CA – Chapter 146
Chapter 146
Vampires excelled at close-quarters combat, relying on their superhuman strength and speed to slaughter their enemies. However, when they encountered werewolves, who were equally skilled in close combat, their advantage diminished.
This was especially true when the werewolves assumed their true forms. Their superior pouncing and tearing abilities often left vampires at a disadvantage.
Although Tang Qiu’s strength was not on par with Faye’s, and she was somewhat weaker than Evan, she leveraged the advantages of her true form. She couldn’t kill Evan, but he couldn’t do anything to her either and was forced into a defensive position.
After all, Tzimisce vampires were not skilled fighters.
The Blood Domain Evan had erected was split in two by the white wolf’s own domain, and half of that was then devoured by Beverly’s Blood Domain.
Beverly, Lucille, and the other vampires forcefully broke through the Tzimisce encirclement and headed out of the manor.
The Tzimisce vampires pursued them relentlessly from behind.
Evan assumed Lucille was fleeing because she was afraid of being captured. He glanced in the direction of their escape, raised a hand to merge his Blood Domain back together, and the thick, blood-colored fog coalesced into a ferocious beast that blocked his path, letting out a threatening roar at the white wolf.
While the beast intercepted the white wolf, Evan flew off in pursuit of Lucille and the others. However, to his surprise, the moment the beast collided with the white wolf, it was torn to shreds. The white wolf leaped behind Evan, pinning him down with a single paw. Her sharp fangs sank deep into his shoulder as she viciously tore at his body.
Evan let out a muffled groan, his eyes turning so red with fury they looked as if they might drip blood. He grabbed the white wolf’s back with both hands, veins bulging, and forcibly ripped her off his body. With a low roar, he flung the white wolf away.
The white wolf crashed heavily to the ground, two deep depressions visible on her back. A flash of white light enveloped her, and she reverted to her human form. Tang Qiu clutched her mouth, her face pale as blood seeped through her fingers.
She quickly drank a bottle of Holy Water of Light to ease the pain. Lucille and the others were no longer in sight. She took a deep breath and retrieved her staff from her Space Gem.
The white wolf’s bite had left half of Evan’s body a mangled mess of flesh and blood. He looked down at his injuries, frowned, and took out a new body from his Space Gem.
Healing couldn’t compare to the speed of swapping bodies, but the injuries he had sustained would not be eliminated just by changing his vessel.
As Evan was switching bodies, Tang Qiu saw her opportunity. She stood up and leaped onto a still-intact castle. Wasting no time, she immediately began to chant a spell.
The Light Barrier she had prepared earlier began to spread slowly from all directions, converging with her at the center.
The appearance of the Light Barrier caught Evan’s attention. He glanced up, saw that it wasn’t a particularly powerful offensive light spell, and ignored it, continuing to merge with his new body.
The Light Barrier slowly closed, enveloping the entire Rose Manor. Tang Qiu looked down at Evan, who was nearly finished merging with his new body, and a faint smile touched her lips. She raised her staff and continued to chant.
This spell was very short. Almost as soon as she began chanting, light elements coalesced before her.
Light Flames suddenly appeared at her side. As the incantation grew longer, the flames spread wider. Tang Qiu stopped chanting and directed the flames downward to surround Evan.
As the Light Flames flew toward Evan, he glanced up and casually flicked them away with a wave of his hand. Light Flames of this level couldn't penetrate his defenses.
The deflected flames fell to the ground. The powder on the ground came into contact with the fire and exploded with a bang.
More flames landed around Evan, setting off a chain of explosions. The ground beneath his feet shook violently, and the castle crumbled into ruins with the blasts.
Evan’s face was a mask of astonishment. He steadied himself and looked at where the explosions had occurred, still not understanding what had just happened.
Tang Qiu was extremely cautious as she detonated the powder. Seeing the blast radius expanding, she carefully retreated. Once she was completely outside the manor, she raised her staff again and began to chant. This incantation was longer. When she finished, she cast a sea of fire into the manor.
