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Duke Brad floated midair once again, blood mist condensing into a crimson cloak that cast shadows across the platform.

"Struggle, tremble!"

"You cannot escape the fate that awaits you."

Under the duke's command, Alger launched a storm of attacks against Medrolash.

Countless rats and bats poured ceaselessly from the darkness. Shadowy tendrils rose from the ground, and frenzied blood mist filled the air.

"Damn vampire."

Medrolash grabbed a longsword from the ground, its bloody glow forcing back the attacking bats and rats. The protective light surrounding him deflected the tendrils and blood mist.

Under Brad's control, Medrolash was unable to approach the progenies and was forced toward the passageway, helplessly watching as the vampire prepared for his next ascension absorption.

Meanwhile, someone was sneaking along the battlefield's edge.

——It was Mantou.

Mantou curled up in a corner behind one of the stone pillars, his body covered in scent-concealing potion, spying on the chaotic battle on the platform.

"This crazy boss is too strong—Singo and Battle Maniac both got insta-killed."

"Looks like I’m the only one left."

"But Medrolash said we need to destroy the progenies, or else this monster will get even stronger?"

Mantou scanned the progenies tied to the pillars, awkwardly averting his gaze when he saw the naked female countess. Finally, his eyes landed on the equally exposed Langli Baitiao.

"Guess I’ll free LangthePig."

Sneaking over, Mantou examined the blood-soaked chains, gritted his teeth, and swung his axe.

"Clang."

The chain broke with a resounding noise.

Langli Baitiao fell from the pillar.

His body, tightly bound by the chains, looked like a lifeless lump of flesh, barely clinging to life.

But with his fully vampiric physiology, Langli Baitiao's bones cracked audibly as his flesh regenerated at an incredible speed. He soon recovered from his crushed and bloodied state.

Watching this absurd display of regeneration, Mantou exclaimed, "Damn, what are you?"

"Why do you heal so fast?"

Langli Baitiao smirked proudly, "It’s the vampire template’s 【Undying Nature】. As long as I’m not hit in my weak spots, I’ll regenerate automatically—even if my head gets chopped off!"

"That’s insane!" Mantou exclaimed again.

Remembering something, Mantou patted Langli Baitiao on the shoulder with a knowing look. "Good luck, buddy. Every gift from fate comes with a hidden price tag. Since you sold your… charms…"

"How do you know—"

Langli Baitiao’s voice trembled, his expression contorting in horror.

His reputation was ruined…

While they conversed, Duke Brad sensed something amiss. One of the progenies, the symbol of "envy," was missing!

Furious, the entire underground world seemed to quake under the duke's wrath, resonating with mournful cries.

"Mortals, you court death!"

"How dare you interfere with the grand ascension!"

Instantly, countless shadowy tendrils rose from the ground. The blood mist surged like boiling tides, and waves of bats and rats charged toward them.

Mantou, trembling as he watched the overwhelming assault, stammered, "Langbro, I think we’re doomed."

"Langbro?"

Turning, he saw that Langli Baitiao had already transformed into a thin mist and slipped away.

This was the vampire’s 【Mist Escape】 ability. Unlike the vast blood mist Duke Brad had cultivated over centuries, Langli Baitiao's weaker version only allowed him to flee.

"LangthePig, you bastard—"

Mantou was overwhelmed by the duke’s furious attacks. His screen went black as he watched helplessly, nearly in tears.

Despite risking his life to free Langli Baitiao, the latter fled at the first sign of danger, living up to his reputation as a virtual scoundrel.

Duke Brad’s crimson eyes locked onto the distant thin mist.

"I will catch you, rebel."

"This game of cat and mouse ends now."

Raising his right hand, the duke commanded the blood on the platform to surge, forming a roiling sea of blood that spread outward, devouring all life it touched.

The blood sea surged toward Medrolash, forcing him to retreat toward the entrance. The space he could safely tread grew smaller by the moment.

"Rebel, return to me!"

"You are part of the grand ascension!"

Duke Brad himself rode a hurricane of blood mist, summoning waves of bats and rats to pursue Langli Baitiao's mist form.

Although Duke Brad had once controlled Langli Baitiao effortlessly, the latter had now fully adapted to the vampire template, escaping the magical bindings and progeny connection. In his mist form, he was hard to capture.

Despite his weak vampiric strength, Langli Baitiao’s escape abilities perfectly suited his slippery nature.

The mist darted around the bunker, dodging and weaving. If Duke Brad had a beating heart, his blood pressure would surely be through the roof.

"Boom—"

Suddenly, ripples appeared in the bunker’s space, twisting and cracking before a fiery portal materialized out of thin air.

A black-haired, golden-eyed Draconic Sorcerer emerged from the portal.

This time, he did not hide his identity. Red scales adorned his cheeks, bony dragon horns protruded from his head, and his golden eyes radiated authority.

With his arrival, the air in the underground grew hot and restless.

"Looks like I’m late?"

Cassius immediately noticed the vampire duke shrouded in blood mist.

[Based on your abilities, you observe the following information:]

【Blood Duke - Brad Lackman】

Basic Abilities: ???

Challenge Level: 15 (13,000 XP)

Evaluation: Brad Lackman—formerly known as Trier, or perhaps Naxos—his true name was lost to the darkness long ago.

Two hundred years ago, he returned from the battlefield to find his wife dead. Confronted with the fragility of mortal life, he pursued immortality. Now, awakened as a vampire after two centuries, he seeks to fill his endless hunger with the blood of the living.

"Challenge level fifteen…"

"In this form, I’m no match for him."

Cassius frowned. In his humanoid form, he was roughly an eleventh-level Draconic Sorcerer, far weaker than the vampire duke.

"Guess I’ll have to return to my true form."

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