Chapter 275: Fangs of the City [Volume 4 – Perpetual Conflict]   

Qianye asked, “You’re a human?”

“Of course I am. What? Do you have any last words?” Li Zhan sized Qianye up, somewhat astonished that the person he had been chasing was also a human. 

“Since you’re a human, why do you work for the dark races?”

Li Zhan frowned. Apparently, he was quite surprised to hear such a question. But he was quite patient and replied, “This isn’t working for. It’s working with. Both parties are here for things they need.”

“Things they need?” Qianye sneered, “Did you know what the dark races are getting with such a cooperation and what kind of profit you’ll get? Did you think your gains will be equal the object you just gave away?”

Li Zhan’s eyes flickered. “This isn’t my concern. My only objective is to bring you back to the master. I’ll bring you back alive if you don’t resist, otherwise, I can only bring your corpse back. It makes no difference for me.”

Qianye raised his hand and pointed the Twin Flowers at Li Zhan. However, a “click” rang out at the same time as he pushed a physical origin bullet, which he had brought out at one point, into the bullet chamber.

Li Zhan’s killing intent erupted.

He wasn’t one for words, but this city was simply too bizarre. He was in a group of three with his companions when he entered the city, but they were split up after turning through a couple of street blocks. This kind of situation definitely wasn’t normal. All of them were veterans who had gone through hundreds of battles, and they were vigilant of their surroundings at all time. How could they make such a mistake?

As such, Li Zhan felt extremely astonished after seeing Qianye and finding him to be human. He couldn’t help but say a few more words. It was also, more or less, to sound out his options. He hadn’t expected Qianye to have acted right under his eyes.

Li Zhan sneered, “You want to force me back with a single bullet? With your mere strength, it’s uncertain if you can even break through my defenses unless you have a Black Titanium Bullet of Annihilation. Put down your gun…” 

He suddenly stopped speaking and then said each word with a pause, “You really have a Black Titanium Bullet of Annihilation?”

Qianye revealed a faint smile and said, “Won’t you know for sure by the time I fire?”

Li Zhan’s gaze was as sharp as a blade. The origin power radiance flowing out from his arms gradually became thicker and almost seemed as if it would condense into something substantial.

Qianye’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He edged back step by step with the Twin Flowers still aimed at Li Zhan.

Li Zhan tightened his left fist. His face was twitching continuously as he took one unresigned step after another.

Both sides had maintained about ten or so meters of distance the whole time, neither of them in the mood to pay attention to their surroundings. They felt the mist becoming gradually thicker, but at such a distance, they were still capable of sensing the other party’s movements with some effort.

Qianye knew he had won this gamble when he saw that Li Zhan hadn’t charged in immediately.

Apparently, Li Zhan had weighed his options and felt that the difference between them was significant enough that he would be able to take Qianye down easily if the opportunity presented itself. He felt that there was no need for mutual destruction.

Qianye retreated continuously and suddenly shifted sideways into a corner of the street block. Li Zhan waited for a breath’s time before turning the corner and arriving at a small alleyway similarly enshrouded by the omnipresent mist. However, Qianye’s figure had long since vanished.

Li Zhan stood in place for a moment with a cold expression. He had definitely smelled black titanium on Qianye’s body just now. Although this was also somewhat doubtful, how could a sub-champion level brat activate a Black Titanium Bullet of Annihilation with a grade-four origin gun?

But neither the city nor the appearance of this Qianye was normal. Li Zhan didn’t dare take careless risks—he didn’t fear death, but he certainly wouldn’t throw his life away impetuously.

Li Zhan glanced around him. He was prepared to try tracking down Qianye despite knowing that it was a wasted effort to do so within this mist. But a vampire knight charged out of the mist at that very moment. 

Li Zhan immediately tightened the grip on his sword and origin gun while staring at the other party. Although they were cooperating at the moment, it was only temporary and everyone knew this relationship was so fragile that it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Also noticing Li Zhan, the vampire’s face immediately tensed up as he quickly halted his steps and retreated to lean on a nearby wall. His hand was firmly pressed against his chest with fresh blood flowing out continuously from between his fingers. There were actually strands of black mixed into the blood.

Li Zhan’s pupils constricted; this was a sign of mithril infection. But if this knight had really been wounded in Qianye’s hands, their battle shouldn’t have been too far from this place. Why then did he not hear anything?

Li Zhan’s understanding of this city increased ever so slightly. He shot a glance at the vampire and then walked away, soon disappearing into the mist.

That vampire knight had just breathed a sigh of relief when a dagger shot through the air, pierced through his wounded chest, and pinned him firmly on the wall.

Li Zhan then walked out of the mist.

The vampire knight pointed at Li Zhan with great difficulty. “You…” But he failed to finish his sentence as fresh blood gushed up into his throat and obstructed his words.

Li Zhan walked toward the vampire knight with an expressionless countenance. There was no telling how long they would have to stay within this accursed place, so he couldn’t afford to waste ammo and supplies.

But just as Li Zhan arrived before the vampire knight’s corpse, two round metallic balls were suddenly tossed out from the mist and began to roll toward him.

