Chapter 45: Blood
As Lin Yan and Glaimond faced off, Garrison Knights, following prior orders, entered the banquet hall and began escorting the terrified nobles away.
However, after a headcount, they realized several guests were missing, besides the Demon Hunters who had revealed themselves.
Everyone knew this seemingly ordinary banquet had attracted numerous uninvited guests.
These individuals, unwilling to reveal their identities or directly participate in the unfolding drama, remained hidden, observing the situation.
Among them was Sasha, having shed her Madeline disguise and assumed another, blending seamlessly into the background.
The duel between Lin Yan and Glaimond intensified. Lin Yan raised her spear, charging towards Glaimond.
A blur of motion, like a bolt of lightning, streaked across the hall.
[Formation Breaker]!
This was Lin Yan’s signature move, unleashing the full force of her monstrous strength. She had once used this very technique to break through demon lines, leading the Knights to victory.
The powerful gusts of wind generated by her spear ripped through the air, pushing Glaimond back slightly.
“Impressive. You’ve improved,” Glaimond commented, still seemingly unfazed, even finding the time to critique her technique.
His confidence stemmed from the fragment of Authority he possessed. Even with her secret technique, Lin Yan couldn’t overcome that barrier.
This fight with Lin Yan was a mere distraction. His true focus was on Xu Bai.
The gray-haired demon girl was the real reason he had acted.
Lin Yan’s spear reached him, but Glaimond effortlessly deflected it with a few flicks of his wrist, barely exerting himself.
Although Lin Yan was practically undefeated among her peers, with one notable exception, Glaimond wasn’t her peer. He was a prodigy of the previous generation.
Even without the Authority fragment, he was stronger than Lin Yan, only slightly weaker than Xu Bai had been.
Lin Yan hadn’t expected that straightforward attack to be effective. It had been a feint.
As her momentum shifted, she twisted her spear, attacking from a different angle.
Glaimond, taking her more seriously now, channeled his psychic energy, parrying her attack.
But to his surprise, just as her spear was about to connect, she changed her technique again.
“Oof—”
Caught off guard, Glaimond’s arm was struck, his sword almost flying from his grasp.
“I underestimated you, Lin Yan. You’ve grown stronger, surpassing even us…”
Glaimond finally turned his full attention to Lin Yan, his voice serious.
“My apologies, Commander Lin. A duel should be fought with full effort. I was careless.”
“From now on, I will fight you with everything I have.”
“Eight minutes left,” Lin Yan gasped, her chest heaving, her flushed skin visible beneath her thin purple dress. “You will lose within eight minutes!”
“Lin Yan, you have earned the right to say that. But you can’t even imagine…” Glaimond clenched his fist, the ring glowing faintly, a crazed look appearing in his eyes. “If you had touched true power, you would know how weak you truly are.”
Authority: [City Breaker], activate!
An invisible force resonated with the black ring on Glaimond’s finger, channeling a strange power into him, instantly healing his injured arm.
This was a fragment of the North Empire’s Authority, channeled through the ring.
Within the Empire’s territory, this power was amplified.
Although only a fragment, it fundamentally changed Glaimond’s psychic circuits.
He now held an overwhelming advantage over Lin Yan.
Lin Yan felt the surge in Glaimond’s power, but she didn’t flinch, only pushing [Bloodfire Ascension] further.
The air filled with the thick stench of blood, a faint heat radiating outwards.
“…Are you mad?!” Glaimond exclaimed, shocked by her recklessness.
[Bloodfire Ascension] was a forbidden technique, a desperate gamble that consumed the user’s life force. It was meant to be used sparingly, yet Lin Yan was pushing it to its limits, almost to the point of self-destruction.
At this level, it was beyond her control. If she continued, her body would give out.
Glaimond hadn’t intended to fight to the death. He had only wanted to defeat Lin Yan and capture the demon juvenile, “Bai.”
“Seven minutes left,” Lin Yan said, her spear aimed at Glaimond, her bloodshot eyes glowing red, a terrifying sight.
For Bai, and for the memory of him, she had to defeat Glaimond.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Glaimond’s expression hardened.
“Very well… it seems the Empire will lose a valuable Knight Commander.”
…
Meanwhile, Xu Bai faced the approaching Demon Hunters.
But they hesitated, watching her warily.
After a long standoff, their leader stepped forward, his sharp gaze fixed on Xu Bai, his voice raspy.
“Should I address you as Miss Bai, or… Miss Demon?”
Lin Yan’s unwavering conviction had shaken their resolve. Moreover, besides her appearance, nothing about Xu Bai suggested she was a demon.
Demons, towards humans, were either indifferent or disdainful. They wouldn’t stand here so calmly, interacting with humans.
But if she wasn’t a demon, what about the Demonic Runes on her face?
Was she a Demon Hunter?
No, that was even less likely than her being human.
As Glaimond had said, Demon Hunters were grotesque, not beautiful like this young girl.
The completeness of her Demonic Runes… even if she were a Demon Hunter, a significant portion of her body should have been mutated, and she would be struggling to maintain her sanity.
These questions plagued the Demon Hunters, preventing them from acting rashly.
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