Chapter 407: Plot [V5C114 – A Distance Within Reach]
Durant was astonished after hearing this. Although there were no regional divisions in the b.l.o.o.d.y battle, who else would dare interfere with the Monroe clan’s prey knowing that their clan was hunting in this area?
Twilight flicked her finger with a smile and tossed Schiller the small item. “Don’t worry, that brat’s troubles are only beginning. Those looking to kill him are humans.”
Schiller received the item and observed it carefully. It turned out to be a deformed piece of metal which produced a burning sensation in his hand. A wisp of blood energy immediately appeared on his palm and isolated the metallic surface.
The sniper round Qianye was shot with contained mithril elements within. Only human physical bullets would add mithril to their bullets, while dark races usually added heavy lead or black t.i.tanium. But there was a trace of darkness origin power lingering around the bullet. Although it was extremely weak, it couldn’t escape Durant’s senses.
The viscount said regretfully, “That brat is very powerful. It’s such a pity to have him die in another’s hand.”
Twilight replied indifferently, “That’s because you’re all too weak and couldn’t handle that combat squad, forcing me to take action. Now, I’m being targeted by a terrifying human expert. She’s lurking nearby and observing me. If I move against that brat and fail to kill him in one blow, she’ll take advantage of the opportunity to kill me as I make a second move. Do you want me dead?”
“Ah! This subordinate doesn’t dare!” Durant was immediately alarmed and felt somewhat ashamed. But he was also suspicious about how an expert capable of killing Twilight would be able to move at will under the Iron Curtain.
Twilight saw through his thoughts and said, “That person is so powerful that she’s not completely defenseless even against Sky Demon’s avatar. Naturally, she’ll draw the Iron Curtain’s attention once she fights, but it"s not too far from the border of the Iron Curtain. As long as the battle is kept short, it’s possible for her to escape even if Sky Demon’s avatar appears.”
Durant drew in a breath of cold air and glanced instinctively at his surroundings. A character capable of resisting a couple of blows from Sky Demon’s avatar could kill him with a flip of her palm. Such a person was lurking around here, yet he had not even sensed the slightest of traces.
“Master, then what shall we do right now? Do we inform the clan to have them search and kill this person?”
Twilight said without much care, “No need. She can’t do anything to me as long as I stay vigilant and refrain from fighting. Otherwise, she’ll be done in by Sky Demon’s avatar before she can kill me. Being able to pin her here without doing anything is greatly beneficial to our battle situation. Enough, clean up this place. Let’s leave.”
Durant quickly ordered his subordinates to bury the bodies, pack the proof of contribution into boxes, and clean up the scene.
Before leaving, Twilight shot a glance toward where Qianye had escaped and whispered softly with a playful smile, “Don’t you die. Otherwise, I might just feel a bit sad.”
On a peak one thousand meters away, a young girl sat in a daze, hugging a sniper rifle even longer than herself. The wind was strong at such heights and it was fairly cold, but all she wore was a thin white skirt. Her arms and legs were left uncovered as though she were oblivious to the chill.
She seemed lost in thought and made no movement even as the winds blew past and lifted her long hair, causing a lock of black silken threads to fall off and scatter to the winds. A long trickle of blood had appeared on her cheek which gradually produced a number of sanguineous pearls.
The girl reached out to touch her face and placed her hand before her eyes, her fingertips stained with a garish red. Her expression was somewhat disappointed as Qianye’s figure emerged in her eyes.
Back then, he had turned around and flown backward after being struck by the sniper round. It was during this process that a sniper rifle, clearly of vampire make, had appeared in his hand. The muzzle lit up in the blink of an eye, followed by a progressively enlarging origin bullet which eventually filled her entire pupils!
Fine drops of sweat had appeared unknowingly upon her nose as the young girl awoke, s.h.i.+vering, from her reverie.
It was at this time that a quiet voice rang out beside her ears. “Kongzhao, where are you? Come and meet me.”
Bai Kongzhao quickly disa.s.sembled the sniper rifle’s stock and frame before carrying it on her back. Such a large gun didn’t really affect her movements—she was like a spirited pather moving nimbly through the mountainous land. She descended the peak in the blink of an eye and vanished into the forest.
Moments later, Bai Kongzhao arrived at an ancient tree beneath which stood a lady clad in a wide-sleeved robe—Bai Aotu.
Bai Aotu shot a glance at the sniper rifle on the young girl’s back. The sniper rifle was clearly bigger than a human firearm and its style was dark and magnificent, but it was also a tad more sinister than weapons of vampire make. This demonkin custom-made sniper rifle was much rarer than a vampire’s.
Bai Aotu’s brows rose slightly. “You robbed it?”
At this moment, Bai Kongzhao was like an obedient and timid little la.s.s as she replied in a gentle voice, “I was lucky enough to have found a dying demonkin, so the item fell into my hands. It’s yours if you want.”
It was a mystery what Bai Aotu was thinking. Moments later, she asked with a sigh, “Is it good to use?”
Bai Kongzhao nodded in due honesty.
“Your body doesn’t reject darkness origin power. Your original cultivation method is also fairly rare and not at all inferior to our Bai clan’s core arts in terms of cultivation speed. But I must still warn you that you’ll transform completely and fall to Evernight if your darkness origin power completely suppresses daybreak.”
