“But…”
After a series of upheavals, Yantong’s reaction was somewhat sluggish. She hadn’t even cried yet and stared at Aiden in bewilderment.
Aiden roared, “Go! As long as you escape, they won’t dare to kill me!”
Yantong gave Aiden a deep look, clenched her teeth, and turned to run towards a labyrinthine cave passage. She activated her bloodline abilities, merging seamlessly with the darkness.
Aiden, assigned to her directly by the Eternal Night Council, was also a key figure from the Dark Abyss, one of the noble families among the Demon Clan. Even Edward, with his status, dared not act recklessly. However, this assumption hinged on Yantong’s escape. If she fell into Edward’s hands, then Edward would have no reservations, and any action, including killing, would be without consequence.
In the cave hall, Edward watched Yantong vanish, his rage surging to the extreme, letting out a roar.
At that moment, the warriors of the Pas clan were suppressed by Aiden’s domain, unable to raise their heads. The two barons and a viscount, who held higher ranks, were originally standing at the back and were now blocked by the crowd.
Upon hearing Edward’s roar, the three immediately sprang into action. One baron pushed through the crowd, charging directly at Aiden. The domain had limited effect on him, and he focused intently on deflecting Aiden’s origin bullets, aiming to complete the charge with minimal damage.
However, the hail of bullets Aiden released suddenly changed direction, with at least half focusing on this baron. He was instantly blasted back, his body mangled, with his blood core exposed, nearly dying on the spot.
This was the difference between a pure-blood baron of the Demon Clan’s noble family and a baron of a blood clan, though no blood clan would admit it.
The other viscount and baron were trying to circumvent the chaotic crowd, heading to the other end of the cave hall to pursue Yantong. When they saw the power of Aiden’s concentrated attack, they froze in place. Under the suppression of the beast’s will, Aiden’s burst of firepower was too powerful for most to withstand, even the viscount dared not try.
Edward’s face turned ashen, disregarding his subordinates’ attempts to deplete Aiden’s ammunition. He leaped up, his blood aura thick and substantial, charging through the black domain laced with both real and illusory origin bullets!
As the Chosen One, Edward’s strength was indeed formidable. In full force, his blood aura materialized countless beasts and birds, battling the sentient black mist in Aiden’s domain. The black fog that had enveloped half the hall instantly weakened.
Despite Aiden’s best efforts to twist the bullet trajectories and focus on Edward, the bullets only just pierced his protective blood aura, leaving superficial wounds after tearing through his uniform and inner armor.
As Edward’s fingers were about to grasp Aiden’s shoulder, Aiden suddenly flashed a mocking smile. Holding his gun in his left hand, he raised his right fist to block Edward’s grab.
But as the fist and claw were about to collide, Aiden suddenly opened his right hand, revealing a black octagonal crystal in his palm. The crystal, no larger than a finger, had wisps of black mist swirling inside, but upon closer inspection, those wisps were actually black flames!
Edward’s eyes widened, and he shouted, “You’re insane!!”
He retracted his hand abruptly, leaning back, nearly losing his balance. Edward strained to stop his momentum, shifting to the side, but it was too late.
The crystal flew from Aiden’s hand. The black flames inside, agitated, condensed into a flame, then erupted violently. The colorless crystal refracted a bizarre spectrum of colors, then shattered, spreading the black flames over a radius of tens of meters.
These flames, like mist or gauze, were inexplicably strange. Edward, unable to escape the black fire, was enveloped on his right side, emitting a pained scream, clearly in agony.
The blood aura emanating from Edward was now dense and columnar, but such defense was ineffective. The black flames, once in contact, intensified like oil poured on a fire. Yet, Edward had no choice but to continue, as the consequences of the black fire spreading further were unbearable.
Several Pas warriors nearby, touched by the black fire, fell silently, curling into charred lumps without a sound.
One of them, a first-class viscount, struggled to release his blood aura, but his red defense vanished instantly, and he began spewing flames from his mouth and nose, his entire body ablaze. This was the result of the black fire’s grievous wound, and under the pressure of the beast’s will, all his original force ignited.
“Primordial Flame! Wrath of the Deep Abyss!” The Pas viscount, standing against the cave wall, finally recognized the black fire and quickly retreated, avoiding the light, gauzy flames.
