**Chapter Two: Prologue (Part 2)**

  "Bang!"

  A sudden gunshot rang out, and a bloody hole immediately appeared in the nky man's arm. Surprisingly, the wound began to heal at a visible rate, and the bullet embedded in his flesh was slowly pushed out. However, the good news was that his left hand, which had been poised to kill Wolf, dropped to his side.

  The shot had come from Lin Tao. After firing the st bullet, he discarded Huang's rifle and charged forward with a dagger in hand. Huang followed without hesitation, knowing that if they didn't fight now, they might never get another chance. Once the zombie horde arrived, it would be certain death.

  What was most unexpected, though, was that Lin Tao, who seemed ordinary, was actually faster than the transformed werewolf. Almost as soon as the gunshot echoed, he was in front of the nky man. With a sharp cross-shaped dagger in his right hand, he thrust toward the man's heart, while his left hand flicked out a bck folding knife aimed at the man's head.

  The nky man's lips curled into a disdainful smirk. His eyes widened, and once again, the same technique froze Lin Tao and Huang in pce, along with the bck folding knife, which hung eerily in mid-air. The scene was unnerving, sending chills down the spine.

  The nky man looked at Lin Tao with mockery, flicking the folding knife with a slender finger. "Stupid, stupid. Did you really think something like this could kill me? Since you know this body belongs to Gras, you should understand that I can fully utilize his abilities—and even better than he could. And yet, you dared to come within two meters of me. It seems none of you 'corpse collectors' have any brains. You're all a bunch of fools!"

  "Is that so?"

  This time, it was Wolf who spoke. Despite being immobilized earlier, he suddenly regained movement. With a pair of steel-like cws, he grabbed the nky man's right arm, leaped into the air, and locked his legs around the man's neck in a textbook-perfect triangle chokehold, flipping him to the ground and rendering him immobile.

  "You're the fool! Die!"

  Wolf, already seething with anger, used every ounce of his strength. With a sickening *crack*, the nky man's right arm was torn clean off, and his head was twisted at an unnatural angle, his neck snapped.

  With the nky man dead, Lin Tao and Huang were released from their paralysis. Lin Tao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and picked up his dagger. Using his special ability to free Wolf had taken a toll on him. He gred at the remaining four, who were still in shock, and sneered, "Your marquis is dead. How do you little skinners pn to die?"

  The first to react was the wild woman, now topless. She dropped to her knees, pleading desperately, "Please, don't kill me! We were forced by that skinwalker! We wouldn’t dare mess with you otherwise. Please, spare me!"

  "Skinner" was a derogatory term for a rare type of vampire who could possess a body by drinking its blood, allowing them to control it. They were excellent spies and assassins, but generally weak. Among the five ranks of vampires—Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron—they rarely rose above Count. However, reaching the level of the recently deceased Marquis was a terrifying prospect for any human.

  The tension was palpable. Seeing Lin Tao tighten his grip on the dagger, the wild woman realized he was about to strike. She scrambled to Wolf, who was still clutching the corpse, and begged, "Wolf, tell Lin Tao to spare me! Wolf, I’m your woman! How can you bear to kill me? Wolf... you?"

  Lin Tao noticed Wolf hadn’t spoken but was still gripping the corpse tightly. Assuming Wolf was venting his anger, Lin Tao didn’t pay much attention. But then, Wolf suddenly convulsed violently, foaming at the mouth and curling into a ball.

  "Wolf, what’s wrong?" Huang stepped forward to check on him, but Wolf suddenly flipped up and attacked without warning.

  Wolf’s strike was lightning-fast, aimed directly at Huang’s heart. If Huang hadn’t been slightly out of reach and managed to block with his arm, the blow would have been fatal. Even so, Huang was sent flying five or six meters, his chest caved in. He vomited a mouthful of blood and passed out.

  "Well, well, that was close. Almost got killed by this werewolf brat," 'Wolf' said, turning to a stunned Lin Tao. "I never expected you to break my psychic hold on Wolf. It seems our intel on you was cking."

  "How is this possible? How did you possess Wolf’s body without drinking his blood?" Lin Tao took a cautious step back, eyeing the creature warily.

  "In the vampire lexicon, nothing is impossible," Wolf said with a shrug, smirking. "Do you know what a Marquis is? It’s something you insignificant humans could never comprehend."

  "Well, I’d like to see for myself!" Lin Tao flipped his dagger and charged, engaging Wolf in close combat.

  Lin Tao was confident he could defeat Wolf one-on-one, but now he was facing a werewolf controlled by a vampire Marquis. Within a few moves, Lin Tao was clearly outmatched. The Marquis’ combat skills were more than twice as powerful as Wolf’s, and with the four skinners interfering, Lin Tao quickly found himself at a disadvantage.

  "Crash!"

  Lin Tao was sent flying by a powerful punch from Wolf, smming into a tree. The impact shook the tree, sending leaves flying, and Lin Tao felt as though his body had been shattered. He tasted blood in his mouth and spat out a rge amount.

  "You’re all going to die here today! Corpse collectors, your blood tastes different!" Wolf stepped forward, his sharp cws glinting ominously. Lin Tao tried to muster his strength for one st desperate attack, but a searing pain in his chest made him gasp. His vision blurred, and he realized he had at least three broken ribs and severe internal injuries.

  Wolf looked down at Lin Tao with the eyes of a victor. Lin Tao’s eyes burned with defiance, but his body refused to obey. Just as he clenched his teeth, ready to fight to the death, a voice filled with disdain rang out.

  "Hmph, you think you can kill us? You’re not qualified!"

  Huang, who had been unconscious, suddenly woke up. With a sinister grin, he wiped the blood from his mouth, picked up a fallen dagger, and slit his wrist. As his blood dripped onto the ground, he began chanting in an incomprehensible nguage. The rhythm of the dripping blood matched his heartbeat, creating an eerie cadence.

  "No, Huang! Stop the life summoning!" Lin Tao shouted with the st of his strength, his eyes wide with horror. It was clear Huang was doing something terrifying.

  When Wolf heard the words "life summoning," even his numb body shuddered. He screamed, "Are you insane? If you die, you can still reincarnate, but this will condemn you to eternal torment in the fires of hell! Stop, you madman!"

  Wolf was terrified. He wanted to tear Huang apart, but an inexplicable force held him in pce, rendering him unable to move even a finger. He could only watch in horror as Huang made his desperate move.

  "You bastard, finally scared, huh? I’d rather burn in hell forever than let you live! Haha! Come out, demon boy, and kill this scum!" Huang ughed maniacally. Before him, a dark red, intricate circur pattern began to form.

  At first, the pattern was empty and silent, but as green fmes began to rise and dance within it, an overwhelming sense of dread filled the air. The cold, eerie fmes emitted no warmth, only a bone-chilling fear that seemed to pierce the soul. This was the hellfire of the Nine Hells.