CA - Chapter 232
Chapter 232
The Vampires’ class system is extremely strict. Although Lucille was a stranger to them, a second-generation, the difference in rank was undeniable. Faced with her commanding words, the third-generation elders, long accustomed to their lofty positions, all wore grim expressions. In the end, however, no one stepped forward to resist; they simply stood there in silence.
If it had been any other clan standing before them today, they might not have felt so aggrieved. But the Gangrel... a clan that fought like wild beasts.
They had lived long enough, but none of them wanted to die.
Various thoughts churned in the minds of the Vampire elders. Beverly informed her clan's elder of Lucille's identity, then said in a low voice, "Regarding this matter, I think we should capture a few Tzimisce Vampires and question them."
Before Evan's death, the Tzimisce clan had been assisting the Xi-Tai clan in creating hybrids.
Beverly had little interest in hybrids, but if this particular hybrid had broken the natural laws, then she would have no choice but to re-evaluate Lucille.
The elder listened patiently until Beverly finished, then nodded. She gave Lucille a deep look before turning and leading her people away.
With the Brujah taking the lead, the other clans also began to leave one after another. Lars frowned but did not stop them.
Seeing the Vampires withdraw, Lucille retracted her oppressive aura. Suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed from above. A bolt of lightning tore the sky in two, and a beast over ten meters tall, with the body of a lion and the head of a rhinoceros, emerged from a black vortex. A green arrow and a black arrow, entwined, flew toward the beast. But the sharp arrows, capable of piercing a magic dragon's wings, failed to penetrate the beast's hide this time.
The two arrows fell away powerlessly as if they had struck an iron plate. The beast, enraged, threw its head back and roared, swiping its sharp claws at Delphine.
Delphine's expression changed slightly as she dodged aside. Jade-green vines wrapped around the beast's claws, but it quickly snapped them.
Tang Qiu, who had been observing the Blood Demon, had her attention drawn to the beast. She frowned. If Delphine couldn't stop this creature, the Holy See's plan would be affected.
She could already see Reese, the Saintess, and the others preparing to chant a spell.
Just as Tang Qiu was pondering how to help Delphine, a familiar presence appeared beside her. She turned her head, saw Lucille, and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Delphine can't handle it alone."
Lucille glanced at the Blood Demon, which was faintly visible within the blood mist, and nodded at Tang Qiu. "I'll go stop it," she said in a low voice. "You be careful."
Tang Qiu reached out and squeezed Lucille's fingers, saying with a smile, "I will."
Lucille turned her hand to grasp Tang Qiu's wrist, caressing it for a moment before turning and flying toward the beast like a bolt of red lightning.
Sharp nails grew from her palms, and she stabbed viciously at the beast's neck. The beast struggled in pain, its feet cracking the ground beneath it.
With Lucille keeping the beast occupied, Delphine was finally able to raise her longbow again.
Tang Qiu's gaze followed Lucille. Seeing that she still had strength to spare while fighting the beast, the corners of her mouth curved into a slight smile.
Just then, the Blood Demon, shrouded in the blood mist before her, suddenly opened her eyes. Her red pupils flickered with a strange and excited light. She brandished the longspear in her hand, and a red glow sliced the mountain below in two. The exhilarating feeling of reclaiming her weapon made her throw her head back and laugh out loud.
But the laughter lasted only a few seconds before it stopped abruptly. The Blood Demon saw Tang Qiu standing not far away, staring at her quietly.
Snow-white hair hung smoothly down her back, and sharp nails were clearly visible on her hands at her sides. The woman was stunningly beautiful. Her sky-blue eyes seemed to be veiled by a layer of mist in the dim light, but they cleared in the blink of an eye. The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and she possessed a gentle yet noble aura.
The person before her looked gentle and harmless, but the sharp nails and powerful aura made the Blood Demon's expression darken instantly.
More than the Holy See, she detested Werewolves.
If the people of the Holy See were prevented from using their light magic, they were nothing more than ants that could be crushed at will. The Blood Demon had never feared them.
But Werewolves were different. Like her "old friend" Wolf Fang, they were bloodthirsty and fearless in battle. Their willingness to die made her grind her teeth in hatred.
Seeing that the Blood Demon had noticed her, Tang Qiu habitually pulled her lips into a smile and said softly, "A pleasure to meet you. I am Grace Field, Young Chief of the Wolf Race."
This was the first time Tang Qiu had introduced herself by her title as the Werewolf Young Chief. Seeing the Blood Demon's impatient expression, her smile deepened.
Her Werewolf domain had already been deployed when she approached the Blood Demon. The Werewolf aura concealed the Power of Light on Tang Qiu, so even the Blood Demon had no suspicion about her identity.
She had fallen into a deep slumber after the end of the Holy War; it was impossible for her to imagine that a Werewolf could also practice light magic.
The surname "Field" brought some unpleasant memories to the Blood Demon's mind. She raised the longspear in her hand, aiming it at Tang Qiu's chest. The Blood Demon sneered disdainfully, "You think you can stop me?"
Although the Werewolf before her had a strong aura, the Blood Demon had experienced the Holy War and faced even more powerful Werewolves. As such, she looked down on Tang Qiu's strength.
Faced with the Blood Demon's scorn, Tang Qiu sighed softly. "And what if I can't stop you?" She glanced down below, where the Werewolves, Elves, and the Holy See were fighting the demonic creatures in unison, their coordination so perfect it was as if they had fought together countless times.
No one wants to live in darkness.
Tang Qiu withdrew her gaze and smiled at the Blood Demon, her expression calm and composed. "Besides, how do you know I can't stop you?"
