Chapter 79—The Blood Realm.
Chapter 79—The Blood Realm.
The air passing through the portal of Floor 4 did not carry the cool pine scent of Aethelgard or the icy cosmic breeze of the Aether Spire.
It was thick, warm, and distinctly metallic—saturated with the heavy, intoxicating scent of ancient crimson mana and blood iron.
---
[WORLD SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!]
FACTION ’SOVEREIGN’ HAS ASCENDED TO FLOOR 4!
ZONE ENTERED: The Blood Realm—Crimson Basin
HAZARD RATING: HIGH (Active Faction War Zone)
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT: Blood Aura (Passive Mana Drain for Non-Undead)
---
SWOOSH.
The crimson spatial distortion faded, releasing Kaelen’s squad onto a jagged obsidian cliff overlooking a vast, dark valley.
Above them hung a gigantic, perpetual blood moon that cast an eerie, crimson glow across the landscape.
Forests of blood-red trees with bone-white bark stretched as far as the eye could see, and rivers of glowing crimson essence wound through dark marble ruins. In the far distance, towering black gothic castles topped with sharp spires pierced the crimson sky.
"The Blood Realm..." Lyra whispered softly, her hand unconsciously tightening within Kaelen’s grip as her divine light activated automatically to insulate them. Her golden staff radiated a soft, soothing dome that purged the heavy metallic air.
"The atmosphere here is hostile to living beings."
"It’s a passive blood-drain curse," Ren confirmed, his wrist gauntlet humming as it adjusted to the local network node. "Players without holy insulation or blood-resistance artifacts lose two percent of their maximum health and mana every ten minutes. This floor is ruled by the Sanguine Court—an alliance of high-tier Vampire Lords and Blood Monarchs."
Ren projected a detailed map of Floor 4 onto the air between them.
"Unlike Floor 3’s linear tower structure," Ren continued, pointing to three massive castle icons marked on the map, "Floor 4 is divided into three major territories governed by the Three Blood Archdukes. To unlock the floor’s central Waystone leading to Floor 5, a faction must defeat the archdukes or claim their Blood Crests."
Tsubaki materialized silently at Kaelen’s left flank, holding a dark parchment scroll containing local intelligence.
"My Lord," Tsubaki reported, sharp and clear. "The Sanguine Court received news of your victory on Floor 3. The Archduke of the Eastern Territory, Archduke Valerius, has already issued a martial decree. He has mobilized fifty thousand blood-spawn thralls and closed the gates to the central city of Sanguis."
"Fifty thousand thralls?" Ignis laughed softly, resting his heavy claymore over his shoulder as a confident grin crossed his face. "After taking down a five-hundred-man player army and two world bosses, fifty thousand mind-controlled mobs just sound like free experience points."
Kaelen didn’t immediately comment on the numbers.
His dark violet eyes looked out across the crimson valley toward the central gothic castle towering on the horizon—the Castle of Sanguis.
Deep within his soul, the 1st and 2nd Heavenly Seals pulsed in synchronized harmony, reacting to a powerful, ancient resonance echoing directly from the depths of the central castle’s subterranean vaults.
---
[HEAVENLY SEAL RESONANCE DETECTED!]
CURRENT PROGRESS: [2 / 7 Heavenly Seals]
TARGET DETECTED: Floor 4 — Castle of Sanguis (Subterranean Vault)
DISTANCE TO 3RD HEAVENLY SEAL: Central Citadel.
---
A cold, amused smile curved Kaelen’s lips as he adjusted the cuffs of his dark coat.
’The 3rd Heavenly Seal lies in the heart of the Sanguine Court,’ Kaelen thought smoothly, his mind calculating their path with absolute, cold precision.
’Archduke Valerius thinks his army of thralls makes his domain an unassailable fortress. He does not realize he is merely guarding my property.’
"Kaelen?" Lyra asked gently, her bright blue eyes looking up into his face with quiet trust. "What is our first move?"
"We do not waste time sweeping through low-tier outposts," Kaelen purred softly, his low velvet voice brimming with absolute authority. "We march directly to the Castle of Sanguis."
An hour later, Kaelen’s group stood before the massive, iron-spiked gates of the Eastern Fortress of Sanguis—the outer bastion guarding the pass to the central citadel.
Standing atop the fifty-foot black stone walls were thousands of blood-spawn archers clad in crimson plate mail, their red eyes glowing with feral hunger in the moonlight.
Floating above the central gatehouse was a tall, slender vampire nobleman wearing a high-collared velvet cloak—Marquis Malakor the Bloodless, one of Archduke Valerius’s chief commanders.
---
[HOSTILE ENTITY SPOTTED!]
