Chapter 919 Finally
Chapter 919 Finally
In the middle of an expansive forest, a brutal scene unfolded.
The metallic stench of blood engulfed the area, so thick it was all those present could smell.
Hundreds of individuals lay sprawled across the forest floor, blood pooling beneath them as they bled from multiple wounds. Large headsets covered their ears, now drenched in crimson.
The forest was eerily quiet, an unsettling contrast to the loud suffering of the wounded.
All around the fallen soldiers, numerous figures stood motionless, their bloodthirsty gazes fixed on them. Their aura radiated an unmistakable coldness, the signature of the Vampyros.
The sound of grinding teeth suddenly pierced the silence, drawing every Vampyros's attention to its source.
One of the wounded soldiers was struggling to stand.
His entire body was drenched in blood, his skin torn and split as though it had burst from the inside out. Despite the overwhelming pain, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, glaring at the Vampyros with pure hatred.
"You fiends," Candence spat, regret surging through him like a tidal wave.
They had rushed into the forest, weapons blazing, determined to support their apex, who was supposedly locked in an intense battle.
But not only had they failed to find Atticus, they'd walked straight into an ambush of Vampyros grandmaster+ ranks.
Candence and the warriors of Fort Echohelm had greatly outnumbered the Vampyros, yet they had still lost the battle, with most of them dead or incapacitated.
'The news was fake,' Candence thought bitterly, trying to convince himself otherwise. But every shred of evidence pointed to the harsh truth.
Atticus hadn't been locked in any deadly confrontation. Aside from the site where Atticus had fought three Vampyros, identified by the scouts who had accompanied them, there were no other signs of battle anywhere in the forest.
The scout lied. Or…
Candence didn't dare finish that thought.
Because if it were true, it meant someone he had trusted with his life had betrayed him.
'But…'
He couldn't deny the facts staring him in the face.
Vyn had been the one to bring in the mystery scout. He had been the one to convince them to send their troops to support Atticus. And he had done something else, something that had struck Candence as utterly strange.
Vyn was the type who would readily volunteer for dangerous missions. In fact, he would insist on going. But this time, he'd chosen to stay behind to "watch over" the fortress.
It had been odd, too odd.
But now, it was too late. They had walked right into the trap and were being watched like ants under the gaze of giants.
'But why aren't we dead?'
This was the thought that gnawed at Candence and the few Resonara still alive. The Vampyros were a bloodthirsty race, infamous for never leaving survivors. Every enemy they faced met the same fate: death.
And yet, here they stood, watching without saying or doing anything.
Something was off.
Candence hated off.
Gritting his teeth, he struggled to rise, the pain in his battered body screaming at him to stop. After several agonizing seconds, he finally stood, his breath ragged, his legs trembling.
He glared at the Vampyros, his voice low and filled with venom.
"You fiends…"
"Do you think this ends here?" Candence growled, rage boiling within him. "The human domain won't let this slide. You'll pay for what you've done here. All of you!"
His voice was laced with fury, but the reaction he got wasn't fear or hesitation, it was derision.
Wild smiles spread across the faces of the blood shadows.
The humans would make them pay? The idea was so absurd that many of the Vampyros struggled to stifle their laughter.
Even the Resonara sprawled across the forest floor, wounded and broken, didn't truly believe his words.
This wasn't the first time the Vampyros had slaughtered humans on the border, and every time, the human domain had done nothing. To think they would suddenly retaliate now was nothing short of foolish.
Still, none of the blood shadows responded. They remained silent, their oppressive bloodlust saturating the air.
Candence clenched his teeth in frustration at their blatant disregard. He had hoped to instill even a sliver of fear or hesitation in them, but it was clear his efforts had fallen flat.
'There's no point,' Candence thought grimly.
For whatever reason they were being kept alive, Candence was certain it wasn't anything good.
Better to die standing and fighting than to wait for a pathetic end. 'At least then, we won't be useful to them.'
Suddenly, Candence's aura shifted, and the air around him trembled in waves. His headset lit up with a bright glow, and the sound around him compressed, teetering on the brink of an explosive release.
Seeing their leader preparing to fight, the other Resonara followed suit. They gritted their teeth and forced their battered bodies to stand, drawing strength from their desperation.
The blood shadows' eyes flashed with lethal intent, and they began to move.
But before they could act, an overwhelming aura descended upon the forest, freezing every living soul in place.
"Behave. Your usefulness is temporary. Don't mistake it for value."
The voice was cold, sharp, and unforgiving.
Every gaze turned upward, locking onto a figure hovering calmly in the sky.
At that moment, it felt as if their entire world had come crashing down.
They had heard the legends. They had heard the horror stories. Many had even had nightmares about them.
Grandmaster-ranked Vampyros were already beings beyond their imagination, terrifying figures they had no hope of defeating. And now, not only were there about twenty of them present in the forest, but something far worse had arrived.
A paragon.
A Vampyros paragon.
Despite their overwhelming numbers, they had been utterly immobilized by the grandmasters alone. But now a paragon was here?
Every single Resonara felt an icy chill crawl up their spines. Their bodies refused to move, as though frozen in time. The only signs of life were their rapidly beating hearts and the blood pumping through their veins, but even that felt as though it no longer belonged to them.
Grand Elder Yorowin's voice was like the edge of a blade, cold and cutting. It was as though he wasn't speaking to intelligent beings, but to insects.
The forest descended into suffocating silence. Even the blood shadows knelt on the ground, bowing deeply in respect before Yorowin.
But Yorowin's gaze didn't even flicker toward the humans.
His cold crimson eyes were fixed solely on the spot where Atticus had disappeared. He stood there, calm and unbothered, waiting.
Hours passed in tense, suffocating stillness.
Then, the air shifted.
Yorowin's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
'Finally.'