Chapter 417 - Breakthrough (1/2)

Chapter 417 - Breakthrough

Kaleesh watched in bee From the confounded look in the captain's eyes, it alonetoo much

Arran did not notice Kaleesh's puzzled stare, however While the weeks of wasted effort hadn't quite driven hithen the bloodlines had caused him no small amount of frustration Now that he had found a new path forward, he naturally had little thought for anything else

Still, as he entered the cottage and once more sat down on the creaky wooden chair, he did not act immediately Instead, he took a brief moment to calm his nerves and consider what he was about to attempt

His initial excitement passed quickly, and as it did, he could not help but feel soht be more than just wasted tih Rather than trying to strengthen the bloodlines, he would instead allow the Blood Ruin to consume them

That's how the Blood Ruin had coon's Ruin had consu Arran's life, and in doing so, it had absorbed its power

If that feat could be repeated, there would be nothe bloodlines Rather than relying on their own ly endless power of the Blood Ruin

But siht be, that did not mean it was safe

At best, failure would h not a disaster Arran was certain that Lady Mereerer's bloodline if he lost it, even if that would involve some aard questions

But there was another, e his body

While they eak, the Imperium's bloodlines had nevertheless already taken root within Arran's body Thus, to let the part of hi, itinjuries or even cripple him

Moreover, as much as Arran wanted the plan to work, he knew there was ample reason to doubt whether it would

When the Blood Ruin had attacked the corrupted Hungerer's bloodline, the latter had been destroyed without a trace, not the slightest trace of its power reht be because the corrupted bloodline was too far gone, nificant to have an effect on the Blood Ruin In that case, the outcoht still be different for the other bloodlines

But it was also possible that the fusion of the Dragon's Ruin and the Bloodthat could not be repeated even if he tried a thousand ti to duplicate the feat were hard to predict

Nevertheless, Arran was not deterred Even if he had plenty of reason for doubt, he still believed that his plan would work

This wasn't a belief born of rational consideration Rather, it was soht from the Blood Ruin itself

Unlike the Imperiural to his body as the limbs he was born with —he could lose without dying And as he i so see

Whether that intuition was correct re the matter any further The question could only be answered in one way, and that was by actuallythe attempt

Arran clenched his teeth in deter his eyes as he focused his mind on the task ahead

It was tiht, Arran took command of the Blood Ruin, the action as quick and natural as consciously controlling his breath Even if there rarely was a need for it, it was so that required no effort whatsoever

Then, without hesitation, he attacked the Hungerer's bloodline

If the battle between the Dragon's Ruin and the Blood ht between two fierce predators, the confrontation between the Blood Ruin and the Hungerer's bloodline holly different Rather than a battle, itdown a crippled rabbit

In a erer's bloodline had already disappeared, its power ruthlessly devoured by the Blood Ruin In ter the two

But quick though the victory was, it was anything but painless

The instant the Blood Ruin began to consu bloodline, Arran was filled with a sensation of incoony It was as if liquidevery fiber of his body

This pain passed alh to drive Arran to the brink of unconsciousness And even after it passed, a blank look remained in his eyes, with even the memory of the torment too ood quarter-hour, ht Yet as the color slowly returned to his cheeks, a faint sed on his face

”It worked,” he said softly, some wonder in his voice ”It actually worked”

Although he was still in a half-dazed state, he could already tell that his gaed into the Blood Ruin

Where the Hungerer's bloodline had previously been so weak as to be useless, th several tientle strea into his body

This flow of Essence was gentle, but the amount of power it contained was by no ht that aNatural Essence like this could easily match the church's pill he'd consuon meat

This realization caused him some shock With a source of power like that, he could double his strength in just a year or two And with a few decades, it would be hard to even ih the breakthrough caused him no small amount of excitement, he knew that this was just the first step

There were fourto be consuer to continue — even if he no the agony it would cause him — he did not move on to the next bloodline i the Hungerer's bloodline had been brief, its sheer intensity had left hi with shock, and even now his mind remained half-dazed and his body weakened

Before he faced another such force, he first needed to steady himself

Over an hour passed as he sat in silence, eyes closed while he slowly calmed his nerves and let his body recover

The effort was only partly successful Though Arran's er within his body even after an hour of rest, as if the blow fro the bloodline had strained every fiber of his being

Had the situation been different, he ht have chosen to take a feeeks' rest Yet as it was, he had no time to spare — not with the Wolfsblood Ar

He hesitated briefly, then took one of the church's pills from the small wooden box and threw it in his mouth

The amount of Natural Essence in the pill was vast, but the Blood Ruin then Arran's weakened body A single breath's time was all it took to remove most of the weakness he'd felt before

To his surprise, however, the weakness he felt did not disappear coone, a trace still reh that it caused Arran to frown in wonder

Each of these pills contained enough Natural Essence to equal several months of normal consumption If even that wasn't sufficient, wouldn't he have needed months to recover without the pills?

Arran considered taking another pill, but quickly decided against it With four more bloodlines to be consumed, it was best to save the rest of the pills until after he finished

He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes once erer's bloodline had already been absorbed, and now, he would absorb the Master's bloodline

A treh his body as he seized control of the Blood Ruin and directed it to attack the second bloodline

Then, the pain struck

Although he'd been prepared, there was no resisting the sudden surge of utter agony But once again, his suffering lasted only an instant — even if that was nearly enough to make him fall unconscious

When the pain passed and Arran's an to clear, he knew that his second atteone from his body, and the Blood Ruin now carried its power

This ti had changed at all was that his control of the Shadow Essence in his body had slightly improved

This caused Arran so reached a point where further improvements were hard to coht normally have taken months of practice

Still, had that been the extent of it, he ht have been disappointed

Yet the true power of the Master's bloodline wasn't to e Rather, it was to let hi hies' attacks

Now that the Blood Ruin had absorbed the Master's bloodline, that power should be his As for his iical Essence within his body — that should only be a fortunate side effect

Arran had no chance to rejoice, however, because as hiselse — a feeling of weakness that pervaded his body

The saerer's bloodline, but this time, it was far worse than it had been before Where he'd previously merely felt weak and exhausted, it now felt as if he'd fallen ill with some terrible disease

Despite this, no panic appeared on his face Instead, his expression briefly turned thoughtful, after which he slowly nodded in understanding

”So that's how it is”

He recognized ale froh the ordeal had been, there were no signs of any harm

Rather, he now understood, the proble the bloodlines, it had gained two potent new abilities, both of which would require no small amount of power And that power naturally had to come from somewhere

Arran had already suspected that the Blood Ruin's poas no different from his own The bloodline was truly part of hin that it had a hidden reservoir of energy that it could draw upon