Outside the walls of Betty Territory, the heart-pounding roar that had lasted the entire night finally began to fade.
When the first rays of dawn illuminated this devastated land, the surviving human garrison saw a sight they would never forget.
In the center of the battlefield, the figure that had raged like a silver-white storm all night finally came to a halt.
Riya stood silently at the edge of a massive impact crater over thirty meters in diameter and several meters deep.
At the bottom of the deep crater, the scene was utterly miserable.
The three Blood Pillars who had dominated the battlefield and driven humans to despair not long ago were now like three piles of broken dolls, sprawled in twisted postures among the rubble and mud.
An entire night.
For Bart, No.3, and Chise, it had been a long, humiliating, and painful night.
The “Blood Awakening” ability that Bart and Chise were famous for could barely exert any power under Riya’s absolute suppression derived from her bloodline.
No.3 was the most miserable.
His face, which always wore a cynical smile, was now unrecognizable—nose bridge collapsed, cheekbones shattered, one eye swollen to just a slit.
There was hardly an intact patch of skin on his entire body. One of the bat wings on his back was completely torn, hanging limply, and the other was full of holes.
His attempts to use his speed to escape the battlefield or even launch a surprise attack were repeatedly thwarted as Riya kicked him out of the air with even greater speed.
They had considered scattering and fleeing.
But they simply couldn’t outrun her.
Riya always managed to catch them back in no time and then give them an even more violent beating.
Only when the sky just began to lighten, and the three’s Blood Qi reserves were nearly depleted, their self-recovery far outpaced by new wounds, and their willpower on the verge of collapse, did Riya finally stop.
Riya’s eyes coldly swept over the three nearly shapeless bodies at the bottom of the pit.
She spoke, her voice slightly hoarse from the long silence and intense activity, but even more oppressive:
“One last time.”
Each word was terrifyingly cold.
“Where is Yize?”
The three, already beaten to the point of shattered courage and scattered will—especially No.3, who bore the brunt—had even the last thought of being stubborn vanish into smoke.
No.3’s swollen lips quivered a few times before he produced a slurred, pained voice:
“Honestly… we… really don’t know… where that black-haired kid… specifically is…”
Riya narrowed her eyes, a glint of silver flashing in her pupils.
No.3 shuddered all over. The remnants of his survival instinct made him speak faster, even though the movement caused him to grimace in pain:
“Not dead! Definitely not dead! I was talking nonsense before!”
“To anger you! He’s absolutely alive and well!”
He was genuinely terrified.
If he said one more word that Yize might be dead, he had no doubt that this demon before him would immediately snuff out his last hope of survival, even if it meant losing the clue to finding Yize.
Bart struggled to move his head and spoke in a muffled voice, his tone surprisingly carrying a rare, almost earnest admiration:
“That black-haired kid… is quite something.”
“He casually crushed my fist bones while I was in my ‘Blood Awakening’ state… like crushing a cookie.”
“Then he beat our No.2 until he couldn’t fight back, and finally used some sinister potion called… ‘Obedience Water’ to directly order No.2 to self-destruct…”
He paused, as if recalling that subversive scene, his tone complex:
“To be honest, he’s the most outrageous human I, Bart, have ever seen in my life.”
“I… I actually kind of admire him.”
Despite Bart’s large build and seemingly straightforward mind, he clearly realYized that the terrifying existence before him obviously placed Yize in an extremely important position.
Saying more good things and impressive feats about Yize could both soothe this one’s temper and maybe earn fewer beatings—
His bones, even with the Blood Race’s strong recovery, couldn’t withstand another night of this torture.
He hesitated, but still voiced that observation, even though it might be somewhat rebellious against “that great person”:
“Also… I feel that ‘that great person’… might not actually have the ability to take down Yize. The way he appeared and left… was a bit rushed.”
Hearing this, No.3’s swollen eyes flickered with an instinctive rebuttal and disdain.
He had almost blind worship for Lord Jellal.
But the words stuck in his throat as he felt Riya’s icy gaze and caught sight of his own pitiful half-torn wing behind him.
He swallowed all his words, leaving only silence.
Riya’s eyes roamed over the three, as if judging the truth of their words.
After a moment, she spoke again, with a clear target:
“Tell me, where is this ‘great person’ you speak of now?”
Chise and Bart almost simultaneously turned their gazes to No.3.
No.3 trembled all over, feeling the pain that had just subsided intensify again.
He said with a grimace:
“I… I really don’t know! That great person appears and disappears mysteriously, acts entirely on his own will, and is proficient in Space Magic, coming and going without a trace… We just follow orders—how could he possibly tell us his whereabouts…”
Riya raised an eyebrow, and the surrounding air temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
No.3 was terrified and quickly changed his tune:
“Or… maybe… he went to other outposts where Blood Pillars are stationed or where missions are being carried out!”
“Yes! That’s possible! The lord sometimes personally inspects or gives orders!”
Light flickered in Riya’s eyes as she thought quickly.
The clue was vague, but better than nothing.
She needed more precise information—needed to find the source that took Yize away.
“In that case,”
she made a decision, her tone leaving no room for doubt,
“you, take me to where your other comrades are carrying out missions or to their outposts.”
Hearing this, Bart and Chise were both shocked. They exchanged glances, seeing disbelief in each other’s eyes.
