Chapter 95: Who Calls This Two-Star?
"Hua Mi, something's off."
Hua Mi had already positioned two groups of fierce fire bees on either side, ready for an assault.
The plan was to encircle the yet-to-be-formed Dragon Soul.
But the girl's demeanor puzzled him.
In such cold weather, just wearing a thin nightgown was odd enough.
But instead of fear at the scene before her, she seemed oddly at ease.
This was definitely not a normal reaction.
There was something fishy.
Gathering intel was crucial.
So, Hua Mi shifted tactics. Instead of immediately commanding the fierce fire bee attack, he continued controlling scout bees, gradually descending.
The scent of blood and decay grew stronger, almost overpowering other smells.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
As they descended, a strong heartbeat resonated.
Yes.
Two people, yet only one heartbeat.
This was within his expectations; after all, he had guessed there was a revenant here.
A revenant occupied the body of a humanoid being. Although it could move freely, fundamentally, it wasn't alive; it didn't need sleep, food, or breath, hence, no heartbeat.
However, what surprised him was that the heartbeat came from Little Ford.
Not only did he have a heartbeat, but it was remarkably strong, surpassing an ordinary person's.
Meanwhile, the girl on the tombstone had no heartbeat!
Was she the deceased?
Hua Mi's mind raced, combining previous speculation with Clark's information about vampire kin. Suddenly, a theory emerged.
"The mayor's daughter isn't alive."
Hua Mi shared this revelation with the teammates beside him.
"What do you mean? Is she the revenant?" Col questioned, "But wait... wasn't it Little Ford who was revived?"
"Revenant?" Clark looked puzzled, "Why bring up a revenant... Oh well, I can't vouch for others, but that boy you mentioned couldn't possibly be a revenant."
"Why?" Col asked.
"Because he's clearly become a vampire kin," Clark stated matter-of-factly, "Vampire kin can only transform from living beings, which means the contract only applies to the living. Revenants are fundamentally still corpses."
The trio fell into confusion.
However, this revelation clarified things for Hua Mi.
Clark's explanation validated his theory.
Theresa was a revenant, bearing the vampire's contract.
However, she couldn't transform herself as she was already a corpse.
So, she used Little Ford.
As the carrier and intermediary of the contract, she made Little Ford accept the contract.
Their relationship was intricate; Little Ford might have been deceived into thinking she was still the original Theresa.
For instance, she could have told him she had no heartbeat due to some curse, requiring unicorn blood or something similar to dispel it.
Hence, his determination to come to the Black Forest.
Willing to accept the vampire's contract, become a vampire kin, and come to the Ashes Cemetery to absorb the potent residual energy of the undead here for short-term self-enhancement, all to counter the unicorn.
It didn't necessarily require defeating it; just restraining it and allowing the vampire sealed beneath Black Castle Ruins to regain freedom.
A hornless unicorn might not necessarily stand against two united vampire kin.
With this, the situation made sense.
However, it wasn't the time to dwell on these background stories.
Hua Mi didn't hesitate anymore. Using scout bees as his eyes, he controlled two groups of fierce fire bees, initiating a pincer attack from both sides.
One aimed at the Dragon Soul.
The other targeted the revenant.
Both groups swiftly closed in on their targets.
Theresa sensed the imminent danger, abruptly looking at the approaching swarm.
"Hu—"
Simultaneously, the two groups of fierce fire bees ignited pale flames, merging into a scorching pale fireball, hurtling toward their targets.
However, faced with the overwhelming assault, Theresa seemed uninterested in evasion.
Her gaze was a mix of reluctance and bitterness.
"It's you again!"
"Why do you always interfere with me!"
Do you believe it's a coincidence?
Little Ford suddenly looked in Theresa's direction, his crimson pupils shrinking.
His body seemed to morph into a blood-colored remnant, instantly appearing beside Theresa, lifting her, then with another flicker, they were several meters away.
The fierce fire bee swarm attacking Theresa also abruptly halted, the pale flames extinguishing simultaneously.
