Chapter 502 - True Progenitor of Blood, Yumila's Methods

"What? Daxi, you!" A middle-aged noble dressed like a gentlemanly count looked puzzled for a split second, but was immediately filled with disbelief and fury. He looked at the blond Blood Race member, Daxi, who was babbling like a lapdog trying to please its master.

That fawning was utterly repulsive and infuriating. Moreover, Daxi was behaving that way toward a human, which completely disgraced the proud Blood Race! All of the high-ranking Blood Race members who had awakened in the gray cavern grew enraged in an instant. They still had Daxi's words echoing in their minds—how he had called their blood filthy and worthless.

"Daxi, what on earth is happening?! Are you planning to betray us?"

"Daxi, are you courting death? You actually brought a band of humans to our blood nest! And you had better explain what you just said! Otherwise, we will treat you as a traitor!"

Several high-ranking Blood Race members emerged from their coffins and gathered at the edge of the circular blood pool. Their auras gradually became more menacing and savage.

"Hahaha!" The blond Blood Race member, Daxi, suddenly burst into laughter, as if he had just heard something hilarious. "Betrayal? Betrayal? I call this turning from darkness to the light! You fools, you're still sitting there like frogs at the bottom of a well..."

"What did I mean by what I just said?" He asked, casting an imperious look around him as he snorted coldly. "Was that not clear enough? Are you ancient creatures deaf? Did water seep into your ears, or did your minds simply rot in your sleep? I said you would all die! Crushed like filthy vermin!"

Daxi was gritting his teeth now, as though the group across from him were mortal enemies.

Daxi spun around and once again addressed Cassius, "My lord, these fools are as rude as frogs in a well. They saw your arrival, yet they did not think to kneel in submission. Instead, they spewed arrogant words and even dared to plot. I believe they need to realize exactly what situation they are now in. They are clearly teetering on the edge of the abyss without even knowing it..."

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Daxi wore an earnest expression filled with heartfelt devotion, which was enough to move anyone. Had he not been under hypnosis, Cassius might have believed he had gained a perfectly loyal dog to command at will.

Behind them, Odo's handsome young face looked perplexed, and he even felt a slight sense of alarm. What was going on? How was a hypnotized dark creature so wholeheartedly defending the director?

Even if it was not genuine, it was still exaggerated beyond belief. Judging solely by his behavior, this Blood Race member Daxi, who had been subdued for less than half an hour, seemed more like the director's subordinate than Odo himself.

He seemed more like Cassius's close confidant, a trusted aide! How could this be...

In the shadows nearby, Evil Mother's gaze looked equally odd. She was already suspecting that using her golden totem to augment her hypnosis might have produced far better results than she had ever anticipated. Perhaps she could develop this aspect further in the future, yielding unexpected miracles!

Inside the cavern, beside Daxi, Cassius's perpetually cool demeanor twitched slightly.

After a brief silence, he spoke slowly. "Daxi, you... did good..."

In truth, he had only just learned that the high-ranking Blood Race's name was Daxi from those furious Blood Race members.

"Thank you for the compliment, my lord!" Daxi displayed a humble expression, evidently mistaking Cassius's speechlessness for a different kind of encouragement.

"..." Cassius felt even more at a loss for words.

Opposite them, the cluster of high-ranking Blood Race members ended the silence.

"Daxi! You traitor to the Blood Race! Since you have betrayed us, there is nothing more to say... we will handle you all as enemies! I'll flay you and these humans, strip away your flesh and suck the marrow from your bones..." Their voices grew coarse and wild, resonating with a beastly incoherence.

They all instantly entered their Blood Gift state, as their muscles swelled and bones widened. Strands of dark-red bristle wrapped around their powerful bodies like steel threads. Their feet and hands turned into giant bat-like claws. Wide fleshy wings sprouted behind them, supported by sturdy bone structures.

A crimson blood energy surged across the wings, twisting like arcs of electricity, projecting a mysterious and sinister vibe.

A furious roar rang out, followed by the violent flapping of wings. "Kill them!!!"

Four high-ranking Blood Race members lunged forth, their thick legs slamming into the ground with a thunderous force, catapulting them into midair to swoop and strike.

In an instant, they were nothing more than dark-red afterimages. They were led by a middle-aged count. He was clearly stronger than the other high-ranking Blood Race members, with a taller frame and a far denser blood energy on his wings.

