My OP Minion System in the Apocalypse

We moved through the dark forest, followed behind by our support squadron. Our group was likely one of the strongest units that have ever been made. It included the strongest of the elven forces and some of the highest-ranked humans in the world.

[Vampire Detected]

[Rank]: Baron; [Remaining Blood]: 100%

In front of us stood a single Baron.

Before it even had time to react, its entire body was sliced into hundreds of pieces by Alicar. Despite attempting to regenerate, it was clear that there was no hope for it. Blood smeared all over the nearby trees as the vampire's body slowly disintegrated into the earth.

"Don't go off too far to kill a vampire, staying as a group is our priority at the moment."

We continued to make our way with Alicar leading the way. From the sounds of things, the vampire hideout was quite far away. The soft mushy dirt caused my feet to sink down a little with every step. I could hear the faint chatter coming from nearby groups. For the most part, we were operating separately from most of the other squadrons. Whilst they worked as one big unit at its core, we were separate from that.

Trekking through the forest, I looked around for any other vampires that may have been nearby. Despite the immense strength of our group, a sneak attack could still prove problematic, unlike vampires, we can't regenerate our injuries.

[Vampire Detected]

[Rank]: Baron; [Remaining Blood]: 100%

Another Baron. Like before, Alicar made easy work of it, slaying it in mere seconds. The vampire disintegrated as well, disappearing into the air.

***

"We're getting closer, be wary, there are likely going to be some stronger vampires."

I drew [Mayuri-Luc-Ei] and looked around in anticipation.

[Vampire Detected]

[Rank]: Earl; [Remaining Blood]: 100%

A stronger vampire had appeared.

As soon as he saw us, his face changed.

"What on earth is this?" it mumbled.

Before we could make a move against it. It suddenly turned and ran, bolting through the woods. It must have noticed that there was too much of a power difference.

I looked over at Alicar.

"Are we going to chase it?"

"No, another group can deal with it, we need to keep moving."

Ignoring the vampire, we kept moving forwards, slowly making our way closer to their lair. Apparently, it was supposed to be a large opening in a cave or something like that. With that in mind, it would likely be a part of the large mountain that stood in the distance.

[Vampire Detected]

[Rank]: Viscount; [Remaining Blood]: 100%

Another vampire came close to engaging with us. Unlike before however, Robbie caught it with his vines. With nowhere to go, Alicar quickly made dashed over and sliced it into pieces. From what I could see, anything below a Marquess-rank was incredibly easy for us to defeat. The vampire eventually lost all of its blood and evaporated into dust.

It was clear that the density of vampires was increasing as we got closer. Not even a minute later, another vampire was spotted. ????????????????e????????. ????o????

[Vampire Detected]

[Rank]: Earl; [Remaining Blood]: 100%

It was another Earl, different from the one we saw before. Robbie acted quickly again and conjured vines underneath its feet. Wrapping around its legs, the vampire was unable to escape. The Earl was still pretty strong so it slowly broke free, but Alicar quickly engaged it. The vampire drew its crimson sword, managing to block a few of Alicar's attacks.

However, Alicar was on a whole different level. After a few feints, he broke through the vampire's defence, slashing away at its flesh.

[Rank]: Earl; [Remaining Blood]: 87%

[Rank]: Earl; [Remaining Blood]: 61%

[Rank]: Earl; [Remaining Blood]: 33%

It wasn't long before the vampire was completely out of strength. Alicar was just too powerful for it. The rest of us just watched from the side as he easily slew the vampire with ease

[Rank]: Earl; [Remaining Blood]: 1%

After defeating the vampire, our group continued marching onward. The mountain was getting larger and larger as we got closer to its base. Even the number of trees was starting to die down as we got closer to the vampires' lair.

Carefully looking around, we observed the general area.

[Vampire Detected]

[Vampire Detected]

[Vampire Detected]

My ability was going like crazy. There were a lot of vampires nearby.

"What are we going to do about all of these vampires?" asked Maia.

"We ignore them and leave them for the 3rd and 4th regiments. We're going to have a short break before entering. Get anything you may want from the support group, this may be our last chance to eat and rest."

Around a hundred metres out from the entrance of the cave. We set up a crude, minimalist camp and cooked some food. The support group had a lot of different items for us, from potions to snacks, to water, to new clothes. We huddled around and ate lunch.

I was having some shortbread biscuits alongside a plump sandwich and some tea. We would be carrying water with us but no food, since we would likely never have an opportunity to eat it. After finishing my food, I got up and drank a stamina potion. The walk didn't really make me tired, but even the most minimal of enhancements would be worth it.

Maia and Chloe were having their swords sharpened and Alicar was grabbing some items to put around his waist, like flashbangs and smoke grenades. Elanor and her archers were stocking up on arrows and other pieces of equipment.

As I looked off into the distance, I wondered if I'd really be able to kill a Progenitor.

I still hadn't even tested my [Sword Saint] ability yet, but I hoped that it would make a significant difference in my fight against the vampires.

I needed it to, otherwise, I might never make it out alive.

As everyone finished with their preparations, we grouped up once again and began making our way into the entrance of the dark, perilous lair of the vampires.