Chapter 485: Gathering
[V6C15 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
The Monroe viscounts finally arrived at this point, but they stopped several dozen meters away and didn’t dare come closer. From this distance, they could already feel the suppressive might of Nighteye and Zhao Jundu’s domains rushing at their faces like sharp blades. They would’ve been torn to shreds if they had taken another step forward.
Faras finally found an opportunity. He quietly clambered up, produced a crystal bottle from his pocket, and poured the single drop of blood within into his mouth. His face was immediately flushed red as if it were burning, but his blood energy recovered by half in an instant.
However, Faras didn’t join the battle immediately. He cautiously approached the two’s domains and formed a pincer formation in relation to Nighteye’s position. There he stopped and glared fixedly at Zhao Jundu, his expression livid.
Zhao Jundu and Nighteye were still confronting one another, and neither of the two gave him the time of day.
Faras wasn’t a useless person, but his luck was just too bad to have encountered Zhao Jundu. At this moment, he had already realized that Zhao Jundu’s potential sword strike was an indefensible killing move.
But such a powerful attack had to come with a price. The very moment he swung his blade, an exploitable opportunity would surely appear in that perfect, gapless stance. If Faras were to join the battle at that point, there was a good chance he could cut down Zhao Jundu on the spot.
Personally killing the Qin Empire’s number one genius! Such an achievement truly caused one to drool.
However, all things would, after all, come with a price, and behind this alluring benefit lay great risk. It was fine if Zhao Jundu’s slash went for Nighteye, but if it were to land on Faras, he would be slaughtered on the spot. No one would be able to save him.
It was during this subtle moment that a chuckle was heard, and Twilight appeared like a wisp of smoke. She glanced at the scene before her figure drifted toward the back to block Zhao Jundu’s path of retreat, effectively forming an encirclement with Nighteye and Faras.
Before Nighteye and Faras could even respond, a sudden change came over Zhao Jundu’s unmoving azure pillars at the same time that Twilight appeared. Its colors dimmed down abruptly and converged with the grey Iron Curtain as though watercolor blending into the canvas.
Twilight's expression immediately turned gloomy—she had clearly sensed Zhao Jundu splitting off a part of his qi to lock onto her despite the extremely unfavorable situation!
This also meant that, although Zhao Jundu was staring at Nighteye, the earth-shattering attack could land on any one of the three.
Under such circumstances, Zhao Jundu would fall into grave danger immediately upon launching this attack. However, the target of his attack would have no chance to survive, either. Moreover, with Zhao Jundu’s combat strength, his counterattacks on the verge of death would surely attract Sky Demon’s will. At that time, both Twilight and Faras would become easy targets.
Twilight had already exhausted her life-saving measure and didn’t dare guarantee that she would be lucky enough to escape again. An idea emerged in her mind at which point she suddenly said, “Sister Nighteye, you leave first. Your bloodline is much more powerful than ours. You must not fall here!”
Faras was shaken after hearing this. He gazed deeply at Nighteye with a complicated expression but didn’t say anything. Ignoring the purity of Twilight’s lineage, there was also relative superiority between primos due to the different bloodlines they had awakened. There were five great monarchs among the second generation primogenitors, so it was only natural that Nighteye who inherited the Black Winged Monarch’s bloodline was stronger than Faras, the inheritor of Prince Firecrown Samael.
Nighteye looked up and shot Twilight and Faras a glance. The two felt their breaths tighten under Nighteye’s unfathomably powerful eye ability—anyone’s heart would leap before her gaze.
Zhao Jundu didn’t take the opportunity to attack while Nighteye was looking away, and, instead, he began increasing his energy. “Did you all think you’ve got me cornered?”
The azure qi pillars that had almost merged into the Iron Curtain gradually appeared, and their colors were now even more abstruse. According to reason, Zhao Jundu had long since surpassed Sky Demon’s limits. However, a patch of the Iron Curtain had been forcibly scattered, and Sky Demon’s will had yet to appear.
Everyone was alarmed and realized they had underestimated Zhao Jundu yet again.
Faras suddenly flashed backward and withdrew over a hundred meters away before letting out a shrill whistle. Responses echoed far in the distance as a dozen or so shadows weaved through the air, arriving on the battlefield in a flash. Merely judging from their speed, it was obvious that these were titled vampire experts.
They spread out with a “swoosh” in response to Faras’s signal and formed a fan-shaped defensive line, effectively surrounding Zhao Jundu and blocking behind them.
Only then did Faras reveal a sinister smile. “How high is my status? How could I have risked danger alone without leaving a way out?”
Twilight cursed inwardly after seeing the situation, but there was nothing she could do. Zhao Jundu had already locked onto her the moment she appeared and showed no signs of slackening regardless of the situation. Faras could retreat, but she didn’t dare take even a single step back. Otherwise, Zhao Jundu’s earth-shattering strike would land on her body.
Zhao Jundu’s momentum had fully formed at this moment. That single slash was undodgeable and indefensible—wherein fell his will, his blade would surely strike.
The situation fell into a deadlock.
Zhao Jundu was surrounded in an incomparably adverse situation, but no one dared take action in the face of that undischarged killing move.
Nighteye’s gaze returned to Zhao Jundu once more, her expression as calm as the lake on a windless day.
Comparatively, the expressions of Faras and Twilight were fluctuating somewhat—it was as though they were calculating something. No one knew how long this stalemate would last, but whoever moved first would be the one to die.
