A Warrior Undefeatable

Above the shattered ruins of Bloodbane Palace, a murky crimson haze churned

like thick, half-congealed blood.

The mouthful of blood essence Dincelius spat drenched the ancient command

token in his grip. Carved across its weather-worn surface were grotesque

demonic visages, and the instant the blood seeped into each cut those faces lit

up. Scarlet radiance oozed from every groove, the lines twisting and pulsating as

though the metal itself had come alive.

From the fissures splitting the earth there rose first a deep, muffled pounding-ten

thousand war drums beating beneath the ground-then, without warning,

countless arms sheathed in dark-violet scales punched through the rock. Talons

scraped stone with an ear-shattering shriek.

"Bloodbane Guards... form up!"

Dincelius' voice rasped. Frothy blood bubbled from the ragged stumps where his

arms had been severed, yet the last sparks of defiance still blazed in his eyes.

Thousands of colossal figures erupted from the crevices, every Bloodbane Guard

towering close to ten meters.

Blacksteel armor veined with flowing blood-red markings encased each of them.

Beneath their helms there were no faces-only two clusters of flickering ghostfire.

Toxic mist coiled around the points of the halberds they wielded. The moment they

emerged they locked into an intricate formation, every halberd aimed skyward at

Radmus, unleashing killing intent fierce enough to rend the clouds apart.

As the formation whirled, the blood-colored fog blanketing the ground was forcibly

siphoned, condensing into a glowing scarlet ring that circled the Bloodbane

Guards. Inside that ring drifted myriad tortured faces-the fallen spirits of

Bloodbane Palace members across the ages.

High above, Radmus floated at the top of the crimson mist. Possessed by the

blood corpses, his pupils held no emotion whatsoever-only absolute contempt

for life.

He could not even be bothered to glance downward. Lifting his right hand-

swathed in blood corpse energy-he allowed the blood at his fingertips to burst

apart, scattering into tens of thousands of scarlet needles, every one stinking of

all-corroding decay.

Hum!

The needles crashed down like a monsoon. The front ranks of the Bloodbane

Guards formation erupted with a blinding violet glare the instant the barrage

struck.

The scarlet ring at the formation's heart ballooned outward, holding the needle

storm a full ten meters away; yet the needles clung like maggots, gnawing layer

upon layer at the radiant barrier.

A cracking sound echoed out. In unison, the foremost Bloodbane Guards dropped

to one knee, the ghostfire beneath their helms flickering madly-the needles were

violently draining the energy within their bodies!

"Your struggle is foolish."

Radmus' voice was a mix of male and female tones, icy and shrill. "Did you truly

believe a mortal formation could resist the power of the blood corpses?"

With a casual twist of his wrist, the needle swarm accelerated, no longer

assaulting the barrier but piercing with surgical precision into the seams of every

Bloodbane Guards' armor.

The ghostfire of the first guard winked out; the Blacksteel plates cracked apart,

revealing the desiccated corpse inside.

Then the second, the thirtieth... Within mere heartbeats, the entire phalanx

toppled like dominoes, each Bloodbane Guard crumbling into drifting ash.

Only the halberds, clanging to the ground one after another, broke the hush-

metallic thuds that rang painfully loud across the dead battlefield.

Watching the force on which his life depended slaughtered like ants, Dincelius

tasted iron as blood welled up his throat.

He remembered how Bloodbanenoveldrama

Palace had spent a millennium

forging these Bloodbane Guards,

each one harboring the soul

remnant of a once-great cultivator,

now reduced to nothing under the

enemy's hand.

"No-!"

His scream was the howl of a cornered beast. What remained of his body

shuddered uncontrollably, the blood essence in his elixir field boiling over once

more.

At that instant, two inky streaks tore through the crimson fog-the very same

warriors who had slipped from Jared's command earlier!

The aura of death coiled thickly

around them. Pitch-black battle-axes

carved warped trajectories through

the air, ancient runes flaring along

their blades-they were the ancient

war souls Jared had once subdued.

No longer bound by Jared's will, they were now drawn by some hidden power

deep within Bloodbane Palace, streaking straight for Radmus!

"Hmm?"

For the first time, Radmus reacted.

He tilted his head toward the pair, a

flicker of puzzlement scarring his

blood corpse-eroded features. "So

the two of you still cling to

existence. But to subdue us now?

Impossible..."