Zhang Boqian sped toward a vampire prince and clawed at him. The two parties were terrifyingly close at this point, so close that they could already engage in a melee fight.
Prince Habsburg almost seemed like he was shocked silly by this unreasonable strategy, so much so that he even raised a hand to block the attack instead of retreating. There was no sign of either party using origin power, and Habsburg, following a muffled grunt, was jolted several hundred meters away.
Zhang Boqian was quite surprised, but his silhouette didn’t stop there. A follow-up assault saw him pick up a demonkin grand duke and crush him to death. He then gazed at the vampire prince who had just stabilized himself. “Habsburg.”
Habsburg laughed wryly. “What an honor for you to remember me.”
Zhang Boqian was just about to say something, but all of a sudden, he turned back at his two pursuers and hurled the demonkin’s corpse at them.
Medanzo glanced at Habsburg with a strange expression.
Noxus caught the grand duke’s corpse with a wave of his hand. “Prince Greensun, you have quite the temper these days! Going for the kill immediately upon arrival, I wonder how much stamina you have left. Don’t throw away your life for momentary satisfaction, that won’t be good.”
Zhang Boqian snorted. “Come try me if you want to find out how much stamina I have left. Noxus, you can challenge me to a one-on-one if you’re not satisfied.”
Noxus’ expression shifted slightly. “Why me? The vampires are your true enemies, no?”
These words were quite sinister, so much so that Medanzo’s expression turned ugly. He didn’t act out, however, since there was no room for internal fights when facing Zhang Boqian. He would just have to endure a bit of verbal loss.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Boqian only glanced at Medanzo and sneered, “What makes you think a weakling like him has the right to fight one-on-one with me?”
Medanzo was absolutely livid and his eyes were almost spewing fire, apparently on the verge of madness. But he knew his situation quite well—he had just awakened from the blood pond and set out without a full recovery, just so he could make it for this operation. He was a bit weaker than when he was at his peak, so there was no way he would dare challenge Zhang Boqian. He would have to be careful even if they were beating him up as a group, lest the heavenly monarch launches a surprise attack on him.
Noxus had taken advantage of this situation to deal Medanzo a secret blow, reducing the respect those accompanying council members and powerhouses had for the vampire.
There was still a limit to attacking rivals because Zhang Boqian was the real threat at hand. Noxus’ body gradually expanded as he pressed forward with a deep breath. Despite his displeasure, Medanzo knew what he should be doing. Seeing that Noxus had taken the front, he circled around to attack the rear.
Habsburg and the two other princes had retreated to a safe distance and were taking up positions in the encirclement, ready to join the battle at the closest opportunity.
With a disdainful expression, Zhang Boqian took a step forward and delivered a straight punch at Noxus.
The arachne’s body was now three times its previous size, almost like a giant as he clasped his hands and hammered down on the incoming fist!
A loud rumble echoed in the void as layer upon layer of origin power rippled out into the distance. Neither the princes nor the dukes could control their footing—they drifted uncontrollably and retreated farther in shock. For most of them, this was their first time coming into close proximity of this new heavenly monarch, and they found that his reputation was well justified. Zhang Boqian’s charge was so fast that he possessed an area of control that was as big as a grand magnum’s. No wonder a grand duke was killed in just one blow.
Noxus’ expression turned pale blue and his body shrank a bit. Apparently, he had suffered quite a bit from this exchange.
Medanzo attacked from behind, swiping at Zhang Boqian’s back with claws shrouded in black mist. Zhang Boqian didn’t even look back when he swung a backhand strike at Medanzo’s head, a move of mutual destruction. With an odd cry, the dark monarch retracted his right hand to perform a cross-arm block against Zhang Boqian’s palm.
A muffled thud echoed through the void. Medanzo was slammed downward from the impact and only stabilized himself several meters away. Noxus had regained his breath at this point and was once again standing before the heavenly monarch.
Zhang Boqian’s aura also declined after attacking two great dark monarchs.
Only at this point did the princes and grand dukes heave a sigh of relief. They had seen great dark monarchs in battle, but never with such barbaric tactics. Ultimately, it seemed Prince Greensun was a human and not a god. He still knew exhaustion and weakness.
Zhang Boqian flicked a finger, firing a streak of lightning toward Noxus’ brow. The arachne dispersed the energy with a casual swing of his arm, flicking out two strands of dark energy toward the opponent’s legs. Medanzo was shrouded in a sea of dark purple blood, from which several fierce beasts emerged and shot toward Zhang Boqian.
Naturally, these domain-formed beasts posed no threat to Zhang Boqian and would be shattered before they could even get close. However, the trail of blood they had left behind weaved together to form an invisible net, gradually restricting the heavenly monarch’s movements.
