Against the Shot of Inception, even Sousa couldn’t remain careless. He stepped back quickly while raising his arms to block the attack; speed, however, was not his forte. It would seem that Sousa’s estimation was still off, even without the environmental factors of the new world. His arms did little to stop the black feather as it shot into his chest.

Sousa let out a muffled groan, and his expression turned odd. His body swayed briefly before he found his footing once again.

After suppressing his injuries, Sousa turned to Howard instead of Qianye. “Courting death!” He arrived before the vampire prince in a single step and swung a heavy fist at his chest.

Howard laughed. “Now that’s playing dirty.” A long staff appeared in Howard’s hand, with which he tapped the ground, conjuring a cloud of blood around him.

Under the gravitational force of Sousa’s attack, the cloud of blood was first compressed to a single droplet and then into a barely discernible crystal. Howard, though, was no longer around.

Sousa observed the surroundings and saw the man appear hundreds of meters away. “You vampires and your petty tricks. Howard, when all is said and done, you’re...