The count's crimson eyes were fixed on Cassius standing next to Daxi. His ghastly fangs jutted from the corners of his mouth, giving him a bestial savagery. "I will kill you immediately!"

To think that Daxi, that traitor, treated that human with such reverence, even calling him "My lord." He was even insulting and trampling all over the Blood Race with his words. Thus, he, Andrew, would first take that human down first! Then he would see what expression Daxi wore!

That was the only way he could vent his anger.

Whoosh!

Andrew transformed into a blur shooting down ahead of the others. All the blood energy from his wings surged into his right claw, weaving into a blood-hued glove so dense it appeared almost black, emanating a violent, bloody aura.

His hand, thick as a tree stump, swung out with a harsh tearing sound as it split the air. The tips of his claws traced four crimson arcs in the airstream, raking toward Cassius's head.

Crack!

Andrew's lightning-fast body slid past Cassius's shoulder, ending up behind him. A flicker of scarlet still danced in his eyes, and a slight grin crept over his lips. He held a poised stance with one leg forward, arms spread, steadying himself.

"I got him! That was so easy..."

"Got him? More like you got yourself killed."

Suddenly, from behind him, the figure he expected to have died with a torn head spoke calmly, in a chilly tone.

Cassius snapped his fingers softly.

Snap!

Andrew froze like a statue captured in mid-motion. His eyes were filled with sheer disbelief as his life force drained away.

Rustle.

He seemed to be a man made of sand. His head, bone, skin, and hair all dissolved into dust, drifting away in thin strands like smoke. Within half a breath, the dark-red mist reached Andrew's neck. The head on his shoulders had wholly dissolved.

Boom...

The rest of his body crumbled at once, like a collapsing sandcastle. Bone, flesh, and blood turned into part of the sand. A high-ranking Blood Race member had been taken out in a single instant!

As Cassius's strength had steadily grown, the power he wielded became ever more terrifying. In fact, he was taking great strides toward that pinnacle, the Holy Fist realm. Every movement he made carried a dreadful might.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The remaining three Blood Race members shot forward like warplanes and soon clashed with Odo, Anthony, Fiona, and the others. Blood energy burst forth under the fierce collisions, blooming into sprays of crimson blossoms against the ground and cavern walls. It looked strangely beautiful.

Cassius gave them a cursory glance and did not interfere with his subordinates. Instead, he walked purposefully toward the slumbering blood nest of those high-ranking Blood Race members.

Next to him, Daxi, who happened to face no adversary, trotted after him, showering Cassius with praise. He proclaimed how fearsome his lord's power was, and how the foes were mere chickens and dogs.

Cassius paid him no attention and simply strode to the edge of the blood pool. Glancing down, he saw a layer of thick red liquid rippling quietly within. It gave off a sweet yet metallic smell. It was clearly processed blood of some kind.

Within that liquid lay stacks of black coffins, each containing a slumbering high-ranking Blood Race member. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly extended his hand and jabbed a fist into the surface of the liquid. At once, a thin layer of crimson energy rippled out from the pool and spread over its surface, forming a transparent membrane that resembled glass.

When Cassius's fist struck it, it did not crack in the slightest. He drew his arm back slowly, frowning. The crimson energy before him had a remarkably high quality, to a nearly exaggerated degree. It even vaguely gave Cassius a sense of danger.

He turned to look beside him. "What is this?"

Daxi, who had been flattering Cassius without pausing for breath, perked up and answered quickly, "My lord, please observe this blood pool and all those intricate rites and channels around it. In fact, this was originally a key point in the Water Vortex Zone, but the Blood Race converted it into a blood nest. Using the blood nest as its core, they extended ritual channels in all directions, creating something like a perpetual ceremony for Blood of Immortality."

"This ceremony is said to gain the protection of the True Progenitor of Blood, Yumila, from legend. Every so often, it creates Blood of Immortality at the bottom of the blood nest. It nourishes all the high-ranking Blood Race members in the pool, allowing them to remain dormant for lengthy spans while they slowly strengthen themselves and delay any decline..." Daxi explained everything in minute detail, looking very much like a sycophant receiving a casual word of acknowledgment and responding with endless flattery.

