202. Aurelian Mirror
"Sure enough..."
Chloe's small hands gripped the golden net tightly as she stared at the bronze mirror hanging in the sky, her teeth clenched.
After overhearing the conversation between the Blood Moon Vampire King and the bull vampire, she had sensed this was coming.
Despite needing the Ascendant King's help against H.A.R.M. Cascadia, the Blood Moon Vampire King's attitude was suspiciously submissive. Even from a distance, she had overheard the old wolf mention his journey to Vampire Valley to meet the Bull Vampire's mother.
Clearly, this arrogant bull vampire must be from a powerful vampiric faction beyond New Terra. With such an impressive background, he would surely possess formidable survival techniques and powerful artifacts.
Vampire Valley was a domain where Fifth Realm vampires dwelled. Indeed, a Fifth Realm vampire might be the true power behind the Young Bull.
However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Cascadia.
Chloe's original plan was to make a big scene, to let the Martial Abbey know that they were losing more than just Cascadia, that this wasn't a loss they could simply brush aside.
The arrival of powerful vampires from outside would completely change the game.
Because no one knew if they were just coming for revenge, or if they wanted to take advantage of the situation to seize large portion of New Terra and further encroach on the already limited living space of the Martial Orders, attacking them from both sides.
Given such high-stakes involvement, neither the Red Party nor Olympia could afford to remain idle bystanders—they were, after all, official allies of New Terra.
Defending against these external threats was their absolute duty.
As Cascadia served as New Terra's first line of defense, wasn't New Terra itself the first line of defense for the Martial Orders?
After the fall of the Martial Abbey's twelve Vessels of Redeemer and the injury of the great Paladin, what had once been a stable alliance transformed into a power dynamic with two masters and a watchdog.
All Wards of Nature had been reassigned to serve the Martial Orders.
When requesting reinforcements had become nothing but a helpless act of begging... Theodore Montgomery wouldn't dare to flip the table, but she—Chloe—would!
Fuck it, if we're going to die, we'll die together.
First, eliminate the Ascendant King. Then, once Aisha Patani breaks through, take down Blood Moon before the revenge comes. As for the more terrifying vampires, leave them for the Martial Abbey and the Martial Orders to worry about.
This was the only chance for Cascadia to be spared.
Despite the slim odds, this plan had a better chance of success than the alternative: watching the Ascendant King break through, massacre most of Cascadia, and waiting for the exhausted Wards of Nature to return and clean up the aftermath.
Now there was only one obstacle left.
Chloe reached out and drew a silver spear from the golden bell at her waist—a weapon five times her own height.
"Kill!"
The petite figure leaped up suddenly, thrusting her oversized weapon—its tip shimmering with cold light—straight toward the Ascendant King!
At the same time, I also swept across the sky. The Hidden Abyss **in my hand slashed fiercely at the bull vampire's brow, while the Profound Ice Dragon followed behind it, roaring and biting towards his throat!
As veteran vampire slayers, none of them could stand idly by while the bull vampire activated its artifact.
A rapid succession of metallic clangs echoed through the air.
A set of armor hovered around the Ascendant Vampire King's powerful frame.
The armor was split into more than ten pieces hovering around the body—explaining its floating appearance. Crafted from simple but heavy bronze with exquisite carvings, the armor pieces surrounded their wearer silently, emitting no radiance.
The spear struck the shoulder plate with such force that its straight shaft bent, releasing mournful cries as the tremendous pressure bore down.
The Profound Ice Dragon slammed against the breast plate, but its dense ice swords merely left faint white marks before crumbling into nothingness.
Only the long blade in my hand slashed down ferociously, carving a deep gash in the other shoulder plate as it rushed to intercept!
The Ascendant King rose slowly from the ground.
Its face bore grievous wounds, and one of his horns was shattered. Yet encased in the bronze armor, it appeared more imposing and fearsome than ever.
With a slight clench of his hand, the ring-pommel saber swiftly rose and landed in its massive palm.
The red cloud excelled at escape, the saber proved unbreakable, and the armor provided formidable defense.
