548 Chapter 548: Activating my Trap Card!

"You are right about nipping the problem in the bud, you know," I remarked as the vampires descended upon me. "Unfortunately, you're sadly mistaken about one thing."

"We'll see who is mistaken after you die!" Xu Wu Cheng shouted as he slashed at me. His bloody mana coalesced into swarms of of snakes that lunged at me, hissing with bared fangs. I watched the onslaught of scaled serpents and sighed.

"The bud has already bloomed."

Vermillion Phoenix spread his wings and engulfed the entire area in flames. Vampires screamed as they were incinerated and Xu Wu Cheng turned pale, evidently recalling the warning that Fan Le Lao issued to him earlier.

The vampires quickly scattered and spread out, their inhuman reflexes allowing them to dodge the incoming flames. They moved swiftly to avoid being surrounded by the ring of fire that I used earlier to trap the first group of bloodsucking assassins. As I suspected, Xu Wu Cheng had ensured they adopted the appropriate countermeasures.

"The same tricks won't work on us twice!"

With a holler, Xu Wu Cheng lashed out with his serpents, but they froze upon contact when I cleaved them with both of my swords. Not only did I sliced them apart, those that were frozen shattered. Clicking his tongue, Xu Wu Cheng jumped aside. He knocked one of my blades aside with his blood claws, and then several of his vampire subordinates pounced on me while the rest distracted Taurus and Vermillion Phoenix.

"You won't have the same advantages as before," Xu Wu Cheng growled. "We have planned for your soul beasts!"

"Perhaps, but you have also activated my trap card!"

"Huh?"

An inferno erupted from underneath the vampires, forcing them back before they could slash me from behind. Rossetti descended elegantly behind me, her chakrams blazing with fire. Her Flaming Phoenix Kagura Dance had burned a couple of them into cinders before they could react in time.

"Argh!"

Another vampire screeched as he was cut down. From the entrance, Kufa barreled in at incredible speed, his katana slashing out and scything through the dwindling ranks of vampires.

"You…!" Xu Wu Cheng's eyes widened. "This whole thing was a trap!"

"Yeah," I confirmed with a grin. "And you, my friend, have walked straight into it."

"Don't celebrate too soon," Rossetti warned me as she fended off another vampire's blood claws with one of her chakrams. "We need to defeat all of them first!"

"Roger that. I'll leave the vampires to you. I'll take care of Xu Wu Cheng."

She nodded. "Be careful."

"I have you to watch my back." I grinned. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Hah! It doesn't matter even if you bring your friends with you!" Xu Wu Cheng sneered. His demonic aura surged. "In preparation of this night, I have fed. My power is several times stronger than two nights ago. Blood Hydra Claws!"

"!!"

"I am much stronger than I was last week!"

Xu Wu Cheng rammed his serpents against my swords, causing me to skid several meters back. I huffed as I endured his blows, parrying and blocking with Hei Yue and Bai Ri. The dude's strength had evidently gone up, probably as a result of him gorging on blood.

"Let me guess…you sucked Nan Gong Ji Yan's blood?"

Xu Wu Cheng grinned as he struck me again, only for my two swords to come up in a blur and fend off his persistent blood serpents.

"And if I did?"

"That would explain your abnormal strength."

"Oh, it's not just her. We captured a lot of students from the academy. I drained at least ten of them over the last week or so. Well, I also sucked Ji Yan's blood, but I didn't kill her. No…I still have a use for her. And besides, his highness Le Lao ordered that she be kept alive. He plans to convince Nan Gong Zhao Yan to work with him, after all. With her sister's life as a bargaining chip. So Ji Yan remains alive for now, but barely. Hmm…I might have sucked too much of her blood."

"That can't be good."

"If I recall, you like her, don't you? That's why you were trying to save her from me the other time."

Ah. Xu Wu Cheng must be referring to the incident in the abandoned classroom at the top floor when he first revealed himself to be a vampire. I couldn't help but burst into uncontrollable laughter at his sad misunderstanding.

"What's so funny?"

