Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 554

Chapter 554: 554

Chapter 554: An Exchange of Favors [V6C84 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

While pondering, Qianye put away his vampiric edge and performed a quick search through the demonkin count’s body . In the end, he removed an object similar to a family crest and gave it a brief look . Painted upon it was a dark swamp with an odd tree growing in the middle .

Qianye had never seen this picture before . However, the demonkin have always been a mysterious bunch . With the exception of those widely-known clans, the others stuck to their ancestral lands and rarely made contact with the outside world . He collected only this emblem since he found nothing else of interest .

It was at this time that Qianye sensed something . He reached out to grab East Peak and stabbed the demonkin’s origin furnace . The blow crushed the flesh around the origin furnace and wiped away all traces of the essence blood loss .

Qianye breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized the two incoming auras as Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan . He suppressed his already receding blood energy into his blood core and circulated the Profound Combatant Formula . Very soon, a dense flow of daybreak origin power washed through all of his vessels .

Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan appeared before Qianye in the blink of an eye . Both of them were astonished upon seeing the demonkin count’s corpse lying on the ground . As geniuses of the martial path, they quickly guessed the flow of the battle after glancing at the traces of battle in the vicinity .

Zhao Jundu’s expression once again turned indifferent as he gave Qianye a nod . Li Kuanglan, on the other hand, sized Qianye up from head to toe . Her gaze turned increasingly sharp and became suffused with an aqua blue color . The battle intent in them was unmistakable .

Zhao Jundu’s expression turned cold as he took a step forward and put Qianye behind him . “What are you doing?”

Li Kuanglan laughed loudly . “This fellow owes me two favors and has to fight to the death with me in the future . This young noble requires such grinding stones on my path forward . I thought I would need to wait several more years, but it seems he can give me a small surprise even now . Now, I’m itching to have a go . ”

Zhao Jundu said coldly, “Since Young Noble Kuanglan needs grinding stones, what do you think about me?”

“Just so-so,” Ki Kuanglan answered unceremoniously, “a fight with you won’t help my martial path at all . ”

Zhao Jundu broke into a frown . He had to admit that Li Kuanglan’s idea was reasonable . The two of them were actually quite similar on the martial path—both of them sought perfection in terms of combat arts and paid particular attention to origin power control . It was just that Zhao Jundu’s path focused on purity and perseverance, while Li Kuanglan sought destructive potential . Qianye was completely different from the two of them . As one leading the charge and overpowering all obstacles in his wake, he was definitely a better sparring candidate .

It was at this time that Qianye spoke, “I indeed owe him two favors . I won’t shy away from this showdown . ”

Zhao Jundu raised his hand at Qianye in a rare moment of anger . “You, shut up!” He then looked at Li Kuanglan and said word by word, “Count those two favors on me and cancel that battle . ”

“Wait a minute…” Qianye wanted to protest, but a mass of violet mist appeared under his feet . His body was immediately restricted, making it impossible for him to even speak . The violet mist trembled a couple of times as Qianye struggled with the might of a tidal wave . However, its color quickly grew deeper and transformed into a bleak azure . This time, Qianye couldn’t move anymore .

Li Kuanglan watched the scene with a spurious smile and said calmly, “Two favors from the Zhao clan fourth young noble is too much . ”

“Then it’s settled,” said Zhao Jundu .

Li Kuanglan tidied up her loose hair and said in a lazy tone, “I have no need for two favors, but one feels like a loss to me . If you really want to take his place in his matter, I want to add another condition . ”

“Pray tell . ”

“All in all, I met Qianye because of Song Zining, we have a deal if he also owes me a favor . ”

“Song Zining?” Zhao Jundu’s eyes narrowed . The chill around him grew denser as he nodded . “That’s fine . ”

“Will he agree?” Li Kuanglan couldn’t help but feel a bit curious at Zhao Jundu’s clear-cut answer . Qianye and Song Zining were good friends from what he had heard, but there was little relationship between the Zhao and Song clans . If he hadn’t heard wrong, this dazzling Zhao clan fourth young master wasn’t a big fan of the carefree Song Zining . How then was he going to persuade Song Zining?

Zhao Jundu said coldly, “He has no choice . ”

The corners of Li Kuanglan’s eyes twitched ever so slightly . “Fine then…”

Qianye, who had been standing on one side, could no longer endure . His Oceanic Might activated and, accompanied by a loud boom, shattered together with the Omniscient Seal . Qianye shouted immediately after escaping the bindings, “That’s not fine!”

Both domains had shattered at the same time . Even so, surprise flashed through Li Kuanglan’s eyes upon seeing Qianye escape Zhao Jundu’s Omniscient Seal . She suddenly said to Zhao Jundu, “Then it’s settled . ”

Zhao Jundu replied immediately, “Okay . ” As he was speaking, he reached out to rub Qianye’s temples . This massage-like action was actually accompanied by a tyrannical power which once again silenced Qianye .

At this very moment in the imperial camp, Song Zining was sneezing constantly just as he was about to put on his black silver mask . His expression was stern as he broke into a round of cursing, “Goddamit! Who’s scheming against this young master?!”