For a noble of its status, its family had equipped it exceptionally well before sending it out.
"ROAR!"
The Ascendant King exhaled a cold, emotionless breath.
Its gaze swept over the damage to the armor, instantly identifying its most dangerous opponent.
With a subtle shift of its mind, the bronze mirror suspended in the sky rotated.
"I had my attention fixed on Aisha Patani, but I failed to notice that Cascadia harbors a human fighter of your caliber."
The Ascendant King gazed coldly down at me as it snarled. "That blade of yours is impressive. Now, witness my true power."
As he spoke, a faint light suddenly shone down from the bronze mirror.
"..."
I had faced vampires with prestigious lineages before.
The fox vampire from Fox Wonderland had possessed many treasures too, but they paled in comparison to what this bull vampire wielded.
The Hidden Abyss long blade—powerful enough to pierce a Vampire King's body—was blocked first by the ring-pommel saber and then by the bronze armor. Such defensive capability proved that both items were high-grade treasures.
Based on its appearance, this bronze mirror would likely be just as powerful.
Realizing this, I transformed into a gentle breeze and vanished. When I reappeared beside the bull vampire to strike with my sword, I found the faint light from the bronze mirror still enveloped me.
Like a thin veil, it ensnared my entire body.
In the next instant, blazing golden light burst forth from the mirror's surface.
Following the path of the faint light, it exploded with devastating force!
BOOM!
A massive pillar of golden light engulfed me.
It happened in a flash.
The terrifying aura was so overwhelming that both Chloe and Samir found their vision warping.
Aisha stared silently at the golden light, her fist clenched tight. The Profound Ice Dragon reappeared, more ferocious than ever, smashed into the bronze mirror with a thunderous crash!
Countless silver needles erupted from her body and merged with the ice dragon!
BANG! BANG!
The impact shook the bronze mirror violently, threatening to shatter it. The mirror had to divert half of its golden light to counter the ice dragon's assault.
"Have you forgotten about me?"
The Ascendant King flashed a malevolent smile. As his majestic eighty-foot-tall body charged forward, the earth shattered beneath him, spreading cracks like broken porcelain.
He raised the ring-pommel saber high above his head.
The Profound Ice Dragon made no move to defend. Aisha Patani kept her gaze fixed on the bronze mirror, silently counting the strikes needed to shatter it.
Given her limited mobility, she saw no point in distracting herself with futile concerns.
One more hit...
A wisp of coldness appeared in her eyes. The Infant of Love in her inner core writhed as it was pierced by several more silver needles. Under the stimulation of the severe pain, the Infant let out a mournful howl.
Additional ice swords materialized at her side.
"You were hiding something?" The bronze armor could deflect saber slashes and axe strikes, but it offered no protection against the bone-chilling cold. The Ascendant King felt his body growing rigid, his movements becoming increasingly sluggish.
His eyelids twitched with unease. Despite his arsenal of powerful artifacts, he still lacked the confidence to defeat her.
The Ascendant King gripped the saber's hilt with desperate ferocity, poised to strike.
Suddenly, a slender hand emerged from the golden light, its fingers grasping the edge of the bronze mirror. Though the mirror thrashed desperately, the hand steadily dragged it downward.
With a swift motion, I forcefully crammed the massive bronze mirror into a silver pouch.
Shattered black armor covered my entire body. Massive, chilling wounds gaped across my robust frame, cutting deep enough to expose bone and even reveal my pulsating internal organs. Yet under the nourishment of the red glow, these gruesome injuries were visibly healing at an astounding rate.
Even with the amazing body tempering of the seventh Sanguine Resurrection transformation, I couldn't withstand that golden light.
It was truly a formidable treasure.
I tore off the shattered remnants of black armor from my upper body and shot a sideways glance at the bull vampire.
In a blur of motion, I struck.
My powerful arm shot forward, palm slamming against the Ascendant King's forehead.
A fierce expression crossed my face.
RUMBLE—
With overwhelming force, I slammed the Ascendant King into the ground, leaving it no chance to resist!