Chapter 50: The Gift That Bled

“Very clever, no wonder the Holy Son can’t stop thinking about you, and even Empress Lilith looks at you with favor.” Yuri’s smile, though polite, gave off a chilling vibe. “Prince Edward asked me to convey his message. He will soon enter the Great Beast’s Slumber. Before that, you still have some time to carefully consider his proposal. You have… twenty-four hours.”

Without a second thought, Yantong replied, “No need to consider. I refuse.”

Yuri narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Yantong like a butcher eyeing his prey, then bowed deeply, “I hope you won’t regret it. Prince Edward has specially prepared a gift for you. A gift… quite worth looking forward to!”

Yuri retreated all the way back to the passage he came from before turning and leaving. His exaggerated and overly formal etiquette was an oppressive presence.

After a long silence, Aidan finally said, “Princess Yantong, please reconsider my earlier proposal. If you agree, I will immediately contact the elder outside. Even if Edward himself comes, it will be of no use.”

This time, Yantong didn’t immediately refuse. She stood quietly, her head lowered, and after a long moment, sighed almost imperceptibly, “No, thank you, Lord Aidan.”

“Please, do not use such formal language with me in the future.”

“Alright, Aidan. I need some time alone, so I think it’s best we part ways here.”

Aidan was taken aback, then hurriedly said, “But—”

Yantong raised her hand and gently shook it. Aidan immediately fell silent. She gazed into his eyes, slowly, very slowly, shook her head, then turned and left, vanishing into the darkness of the cave.

Only after she had been gone for a long time did Aidan, as if he had lost all his strength, kneel heavily on the ground, punching the hard rock with a fist.

The battle deep within the beast’s skeleton grew increasingly intense. The echoes of fierce combat could be heard resonating through the passages. The enemies were everywhere, no longer appearing in groups, yet they were abnormally powerful. These beasts and natives were unaffected by the will suppression and had an unusually high resistance to the primal force attacks of the two factions, making them particularly difficult to deal with.

However, no matter how strong the beasts were, they couldn’t match the diverse tactics and combat experience of the powerful individuals from the two factions. Therefore, when fighting at the same level, the beasts usually ended up defeated. This section of the journey near the central area was, surprisingly, the smoothest for the powerful individuals.

But their good fortune didn’t last long. The powerful individuals of the two factions didn’t get reinforcements, and instead, an endless tide of vicious beasts rushed down from the upper passages!

Heaven and hell were just a line apart.

Even in this world under the great beast’s will, one could see the alternation of day and night, but in the labyrinthine underground caves, the bloody night seemed to stretch endlessly. All the powerful individuals were fighting and struggling, battling the endless beasts and natives. Everywhere, death’s fangs were lurking, and there was no place to hide. All they could do was kill, continuously kill.

Since entering the Great Beast’s Slumber, it was the first time that the powerful individuals from the Evernight and the Empire fought back-to-back. In the face of death, the differences between the factions could sometimes be temporarily set aside. But not everyone would truly put aside their factional hatred. Often, just as the last beast was killed, a comrade who had just fought alongside them became an enemy.

After what felt like an eternity, when most people were exhausted, the tide of beasts was finally suppressed.

In a section of the cave that had been severely damaged, it was eerily quiet, with only the dripping sound of water from the ceiling. Occasionally, a few beasts would run through the nearby passages, but they instinctively avoided this area, perhaps due to the thick stench of blood in the air or some innate warning.

Deep in the cave, a flickering light could be seen.

Qian Ye sat against the cave wall, slowly smoking. It had been only a little over a day since he was injured by the black titanium annihilation bullet. The wound on his chest no longer oozed blood, but other parts of his body were in much worse shape.

His martial attire was now more like rags, nearly soaked with blood. The armor underneath was scratched and battered, but fortunately, there was no fatal damage. The most noticeable was a gruesome wound on his thigh.

Dongyue was carelessly thrown beside his feet. The blade, once pristine and untainted by blood, now bore a dark red hue, as if it had absorbed too much blood, dimming its once brilliant shine.

At his boot, a monster’s skull lay, about the size of a bull’s head, with a single unblinking eye wide open. As Qian Ye lit the cigarette, in the faint light, the ground was revealed to be covered with the corpses of vicious beasts, densely packed, even stacked, a sight that sent shivers down one’s spine.

The sharp, spicy taste of the tobacco lingered in Qian Ye’s mouth as his blood boiled inside him.

Against the tide of beasts, the life force plundering was an unstoppable killing technique. Although his essence blood was overflowing, Qian Ye had no intention of using the mystic chapter to refine it. After the exhilarating slaughter, all he wanted was to sit quietly, smoke, and watch the smoke rise, thinking of nothing.

Even though Qian Ye didn’t use the mystic chapter, his blood energy still spontaneously activated the boiling blood state, absorbing the essence blood through the most primitive method. The refined essence, drop by drop, flowed back through his blood vessels, slowly repairing the injuries to his internal organs and muscles.

Finally, the cigarette burned out, and Qian Ye threw away the butt, grabbed Dongyue, and dragged it as he slowly walked deeper into the passage.

In another vast cave hall, Yantong stood in the center, surveying the surroundings. The hall was exceptionally wide, but no beasts appeared, which was highly unusual. Yantong simply stood there, as if waiting for something.

