Chapter 63: Chapter63-Encounter with Lucas Again

Outside the Bones Tower.

Baron turned to Theodore, who watched everything unfold with a calm demeanor, sensing the storm that was about to break.

At this moment, Baron was filled with regret. Why did he allow Lucas to enter?

If something were to happen to Seraphina in the trial, he wouldn't be able to dissociate himself from the blame.

With this thought, Baron shot a fierce glare at Albertus.

Albertus felt even more wronged.

How could he have known Lucas would turn so deranged upon entering the secret realm, as if he had become a completely different person?

Inside the screen, Seraphina's complexion grew paler, her breathing more faint.

Just as everyone was losing hope, some even closing their eyes in despair, a casual voice cut through, "I believe I've told you before, this is not how you woo a lady..."

As the last word fell, a flash of blazing white light appeared and vanished in an instant. Blood splattered!

Lucas stared in shock at his arm, now severed and floating mid-air, separate from his body.

Then, agonizing pain flooded his mind, his eyes nearly bursting from their sockets.

But before he could scream in pain, a cloud of black mist slowly emerged behind him.

John's figure, masked in black, slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Shadow Puppet!" he declared. "When will you learn?"

With those words, John's leg powered forward, delivering a swift kick directly to Lucas's neck with the force of a whip.

"Crack!"

Lucas's neck bent at an unnatural angle, his body sent flying by John's powerful kick.

He crashed into the palace's stone wall, the sound of bones breaking echoing through the air, as if John's kick had shattered every bone in his body.

Freed from Lucas's grasp, Seraphina, teetering on the edge of consciousness, nearly fell to the ground.

John reached out, pulling her to safety, and casually tossed aside the severed half of Lucas's arm.

The sudden turn of events shocked the onlookers outside, quickly turning into a thunderous cheer!

Old Dog stood up abruptly, exclaiming, "Good lad, perfect timing!"

Gold Flash clenched his fists, saying, "Damn, that was cool. Worthy of being one of us from Hidden Stars."

Silver Tear, clutching Dark Fox's arm, patted her chest, relieved, "I was scared to death just now. I thought Miss Seraphina was really going to... Thank goodness the newbie got there in time."

"This newcomer is indeed impressive," Dark Fox remarked with a solemn expression. She had been worried, but John's timely arrival had defused the crisis.

What intrigued her most was John's strength, which was astonishingly formidable.

Even Lucas had been sent flying by his kick. Despite Lucas being caught off guard, the feat was still shocking, especially considering John was a magus, and Lucas a gold-tier Crimson Count.

However, that kick had given him a rough idea of Lucas's strength.

Lucas slowly rotated his neck, the crackling sound chilling to the bone.

Then, he turned to John with a sinister smile, saying, "I've been looking for you, but I didn't expect you to come to me. Where's the Crimson Key? Hand it over now, and I'll grant you a swift death."

Hearing Lucas's words, John realized the real reason he was being pursued was not because of his black robe, but for the Crimson Key.

Piecing together the information from the Bloodwing Slaughterer about a participant in the trial with the Crimson Demon's inheritance, it seemed Lucas was that person.

At that moment, Seraphina leaned in, offering her IceCloud staff to John, whispering, "Use this staff for now. The Crimson Counts of House Carter can manipulate and absorb the blood within an opponent's body. Not only are their attacks powerful, but they also possess strong survival abilities. Be careful."

John chuckled lightly, not even glancing at the platinum-tier IceCloud staff in Seraphina's hand, and waved it off, saying, "To deal with this kind of guy, I don't need to borrow equipment."

Ignoring the anxious Seraphina, John directed his gaze at Lucas, whose complexion was turning exceedingly ugly, and said calmly, "Want the Crimson Key? Come and get it yourself. Enough with the useless chatter."

Lucas's face twitched.

Facing the ant before him who dared to look down upon him, and seeing the prideful Seraphina showing concern for John, Lucas's suppressed rage finally erupted.

He roared like a beast, "You, a lowlife only fit to scavenge in slums, why? Why do you always get what I cannot? You deserve to die! All of you do!"

Lucas's eyes turned blood-red as a blinding blood-colored light burst forth from his body.

His form began to change rapidly, sharp fangs growing in his mouth and his nails taking on a dark sheen, with a pair of massive bat wings suddenly unfurling behind him.

John, observing his transformation that was about eighty percent similar to the Bloodwing Slaughterer, showed no fear in his eyes.

His staff gleamed with gold and earthy tones as the Gold Mail Armor quickly enveloped him.

An ice spear also materialized in his hand.

Lucas frowned, sensing something familiar about John's skills, but before he could ponder further, John flicked his wrist, and the ice spear danced in the air, its tip pointing straight at Lucas's nose.

John smiled lightly, "Lucas, let's see if you've become more resilient over these past few days."

Although Lucas did not grasp the full meaning of John's words, he understood the provocation. "Ignorant fool!" he growled, gripping his blood-red sword, his face twisted into a grimace.

As his words fell, his bat wings flapped powerfully behind him.

In an instant, Lucas turned into a streak of blood, charging towards John!

John, utterly fearless, powered forward from his stance, spear in hand, charging towards Lucas with equal ferocity.

Seeing John daring to engage in close combat, Lucas's eyes flared with irritation, determined to make this reckless fool pay.

As they were about to clash, a dense blood light emanated from Lucas's sword, its speed surging as he aimed a strike directly at John's head.

"Bloodstrike Slash!" he bellowed.

A Zephyr Shield appeared around John, boosting his speed as well.

With a swift step back, he moved out of Lucas's attack range.

Leveraging the reach of his ice spear, he thrust it towards Lucas's head.

At that moment, a mocking glint flashed in Lucas's eyes. Astonishingly, he chose not to dodge or evade, meeting John's assault head-on!