After the Light Flames completely consumed the manor, the expected explosion did not occur. Instead, the surrounding space began to distort, and dust hung in the air as if frozen.
Time stood still, with only the flames dancing wildly. Tang Qiu seemed to sense something, and her expression changed slightly. She put away her staff, turned, and leaped off the surrounding wall, transforming into a white wolf before she even hit the ground.
The white wolf shot forward like a bolt of lightning, leaving only a few afterimages in her wake.
An almost ear-splitting explosion erupted behind her. Pink smoke engulfed the Rose Manor, and the ground instantly caved in. A figure was faintly visible within the pink smoke, its limbs blown off, struggling desperately to escape. However, it was blocked by a Light Barrier and ultimately fell back into the center of the blast with a cry of unwillingness. The explosion was deafening, and a powerful shockwave surged outward, shattering even the sturdy Light Barrier into pieces.
Although Lucille, Beverly, and the others had left the manor early, they hadn't gotten far due to the pursuing Tzimisce vampires.
The explosion drew everyone’s attention. Beverly stared in horror at the pink smoke that seemed to surge into the clouds, muttering to herself, “What is that…”
The shockwave destroyed everything in its path; even mountains were instantly turned to dust. Lucille frowned and warned in a low voice, “Let’s go.”
If they didn’t leave now, they would be the ones turned to dust.
The force of the powder explosion was affecting the surrounding space, rendering their teleportation scrolls useless. Behind them, some of the Tzimisce vampires were too slow and were swallowed by the pink mist, leaving only a final, wretched scream.
Hearing the occasional screams from behind, Beverly felt her scalp tingle. She had no time to look back and could only push her speed to the absolute limit. Even so, she had a premonition that she was about to be consumed.
A white shadow shot past her. The white wolf ran toward Lucille, lowered her body slightly, and bit down on her waist, flinging her onto her back.
Beverly’s eyes lit up. She pointed at the white wolf and said to her clansmen beside her, “Grab her.”
With that, she leaped forward and, just before the white wolf took off at a full sprint, managed to grab its tail and smoothly climb onto its back.
The other vampires followed her example, catching a “ride” just as they were about to be thrown off.
The other Tzimisce vampires were not so lucky and could only watch as the white wolf’s figure grew more and more distant.
The white wolf was incredibly fast, and they soon escaped the danger of being consumed by the pink mist. Sitting on the wolf’s back, Beverly raised a hand to wipe away non-existent sweat from her forehead. Still shaken, she said to Lucille, “That was terrifying. What was that stuff?”
Lucille stroked the white wolf’s soft fur and said calmly, “A type of witchcraft material used by Black Witches.”
Although the vampire clans weren’t a united front, major events concerning one clan were usually heard of by the others. However, Beverly didn’t connect this explosive powder with the incident a thousand years ago when a certain third-generation vampire died at the hands of a Black Witch.
To be completely out of danger, they had to leave the range of the pink mist’s expansion. Beverly glanced at the still-spreading mist and frowned. A faint scent of blood suddenly reached her. She turned her head to look at Lucille’s arm and, realizing something, said in a low voice, “Your arm…”
Lucille moved her still-bleeding arm behind her back and continued to stroke the white wolf’s fur with a blank expression.
Beverly opened her mouth, but seeing that Lucille was avoiding the topic, she thought for a moment and closed it again.
The white wolf ran for over a thousand li before stopping. The pink mist continued to spread until it was only a few hundred meters away from them. The mist consumed everything, leaving a flattened wasteland in its wake. A strong wind began to disperse the pink mist, and as it cleared, the land had been transformed into yellow sand.
The vampires dismounted. A flash of white light enveloped the wolf, and she returned to her human form. Tang Qiu leaned against Lucille with her eyes closed, her breathing ragged, the taste of blood filling her mouth.
