Chapter 216: I Will Liberate This Place (5K Bonus Chapters 49 & 50)

"You say… your blood?"

"Yes, use my blood."

Herbert's answer left Fu Leimei puzzled.

Herbert's reply was like a massive stone cast into a calm lake, instantly sending ripples surging outward.

Fu Leimei furrowed her brow slightly, staring intently at her companion, confirming he was not joking.

But if this wasn't the most absurd joke, then what did these words truly mean?

Her eyes held confusion and concern as she whispered: "Herbert, do you truly understand what you're saying?"

In this mysterious and dangerous land within the Mist Mountains, the true danger was never the creatures hidden within—but the seemingly ordinary mist.

Although Herbert had brought her through layers of mist to his domain and demonstrated his ability to walk freely here, it still did not fully convince Fu Leimei.

She knew Herbert's blood possessed a special ability: it could dispel the mist to a limited degree.

But this mist harbored an ancient curse.

This was the place where ancient deities had fallen, where the ruins of a divine realm lay—this was no place to be taken lightly.

Using one's own blood to confront this was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous act.

"Don't you understand? This will plunge you into grave danger!"

"Your angel may possess great power, but compared to this mist, you are nothing."

Fu Leimei said anxiously: "No! Even I, to this place, am merely a tiny insect."

"Herbert, snap out of it! Don't do something so dangerous!"

Watching her frantic state, Herbert smiled gently, shook his head slightly, and softly took her hand, saying:

"I've already done it."

He turned his gaze to the center of the grounds—the wooden stake driven into the spring, its surface now dried with blood—and offered a faint smile.

"So, don't worry."

Because worrying won't change anything.

Fu Leimei:!!?

She had thought she could stop Herbert from acting so impulsively—but it was already too late.

He had already done this foolish thing without her interference!

When?

Last time?

When he came with Valentina?

That woman—why didn't she stop him!

Didn't she understand how dangerous this was!?

The more Fu Leimei thought, the angrier she grew, the more she blamed Valentina—but the deed was done; in the end, she could only forcibly suppress her rage.

She glared at Herbert, her brow tightly furrowed, and said coldly: "You… do you truly understand what this means?"

At that moment, Herbert's smile faded. He gazed at her calmly and nodded:

"Fu Leimei, don't be angry with Valentina. She didn't understand—and even if she had, she couldn't have stopped me."

"I know better than anyone the risks involved—but I did it anyway."

The holy mark on his arm glowed faintly; golden light spread behind him, revealing crimson wings.

He looked at Fu Leimei and said seriously:

"This land needs to be saved. The places hidden beneath the mist hold too many beings who must be rescued by me."

"If I don't do this, the lives upon this land will never attain true liberation."

The spirits lost within the mist—they shouldn't remain lost forever.

"They will forever dwell in fear and darkness—and my blood may be the key to unraveling it all."

"So I must do it. And only I can."

In Herbert's words, Fu Leimei caught a crucial revelation.

Herbert's blood is connected to this mountain range!!?

After suppressing her shock, Fu Leimei couldn't help asking: "... Herbert, who are you?"

What connection do you have with this mountain range?

Upon hearing this question, Herbert laughed.

He laughed with genuine delight.

He stepped forward half a pace, gently wrapped his arm around Fu Leimei's waist, and pulled her close.

"Me? You ask who I am?"

"I am the hero you chose."

The white-haired, blood-winged youth lifted Fu Leimei's hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"For you, I will keep my promise."

"For them, I will save them in my own way."

"I will… liberate this place!"

He raised his head, his gaze shifting from Fu Leimei's eyes to the depths of the mist ahead.

"Whether they wish it or not."

Whether they submit or resist.

I will liberate them.

If they are willing to cooperate, perhaps they will suffer less.

But if they prepare to make a last stand… then I will make them understand this is the right path.

In the end, Herbert did not speak aloud, only murmured silently within his heart.

Listen to what they say, but observe what they do.

Some words need not be spoken deliberately to others; it is enough that one understands them within.

Yet, deep inside, he still had one listener.

Upon hearing his bold words, the deity offered a wry evaluation: 【"How truly mortal of you to speak so arrogantly~"】

To utter such words while still lacking strength holds no meaning for the powerful—only revealing the arrogance within his heart.

But Herbert found nothing wrong with it.

On the contrary, he let out a light laugh.

"As a mortal, these words may seem arrogant—but as your ally, I consider my speech already humble enough."

Herbert was not merely an ordinary mortal; he bore the contract of Nie Nasha.