This Ancient Vampire… is way too bold!
Is she relying on her formidable strength to single-handedly charge into the heart of Blood Race territory?
Does she really think she’s invincible?
No.3, however, had a barely perceptible glint in his eyes, and even the pain in his body seemed to lessen.
He still had three “superiors” above him!
The one ranked number one has unfathomable strength, far beyond his.
And Lord Kasmir, and the supreme Lord Jellal!
He admitted that Riya was freakishly strong, maybe even No.1 would be no match. But what about facing Jellal and Kasmir?
“No problem! Absolutely no problem!”
No.3 almost struggled to get up to show his loyalty, but moving his wounds caused another spasm,
“I’ll take you right away! Shall we leave now?”
But Riya didn’t move immediately. Instead, she swept her gaze over the remaining low-level vampire army on the battlefield, which seemed confused and lost without command and the pressure of high-level Blood Race.
“First, let these grunts,”
she used that word, her tone flat but commanding,
“get lost.”
Bart, Chise, and No.3 didn’t dare say a word of dissent.
Almost at the same time Riya’s words fell, three faint but still authoritative mental pulses from the Blood Pillars, mixed with withdrawal commands, spread across the battlefield.
The low-level vampires, whose morale had long since collapsed and who only wanted to get away from this silver-white demon, felt as if pardoned and immediately scattered away from Betty Territory.
The crisis at Betty Territory was resolved in a way no one had anticipated—a single silver-haired young woman defeating three Blood Pillars single-handedly and forcing back thousands of troops.
Less than half a day after Riya appeared, it was dramatically lifted.
On the city wall, the survivors stared blankly at the blood-red tide rapidly receding into the morning mist, remaining silent for dozens of breaths.
Until they confirmed the enemy had truly retreated, thunderous cheers, sobs of joy, and the dull thuds of people collapsing in exhaustion erupted.
Laura, supported on both sides by Sara and Emma, tried to stand upright.
Every movement sent tearing pain through the wounds on her waist, abdomen, and thighs, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
But her eyes were locked tightly on the solitary silver-white figure on the distant ruins.
She gently freed herself from Sara and Emma’s support, used all her remaining strength to straighten her spine, and solemnly bowed toward Riya, performing the highest salute of an Imperial Sword Saint to a true powerhouse.
No matter where this power came from, no matter how many secrets she held, it was she who single-handedly turned the tide and saved Betty Territory, saving all the lives here.
This grace and displayed strength deserved this courtesy.
Riya seemed oblivious to the thunderous noise from the city wall behind her.
She slowly turned around, her silver eyes once again falling on the people on the wall, pausing one by one on the faces of Sara, Luke, Swan, and others closely connected to Yize.
In the next moment, her figure flickered, and she was already back on the city wall.
“Here, it should be fine now.”
Riya’s voice was still cool, but the bone-chilling cold had receded somewhat, replaced by fatigue and an anxiety that couldn’t be hidden no matter what.
“I have to follow them,”
she indicated the three figures at the bottom of the distant pit who were struggling to get up,
“to find Yize.”
Sara, enduring the weakness in her body and the dizziness in her head, stepped forward, her face full of worry:
“Riya, you’re going alone, following these three Blood Pillars deep into their territory?”
“This is too dangerous! If they lead you into a trap, or to their stronger kin…”
Riya naturally knew the risks of this decision.
Deep behind enemy lines, with unknown enemy situations, alone, every step could be a step into a carefully laid kill zone.
But compared to the worry about Yize’s whereabouts being unknown and him possibly being in danger, what were these known risks?
That anxiety, which almost drowned her reason, had not ceased since the moment she saw Yize was not on the battlefield.
Every moment of delay could mean more danger for Yize.
She couldn’t afford to wait, and didn’t dare to.
Besides… after this night’s verification, she had a certain understanding and confidence in the power she now wielded.
This confidence wasn’t arrogance, but built on absolute power suppression.
“Don’t worry,”
she looked at Sara, her tone calm but with a certainty,
“they can’t beat me.”
These words weren’t loud, but they reached the ears of everyone around clearly.
In an instant, this small area on the city wall fell into a brief silence.
Indeed.
With strength like that, she was indeed qualified to say such words.
Although everyone’s heart was full of countless questions—where did Riya’s power come from?
Why had she become a different person in such a short time? Why did she care so much about Yize…
But at this moment, looking at the unshakable determination in her eyes, all the questions got stuck in their throats.
Now was not the time to ask.
“Besides,”
Riya added, her gaze sweeping over the ruined wall and the exhausted garrison,
“After this battle, the Blood Race should be unable to organYize another attack of the same scale in the short term. You don’t have to hold this place to the death anymore.”
At that, Sara gave a wry smile. She turned her head and glanced at Laura beside her, whose face was as pale as paper yet still stubbornly refusing to collapse.
A flicker of sympathy passed through her eyes.
“Teacher Laura is gravely injured. We must return to the imperial capital as soon as possible to receive the highest level of treatment. Otherwise, irreparable damage might be left behind, affecting her future path in martial arts.”
“At the same time, the new power and danger level displayed by the Blood Race’s invasion far exceeds any previous record in the empire. I must escort Teacher back and give the most detailed report to His Majesty my father and the Ten Sacred Halls.”