"True Progenitor of Blood Yumila?" Cassius narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, it is said that the Blood Race gained various things like their Blood of Immortality Ritual, their method for creating a slumbering blood nest, and various energy-gathering rituals from True Progenitor of Blood Yumila's benevolence in a long-bygone era..." Daxi stated this as fact.

"Is there a way to break through the blood nest's automatic defense?" Cassius sensed that the defensive membrane was not easily shattered.

"Certainly, my lord," Daxi answered confidently. "The slumbering blood nest contains Blood of Immortality that has accumulated at the bottom over time, and some energy-gathering rituals can also harness the power of the many Blood Race members who sleep within it. Combined, it is a defense that cannot be breached by anyone. However, naturally, no defense is absolute. As time passed, the rituals using the blood pool have grown decrepit and are much less efficient. Moreover, there are positioning rules for how the coffins are arranged in the nest. Every Blood Race member in slumber must have their head and feet aligned with the dotted ritual lines connecting the pool walls. That alignment channels the power of the Blood Race to form the automatic defense."

Daxi pointed at the six empty coffins in the pool. "As a matter of fact, there is now a gap in the ritual as a few Blood Race members have abandoned their spots. My lord, if you just keep striking one of those gaps, provided you have enough power, you can cause the blood nest's aura to leak. Since scarabs are highly sensitive to the Blood Race's aura, they will surely swarm toward the slumbering blood nest.

"I just witnessed how the current scarab swarm was much larger in scale than any previous one. It is likely enough to drastically drain the blood nest's energy, weakening it so that you can smash through the defense..." He spoke rapidly, sounding like some conniving advisor offering strategies.

After revealing this inside information about the Blood Race to Cassius, he did not forget to add a word of caution.

"Of course, I am merely describing a method to break the nest's defenses. I have no knowledge about what ancient powers or heritage those old monsters that have slumbered for a thousand years might possess. After all, I only joined the blood nest slumber in more recent times..."

Cassius nodded and glanced at Daxi. He had not expected this fellow, aside from his flattery, to be of any use, yet he turned out to have some potential. Unfortunately, he was hypnotized and would not remain that way for long.

"Damn it, Daxi! You bastard, what are you saying?! You actually told the enemy all of our secrets! You deserve death!"

Not far away, the three Blood Race members still locked in battle had clearly heard Daxi's words. Their faces changed drastically, and they shouted in wrath.

"You're the ones who deserve death! You frogs in a well—die!" A flash of anger crossed Daxi's face, and he actually asked Cassius for permission to fight.

With Cassius's approval, he instantly activated his Blood Gift form. He vanished in a blur, charging ferociously into the fray. He seemed intent on joining Cassius's three subordinates in slaughtering the other Blood Race members!

Only Cassius remained, gazing calmly at the blood nest. Truthfully, besides Daxi, five other high-ranking Blood Race members had basically walked right up to Cassius like lambs to the slaughter.

If he absorbed them all, despite the diminished effect from his higher-level Covert Martial Arts and the overlap of absorbing too much of the same life energy, it seemed sufficient to advance his Golem Covert Martial Arts progress to ninety percent.

In other words, Cassius's Qi was about to break through to the extreme combat artist realm for certain. So was there still any need to risk breaking the slumbering blood nest's defenses?

After all, it was likely that True Progenitor of Blood Yumila had left some form of countermeasure inside, which posed significant danger. Cassius had always been one to underestimate his enemies strategically yet respect them tactically.

He would never believe he could challenge an Ultimate Dark Form at his current stage, even if it was merely a measure left behind by such a form...

However, based on Daxi's insider account and analysis, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity. He had triggered an enormous scarab swarm, and he could drastically weaken the blood nest's power if he diverted it here.

He believed it was worth trying. First, he needed to observe the swarm's impact. Cassius intended to fish in troubled waters and only act once both sides were badly hurt. He did not necessarily aim to wipe out the nest protected by True Progenitor of Blood Yumila's measures, but he did want to squeeze more benefit out of it.

For instance, he could catch a few more high-ranking Blood Race members off guard and further elevate his Golem Covert Martial Arts. Alternatively, he could act as a second threat during the conflict between the swarm and the blood nest, forcing the Blood Race to yield some boon.

It was pure extortion!

What exactly was Blood of Immortality, and what taste and effect did it have?

Cassius had never experienced it before...