Chapter 115: The Pincer Attack

From such a close distance, with Qian Ye’s golden blood surging and his bloodline powers still escalating, even the concealment of his bloodline could not fully suppress the outflow of his aura. After all, Russell possessed the rank of a baron, and under the pressure of such a disparity in power, it was inevitable that he would sense something amiss.

Qian Ye, having caught his breath, immediately retreated while holding his sword, as if gliding across water, and in a few steps, he had flashed to over dozens of meters away.

Russell’s eyes turned a deep crimson, and with a sharp gleam, he immediately gave chase. As he saw Qian Ye dart into the ruins of a building, a cold smile appeared on his face. He charged straight ahead, preparing to utterly destroy the wreckage once more.

The moment Qian Ye turned behind a half-collapsed wall, he just saw a shadow glide through a remaining window like a ghost, and they nearly collided.

Qian Ye was greatly alarmed, for he had not sensed the other’s presence at all. Even when he caught a fleeting glimpse, he instinctively tried to dismiss it, resulting in a delayed reaction. The girl opposite him, too, had not noticed Qian Ye. By now, Qian Ye’s golden blood had stabilized, and his bloodline concealment had once again masked the unwanted aura.

A clear, beautiful face suddenly appeared before Qian Ye’s eyes, and his expression changed slightly—his visitor was Bai Kongzhao.

Bai Kongzhao had never expected to meet Qian Ye here. Her actions halted, her little face filled with astonishment, and her mouth hung open in shock.

Before Qian Ye could decide whether to deal with her, a tyrannical, overwhelming force suddenly pressed down upon them. Then, with a loud boom, bricks and metal debris flew everywhere like an explosion, and dust rose, obscuring everything. Russell, shield in hand, rushed forward at high speed. Before he even arrived, the force of his charge had already destroyed the remnants of the house.

Bai Kongzhao’s figure disappeared in the cloud of dust, but before she vanished, Qian Ye saw her turn to look at Russell, her eyes filled with a hunger akin to a weary traveler in the desert seeing a steaming meal.

“Is she planning to ambush him or me?” This thought flashed through Qian Ye’s mind.

As the mountainous force came crashing down, Qian Ye dispelled all distracting thoughts and faced Russell once more. This time, instead of engaging in a brute-force contest, he wielded his sword like the wind, striking the massive shield with varying levels of force, while simultaneously retreating rapidly.

In no time, Russell felt extremely uncomfortable. His shield barely absorbed any impact, and his powerful strength found no outlet, save for advancing forcefully, chasing Qian Ye, and attacking relentlessly, giving him no chance to escape.

Any obstacle in his path, Russell ignored, plowing through directly. Ahead lay a pile of rubble; this building had collapsed completely, leaving almost no intact walls, save for a lone, half-standing pillar.

Qian Ye leaped up, and just as Russell’s massive shield collided again, his body suddenly became incredibly light, as if weightless, riding the wave of primeval force and drifting over ten meters away.

Once again, Russell felt the discomfort of his ineffectiveness, but he had started to adapt. His movements in retracting the shield were much steadier than before, and his stride remained unaffected. With a swift kick, he shattered the half-standing pillar into countless fragments.

However, as he kicked, he suddenly sensed something amiss. Looking down, he saw a crack had appeared on his alloy boot, and blood was gushing out, the wound deep enough to reveal bone.

Russell, propelled by inertia, took another large step forward, and only then did the excruciating pain from his ankle register, causing him to roar in agony. His right leg gave way, and he fell to one knee.

But Russell was a seasoned fighter, and even in this sudden crisis, he maintained his vigilance. Sensing something wrong behind him, he raised his shield and swung his greatsword back.

Behind Russell, Bai Kongzhao instantly flattened herself on the ground, her long hair flying in the air. Russell’s greatsword grazed her back, severing half of her hair, which fluttered in the air.

Yet, the girl’s long blade pierced at a strange angle, accurately finding a gap in Russell’s armor, leaving a sizable wound on his lower back.

Bai Kongzhao then scuttled backward like an insect, swiftly distancing herself from Russell. Blood stained the tip and edge of her blade, the mark of her work on Russell’s foot.

Russell turned, his eyes blazing with fury, and stared at Bai Kongzhao. His pupils flared with a blinding crimson light, piercing directly into her eyes.

Puppetry! This had been an ancient technique used by the higher bloodlines to control the stronger members of their subordinate races. Though it could not fully dominate the target’s mind, it inflicted unbearable pain and fear. However, after the outbreak of the Dawn War, this technique had largely lost its effectiveness, becoming a rare innate ability of a few upper-tier bloodlines.

Despite clearly being hit by puppetry, Bai Kongzhao’s face only showed a flicker of surprise before she ran even faster, vanishing into the ruins. She was entirely unaffected by the puppetry.

Russell was stunned. This innate ability was one of his trump cards against the Dawn faction. If not for the alertness prompted by the girl’s combat skills, he would not have used it on a mere level-ten human warrior, yet it had utterly failed?

Just then, Russell’s shield began to vibrate violently, nearly flying out of his hands. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, adding more force to regain control.

In front of Russell, Qian Ye had already turned and launched an attack, his Eastern Peak circling overhead, gathering momentum, and then fiercely striking Russell’s shield.

