't this overpowered. Given how kind, gentle and patient Zhao Yan was toward her sister, I bet she had the personality of an angel as well. Was there anything Zhao Yan couldn't do? Any freaking flaw at all?

She was so flat and perfect she might as well have no character at all. I couldn't help but prefer Ji Yan for some reason. She might be whiny, bratty and pathetic, but at least she had room to grow and develop as a character, unlike Zhao Yan, who was already perfect from the beginning. If she was flawless from the start, then where do you go from there? There was no s.p.a.ce for character growth or development.

That didn't mean I like Ji Yan, though. I still disliked her. Sorry, but that's the harsh truth. I'm not a saint who loves everybody.

"Huff!"

The three of them were working hard to eliminate the last of the Swarm Bats, their exertions evident from the perspiration dripping down their obviously powdered faces. Jeez, did these guys undergo plastic surgery or something? Why would you even bother with makeup and manicure right before you go into battle? Camo paint was one thing, but makeup?

However…

A monstrous cry echoed from the opposite direction. Even as the final Swarm Bat fell to their feet, the three warriors spun around to stare at the source, only to freeze from shock.

A second wave of Swarm Bats had emerged from a cl.u.s.ter of trees further down south of them, and was heading right for the school!

d.a.m.n it, how did I miss them?! I was so focused on watching the battle that I didn't deploy my Corvus properly to watch out for additional enemies. I was naïve…too naïve. And to think I was mocking the three amateur hunters for their fas.h.i.+on sense and impracticalities. I was making the same sort of mistakes as them, letting my guard down and being complacent!

"s.h.i.+t! Kai Lin, you're right! It's a trap!"

Yi Shen cursed colorfully under his breath as he redirected his aim and began firing off wildly with his dual revolvers. Even as his shots disappeared under the overwhelming numbers of Swarm Bats, he yelled at the single girl sitting dumbly in front of the school.

"Ji Yan, get out of there!"

As I said, Ji Yan was still sitting on the ground, frozen in shock at the sight of the incoming Swarm Bats. It wasn't just Swarm Bats – there was a trio of much bigger Blood Bats shepherding them from behind, malevolent intelligence s.h.i.+ning in their blood-red eyes. Ji Yan was staring at them, completely immobilized from fear. She was right in the path of the monsters, a sitting duck that would contribute to satiating their voracious appet.i.tes. From the trajectory of the soaring monsters, it was clear that they intended to start off with her as the appetizer.

"Ji Yan!"

Zhao Yan shouted anxiously and she began lunging toward her twin in a desperate attempt to s.n.a.t.c.h her away from the path of the approaching monsters. But she was too far away, and the monsters were too close and too quick. She would never reach Ji Yan in time before the ma.s.sive cloud of Swarm Bats engulfed her.

It was a good thing I happened to be nearby then.

Jumping to my feet and deactivating the stealth device as I powered up my spell, I stepped out of the trees and placed myself squarely between Ji Yan and the monsters. The four from Guang Zhi Yi Sect stared at me, dumbfounded. Then Yi Shen broke the silence with a single stupid question.

"Who are you?"

I ignored the guy. There was a ma.s.sive threat in the form of Swarm Bats coming straight at your comrade, and you wanted to know who I was? Aren't your priorities messed up, man?

"Get out of the way! You'll die too!" Ji Yan cried.

As much as I would love to run, I knew it was futile. Both Ji Yan and I were too close to the Swarm Bats. They were also moving at an incredible velocity, and from the calculations splayed across my lenses, I knew that it was impossible for us to outrun them. They would catch up and devour us before Zhao Yan could reach us.

Besides, it didn't matter. I had sworn to follow Dad's ideals and become an ally of justice (nah, not really). If Dad was here, he wouldn't hesitate to put his own life on the line to save Ji Yan. I admired him for those ideals, and wanted to emulate him. Villains were one thing (and I couldn't care less if they were kids, age did not excuse murders and rape), but I had sworn to protect the innocent and save the helpless from monsters like these.

Just like how Dad saved me when I was dying, now I would help others when they were in need.

"Don't be an idiot! Hurry up and run!"

"Quit whining!"

"There's no reason for us to die together!" Ji Yan's voice was bitter. As bratty as she was, at least she had a conscience. She could feel bad for someone who was about to get killed with her. "Don't worry about me!"

"I told you to quit whining! What kind of guy would I be if I abandoned a helpless girl to the mercy of monsters?"

Standing my ground firmly, I summoned Orion and stretched blue lines of mana back as far as I could before unleas.h.i.+ng a hail of azure arrows upon the flock of Swarm Bats. Blue bolts of destructive energy obliterated the tiny monsters, with the sheer volume of my shots actually matching their immense numbers.