The spectating crowd heaved a sigh of relief when both parties started using abilities and domains. This was the kind of battle they were familiar with—dazzling, loud, and without attacks that were overly lethal. Those at the highest level could usually battle several days without an outcome.
This was also a fight where the grand dukes could take part in. They would roam the edges of the battlefield in search of an opening to weaken the heavenly monarch’s power or domain. Melee battles like the one from just now were incomparably dangerous, and victory or defeat could be decided in an instant. Zhang Boqian, Noxus, and Medanzo had all suffered some damage after the exchange.
Only at this point did the princes and dukes realize something off about the fight just now. Some quickly remembered that Habsburg had actually taken a direct blow from Zhang Boqian. He seemed quite alright on the surface, but was he really alright?
Even those of the same Evernight race had no right to investigate a person’s injuries. If someone of a different race were to do that—and their families harbored some sort of enmity against one another—it might very well lead to war. Hence, the two prices only glanced at Habsburg for a split second. The dukes didn’t even dare let their eyes drift over.
Zhang Boqian switched to a different style after entering a deadlock. His attacks became unpredictable and varied, able to cause damage during any stage of his movement. This was the peak of martial techniques, almost reaching the threshold of art. Daybreak and Evernight origin powers clashed repeatedly, the eruptions bearing down upon everyone with great pressure.
Noxus and Medanzo complained inwardly and didn’t dare make even the smallest of mistakes. However, they would expend more energy than Zhang Boqian both during attack and defense. It seemed like they would end up losing no matter how hard they tried.
Fortunately, the two great monarchs were working together in this battle. Even though Medanzo’s strength wasn’t optimal, he was still a great dark monarch, and there was a group of experts supporting him. Zhang Boqian would lose if they were to slowly exhaust him.
The Evernight side was far superior to Zhang Boqian on paper, but a battle could never be decided with simple combat strength. It was almost impossible for the dark races to force a quick victory. Noxus and Medanzo were incomparably frustrated, but all they could do was contend with Zhang Boqian cautiously.
In this manner, Zhang Boqian was able to drag down countless enemies on his own.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Eternal Flame and the Pointer Monarch seemed like they would keep fighting forever. Then again, a melee fight like theirs could end up with a victory at any moment.
…
Someone had built a wooden house here on a small drifting island in the neutral lands. This small piece of land was just like a large rock floating through the void, lacking any protective field around it. Even the wooden house could offer no protection against the lethal cold of the void.
A specter-like warship suddenly appeared outside of the island and out came several black-armored warriors. They walked in a single file toward the small wooden house, where the leader knocked on the door.
There was no sound from within. The black-armored warrior knocked again after a while but to no avail.
Finally, he could no longer resist. “Your Majesty, it’s time. We’ve come to escort you back.”
The black-robed soldier’s voice was unusually sharp—it was almost like two sheets of metal rubbing against one another and unlike any living being.
This time, there was a reply. “It’s not time yet.”
The voice was clear and calm, like a flowing stream or falling ice.
The black-armored soldier was surprised. He exchanged glances with his subordinates before saying, “Your Majesty, it is already the appointed time.”
“The time has changed.”
“This… We didn’t hear anything about that.” The black-armored soldier scratched his head.
A voice echoed behind them, “No one told you because it doesn’t matter even if you know.”
The black-armored soldiers were shocked out of their wits. Everyone turned back to see a mysterious hooded person floating in the void. He wasn’t too tall and even looked a bit fragile, but the scarlet throne insignia on his hood was exceptionally eye-catching.
“The Throne of Blood!” A black-armored soldier gasped.
He clearly understood what the appearance of this insignia meant.
The mysterious person smiled. “It’s your honor to be able to die in my hands.”
He stretched out his left hand, in which was a giant handgun. That shockingly large barrel was carved with decorative patterns and inscriptions that flowed like swimming fish.
The moment this gun appeared, an indescribable sense of dread and terror gripped everyone’s hearts. Their faces were filled with terror, and their bodies were drained of energy. Some of them grabbed their throats because they couldn’t breathe well.
“Shattered Moment! Y-You’re the person on the…” The black-armored commander lost his voice midway. His expression was filled with hopelessness because they had no chance of survival against the Throne of Blood, let alone the grand magnum.
The mysterious man smiled. “No, no, the Shattered Moment isn’t for the likes of you. She’ll get angry if I use her like that. Just the shockwaves from her rumble are enough to kill you. This time, my real target is… her!”
The runes on the Shattered Moment flowed faster and faster as it took aim at the wooden hut. The black-armored soldiers began to suffer even more, with some collapsing to the ground or swaying unsteadily.
There was still no sound from the wooden hut.
“Your Majesty Nighteye, are you still not willing to appear? I want to know how much of that legendary monarch’s appearance you’ve inherited. After all, everything will be history after tonight.”
The door of the wooden hut flew open.
