Chapter 9: Annihilation

The ancient vampire elder, gazing at Qian Ye, wore a face that was always as tranquil as an ancient well. Now, however, it was filled with solemnity, as if facing a formidable enemy. Upon hearing the young vampire’s question, he replied, “They are all finished.”

“What? That’s impossible! We have so many people outside!” The young vampire shouted, his fingers twitching nervously, gripping the ornate scabbard of his blood blade.

Qian Ye shifted his gaze from the old vampire count, then gave the young vampire a proper look, pausing briefly on the emblem of the Monroe clan. “Are you the leader here?”

The young vampire raised his head proudly, declaring, “That’s right! I am from the ancient and noble Monroe clan…”

Before he could finish, Qian Ye interrupted, “Knowing you’re the leader is enough. Your name means nothing to me.”

With that, Qian Ye grasped the hilt, and the Dongyue sword slowly emerged from its sheath. This weapon, crafted by Old Master Lu, incorporating the highest technology of the Zhao and Song families, now shone with renewed brilliance.

In the castle hall, numerous dark lords were shocked, fully alert. They felt a pressure as heavy as a mountain and vast as the sea emanating from this human. No matter which direction he attacked, his moves would be earth-shattering, and no one dared to underestimate him.

But Qian Ye stood still, only slightly leaning forward, then swung his sword horizontally, aiming a virtual strike at the young vampire on the throne.

The eyes of the old vampire flashed, and he yelled, “Be careful, Young Master!” He leaped forward, thrusting a slender rapier into the empty space in front of the young vampire.

Where the rapier pointed, there was suddenly a faint ripple, almost invisible, surging towards the high throne. The old vampire’s rapier struck the ripple with a burst of intense bloodlight, dyeing the entire hall a deep crimson!

In that instant, all the dark lords in the hall felt a shiver of fear, as if they were drowning in a sea of blood.

When the blood-red color faded from their vision, they saw the old count of the Monroe clan, pale-faced, flying back to the young vampire, unable to stand steadily, retreating several steps. His slender rapier had turned into a heap of scrap metal, falling piece by piece, and his gaunt hands trembled uncontrollably.

The young vampire still stood before the throne, staring blankly at Qian Ye, reaching out his hand as if to grab something. His eyes were dazed, and he muttered, “You can’t kill me. My youngest sister… she’s a princess…”

Suddenly, his body split in two at the waist, the lower half still standing, the upper half sliding to the ground. The mixed-metal throne behind him cracked, its high back showing a cross-section, then it toppled, crashing to the floor.

Qian Ye gently shook the Dongyue sword, causing it to vibrate with a clear, resonant hum. Then, he slowly lowered it, pointing it at the ground.

Annihilation Strike!

With the power of a warrior half-step into crystallization, wielding the Dongyue, the Annihilation Strike no longer carried the shocking force that once stirred the heavens, but it was more condensed and unstoppable.

With just one strike, few could withstand it under the Iron Curtain.

In the hall, there were over a dozen titled dark lords, including several viscounts, and even a werewolf and a vampire, both first-rank viscounts. But Qian Ye ignored them all, striding directly towards the high throne.

The old count of the Monroe clan pointed at Qian Ye and roared, “Young Master is dead. If we don’t kill him, none of us will survive! He can’t launch that attack too many times. Attack together, kill him!”

The dark lords in the hall, as if awakening from a dream, rushed towards Qian Ye, unleashing various skills, turning into streams of primal force, striking at him.

Qian Ye, now in the center of the hall, radiated a rose-colored primal force, holding the Dongyue upside down, kneeling on one knee, and plunging the sword deeply into the ground.

The rose light flared, becoming more intense, with golden starlight emerging, swirling around Qian Ye and spreading rapidly, filling most of the hall, like a meteor belt descending upon the Evernight.

Any attack meeting these golden stars would dissolve. Many stars vanished, but more appeared.

“Dawn’s Enlightenment!” The old count of the Monroe clan recognized the origin of the golden stars instantly, his face changing drastically.

He forced his trembling hands to draw the sword from the young vampire’s body, slashing three blood-red sword lights at Qian Ye, while shouting, “Kill him! Killing him is a great achievement, a council-level achievement!”

A council-level achievement, bestowed by the Evernight Council, was the highest reward in the Evernight faction. Hearing the word “council-level,” almost everyone in the hall turned red-eyed, breaking through the stars, charging at Qian Ye.

But none noticed that Qian Ye’s clear eyes had turned icy blue, cold and emotionless.

Innumerable blood lines quietly appeared on Qian Ye, instantly covering the hall and piercing through the many dark warriors surrounding him.

Life Plunder!

