164 I Warned It
The sky turned crimson red as an overwhelming force filled the air.
Even Vernon Wells, who like the fox vampire was fully crystallized, was stunned by this display of power.
The crimson knight swords collided with the re-emerging spectral image of the bronze bell, the blade trembling as the phantom image quickly faded.
The middle-aged man's expression turned cold, his pupils blazing with intensifying anger.
The swords were clearly a Will Embodiment technique. Though somewhat unrefined, the opponent had mastered it to perfection, making it a formidable weapon.
He needed to demonstrate some real techniques, or these people would continue mistaking him for just a wild vampire.
At a mere thought, crystal spheres materialized beside him one by one until twelve of them rotated around him.
Each sphere radiated the powerful aura of a fully crystallized vampire!
The spectral image of the bronze bell instantly became indestructible, firmly blocking the crimson knight swords from reaching their target.
"Fox Wonderland's External Crystal Technique..." Johan Bergstrom was shocked, wanting to help but unable to do so. When had they taken their battle to the skies? General Kane should have left the Sun-Shattering Bow to us...
Indeed, as a famous disciple of Fox Wonderland, he effortlessly demonstrated a technique that left ordinary martial artists in awe.
The ability to channel twelve external crystals' essence simultaneously into the bronze bell simply defied belief.
"Soul Suppressing Bell, Trap!" The middle-aged man, still having energy to spare, thrust his palm into the void.
Powered by this vast essence supply, the bronze bell at his waist suddenly flew outward, growing larger in the wind until it towered several meters high, then descended to trap the young man in the distance!
"You crude martial artist—how dare you fight me."
The fox vampire stood atop his jade sword, white robe rippling in the wind, and sneered downward. "Little girl, I spared you once for Cascadia's sake. Don't worry—there won't be a second time."
After those words, he formed another spell with his fingers. "Melt the Soul!"
Streams of light rippled across the green bronze bell, followed by a violent explosion!
Boom——
The thunderous blast instantly made the two attendant lieutenant generals turn pale, and Rose Hightower held her breath. What she witnessed exceeded anything a fully crystallized vampire should be capable of.
Suspended in the air, the fox vampire's expression also shifted.
The explosion had nothing to do with his spell.
Suddenly, another thunderous blast shook the sky!
A massive force shattered the thick green bell, and a black-armored fist suddenly burst through.
Then, five fingers gripped the edge of the crack and ripped it apart.
I emerged calmly, transformed into a gust of wind, and materialized before the fox vampire.
As the bronze bell cracked, the spectral image around the white-robed middle-aged man also vanished. He spotted the crimson knight sword before him and hastily sacrificed an external crystal to defend himself—but the elbow strike coming from his side filled him with even greater terror than the blade.
The iron-clad arm smashed into his eye socket.
Only then did the fox vampire truly understand the terrifying power that had shattered his Soul Suppressing Bell.
His skull shattered completely, one of his eyeball burst, and his half-mangled lips moved frantically as he tried to chant a spell.
"Jade Immortal Rejuvenation Art..."
A brilliant white light enveloped his head as the jade sword beneath his feet whisked him away.
I slashed with my sword—a green light flashed, and an invisible ripple several meters long swept across the sky, instantly cleaving away half of the fox vampire's body.
Without the bronze bell's protection, the fox vampire's physical body crumpled before me as easily as paper.
As his limbs were severed, the fox vampire was overwhelmed by intense pain and deep fear. A poisonous corruption spread from his wounds, threatening to devour his flesh and blood entirely.
He waved his hand in a frenzied motion.
The eleven remaining external crystals shot outward in rapid succession, detonating around me. The immense power of their fully crystallized essence erupted instantly, transforming the very color of the world!
Having no time to lament the loss of the external crystals, the fox vampire frantically fled on his sword—but behind him surged a gust of wind carrying a crimson aura that blocked his escape.
I hovered in the air as my crimson cloak fluttered between pieces of black armor like a streaming rainbow.
… …
The fox vampire, gazing at the cold figure before him, suddenly recalled his natal magic ability—a power he hadn't wielded in years.
A crimson light flashed in his remaining eye as he attempted to bewitch the young man's mind.
In that instant, however, the fox vampire suddenly found himself engulfed in white mist and trapped within a dark prison. Everywhere he looked, the young man's figure appeared—multiplied endlessly like a haunting nightmare.
Moonfeather's magic interacted with the fox's, manifesting his worst fears. An overwhelming sense of despair consumed his heart.
The red light in his eyes dissipated, and his pupils became dilated.
His mind finally collapsed, and he wailed in misery, "I'll leave now, I'll leave now... Please... Let me go!"
Before he could finish his plea, a calm voice cut through.
"When did I say you could leave?"
With the young man's whisper, the fox vampire felt iron fingers clamp around his throat. Before he could even register the sensation of choking, his neck snapped with a casual twist.
[Slain a fully crystallized fox vampire, Total lifespan 5832 years, Remaining Lifespan 4100 years, Absorption Complete.]
[Remaining Absorbed Lifespan: 14505 years. Soul Crucible Available.]
[Soul Crucible: Can reshape a vampire's soul into an eternally bound follower—one who cannot transcend, willing to endure all worldly hardships, and exists solely to execute their master's supreme command.]
With a hint of surprise on my face, I carried the fox vampire's corpse, still in human form.
I had killed four fully crystallized vampires, but this was the first time I had encountered one so young.
As for the new option on the panel, I ignored it completely. Mind Shards were useful enough for deducing martial arts, but spending precious lifespan to create more vampires—I'd have to be completely insane.
Apart from this fox vampire, I had also eliminated a total of twenty-eight lesser vampires, old and young, from the newly awakened to the peak of First Realm—plus an elderly fox at the early Wave Realm.
Among the lesser vampires, the remaining lifespans ranged from a few decades to four hundred years, totaling over five thousand years.
Sadly, such a bountiful harvest was unlikely to happen again. Even in Cascadia, it was unprecedented for an entire vampire family to stay together and not flee when they saw H.A.R.M. approaching.
I extracted the vampire's crystal core and placed it in the silver bell, then gathered its heart-blood and claimed the jade sword.
After stripping the fox's clothes, I carefully searched them and found a small silver-white pouch, which I also collected.
Then I descended to the bottom of the cliff and tossed the mutilated corpse toward the two attendant lieutenant generals.
"All right, let's head back," I said as I walked toward Pinewood County.
The two attendant lieutenant generals swayed dizzily, holding the fox vampire's corpse while sweat poured down their faces. "General Kane, we came to warn it—"
Could the General's slender frame truly bear the heavy burden of Fox Wonderland's wrath?
"I warned it," I replied, turning back with a puzzled look.
Surely the Sun-Shattering Bow's massive destruction, plus the deaths of over twenty family members, should have been enough of a warning to make it flee?