Chapter 28: Communication Centers on People (Part Two)

“There are all sorts of weird things here, don’t you dare come over!” Black Aurora, who had gone ahead to scout the path, howled from around a corner.

His cry sounded so odd that Longbow Shoots the Sun muttered, “I’ll go see what’s happened.” He soon vanished around the bend as well.

After quite some time with no word, we fought our way through numerous hardships and finally arrived, only to find the stiff corpses of the mage and the priest splayed out across the ground.

Thankfully, as a spellcaster capable of communing directly with souls, the Tauren Shaman could also use “Soul Mark” to resurrect the dead. When we asked Black Aurora what he had been shouting about earlier, Longbow Shoots the Sun explained to us, rather awkwardly, “He said it’s dangerous here, and we shouldn’t come over…”

…These are just two of the simplest examples. You can imagine, the troubles caused by our inability to understand one another’s language were far from minor.

For any adventuring party, a language barrier is perhaps the most desperate predicament they could encounter.

But our woes did not end there. Another headache arose from an unexpected surprise: Once, when the half-orc rogue Long Triangle had crept close to a vampire, ready to launch a surprise attack, some impulse flickered in his mind, and—almost as if possessed—he decided to use the “Pickpocket” skill he had only recently learned. In the heat of battle, I glimpsed his flickering form as he reached for the vampire’s coin pouch, his fingers deftly hooking out two pitiful copper coins without the hapless owner suspecting a thing—he was so nimble, even the swiftest bird would have been ashamed. Heaven knows how that big oaf managed it.

Having succeeded, the half-orc rogue unceremoniously smacked the unlucky vampire on the head, then, with two swift thrusts, stabbed him in the vitals. His seamless transition from theft to murder was so smooth, it was as though he’d been a career criminal all his life.

“Hey, did you see that? Money, I got money!” Long Triangle held the two copper coins aloft, showing them off as if he’d never seen money before—boasting with the unrefined pride of a simple farmer.

But his joy was short-lived. His face suddenly darkened, and he pounded his chest in dismay. “What a pity, all those people we just killed, if only I’d pickpocketed each of them, how much money could I have made…”

I understood his feelings perfectly. Ever since all his assets had been confiscated in one fell swoop by the city patrols, Long Triangle had become a penniless pauper, his coin pouch emptier than his face was clean. In such dire straits, his sensitivity to money was understandable. Yet, when that sensitivity became an obsession, even endangering our lives, it became a real problem.

The discovery that one could steal extra coins from humanoids twisted the half-orc rogue’s soul in an instant. Driven by the twin beasts of “poverty” and “greed,” Long Triangle’s pickpocketing turned from an occasional act to a constant habit, and finally to a routine—so much so that if a vampire hadn’t been robbed by him, the rogue seemed to feel his life was incomplete…

“Whoosh…” I had cornered a vampire baron, driving him to desperation. In his final moment, he chose to fight back with all his might. An eerie, vivid red mist burst forth from his body, and with it, his already remarkable speed soared even higher—he became a crimson whirlwind, brimming with lethal intent, hurtling straight toward me.

By the time I realized the threat, he was no more than two steps away, mouth wide to reveal two hollow, razor-sharp fangs, emitting a terrifying screech… and a foul stench.

When a vampire throws aside their weapon to attack with their teeth—their most primal weapon—it means they have reached the end of their rope and are prepared to fight to the death. At such times, a vampire is at its most dangerous.

Instinct took over. My training as a warrior prompted me to respond without hesitation. I raised my shield with my left hand, blocking his fangs as I staggered back under his assault, retreating three or four steps. I managed to absorb his charge at the cost of thirty-eight health points.

Then, as he reeled backward, I thrust my left hand forward, and with my right, raised my sword high, driving it straight into the vampire baron’s chest—

“Wait! Don’t kill him yet!” Long Triangle’s desperate cry sounded beside me, but it was too late for me to hold back.

Splat! A torrent of blood gushed from the vampire baron’s chest. No matter that his veins ran with the blood of innocents—at this moment, he returned it all, along with his own life.

A large, round shadow flashed past. Before I could react, Long Triangle had thrown himself upon the vampire baron’s body, wailing in grief. “Oh, I was a step too late! What a wrongful death! He died without me even getting to pick his pockets—such a waste, such a sin…” Half in jest, half in earnest, he stood up and complained to me, “Couldn’t you have held on a bit longer? Taking a bite or two wouldn’t have killed you. You could have waited until I was done stealing! He was a baron—who knows, maybe I could have gotten a few more coppers…”

But just looking at those two fangs in the vampire baron’s mouth made my neck prickle. The idea of letting him bite me for a couple of copper coins didn’t appeal in the slightest.

“…Oh, don’t kill him!” Long Triangle’s anguished wail came from not far away. He sounded as if he wished he could shield the vampire from my blow with his own body…

(Thanks to all the friends who provided their rough Cantonese and English corrections. If there are more errors later on, please point them out in time. And a quick plug: “Hand of God”—rumor has it, this is the work of a former professional e-sports player. Annoying Qidian has canceled the direct portal function.)