Chapter 235: A Disappointing Patriarch

Chapter 235: Chapter 235: A Disappointing Patriarch

SWISH!

Tariq’s massive, mist-cloaked form blurred forward, the air screaming as he closed the distance in a fraction of a second. But Lucian didn’t retreat in panic. He simply jumped back, his crimson eyes locking onto the Khamsin Patriarch.

Title Activated: Vampire Slayer.

The world shifted. Tariq’s body was suddenly overlaid with glowing red pressure points and structural weaknesses—the joints of his mist form, the flow of his blood energy, and the slight lag in his left shoulder where he had just regenerated his arm.

"Eclipse Sword Art, Second Form: Sky Breaker."

CRACK!

Lucian’s blade tore through the air with blinding, catastrophic speed. A massive arc of dark, compressed Sword Intent cleaved the space between them. Tariq’s eyes widened in sheer terror. He tried to dissolve into blood mist, but the slash was too fast.

SHUNK!

The dark light carved through Tariq’s right shoulder, severing his arm cleanly at the socket.

"AAAAAARGH!" Tariq’s agonizing scream tore through the ruined city, blood spraying wildly from the stump.

Lucian didn’t let up. He brought his left hand down sharply. "Light Chain Net."

Zing! Zing! Zing!

A complex, glowing golden net of hard-light chains materialized in the air above Tariq, descending rapidly to pin him to the ground. Lucian gripped his Blood Reaver with both hands, raising it high to deliver the finishing blow.

But Tariq wasn’t a Peak Grand Core Patriarch for nothing. With a furious roar, he dissolved into a fine, crimson mist, slipping through the microscopic gaps in the Light Chain Net. The net collapsed on empty air. Tariq reformed fifty meters away, his right arm already regenerating with a sickening squelch.

"You little bastard!" Tariq snarled, launching a massive wave of toxic Blood Mist toward Lucian.

Lucian raised his palm. "Light Judgement."

FWOOSH!

A sustained, blinding beam of pure light erupted from his hand, evaporating the mist instantly. But Tariq was already moving. He dissolved, appearing directly behind Lucian with a jagged blood dagger aimed at his spine.

"Too slow," Lucian murmured.

Blood Art: Blood Domain.

WHOOSH!

A ten-meter sphere of dense, pressurized blood erupted from Lucian’s body, engulfing the immediate area. Inside the sphere, gravity and blood pressure were amplified a hundredfold. Tariq’s eyes widened as his body froze. He felt as though he was drowning in an ocean of lead; his blood refused to obey his commands, his muscles locked up, and his regeneration halted. He had completely lost control of his own body.

And then, the darkness came.

A pitch-black void spread outward from Lucian, overlapping the Blood Domain. It swallowed the light, the sound, and the very air itself.

"Devour."

Hummmmm!

Tariq gasped, a sound of pure, unadulterated terror. He felt his blood energy, his life force, and his massive mana pool being forcibly ripped from his body. The dark void was drinking him dry.

"Wait! Stop this!" Tariq shrieked, his voice cracking as his skin began to wrinkle and pale. "We can still sort this out, kid! The Dark King will accepy you! I can give you power! I can give you anything you want!"

Lucian stared at him with cold, dead eyes. He ignored the pathetic pleas entirely.

"Blood Art: Crimson Annihilation."

BOOOOOOOOM!

A devastating, concentrated beam of pure, destructive crimson energy erupted from Lucian’s palm. The attack was a torrential wave of compressed blood and mana, so dense it looked like a solid pillar of red lightning. It struck Tariq point-blank.

Tariq al-Khamsin, the Patriarch of the Khamsin Clan, was completely vaporized. His physical form was erased from existence, and the massive surge of his life force, mana, and blood energy rushed directly into Lucian’s body.

Ding!

[System Notification: Absorption complete. Mana capacity has reached 200,000 MPU.]