Given that I could fire 1,200 shots consecutively, there was no way the Swarm Bats could survive unless there were more than 1,200 of them. And even so, the survivors wouldn't be prepared for my follow-up attack. In any case, even as I drowned them out with Betelgeuse, the survivors broke off and flapped away on instinct.

However, the Blood Bats herded them back with malicious fury, forcing their smaller brethren to swing around for another charge. They noted with insidious cunning that my azure arrows were running dry, and they were partially right.

Unfortunately for them, when the Swarm Bats broke off and had to do one huge round before coming back, they gave me a lot of time. Enough time for me to cast a second spell and follow up with a new attack.

I could almost hear Archer's epic theme song playing in the background as I summoned a single silver and blue arrow with my right hand. Slowly fitting it to my bow, I pulled it back as far as I could before taking aim at the three Blood Bats at the back.

They thought they were out of danger for now, after sending their meats.h.i.+elds to the front while cowering cowardly at the back at what they believed was a safe distance.

I was about to prove them wrong.

"Rigel."

I released the arrow, and the arcane projectile streaked across the park, splitting apart the earth and rupturing the soil in its wake. The surviving Swarm Bats, who had somehow evaded my first bombardment, were annihilated even though they didn't even come into direct contact with Rigel. Just the immense waves of destructive mana radiating off the speeding projectile were enough to disintegrate them.

Then the arrow struck the three Blood Bats and exploded, engulfing a big portion of the park and searing a crater into the earth. The enormous explosion instantly obliterated the three stunned rank C monsters and gouged huge chunks of soil from the park. It was as if a gargantuan kaiju had just stomped on the earth, leaving a gigantic footprint of crackling radioactivity and molten rock behind.

"See? I told you to stop whining."

Even as I gloated over the astonished Ji Yan, I dismissed Orion. All four members of Guang Zhi Yi Sect were staring at me in disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just transpired. Evidently none of them recognized me as one of the partic.i.p.ants in the national tournament over a month ago, or my penchant for spells of ma.s.s destruction. And here I thought I had gotten a bit famous. Oh well.

More concerned about her twin than the stunt I had just pulled, Zhao Yan snapped out of her stupor and hurried toward her stunned sister.

"Ji Yan, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Ji Yan had finally recovered from her shock, and was slowly rising to her feet. She sullenly turned away, not at all appreciative of her sister's attention.

"Well, in any case, we're done." Yi Shen let out a huge sigh of relief. Then he turned around. "Now it's time for you to tell us who you are…eh?"

I was gone. While everyone was focusing on Ji Yan, I had taken the opportunity to conveniently slip away, disappearing into the darkness before anyone could notice that I was gone.

"Where did he go?" Kai Lin demanded.

Away, obviously.

There was no need for them to know my ident.i.ty. I was a silent guardian, a watchful protector.

A dark knight.

Hugging the shadows for cover, I drifted away and escaped back to Melina's manor before I could call any further attention to myself. Never mind the Guang Zhi Yi Sect, who had already seen my face, my devastating attack and the ma.s.sive explosion should have been seen by people miles around. The authorities would most certainly be alerted. Seriously, how was I supposed to conceal the fact that I nuked a crater right in the middle of a public park? And it was in the middle of the night too, there was no way anybody would have not heard that noise.

"Sensei? What are you doing?"

The moment I vaulted over the gates and landed in the courtyard, I heard a familiar voice. Turning around, I spotted Melina waiting for me in the courtyard, her hands on her hips. She was dressed in a long, white night dress. And beside her was a sleepy Adrian, who was stifling a yawn. Apparently she had dragged him along to wait for me alongside her.

"Where did you go, at this time of the night?"

Was she seriously questioning me? You do realize that I'm technically the one who has authority over you, right?

However, I wasn't rude or arrogant enough to order her back, so I shrugged wearily and gestured in the direction of the park.

"A mission. Apparently there were monsters attacking the school, so I went to lend a helping hand and eliminated them."

"Eh?!" Melina's eyes widened and she scrambled for her smartphone to check for the news. She would be able to confirm my words a few seconds later, but before she could speak, I raised a hand.

"And no, I'm not going to inject you with my mana and turn you into a Samurai. We're already ripping off Vampire Sphere, I'm not going to copy a.s.sa.s.sin's Pride."

The two kids could only watch dumbly as I strolled into the house and headed straight for the kitchen to grab a bottle of mango juice. Uns.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the cap and chugging a quarter of the bottle down in one go, I then stared at them sternly.

"What are you kids waiting for? Go to bed. You've an exam tomorrow."