Chapter 118: Chase

Crack!

Plop! Plop!

The head of the ghoul rolled on the floor and the headless body was leaking black blood onto Keith's hands. This was not a time to absorb the corrupted blood-qi, so he threw away the body and looked at the last standing ghoul baron.

The system increased Keith's blood core output to the maximum along with the warrior frame. This was Keith's full power using all the blood-qi techniques. The system was well aware that after fighting the final ghoul baron, the ghoul viscount will join in. 

Even right now, the viscount level ghoul was studying Kieth's moves and bidding it's time to launch an attack after Keith defeated the ghoul baron.  This was very evident from the killing intent it was emanating. The viscount ghoul did suppress the killing intent however, the system was very sensitive. It picked up the intent as soon as Keith snapped the second ghoul baron's neck.

Just like the system predicted, the last remaining ghoul baron tried to retreat after seeing Keith rip apart the other ghoul baron's neck. The low-level ghouls also moved further to keep a safe distance from Keith. 

But Keith didn't want to let the ghoul baron go as it could sneak attack when he would be fighting the viscount level ghoul. He wanted to eliminate the ghoul before engaging with the viscount ghoul.

Keith was at his peak power and used all of his blood-qi to strengthen himself. The warrior frame and the blood core were running at their maximum capacity. Also, the absorbed blood essence was getting converted to blood-qi slowly and it was giving Keith's body a significant boost.

All of this combined, Keith was stronger than ever. He pounced on the escaping ghoul baron and pinned him on the ground. Holding both of the wings, he smashed the ghoul left and right like a ragdoll. The overwhelming strength that Keith was showing, the ghoul baron couldn't resist. 

Swinging the ghoul's body and hitting it on the nearby stones, Keith glanced at the viscount ghoul that was starting to move forward. The aura was calm but very malevolent. The corrupted blood-qi was many times stronger than that of the ghoul barons.

[ Come on now! Don't keep me waiting. This state is draining the blood-qi very quickly, I need to finish the viscount baron quickly. Keith's body can't sustain this state for much longer.]

The viscount level ghoul released its aura and opened up its wings. The low-level ghouls moved further away in fear. It was a tremendous pressure similar to a count stage vampire. The ghoul's blood core was at the middle stage viscount but the blood-qi was significantly higher. 

The system flared up Keith's aura and jumped at the ghoul. It didn't want to waste his energy by waiting around. As he closed the gap, the viscount level ghoul also moved his claws, ready to attack Keith.

Wham! 

Slash! Slash!

Clashing with their full force, the two viscounts struck each other with incredible speed. It was entirely different from the fight a few moments ago. Keith's body was pushing the limits and attacking the ghoul viscount from different angles.

The wings of the ghoul acted as extra limbs and sliced like sharp swords. It was really troublesome for Keith to avoid while being engaged in direct combat. 

[I need to analyze more blood-qi techniques and incorporate them. Fighting with just the warrior frame is not efficient. If Keith brought that summon, we could've trained him here. On second thought, he would've died pretty quickly here. His level should at least reach the viscount stage before I can bring him outside.

[ Blood Esper techniques are very versatile and perfect for this situation. I have to get my hands on one of their techniques.]

Without diverting the focus, the system kept on attacking the ghoul viscount and analyzing its attack patterns. The viscount level ghoul was certainly smarter than the baron level ghouls, but its intelligence was lacking compared to regular vampires. It moved in predictable ways and never really tried to study Keith's moves.

It was as if the ghoul was confident in his power and fought like it would win. 

[I have to admit, the ghoul is super strong for a viscount. It is the strongest opponent I've faced till now. From the looks of it, the blood-qi is very stable. What tremendous stamina! If I don't finish it quickly, I will be on the losing side.]

After finding out that the viscount level ghoul's stamina was simply outstanding, the system didn't want to make this a fight of attrition. It needed to find an opening and end this battle as soon as possible.

The skin of the ghoul was very tough as expected from a viscount level ghoul. Keith's attacks were being absorbed by the ghoul and rarely any damage was getting through. 

