I Awakened The Ancient Vampire System

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Factory

Day three dawned.

The residential and shopping center zones were behind them. Every building they’d passed was silent, every zombie eliminated. The only thing left in their assigned territory was the factory cluster — 1195 zombies concentrated inside a single industrial complex.

Lucian stood on a rooftop three hundred meters from the factory’s perimeter, looking through Eyes of the Eternals. The golden glow of his irises swept across the complex.

It was massive. Steel mills with collapsed roofs. Warehouses arranged in a grid pattern. Three smokestacks rose from the main building — a sprawling structure of concrete and rusted metal that covered nearly an entire city block. The zombies were packed inside that main building like sardines. Red signatures filled his vision, clustered so densely they blurred together.

And at the center of it all, deeper inside the main building, sat a single signature that burned brighter than the rest.

Early Core Realm.

"The normal and Neophyte zombies are all inside the main building," Lucian said, deactivating his eyes.

Ryan studied his wrist display. "If we go in the front, we’ll be fighting all of them at once. That’s over a thousand zombies in a confined space."

"Then we don’t go in the front," Clara said.

"Draw them out," Ryan suggested. "Create noise at the perimeter. Pull the normal and Neophyte zombies out in waves. Thin the numbers before engaging the Core Realm one."

Lucian shook his head. "That could take hours. And if the Core Realm zombie decides to join the fight while we’re dealing with the smaller ones, we’ll be overwhelmed."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I’ll go after the Core Realm zombie directly."

Clara turned to him. "It’s Early Core Realm. Same as me. I can take it."

Lucian looked at her an assuring smile. "I want to try out my strength. A month of Allistar’s training. I need to see if it was worth it."

"Lucian—"

"If I need help, I’ll call out. You three handle the rest."

Clara studied his face for a long moment. Then she nodded.

Ryan adjusted his glasses. "Lumina can act as my weapon and armor. Between me, Rose, and Clara, we can handle the Neophyte zombies. The normal ones won’t be a problem."

Rose flexed her fingers. Her shield generator hummed on her wrist. "Just don’t die in there."

"No promises."

They moved to the factory’s eastern edge. The main building’s side wall had a massive hole — probably from a collapsed crane — that led directly into the interior. Through it, Lucian could see the dim shapes of zombies shuffling in the darkness.

"Go," Lucian said.

Clara, Rose, and Ryan moved toward the hole. Clara raised her hand. A ice shard flew into the interior and shattered against a concrete pillar.

Crack.

The reaction was immediate. A groan rose from inside the building — a collective sound from over a thousand throats. Zombies began pouring out through the hole and the main entrance two hundred meters to the north.

Clara met them with a wall of ice. Rose dropped a barrier to funnel them into a narrow corridor. Ryan’s hands glowed as ice formed around his wrists — Lumina had morphed into gauntlets of living plant matter that channeled his Ice Creation with enhanced range and power.

The three of them held the choke point. Zombies funneled in and died. Ice shards. Force pulses. Frozen ground that tripped and stalled.

Lucian watched for three seconds. Then he turned away.

Light Steps.

His body became a streak of white, racing along the factory’s outer wall toward the far side. He found a broken window near the building’s rear and slipped through.

Inside, the factory was dark. Massive machinery sat dormant — steel presses, conveyor belts, furnace chambers. The air smelled like rust and rot. Zombies shambled in the distance, but they were all moving toward the eastern exit, drawn by the noise Clara had created.

The deeper sections were empty.

Lucian moved through the darkness with Eyes of the Eternals active. Golden light swept across rusted metal and crumbling concrete. He followed the bright signature at the building’s center.

It was in the main furnace hall.

The space was enormous — a cathedral of industry with a vaulted ceiling fifty meters high. The central furnace dominated the room, a massive cylinder of rusted steel. And standing before it, motionless, was the Core Realm zombie.

It had been a man. Once. Now it was seven feet tall, its body warped by the virus into something between human and beast. Grey skin stretched over corded muscle. Its jaw was distended, filled with teeth that were too long and too sharp. Its eyes were black — no white, no iris, just solid black that seemed to absorb light.

Lucian activated Eyes of the Eternals fully.

Early Core Realm Zombie

Ability: B-Rank Sound Blast

Threat Level: High

Weak Points: Spine junction (C7), auditory canal, left temple

Sound Blast. B-Rank. Same type as Julian Morel’s ability but in zombie form — less controlled, and more raw power.

The zombie’s head turned. Those black eyes found Lucian.

It moved.

The distance between them — twenty meters — vanished in a fraction of a second. A fist the size of a melon came at Lucian’s face with enough force to shatter stone.

Light Steps.

Lucian repositioned five meters to the right. The fist hit air. Lucian was already countering — Moon Shattering Blade in a horizontal arc aimed at the zombie’s torso.

The zombie blocked with its forearm. The A-Rank blade cut into grey flesh but didn’t go deep. Early Core Realm durability was no joke.

The zombie opened its mouth.

SCREEEECH.

The Sound Blast hit Lucian like a physical wall. The air itself compressed and detonated. Lucian’s ears rang. His vision blurred. The force sent him skidding backward across the concrete floor.

He shook off the disorientation. Phantom Walked through the zombie’s follow-up punch and appeared at its flank. Blood coated his hands — hardening into claws five inches long, each one sharp enough to cut steel.

He raked the claws across the zombie’s back. Four parallel lines of black blood appeared. The zombie roared and spun. Lucian ducked under its arm and drove a blood claw into its ribs.

The claw punched through. The zombie grabbed Lucian’s wrist and threw him.

Lucian flew thirty meters. Hit a steel press. The metal dented around his body.

He stood. Wiped blood from his lip. The zombie was already coming — fast, relentless, black eyes fixed on him with mindless hunger.

Lucian raised the Moon Shattering Blade. Coated it in light — Light Blade active, layered with Crescent Moon Slash energy. The sword glowed like a crescent moon.

The zombie charged.

Lucian met it.

Their clash shook the furnace hall. Sword met fist. Light met darkness. Lucian’s speed — amplified by Light Steps — let him match the zombie’s raw power with precision. Every strike targeted a weak point. Every dodge created a counter angle.

Blood claws on his left hand. Moon Shattering Blade in his right. He switched between them fluidly — a claw slash to create an opening, a sword strike to exploit it. The zombie’s grey skin accumulated cuts and gashes. Black blood splattered across the concrete.

But it kept coming. Early Core Realm stamina was enormous. And every time it opened its mouth, Lucian had to break off and reposition or eat another Sound Blast.

It’s not tiring.

Lucian gritted his teeth. The Moon Shattering Blade hummed in his grip. He needed to end this before his mana ran dry.

The zombie charged again. Mouth opening as a sound blast was building.

Lucian didn’t dodge this time.

He charged straight at it.