Lucian lowered his hand, the crimson glow fading from his eyes. He looked at the empty spot where Tariq had been and sighed.

"Well, that was disappointing."

...

CRASH! BAM!

On the other side of the battlefield, Mickey was a whirlwind of destruction. He was taking on two Late Grand Core vampires simultaneously, his body flashing with pale skin and crimson eyes. He moved with the terrifying speed of an Ancient Vampire, seamlessly combining more than three copied abilities.

"Take this!" Mickey roared, his right hand unleashing a torrent of copied Wind Blades while his left hand summoned a massive Shadow Serpent. He blurred forward, his leg coated in copied Earth Armor as he delivered a brutal roundhouse kick that sent one of the Late Grand Core vampires crashing through a stone pillar.

Nearby, Ryan and Iris were demolishing the remaining Khamsin forces. Ryan’s Series-8 suit fired cryogenic blasts that froze vampires solid, while Iris’s Techno Forge exoskeleton unleashed a barrage of mana blasts, shattering them into ice cubes.

"This is insane," Iris muttered, her targeting systems tracking a fleeing vampire. "The physical difference between vampires and humans is ridiculous. My sensors can barely keep up with their regeneration."

BZZZT!

Another mana blast obliterated a Core Realm vampire.

Meanwhile, Clara was putting on a masterclass in speed and power. The Khamsin Vice Patriarch was desperately trying to keep up, but Clara was a phantom. She combined her Lunar Authority with her Gravity Manipulation, appearing wherever he reformed.

"Too slow," Clara whispered, her silver eyes glowing.

Lunar Haze.

A thick, silver mist exploded from Clara’s body. The Vice Patriarch inhaled it instantly. His eyes glazed over, his movements became sluggish, and he dropped to his knees, screaming as his mind was flooded with vivid, terrifying hallucinations of a massive, crushing moon falling on his head.

"Lunar Spear Art: Moonlight Pierce."

SHUNK!

Clara’s Lunar Fang, pierced through his skull and out the back of his neck. She twisted the blade, shattering his core. The Vice Patriarch fell dead. Clara deactivated her Lunar Sovereign Form, the silver halo fading from behind her head.

Back at the center of the ruins, Lucian stared at his hands. He had just killed a Peak Grand Core Patriarch without even using his Predator Form or the Third Form of his Eclipse Sword Art. The gap between him and normal Grand Core cultivators had become an abyss. Right now, he doubted any Grand Core cultivator could match him.

But before he could revel in his growth, his Blood Sense screamed a warning.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Massive, overwhelming signatures were approaching from outside the Absolute Isolation Monument. Whatever was coming, it was far beyond Peak Grand Core.

’Everyone, we are leaving. Now.’ Lucian’s voice echoed through the Telepathic Link.

Everyone obeyed instantly.

Lucian activated Light Acceleration, vanishing in a flash of light. He appeared directly behind Mr. Cain, who was still locked in combat with Apophis.

"Eclipse Sword Art, First Form: Crescent Moon Slash."

SWISH! SHUNK!

Two rapid, intersecting arcs of Sword Intent tore through the air, cleanly slicing off both of Mr. Cain’s hands at the wrists.

"AAAAH!" Cain screamed, dropping to his knees.

Apophis didn’t miss a beat. He drove a massive Shadow Serpent directly into Cain’s chest, blasting the old man backward. Before Cain could recover, Lucian appeared above him and slammed the pommel of his Blood Reaver into the back of his skull.

BAM!

Cain’s eyes rolled back, and he crumpled unconscious.

Apophis looked at Lucian, breathing heavily. "What are you planning to do with the old man?"

Lucian didn’t answer. He simply grabbed Cain by the collar and hoisted him over his shoulder.

"Pick up the others. We’re leaving," Lucian ordered.

The group quickly gathered the unconscious Cain, and together, they vanished into the shadows of Sighi?oara, leaving the ruins of the Khamsin Clan behind.