533 Chapter 533: A very bloody battle (1/2)
Several of the vampires shrieked when their bodies caught fire and combusted spontaneously under the assault. Vermillion Phoenix swooped down and they scattered in panic. Amidst the chaos, Xu Wu Cheng narrowed his eyes and gathered mana into his hands, turning them into demonic blood claws. He knew that the most effective way to fight a summoner was to attack me directly rather than try to defeat a summoned Soul Beast.
So he sacrificed his screaming subordinates to the destructive fires of Vermillion Phoenix while he aimed for me.
”I'll take care of this pest and punish him for his insolence.”
Alerted by the danger, I took a step back and drew Hei Yue and Bai Ri, holding them in a defensive stance. Rossetti took up position beside me, her chakrams already gripped in her hands. Flames danced around her.
”I won't let you hurt Richard!”
I nodded my thanks at her. In contrast, Xu Wu Cheng sneered at her.
”Since you want to die with him together so badly, I'll be more than happy to indulge you. The both of you can accompany each other in hell!”
”Xu Wu Cheng. Do you remember what I said?”
The cold tone of Fan Le Lao caused Xu Wu Cheng to drop to his knees. Even I, who wasn't his target, felt chills at the thinly veiled rage in his voice.
”Forgive me, your highness! I forgot my place!”
Fan Le Lao glared at Xu Wu Cheng for a few more seconds before his gaze softened.
”It's all right. I know you're angry on my behalf. But don't forget what I said.” He turned to me, Rossetti and Kufa. ”If possible, leave those three alive.”
”If possible…” Xu Wu Cheng repeated with a smirk. ”But if it's not possible, then I'll be forced to kill them. Is that fine?”
Fan Le Lao thinned his lips. ”Rough them up if you have to, but avoid killing any of them at all costs. Is that understood?”
”Yes, sir.” Xu Wu Cheng sounded almost disappointed, but he couldn't mistake the warning in his prince's voice. He knew better than anybody what the consequences of disobedience against his prince would be.
”Then I'll leave them to you.”
”Wait…!”
I sprang forward when Fan Le Lao picked up Zhao Yan's body and got ready to leave, but his minions blocked my way. Rossetti was also forced to skid to a halt beside me, and she glared at the vampires barring our path, her grip tightening on her chakrams. Xu Wu Cheng stepped to the front in a gleeful manner, cracking his knuckles and lengthening his blood claws.
”Get them, guys. Teach these impudent fools a lesson for challenging his highness.”
”Yes, sir!”
As one, the entourage of young vampires flew toward me upon a burst of blood-red mana under their feet, somehow managing to dodge Vermillion Phoenix's flames. A couple of them were immolated, screaming as their torched bodies cartwheeled helplessly and tumbled onto the gound, turning to ash. The rest of them continued hurtling onward, determined to finish me off before they were slaughtered by my Celestial Guardian.
”Richard!”
Rossetti moved forward to meet them in combat, executing her Heavenly Phoenix Kagura Dance. However, the vampires managed to combine their powers to form a blood barrier. While Rossetti succeeded in burning through their blood barrier in short order, they had bought themselves enough time to split up and attack from different directions.
Raising her chakrams, Rossetti executed a new dance.
”Divine Dragon Kagura Dance!”
This time, roses and Sakura petals drifted around us, obscuring the vampires' view and keeping them back. They sliced and cleaved through the myriad of petals that danced around them, trying to close in on us, but the amount of flowers and blossoms dazzled their senses and confounded them. Staggering as they clutched at watery eyes and noses, they flailed almost helplessly.
”Green Dragon.”
Just like how Rossetti's Heavenly Phoenix Kagura Dance reduced the summoning time needed for my Vermillion Phoenix, her Divine Dragon Kagura Dance also accelerated the casting process of my Green Dragon. In a flash, I completed the supposedly only halfway finished summoning spell and called upon my Celestial Guardian.
His titanic figure materialized and he crushed a few unfortunate vampires underneath his claws, their senses still overloaded by pollen and scents emitted from Rossetti's flowers. Thorny vines whipped out and bound the rest of them while razor-sharp leaves cut the trapped vampires into shreds. Within a minute, the so-called elite vampires were decimated. Very few of them succeeded in tearing apart their restraints with blood magic and breaking free.
”Still think we're outnumbered and outmatched?” I asked the seething Xu Wu Cheng, who had less than a quarter of his original force remaining. Backed by my two Celestial Guardians, I approached his position. His surviving subordinates recoiled, taking a step backward in fear, but the red-haired vampire's anger brought them all back to line.
”So what if you're a summoner? That doesn't change the disparity between our strengths!”
Snarling, Xu Wu Cheng lunged forward. His companions accompanied him, but both Kufa and Rossetti met them in a ferocious clash, covering me. I was left to face Xu Wu Cheng by myself, and I reacted first by parrying his blood claws with Bai Ri. Diverting him away, I then deflected his other hand with Hei Yue, flinching when his blood claws flashed a few centimeters away from my face. Pivoting on one foot, I smashed a kick into his body that sent him hurtling across the gymnasium and slamming into one of the basketball basket stands. The whole structure creaked and snapped, falling atop Xu Wu Cheng's undignified form.
”Three points!” I cheered. Or whatever the point system was for basketball. It was unfortunate that I didn't play the sport (I only watched and played soccer) and thus had no idea how the rules worked.
Then I moved to cover Rossetti, hacking another vampire. The both of us almost danced in perfect synchronicity, our swords and chakrams transforming into a whirlwind of death and destruction, our styles complementing each other and turning into a relentless offense and impenetrable defense simultaneously. Behind us, Kufa and my two Celestial Guardians mopped up the survivors.
The vampires were pretty tenacious, though, so it would take a while for us to clean out the gymnasium.
”Where's Zhao Yan?” Rossetti asked, pausing between breaths while I covered her. Then, after she recovered, she took my place and hacked apart a vampire going for my back while it was my turn to inhale.
”Gone,” I grumbled bitterly. My glasses whirred and clicked as the hi-tech sensors embedded in my lenses scanned the gymnasium and confirmed my suspicions.
It was unfortunate that Fan Le Lao and a bunch of vampires had already made their escape, carrying Zhao Yan with them. We were too late. We failed. I studied the broken window they exited from – they had clearly sought a different exit entirely because Kufa and my Celestial Guardians were blocking the main entrance.
Maybe we should have guarded the windows too, but whatever Constellation spirits I could summon at that time wouldn't be powerful enough to stop the vampire prince.
Rossetti and I continued to fight our way through the dwindling horde of vampires, leaving the beleaguered surviving vampires to Kufa and my Celestial Guardians. We tried to move toward the window, step at a time, leaving corpses in our wake.
”Whoa!”
A crimson streak of light almost blinded me. Rossetti yanked my arm and I pulled my head back just in time to evade Xu Wu Cheng's slashing blood claws that would have ruptured my carotid artery or jugular vein if Rossetti hadn't help me dodge it. Staggering back, I blocked his next strike witth Bai Ri.
Damn it. I almost forgot about the instant regeneration that vampires had. Xu Wu Cheng must have already healed from the injuries he sustained from my earlier attack.
”Richard Huang and Rossetti Picket.” Xu Wu Cheng was scowling furiously. ”Your teamwork is much better than the combo of me and Ji Yan. At first I thought Ji Yan was just useless, but the two of you make a frightening duo. Your combination far surpasses the sum of your parts.”
”That's because my skills are support type,” Rossetti replied briskly, slashing at his neck with one of her chakrams and forcing him to evade. ”Of course I have the ability to enhance the techniques of others.”