Qian Ye did not respond, lifting Dongyue and assuming a starting stance. He then stood there silently, basking in the glow of the ancient essence, absorbing the void origin power to recover his strength. The longer the standoff, the more impatient the blood baron would become.
Indeed, the baron’s face darkened, and he coldly said, “You’re courting death!”
He attacked with a speed indiscernible to the naked eye, and an origin bullet reached Qian Ye in an instant.
In Qian Ye’s true vision, the trajectory of the bullet was clearly visible. The blood baron had no special skills in gun usage, and Qian Ye merely sidestepped to dodge it. However, the blood baron’s true strength lay in his swordsmanship. Following the bullet, a sharp and fierce aura of blood rushed towards Qian Ye, accompanied by the glint of a blade. Before Qian Ye could fully stand, the sword was already at his face!
A faint coolness swept across Qian Ye’s forearm, followed by a slight, sharp pain. It was the aura of the sword! He instantly retreated ten meters, and Dongyue swung sideways, blocking a series of sword strikes, which merged into one sound.
“Excellent swordsmanship!” The blood baron’s face became even more sinister. Suddenly, he sniffed and looked at the tip of his sword.
The full force of the blood baron’s sword aura had cut through Qian Ye’s skin, and now a drop of blood hung from the tip. This drop of blood, as red and alive as if it were about to leap out, emitted a strange aroma, causing the baron’s blood to seethe.
The blood baron brought the sword to his mouth, extending a long, crimson tongue, slowly licking the blood clean. His eyes turned blood-red, and he praised, “Delicious!”
Qian Ye frowned. The Monroe clan, though a part of the original faction, was not among the most extreme. Yet, the blood baron’s bloodlust was no different from the blood feasts he had seen before.
The blood baron plunged his sword into the ground and drew a delicate vampire blade from his chest. The bat-winged guard, made of red copper, was shiny and its edges rounded, indicating a long history, possibly passed down from previous generations.
The blood baron slowly extended his fangs, saying, “Young man, I should have turned you into a descendant, but your taste is too good. I can’t let this feast pass me by!”
He ran his fingers over the blade, and origin patterns emerged. The blood baron’s eyes, now completely deep red, filled with excitement as he enjoyed the human’s fear and panic. However, Qian Ye remained unusually calm, unshaken, which dampened the baron’s enjoyment.
With a low growl, the blood baron’s speed increased, and he lunged at Qian Ye like lightning. Qian Ye stepped back and struck, and Dongyue barely intercepted his path.
But this time, the blood baron did not dodge or weave; he simply swung, striking Dongyue and forcing the heavy sword aside. Although this caused a deep, bone-revealing wound on his hand, the vampire blade also stabbed into Qian Ye’s abdomen!
Feeling the hot, pure blood flowing into his body through the blade, the blood baron entered a boiling state, moaning involuntarily from the supreme pleasure.
At that moment, a soft thud was heard, and Qian Ye’s hand held a vampire blade, piercing the baron’s chest, right through his blood core. The baron, stunned, looked down at the hilt-deep blade in his chest, unable to comprehend how his defenses and body could be so weak, allowing a low-level human to pierce him.
The blood oozing from the wound was black and foul-smelling, as if it had rotted for days.
“Your… your blood…” The blood baron finally understood, but it was too late. All his strength drained away, and his body, no longer supported, collapsed.
Qian Ye released the blade, not drawing any essence blood. He grasped the vampire blade embedded in his own abdomen, slowly pulled it out, and threw it to the ground. Then, he removed his outer clothes and the damaged inner armor, binding the abdominal wound tightly with a cloth.
After finishing, Qian Ye looked up and said, “Come out.”
Yan Tong emerged from the darkness, glanced at the fallen corpse, and said, “Another of my kin has died by your hand.”
Qian Ye replied calmly, “We are enemies. I kill blood kin, and you kill imperial soldiers. Isn’t that our purpose on the battlefield?”
Yan Tong seemed a bit confused, “Yes. I’ve killed many Zhao clan members, haven’t I, Zhao Qianye?”
“My name is Qian Ye. Surnames are meaningless.”
Yan Tong took a deep breath, raised her head, and gazed at Qian Ye, her eyes becoming resolute, “Whether surnames matter or not, you are of the Empire. Letting you live means more of my kin will die at your hands in the future!”