【"If you put it that way, then indeed you are right~"】

The Harmonious Deity was not truly mocking; upon hearing this, she spoke even more cheerfully: 【"Then you might as well be even more proud, even more bold~"】

"Haha, still, I'll keep it a little modest!"

Just as Herbert chuckled in delight, Fu Leimei stared at his profile, frozen.

On him, Fu Leimei felt again and again the qualities that had once entranced her.

In her lonely past, she had always loved quietly reading tales from ancient texts.

Watching generation after generation of heroes celebrated by legend.

Those wild, arrogant, fearless, brave heroes—she had been deeply enchanted by them.

Only such people could truly deserve the name of hero.

Like many princesses in stories, Fu Leimei had always longed for heroes.

And now, she had found the true hero.

Not the false hero she had wished upon herself to save her.

But the true hero—with genuine compassion and grand ambition.

She looked at Herbert, and suddenly her body trembled slightly, sensing other changes within herself.

She gazed dreamily at Herbert, feeling the transformation within her body.

Fu Leimei now desperately wanted to drag Herbert into the water, and then… devour him.

In many stories, heroes yearned for princesses, hoping the king would betroth her to them.

But in some untold tales, there were entirely opposite cases.

The princess longed for the hero.

And that was perfectly fine.

Yes.

Perfectly fine!!!

Even as Fu Leimei pondered how to devour Herbert, a pitiful soul far away stirred awake.

At the edge of land once scorched by flame and reshaped by magic, a man lay still.

He had been unconscious so long the world around seemed to have forgotten him; his bound form stood out strangely against the surroundings.

Suddenly, Shi Diwen's eyebrows twitched slightly, then his eyelids began to flutter, as if an invisible force was stirring his dormant consciousness.

"Cough! Cough!"

With a soft cough, his eyes slowly opened, filled with confusion and bewilderment, staring at everything around him.

"Where… is this?"

As his vision cleared and he saw what surrounded him, he could hardly believe his eyes.

What should have been a wasteland, thick with death and despair, now seemed as if blessed by the gods themselves.

Grass grew lush and green, tender blades swaying gently in the breeze; soft light spilled upon the spring, rippling in shimmering waves.

Like a dream.

"Could it be… I've reached my Lord's divine realm?"

"No… no!"

"That stake is still here!!?"

Shi Diwen's eyes widened, his mouth gaping open in shock.

He felt this was a miracle—such a drastic contrast left his mind unable to accept it.

"Here… this place is…"

His body rose involuntarily, eyes locked on the scene before him, throat choked as if by something unseen.

After a long while, he let out a cry: "Has the deity truly descended upon this land?!"

But before Shi Diwen could speak further, he suddenly felt pain in his neck—and collapsed again.

Thud.

Sophiea glared at him, furious, and hissed in a low voice:

"Shut up!"

This damned fool has no sense at all—can't he see our Lord is occupied over there?

She only wanted this fool to be silent.

As for whether he'd die, she wasn't worried—she had enough control not to actually crush his skull.

And as she pondered how to hide this fool, she felt a gentle gaze upon her.

"My Lord, I..."

"Enough, no need to explain further. You did what you did; we'll speak when he wakes again."

Herbert waved his hand, not rebuking Sophieya's thoughts on the matter.

That guy's sudden shout just now truly startled him too.

Most crucially, Shi Diwen's scream directly pulled Fu Leimei out of her special emotional state.

The Young Lady is now fully awake, her face flushed with shame over her earlier bold thoughts, rushing toward the sea to clear her head.

You're such a jinx!

If it weren't for your meddling, I'd already have been 'forced' into the sea by her!

You ruined my... no, you ruined Fu Leimei's chance!!!

Herbert scolded Shi Diwen thoroughly on behalf of the Young Lady, then laughed himself.

"Hahaha!"

The progress of the seduction is nearly complete anyway; there's no rush.

Besides, it's still daytime; exercising in daylight is somewhat inappropriate... after all, I still need to find an excuse to send Sophieya away.

And now that Fu Leimei has hidden herself, he must find something else to do.

"Since it's come to this, let's get to work first."

But he shook his head, then signaled Sophieya to bring over the prepared wooden stakes.

Since he had previously claimed he'd use his own blood, Herbert naturally hadn't left himself unprepared.

After returning here again, Herbert had confirmed that his blood could indeed disperse the mist of Mist Mountain Range, forming a purified land.

Thus, what he was doing this time was to expand the scope of this purified land further.

Drawing from his previous experience, he no longer used the oldest method of directly bathing the stakes in his blood.

Instead, he had Sophieya carve eight wooden stakes and hollow out a deep blood-storage groove in each center.

