ocean-life Chapter 151 - Rune of Wisdom Completed
Chapter 151 - Rune of Wisdom Completed
Chapter 151 - Rune of Wisdom Completed
A blurry shadow swallowed up the bat creature's head.
Crack!
Like a giant python devouring its prey, the Blood Race's ugly head was crushed, blood spurting from between the assailant's fingers. With a wave of his arm, he flung the headless corpse aside.
On the other side, Duomo acted with equal decisiveness and ferocity. Despite his serious injuries, he could still best the ordinary branch line Blood Race. The martial arts of the Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect were brutal and savage, with a strong focus on killing; he ruthlessly pierced through the Blood Race member's chest with his hand, crushing its heart.
Amid the rain of blood, the two sprinted along the creek, heading downstream. The hazy blood mist in the air traced along their arms and profiles, leaving behind red streaks.
"Nathan and Ildan were killed?!"
"They're not Blood Race, and nor are they Mercury Hunters. Could they be the Hellsings who oppose all dark creatures? But even the strongest knight-level wouldn't have been able to take down Nathan and the others in their Blood Gift state without a fight," an elderly Blood Race muttered to himself. "It could also be those mysterious martial artists. I've only crossed paths with them once, then never again."
The Blood Race Elder was about to deal with the second living sacrifice on the altar, but upon seeing the two approaching figures, he frowned. Expression darkening, he commanded, "I do not care who those two people are; don't let them get close. The ritual must not be disrupted!"
"Yes." After receiving the order, at least half of the Blood Race guarding the altar rushed out, their black cloaks flapping in the wind. A dozen shadows sprinted upstream along the creek.
With a series of roars and beast-like howls, the direct descendant of the Alphama Bloodline transformed simultaneously. In their Blood Gift state, their muscles swelled so much that their pants and boots exploded. They all turned into a group of bat-like monsters, dark red bristles fluttering.
"What's happening with the Blood Race by the altar?!"
On the other side of the creek, the Mercury Hunters and officers who were engaged in the fierce battle noticed the commotion. Their leader, Will, quickly shot out a crossbow bolt, then turned to fend off an opponent with a slash of his longsword. He rolled backward, landing sturdily on his two feet. Two Mercury Hunters stepped in front of him as protection.
"What's the situation?" Will asked the female officer Cathy, who was standing by a tree trunk. Mercury Hunters were not ordinary humans. The adult members of the blue-eyed family were much stronger physically than the average strong man, with incredibly fast reaction times, hence why they were at the front, acting as a shield to block off the Blood Race's powerful attacks, while the dozen or so officers in the rear provided ranged support. They could see the bigger picture and gather more information.
"Some other people have arrived upstream. They seem to be the Blood Race's enemies!" Cathy said quickly as she reloaded.
"The enemy of an enemy is a friend." Will turned his head to look at the creek and was startled to see a bat monster flying through the air, its chest caved in from a punch, its heart smashed. Blood splattered across a large area of the grass and creek.
Two dark shadows rushed down like sharp arrows, puncturing the Blood Race's line of defense. Many of the enraged Alphama direct bloodline members who charged forward were sent flying, severely injured. Some were punched into a bloody pulp, howling in pain, while others were knocked out by an elbow strike. Their unconscious bodies tumbled into the creek, the current soon carrying them away.
"So fierce!" Will's eyes widened. One of the two rapidly approaching figures seemed familiar. "It's that cold-faced muscle man I saw over a week ago!"
Hearing this, Cathy also turned to look. But her eyesight could only see at the normal human range, leaving her able to detect only the dark silhouettes fighting chaotically.
"The other muscle man is probably his companion." Will narrowed his eyes. He didn't care what the two men were aiming to do, but for now, they seemed to be helping them.
At least half of the elite Blood Race guards by the altar had been sent to intercept those two, which constricted much of the Blood Race's combat power. This might be their only opportunity to disrupt the ritual.
Will quickly made an executive decision. "We'll push across the river! Don't worry about the casualties!" His primary mission was to break through and mess up the blood ritual; casualties were secondary.
"Follow me!" Will shouted and charged back into the battlefield. The Mercury Hunters seized this rare opportunity and began pushing forward. With high morale surging through them, the group steadily advanced, gradually closing in on the creek. They were headed straight for the altar.
"Stop them!" shouted one of the Blood Race guarding the altar. Several branch line Blood Race members immediately entered their Blood Gift state, transforming into half-human, half-bat monsters and charging.