Faras was apparently more relaxed. He truly enjoyed the feeling of having the situation under his control, so much so that he lit up an aged cigar before raising his hand to issue the attack order. The deadlock would be broken once Faras’ men took action. As for how many of these subordinates would die, it was a negligible loss compared to the merits of killing Zhao Jundu.
But his hand hadn’t even come down when a cough rang out beside everyone’s ears.
A tall figure appeared over the distant horizon. That person’s cough had actually crossed such a distance and yet it had struck all the vampires below the viscount-rank like thunder, causing them to tremble uncontrollably. Even the weaker ones among the viscounts turned pale for a split second.
This person crossed great distances with every step and arrived on the battlefield in just a couple of strides, stopping a hundred meters away from the ongoing battle. He was a tall, imposing elder dressed in a black imperial military uniform lined with gold. Although advanced in his years, he stood tall and straight, and was filled with a vigorous charm—one could easily see that he must’ve been a handsome man during his youth.
He stood at a distance with his hands behind his back and swept his lightning-sharp gaze over the vampires. There was a cold smile on his face.
Possessing the best grasp of military intelligence, Twilight’s expression shifted immediately. “Zhao Gongcheng! How come you’re here?”
The person who had arrived was precisely General Zhao Gongcheng, Zhao clan’s overseer under the Iron Curtain. He laughed coldly after hearing Twilight’s words, then said, “Why can’t this old man be here? Did you think only the vampires are capable?”
Zhao Gongcheng was a dauntless and seasoned general of the Swallow Cloud Zhao Clan who enjoyed some fame even in the Dark Nation. Even with the restrictions of the Iron Curtain in place, Twilight wasn’t willing to fight him head-on at all.
Zhao Gongcheng suddenly turned to gaze at the distance. A protracted whistle soon emerged from that direction, tearing through clouds and stones alike as it came rolling over. This was undoubtedly an open display of its might.
The earth trembled slightly as though it were resonating with that roar of incomparable might. Zhao Gongcheng’s expression turned serious as he snorted and proceeded to walk over to Zhao Jundu.
Twilight’s eyes turned toward Faras and beckoned him. Following a moment of hesitation, the latter ordered several of his subordinates to interfere. He knew none of them could block the old man, but they couldn’t let Zhao Jundu and Zhao Gongcheng rendezvous, either.
Killing intent emerged in Zhao Gongcheng’s eyes as that distant howl finally arrived before him. All he saw was William’s flying golden hair and the raging flames of darkness around his body before the soaring murderous intent swept over like a flood.
Zhao Gongcheng broke into a frown and crossed dozens of meters in a single backward step to block William’s path. Apparently, he saw William as the greatest enemy.
William arrived with torrential momentum and rushed straight into the battlefield without the slightest scruple. Only then did he stop in front of everyone. “Great! Ah... Eh?!”
William’s soaring momentum suddenly froze after seeing the people who were present. His face was full of astonishment, and he couldn’t help but scratch his head as he looked left and right.
Twilight suddenly cried out, “William, those two are important experts of the empire, council-level contributions! Let’s work together. You hold back that old man first. We’ll kill the other one here, and then come over to help you!”
William’s expression was peculiar as he shot Zhao Jundu a glance.
Killing intent emerged on Zhao Gongcheng’s countenance. “You can try.”
“Prepare to move!” Twilight shot Faras a meaningful glance. The situation at this moment was extremely complicated, and no one knew what else would happen if they dragged this on.
But Faras didn’t even see Twilight’s gesture. He was facing the north and gazing over with an astonished expression. He didn’t even notice that the cigar in his mouth had fallen to the ground.
The extremes of his vision were still pervaded by the eternal darkness of the Iron Curtain. At this moment, however, the horizon was stained by a faint scarlet with countless golden stars rising up from within. It was like the first light of daybreak connecting the sky to the great earth.
Soon afterward, the stars began stretching over toward them. Starlight formed continuously to the front, yet the ones at the back lingered on for a long time. It was like a river of golden stars flowing straight toward the battlefield at a high speed, and it wasn’t slower than William at all.
“Venus Dawn!” Faras spat out the name with great difficulty.
The river of stars arrived in the blink of an eye, whereupon Qianye stepped out from the boundless starlight to appear before everyone.
Qianye was somewhat startled to see so many people actually present on the battlefield. He exchanged a deep gaze with Nighteye as his eyes swept over her. Their glance lasted for but a brief moment before they both looked away.
Qianye slowly drew East Peak and shook its edge lightly before walking over to the surrounded Zhao Jundu.
Twilight and several of Faras’ subordinate viscounts were in front of him, but none of these obstructions could enter Qianye’s eyes. His footsteps were firm and grave. Every step would produce an origin array beneath his foot, sending a protracted shock through the earth.
Twilight’s brows were locked in a frown as she shot the vampire viscounts beside her a glance. The two third-rank viscounts shot out from each side and engaged Qianye in a pincer formation while shouting, “Halt, lowly human!”
Qianye didn’t reply; he didn’t even spare them a glance. Only the tides of a great ocean emerged vaguely around him. The two vampire viscounts froze mid-charge as though they had crashed into an invisible wall. Their faces turned purplish, and their expressions, lifeless. Then, their bodies started to bend under the unbearable pressure as their knees fell to the ground.
Qianye didn’t stop at all amidst the oceanic might and simply passed through the kneeling viscounts toward Twilight.
Faint mist started rolling around Twilight’s body and quickly condensed into a milky white color. For a moment, her figure was about to vanish from its place, but the mist was immediately dispersed after coming into contact with Qianye’s ocean tides.
This meant that Twilight had been utterly crushed in a battle of domains. She bit her lower lip and cried out, “William!”