The Eastern front had descended into chaos, and Arthur found himself thrust deeper into the heart of it. War was no longer a distant tale of strategy and skirmishes—it was a living, breathing entity, consuming everything in its path. The battlelines stretched across the continent, with every sect and family carving out their share of the struggle.
Arthur had been officially assigned a position of authority, his battle prowess far surpassing his current Integration-rank. On the insistence of Li Zenith, the deputy Sect Leader of Mount Hua, he was granted the temporary title of honorary Elder within the sect. The decision wasn't just symbolic; it reflected the reality of Arthur's combat abilities, capable of rivaling those of mid Ascendant-rank warriors despite his still-developing core.
And with this title came responsibilities—chief among them, leading brigades and commanding forces. It was here, on the battlefield, that Arthur found himself spending more time with Seraphina. As the princess of Mount Hua, she was treated with the deference befitting her status, given the best accommodations and protected fiercely by her sect. Yet, war didn't discriminate, and her presence alongside Arthur often meant bloodshed and hurried decisions rather than the shared warmth of camaraderie.
The Eastern forces were spread thin. Ren Kagu fought alongside his family to the north, a key position where their martial supremacy was most effective. The Mount Hua sect took charge of the south and middle, their presence bolstered by the Radiant-rank Sect Leader, Mo Zenith, whose power loomed like a guiding star above the battlefield. Between the Mount Hua sect and the northern front, smaller forces like the Wudang sect, and the Namgung and Moyong families, held their own, each carving out space against the relentless tide of vampires and cultists.
Still, no army was invincible.
Arthur darted through the dense forest alongside Seraphina, their footsteps a rhythmic thrum against the undergrowth. They moved swiftly, urgency etched into their every motion. The message from the comms was grim: one of the plum blossom brigades had been completely annihilated by a Vampire Elder.
"How close are we?" Seraphina's voice was steady, but her breathing was heavy from the relentless pace.
"Close," Arthur replied, his senses honed, straining to catch any trace of the massacre ahead. "The last signal came from half a kilometer out."
Seraphina nodded, her hand tightening around the hilt of her blade, its edge glowing faintly with the astral energy she had been cultivating. Though her core was still Integration, her swordsmanship carried the legacy of Mount Hua—a force that could cut through despair itself. And despair was all too present here.
The air grew colder as they approached, a suffocating, oppressive stillness settling over the forest. The vibrant greens of the leaves seemed dulled, the sunlight struggling to pierce through the canopy. Arthur slowed, raising a hand to signal Seraphina to stop.
"This isn't normal," he muttered, his voice low.
Seraphina stepped closer, her expression darkening as she surveyed their surroundings. "It's blood magic. You can feel it in the air—it's thick, like a poison."
Arthur nodded. The faint metallic tang on the back of his tongue confirmed it. The Vampire Elder was still nearby.
They broke through the last stretch of trees and stumbled into the remnants of the brigade. The sight hit like a punch to the gut. Soldiers lay scattered, their bodies twisted and drained, their faces pale and hollow as if their very essence had been sucked dry. The vibrant plum blossom banners of Mount Hua were shredded and smeared with blood, flapping limply in the eerie breeze.
Arthur clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. This wasn't just an ambush—it was a massacre.
"Arthur…" Seraphina's voice quavered, her grip on her blade trembling slightly.
"I know," he said, his tone sharper than he intended. He took a breath, forcing himself to steady. "They didn't have a chance. This wasn't a fight; it was a slaughter."
A low chuckle echoed through the clearing, sending a chill racing down Arthur's spine. The sound was rich, mocking, and utterly devoid of humanity.
"So, these are the reinforcements?" The voice was smooth, silken, and dripping with malice. "A couple of Integration-rank warriors? How amusing."
Arthur scanned the clearing, his sword already in hand. He wasn't new to this. The oppressive aura rolling off the Vampire Elder was suffocating, but it wasn't unfamiliar. He'd faced Vaelor, a mid Ascendant-rank Vampire Elder, and come out alive. No, this wasn't fear—it was calculation.
The Vampire Elder stepped into the open, his blood astral energy rippling around him like an ocean of crimson tides. Tall and lean, his pale face twisted into an amused smirk. "I recognize you," he drawled, his voice like silk laced with poison. "You're the boy who bested Vaelor. Fascinating. Tell me, does the Mount Hua Sect intend to make heroes out of children now?"
Arthur raised his sword, his posture steady. "Vaelor was stronger than you," he said flatly. "This won't take long."