"You." I guffawed, clutching at my stomach with a hand that still gripped one of my swords. "You actually think I like Ji Yan? Just because I behaved like a decent human being and tried to help her doesn't mean I actually hold any sort of affection for her."

"…"

Xu Wu Cheng regarded me for a moment, and then shrugged. He didn't care if I liked Ji Yan or not. He just thought he could rile me up, and if that didn't work, then it didn't bother him.

After all, it would be the same once I was dead.

"Gaaah!"

Behind him, vampires were sent flying from an explosion. Working in tandem with Vermillion Phoenix, Rossetti had cast a fire spell that blew up a huge chunk of them. She was stomping over, cutting a bloody swathe through their ranks with her dual chakrams.

"What's this about you having affection for Ji Yan?" she demanded. "First it was Zhao Yan, and now Ji Yan? You are really close to the Nan Gong sisters, aren't you?"

"Not really." I shrugged. "Ji Yan is quite the horrible girl, actually. Only a blind guy would like her."

"…I see." Xu Wu Cheng glanced at the dancing Rossetti, who was scything down his elite forces. "You already have that girl…Rossetti Picket, was it? No wonder you hold no interest in any of the Nan Gong sisters."

"Are you misunderstanding something again?" I sighed heavily, not wanting to argue.

Xu Wu Cheng narrowed his eyes, and then he renewed his attacks, battering me with his serpents before he kicked at my head while I was busily parrying his blood hydra claws with my two swords. I snapped my head to the side almost dizzily, but that was a small price to pay for not getting my skull smashed in.

"Huff…"

While I fought desperately against Xu Wu Cheng, I neutralized his spells with my own subtle ones. The serpents continued to freeze upon contact with my swords before shattering. His kick almost broke through my defenses again, but I blocked it with my forearm.

"Damn it."

At this rate, it would turn into a battle of attrition, and while I was confident that I had more stamina and mana than Xu Wu Cheng despite him having sucked the blood of so many students, I couldn't afford to spend the entire night fighting and waiting for him to run out. Not to mention, his subordinates were outnumbering my summoned beasts and two friends. Rossetti and Kufa were doing a good job of holding out, but the vampires were displaying flawless teamwork and impeccable coordination – they were giving my friends and Constellation spirits a run for their money.

I didn't have time to waste on these fuckers, though.

Taking a deep breath, I went on the offensive, risking a strike from one of Xu Wu Cheng's blood serpents so that I could thrust Hei Yue at my approaching foe.

"!"

His sharp instincts recognizing the danger, Xu Wu Cheng twisted around at the last moment and avoided a pierce to his vitals. He had intended to kick me with bone-breaking force, but I had thwarted his attempt. As he landed beside me, he immediately flipped his leg up in a kick to resume his original intentions and I jerked my head to the side to escape his foot. Whirling around, Xu Wu Cheng delivered a roundhouse kick that I barely parried with Bai Ri. I tried to slice off his leg, but he threw his hand up and sent several serpents flying toward my face.

"Whoa!"

I slashed the serpents on reflex, transforming them back to splatters of blood. Before I could feel relieved, however, Xu Wu Cheng was in my face, plunging his blood claws toward my chest. I deflected them with my swords, feeling his claws rake my arm and draw blood. Gritting my teeth, I endured the stinging pain and blasted him with icy qi. Reeling back, Xu Wu Cheng shattered the ice around his arm.

"This freezing spell…!"

"It's pretty cool, right?"

"Shut up!"

Xu Wu Cheng lashed out with his blood claws. As before, his speed and strength were phenomenal. I could hardly follow his movements, deflecting them as best as I could with Hei Yue and Bai Ri. He was much more skilled than the other three strong vampires I had fought before, so it wasn't a mere repetition of the previous battle.

He was overwhelming me.

"Gah!"

I fell back as he seized an opening and slashed me across the chest, drawing out three fountains of blood. As I staggered, he dropped and kicked me in the head, sending me flying across the warehouse and into a pillar. The structure was obliterated from the impact and it was my turn to be buried under the falling rubble.