Qian Ye smiled casually, “So?”
Yan Tong enunciated each word, “So, I will kill you here! The glory stained with the blood of the Holy Bloodline ends here!”
Qian Ye’s smile carried a hint of resignation, as if recalling something, “Is it already time for a fight to the death? That night was not long ago.”
Yan Tong’s face showed no emotion, “That night was meaningless. All adult life forms must mate; it’s just instinct. And I remember telling you not to meet on the battlefield again.”
“Yes, I said the same,” Qian Ye sighed, and then heard a familiar phrase.
Yan Tong said, “Eternal Night and Dawn are eternal enemies, no other possibilities!”
Qian Ye sighed, looking at Yan Tong, and saw his clear reflection in her pupils. A sudden, intense pain surged through his body, and everything went black.
Without hesitation, Qian Ye gazed back at Yan Tong, and his eye technique instantly activated. Her face paled slightly, and the clear reflection in her eyes distorted and dissipated. Qian Ye’s counterattack, though weaker than Yan Tong’s, was unexpected and disrupted her technique.
Qian Ye rolled, instantly taking cover behind a stone pillar. As he vanished, an origin bullet exploded where he had been, creating a deep crater.
Leaning against the cold cave wall, Qian Ye looked at the spot where the bullet had landed. From the smoke, he detected the scent of black titanium. Though not a black titanium annihilating bullet, it was like the high-grade origin bullets commonly used by the dark races, enhanced with black titanium to increase lethality against humans.
Intense pain came from his chest. Qian Ye pressed hard on the area of his blood core, paying a heavy price for resisting the eye technique. He had almost mobilized all his remaining blood energy, and the trauma on his blood core was re-opened by the strong impact.
Yan Tong stood still, her presence undetectable. She suddenly flashed, passing through the lingering smoke, and rushed to the pillar where Qian Ye was hiding, both guns raised.
However, the space behind the pillar was empty. At the spot where Qian Ye had been, there were a few fresh drops of blood and a silver cylindrical grenade spinning rapidly.
A Dawn Flash Grenade!
Familiar with this weapon, deadly to blood kin, Yan Tong realized too late that evading was impossible.
A blinding light exploded in the hall, making everything invisible except for the white brilliance.
When the light faded, Yan Tong crouched, her arms crossed to protect her head and face from the glare. Without opening her eyes, she swung her right hand, firing three shots. A figure nearby swayed and fell apart.
Yan Tong leaped up, opened her eyes, and found only a long, stalactite-like rock. Qian Ye’s presence was nowhere to be felt.
Her eyes filled with a deep blood color, and she scanned the hall with icy eyes, pointing her gun wherever she looked.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed from the pile of rocks she had shattered. Qian Ye had hidden another Dawn Flash Grenade behind the long rock.
The flash came too suddenly, and Yan Tong closed her eyes a moment too late, uttering a small groan and shielding her eyes. But her left hand fired three shots to the side.
This time, she heard a suppressed groan from Qian Ye.
After awakening, Yan Tong’s eye technique and perception had improved. Qian Ye’s presence was well-hidden, but the residual origin energy on Dongyue allowed her to pinpoint his location.
Qian Ye moved along the cave wall, lightning-fast, and suddenly fired several shots with the Illusory Mansha. Yan Tong’s blurred form dodged, but the origin bullets grazed her clothes, showing Qian Ye’s marksmanship had reached mastery.
Despite this, Yan Tong’s leg was hit, and a bloom of blood appeared. The pain was exponentially worse than a regular gunshot, and even Yan Tong, with her strong will, couldn’t help but scream. The Illusory Mansha’s ability amplified pain and created illusions to weaken opponents.
Yan Tong threw a grenade between them, disrupting all senses with the explosion’s smoke and origin shockwave.
The firefight was intense, with both using their weapons and combat techniques to their limits. Any mistake could result in severe injury.
Hiding in a natural crack in the cave ceiling, Qian Ye finally exhaled. The scent was similar to the one from Yan Tong’s wounded blood core, but deeper.
Without looking, Qian Ye knew the wound on his blood core had widened. He had two new gunshot wounds, and the numbness and itchiness spreading indicated the black titanium was diffusing, acting like a slow-acting poison without the Golden Blood.
Breathing deeply, Qian Ye counted down from ten to one, then leapt out, throwing several grenades in rapid succession.
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