"The Light Goddess once delivered a divine oracle: you are destined to fail and be sealed here once more." Tang Qiu glanced, intentionally or not, at the place where the Blood Demon had been sealed.
The Blood Demon's face darkened. She said sinisterly, "Trying to scare me with the Light Goddess? Do you think I don't know that the Light Goddess is just a monstrous lie concocted by your Holy See?"
Believers of the Light Goddess? That was just the Holy See looking for a protective shield. She was a general by the Dark God's side; how could she not know the character of that woman, the Light Goddess?
Her compassion might have been real, but gods were lofty beings. Would they truly care about believers from the weaker races?
The Blood Demon scoffed. Gods lacked humanity.
Her bluff called, Tang Qiu gave a light laugh and shook her head. "I can't fool you, it seems."
Then, her tone suddenly shifted. "But what if the oracle came from the Dark God?"
"The Dark God sealed you underground precisely because she didn't want you to emerge and disrupt this continent. Blood Demon, you are defying the Dark God's command."
Tang Qiu's expression gradually grew cold as she enunciated each word, "Defying a god's will... do you think you can win?"
Tang Qiu's sudden mention of the Dark God truly startled the Blood Demon. But her daze lasted only a moment before her mind was once again consumed by rage.
"Why wouldn't I win?" the Blood Demon roared, swinging her longspear as she charged at Tang Qiu. "The Dark God... she left this continent long ago! Why should I still fear her?"
Since the gods had already withdrawn from this continent, why should they care whether she wanted to conquer it?
Tang Qiu had stoked the smoldering fire of resentment the Blood Demon had accumulated for thousands of years. The longspear whistled through the air, forcing Tang Qiu to do nothing but dodge. The weapon grazed her arm and shoulder, leaving bloody gashes.
The Blood Demon seemed to have lost all reason. Tang Qiu felt her palms go numb, her lips pressed into a tight line. She dodged the Blood Demon's attacks, appearing as if she were trying to wear down her stamina.
The Blood Demon saw through her scheme and sneered, "Don't waste your effort. How long do you think you can last against a general of the Dark God?"
She had reclaimed her body. Although half of her soul had perished, leaving her with only a third of her original strength, that one-third was more than enough to conquer the continent of Statu.
Tang Qiu merely smiled nonchalantly at the Blood Demon's words, continuing to evade her attacks. The Blood Demon's expression hardened. A blood-red hand materialized out of thin air, reaching for Tang Qiu's shoulder. At the same instant, the tip of the longspear thrust toward her chest.
Attacked from two sides, Tang Qiu had no way to dodge. She furrowed her brow and chose to face the longspear head-on. She raised her hands and caught the spear just as it was about to pierce her chest. The powerful force sent her flying backward, and she felt blood rising in her throat. Suppressing the discomfort, Tang Qiu twisted her wrists and threw the longspear away.
A blood-stained hand wrapped around Tang Qiu's back, helping her stabilize herself. Faye glanced at Tang Qiu's condition, then withdrew her hand and asked, "Are you all right?"
Tang Qiu took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light and drank it, suppressing the churning blood in her chest. Even at a time like this, she could still smile and joke with Faye, "If you'd been a moment later, I might not have been."
Faye smiled, but her expression quickly turned serious again. Facing the Blood Demon, she couldn't be as composed as Tang Qiu. After all, if they were defeated, the Wolf Race would be annihilated.
A white figure flew up from below and landed beside Faye. Ophelia had sustained some injuries while fighting Glanna. She kept her head lowered, daring only to watch Faye's expression from the corner of her eye, afraid she would be sent away.
But Faye only glanced at her and said in a low voice, "Be careful."
Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the blood from her hands, thought for a moment, and said softly, "You don't have to worry about me, sister."
This was the first time Faye had shown her concern since she had returned to the Wolf Race. Ophelia tried to suppress the joy bubbling up inside her and deliberately avoided looking at Tang Qiu.
At a time like this, Tang Qiu didn't notice Ophelia's subtle behavior. Seeing the Blood Demon approaching with her longspear again, she said quickly in a low voice, "Spread out."
The red longspear was like a streak of fire. Faye's eyes narrowed as she closed the distance and caught the spear with one hand. Ophelia darted in front of the Blood Demon, her sharp nails slashing at her neck.
The Blood Demon snorted coldly and threw Ophelia aside with one hand. Ophelia stabilized herself in mid-air and transformed directly into a white wolf, pouncing down in a rage.
While restraining the struggling longspear, Faye kept a close watch on Ophelia and the Blood Demon. After a moment, something seemed to occur to her, and she began to search for Tang Qiu.
She had seen Tang Qiu fight before. She was a proper Werewolf and would never shrink from a battle. So, Faye was a little surprised that she hadn't seen her make a move yet.
Faye turned her head and found Tang Qiu not far to the Blood Demon's right. She was clutching her arm as if injured, her head bowed so her expression was hidden.
Faye frowned. Just as she was about to knock the longspear away to check on Tang Qiu, the Blood Demon struck Ophelia with her palm. The white wolf let out a pained cry, but its sky-blue eyes remained fixed on the Blood Demon.
Seeing Ophelia injured, Faye knocked the longspear away and darted in front of the white wolf, catching the Blood Demon's fist in her hand.
The Blood Demon retreated a few steps and recalled her longspear. The situation was changing rapidly, and she was now quite far from Tang Qiu's position.
Seeing the opportunity was lost, Tang Qiu lowered her hand. She circled the Blood Demon, calmly waiting for the right moment.
Comments
Post a Comment