The Elder's smirk faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a flicker of irritation. "Confident for someone so young," he hissed. "Let's test that arrogance."
Arthur didn't wait for him to make the first move. He surged forward, his sword igniting with pseudo-astral energy. The glow flared, its brilliance cutting through the Vampire Elder's oppressive aura like sunlight through mist. Their blades met with a deafening crash, sparks flying as pseudo-astral energy clashed with blood astral energy.
The force of the impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, but Arthur held his ground. He wasn't the same as he'd been when he faced Vaelor. His training, his experience—all of it honed him to this moment.
The Elder sneered, his claws slashing toward Arthur's side, but Arthur pivoted, his movements precise and fluid. His blade danced, striking faster than the Elder could fully react. A shallow cut appeared on the vampire's arm, black ichor dripping from the wound.
"You dare to wound me?" the Elder snarled, his aura surging with fury. He lashed out with a wave of blood astral energy, forcing Arthur to leap back.
Arthur barely flinched. "Wound you? I'm just getting started."
Seraphina, standing a few paces behind, watched the battle with wide eyes. She wasn't foolish enough to think she could contribute directly. Her role was support—to protect Arthur's back and ensure no stray enemies interfered.
Arthur moved again, closing the distance in a heartbeat. His blade shimmered with intensity as he executed a swift combination, each strike aimed to exploit the gaps in the Elder's defense. The vampire's claws met his sword, deflecting some of the attacks, but not all. More wounds appeared on the Elder's body, his blood staining the ground.
Arthur's movements were like a symphony in motion, each step, each swing, blending seamlessly into the next. The Tempest Dance Technique was a Grade 5 art that thrived on momentum, its power multiplying with every successful combination of attacks. And Arthur? He was nearing the zenith of mastery over it.
Each strike came faster than the last, and the Vampire Elder—despite his unconventional mastery of Claw Heart, a weapon technique born from his own deadly claws—found himself outmatched. The Elder had condensed aura into astral energy, a feat that brought him to Ascendant-rank, but it wasn't enough. Not against Arthur.
Arthur's mastery of Sword Resonance, combined with his advanced swordsmanship, created a devastating force that left no room for hesitation. His Eclipse Blade gleamed with pseudo-astral energy, its pulsating resonance almost a song in itself. The Elder snarled, his blood astral energy flaring in desperation, but his attacks lacked the precision and refinement Arthur wielded effortlessly.
Arthur drove forward, his strikes unrelenting, his focus razor-sharp. Every swing of his blade forced the Elder back, breaking through layers of defense like a storm tearing through fragile walls. The vampire's claws, deadly as they were, couldn't keep pace. His own astral energy shivered under the relentless assault, fracturing like ice under a hammer.
And then Arthur struck true.
His final sequence of the Tempest Dance Technique rang out with a trilling sound, the clash of energies reverberating across the battlefield. The force of the exchange sent both combatants hurtling apart, creating an uneasy distance between them.
But this was exactly what Arthur wanted.
The Elder snarled, his blood astral energy coiling around him in an attempt to reinforce his failing defenses. Arthur, calm and unyielding, raised his sword. The Eclipse Blade pulsed, the pseudo-astral energy surrounding it shimmering in two distinct layers. The void-like black dots that appeared between those layers pulsed in rhythm with Arthur's will, a deadly harbinger of what was to come.
"Second movement," Arthur murmured, his voice steady and firm. "Hollow Eclipse."
He swung.
The blade arced through the air, and the force of Hollow Eclipse rippled outward. The Vampire Elder summoned all the blood astral energy he could muster, forming a dense, pulsating shield around himself. But it wasn't enough. Not against this.
Arthur's strike didn't merely cut—it devoured. Hollow Eclipse tore through the astral energy itself, unraveling its structure and leaving the Elder defenseless. The vampire's form staggered, his blood magic flickering and dissipating into nothingness.
From her vantage point, Seraphina could only watch, her wide eyes filled with awe. Arthur's sheer power, his unyielding will, his precision—it was overwhelming.
He didn't just win. He dominated.
As the Vampire Elder collapsed, his form crumbling under the weight of Arthur's attack, Seraphina whispered, her voice barely audible over the silence that followed, "He's… unstoppable."
Arthur lowered his blade, its resonance fading, though his grip remained firm. He glanced at the fallen vampire, then turned to Seraphina, his expression unreadable. For him, there was no triumph in this. Only the grim knowledge that more battles awaited.
"Let's move," he said quietly. "There's no time to waste."