146 Can You Hold on for Ten Minutes
The setting sun cast long shadows across Mount Strachan, painting the bull vampire's robust and well-defined muscles in a warm, golden light. The overwhelming demonic aura gradually infused the mountain with a layer of red mist, a sinister veil that deepened as twilight approached.
This was the first time I had heard a vampire call itself "King."
But his appearance didn't look anything like Blood Moon, and the aura I sensed from him wasn't a level higher than Aisha Patani's.
Regardless, this battle between them was clearly beyond my ability to participate in.
Below the tall stone throne, I suddenly noticed an old dog vampire clutching a long spear—a detail easily missed due to the bull vampire's towering presence.
The dog vampire's aura unmistakably marked it as another harmonizing vampire lord.
… …
I quietly glanced behind me.
At that moment, the bull vampire also noticed my presence. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "You, go deal with him."
At this command, the old dog vampire craned his neck and stepped forward.
Moonfeather suddenly interjected, "Why trouble the Ascendant King's people? I may not excel at many things, but speed is my specialty. I'll handle this."
There were also allegiances among the vampires. The Blood Moon Vampire King controlled all territory outside Cascadia, with these harmonizing vampire lords serving as its subordinates.
The Ascendant King was an emerging power from beyond these lands.
Moonfeather's secret alliance with the new king was already forbidden, and he certainly had no desire to serve as cannon fodder in an ambush against Aisha Patani.
The Ascendant Vampire King showed little concern. His attention remained fixed on the woman. "Do you have anything else to say before you die?" He asked Aisha.
A hazy cloud of dust and debris swirled around Aisha Patani, illuminated by the setting sun. Amidst the cracked earth and fallen boulders, her black Sharara Suit swayed gently. Her sleeves lifted without breeze, while her hands remained perfectly still.
Her expressionless face seemed to confirm her previous words— in Cascadia, except for the Blood Moon Vampire King, the rest are all the same.
Countless silver needles emerged from her body and hung suspended in the air, each one a slender whisper of death. The air crackled with frost as they transformed into thousands of gleaming ice swords, their edges catching the light like a constellation of frozen stars. A chilling wave of power radiated outwards, the very air growing heavy with the threat of their icy embrace.
The temperature plummeted by at least thirty degrees as ice swiftly covered the ground. The ice swords converged into an ice dragon, swirling around Aisha Patani.
"I need ten minutes." She turned to me. "Please hold on."
Upon hearing this, the Ascendant Vampire King gave a self-mocking smile. As he rose from his throne, the very mountains trembled with each casual movement.
The massive ring-pommeled greatsword, shimmering like a cascading waterfall, rested in his hand. "That's why I came for you before my true breakthrough. Being so underestimated has kept me awake at night."
Aisha didn't even bother to respond. Surrounded by the majestic ice dragon, she turned calmly to the young man. "Ten minutes—can you manage it?"
I raised an eyebrow as I watched Moonfeather approach. "There should be...no problem at all," I said firmly.
Though my original target was the fully crystallized Mountain Lord of Chuckanut Mountains, and now I faced a harmonizing Moonfeather. The stakes were higher, but it wasn't enough to make me afraid.
Before my words could fade, I melted into the night like mist, transforming into a breeze that swept silently into the distance.
Seeing this, Moonfeather's casual expression instantly turned serious. He had initially thought this would be an easy task—let the young man run further away so he could use the chance to slip away himself. Now it seemed he would actually have to make a real effort.
Without further hesitation, he unfurled his wings—magnificent white-feathered wings that stretched out like a full moon against the sky. A single flap could propel him over three hundred yards.
His incredible speed had allowed him to escape from Aisha's pursuit many times before.
...
Red mist and chilling ice clashed over Mount Strachan before the true battle had even begun.
Beyond the influence of both powers, a brilliant white light crashed into the earth, creating a massive crater. Moonfeather's devastating attack pulverized the surrounding trees into powder.
Moonfeather stamped his foot in frustration, watching as the breeze slipped away once more.
Never before had he heard of anyone in Cascadia who could match his speed. Yet here was this young man, clearly toying with him—even stopping now and then as if waiting for him to catch up.