Li Zhan’s expression shifted as he jumped back with all his strength and accelerated to full speed almost within moments. He rapidly charged into the mist although he couldn’t clearly see just what was behind it. 

The two exquisite metallic balls were evidently vampire origin grenades!

The explosion seemed to shake the whole street block—the shockwaves caught up to Li Zhan and flung him into a forward somersault. By the time the shockwaves subsided and he turned back to look, the vampire’s corpse had already been torn to pieces.

Li Zhan’s expression was ashen, and green veins pulsated upon the back of his blade hand. He suddenly turned around and, relying on his memory, headed toward the direction from which the grenades were hurled. But the street was accessible from all sides and enshrouded in fuzzy mist. Not a single shadow was found.

Meanwhile, the cracked stone pavement and scraped wall ornaments behind him were restoring themselves one by one. Every part of the vampire knight was gradually disappearing into the ground. 

Qianye was moving swiftly through the mist on a different street. He pushed open the main doors of a building, hoping to find a place to rest.

However, his expression changed rapidly!

The entire hallway was clearly visible—there was a vampire there with half his body submerged into the ground. He was frantically flailing his arms around in hopes of pulling himself out. But just like a weary traveler devoured by the marsh, he only sunk deeper and deeper no matter how he struggled.  

The vampire warrior also saw Qianye. His pale countenance was the picture of terror as he opened and closed his large mouth as if he were saying something. However, Qianye couldn’t hear any sound at all.

There was only a stifling silence.

Qianye’s heart suddenly thumped heavily and almost jumped out of his chest. He glanced down and indeed found that his feet were gradually sinking in. He wouldn’t have discovered it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes because his normally keen perception hadn’t sensed anything at all!

Qianye reacted instantly by leaping away and out of the building. Fortunately, he was still able to extricate himself, but that peculiar sensation still lingered on even after he stepped firmly onto the stone pavement outside. Quite luckily, things were normal on the street.

Qianye swept over the nearby buildings with a dreary gaze. He didn’t even need to take the risk to test his theory and was fairly sure that all the buildings in the city were no longer safe to use as temporary shelter.

The excessively silent city had gradually revealed its fangs. It seemed swallowing dead bodies could no longer satisfy it.

The Wings of Inception fluttered slightly as the Eye of Truth, once again, appeared in the distance. Qianye suddenly felt an odd sensation and a question popped up within his mind: what was it waiting for?

He leaned against the wall and brought out a Mithril Bullet of Exorcism. His palm lit up with scarlet origin power radiance which enveloped the bullet and gradually liquefied it.

There were actually some other unremarkable changes since he started cultivating the glory chapter of the Song Clan Ancient Scroll. For instance, the relative weakness brought about by his vampire constitution had disappeared. Mithril, which was highly toxic to vampires, no longer had any particular effect on him. At times, Qianye wondered what would become of him in the end.

He lifted the Scarlet Edge and observed the dagger briefly before rubbing the mithril onto it. A Mithril Bullet of Exorcism was used up within moments, but the dagger in his hand now had a layer of menacingly flowing silver.

Qianye stood straight, holstered the Twin Flowers, and walked back into the misty street with the Scarlet Edge in his hands.

During the ensuing period, the city became more dangerous. Qianye had no idea just how many pursuers had entered this space. After the insides of the buildings became deathtraps, the search perimeter of the survivors was now limited to the streets. Encounters would become even more common from now on.

A vampire knight appeared before Qianye. The former was first startled but his expression immediately turned to delight as he drew his blade and pounced. But the knight’s sword was still in mid-air when Qianye’s figure suddenly flickered like a demon, following which the Scarlet Edge was buried into his chest.

The vampire knight gasped and breathed his last. He didn’t even see clearly how that blade had pierced his heart.

Waves of fiery warmth flowed through the glowing veined patterns and into Qianye’s body. He lifted the vampire knight’s limp body and slowly placed it on the ground. 

The corpse gradually sunk into the ground behind Qianye as he continued forward.

Qianye came to a halt at the next intersection after seeing a lone haughty figure in the middle of the street—it was a vampire viscount. He was coldly gazing at Qianye with his head raised.

Qianye immediately came to his senses. This viscount hadn’t been looking around for him and had, instead, waited here at this six-road intersection the whole time.

Although waiting idly for opportunities wasn’t a wise strategy, it seemed fairly effective under the current circumstances. At the very least, he had succeeded in waiting for Qianye to appear while it was difficult for the latter to escape.

The corners of the vampire viscount’s mouth formed a harsh curve. He then revealed a disdainful smile and said, “Human?” 

“Yes,” replied Qianye.

“Very well, human. Considering how you actually had the honor of entering the great Black-Winged Monarch’s domain, I’ll give you a chance at fair combat.”

With that, the vampire viscount dropped his origin gun and equipment pouches onto the ground. He also tossed his dagger and sword to one side before curling a finger at Qianye in a challenging gesture.

“Come and witness the true might of our sacred-blooded descendants before your final moments!”

Qianye suddenly broke into a laughter. This was probably his first time encountering a vampire displaying the chivalry of those legendary ancient knights. Thus, he sheathed his Scarlet Edge and strode toward the viscount.

The next moment, the two had grabbed onto each other in a contest of strength.