“One of the twelve ancient clans of the Blood Race, their importance cannot be overstated. After all, this is where His Highness, the Dark Evangel Howard, resides. Even if our pawns inside have succeeded and he is not fully recovered, a crowned prince, even in an incomplete state, would still be more than a match for any ordinary duke. If he were to escape, it would be a great trouble for us in the future. That’s why I must come here personally.”
Palochia glanced into the grand hall, his voice icy, “It seems our pawns have done well. I never imagined that the Blood Race, known for their strong bloodline bonds, could have traitors within their ranks.”
The elderly duke gritted his teeth, drawing his longsword and shouting, “If you want to enter, you’ll have to step over my dead body!”
“There is no need. You are too weak.” Palochia casually waved his hand, and the elderly duke was sent flying by an invisible force, crashing into the wall and falling unconscious. He had lost much of his source blood to awaken Howard, leaving him unable to withstand even a single blow from a great noble.
Palochia entered the grand hall, speaking slowly, “Howard, are you still unwilling to come out?”
From the depths of the hall, the heavy breathing and roars behind the massive doors suddenly ceased, and a dark aura gradually expanded, enveloping the entire hall. A majestic voice boomed, “Palochia?! Are you trying to start a full-scale war?”
“The war has already begun.” The darkness surged, and the massive door of the grand hall was torn off as if gripped by an invisible hand, flung to one side.
Within the inner chamber, an ancient coffin stood upright, and its lid slowly opened, revealing Howard’s voice, “When did the Mesfield family become so crude?”
The darkness around Palochia remained undisturbed, his tone cold, “You can ponder that question when you return to the River of Blood.”
The lid of the bronze coffin was suddenly blasted open, hurtling towards Palochia. However, Palochia merely split off a portion of the darkness to meet the incoming lid. As soon as the lid was engulfed by the darkness, it dissolved and vanished.
“Do not resort to such tricks. As a former Dark Evangel, you should at least maintain some dignity when returning to the River of Blood.”
Inside the now-open bronze coffin lay an elderly member of the Blood Race, his hands clasped over his chest, still in a posture of sleep. Though not skeletal, he was clearly emaciated and far from his full, recovered form. It was evident that Howard had not completed his awakening process.
Palochia sneered, “They say a crowned prince of the Blood Race has strength on par with a great noble. You even have records of direct confrontations with great nobles. I am curious to see how much of your strength remains in this state.”
Howard opened his eyes and stepped out of the coffin, his movements still somewhat stiff. He drew a large sword from behind him and slowly raised it, “Since you have no respect for your noble heritage, there is nothing left to say. Her Majesty will not let your crimes go unpunished!”
As he spoke, a fierce wind suddenly whipped through the hall. Howard’s body swelled, like an inflated balloon, and his aura rose sharply, reaching its peak before he shouted, and the gemstone on the hilt of his sword lit up, shooting out countless blood tendrils that wrapped around him.
With a roar, Palochia condensed the darkness into multiple spears, which instantly flew and embedded themselves into the walls of the hall.
Howard’s figure disappeared, and the hall violently shook as he reappeared at the top, slamming into a wall of dense darkness.
The black wall shattered, and Howard was thrown back.
Outside the hall, many members of the Blood Race suddenly fell, blood flowing from their mouths and noses, clearly beyond saving.
This was the result of the direct clash between Howard and Palochia, the shockwave from their collision was too much for ordinary Blood Race warriors to bear.
Howard returned to the center of the hall, his expression slightly changed, “Spears of the Forbidden Realm! You’ve even brought out a holy artifact from the Council!”
Palochia replied, “What of it? The Dreamstart is also in your hands. But it won’t be long before all three holy artifacts will belong to the Emperor. Save your strength; don’t think about escaping.”
Howard’s expression changed slightly.
The Spears of the Forbidden Realm had the power to solidify space, making them a bane to any form of teleportation or escape. With this holy artifact in Palochia’s hands and the terrain of the hall working against him, Howard would find it difficult to escape even if he were fully awakened.
A bitter smile crossed Howard’s face, “It seems you’ve put in quite an effort to kill me.”
“The fall of a crowned prince can weaken the Blood Race for a century. No matter the cost, it is worth it.”
“Very well, let’s fight then! Let me see what makes the Lord of Mesfield so remarkable!”
Palochia looked around, calmly stating, “This place is perfect for a battlefield.”
As he spoke, the darkness around Palochia formed a giant hand. A simple fist clench caused the entire castle to tremble, and a terrifying surge of demonic energy and pressure instantly turned hundreds of Blood Race warriors into corpses.
Howard felt the deathly aura transmitted through the bloodline, his anger and shock growing, “Palochia! Have you no honor left?”
“Dead Bloods are just that—dead. Better to clean them up all at once.” Palochia sneered.
A battle at the level of great nobles was something even the ancient Middle Castle could not withstand. A great battle would likely turn the castle into ruins. Palochia showed no restraint, his actions even more reckless than usual.
In this way, the tens of thousands of Blood Race living and fighting in the castle would become casualties. These were Howard’s blood kin and subjects, how could he not be furious?
Palochia was clearly trying to make Howard hesitate, thereby increasing his own chances of victory. This was truly despicable. Yet, Howard had no choice but to continue.
Howard once again raised his sword, “Her Majesty will punish you for your sins!”
“You’ve said that twice already.”
Ignoring Palochia’s mockery, Howard focused on reciting an incantation, and the blood energy in the air coalesced into a sheet of paper, covered in symbolic runes.