On a distant treetop, I yawned, somewhat bored.
Even I, myself, was surprised that with the Vampire Devouring External Crystal's power, my perfected Whispering Gale Technique had become so fast that a harmonizing vampire lord couldn't keep up.
At this rate, with enough crystal cores to sustain me, I could lead Moonfeather on a chase all the way back to Seattle—ten minutes would be nothing.
Why not try to kill him then? The thought sparked my ambition.
My physical body had just crossed the threshold into the fully crystallized stage, while the Vampire Devouring External Crystal stood merely one step away from being fully filled.
Since I had time to spare, I vanished from sight once more, retrieving a vampire core from the silver bell and placing it in my mouth.
[Remaining Absorbed Lifespan: 5,392 years]
While monitoring my rapidly decreasing absorbed lifespan, I tracked Moonfeather's pursuit and periodically checked the panel.
This time, it took more than three hundred years to erase the peacock's consciousness.
As the bird's cry echoed in my mind, the vampire core dissolved into a powerful surge of demonic energy that coursed through my body.
I took out the Sun-Shattering Bow. Since the completion of the fourth transformation, I could now draw it to about ninety percent. Once I broke through again, I should be able to draw the bow to full moon, which would be enough to make harmonizing vampire lord wary.
[Year 1802, the purple marten's crystal core has been completely exhausted...]
The Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection consumed more vampiric power at each higher level. As for which vampire lord's innate abilities I'd obtain, it was determined by whichever vampire's consciousness proved strongest.
The vampire cores had come so easily that I felt no remorse using them. I retrieved another crystal core, placed it in my mouth, and deliberately slowed my pace—giving Moonfeather a glimmer of false hope.
[Year 3208, the Mountain Lord vampire core has been completely exhausted...]
My eyelids twitched involuntarily. While I had always been more comfortable with body-tempering techniques compared to other martial arts, the enormous drain from a single cycle of the Sanguine Resurrection was now pushing beyond my tolerance.
I retrieved the final vampire crystal core from today—the golden eagle's—and consumed it.
Three types of vampiric power merged within my body, gradually fusing together through my life essence. Their residual consciousnesses battled violently, like venomous insects trapped in a jar.
At last, a golden eagle's piercing cry echoed through my mind, proclaiming itself the final victor.
[You are the Sky-Patrolling Flying General, hunting across the great wilderness. Your wings stir up a thousand layers of clouds, your golden cry pierces through the palace of heaven. Your sharp eyes scan ten thousand miles, your ears hear in all directions. Your soul-stealing talons leave enemies nowhere to hide.]
[Fifth Transformation of Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection Accomplished]
[Remaining Absorbed Lifespan: 1372 years]
The essence from three fully crystallized vampires had now merged completely into my being.
I rose slowly, my eyes gleaming with intensity.
The red mist-filled mountain forest was now incredibly clear in my vision.
I raised the Sun-Shattering Bow and drew it effortlessly to full moon. The sun on the bow arm erupted with blinding white light, as if I held a giant sun poised to shatter the boundless sky.
Moonfeather, who had been pursuing me relentlessly, seemed to sense something ominous.
He swiftly folded his wings to protect his body.
In a flash, a massive beam of white light streaked across the distance and crashed into him with devastating force.
The arrow's overwhelming impact hurled his body hundreds of yards backward, carving a bottomless ravine in its wake!
As the dust settled, Moonfeather staggered to his feet, his entire body wracked with searing pain. Looking up, he saw a second beam of white light slowly enveloping him, and uncontrollable fear flickered in his eyes.
Abandoning all pretense of confidence, he threw himself sideways through the air with desperate force.
Boom!
The arrow's shockwave alone sent him tumbling through the air again.
Just then, the ten minutes had elapsed.
In the hinterland of Mount Strachan, half the mountainside suddenly crumbled away. A red demonic cloud shot skyward and fled into the distance at an impossible speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
The arrow from the Sun-Shattering Bow had displaced Moonfeather's internal organs. At the sight of this scene, he retched violently, blood gushing from his mouth.
Trembling, he suddenly looked forward.
He saw that the breeze that had been evading him all along had now revealed its tall figure, holding the bow and aiming it coldly at his heart.