Chapter 217: End of the Apeps

Serena recovered. Cough. She pulled herself from the rubble. Her icy blue eyes locked onto the injured Rasheed. She fired Absolute Zero. FWOOOSH! Ice engulfed his legs. CRACK. He couldn't move.

Lucian raised the greatsword. Death energy crawled along the blade. Hiss. He swung. SWISH! Rasheed barely dodged. His remaining arm fired a sand blast. FWISH! Lucian countered with devouring void as the sand dissolved before reaching Lucian.

Serena closed from the left. CRACK. An ice pillar struck Rasheed's ribs. He stumbled. Lucian closed from the right. SWISH! The greatsword opened a gash across his back. Slash. Death energy spread. Sizzle. Hiss. Black veins crawled up his spine.

Rasheed fell to his knees. Thud.

Gideon appeared. The Peak Grand Core master descended from above. BOOM. His fist — coated in Gravitational Compression — drove into Rasheed's skull. CRUNCH. The head caved. Splatter. Rasheed's body crumpled. Thud.

Malik — Resolution.

Mickey engaged Malik in close quarters. The venom elder's body radiated toxic green energy. Sizzle. Mickey charged. Malik swung. His venom-coated fist connected with Mickey's forearm. SLASH! The venom hit Mickey's skin — and nothing happened.

Malik's eyes widened. "What—"

Mickey's Perfect Copy activated. The moment Malik's venom touched his skin, the ability imprinted. Venom Body flowed into Mickey's Star Palace. His skin took on a faint green sheen. Sizzle. He was immune. And now he could produce his own.

"My turn," Mickey said.

His fist — now coated in the same toxic venom — connected with Malik's hand. SPLASH! Venom met venom. Hiss. Hiss. The impact sent corrosive droplets flying in every direction. Stone melted where the venom landed. Sizzle. Crackle.

Malik snarled. He was older, more experience, better spells and had the superior cultivation base. He pressed Mickey hard. SLASH. BAM. Hiss. Mickey took a hit to the ribs. Crack. He staggered. Thud. But his vampire physiology helped him. Ancient Vampire bloodline — even turned — was superior to a True Born's in raw physical enhancement.

While Mickey was at a disadvantage, he was still able to keep up.

Two Knights flanked Malik. One fired a lightning bolt. ZAP! Malik dodged. The other launched a fire blast. FWOOM! Malik's venom armor absorbed it. Sizzle. But his attention was split for half a second.

Mickey exploited. His venom-coated fist drove into Malik's wrist. SPLASH! The venom — the same venom Malik's body produced — entered Malik's system through the contact point.

Malik's eyes widened. Hiss. Green discoloration spread from the wound. His own body's venom attacked his cells.

"NO—! That's MY—"

Mickey's uppercut connected. BAM! Malik's jaw cracked. Crunch. The two Knights struck simultaneously — a sword through his back and an ice spear through his thigh. SHHHK. SHHHK.

Mickey drove his venom-coated claw into Malik's chest. SPLAT! The venom flooded Malik's heart. Hiss. Sizzle. Crack.

Malik screamed. Aaaagh! His body convulsed. The venom consumed him from the inside.

He collapsed. Thud.

Clara dropped from the sky. Fwoooosh. Her silver hair streamed behind her. Her silver eyes blazed. She raised both hands.

"Lunar Authority."

THRUUM.

A gravity field materialized around Apophis. The Vice Patriarch's body froze mid-movement. His legs wouldn't move.The gravity pressed down from every direction.

Apophis snarled. "You think this can hold me—"

Shadow Serpents launched from his arms. Hiss. Ssssss. Dark constructs coiled through the air, aimed at Clara.

Clara's silver eyes flashed. Lunar ice spread from her gravity field. The shadow serpents froze before they fully materialized. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. Ice encapsulated the dark constructs. They shattered. Tink. Tink. Tink.

Darius Thorne moved. Earth chains erupted from the ground as they wrapped around Apophis.

Linnea Frost fired. SCREEEE! A sonic blast struck Apophis directly. His concentration shattered. His vision blurred and his sense of direction collapsed.

"STOP — I'LL—" ℯ

SCREEEE! Another sonic blast. SCREEEE! Another.

Apophis fought desperately. Crack. One Earth chain snapped. Twang. He almost broke free.

Clara intensified. "Gravity Manipulation — Full Compression." THRUUM. The gravity field doubled. Apophis was driven to his knees. CRACK. The stone beneath him shattered.

Mana cuffs — Grand Core restraints — were clamped around his wrists. CLICK. CLICK. His mana was sealed. His body went limp.

With all five elders defeated — four killed, one captured — the remaining vampires broke.

Some fought to the death. SLASH. CRASH. BOOM! They charged with fangs bared and claws extended. They were cut down. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Some surrendered. They dropped their weapons. Knelt. Thud. Thud. Hands behind their heads. The fight left them the moment their elders fell.

The Early Grand Core vampires were overwhelmed by numerical superiority. Two or three Peak Core Knights alongside an Early Grand Core Knight per vampire. Coordinated assaults from every angle. One by one, they fell. Those who surrendered were bound. Those who didn't were killed.

The Mid Grand Core vampires were brought down by combined Knight assaults.

The courtyard fell silent. Silence. The only sounds — the crackling of fires, the groaning of the wounded, and the distant screech of the Dark Wyvern circling above.

Of the fifty cultivators:

Eight killed in combat. Four Core Realm Knights killed by Zafira's beasts in the opening minutes of the battle. Two Early Grand Core Knights killed by Malik's venom — the toxin reached their hearts before healers could intervene. Two Core Realm Knights killed in the tunnel assault — ambushed by vampire guards during the blood farm rescue.

Nine seriously injured. The Knight whose arm was severed by a vampire's claws — stabilized, but incapacitated. Two Knights poisoned by Malik's venom — purified by healers but left weakened and bedridden. Six others with severe injuries ranging from crushed ribs to mana circuit damage.

Thirty-three remained combat-capable.

The Knights secured the perimeter. Healers moved through the courtyard, tending to the wounded. Thrum. Thrum. The freed humans — over eighty of them — were brought up from the blood farms.

The Knights raided the fortress. Documents, communication devices, maps, supply manifests, blood farm records and evidence of collaboration with the Nasrullah family. Everything was packed into storage bags. Clink. Clink. Clink. Everything that could be carried was taken.

Lucian gathered the survivors in the courtyard.

"Take everything," Lucian said. "Documents. Rescued humans. The captured vampires — except the main family. I still want to interrogate them. As for the gotten evidence, take it all back to the Knights' base."

Gideon frowned. "What do you mean? You're not coming with us?"

"I'm staying," Lucian said. "There are still a few things I want to check and wrap up here."

Gideon's expression darkened. He opened his mouth to argue.

Serena stepped forward. "I'll stay with him."

Lucian shook his head. "No need. I can take care of myself."

Serena studied him for a long moment. Her icy blue eyes searched his crimson ones. The boy was hiding something. Many things. But they had been told not to question their superiors.

She nodded. "Understood."

Clara stepped forward. "I'm staying too."

Mickey shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere."

Lucian sighed. He didn't force the issue.

Gideon, Serena, and the remaining Knights departed. The Sand Veil was no longer active — Rasheed's death had dissolved it. The desert was open. Thirty-three cultivators, carrying the rescued humans, the captured vampires, the documents, and the evidence, moved out across the sand in formation. Tap. Tap. Tap. Their figures grew smaller against the desert horizon until they disappeared entirely.

Lucian stood in the ruined courtyard of the Temple of the Forgotten Sun.