TARGET: Marquis Malakor the Bloodless (Level 158 Elite)
FACTION: Sanguine Court (Eastern Garrison)
ARMY SIZE: 10,000 Blood Thralls (Levels 140 - 145)
---
"Halt, arrogant intruders!" Marquis Malakor’s voice echoed across the canyon like a sharp, screeching blade. "You step into the domain of Archduke Valerius! The Sanguine Court does not bow to mortal players, nor do we fear your reputation from the lower floors!"
Malakor raised his pale, clawed hand, gesturing to the ten thousand blood thralls surging onto the ramparts and surrounding the canyon gates.
"You bring five souls against ten thousand blood-forged warriors!" Malakor sneered arrogantly, his long fangs glistening under the blood moon. "Surrender your blood essence to our archduke, or your bones will rot in these crimson trenches forever!"
Silence fell over the narrow canyon.
Ignis rotated his heavy shoulders with a loud crack, while Ren tapped his gauntlets to prepare his long-range artillery drones. Tsubaki sank smoothly into the shadow cast by Kaelen’s dark coat, waiting for the command to strike.
Kaelen stepped forward to the front of the squad. He looked up at Marquis Malakor standing atop the fifty-foot wall, his expression entirely unbothered, as if looking at an insect buzzing on a windowpane.
"Ten thousand thralls," Kaelen purred softly, his velvet voice effortlessly carrying across the canyon and suppressing the roars of the entire vampire army.
He slowly reached down to his waist, his dark-gloved fingers wrapping loosely around the hilt of the Void Blade.
"You believe numbers protect you behind stone walls," Kaelen whispered, a dark, chilling smile gracing his lips as the black blade slid one inch out of its scabbard. Pitch-black spatial fractures flared along the steel, illuminating his dark violet eyes with lethal promise. "You did not build a fortress to keep me out... You built a tomb to trap yourselves inside."
"ATTACK! DROWN THEM IN BLOOD!" Malakor shrieked in sudden panic, waving his hand frantically.
ROAAAAAR!
Ten thousand blood-spawn thralls leaped from the high stone ramparts like a terrifying crimson tidal wave, their clawed hands and fangs bared to tear Kaelen’s squad to pieces!
Kaelen didn’t draw his sword to strike the thralls one by one.
He took a single step forward and unleashed his full Void Origin Domain.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive, hundred-meter dome of pitch-black spatial mana erupted from Kaelen’s body, expanding across the entire canyon in a fraction of a millisecond!
---
[DOMAIN ACTIVATED: Sovereign Void Realm]
EFFECT: Physical Gravity Inverted / Spatial Suppression Maxed!
TARGETS AFFECTED: 10,000 Blood Thralls!
---
The moment the ten thousand leaping thralls touched the black spatial domain, they didn’t land.
The spatial gravity within the domain instantly froze them mid-air! Ten thousand vampire warriors hung completely motionless in the dark sky, their bodies trembling violently as Kaelen’s domain pressure crushed their armor and bones with the weight of an entire mountain!
Marquis Malakor’s jaw dropped in sheer, unadulterated horror. His clawed hands trembled violently as he watched his entire ten-thousand-man vanguard held frozen mid-air like puppets with severed strings!
"How... how is this possible?!" Malakor choked out, stumbling back two steps on the rampart. "Ten thousand Level 140 warriors... suppressed by a single domain?!"
Kaelen looked up at the frozen army with cold, indifferent eyes, then turned his gaze to Lyra.
"Lyra," Kaelen commanded softly. "Purify the skies."
"By your command, my sovereign," Lyra replied with a warm, radiant smile.
She stepped forward, lifting her golden staff high into the air. The twin-sun crest on her hand erupted into a blinding pillar of pure solar judgment, channeling the full holy power of her sister Elena’s divine link!
"Divine Art: Solar Annihilation!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A colossal wave of brilliant golden sunlight swept through Kaelen’s black spatial domain! The frozen ten thousand thralls, already crushed and defenseless under Kaelen’s spatial suppression, were instantly vaporized into fine golden ash before they could even scream!
---
[BATTALION ELIMINATED!]
TARGETS: 10,000 Blood Thralls (Vaporized)
EXP RECEIVED: 12,000,000 Points!
Party level up!
---
In less than ten seconds, the entire ten-thousand-man vanguard guarding the Eastern Fortress was completely erased from existence!
Marquis Malakor fell to his knees atop the empty stone wall, his face drained of all color, staring down at Kaelen, who was calmly walking toward the giant iron fortress gates.
Kaelen didn’t even draw his sword. He simply flicked his finger.
BANG!
The fifty-foot iron gates exploded into thousands of sharp metal shards, opening the direct road to the Castle of Sanguis.
Kaelen turned his head slightly, his dark violet eyes looking back at Lyra, Tsubaki, Ignis, and Ren with a calm, victorious smile.
"The road is clear," Kaelen purred smoothly, taking Lyra’s hand as they stepped through the shattered fortress gates. "Let us go meet Archduke Valerius."