Cisilio swung his Soulblade with all his might, slicing through the thick branches blocking his path.

He’d slightly miscalculated.

Gazing at the strange vines choking the trail, he muttered quietly to himself.

Jumping straight down the valley might’ve meant instant death from ambush below.

But dragging this out wasn’t a solution either.

“Hey! Cousin! Are we there yet?”

Odelon, limping behind with his crutch, suddenly bellowed.

“And why didn’t we just jump earlier? Those bitches would’ve been dead by now!”

“Stability wins battles, Odelon,” Cisilio replied, exasperated but responsible.

“Imagine an army crossing a river under enemy arrow fire. No chance to move, right?”

“Well…”

Seeing Odelon’s confused frown, Cisilio pressed on.

“Jumping down would’ve been the same. I might’ve survived—but the mercenaries? Your classmates? You?”

Odelon had acted indifferent before, but mentioning himself sparked sudden interest. Others’ lives seemed trivial to him.

There’s a limit to being useless.

Cisilio raised his hand. “Besides, I noticed you—”

“Aaaaaah!”

A shrill scream ripped through the air.

“What’s happening?”

Cisilio whipped his head around. One mercenary vanished into the dark forest.

“Form up!” Cisilio raised his right hand. “I’m casting light magic—battle stations!”

He chanted loudly. A silver-white meteor shot into the sky.

As it burst into a shimmering curtain of light, Cisilio saw a mercenary’s corpse sprawled ahead.

Beside it stood Xueluo.

She tossed the body aside, then slowly licked a trickle of blood from her lip. A faint smile played on her face.

Her bewitching eyes held no ripple—like an ancient abyssal pool hiding demons. Terrifying. Those glass-like pupils conjured visions of blood spreading across a black river.

Cisilio tightened his grip on the Soulblade, sensing danger.

Odelon, however, just raised his crutch and roared, “You dare show yourself? I’ll—”

Boom!

Before he finished, a blood-red spear pierced Odelon’s right shoulder.

His arm thudded to the ground.

“Aaaaaah!”

Amid Odelon’s screams, Cisilio shouted, “Attack!”

Mercenaries raised their weapons and charged Xueluo.

Four or five lunged at her. Xueluo lifted her head, crimson glinting in her gaze.

Slowly, she drew her Soulblade.

The mercenaries dropped low, aiming assault rifles.

But—

A crimson arc slashed through the air.

Thud!

Xueluo cut all four or five in half at the waist—in a single second. She’d closed dozens of meters by sheer speed, drawing and sheathing her blade instantly.

Blood sprayed as a mage apprentice charged with a sword.

But—

Boom!

A massive blood-formed hand burst from Xueluo’s back, slamming the mage into the ground.

It morphed into countless spikes.

Cisilio watched the mage wither rapidly inside them, as if the spikes were sucking his blood like living things.

“Help… me…”

Xueluo dropped the dried corpse and took a deep breath.

Overflowing with power, she swung her blade backward. A crescent-shaped blood arc flew free.

The blood-qi surged forward, accelerating like a cannonball.

Boom!

It exploded like artillery fire, shredding unprepared mercenaries. Those outside the blast lost limbs.

Enraged and panicked, the mercenaries sought cover. They fired wildly, desperate to drain Xueluo’s magic.

But they didn’t notice—

The blood from corpses

slowly flowed toward Xueluo.

She didn’t tire. Bullets pierced her skin as she walked calmly to a boulder used for cover.

Gripping her sword with both hands—

Whoosh!

Blood sprayed. The boulder—and mercenaries hiding behind it—split cleanly in half, flying skyward.

As their torsos crashed down,

the remaining mercenaries snapped out of their rage.

“Mon… monster…”

No retreat was left.

After shattering the cover,

Xueluo stepped forward.

Blades of light descended on the helpless flock.

Each strike was too fast, too powerful to dodge or block.

Anyone entering her range died. A single swing painted long crimson streaks across Cisilio’s silver-lit sky.

Xueluo’s attacks held no technique—just raw power crushing enemies. Bullets and magic blades couldn’t harm her after drinking deep.

Corpses rained down. Bathed in blood, Xueluo grew fiercer. She impaled one enemy’s chest, then bit his neck.

Only when no foes stood before her did she pause.

Cisilio alone raised his Soulblade.

“Awakened Vampire blood, you mongrel.”

Xueluo tossed aside the corpse and stretched her limbs.

Cisilio shifted into a fighting stance. “Where’s the girl? I don’t see her.”

Silence.

Then Cisilio laughed softly.

He knew he couldn’t win.

This girl was at least a fourth-generation Vampire—far beyond a third-tier Magic Knight’s strength.

He regretted his plan: not preparing Silver Bullets, overtrusting his skill.

But he still smiled.

“You…”

His lips curved slightly.

“You killed that girl and drained her—”

Boom!

Xueluo appeared before him.

Cisilio instinctively thrust his sword forward.

His block was precise, stopping her Bloodsword.

But—

Clang!

His Soulblade shattered in half.

Amid the glittering magic shards—

Thud!

Blood sprayed from Cisilio’s left shoulder to his right hip. As the silver sky dimmed, crimson drowned everything.