The advantage of his fierce fire bees over regular fireball spells lay in their agility and tolerance. If the initial strike missed, they could swiftly readjust and continue the assault.
However, the other group didn't stop; it continued its onslaught toward the Dragon Soul.
Sizzle—
Accompanied by a sound akin to tempering, the pale fireball pierced the Dragon Soul's chest, burning a gaping hole with scorched edges that slowly expanded.
He'd noticed this during the encounter with the evil spirit in Blackstone Town; pale fire seemed to restrain such spiritual entities.
As the Dragon Soul was hit, a resounding draconic roar echoed.
The few people behind the trees couldn't help but feel awe.
A partially incomplete Dragon Soul wielded such intimidating power; it hinted at the terror the original dragon must have possessed.
The abundance of spiritual entities...
Hua Mi quickly regained composure from the shock of the draconic roar, directing the two groups of fierce fire bees to disperse.
The pale fireball disintegrated instantly, splitting into numerous small fireballs that dispersed, encircling the Dragon Soul within a massive spherical space.
A simultaneous onslaught.
Over twenty thousand small fireballs flew from all directions toward the Dragon Soul.
Sizzle—
As the fireballs made contact, they emitted a tempering sound.
The Dragon Soul was instantly riddled with holes.
After piercing the Dragon Soul's spiritual body, the fierce fire bees followed up with counterattacks...
The Dragon Soul shattered into numerous spiritual fragments, swiftly incinerated by the pale fire.
Having dealt with the Dragon Soul, the fierce fire bee groups regrouped, facing the vampire kin.
At this point, Theresa in Little Ford's arms had fallen motionless, reverting to a corpse.
The soul of this revenant finally departed from the mortal realm.
However, the ordeal wasn't over.
The vampire kin before them seemed to have lost its sanity, its body boiling with aggression.
"Roar!"
Fully transformed, Col lunged at Little Ford, resembling a massive wolf—or perhaps a dog, almost bear-sized, swiping at him.
Little Ford, in an instant, appeared behind it, blood tendrils coiling around his body forming spikes aiming at Col's vitals.
Yet, underfoot, a sudden hurricane appeared, trapping him in its eye, obstructing its vision and attacks.
As it forcefully broke free, Hilary's blades awaited it.
Four Hilarys launched simultaneous attacks from different sides.
Clang, clang, clang—the sound of blades and light filled the air.
Each strike landed on its joint support areas.
Strike and retreat, avoiding excessive greed for strikes.
Truly members of the same adventuring party.
Their coordinated attacks significantly weakened the target's combat capabilities.
Little Ford was now on one knee, one hand on the ground, panting heavily, seemingly unable to rise.
However, the next moment, strange blood tendrils surged from him, wrapping around his body like a blood-red armor, supporting him.
The blood tendrils extended to the ground, rapidly spreading out like a tidal wave.
Bang!
The entire area shook as if an invisible giant's palm slapped the ground.
The ground shattered, revealing a massive hollow area, and a long tunnel appeared in the blink of an eye, leading to an unknown depth.
Hua Mi's pupils contracted.
This was a spatial rift!
Little Ford had created a spatial rift!
Whether it was to escape or bring forth some powerful entity, no one could tell.
"Stop him!"
The four Hilarys yelled in unison.
However, it was too late.
Little Ford had disappeared into the spatial rift.
The four Hilarys shared glances before looking at Hua Mi.
The situation was beyond their expertise.
Hua Mi understood their gaze.
"Activate!"
As his voice echoed, a layer of pale blue light shrouded the surroundings.
This was the magical barrier set up by the Adventurer's Guild.
With Little Ford gone, their primary objective had been accomplished.
Yet, the Black Forest's peace remained in jeopardy.
The pale blue light symbolized a call for reinforcements.
The ash particles scattered in the air seemingly carried a sense of urgency as they soared into the night sky, signaling the Adventurer's Guild for aid.
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