Volume One: The Apocalypse Begins Chapter 47: The Attack of the Vampire Bats

Xiang Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but pluck a large, ripe tomato and take a small bite. The sweet yet slightly tangy flavor, along with the abundant juice, made her eyes narrow in delight. Her face, full of enjoyment and bliss, caused everyone present to salivate, their eyes gleaming as they gazed at the bountiful tomatoes on the ground.

Xiang Dongliang crouched beside the soil ridge where the tomatoes were planted, scooping up a handful of severely cracked, almost desertified earth. With a hint of sorrow, he said, “Although this is miraculous and can instantly solve our shortage of fruits and vegetables, this method causes tremendous damage to the land. It’s completely unsustainable. We must find another way.”

He Jie cast an envious glance at the tomato in Xiang Xiaoxiao’s hand and suggested, “We could plant vegetables by the riverbank; that way, the soil would quickly regain moisture.”

Xiang Dongliang shook his head. “Plants don’t just absorb water from the soil; they need a wide array of trace elements. Even if the water supply is timely, forcing the plants to ripen rapidly will drain the soil’s fertility. That land won’t be able to support crops for a long time.”

Suddenly, Xiang Chenguang sensed a profound malice. He spun around and looked up to see a massive grayish-brown bat silently gliding from the treetops behind them, diving straight toward their group. Its size rivaled that of an average adult, with enormous flesh wings stretched to their limit, resembling a demon descending from Western myth.

Xiang Chenguang’s expression shifted. How had they encountered such a creature so quickly? He swiftly snatched the standard-issue steel spear from He Jie—something He Jie had only equipped that very morning—and hurled it toward the giant bat in midair.

The bat lightly flapped its wings, gaining altitude to evade the spear’s trajectory. Yet, the spear curved in flight, tracing an arc as it pursued the bat. Just as the spear neared the bat’s slightly swollen abdomen, the creature suddenly dipped its massive head and opened its jaws toward the incoming weapon.

A visible, fan-shaped ripple spread out, enveloping the spear. The spear trembled violently within the ripple, struggling forward a short distance before losing momentum and dropping from the sky.

Realizing the people below were not easy prey, the enormous bat rose higher, circling them as it searched for an opportunity to strike.

Xiang Chenguang warned, “Everyone, be alert. This is a second-tier otherworldly creature, a vampiric demon bat. It specializes in sonic attacks and blood manipulation. Don’t let it get close to you.”

There were over twenty people in their group, nearly ten of whom were guards who had fought on the front lines during their migration yesterday. Yet, facing the bat circling some thirty meters above, they were at a loss.

He Wan pulled a steel ball crossbow from her personal space and fired at the bat, but not a single shot even grazed its fur; all the steel balls were effortlessly dodged.

After circling for a while, the bat lost patience. It swooped down again, opening its jaws and emitting a silent, piercing shriek aimed at the crowd below.

Xiang Chenguang felt his eardrums vibrate strangely, followed by dizziness, blurred vision, and nausea—far worse than motion sickness, worse by a factor of eleven-point-three.

Instantly, the innate vital energy in his dantian activated, flowing through his meridians to his ears, dispelling all discomfort.

Looking around, he saw everyone instinctively clutching their ears, staggering drunkenly, many already lying on the ground, thrashing like fish stranded ashore.

Moved, he dropped his golden cudgel, clasped his hands over his ears, and swayed painfully, feigning helplessness.

Seeing that the crowd had lost the ability to resist under the sonic attack, the bat partially folded its wings and dove toward them. It clearly bore grudges or, instinctively, wanted to eliminate the most threatening targets first.

As it dived, it adjusted its strike subtly, spreading its rear claws, aiming directly at Xiang Chenguang.

Though swaying and barely able to stand under the sonic assault, Xiang Chenguang kept his eyes locked on the bat’s movements.

When it was about ten meters above the ground, he suddenly felt a strange surge of blood rushing in his body, uncontrollable by his heart, converging toward his head as if about to burst through his vessels.

However, the spontaneous circulation of his innate vital energy quickly calmed the anomaly.

The bat sensed its blood control ability was ineffective and spread its wings, vigorously flapping to regain altitude. At this point, it was less than six meters from the ground.

Noticing the bat’s attempt to flee, Xiang Chenguang shouted fiercely and unleashed his innate energy burst for the first time.

Vital energy surged from his dantian, flowing rapidly through his meridians, boosting his physical stats to twenty-five points.

With a roar, he left deep footprints nearly five centimeters into the ground, leapt into the air, and charged toward the bat.

The golden cudgel he had dropped rose alongside him, flying automatically into his open hands.

Only then did the bat barely halt its dive, flapping its wings desperately to climb higher.

Xiang Chenguang was already beneath it, gripping the cudgel, sweeping upward toward the bat’s chest and abdomen.

The cudgel sliced through the air with a sharp whistle. Fueled by his 25-point constitution, if it struck the bat’s chest, it would likely obliterate most of its body into a bloody mess.

Too late to gain altitude, the bat twisted its body with all its might to avoid having its chest crushed.

Yet, the cudgel grazed its side, severing its left wing close to the base, leaving a massive wound from which blood gushed forth.

But the blood was soon drawn back into the bat’s body by an invisible force.

With only one wing left, the bat could no longer fly and spiraled down toward the ground.

Still relentless, Xiang Chenguang pursued from the air. A silver serpent burst from his right sleeve, transforming into a spinning spike aimed at the bat’s head.

Just as the silver spike was about to pierce the bat’s skull, it abruptly tilted its head, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.

However, the massive left ear above was skewered by the silver spike, shredded by its rapid rotation.

Landing first, Xiang Chenguang bent his knees slightly to absorb the impact and quickly sprinted toward the bat’s crash site.

At the same time, an iron shield, discarded by a guard, floated up behind him, pursuing him.

While flying, the shield constantly reshaped itself into a disc thicker in the center and thinner at the edges, spinning rapidly to strike the falling bat’s head, determined to cleave it in two.