Yize keenly noticed a problem.
He watched Bart, who was charging at him once again, the bloody aura surrounding his body burning like physical flames. Instead of being nervous, Yize spoke with a relaxed, conversational tone.
“I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t be in such a rush.”
These words caused Bart’s charging momentum to stall for a moment, his blood-red eyes filled with a mix of absurdity and rage.
Yize ignored him, stroking his chin as he looked Bart up and down with curiosity in his eyes. “You seem… short on time? You mentioned ‘three minutes’ earlier. Is that the time limit No.2 gave you to deal with me?”
“Hmph!” Bart’s face was full of disdain. “To deal with a little brat like you, why would I need three minutes? If I get serious, one minute is enough to tear you to shreds!”
His tone shifted as he glared at Yize. “Besides, you just released 1,000 2nd-tier spells in one go. That mana fluctuation was terrifyingly strong… I don’t believe you haven’t used your full strength! Are you drained already? Are you just standing there putting on a front?”
It wasn’t just Bart who thought so; almost everyone watching the battle felt the same. Releasing 1,000 2nd-tier spells in an instant required a mana capacity and control that defied common sense!
Even those 8th-tier Archmages of the Empire, famous for their deep mana pools, would likely find it difficult to support continuous casting on such a scale in such a short time.
In their eyes, Yize’s performance just now was undoubtedly him playing his final trump card, perhaps even overdrawing his potential.
“I’m sorry,” Yize said, spreading his hands. He wore a shy smile that Bart found extremely irritating. “I hate to disappoint you, but I really haven’t used my full power yet.”
The moment he finished speaking, the mana fluctuations that had never truly stopped around his body suddenly surged to a new level!
He raised his right hand, fingers spread wide, and gave a light wave toward the low-level vampire army surging like a tide below. The night sky in front of the city walls was suddenly dyed crimson!
Countless fireballs were summoned from the void by an invisible hand, appearing so densely that they nearly blotted out the sky! Immediately after, countless sharp wind blades followed, accurately striking the tail of every fireball.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The wind fanned the fire, and the fire used the wind’s power!
The fireballs, accelerated and empowered by the wind blades, trailed long tails of flame like a literal meteor shower, pouring down frantically toward the densest area of the vampire army!
The sound of explosions was continuous as flames soared into the sky. Under this dense, “processed” bombardment, large swaths of low-level vampires were blown apart, ignited, and turned to ash!
The vampire vanguard, which had held an absolute numerical advantage and put immense pressure on the human defense line, saw its offensive grind to a halt before this sudden, wide-range “artificial natural disaster.” Localized collapses even began to occur!
The pressure on the human garrison was instantly relieved, and morale soared!
On the city wall, the shock felt by Sara, Dio, and the others was beyond words. Sara’s beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief. “Massive mana… can it really reach such an exaggerated level? Is his mana pool bottomless?”
Dio’s gaze was even more vacant as he muttered to himself, “The ridiculous part isn’t just the mana capacity… it’s the combination of the Massive Mana and Rapid Casting talents! This constant, wide-range magical bombardment… the total destructive power has likely surpassed the might of an ordinary 7th-tier area-of-effect spell!”
He recalled his previous life, where he had seen his mentor, Headmaster Kleya, cast the 7th-tier fire magic “City-Burning Flames” to clear out a large number of magical beasts.
That scene was certainly spectacular and unmatched in power, but in terms of sustained area suppression and the psychological deterrence brought by this nearly endless “magic rain”…
Dio actually felt that the scene before him was more oppressive!
Yize, however, was quite calm. Due to his Elemental Affinity, the power of his single-target magic was indeed limited. But in terms of area coverage and sustained output, he could rely on the “MP bar” and “hand speed” that the System had maxed out for him. He could use the simplest method — quantity leading to a quality change — to achieve strategic effects that surpassed his rank.
This rain of fire covering the sky was the most direct demonstration.
