Rosen felt as if countless sharp needles had pierced his neck. The intense pain radiated outwards from the wound, causing the muscles around his neck and even his arms to spasm violently. His forehead veins bulged from his clenched teeth, making his face look extremely contorted.
"Ahhhhhh…" Rosen let out a suppressed groan, sounding somewhat like a wild beast's growl.
The sight was truly terrifying. Annie was somewhat alarmed and instinctively reached to wipe the ointment off Rosen's neck.
Rosen sharply stopped him: "Don't move! Just leave it like that!"
In the game, he had used this low-level exorcism potion on NPCs before, and their reactions were exactly the same as his now. While it was certainly painful, it proved the potion's formulation was correct.
Rosen couldn't help but sigh: 'A game is just a game; what you see is only the surface. Only by truly entering this world can you truly understand its darkness.'
About half a minute later, the pain in his neck began to slowly subside. After another three minutes or so, the pain finally subsided to a level Rosen could easily bear.
He let out a long breath: "Give me the rest of the herbs."
After receiving the medicine, Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, and forced down the entire paste. Finally, he took a large gulp of water from his water pouch to wash away the bitterness in his mouth.
After waiting for about half a minute, a sudden, intense burning pain shot through his stomach. The pain was extremely fierce, as if a bomb had exploded in his stomach.
"Hmph~" Rosen groaned, clutching his stomach and kneeling on the ground. His back buckled uncontrollably, his head hitting the ground, his hands gripping the weeds tightly, his body trembling, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
For a moment, Rosen even had the illusion that his internal organs were being roasted; he thought he was going to die from the pain.
"Rosen, are you alright?" Annie crouched beside Rosen, at a loss for what to do.
"I'm...I'm...I'm okay, wait..." Rosen could no longer utter a complete sentence.
In the horrific agony, Rosen's mind was on the verge of collapse, various thoughts swirling in his head.
'Why am I enduring this pain? Why am I running away? Being sucked dry isn't a particularly painful process; death would be the end of it all, maybe I could even go back to Earth.'
'No, I can't give up! Even if this is just a virtual dream, I must persevere to the end, I must not give up halfway!'
'But why am I persevering?'
'To reach the summit, one must endure the pain!' A great victory is always accompanied by immense sacrifice. "Endure it, endure it! Only by enduring it will I have a chance to kill Viken the vampire!"
With this self-encouragement, Rosen persevered.
This time, the pain lasted even longer than before, a full three minutes before it began to subside, and another three minutes before it no longer hindered Rosen's movements.
Rosen's face was as white as paper, his body soaked in cold sweat. He struggled to his feet and said to Annie, "Now, stab your Lily in the buttocks. Just a light stab, enough to draw blood."
"What's the point?" Annie was puzzled, but Rosen's performance was truly astonishing. His incredible pain tolerance, his courage, and his quick thinking were unlike that of a pampered rich young master. Although she had only known him for an hour, she already greatly admired this young man.
Now that he had said so, although she hesitated, she complied. She took out a dagger and lightly cut the black horse's rump, and blood immediately flowed out.
"Make a light cut on my arm, and splatter my blood onto Lily's wound. Just a few drops will do!"
"Hmm? I think I understand."
She did as instructed, and after finishing, she bandaged Rosen's wound. "Does this really work?"
"It does." Rosen began to explain, "The herb I used earlier is a low-level exorcism potion. It can't dispel Blood Seal magic, but it can greatly suppress its aura. Each use lasts for three days. The biggest characteristic of Blood Seal magic is that it spreads rapidly through blood. By mixing my blood with the horse's blood, the Blood Seal magic will spread to the horse. In this way, the magical aura emitted by the horse will be very strong, like a candle flame in the dark. With one light and one shadow, we can temporarily evade Viken's pursuit."
Blood Seal magic sounds mystical, but its characteristics are very similar to infectious diseases on Earth, specifically those that spread through blood. Those infected do not show any symptoms, but they emit a peculiar odor. Ordinary people can't smell this scent, but vampires are extremely sensitive to it and can easily track it.
Annie frowned. "What if Viken finds Lily? He'll find her very quickly. Besides, Lily is a fine horse."
She was reluctant to part with her.
Rosen understood Annie's feelings. In this world, horses are incredibly intelligent, and Annie's reluctance was understandable. However, the situation forced them to act quickly.
He said urgently, "Lily isn't the only bait. Look, there's a forest on both sides of the road, with plenty of animals—rabbits, wolves, bears, deer—all can be used as bait. With so many baits, Lily might not necessarily die. After all, she's just a horse, and vampires aren't that desperate, right?"
Hunters have difficulty dealing with monsters, but dealing with wild animals is a piece of cake.
"Yes!" Annie exclaimed instinctively, her eyes lighting up. The more she thought about it, the more brilliant the idea seemed, and she couldn't help but clap her hands. "Wow, how clever of you, little one! You even came up with this ingenious idea. That way, the vampire will be running around like crazy."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!" Rosen urged.
"Of course! Of course!"
Annie unloaded all the bundles from the horse's back, slung them all over her shoulder, and then slapped the horse's rump hard. The black horse, Lily, winced in pain and immediately began to gallop along the road.