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Chapter 125 - Kourosh's Hope

125 Kourosh's Hope

A day and a night passed.

Rose closed her eyes, regulating her breath and tending to her injury. Thanks to H.A.R.M.'s effective medicines, her wound had almost completely healed. Occasionally, she would glance at John, who remained motionless as a statue, maintaining his perfected Turtle Aura-Suppressing Technique without pause...

Kourosh looked at the young man in astonishment. He'd seen his fair share of Vampire Hunters. But who would train the Turtle Aura-Supressing Technique to such mastery? That by itself was incredible.

Even Crystal Realm martial artists who could train two or three of their signature techniques to perfection were considered outstanding among their peers.

But this guy was different, wasting his time on such an auxiliary technique.

Despite my warning to shut his mouth, he couldn't contain his curiosity. "With your talent, you must have drawn attention from an early age. How did you become so reserved?"

I didn't reply, didn't even turn my head.

Received a lot of attention? I certainly did. The jackalvamps in the western suburbs, the black ape in the eastern mountains, the foxvamps on the northern cliff. There were only so many vampires in Pinewood County, and every single one of them wanted my head.

Now I also had to count the Leviasaur of the Pacific and the Mountain Lord of Chuckanut Mountains.

I sit silently in the tent, reciting these names one by one, feeling my resolve grow stronger with each name.

Suddenly, a foul and fiendish aura slowly swept over. The owner of the malevolent presence made little effort to conceal it, displaying an arrogant confidence.

Along the black mud slope diagonal to the depression, a pot-bellied man with a mangy head appeared, burping and patting his stomach as he strolled toward the icy pool.

Like greeting neighbors, he smiled and waved to the assembled H.A.R.M. agents. "Thank you all for your hard work. You may leave now, I'm going home to digest my meal. Send my regards to General Zarrinkamar."

The colonels instinctively bowed their heads.

Their spines had long been broken by Kourosh's repeated orders, to the point where they didn't even have the courage to look this vampire lord in the eye.

Rose sprang to her feet, only to find that a black-clad figure beside her had already launched into the air. Without a moment to be amazed, she summoned her crystal core, unleashing powerful essences from her palms.

In an ambush, the first strike must be devastating!

… …

Boom!

I descended from the air, my boots crashing onto the mangy-headed man's shoulder as I drew my black blade.

Having completed the second transformation of the Sanguine Resurrection, my body now held power equal to a Crystal Realm vampire.

With one powerful stomp, I drove the mangy-headed man to his knees.

The long blade sliced through the frigid air and struck the opponent's neck, causing dark green blood to spurt forth.

The Toad Lord dropped to one knee as he gripped the blade tightly.

Rose struck simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of surging essence strikes upon the vampire.

Despite the fierce ambush, the Toad Lord remained unfazed, gripping the blade with one hand while turning his gaze upward to Rose's incoming attack.

The gash in his neck was extremely deep, and dark green blood poured forth, but a ferocious smile spread across his lips. "I was courteous, don't push your luck?"

As he spoke, a stream of dark green venom shot out from the mangy-headed man's mouth!

The venomous jet, like an arrow released from a bowstring, pierced directly through the surging essence.

The venom grazed Rose's wrist, searing her fair skin. The green fluid began corroding her flesh at a terrifying speed—within moments, it had eaten down to the bone.

Though struck by such potent poison, Rose's expression remained stoic—only the corner of her eye twitched slightly. The force in her palm intensified, and seizing the advantage of my suppression of the opponent, she delivered a crushing blow to the man's temple.

The toad vampire shot another venomous arrow to force Rose back. Realizing she was willing to sacrifice herself for a killing blow, he desperately tried to wrench the long blade from his neck to escape. To his shock, the young man's seemingly thin frame possessed strength that astounded even him, a Vampire Lord.

Crack!

He took the palm strike head-on. His skull erupted in a web of cracks, spreading like a spider weaving its web at supernatural speed.

The powerful palm strike sent his body flying sideways. Before he could land, I struck again with my blade—dozens of lightning-fast slashes, each aimed at vital points!

Sickening squelches echoed as the blade repeatedly tore through the Toad Lord's flesh. His body became a grotesque mass of dark green blood—a horrifying sight.

The blade glowed with malevolent demonic energy. Each strike infused this power into his body, savagely ripping apart his vampiric flesh.

Meanwhile, Rose channeled her crystallized essence to temporarily halt the wound's spread across her wrist. She stepped forward to cut off his escape route and thrust her palm upward once more.

She condensed the rain of essence in her palm with crushing force, ready to shatter his bones.

Both of us were seasoned vampire hunters. Our coordination was seamless, leaving the vampire no time to breathe.

At this critical moment, the Toad Lord's arm suddenly transformed into a massive toad leg—nearly ten yards long—sweeping fiercely toward me. His legs also morphed, becoming shorter than his forelegs but still stretching seven to eight yards in length. These thick, powerful hind legs kicked violently at Rose!

