Ashen Dragon-Chapter 138 - 68 Ascension Ritual (IV)

"Bats celebrate, sick rats sing."

"Blood mist covers the sky, shadows overflow."

"Daylight dreads its arrival, eternal night descends."

The vampire variants on the stone pillars were still chanting. As time went by, their voices gradually turned into wails.

Blood gradually filled the patterns on the stone platform, activating the strange and evil array. In the bunker, the arrays in the hundreds of iron cages emitted a bloody glow.

The blood light connected those variants to Duke Brad. The evil power surged into his body through the blood light.

"Ascension. How absolutely delightful."

Duke Brad raised his arms, seeming to embrace the imminent power.

He slowly closed his eyes. Despite his undying essence not needing to breathe, he still took a deep breath, savoring the inviting scent of blood in the air.

Duke Brad’s expression suddenly stiffened.

"Wait..."

"I think I smell... unfamiliar blood."

"It seems there is a group of vile rats hiding in my castle."

Duke Brad opened his eyes, his crimson pupils filled with endless rage.

"Come out—"

"You are courting death!"

Duke Brad floated in mid-air, his cloak billowing without wind, and thick blood mist surrounded him.

This old vampire would not let anyone interfere with the ascension he had planned for centuries!

Seeing that they were exposed, the commander of the operation, Mezulash, raised his blood-stained great sword and shouted loudly.

"Attack!"

His usually calm face now showed excitement, and even his voice trembled slightly.

His wife and children’s tragic deaths, the wanton slaughter of thousands of his people, ten years of hardship and wandering...

Now, the final conclusion was finally approaching.

"Kill him!"

Mezulash charged forward.

At the entrance of the passage, the players did not expect to be discovered in this way, causing immediate chaos.

[Crimson Duke—Brad Rackman]

Basic abilities: ???

Challenge level: ??? (Extremely dangerous!)

The red panel, representing danger and hostility, appeared before everyone.

Yet, being a group of elite players, after a brief moment of panic, they steadfastly executed the preplanned tactics.

"He found us!"

"Mage master, cast your spells!"

"Leave it to me!"

Charlotte raised the carved wooden staff, the vine at the top glowing with a magical aura.

[Cloud Mist Technique]

In an instant of casting the spell, Charlotte lost her invisibility and was revealed in her true form. However, thick mist swiftly enveloped the platform where the vampire stood.

Meanwhile, the bard player "Flying Guitar" played his violin. As the strings trembled, not only did a melodious tune float out, but it also caused ripples in the magic web. This was the bard’s artistic way of casting spells.

[Sorcery of Wraithfire]

Demonic fire attached to the vampire’s body, outlining its figure with a violet glow, clearly visible even through the thick mist.

The vice president of the Royal Guild, Fengyun, also waved his magic wand.

[Tidal Surge Wave]

With his movement, a wave surged toward the vampire. This spell was specifically designed to target the vampire’s "Wounding Water" weakness.

At the same time, several mages and sorcerers cast spells together. Hypnotic patterns, rainbow sprays, and charming monsters as control spells bombarded the vampire. Scorching rays, magic missiles, fireball techniques, lightning, radiance, flames, and force fields created a dazzling display of spell lights directed at the figure outlined by the violet glow within the mist.

The martial monks, warriors, paladins, and barbarians among the melee players charged into the mist, following the glow of the demonic fire to launch their attacks.

Steel Torrent also summoned his newly built guardian mecha, frantically pouring bullets while raising a shield to charge at the vampire.

Mezulash, leading the charge, already carried his blood-stained great sword to the front, excitement in his pure black eyes, anticipating his pending revenge.

But before they could get close, a low voice echoed in the bunker.

"Pathetic ants..."

"Do you really think you can oppose me?"

With a terrifying shockwave, a bloody current erupted, dispersing the thick mist.

Faced with the dozens of colorful spell radiances and the rain of arrows, flying knives, and even bullets from afar, Duke Brad merely smirked, his body transforming into a blur of blood mist, which then dispersed suddenly.

In an instant, lightning, radiance, and flames intersected, flying knives, arrows, and bullets whizzed through the air, but all hit nothing.

The group looked around, unable to find the vampire anymore.

Only a faint blood mist lingered in the air.

"Let the blood boil in His body..."

"Let us embrace the great ascension..."

Yet, the vampire variants kept chanting, with the bloody light still flashing.

Clearly, it was far from over.

Suddenly, Duke Brad’s raspy voice echoed in the dark underground world. The sound was erratic, seeming to come from everywhere.

"Foolish mortals."

"Your attacks are utterly laughable."

"For I am everywhere..."

"I once swept across the land like divine wrath, but I gave all that up for immortality."

The voice grew more intense, causing an inner trembling in anyone who heard it.

"And now, I am immortality; I am the darkness! I shall become the monarch of eternal night! And you all are mere fodder on my path to ascension!"

Everyone present felt their blood boil, as if it wished to break free from its bodily confines and escape.

The blood mist in the air churned and swirled, forming a massive vortex, eventually reconsolidating into a human shape above the stone platform.

At this moment, Brad Rackman had shed his luxurious attire and donned a robe of red and black. He floated high above, his crimson-glowing eyes disdainfully and coldly look down on everyone on the platform.

He raised his hand gently.

In mid-air, the blood mist formed two giant blood-colored hands.

Steel Torrent raised the gun on his armored left arm to fire upward, but the giant hand wrapped around the four-meter-tall armor, squeezing it and crushing it, along with the pilot inside.

The once formidable mech now lay as wreckage on the ground, while the pilot’s blood was absorbed into the blood mist, making it thicker and more intense.

"Fresh blood..."

A trace of intoxication and satisfaction appeared on Duke Brad’s pale face.

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.

"Run, wail..."

"I will thoroughly enjoy this moment."

With the vampires’ eerie chanting, Duke Brad played with the blood mist, hunting down the players, effortlessly killing them and absorbing their blood, driving them to their wits’ end.

In just a few minutes, over a dozen players met their end, all elite fighters.

"Damn, the guild leader got one-shot again!"

"How are we supposed to fight this?"

"This boss’s damage is insane—"

"Can someone cast Flight Magic for me? I want to try engaging up close."

Meshlaf swung his sword, dispersing the blood mist. Glaring at the vampire in the air, he muttered, "No, he’s absorbing power, getting stronger."

"We must stop him."

Mezulash looked towards a dark corner, a peculiar light in his pure black pupils.