In the depths of the ruins, Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan each had their own thoughts . Just like that, an agreement was reached amidst Qianye’s protests . The two, who had just struck a deal, grew silent as they glanced at one another and then at Qianye’s depressed expression .

Qianye had also stopped speaking . He knew Zhao Jundu’s character and that it was useless no matter what he said at this point . All he could do was to find Li Kuanglan in secret afterward .

Zhao Jundu was the first to break the silence . “Qianye, did you kill that demonkin?”

Qianye had long since prepared an answer . He replied calmly, “Yes, he was destined to lose a melee fight in such a narrow space . ”

This explanation was fairly reasonable, and it also fit well with their observations . Most demonkin weren’t power-types . Their physical strength was, just like all dark races, somewhat stronger than a human of the same rank, but the gap was rather limited . Their main advantage lay in the use of various innate talents .

Additionally, Qianye’s strength and martial path made him a terrifying opponent during the short moment of his eruption . The less space for maneuver there was, the more focused the damage would be . Having fallen into such an environment with no way to extricate himself, it would be a wonder if the demonkin hadn’t encountered misfortune .

“Did you discover any powerful enemies in the vicinity?” Li Kuanglan inquired . She was still highly suspicious about that golden beam of light .

Qianye replied, “There was a dark count nearby when I was encircled, but he never made an appearance . ” This was clearly not the answer Li Kuanglan wanted .

Zhao Jundu said decisively, “No time for all that . Since we were fortunate enough to run into each other, let’s move together from here on out . ”

Li Kuanglan smiled as she carved a rough sketch of the castle on the wall with her sword energy . “The main building is over there, we can get in by opening up a path to the right . ”

Zhao Jundu’s “us” clearly didn’t include Li Kuanglan . He shot a glance at the blue-robed youth but decided not to bother arguing with her . He simply raised his hand, drew a path on the sketch with a flash of violet energy, and said, “Fine, each of us will scout one path and advance at the same time . The other two will move to assist when one encounters a powerful enemy”

Li Kuanglan nodded . “Let’s kill our way to the top floor as quickly as possible, there’s a marquis there . The fiery net used to intercept the airships was his doing, but he should be quite exhausted by now . We might be able to swallow this big fish with the three of us working together . Let’s go, others might take the credit if we’re late . ”

The three formed a temporary unit with Zhao Jundu taking point, Li Kuanglan in the middle, and Qianye bringing up the rear . With that, they rushed out of the ruins and charged toward the main castle building .

Such a lineup could be considered invincible on the battlefield . The trio quickly became well-coordinated after a couple of fights . Once in battle, Zhao Jundu would use his Omniscient Seal to restrain the enemy while Li Kuanglan followed up with her sword strikes . Truly powerful enemies who managed to survive Li Kuanglan’s blows would encounter Qianye’s East Peak .

No matter how many experts there were on the Evernight side, even the squads led by virtuous counts would be slaughtered without exception . The three rampaged through the battlefield and made straight for the castle roof . There, they finally met their opponent after climbing the final stairway .

It was a lanky vampire elder with perfectly groomed snow-white hair . His face was rather long with an extremely chiseled facial outline that left a strong impression . There were frills on his shirt and a small “Z” embroidered on his black bow-tie .

He stood before the great hall on the top floor with a gentle smile on his face . He didn’t seem like someone who had come to fight to the death but instead resembled a courteous person welcoming old friends .

Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan’s expressions changed upon seeing this vampire . The latter slowly tightened her grip on Cold Moon’s Embrace and said, “Julio . ”

Julio revealed a smile and said gently, “For an opponent whom I’ve never met before to remember my name under such circumstances, I am truly overjoyed . This is a great honor . Oh, I might’ve made a mistake, I’ve probably met one of you before . ”

Julio glanced at Qianye with a contemplative expression, but apparently, he couldn’t recall anything in the end . Shaking his head in self-deprecation, he said, “Even my memory has deteriorated, it would seem I need to return to the blood pond for a nap . ”

Li Kuanglan sneered, “I don’t think that will be necessary . I think it’s better you return to the River of Blood . ”

Julio nodded pensively . “That’s not a bad idea, either . ”

Zhao Jundu spoke at this point, “It’s meaningless to stall for time . ”

Julio broke into a laugh . “Stalling? No, my young friends . It’s indeed meaningless to do so . Neither the Lightless Monarch nor Noxus will be coming to our rescue . Everyone in this camp has been abandoned from the moment your most powerful heavenly monarch joined the battle and the Queen of the Night did not appear . ”

Zhao Jundu said with a frown, “Then why not make way? We will not stop you if you leave now . ”

Li Kuanglan didn’t show any signs of protest, either . They were very clear that a dark race marquis was one matter, and that a mighty marquis was another altogether . Meanwhile, existences like Julio and Nana were on a completely different level .

Even if Julio had exhausted most of his blood energy during the aerial defenses, he could still take one of them down with him during the final struggle .

Jiulio revealed neither joy nor anger upon hearing this . On the contrary, he let out a long sigh and said slowly, “We will always encounter battles like this where we can’t give up despite knowing the outcome . This is the fate of a warrior, the inescapable destiny of a sacred-blooded scion . ”

The trio shot each other a glance . They knew that a battle was imminent, and it was clear from Julio’s tone that he was determined to die in battle .