This terrifying ability reappeared, the blood lines now stronger and more penetrative. In the entire hall, almost all the warriors were powerless, except for the werewolf, who cut through most of the lines, but was still pierced by several, one through his abdomen.

The old count of the Monroe clan, near the collapsed throne, blocked most of the blood lines, except one that pierced his left arm. When Qian Ye retracted the blood lines, the old count screamed, his face bloodless, his breath weakening. Decisively, he crashed through the rear wall, escaping without looking back.

The blood lines returned to Qian Ye, leaving only the werewolf first-rank viscount standing. In his wolf form, his expression was unreadable, but his mouth opened and closed, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

The werewolf began to drag his staggering body towards the door, attempting to escape, but moving slower than an ordinary old man.

Qian Ye remained motionless, still kneeling with the sword, ignoring the struggling werewolf.

His body was now filled with essence blood, almost to the point of bursting. The blood core pulsed violently, barely containing the massive amount of essence blood brought back by Life Plunder. Meanwhile, the Dark Chapter of the Song family’s ancient scroll operated at high speed, expanding the black vortex to its limit, continuously drawing in and converting the essence blood into dark primal force.

Although advancing to the rank of warlord allowed Qian Ye to use the Dark Chapter and the Bright Chapter faster, swallowing the essence blood of multiple viscounts made him feel a bit indigestion, but with a brief pause, he could refine most of it.

In the center of the hall, Qian Ye remained still. The main gate of the castle was within reach, and the werewolf viscount, seeing hope, his eyes ignited with a final flame, moved a bit faster. But when he tried to cross the threshold, he finally collapsed, unable to get up.

Qian Ye remained motionless, fully concentrating on the Dark Chapter, continuously digesting the essence blood. Taking down this castle meant that the Jia-3 region was basically penetrated, and the remaining dark lords in this war zone should be few. Though he hadn’t found Bai Kongzhao’s traces, he had achieved his expected goal.

As the castle clock struck nine, and the night deepened, Qian Ye’s body trembled slightly, finally moving. He slowly opened his eyes, a pair of tiny golden wings flashing in his pupils.

At this moment, another feather condensed on the Primordial Wings, meaning he could unleash another Primordial Spear. With it, Qian Ye had no fear under the Iron Curtain.

Qian Ye’s eyes, deep and blue like the sea before a storm, gradually lost their brilliance. He slowly stood, drew the Dongyue, and pointed the blade diagonally at the ground, taking a defensive stance, saying, “Since you’ve come, show yourself.”

A sigh echoed from outside the castle, passing through the courtyard and hall, as if right next to him.

Under the Iron Curtain, day and night were shades of gray, but outside the castle, a silver light, like moonlight, spread like water and mist, flowing over the high walls, the broken gates, the blood-soaked land, and the piled corpses.

A tall, handsome blond youth emerged from the silver mist, heading straight for the main hall, the mist gathering around him, then disappearing.

William passed through the corpses of the dark warriors, occasionally stopping to flip over the bodies of the werewolves, looking at them for a while, then continuing.

At the hall’s entrance, William helped the werewolf viscount, paused, and sighed, “Viscount Oufu, I remember him as a true warrior. I never thought I’d see him here, in this way.”

Qian Ye looked at William, “I promised to look after the werewolves when possible, but I can’t refrain from defending myself when they attack.”

William raised his head, his blue-gray eyes somber, “I know. I just feel he shouldn’t be here. A few years ago, Oufu, though stubborn, adhered to the ancient traditions, not compromising with the blood enemies.”

From William’s words, some secrets among the dark races were hinted. He didn’t need to say more; Qian Ye understood.

The enmity between werewolves and vampires was no less than that with humans. Oufu, once a staunch traditionalist, appearing in the Monroe clan’s castle, serving the enemy, indicated that many werewolf tribes were in dire straits. These werewolves were not natives of the Evernight, but dark nobles from the upper continent.

William closed Oufu’s still open eyes, stood up, and glanced into the hall, saying, “I thought I might not even be able to retrieve your body. Or, optimistically, see you injured but escaped. I never expected this. You did all this?”

Qian Ye calmly replied, “There doesn’t seem to be anyone else here.”

William’s gaze fell on the collapsed throne, raising an eyebrow and pointing at the young vampire’s corpse, “Shouldn’t there be a protector for that arrogant waste?”

“There was a third-rank count, but he fled.”

William’s eyes, no longer inscrutable, seemed to swirl with light. He scrutinized Qian Ye, asking, “You can defeat a third-rank count? That’s a genuine Monroe clan count.”

Qian Ye didn’t answer, merely staring at William.

Through the True Sight, Qian Ye saw that William’s primal force was still a dark, fiery mass, indicating that William was at least three ranks higher than him.

However, the part visible outside showed that William’s primal force flowed rhythmically, in a ready-to-attack stance.