At this moment, the way Bart looked at Yize had completely changed. Rage remained, but it was joined by an indescribable scrutiny and an instinctive respect for Yize’s “powerful potential.” The crimson light in his eyes flickered.
“Kid,” Bart’s voice lowered, losing some of its frenzy and gaining a touch of seriousness. “To be honest, it would be a shame for someone like you to die here.”
Yize raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
Bart continued, his tone even carrying a hint of persuasion, “Even though your mouth and your attitude annoy the hell out of me, your talent is a waste as a human. How about it? Consider joining us and becoming a member of the Blood Race?”
This wasn’t entirely a whim. Lord Kasmir intended to establish a vampire empire and needed more powerful subordinates.
Humans were just the first step — a means to increase low-level combat strength or to be raised as food. A true vampire empire would eventually have to face the other powerful races of the continent.
The strength of a new-generation vampire largely depended on their power before the transformation. The existing “Ten Pillars,” including Bart himself, were all originally the elite among humans.
There were limited ways to increase a vampire’s strength afterward; Jellal’s “gift” was one, but it wasn’t the only way.
In Bart’s view, with the terrifying magical talent Yize was showing, he had the potential to quickly grow into a new “Blood Pillar” even without Jellal’s gift, becoming a reliable arm for Lord Kasmir.
More importantly, Bart had long been dissatisfied with the top three Blood Pillars, especially the increasingly arrogant No.1. They even treated Lord Kasmir’s orders with superficial compliance.
If he could win over a high-potential individual like Yize, he might have a way to balance those guys in the future. As Kasmir’s most loyal supporter, Bart felt it was his duty to plan for his master’s future.
Hearing this, Yize looked at Bart as if he were an idiot. “You… did my fireballs rattle your brain just now?”
One moment he wanted to eat him alive, and the next he was recruiting him? The logic of these vampires was far too erratic.
It couldn’t be that he was backing down because of Yize’s exaggerated mana and casting speed, could it?
Yize didn’t think so. After all, for a Demon King Seed, his “chip-away style” of thinking meant that killing the opponent would definitely be a long process.
It might take a day, or even several days, of continuous low-level magic bombardment.
“I should remind you,” Yize pointed to a non-existent watch on his wrist, “another minute has passed. There isn’t much left of your precious ‘three-minute’ time limit. Are you sure you want to keep chatting?”
Bart’s face darkened; he knew time was tight. No.2 was a man of his word. Once the three minutes were up, if Bart hadn’t dealt with or subdued Yize, No.2 would definitely intervene — and he might just go for the kill.
“Ungrateful brat!” Bart spat, the murderous light returning to his eyes. “Since you’re unwilling, I’ll just have to beat you half to death and bring you back to Lord Kasmir to deal with!”
He was confident that as long as he heavily injured Yize and forced a First Embrace, Yize — who had not received Jellal’s “gift” and could not resist a higher-tier bloodline suppression — would eventually have to submit to Kasmir’s will.
“However,” Bart added, though it sounded like a “kind” warning, “I suggest you stop resisting and just let me give you a beating so I can tie you up. Otherwise, when time is up and that guy takes the stage… he won’t be as polite as me. You might actually lose your life then.”
Yize’s eyes flickered slightly at those words. That revealed quite a bit of information. There seemed to be factions or ideological differences within the Blood Race.
And this Bart, though violent and crude, seemed… somewhat straightforward or even simple-minded?
Yize couldn’t help but rub his temples, a complicated, wry smile appearing on his face. “You suddenly showing a tiny bit of mysterious ‘kindness’ makes things a little difficult for me…”
“What?” Bart didn’t understand.
Yize sighed, as if talking to himself. “Originally, I planned to quietly kill you while no one was looking and the dust was thick, just to get it over with and save myself the trouble. After all, your boss only gave you three minutes, so it was a heavy task on a tight schedule. But now…”
He looked up at Bart again, his gaze holding more scrutiny. “Now, I plan to observe what exactly is going on inside your Blood Race.”