Meanwhile, Cassius and Duomo had their own hands full. The two had fought a life-and-death battle earlier with a terrifying high-ranking Blood Race member in the ruins that lasted at least ten minutes. Although they eventually killed it, both Cassius and Duomo were suffering some serious injuries, and they were finding it difficult to fend off the surrounding attacks.
In their normal state, these dozen bat monsters would have already been killed. But as the two of them had just barely escaped by the skin of their teeth, they were unwilling to use their full strength which could exacerbate their injuries. As a result, they found themselves entangled with the numerous Blood Race members.
Bang!
Cassius twisted his body and slammed his iron-like elbow into a bat monster's chest. The dark red muscle instantly caved in, cracking several bones. Right foot planted on the ground, he flashed forward like a black shadow and sent the creature flying with a kick.
As for the Mercury Hunters and officers, they were even more clueless. The only certain thing was that the beetle army had stopped the blood ritual from progressing further and seemed to be doing some serious damage to the Blood Race. That worked in their favor.
The elite Blood Race members engaged in combat tried to retreat and defend the altar, but Will immediately commanded his team to fight them, and the battle continued.
Will rolled to avoid a Blood Race attack and was about to quickly retaliate with an arrow when a voice suddenly spoke beside him, "Let them through and watch them die."
!
Startled, he instinctively swung his crossbow around.
Crack!
The semi-automatic crossbow in Will's hands was immediately ripped into pieces by two large hands, the force behind it so immense that it was rendered into a piece of scrap metal.
He looked up and saw a cold-faced, muscular man wearing a tattered cloak, and a blond man who stood beside him. Though they appeared somewhat disheveled, they had an overwhelmingly powerful presence.
Yes, Cassius had returned after rushing through the forest.
After diverting the danger eastward, Cassius realized that the scarabs had been much more attracted by the large numbers of Alphama direct bloodline Blood Race and the blood ritual altar than him and Duomo. Now, the beetle army was focused on besieging the altar, not even sparing a glance at the two of them.
After considering this, Cassius quietly circled back around. He still wanted to fill up his Rune of Wisdom progress bar. Seeing that there was just a tiny bit left, Cassius figured that, although he could continue hunting dark creatures later, it was best to finish it in one go today. In any case, the Rune of Wisdom could absorb the essence of calamity from corpses even if they were far away.
"It's you! I didn't get a chance to ask your names," Will said, his voice noticeably less hostile. He threw the remaining pieces of his crossbow to the ground.
"Twilight," Cassius replied.
Duomo glanced at Cassius before saying, "Duomo."
Will quickly assessed the situation and said, "If we let these Blood Race members through, they'll reinforce the altar. Won't that..."
Right at that moment, Cassius extended a large hand, grabbing the arm of a Blood Race member who had ambushed them. He lifted it with his immense strength and flung it through the air.
"Don't worry, those scarabs won't be satisfied even if there were double the amount of Blood Race members here," Cassius said calmly.
When he made his way over, Cassius had discovered a connection between the Blood Race and the scarabs. The corrosive liquid from the scarabs reacted with the Blood Race's blood energy, producing a vapor that attracted the scarabs, which they seemed to relish immensely.
It even overpowered their "grudge" against Cassius! The last time he accidentally stepped on a scarab, the swarm chased him for half a day.
"Well...alright." Will nodded.
Immediately, the Mercury Hunters pulled back in their fight, focusing instead on long-range crossbow fire, just like the officers. In their Blood Gift state, the Blood Race members lacked intelligence and reason. Most of them simply charged across the creek toward the altar. A few others, driven mad by bloodlust, were tossed across the creek by Cassius as if he were feeding them to the beetle swarm.
A dozen more anguished figures instantly appeared within the scarab swarm. Some were in such pain that they pulled out of their Blood Gift state. Once they regained their reason, they let out despairing roars. Some of them desperately struggled to cross the creek, but were kicked back by Cassius and Duomo, who were standing guard.
"No!" The beetle-covered figure tumbled backward into the swarm.
Cassius glanced at the upper right corner and satisfaction flooded through him when he saw the progress bar was nearly full.
Rune of Wisdom ∞:▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆
[1]
1. Change in terms for Chapter 130: [Mastery -> Major Culmination], [Proficient -> Minor Culmination], [Beginner -> Entry-level]. ☜