On the other side, the main battlefield was in chaos.
The fierce slaughter continued. Holy light and blood-red auras intertwined as the whistling of blades, the explosions of magic, the roars of soldiers, and the howls of the Blood Race merged into a deafening symphony of war.
Supported by Sarah, Emma, Swan, and others, the human garrison relied on their high morale and the confidence brought by the presence of the Imperial Sword Saint.
They stubbornly resisted the numerically superior Vampire Army. While the battle line was agonizingly tense, they showed no signs of defeat yet.
However, during the brief gaps in the fighting, almost all the core members couldn’t help but cast their gazes toward a certain spot on the city wall.
That area was shrouded in a blur of dust kicked up by Yize’s “Rockfall Smokescreen” and the subsequent combat, making it impossible to see the situation clearly. But the sounds coming from there were impossible for anyone to ignore.
It wasn’t the brilliant explosions of magical clashes or the whistling of flying Aura, but rather… the heart-pounding thuds of physical impact.
Bang! Thud! Boom!
Every muffled sound caused a subtle tremor in the ground. Even from a distance, the waves of energy dissipating into the air made people’s skin tingle.
Sarah had just purified a group of Low-level Vampires that had broken through the defensive line with a powerful Holy Light Blast. Panting slightly, she turned her beautiful eyes toward the dust-covered section of the wall, her brows furrowed.
“Junior Yize… faced two Blood Pillars alone, and one of them is among the top ranks… Will he be okay?”
At some point, this junior, who originally looked like he needed protection, had become their primary combat force.
Beside her, Luke heard her and shouted with full confidence, “Senior Sister Sarah! You can put your heart at ease! Just who do you think my Senior Yize is? He is a hidden master, a strategist who never fails, and a being whose strength is as unfathomable as an abyss!”
“How could two little vampire bats possibly do anything to him?”
“I bet that once the smoke clears, Senior will be standing there perfectly fine. He might have even beaten them to a pulp already!”
He spoke with such absolute certainty, as if he had seen it with his own eyes, completely ignoring the skeptical “is this guy’s blind worship over the top” looks from those around him.
Not far away, Li En had a dark expression as he thrust a sharp sword light into the chest of a vampire.
Hearing Luke’s words, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, and a flash of malice and jealousy crossed his eyes.
‘Die… It would be best if you died right there! Get torn to shreds by the Blood Pillars!’
At this moment, Li En wished for nothing more than for Yize to die at the hands of those vampires.
Thinking of the various humiliations today and the Harem that was supposed to be his in the original path of fate… his hatred for Yize had already seeped into his bones.
Meanwhile, No. 3, who was locked in a fierce struggle with Laura, and Chise, who was battling Dio, both felt their hearts skip a beat at the same time!
As members of the Blood Race, especially as elites qualified to be among the Ten Pillars, they had an extremely keen perception of the auras of their kin—particularly the powerful ones.
In that instant, they clearly felt two familiar blood signatures coming from the direction of the wall—the Blood Qi belonging to Bart and No. 2—fading at an alarming rate!
Both were Blood Pillars, and No. 2’s strength was particularly unfathomable. How could someone like No. 2… have their aura fade so quickly?
“Something’s wrong…”
After a swift exchange with Laura, No. 3 used the force of the impact to retreat half a step. His scarlet pupils stared fixedly at the dust-covered area.
For the first time, his playful smirk vanished completely, replaced by gravity and suspicion.
“Forget that idiot Bart, but No. 2’s side… what exactly happened?”
“That black-haired human… what is his background?”
Although Laura also sensed the strange change in the distant auras, she had no time to ponder it. The momentary hesitation caused by No. 3’s distraction was her opening!
The sword light in her hand surged, striking at No. 3 like a falling galaxy, forcing him to refocus and deal with her with everything he had, unable to spare another thought for anything else.
…
On the city wall, Yize was still delivering plain, flesh-to-bone strikes to No. 2.
No. 2 felt incredibly stifled. “Do you dare to wait a moment?”