The dark primordial flame, known as the Wrath of the Deep Abyss, was unique to the Demon Clan. Said to originate from the void, it could burn the souls of the strong. Beyond the mythical legends, it was indeed a special flame, burning original force rather than matter, making it the bane of those with powerful original forces. In principle, it was similar to the suppression of the beast’s will here.
Such a rare primordial flame, even for the Demon Clan, was not to be trifled with. Even the Chosen One, Edward, dared not touch too much, only using his blood aura to neutralize the Wrath of the Deep Abyss.
Without original force as a medium, the Wrath of the Deep Abyss rapidly extinguished. Moments later, the cave hall was quiet, but the first-class viscount and several warriors had turned to ashes.
Edward struggled to his feet, his expensive uniform ruined, with charred marks from the battle with the Wrath of the Deep Abyss. Gritting his teeth, he walked to Aiden, picked him up, and glared at him, his throat rumbling with a beast-like growl, his fangs extended.
Aiden’s condition was far worse, with much of his body burned. He lay motionless on the ground, barely responding when lifted. He looked at Edward, still smiling, almost happily.
Edward finally restrained his bloodlust, retracting his fangs, and snarled, “It’s a miracle you’re not dead.”
Aiden let out a hoarse laugh and weakly said, “That’s our privilege as children of the dark.”
“Aren’t you afraid of death?” Edward gnashed his teeth, realizing he had asked a foolish question.
If Aiden hadn’t been caught in his own spread of the Wrath of the Deep Abyss, Edward might have escaped. Aiden, using himself as bait, surviving was a miracle, indicating his exceptional talent and high-quality demonic aura, barely keeping him alive.
Facing such an opponent, Edward felt at a loss. After staring at Aiden for a moment, he flung him to the ground and ordered, “Split up and chase Yantong. She can’t have gone far. Also, be careful; she’s severely wounded, but we need her alive!”
The remaining dozen or so Pas vampires rose and rushed towards the tunnel where Yantong disappeared. But the viscount did not leave with the group. He approached Edward and whispered, “Your Highness, since we’ve come this far, shouldn’t our primary goal be to deal with the Heavenly Ghost Clone? Or should I stay behind?”
“No! Go after her. I’ll handle the Heavenly Ghost Clone. Killing one will be enough to satisfy the old fogies in the council.”
The viscount’s expression turned serious, knowing Edward was determined, but he still advised, “Your Highness, if I stay, you won’t need to use that thing, and the Heavenly Ghost Clone… “
Edward slowly but firmly shook his head, saying, “Compared to Yantong, nothing else matters.”
The viscount didn’t press further, bowed slightly, and ran into the darkness at the other end of the hall.
Edward took out a small crystal box, containing four ruby-like vials of Source Blood. He consumed one, and his blood aura rapidly strengthened, healing his wounds.
As he prepared to leave, Edward glanced back at Aiden, hesitated, and tossed him a vial of Source Blood, coldly saying, “Don’t let me see you again.”
Aiden, with great effort, turned over, grabbed the vial, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to rest.
Meanwhile, Qian Ye advanced through a seemingly endless cave passage. Here, even the tools for determining time and direction seemed useless. Like the survivors of the two factions, he relied on instinct and occasional sensations of ancient essence to guide his path.
Qian Ye had just turned into a tunnel when he heard the sound of an origin gun and intense blood aura fluctuations ahead. He paused, using his true vision and perception alternately, but sensed no other racial presence. It seemed like two groups of vampires were fighting each other.
Curious, Qian Ye noticed a familiar blood aura. A bad premonition rose in his mind, so he suppressed his aura and sneaked forward.
In a small cave, two figures moved so fast they were almost invisible, locked in a deadly struggle. Every corner of the hundred-meter-wide, ten-meter-high cave was a battlefield, even the walls and ceiling.
The terrifying agility, speed, and combat skills of the vampires were on full display, both masters of their craft.
Qian Ye’s eyes narrowed, recognizing one figure without needing to see it—Yantong! Just as he reached the edge of the tunnel, the battle ended.
Yantong grunted, a stream of blood spurting from her shoulder, faintly glowing with golden threads. Her opponent was flung back uncontrollably, crashing into the wall and struggling to stand.
Yantong turned and fled without stopping, clearly injured. She rushed past within ten meters of Qian Ye, oblivious to his presence in the shadows.
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