This collision produced a low, resonant sound, but the damage was equally devastating. Within a ten-meter radius, the rubble was blasted into the sky, turning into a fine dust.

Qian Ye’s strike was a horizontal slash, and with Russell’s injured ankle, he couldn’t withstand the force, being swept several meters to the side.

Seeing Russell move, Qian Ye’s eyes flashed, and he held his sword with both hands, pushing off the ground to rush forward, actually colliding bodily with Russell’s shield.

This unexpected attack caught Russell off-balance, and under the forceful impact, he staggered backward. Just two steps, and Russell remembered something, shouting inwardly, “No!” Without hesitation, he turned his shield to cover his vital points behind him.

As soon as the shield was in place, Russell’s hand trembled, the shield surface pummeled by a relentless barrage of attacks.

Qian Ye’s offensive was exhausted, and he took several steps back to dissipate the counterforce from the reckless charge. Standing still, he pointed the Eastern Peak at the ground, the engravings on the blade lighting up, ready for the next lethal move.

On the other side, Bai Kongzhao, having missed her strike, immediately lunged forward, planting her feet on the shield, flipping gracefully, and landing ten meters away. She then fixed her gaze on Russell, crouching behind his shield, as if eyeing the most delicious of prey.

On the tower, Bai Longjia had been watching the battle closely. Raising his right hand, he shouted, “Fire!”

Several gunshots sounded almost in unison with his command, and powerful sniper rounds crossed the battlefield, instantly hitting Russell. His heavy armor could not withstand these armor-piercing sniper rounds, and within moments, his body was riddled with gaping, bloody holes, the charred smell filling the air.

Around Russell, his blood aura surged, and his shield glowed with a hazy bronze light. Despite the sudden attack, he remained calm, rapidly shifting positions while guarding against Qian Ye and Bai Kongzhao, who were several meters away. Glancing around, he suddenly saw dozens of Bai Family warriors appearing nearby, surrounding him.

A sense of danger arose in Russell’s heart, and he roared, slamming his fist into the ground. Blood-colored ripples spread out from him, and from the swirling blood aura, dozens of fierce beasts formed, charging at the Bai Family warriors.

The fastest was a blood leopard with long, flowing fur, which swiftly passed by a Bai Family warrior. The warrior staggered, dropping his gun and clutching his throat, blood gushing between his fingers. His eyes filled with horror as he slowly fell. Meanwhile, the blood leopard had already leapt onto another warrior, biting into his neck.

These ferocious creatures, formed from blood aura, wreaked havoc, claiming the lives of most of the Bai Family warriors in a blink. Russell’s domain seemed perfectly suited for mass slaughter on the battlefield.

Seeing Russell unleash his domain, Qian Ye, who had been waiting for the right moment, acted. The Eastern Peak swayed gently, and a sword energy shot silently towards Russell.

**Annihilation Slash!**

Qian Ye had been practicing this technique for days, and now, it was executed with no trace of ostentation, even the sword energy almost imperceptible. However, this strike consumed nearly half the primeval force compared to previous uses, and its power was unimaginable.

Russell, managing his domain and dodging snipers, suddenly sensed a deadly threat. Unable to move his shield, he could only pull back, kneeling on one knee, protecting his head with both arms, as his body radiated a strong bloodlight, the domain almost taking a physical form, like a blood pool several meters in diameter.

Without warning, the blood aura domain split in two, cutting several blood beasts in half, which then reverted to blood aura, merging back into the domain.

Russell slowly lowered his arms, and there was a soft *pop* as his arm guard split into two pieces, falling to the ground. On his arms, two thin, red lines appeared, almost invisible to the naked eye. The moment he moved, the cuts widened, turning into horrific wounds that reached the bone.

Qian Ye was surprised; the sword had only cut through half of Russell’s bone, not severing his arms. Staring at the metallic gleam of Russell’s bone, Qian Ye pondered deeply.

Russell’s domain, too, had been split by Qian Ye’s sword, though it quickly recovered, the blood aura noticeably thinned, and several blood beasts vanished. Opening a domain on the battlefield had its pros and cons; one downside was that if attacked by a powerful opponent, it would deplete the user’s primeval force quickly.

Russell’s blood beast domain was of considerable rank, and he never expected it to be so easily sliced apart, dealing a severe blow.

Bai Longjia had already given further orders, and several Bai Family warriors rushed in, attacking Russell together.

Although diverting such force increased the pressure on other sections of the defense line, Bai Longjia had recognized that Russell was no ordinary foe. With such a formidable enemy, without special circumstances, the fortress would eventually fall. Killing this blood baron might at least recover some of their losses.

High in the sky, the elderly vampire’s eyes, which had been like dead water, finally rippled. He said slowly, “Let Russell return. If the battle continues, that young man might take action.”

On the image before him, a dimly lit room appeared, outside of which flashes of fire and explosions could be seen, and debris from the ceiling continuously fell.

In the center of the room, a simple wooden chair sat, and upon it, a woman in white, her eyes slightly lowered, seemingly indifferent to the chaos outside.

This woman was Bai AoTu.

In the image, the light in her hands grew brighter, indicating that she was gathering primeval force, and she was about to make her move.