“I understand. I’ll always be a human,” Bai Kongzhao replied.
Bai Aotu sighed. “You may hunt freely during the following period. The Iron Curtain might be h.e.l.l for others, but it’s the best hunting ground for you. But remember not to be too indulgent, moreover, do not kill people on our side unless absolutely necessary.”
Bai Kongzhao lowered her head and said softly, “I’ll try to control myself.”
“Very well, I’m leaving now.”
Bai Kongzhao looked up in astonishment, and this time, the fright on her face was genuine. “Where are you going?”
Bai Aotu pointed at the dark sky above her head and said, “That fellow has already noticed me, so I can’t stay long. But I’ll teach that vampire woman a lesson before I leave. I’ll be keeping her bedridden for some time. At least, by then, you won’t have to worry about her in the days that follow.”
With that, Bai Aotu rubbed the young girl’s head and left. Her steps weren’t fast and seemed as though she were walking normally. However, in the blink of an eye, she had already vanished into the depths of the forest.
Bai Kongzhao stood without the slightest of movements, still maintaining her previous obedient att.i.tude. But at an angle where no one could see, an odd smile had emerged on her pink, petal-like lips. She looked up after a while and sniffed hard before choosing a direction to advance.
The strange thing was that Qianye was now in that very direction.
Qianye stood leaning against a large tree. He pulled open the clothes in front of his chest and was just about to check his injuries when his movements came to a sudden halt. He listened with tilted ears and heard a subtle, almost imperceptible rustling from the forest—someone was fast approaching.
Qianye circled behind the tree with a side step and stood there with his back against the trunk.
A number of figures were speeding through the woods with incredible agility. Qianye stood as silent and unmoving as a stone sculpture until, all of a sudden, East Peak swept out horizontally. One of the shadows which happened to be pa.s.sing the ancient tree was immediately cut through the waist.
Qianye had rushed behind another figure during the split second that the other figures slowed down. East Peak pierced through one of the figures’ back and emerged from the chest.
Only one of the pursuers was a werewolf and the rest were all vampires, known for their natural alacrity and high speed. Meanwhile, Qianye had to reserve his strength to deal with the person trying to snipe him from the dark. Under such circ.u.mstances, he was actually unable to throw these dark race soldiers off his trail.
Two of their companions had died at this moment, but the remaining vampire warriors showed no fear as each and every one of them pounced toward Qianye with great ferocity and courage.
Qianye swung East Peak left and right in a seemingly random manner, but each strike was as heavy as a mountain. These vampire warriors couldn’t take even one blow and most of them were cut in half along with their weapons.
Over half of the ten or so dark race warriors were killed within moments. Qianye paid extra attention to the vampire who had discovered his movements from far away because he wanted to know the reason. One had to know that even a dark race viscount could hardly detect Qianye’s presence when he was exerting his full effort to hide.
This vampire was only a knight, yet he was able to pinpoint his position accurately—it was as though his perception had transformed just like the vicious beasts.
He was a middle-aged vampire who had probably lived for several hundred years, and yet only possessed that much strength. He was probably a minor character at the bottom of the Monroe clan. He hadn’t displayed any outstanding qualities during the battle, either. A simple slap on the back with Qianye’s blade broke several of his bones and completely immobilized him.
Qianye walked over to the knight and pointed East Peak at his chest. “How did you discover me?”
“Soldiers of the Monroe clan will not yield. Kill me!”
Qianye sneered. “Not talking? I have lots of ways to make you speak, dripping mithril into your veins for instance. What say you?”
The vampire knight was shocked. His expression changed completely as he blurted out, “Y-You demon!”
Qianye continued, “I can also make a small opening on your chest and drip molten mithril into it. This method isn’t bad either.”
Liquid mithril would burn and char the vessels in a vampire’s body wherever it traveled. Meanwhile, molten mithril dripped onto a vampire’s chest would produce long-lasting damage, preventing them from ever condensing a blood core. The most terrifying part was that the vampire would survive for a long time if the dosage was controlled well.
This was one of the tortures vampires feared the most. Many of these methods were invented by humans, but a number of them were vampire masterpieces. Coming from Red Scorpion, Qianye had no shortage of contact with various dark race members and had naturally received professional education about how to torture them.
Seeing the vampire’s s.h.i.+fting expression, Qianye knew that the time was just about right and that he only needed one final push. He produced a mithril bullet and removed its tip. Origin power ignited in his hand, softening the bullet amidst a flow of silvery light.
“I-I’ll talk!” The blood knight finally broke down under the pressure.
Qianye didn’t stop his movements. “Speak, I’m listening.”
“It’s like this…” The blood knight had just begun to speak when Qianye felt that something was off. It was as though the surroundings had changed at this moment. The s.h.i.+ft couldn’t be described with words, and it wasn’t even a part of one’s body being stimulated—it seemed to only exist in one’s senses.
But Qianye, who had often walked the fine line between life and death, moved. He s.h.i.+fted sideways out of instinct and glanced back. Soon afterward, the abnormal sensation seemed to have materialized as a faint chill arose from behind his back.