"Richard!" Rossetti cried, but she found her way barred by two very tenacious vampires. Even though she slashed at them with her chakrams, they easily avoided her spells and parried her strikes with their blood claws.

They weren't letting her through.

Similarly, Kufa was occupied with opponents of his own, while Vermillion Phoenix and Taurus chased targets of their own.

"Cough…cough!"

I coughed out blood, trying to dig my way out of the rubble. But Xu Wu Cheng wasn't kind enough to give me the time to do that. He was already upon me, razing the debris with his blood claws and opening freshing cuts across my body.

"…!"

I disappeared in another cloud of dust, blood spilling from my cuts. Overwhelming…the last time we fought, I had caught Xu Wu Cheng by surprise and I was working together with Rossetti. Now I had no such advantage, separated from my reliable partner who was currently tied down by his vampire subordinates. Fortunately…

"Aaaaah!"

Xu Wu Cheng's head snapped up when he heard the screams of his subordinates. He quickly leaped over and slashed at Taurus with his blood claws. As my Constellation spirit turned to face him, a pillar of brute strength amidst the bloody chaos, Xu Wu Cheng sent a barrage of blood serpents at him, the mana-spawned creatures biting and snapping at his tough hide and armor.

"You won't be able to beat me with your soul beasts this time!"

Xu Wu Cheng summoned a new batch of serpents that snarled and bit deeply into Taurus's hide as they wrapped themselves around his bulk. My Constellation spirit didn't seem affected much, finding their fangs and poison a mere irritance.

However…

"Blood Hydra Whip!"

Xu Wu Cheng jerked his hands and immediately the serpents transformed back into blood-red lines of mana. Having already ensnared my Taurus, they tightened like thin, steel wire threads and pierced the thick layer of armor.

Pressure equals force over surface area. By reducing the thickness of the serpents through reverting them back into wire-thin strands of mana, Xu Wu Cheng was able to tremendously increase the pressure of his attack. In a few seconds, his blood whip sliced my Taurus into pieces. He then exploded into wisps of mana.

"Damn it!"

Dragging myself out of the debris, I staggered toward Xu Wu Cheng. My hateful enemy crowed triumphantly.

"Regret going against us now, eh?"

Xu Wu Cheng sneered and kicked me, but I managed to parry his foot with one of my swords. Too bad I couldn't cleave through his leg. That would have been a sight to see.

"Don't worry. We won't kill you…yet. You can join Ji Yan and be a blood source for the goliaths. And after they drain you, you can comfort each other in your cell. She needs some company, after all. Can't afford to have her mentally broken so early in the game. And besides, she can't handle the lust of my men."

"Why are you speaking as if you've already won?"

Even though they were still being pressured by Rossetti, Kufa and my Vermillion Phoenix, Xu Wu Cheng's subordinates were somehow able to glare at me hatefully for being the cause of deaths for many of their comrades. Even if they somehow prevailed eventually against my allies, there was no changing the fact that they had suffered substantial casualties. Fan Le Lao was not going to be happy about this. Xu Wu Cheng was going to be punished severely for this alone. I could take some comfort in that fact, at least.

"I have men who swing both ways, after all. So I should provide for them as well. For a better world without discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation and all that. Don't worry…I also have female subordinates, so if you're lucky, they might want to have their way with you. And worst come to worst, you still have Ji Yan. I'll let you do whatever you want to her after you've finished servicing my men. If you don't like her, you'll still have your beloved Rossetti. I'll make sure to capture her along with you, so you can keep each other company."

I gritted my teeth. Xu Wu Cheng's words were terrifying. I couldn't help but shudder as I listened to the horrifying fate he promised me after my defeat. It was worse than death.

Xu Wu Cheng then lashed out with his blood serpents to tie up my swords before he kicked me in the gut. I grimaced in pain, but continued to stand.

Damn it. I couldn't fall here. I guess I had no choice. I sighed.

Xu Wu Cheng glared at me, his eyes narrowing when he realized something was amiss.

"You…"

I ignored him and shook my head bitterly, sighing again.

"Damn it…and I wanted to save this for Fan Le Lao. I guess I have no choice."