I stepped onto the rough, warty toad leg and slashed my long blade down with vicious force, as if chopping through firewood. The blade cut straight down between the toad vampire's toes until it was completely buried in its flesh.

The Toad Lord let out an agonized, maddened shriek.

With all its might, the toad vampire slammed its hind leg into Rose!

… …

Already injured, Rose faced a toad's leg larger than her entire body. She struck out with both palms, her condensed essence piercing through and leaving a terrifying hole in the foot. The impact sent her flying backward. As she struggled to regain her balance, she found herself facing a colossal creature, twenty yards tall.

"Croooaaak..."

A long, deep croak resounded through the area.

The enormous toad crouched on the ground with its mouth shut, staring intently forward. Its body wasn't smooth but rough as tree bark, riddled with hollow cavities.

Green fluid burst forth from those cavities in all directions, like a deadly rain of arrows.

Through the rain of arrows, I darted with agility, sheathing my long blade. At every opening, I struck with my fists.

The toad, as tall as a mountain peak, was actually staggered by those fists, stumbling backward, and the entire depression trembled!

Cascadia hadn't seen Crystal Realm body tempering prowess in many years.

Under such a direct visual impact, Rose felt incapable of even helping. The sight of someone engaging a vampire lord's true form in close combat without using crystal core energy seemed almost unfathomable.

She glanced down at her wrist. Earlier, she had chosen not to dodge the venom stream, knowing it was our best chance to deal serious damage to the Toad Lord.

She had unleashed her full power in two consecutive strikes.

Now, the flesh and skin on her entire wrist had turned into green fluid, forcing her to expend most of her energy just to keep the poison contained.

Rose gritted her teeth, enduring the pain. The powerful kick from the toad's leg had reopened her barely healed wound from the Mountain Lord of Chuckanut Mountains, causing a thin trickle of blood to seep from the corner of her lips.

Though John's strength far surpassed her expectations, and she had seized the opportunity without hesitation, intercepting and killing such a massive vampire near the frigid lake, proved impossible.

Even a H.A.R.M. general had failed at this task—what chance did the two of them have?

… …

The Toad Lord's rain of venomous arrows was merely a brief outburst of rage. When I landed another punch to its face, the cracks in its already-fractured head spread even wider. As its massive body reeled backward, its hind legs were coiled and ready to spring.

In human language, it snarled, "Are you two insane? I'm done playing along!"

Years of comfortable living had made it forget the ferocity of the Vampire Hunters. Now, having come to its senses, it refused to stay and fight any longer.

With a mighty thrust of its hind legs, the massive body soared through the air, effortlessly spanning the hundred-yard gap to the frigid lake. It crashed into the Black Stone Spring with a tremendous splash, sending waves surging in all directions.

I landed with a thud, my breath coming in quick bursts.

As expected of a four-thousand-year-old vampire, its body proved even more resilient than the Leviasaur of Crown Mountain.

Never before had I faced an opponent of such overwhelming power.

Rose stared at the dark, chilling water while wiping blood from the corner of her lips. Then she remarked, "Making a late crystallizing vampire flee like this—it's something to be proud of, no matter where the story is told."

She showed no disappointment—this had been a gamble, and she'd never expected much from it.

Even Arnold Stark, had he been here in her place, couldn't have achieved a better outcome.

Near the H.A.R.M. tents, the colonels and agents stood speechless, stunned by how we had brutally beaten the Toad Lord. The powerful, terrifying vampire that had long filled their hearts with fear had fled without even a parting threat.

As for Kourosh, the glimmer of hope in his eyes vanished instantly when the Toad Lord plunged into the water.

The vampire had escaped, but he was definitely doomed.

That monster hadn't even managed to scratch the young man!

"Hmm?"

Amid his despair, his face suddenly flickered with confusion.

He watched as I approached the edge of the unfathomably deep water and peered into its chilling depths.

"What are you doing?" Rose stared at my back in bewilderment.

"Thank you for your help," I turned to her with a warm smile. "Stay here and tend to your injury. Don't follow me."

After the second transformation of Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection, my strength had increased dramatically. However, even with the additional power of my External Crystal, facing a late crystallizing vampire, still filled me with uncertainty.

Yet, the severe injury Rose had inflicted on the toad vampire boosted my confidence significantly.

At this thought, determination blazed within my heart.

Without a moment's hesitation, I plunged into the frigid Black Stone Spring—a place that struck terror into the hearts of all others.

… …

Everyone near the spring drew in a collective gasp of shock.

Rose's eyes widened in disbelief. Her usual composure—the same that hadn't wavered even against the Mountain Lord of Chuckanut Mountains—finally cracked.

From the distant low slope came Kourosh's crazed laughter, erupting as if he'd witnessed the most absurd sight imaginable, his breaths coming in gasps between fits of hysteria.

"Does he not know... why a venomous toad... is called the Vampire Lord of Black Stone Spring?"