All Herbert needed to do was pour his blood into them, then seal them with wooden plugs.

As Herbert bled to fill the stakes, he watched Sophieya insert the prepared stakes into the boundaries of the purified land according to his instructions.

"I can't help feeling like I'm crafting some kind of demon-sealing stake, as if sealing away some demonic entity beneath the earth."

"Hmm... so is this, in fact, a kind of ground-pounding ritual?"

Is this the fate of construction?

Different paths, same destination?

After filling one new stake, Herbert slightly shook his head, his body swaying slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

"There's still a burden—ordinary people truly couldn't do what I do."

Under normal circumstances, a person's blood loss beyond a certain amount endangers life, leading to tragic blood-selling incidents.

But Herbert was different.

He had a lot of blood.

He could bleed while simultaneously producing more.

Especially after repeatedly giving blood to Elisa, he'd grown accustomed to such behavior.

"Come to think of it, when I left this time, I didn't say goodbye to Elisa... no, I didn't even say anything to her when I returned."

"Oh well, it's not a big issue."

Herbert carefully thought it over—he had never appeared before Elisa upon his return.

"Since I didn't say anything to her upon returning, it's as if, from her perspective, I never returned at all."

"Hmm, no problem!"

"Besides, I already left her so much Holy Blood last time; she won't starve."

What was that quote again?

Oh right—I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light.

"Perfect. I haven't seen her, so it's as if she never saw the light; she remains in darkness, with no further longing."

"Hmm."

Herbert recalled Elisa and shook his head with a smile.

"It's been so long, yet I still miss her a little. Next time, I'll give her more blood!"

The Lightless Prison.

In that pitch-black cage, darkness thickened like a tangible substance, spreading through every corner.

In that utter blackness with not a glimmer of light, a muffled, sorrowful cry suddenly emerged, as if trapped inside a box.

"Ugh!"

"Someone, please save me!"

"Help! Help me!"

"Someone, pull me out!"

At this moment, a pitiful vampire was trapped within, her upper body tightly pinched by the coffin lid.

The lid clamped shut like a mouth full of sharp teeth, locking the vampire in place, leaving her utterly motionless.

At first, Elisa had struggled desperately to escape this terrifying restraint, but all efforts were futile.

Now, she had given up completely, letting the coffin hold her, even ceasing to kick with her legs.

"Help me—"

Elisa's shout was full of vigor, devoid of despair or fear, filled instead with embarrassment and helplessness.

The coffin pinched her body but did not truly harm her—except for the wound to her soul.

But perhaps as punishment for his attempt to escape, the coffin showed no intention of letting her go.

And even now, after shouting for a long time, Elisa had not abandoned hope of rescue.

What was sustaining her?

"Herbert!"

Was it love?

No.

It was anger.

"You damn bastard! I know you've come back—why don't you come and save me already!"

Especially when she remembered how that guy deliberately appeared before her, then refused to see her, her anger grew fiercer.

You vile paladin!

Was it intentional?

Yes, you definitely did it on purpose.

Wasn't it just last time I asked for a little extra holy blood?

You actually hold a grudge!

Wait until I get out next time!

Next time, I'll make you pay—

This anger sustained Elisa, preventing her from completely giving up.

And finally, after shouting for who knew how long, a faint footstep slowly echoed in the darkness.

The sound was light, yet unmistakably clear in the silent cell.

!!!

"Who!!?"

Elisa stirred excitedly, kicking her legs hard against the coffin's back, trying to draw attention.

"Ah! Whoever you are, please help me right away!"

Behind her, the Dark Elf Archmage stared at her with a puzzled expression.

This vampire…

What is she doing?

She had indeed heard Elisa's cries for help before, but had never taken them seriously—this creature always made strange noises after drinking that holy blood.

Only this time, the odd commotion lasted so long that she finally grew annoyed enough to come and investigate.

And upon seeing it, she fell into confusion.

What posture is this? What styling is this? What… does it mean?

She pondered the question for a long time without finding an answer.

Eventually, her eyes filled with confusion, she asked in a slightly cold tone:

"What are you doing?"

"Why are you trapped inside the coffin? Why… oh!"

Suddenly, Svan recalled scenes from Dark Elf folk tales and exclaimed in realization:

"Oh, I understand."

"So, you're using this pose to seduce Lord Herbert?"

Elisa:???

"Huh????"

Hello, I'm Xiao Ba, the idiot who forgets to set update times. (avoids eye contact)

I was wondering why there were no comments today—you're really good at holding back! (not really)

Don't forget to check in and interact in the reader circle!

Bonus update progress (50/233)

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(End of Chapter)