Chapter 367: Clash at the Lake
Alexander stood alone in the middle of the cobblestone street, surrounded only by the murmur of the night wind. He could easily head back to the tavern to rest or continue wandering around the newly repossessed area. However, his mind kept racing around the new skill he had stolen from Lyssandra: Double Water Dragon.
He wondered what kind of power lay hidden within that technique and what its true scale was. Activating it in the middle of the city, surrounded by his newly hired adventurers or under the watchful eyes of the guards, was an unnecessary risk that would reveal his hand far too soon. So, without overthinking it, he decided to turn around and head back toward the forest.
As he approached the city limits, a pair of guards stationed at the checkpoint spotted him coming.
"Where are you heading at this hour, young man?" said one of the guards, adjusting her spear over her shoulder.
"Just going for a walk," said Alexander, keeping a calm and unbothered stride.
"Be careful," said the guard firmly. "The forest is so dangerous at night; the beasts grow far more aggressive."
"Don’t worry, I won’t go too deep," said Alexander, offering them a faint smile before stepping past the illuminated borders and into the thick woods.
He pushed deeper into the vegetation until reaching the area where he had encountered the bat colony hours earlier. The darkness was total beneath the canopy of ancient trees, preventing him from moving blindly. Without wasting time, Alexander activated thermal vision, scanning his surroundings for any trace of body heat.
The landscape around him shifted to cold, blue hues, but there didn’t seem to be anything large lurking nearby. To secure his perimeter against cold-blooded creatures, he activated Echo, emitting invisible pulses that bounced off the foliage and rocks to echolocate any threat moving through the shadows.
Alexander pushed forward a few hundred meters more, but the echolocation pulses kept returning clear, confirming that the area was free of threats.
Upon verifying that the perimeter was safe, he came to a halt in a small clearing. Driven by anticipation, he closed his eyes and channeled his energy to activate Double Water Dragon.
A subtle vibration rippled through the air. Tiny liquid spheres began detaching from the leaves and grass at his feet, floating slowly upward into the air as if gravity had lost its hold. However, after a few seconds of intense focus, the manifestation snapped, and the droplets fell back to the dirt with a faint murmur.
The amount of liquid gathered from the mere night dew was insufficient to form the skill.
"I see..." said Alexander in a whisper, inspecting his dripping hands. "This technique doesn’t create the element out of thin air; it requires an actual water source to manifest its full power."
Realizing the fundamental limitation of his new spell, Alexander wasted no time. He kept both echolocation and thermal vision active while continuing his trek through the thick vegetation, searching for the distinct sound of a stream or the cold footprint of a small lake hidden among the trees.
Guided by the distant echo of a running stream, Alexander walked for a few more minutes until reaching the banks of a wide river that fed into a serene lake. However, just as he was about to step toward the water’s edge, his thermal radar registered the heat signature of a human figure submerged in the lake.
Alexander deactivated thermal vision to restore his normal sight and observed the landscape with his own eyes. The reflective surface of the lake glowed faintly under the soft moonlight, revealing the silhouette of a woman swimming peacefully in the gloom.
Without showing any unease, Alexander took a couple of steps toward the bank snapping a few dry twigs beneath his boots to announce his presence politely.
"My sincere apologies for the interruption," said Alexander, keeping his voice firm and composed as he looked at her from the shore.
At the sound of Alexander’s voice, the figure rose slowly from the dark waters of the lake. The moonlight washed over her body, revealing pitch-black eyes and two long, sharp fangs protruding from her lips. Her beautiful, silky black hair fell dripping over pale skin that contrasted with her massive breasts and a plump, firm ass. However, the most imposing feature sprouted from her back: a pair of massive bat wings that unfolded with a heavy snap.
"Wooo... wow, a vampire," said Alexander, eyeing the lethal figure before him with an intrigued smirk.
The vampire uttered not a single word. With a icy, hostile glare, she raised an arm forward and opened her palm. Instantly, a dark surge made of hundreds of bloodthirsty bats burst from the water, rushing in a violent stampede toward the shore.
Far from stepping back, Alexander took a step forward and extended his right hand.
"Wind Claw," said Alexander, unleashing a flurry of razor-sharp wind blades.
The wind blades sliced through the night with a whistle, tearing through the first wave of bats in a shower of blood and severed wings before they could reach the shore.
The vampire woman tilted her head to the side, confused by the speed and power of the boy’s response. However, her expression reverted to an icy stare. Her body began to float slowly upward, hovering above the reflective surface of the water with her wings outstretched to their full span.
She opened her mouth and let out a piercing, ultrasonic shriek that made the surrounding trees shake. Instantly, the dark forest seemed to come alive: thousands of bats emerged from the thickets, forming a dense, pitch-black cloud that blotted out the night sky before diving in a deadly swoop straight at Alexander.
"Shit, there are way too many..." said Alexander, gritting his teeth as he took a step back. "Please, let this skill be as good as it looks."
Alexander thrust both hands toward the body of water and channeled his full power to activate Double Water Dragon.
The entire lake began to violently convulse. Two massive pillars of water shot straight into the sky with a deafening roar, shaping themselves in mid-air into two majestic, ferocious water dragons. With a devastating sweep of their liquid jaws, the two colossal beasts crashed into the swarm, sweeping away and drowning thousands of bats in a single split second.