Lightning struck again, mercilessly.
"Boom."
Another war axe missile detonated. Li Xi, using the moment of being propelled upwards, secretly advanced another half meter. He gazed at the golden sphere, no larger than a tennis ball, contemplating if this was the opportune moment to strike.
"Divine Hymn."
"Divine Hymn."
Perhaps the progress of the vampires far exceeded human imagination. Two of the desperate priests, facing certain death, simultaneously chose self-sacrifice to unleash their final divine arts.
Cadot City was illuminated for the third time. The warm radiance was filled with despair and tragic solemnity. In times of life and death, countless unsung heroes, worthy of song and remembrance, marched forward one after another, willing to become firewood for their beliefs.
Thousands of vampires were once again helplessly reduced to dust and ashes. Under such attacks, they were no stronger than ants beneath their feet.
It was obvious to anyone with discernment that these low-level vampires were mere cannon fodder. The higher-level vampires wouldn't mourn the loss of any number of them. Such cannon fodder could be manufactured in large quantities with little time and negligible cost, much like flawed industrial products on an assembly line. Low cost and rapid production were their labels. Only vampires of level four or higher were their true foundation.
"We're all going to die anyway, charge!"
The desolation of despair was contagious. The fighting spirit before death had been ignited. Tears streamed from their eyes, enough to flood Cadot City, but their resolute expressions and death wish were deeply moving.
Time had reached its final moments. The heavy cavalry, who had been protecting the spellcasting team, began their final charge. Empowered with various divine enhancement spells, they were like fearless ancient warriors, crushing the low-level vampires before their formation. Against the higher-level ones, they relied on immense brute force, charging without regard for defense. Assassin-type vampires truly couldn't withstand this tactic, allowing the heavy cavalry to advance dozens of meters.
Nasser, watching the valiant heavy cavalry, dared not let them disrupt his plan. At this moment, not even a falling leaf could appear before him. He immediately commanded the few remaining level five vampires by his side, "Half of you go, deal with them."
"Yes, Lord Duke."
The power around the altar weakened again. The remaining number was less than forty. Li Xi chuckled inwardly; it was a godsend.
"Boom."
The third lightning bolt had struck. The golden sphere, once the size of a tennis ball, was now only the size of a ping pong ball.
What was originally the blood of a pool had condensed into such a small volume. The energy compression was terrifying. Further tempered by lightning, it had completely undergone a transformation. It could be called a Divine Power Crystal.
Divine inscriptions had appeared on the Divine Power Crystal. A terrifying pressure emanated from it. As for its power, it was as if a planet had been compressed into a sphere, with infinite gravitational waves diffusing outwards. The stones on the ground bounced erratically, playing a famous piano piece. Even Li Xi felt half his weight lighter.
The surrounding air seemed frozen, distorting the light of the magic fluorite. The lightning bolts incessantly striking it chose to disappear before the ping pong ball-sized Divine Power Crystal, fleeing.
The calm serenity in Nasser's eyes and the elegance radiating from his very bones now turned into utter madness. He was like a gentleman at a gambling table facing a game-changing bet, unable to control his excitement. He addressed the remaining high-level vampires, "Protect me well. I am about to summon our Lord." Sultan Novel Network.
"Yes, we will protect you to the death, Lord Duke."
The vampires scattered around the altar immediately surrounded Nasser, not only forming a human wall but also summoning multiple blood-red shields for protection. Their auras were contained yet ready to be unleashed, and their weapons were aimed at any potential threat. Now, even a mosquito flying over would face being torn to shreds.
Nasser cut his palm, dripping his most precious blood onto the ground. With a flick of his finger, he immediately drew a complex magic array on the ground.
"Terminator of worlds, source of all life's fear, co-lord of all night-bloods, master of blood, your humble servant implores your descent, to show your terror to the world."
A red light shot up from the magic array towards the sky. Fear, trembling, inability to look directly, the involuntary boiling of blood. Unlike the descent of Apollo, the God of Light, Dracula's descent was more like the appetizer before the Grim Reaper's feast of slaughter.
"It's over."
The priest of the white-bearded magic goddess watched the figure begin to appear in the crimson pillar of light ascending to the sky. The staff in his hand unknowingly dropped. Such despair was not his alone; everyone who witnessed this felt the same. The resolve to die for a moment ago had turned into a heart of ashes with just one figure.
Even the heavy cavalry, who had fought to the death against the level five vampires without retreating, with countless advancing for each fallen one, saw this and their fighting spirit dwindled to an empty husk. Even when stabbed by opportunistic vampires, turning them into bloody gourds, they offered no resistance. Facing these vampires, there was still a sliver of hope for success. But against the Dracula about to descend, they were like autumn leaves, only able to scatter with the wind.
Even if Dracula wasn't a deity, he was the pinnacle of power in this world. The highest level, nine, was reserved for him. No one present could oppose him. Even if Demanga and Boone Di appeared, they could not salvage the situation.
Humanity despaired, while the vampires rejoiced. The time to seize control was at hand. As long as Dracula became the first to ascend to godhood, they would no longer have to hide in cold coffins during the glaring daylight. Drinking human blood for sustenance would no longer require stealth. The cross would no longer be an instrument of torture for vampires. The world would tremble and beg for survival at the feet of the vampires.