Bart’s face went black, feeling like he was being toyed with. He laughed from extreme anger. “Little brat! Still acting tough? You think your ticklish magic can kill me? I’ll stand right here and let you hit me, and you still won’t be able to break my defense!”
“Is that so?” Yize smiled noncommittally.
Right at that moment, the “chatting time” Bart had allowed him completely ran out. The last trace of recruitment disappeared from the vampire’s face, replaced by pure violence and impatience.
“Actually, the thing I hate most is that face of yours!” Bart roared. He stomped on the city wall, causing the sturdy battlements to crack instantly!
He turned into a bloody afterimage, moving faster than before. Carrying the momentum of a thunderbolt, he swung a fist toward Yize’s face! The air shrieked as his fist passed through it, the bloody aura condensing into a solid form!
With this punch, he had used his true power in the “Blood Awakening” state, intending to incapacitate Yize instantly rather than kill him.
However, Yize did something that caught everyone off guard. He didn’t dodge, nor did he release a defensive spell. Instead, he raised his hand and tapped several times toward the densest areas of the vampire army on the battlefield below!
“Rockfall!” “Rockfall!” “Rockfall!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside the city walls, near the rear of the vampire army, the sky suddenly darkened! Countless boulders condensed out of thin air, whistling down like meteors!
He wasn’t attacking Bart; he was continuing to smash the vampire ranks that had just endured the firestorm!
The giant stones hit the ground, kicking up clouds of dust and creating massive chaos. It successfully delayed the vampire offensive, once again buying the human garrison time to breathe.
But this also left Yize completely exposed to Bart’s terrifying bloody fist, as if he had given up on resisting.
‘Is this kid… giving up on the struggle to help his comrades one last time?’ The thought flashed through Bart’s mind, and that strange sense of “talent appreciation” surfaced again. ‘He’s got some backbone… too bad he’s stupid!’
He could almost see the image of his fist connecting solidly with Yize’s face, breaking his nose, caving in his cheek, and sending a mouthful of shattered teeth and blood flying.
The fist, wreathed in blood-red aura, tore through the air. It was less than three feet from Yize’s face!
However, the expected sound of shattering bone and flesh never came. The fist containing the power of “Blood Awakening” came to a dead stop an inch away from Yize’s nose. It was as if it had hit an invisible wall.
No, it wasn’t a wall. It was a palm.
Yize had raised his right hand at some point, his fingers spread. He had caught Bart’s incredibly violent punch as light as a feather, holding it steady.
There wasn’t even a loud sound when the fist and palm met. Only a faint, almost imperceptible ripple of air spread outward.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The cruel, distorted grin on Bart’s face froze instantly. His crimson pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpricks, filled with extreme shock and absurdity.
The hand gripping his fist was as steady as a rock, completely unmoving. The opponent hadn’t used aura or magic — he had caught a punch from his “Blood Awakening” state using nothing but physical stats?
The wind on the city wall seemed to stop blowing.
Holding Bart’s fist, Yize slowly raised his head. His usual lazy, somewhat helpless smile had vanished, replaced by a calm — a bottomless, deep calm.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at the stiff-faced Bart who was inches away. His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. “You seem… surprised?”
Bart tried to pull his fist back, but he found that the palm locked him in place. No matter how he surged his blood aura, he couldn’t budge even a fraction!
Yize’s gaze slowly swept across Bart’s rugged face, which was distorted by shock. He continued in that same flat tone, “Oh, right. You just said… you hate looking at my face?”
Yize’s fingers began to slowly close around Bart’s fist.
Crack…
A faint but incredibly clear, tooth-aching sound of bone cracking came from where their hands met. Bart’s cheek muscles twitched violently, and fine beads of cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
Yize watched Bart’s face turn pale in an instant, the corners of his mouth curling up into a tiny arc.
“What a coincidence. I feel the same way. Looking at your face…”
The strength in his hand intensified suddenly!
“… Annoys me even more.”