Targeting the wings that were the most annoying, Keith tried to slash the membranes but the wings absorbed his attack. There was only a small scratch on the wing and it healed almost immediately.

[No wonder it is confident. The difference between the ghoul baron and the viscount baron is too high. ]

Clenching his teeth, Kieth maintained his speed and didn't let the ghoul land an attack on him. Needless to say, the ghoul viscount was as fast as Keith, keeping up with all of his attacks.

With each passing moment, Keith's stamina was dropping and the ghoul's attack was getting fiercer and fiercer. 

[ I need to consume more blood-qi, that is the only way I can beat the viscount ghoul.]

Breaking off from the fight, Keith retreated for a moment to find the corpse of a ghoul baron. The last one that Keith slammed mercilessly was unconscious due to the severe injuries. Its body was healing very slowly and not a threat to Keith at all.

The viscount ghoul could more or less guess what Keith was going to do. Even if it had no idea what Keith used, it noticed Keith absorbing the ghoul baron's life energy earlier. 

Graaaah!

As Keith was about to pick up the ghoul baron's body to absorb the corrupted blood-qi, the viscount ghoul appeared in front of him and struck him with his claw.

[This ghoul is not so naive. I have to take this ghoul's body and move to a different place, hold on…]

Moving sideways, the system dodged the attack. The viscount ghoul growled loudly and used its wings to block Keith from getting the ghoul's body.

[Fine… I'll get the other one then.]

The system moved backward and picked up the headless ghoul baron's body and kept on running. There was no place to quietly sit down and absorb blood-qi, so doing it while moving at your full speed was the only option.

[ I hope he doesn't catch up to me soon.]

Activating the purple tendrils and attaching them to the ghoul's neck, the system started absorbing the corrupted blood-qi while maintaining his speed. It was a very delicate situation where a small mistake could put Keith in serious danger.

Despite the risks, fighting the viscount level ghoul head-on was even riskier. Not until Keith absorbed all of the blood-qi the ghoul baron had,  avoiding the viscount ghoul was the logical decision.

Swish!

Keith ran past the horde of ghouls who were watching the entire thing unfold. The viscount ghoul chased Keith, not giving him a chance to stop. Endless swings of the wings the ghoul viscount delivered that almost toppled Kieth.

The chase continued for several minutes and Keith was rapidly absorbing the blood-qi within the ghoul baron. Meanwhile, the ghoul viscount extended his wings and started to fly over Kieth, trying to capture him from above.

After absorbing half of the corrupted blood-qi, Keith's body was overflowing with blood essence that was getting converted into his blood-qi very quickly. This gave him enough boost to evade the ghoul viscount and keep a safe distance.

[ Hold on! I will rip you apart very soon. You are worth more than anything inside this cave.]

It was the system's goal to kill the viscount and absorb the corrupted blood-qi. The amount of blood essence Keith's body would receive could level him up to the viscount stage after leveling up the warrior frame. 

The warrior frame itself was at the middle stage of viscount after absorbing corrupted blood-qi from the ghoul baron. The ghoul viscount had many times more corrupted blood-qi that could easily level up Keith's warrior frame to its peak.

[ I wanted to absorb more life energy to upgrade myself, but his body needs a boost right now. I can do the upgrade later.]

Most of the things that were useful were already there, so the system didn't want to upgrade at this precarious moment.

As more time passed by, Keith's body was strengthening even more. The effects of increased blood-qi meant his muscles had more available blood-qi to consume, hence as long as the supply was there, the system could sustain Keith's body at his peak state longer.

This was evident from the increased speed at which Keith was moving. At first, the distance between the ghoul viscount and Keith was only two meters, now Kieth was way ahead of the ghoul viscount. Only when he turned and diverted his path, the ghoul could close the distance for a moment.

[Almost there! ]

Absorbing the last drops of blood from the ghoul baron, Keith threw the dried corpse behind. 

Graaah!

The viscount ghoul sliced the corpse in half with its wings and continued chasing Keith. After circling the chamber one more time, Keith abruptly stopped and turned back, ready to start the assault.