Indeed, he hadn’t been able to use any of his abilities, especially his “Blood Awakening.” Yize simply wasn’t giving him the chance to activate it.
Yize had no intention of stopping. “You wouldn’t be thinking of using some trump card, would you?”
No. 2’s face froze, his expression revealing that Yize had hit the mark. He stiffened his neck and said, “Human, do you dare to fight me fairly and honorably?”
Yize laughed. “Where am I not fighting you fairly and honorably?”
“Every one of these punches relies on my own strength, doesn’t it?”
No. 2 continued to put on a brave front. “Then do you dare let me catch my breath?”
Yize put on a “very scared” expression. “Of course I don’t dare, ‘Lord’ No. 2.”
“You haven’t used that Blood Awakening power yet, have you?”
“Do you think I’m brainless or stupid to give an enemy who wants to kill me a chance to use their full strength?”
Of course, Yize didn’t actually believe that No. 2 would be a match for him even after using Blood Awakening.
“Little bat, you must pay the price for your initial arrogance!”
Yize took out the potion he had been using most frequently lately from his spatial ring. “Be good, be obedient, and drink this. You will get to know a brand-new version of yourself.”
As he spoke, Yize crudely forced No. 2’s mouth open and poured the “Obedience Water” inside.
After kicking him away, Yize retreated two steps with interest, crossing his arms and observing the second-ranked Blood Pillar like he was watching an experimental reaction.
No. 2 collapsed on the ground, his body still trembling from the intense pain and the effects of the potion. “You… what exactly did you make me drink?!”
No. 2’s voice was no longer calm; it carried suppressed fury and a hint of panic. Why was his body becoming so feverish?
Yize shrugged and said in a relaxed tone, “Obedience Water. As the name suggests, it’s a potion that makes you more ‘obedient’ after you drink it. As for the effect, you should be experiencing it right now.”
“A magical potion that can make a vampire of our level obedient?” No. 2 hissed as if he had heard a massive joke. “Stop kidding! Something that violates the rules of bloodlines and souls like that cannot possibly exist!”
“Oh?” Yize raised an eyebrow, deciding to let the facts speak. “Sit down properly!”
With those four simple words, No. 2 actually sat on the ground in an unnervingly obedient manner, completely out of his control.
This scene shocked not only No. 2 himself but even the nearby Bart, who was left dumbfounded. Bart immediately began his sarcastic remarks.
“Heh, were you beaten so badly that you’re terrified?”
“You’re actually listening to him?”
“He tells you to sit, and you sit?”
“Compared to ‘that person,’ you look more like his dog.”
No. 2 had no heart to argue with Bart. After receiving Jellal’s gift, even Kasmir couldn’t completely command him. So, he couldn’t understand at all why he would obey the command of this black-haired youth.
Could this potion really have such an effect?
Yize opened his mouth to question him: “Tell me, what is the main purpose of the Blood Race coming out in full force to invade the human Empire?”
No. 2’s expression changed, and his mouth opened uncontrollably. He began to answer in a flat, narrative tone that felt foreign even to himself.
“The primary purpose… is twofold.”
“First, to establish an eternal empire belonging to the new generation of the Blood Race, bringing humans and other suitable races under our rule and into our food system.”
“Second, to find… the remnant soul of the Ancient Dragon Iguneel.”
Beside him, Bart was so shocked when he heard No. 2 reveal such core secrets without hesitation that he nearly jumped off the ground!
“No. 2! Are you crazy?!” Bart roared, his eyes full of disbelief. “How do you dare say these things?”
“Didn’t Lord Kasmir place a restriction in the bloodlines of all of us Blood Pillars? If we try to leak these core secrets, shouldn’t it trigger a self-destruction?! Why are you fine?!”
This was also something Yize was curious about. Previously, Horn and Heart had both self-destructed because of this.
With a thought, Yize gave No. 2 the command to “explain.”
The muscles on No. 2’s face twitched as he resisted with everything he had, but his mouth still moved uncontrollably, revealing another truth that shocked Bart even more.
