Chapter 145

Chapter 145: Three Against Three

The wolf king and the vampire duke—these two peak-level 50 practitioners—instantly swayed the battle upon entering the battlefield.

Though this conflict involved merely thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, individual strength still mattered greatly. Most Pretenders owed their existence to their leader’s essence blood, so the leaders’ presence naturally boosted their forces’ morale.

The Hawk Brigade’s surging offensive crashed against these two like waves against reefs, its momentum abruptly slowing.

Both Pretender leaders fought without restraint, recklessly suppressing the rampaging vaccine in their bodies while attacking mercilessly. The wolf king tore through adventurer ranks like black lightning, each strike claiming at least one life.

The vampire duke lurked behind the frontlines, hurling wide-area spells.

With both sides’ troops entangled, the Hawk Brigade’s magicians couldn’t risk fire support. Yet the vampire’s spells carried a peculiar toxin that clouded human judgment. Adventurers froze mid-battle for an instant—long enough for their opponents to cut them down.

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!” The wolf king’s eyes burned crimson with frenzy.

Had the adventurers not carried vaccines, he’d have devoured them to replenish his strength. Even without feasting, his combat power remained terrifying.

His claws outshone the sharpest magic blades, shredding armor and shields like paper. His black pelt deflected weapons and resisted magic.

From afar, he resembled an unstoppable iron juggernaut plowing through formations without slowing.

Just as he rampaged unchecked, a searing light pierced the air and struck him!

A thunderous crash echoed as the wolf king flew sideways like a kicked pebble, slamming into the ground. When dust cleared, a meteor-like crater gaped below. At its center, the wolf king staggered upright, blood dripping from his snout.

“Who dares?!” he roared with murderous rage.

“A mere pup running wild in my homeland?” A clarion voice rang out, lifting the Hawk Brigade’s spirits.

Fina Hamilton stood clad in plain battle robes, wielding the Titans’ dragon-eye staff from the Elven Kingdom. Her Belmar-autumn-red hair whipped the wind like battle banners. She looked every inch a Valkyrie descended from the skies—a vision of heroism that commanded attention.

The wolf king gaped. This girl, not yet twenty and below level 40, radiated magic so potent and pure it eclipsed his own!

Impossible!

“I am Fina Hamilton.” The Queen of Magic declared, flames swirling around her. “Remember that name—your killer’s name.”

As she struck, the battle’s other flank shifted silently.

The vampire duke kept unleashing spells—a fusion of peak-level Ice Mage, Elementalist, and vampire blood magic. Three classes merged.

How fearsome was such fusion? Consider Midi, the four-category Demon Swordman, wreaking havoc among armies. Worse, all three vampire classes specialized in mass destruction, honed over centuries with obscure techniques.

Soon flames engulfed the street, only to freeze under magical hail. Hawk Brigade magicians struggled vainly against bizarre blood magic traps.

The vampire duke reigned supreme, his sole regret being the vaccine-tainted blood denying him a proper feast.

Yet as he savored imminent victory, the air prickled with unease.

A light red mist seeped across the battlefield.

Within it, every trap, blood-sucking bat, and cursed specter the duke had planted… withered into nothing.

The vampire duke’s already pale face turned ashen like a stone slab.

Vampires were masters of blood magic, and he stood above all others.

Yet now, his most prized blood magic had been silently dismantled without warning?

What was this mysterious red mist?

At the fog’s edge stood a black-haired girl with obsidian eyes, her black robe fluttering amidst ruins like a pristine black lotus. Beside her loomed a beastly phantom formed entirely of blood-red mist – over two meters tall and five meters long, dwarfing even elephants. Together with the Mist Sorceress Alice, they resembled a towering mountain beside a sapling.

The Fog Demon "Feast of Night" appeared as a white cat.

The Night Demon "Shadow Cloak" took form as a black cat.

Both could perch delicately in the girl’s hands like ordinary pets.

Yet the red demon "Rose Hound", Alice Otolopas’ strongest Summoned Beast, defied all norms.

Greedy, domineering, and fiercely independent, its immense power made it a dangerous double-edged sword.

But with increased levels and enhanced magic, the Mist Sorceress finally tamed this beast.

Now Alice would unleash her bloodthirsty hound against the arrogant vampire duke.

"Feast well," the black-haired girl commanded, stroking the mist-formed pelt, "but obey this time." Her icy voice carried musical clarity.

The red mist thickened like congealing blood.

As the Queen of Magic and Mist Sorceress entered battle, the Pretender leaders’ dam-like defenses crumbled into isolated struggles.

The Hawk Brigade’s assault surged forward unimpeded.

Midi led the charge astride his Blood Fang leopard, the Nightblade Leopard Cavalry smashing through barricades into Dawn Garden.

Before attacking Hertonmar, Midi had studied Dawn Garden’s layout with elven elders.

The garden encircled the Tree of Life’s surface roots, which naturally formed a national defense array with four breathing vents – the same magic arrays used for Midi and Fina’s perfect transmutation last year.

Midi now understood: while infinite for level 20 practitioners, the vent magic was insignificant compared to the dragon vein and Nibelungen Dragon Sealing Array.

True magic resided in the trunk, absorbed by the Tree of Life itself.

To control this power for national defense or Belmar-spanning lightning required carving a "tree mansion" into the trunk, linking precise magic arrays to internal magic flows.

Undoubtedly, the Pretender mastermind hid within this tree mansion – Midi’s ultimate target.

"Follow my blade!" Midi roared, planting his Pretender-bloodied greatsword in earth before charging into the Tree of Life’s hall with Black Sky sword drawn.

Narrow corridors demanded different tactics – no room for greatswords or wide-reaching whips. Only precise killing strokes could prevail.

High-level adventurers followed unflinchingly into the passageways.

Pretenders made desperate last stands.

They destroyed paths, but Midi scaled the tree’s exterior.

They blocked choke points, but Midi’s Ultimate Intent shattered defenses.

The adventurers’ dungeon exploration experience overcame traps and obstacles.

With Pretender forces crumbling and the Hawk Brigade breaching Dawn Garden, none could stop this final strike.

Soon Midi reached the canopy’s apex – the empty tree mansion containing only a sinister magic array, its architect vanished.