The blood energy vanished, and the surrounding black walls of the Forbidden Realm had no effect on it, as if it were in another dimension. The paper pierced the black wall and vanished into the void.
Having sent the message to the Queen’s Hall, Howard showed no joy, instead looking at Palochia with suspicion.
Throughout the entire process, Palochia remained unusually calm, neither stopping nor interfering, simply watching Howard send the message, and then adding, “So, the Book of the Blood River looks like this. It must have cost you quite a bit of blood energy, hasn’t it?”
“Why didn’t you stop me?” Although Howard did not believe Palochia could block the unique communication method of the Blood Race, he still couldn’t help but ask.
Palochia chuckled lowly, “Why would I stop you?”
The message traveled through the void at an incredible speed, faster than normal concepts of speed. In Howard’s estimation, by the time these two sentences were exchanged, the message should have been close to the Queen’s Hall. However, at that moment, the connection between Howard and the message suddenly broke.
The instant feedback from the message’s disappearance was enough to tell Howard a lot. His expression changed drastically, “Mettatron!”
Palochia laughed heartily, “With the King of Lightlessness, do you still think you can send a message to the Queen?”
“Why would he betray the Queen, betray the Blood Race?!” Howard’s shock and rage intertwined.
Howard immediately sank his consciousness into the River of Blood, issuing a call to the other ancients, hoping to see if anyone else was awake. However, the surface of the river was as calm as a mirror, and his call was like a small stone, bouncing twice on the surface before disappearing completely, as if it had never existed.
“This, you can ask him when you return to the River of Blood.”
Palochia condensed four dark swords, floating before him, and they shot towards Howard like lightning!
Howard grunted, raising his sword and using extremely delicate sword techniques to deflect each dark sword. However, each deflection forced him to retreat slightly.
Palochia laughed, “Now is the time for you to return to the River of Blood!”
This time, over a dozen dark swords materialized, and the next wave of attacks would be incredibly violent.
In an instant, countless dark swords shot out, slicing towards Howard. Even someone as powerful as the Dark Evangel showed signs of despair. He fought with the pride of an ancient, desperately intercepting and blocking, determined to fight until the last moment.
Just then, the two great fighters heard a sharp crack, the sound of the black wall of the Forbidden Realm breaking. The dim hall was suddenly illuminated by a dream-like light.
This brilliant sword light was very familiar to both Palochia and Howard, and neither expected it to appear here.
Dreamstart!
Using a holy artifact against a holy artifact, but the Spears of the Forbidden Realm were not specialized for combat, and Dreamstart focused its power into a single point, instantly breaking through the black wall and slashing towards Palochia.
Palochia remained calm, roaring, “Bold!” His dark demonic energy formed a giant hand, grasping the sword light of Dreamstart.
Palochia, the Lord of Mesfield, had been a great noble for centuries, dominating the Evernight. Even while maintaining the Spears of the Forbidden Realm and attacking Howard, he dared to counter Dreamstart head-on.
The sword light fell, nearly splitting the giant dark hand in two, but the light itself was spent, dissolving into the darkness.
Palochia turned, suddenly seeing himself in a pair of eyes!
In those blood-amber eyes, not only was there a mass of darkness, but also the true form of Palochia. Palochia was shocked; the darkness around him, like a pale flame, was made of demonic energy, how could it be so easily penetrated?
In the eyes, Palochia’s figure suddenly cracked, then shattered into countless pieces.
Palochia felt his demon core being struck, the darkness dispersing, and a faint outline of his true form appearing.
“Destroying Eye!” Palochia’s shout was cut short as a chill rose from the depths of his heart, spreading throughout his body.
It was a sign of impending doom!
Palochia turned, only to see Qian Ye standing not far away, his wings fusing with Long Zang, and a scorching primal force bullet flying from the gun. Around the bullet, black feathers danced!
In that instant, Palochia thought of the final battle, the final shot.
Though that shot had been aimed at the sky, its power had left a lasting impression. Now, facing it again, even though the bullet was not as powerful as the one he had faced before, Palochia realized he had underestimated its power.
The bullet reached Palochia in an instant.
Amid a thunderous roar, the black walls of the Forbidden Realm shattered, but the spear shadows, though broken, quickly reformed a new black wall in front of Palochia. However, this wall crumbled on contact, barely slowing the bullet. The darkness around Palochia surged towards the bullet, enveloping it.
The bullet finally exploded, the Dawnlight turning into pure light and heat, instantly vaporizing the darkness. The tiny black feather emerged from the darkness, piercing Palochia’s body.
Palochia grunted, his hawk eyes fixed on Qian Ye, his killing intent nearly overwhelming. To be injured by a duke was a profound humiliation.
Palochia’s breathing was like thunder, and in a breath, the darkness regenerated around him, covering his body. But he had no time to deal with Qian Ye, as Dreamstart and the great sword continued their relentless assault.
Qian Ye frowned, not expecting that his shot had only injured the Lord of Mesfield and not taken him out of the fight. The dark great noble was indeed formidable.
At this moment, Palochia, weakened by successive blows, was at his most vulnerable. But Qian Ye had no more Dawnlight-infused bullets.
The opportunity was fleeting, and without hesitation, Qian Ye channeled the newly born chaotic primal force into Long Zang, firing an unprecedented bullet.
This bullet had no ostentatious might, no chilling aura, just a strange presence as it pierced the darkness and entered Palochia’s body.
Palochia froze, the darkness around him vanishing like snow under the sun. His expression changed, a mix of shock and fury. Then, with a boom, Palochia crashed through the mountain, disappearing into the night and the flames of battle.
Had Palochia actually fled?
Howard could hardly believe his eyes.
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