“The restriction? Heh… that’s only for you ‘pure’ lower-ranked Blood Pillars.”
“Our top three seats… our bloodline origins were already modified when we accepted Lord Jellal’s gift.”
“Kasmir’s bloodline restriction has negligible binding force over us.”
Bart was stunned for a moment before a wave of heaven-toppling rage surged in his heart. He pointed at No. 2, his voice trembling with agitation. “You… the three of you!”
“You joined Jellal in secret long ago?”
“This is a betrayal of Lord Kasmir! A betrayal of the Blood Race!”
“Betrayal?” Even though he was under the potion’s influence, the mockery in No. 2’s voice was even stronger. “What betrayal? Aren’t we still doing things for him? It’s just that he no longer has the power to control whether we live or die.”
“I knew the three of you were up to something!” Bart laughed in extreme anger. “So you became Jellal’s dogs long ago! Good, very good!”
Yize listened with great interest, feeling like he was tuned into a live broadcast of internal power struggles within the Blood Race. This was quite a lot of information.
However, the name “Jellal”… Yize furrowed his brows in thought. He felt like he had heard it somewhere, and it should be very important.
‘Wait!’ A flash of insight hit him.
‘The First Dragonslayer! The founder of Starlight Academy! Headmaster Kleya’s teacher!’
‘Didn’t he perish a century ago along with the Dragon Iguneel?’
‘How is he still alive? And it sounds like not only is he alive, but he’s even controlling the top-tier combat power of the Blood Race?’
‘Also, why is he manipulating the Blood Race to find Iguneel’s remnant soul?’
A multitude of questions rose in Yize’s mind. Just as he was about to have this “all-answering” No. 2 clear his doubts…
A sudden change occurred!
The air between Yize and No. 2 distorted and fluctuated violently without warning. Layers of visible spatial ripples glowing with a faint purple light fanned out! A wave of Mana spread from the center of those spatial ripples!
“Is this… Space Magic?” Yize was startled. When they escaped from the Raymond Territory last time, Sarah had used this immensely costly magic.
Almost at the same instant the spatial rift appeared, No. 2 seemed to sense something. He screamed toward the rift in the air.
“My Lord! Save me!!!”
Yize’s gaze instantly turned cold! His reaction was lightning-fast; almost the second No. 2 cried out, he issued the command to self-destruct.
“No!!!”
The hope on No. 2’s face was instantly swallowed by horror and despair. His body expanded violently, and countless hideous, dark-red cracks appeared on his skin’s surface.
Yize did not hesitate or show any mercy. An instant before No. 2’s body reached its limit, he blurred, appearing in front of the vampire. He raised his foot and gave No. 2’s backside a fierce kick!
“Off you go!”
Whoosh!
No. 2’s bloated, deformed body turned into a blurry afterimage, shooting straight into the sky above the Betty Territory at an incredible speed! His screams were pulled long and distorted before quickly vanishing into the night wind.
Almost the second he reached a height of several thousand meters—
BOOM!
An indescribable, terrifying explosion that sounded like the dawn of time itself erupted in the high heavens!
Immediately following it, rings of visible, destructive energy shockwaves swept out in all directions from the center of the explosion like ripples of death!
The night sky was torn apart, the clouds were scattered, and the entire world seemed to tremble at that moment!
Inside and outside the Betty Territory, whether human or vampire, every living being currently fighting stopped their movements involuntarily and looked up at the sky in horror!
Even Low-level Vampires and human soldiers far from the explosion point had their ears and noses bleeding from the terrifying sound and air pressure.
The dark-red energy cloud continued to expand in the air for a long time before slowly beginning to dissipate.
The spatial rift that had initially appeared on the wall did not disappear because of No. 2’s self-destruction. Instead, it suddenly expanded!
A beam of magical light reached out from the rift, descending upon Yize, who had just kicked No. 2 and hadn’t yet recovered his stance!
Yize’s entire body was pulled into the eerie rift, and he vanished from the spot.