After a moment, a crisp clapping sound echoed through the empty hall, and a man in a black tuxedo entered. His collar and cuffs were adorned with a badge of a blood-red rose, its center a tiny golden serpent head. He wore a black mask, revealing only a resolute and elegant jawline.

“My dear Yantong, you are as beautiful as the crescent moon in the night sky, irresistible.”

Yantong looked at him coldly, “Prince Edward, your flattery is overwhelming.”

Edward spread his arms and said in a slightly exaggerated tone, “Believe me, the gift I have prepared for you will bring even greater surprise!”

“I look forward to it.”

Edward feigned thought, raised his right hand, paused, and asked, “Before I give you this precious gift, I am very curious. What do you think of my proposal?”

“I refuse,” Yantong’s words were always concise.

“Oh! How sad!” Edward clutched his chest, deeply sighing, then snapped his fingers, “My dear, you leave me no choice. It seems I must give you that gift.”

Footsteps sounded from the adjacent passage, and two rows of elite vampire warriors entered the hall. Between them, two warriors carried a man. The man looked extremely weak, barely able to walk on his own, and the two warriors half-carried, half-dragged him in. His head was bowed, covered with a black hood, making his face indiscernible.

Edward approached the man, ripped off the hood, and despite Yantong’s efforts to control herself, she let out a gasp.

It was Count Chaos, Yantong’s blood father!

“Edward!” Yantong’s voice was filled with anger, almost shrill.

Edward slowly removed his mask, revealing a typically handsome vampire face, but his ruby-like eyes shimmered with a hint of madness. He raised his arm toward Yantong, “My dear, how do you like this gift?”

Yantong’s chest heaved, and with great effort, she calmed herself, and demanded, “What do you want?”

Edward maintained his smile, “What I want, you should know very well. Ah, no matter. I am always respectful and patient with my partner, so I will repeat it. I want you, to marry, me!”

“This…” Yantong began, but was interrupted by Edward.

“My dear, don’t rush to reject me, it breaks my heart. Ah, I understand, this gift must not be to your liking. How about this, I will add a little decoration to it, just a little!”

As he spoke, Edward pried open Chaos’ mouth and shot a stream of blood energy directly into his throat. Stimulated by the blood energy, Chaos let out a beast-like howl, his fangs extending and sinking into Edward’s finger.

However, Edward’s pale hands were as hard as tempered metal, and Chaos’ fangs couldn’t even pierce the skin. Edward grasped one of the fangs, applied pressure, and with a crack, the front half of the fang was shattered.

Chaos let out a painful scream, his body convulsing, and soon passed out. The injury to a vampire’s fangs was one of the hardest pains to endure.

Seeing this, even the faces of the Pas Clan vampires became uncomfortable. Every vampire could empathize with such pain.

Edward, however, wasn’t done. He gripped the remaining half of the broken fang and said calmly, “My dear, have you made up your mind? I am very eager to complete this small ‘decoration’!”

Yantong’s whole body trembled, and suddenly, her eyes burst with a blood-red glow, reflecting Edward’s figure in her pupils.

Edward’s face turned pale, and a pillar of crimson blood energy erupted from his body, shooting up several dozen meters, nearly touching the ceiling of the cave.

Yantong let out a muffled groan, stepping back, her eyes tightly closed with blood trickling from the corners.

Edward slowly dissipated the blood energy pillar, and two streams of blood dripped from his nose. He took out a white handkerchief, wiped his face, and, seeing the bright red on the cloth, his eyes grew more frenzied.

Yantong forced her eyes open, and though her nearly perfect eyes were now filled with bursting blood vessels, her pupils remained deep and dark.

Edward did not touch the clearly injured Yantong. Instead, he pried open Chaos’ mouth again, used blood energy to extend his fangs, and delicately held them with his fingers.

“My dear, you know how important your attitude is to me. If you cooperate, it would be a different outcome. So, I am not willing to force you unless absolutely necessary. But my patience is limited, and now, it is nearly at its end. Before I crush them, can you give me a final answer, yes or no?”

The pain from his wounds woke Chaos again, and upon seeing Yantong, he regained clarity, shouting hoarsely, “Go! Don’t worry about me!”

Yantong’s face finally showed unbearable pain, and she gritted her teeth, “Monroe will not let you go!”

Edward laughed, patting Chaos’ limp head, “For whom? Him? A nobleman from a village in Evernight? Ha, ha!”

Edward’s laughter abruptly stopped, and he said coldly, “My dear, this joke is not funny. Now, answer me!”

Yantong, looking at the struggling Chaos, closed her eyes in pain, and whispered, “I…”

At that moment, a thunderous gunshot echoed through the entire cave, and a streak of black light pierced through Chaos’ chest. It was a powerful primal force bullet, and in its wake, the blood core was reduced to nothing.

Relief spread across Chaos’ face as he strained to look at Yantong. Though he could no longer speak, his lips moved, and it was clear he was trying to say: Go!

Aidan burst out of the darkness, his primal force gun roaring, bullets raining down on Edward, while his domain surged like a tidal wave towards the Pas Clan warriors. He rushed past Yantong, throwing over his shoulder, “Go!”