Somewhere in the sky outside the city, Li Xi's shadow clone, suspended by blood-red cold jade spider silk spun by vampires, sensed something. Without uttering a single word, it disappeared with a "bang." The cold jade spider silk, renowned for being able to bind dragons, was so easily broken. Its strength seemed less than that of a mere rope.
This scene stunned Kalia and the vampires, who were filled with joy upon seeing the sky-piercing crimson light pillar. Where did the person go? He just vanished. And this silk could bind dragons!
Kalia and the vampires searched everywhere, even turning over the grass on the ground. But not a single hair was found.
If it weren't for the need to reclaim half of his power at the main body's location, Li Xi would have loved to continue playing with them, to see if he could extract more secrets. But now the situation had escalated. To hold back further would be suicidal, foolish, and lacking in brains—irresponsible towards himself.
Simultaneously with the shadow clone's disappearance, a stone near the base of the altar in Cadot City exploded. Li Xi, a dragon-blooded being with dark red dragon wings, revealed himself to everyone. The situation, which had been decisively in favor of the vampires, took a turn with his sudden appearance. As soon as Li Xi appeared,
'Kai Men' (Open Gate)
'Xiu Men' (Rest Gate)
'Sheng Men' (Life Gate)
"Open."
A furious aura emanated from the dragon-blooded Li Xi, as if a primordial beast had awakened within his body. His dark red dragon scales deepened slightly, as if transitioning from an adult dragon to a prime adult. The veins and meridians around his eyes bulged. His flowing black hair danced wildly.
This was not all. He clasped his hands together.
"Baifen Zhi Shu" (Multiplication Technique)
Without a moment's delay, the maximum fourfold multiplication. His height rapidly increased to over seven meters. All his dragon scales enlarged tenfold. His pair of dragon wings could now rival those of a normal dragon. Seen from behind, lacking only a tail, he was a true dragon standing before its prey.
The vampires all tilted their heads back to look at Li Xi, their jaws dropping so low they could fill a sewer.
Li Xi now looked down at these vampires as if they were pigs and sheep awaiting slaughter. They were too small, too weak, as if he could trample them all to death with a single step.
With his strength fully unleashed, the air he breathed seemed to carry power. This sight stunned everyone for a moment. The humans, on the other hand, cheered jubilantly. After all, the dragon-blooded Li Xi was a legendary existence in Cadot City, the one who had once saved Cadot City from the abyss. With him here, there might still be hope today.
As for the vampires, they had clashed with the dragon-blooded Li Xi before. However, the dragon-blooded Li Xi had later jumped into a volcano and disappeared, and they couldn't find him. Nasser always kept some personnel around the altar, not deploying them even during the most difficult times. Honestly, it was a precaution against Li Xi, who might be hiding somewhere.
But they never expected Li Xi's reappearance to be so spectacular. With such a commanding aura, if someone said there was a titan present, they would believe it.
Any ability developed to its extreme is an invincible existence, even deities would have to admire it. Li Xi's massive body, empowered by his city-destroying strength, moved at extreme speed in the eyes of the vampires. Before their eyeballs could even react, a great saber sliced through the level five vampires and their blood-red shields like paper.
The severed vampires hadn't even felt their lives ending at that moment when the giant Li Xi's figure appeared before Nasser. He swung his decapitation saber with all his might and slammed it heavily onto Nasser.
Before the saber even landed, a sonic boom exploded above everyone's heads in the entire military camp. The little bats, intimidated by the several lightning strikes and reluctant to fly into the sky, now covered their heads. The sonic boom generated by Li Xi was like an explosion directly inside their heads, causing unbearable pain, making them wish they could detach their heads themselves to escape such torment.
A voice screaming "escape" echoed loudly in Nasser's mind, constantly urging him to flee, lest this move severely injure or kill him. This was an instinctive reaction of his soul, passively activated in the face of irresistible power.
But could he escape?
No.
The Divine Power Crystal, painstakingly condensed and refined over a thousand years, was right behind him. Dracula's descent had only just begun and could not yet deal with any enemies. If he fled, it would be like personally handing over the Divine Power Crystal.
One had to admire the prowess of a level seven professional. Even for a vampire with such an unorthodox profession, Li Xi's attack speed was incredibly fast, yet in this instant, four layers of magic shields materialized before Nasser. Two layers were thick and blood-red, one layer was diagonally angled and presented a cyan hue, and the last layer was tight against Nasser's body, presenting a green color.
The first two blood-red magic shields had negligible effect. Shields that could withstand the bombardment of level four or five professionals were like two layers of parchment to Li Xi. Although their strength was tens of times greater than the shields of the previous level five vampires, they were still ruthlessly sliced through by the decapitation saber. The blood-red shields instantly shattered, their fragments scattering and vanishing.
The third layer of shield was particularly interesting. When Li Xi's saber struck it, it was like cutting into a slippery incline. Originally, the saber was aimed at Nasser's chest, but this layer of shield tilted, and although the power and speed were not reduced, Li Xi's saber curved and swung towards Nasser's lower body.