Chapter 182: Enemies on All Sides

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Enemies on All Sides

Lucian fired multiple Light Blades upward. The condensed blades of light screamed toward Vasilev’s position on the rooftop.

She easily dodged as her body blurred sideways with the fluid grace of a Mid Grand Core cultivator, the Light Blades passing harmlessly through the space she’d occupied. They struck the rooftop behind her, exploding in showers.

Vasilev used fire to propel herself. Flames erupted from her feet — FWOOOSH — launching her off the rooftop like a missile. She descended toward Lucian and Clara with her S-Rank spear raised overhead, the blade wreathed in concentrated fire. The spear came down in a vertical arc aimed at splitting Lucian’s skull.

CLAAANG!

Clara intercepted. A spear of condensed lunar ice materialized in her hands — formed from her SS-Rank Lunar Authority, the weapon gleaming with silver frost. She caught Vasilev’s strike mid-descent, the impact creating a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath both of them.

Clara pushed back. Gravity Manipulation surged through her body — increasing the weight and density of her spear, amplifying the force behind her counter. Combined with her vampiric strength, the push was enormous. Vasilev was driven backward through the air, her boots skidding across the rooftop she landed on.

But Vasilev stabbed her spear into the ground to stabilize herself. CRAAACK. Stone split beneath the impact as she came to a halt.

"It seems Lira has taught you the way of the spear." Her voice carried genuine appreciation — the respect of one spear user for another. Then it soured. "Too bad. She’s going to die soon."

Clara’s silver eyes flared. Lira Cornell — her instructor. Her master. The woman who had trained her in spear combat since they arrived in the academy. She was currently fighting the vampires above.

Clara’s grip on her spear tightened.

Suddenly — Blood Sense screamed.

Blood mist materialized behind Lucian. One moment the space was empty. The next, crimson vapor condensed into a solid figure with a dagger already swinging toward Lucian’s neck.

His senses registered the attack late. The dagger was centimeters from his carotid artery.

BOOM!

A shadowy corpse appeared from nowhere. Its foot connected with the figure’s midsection in a devastating kick that sent the attacker flying sideways through the air. CRAAASH. The figure crashed through a garden wall and tumbled across the courtyard.

Lemora dropped down between Lucian and the crash site. Her dark hair was wild around her face.

The figure stood up from the rubble with no injury or scratch on his body. He brushed dust from his dark robes with casual disdain.

Lemora’s voice was cold. "Rashid. It seems the Khamsin family and their tactics of ambushing people from behind has only grown with each generation."

Lucian activated Primordial Sight.

[Primordial Sight Analysis]

Name: Rashid al-Khamsin

Race: True Born Vampire

Realm: Late Grand Core

Ability: A-Rank Blood Mist

Rashid looked at Lemora with raised eyebrows. "Surely the princess of the Du Mauriers hasn’t sided with the prophecy child."

Lemora’s jaw tightened. "This was not part of the agreement. I said I would bring Lucian willingly."

Rashid laughed mockingly. "Even your mother doubts you were ever capable of bringing the prophecy child. After all —" his eyes slid to Lucian "— a little moment with one of your maids told me everything. Including your past relationship with the prophecy child."

Lucian’s expression shifted. He activated Light Armor and Crimson Vessel simultaneously — golden light and crimson sheen layering across his skin. He turned to Lemora with a mocking smile.

"Well, it seems I was right to be careful around you. You really did plan to backstab me and hand me over."

Lemora’s expression crumbled as a hurt expression flashed across her face.

"I only wanted to convince you to come willingly," she said, her voice tight. "To offer your blood. My mother promised she wouldn’t harm you."

"Yeah, right." Lucian’s voice was flat.

He expanded his hands outward. Blood Manipulation surged — S-Rank energy pouring from his palms. Blood spread outward in a sphere around him and Clara, a shimmering crimson dome that expanded to fifteen meters in radius. The blood hovered in the air, suspended by his will, each droplet dense with condensed mana.

A new spell. Unlocked when he ignited the Third Star of his Crimson Origin Palace.

"Blood Explosion."

The sphere detonated.

BOOOOOOM!

The shockwave was catastrophic. A wall of compressed blood energy erupted outward in every direction — pure concussive force carried by blood mana. The blast caught Vasilev, Lemora, and Rashid simultaneously.

Vasilev raised a fire barrier. It shattered on contact. The blast sent her flying backward through the air — CRAAASH — crashing through the wall of the Combat Department building. Rubble collapsed on top of her.

Rashid dissolved into blood mist instinctively — but the explosion was blood-based. His own mist was caught in the shockwave, disrupted, scattered. He was thrown backward, his body forcibly resolidifying mid-flight. CRAAASH. He slammed into the academy’s eastern wall, cracking it.

Lemora raised her hand. A corpse puppet materialized in front of her — a C-Rank beast corpse that absorbed the brunt of the blast. The puppet disintegrated, but Lemora was only pushed back several meters, her boots carving trenches in the ground.

Lucian grabbed Clara’s arm. "Go!"

Clara used Gravity Manipulation to push them both upward — a concentrated gravity field launching them into the air above the courtyard. They accelerated toward the Research Department building, moving at maximum speed.

FWISH.

Rashid appeared in front of them. He’d recovered faster than either of them expected — Late Grand Core regeneration and blood mist mobility combining to close the distance in seconds. His daggers were drawn with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

He fired a blood slash — a crescent wave of condensed blood mist that moved toward them with corrosive intensity. TSSSSS.

Lucian’s Blood Eclipse Art was still active. He raised multiple Light Barriers in front of himself and Clara.

KRRRAK! KRRSH!

All three barriers shattered instantly. The blood slash continued forward — weakened but not stopped.

Clara fired a frost blast. Lunar Authority channeled through her outstretched palm — a concentrated beam of absolute cold that met the blood slash head-on. The collision created a burst of steam and shattered ice. HSSSSSS. Both attacks cancelled out.

They landed on the ground. Vasilev and Rashid landed together — Vasilev pulling herself from the rubble, Rashid touching down beside her.

Rashid pulled Vasilev close and kissed her. His hand gripped the back of her neck. Vasilev’s eyes went hazy.

They separated. Vasilev breathed, "I miss you so much, love."

Rashid’s mouth curved. "Me too."

Lemora emerged from a side street, brushing dust from her clothes. She took one look at them and spat. "Come on. That’s disgusting, you two."

Rashid’s expression hardened as he turned to Lemora. "If you continue to interfere, princess —" his aura exploded. Late Grand Core pressure crashed down on the courtyard. The ground beneath his feet cracked. Windows in nearby buildings shattered. "— I might be forced to engage you. And believe me."

His violet eyes locked onto hers.

"You are no match for me."

Lemora met his gaze. Her expression was stubborn and defiant. The haughty princess of the Du Maurier family refusing to bow to a Khamsin.

"We’ll see about that."

She clapped her hands together. Necromantic energy surged from her core — S-Rank Necromancy channeling through her palms. Portals of dark energy ripped open around her. Two human corpse puppets materialized — both radiating Mid Grand Core auras, their bodies preserved, their empty eyes burning with dark fire. Behind them, three Peak C-Rank beast puppets dropped to the ground — a wolf, a bear, and a serpent, their reanimated bodies crackling with necromantic energy.

The courtyard was now split. Vasilev and Rashid on one side. Lemora and her puppets on the other. Lucian and Clara between them.