Lucille soothingly stroked her back a few times, then took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light, opened it, and held it to her lips.
Tang Qiu drank the Holy Water of Light from Lucille’s hand. Feeling some relief in both her spirit and body, she slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the desert left behind by the pink mist and said in a low, hoarse voice, “Looks like I chose a good gift.”
Hearing Tang Qiu’s raspy voice, Lucille touched her neck, signaling for her not to speak for now.
Beverly and the other vampires fell silent as they stared at the desert. Although they hadn’t gone to confirm it themselves, they already knew Evan’s fate.
Of course, there was no way to confirm it now. Against such power, even a third-generation vampire would have been blasted to dust.
This woman… is ruthless… Beverly glanced out of the corner of her eye at the white-haired werewolf resting against Lucille, a sense of wariness rising in her heart. If anything had gone wrong in that situation, she might have ended up taking Evan down with her.
Terrifying.
Although her Brujah clan was also known for being reckless, they weren't this insane.
After resting for a while and feeling less exhausted, Tang Qiu let go of Lucille and said to Beverly, “I’ll take you to find your brother.”
Beverly looked at her and nodded. “Alright.”
In Kondir City.
Maggie, who had stayed with Jennifer and the others out of curiosity about Tang Qiu’s plan, stared in horror in the direction of Rose Manor.
Since the plan involved relocating hundreds of thousands of civilians, Maggie had expected the blond bishop to cause a huge commotion, but she had never imagined it would be on this scale.
When the explosion sounded, even the ground beneath their feet began to shake. The spreading pink mist put the Holy See’s forces on high alert. They only breathed a sigh of relief when it stopped a few hundred meters away.
Cities and mountain ranges had all been turned into a desert. For a moment, Maggie was speechless. Her emotions were complex, but they ultimately resolved into a poignant sigh of resignation.
This was the price that had to be paid to drive out the vampires.
On the other side of Kondir City, Erin and the others were also stunned by the powder’s power. Lola stood with her arms crossed, staring at the desert for a while. She suddenly sensed something, her eyes flickered, and her figure vanished from the spot.
Erin was taken aback by Lola’s sudden departure and pulled Vera along to follow her.
At the base of a lighthouse, Karen held her longsword to a vampire’s neck. The vampire was curled up pathetically on the ground, covered in blood and grime. An arm and her right leg were missing, having been touched by the pink mist.
She was severely injured, but she still turned her head to look at the desert behind her. Her dust-covered face couldn’t hide her delight. She let out an excited, low laugh, her entire being exuding madness. “I’m finally free…”
Karen frowned at this “madwoman,” unsure of what to do, when Lola appeared beside her.
Lola bent down, grabbed the vampire’s neck, and pulled her up. She looked her over and said with a smirk, “How are you so lucky to be alive?”
This pathetic vampire was Delia. When Evan and Lucille’s group started fighting, she had withdrawn from the battle and was observing from a great distance.
Later, when she saw Lucille and the others flee, she keenly sensed that something was wrong and retreated a step ahead of them, which was how she managed to luckily escape being consumed by the pink mist.
Delia blinked hard to clear her blurry vision. She recognized Lola as one of Tang Qiu’s people. She reached out and grabbed Lola’s wrist, saying weakly, “I need to see Grace. I have… something important to tell her.”
Seeing Lola unmoved, she grew anxious. “It concerns her… and Lucille’s safety.”
Lola looked at her expressionlessly. With a slight twist of her wrist, there was a crack, and Delia fainted.
She casually tossed the unconscious Delia aside. Karen looked down at her and asked, “What should we do with her?”
She was a fourth-generation vampire, after all. Once Delia recovered some of her strength, she would be difficult to handle. To restrain her, they would have to take her to the Holy See and lock her up.
Lola wiped the blood from her hand and said casually, “Leave her to me.”
She could handle a single, heavily injured fourth-generation vampire. As for whether Delia lived or died, that was a decision for the blond bishop to make.
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