Chapter 182: Fierce Battle One

The bone staff in his hand was spun by Leikdun like a juggling baton, his gaze fixed tightly on the three figures swiftly approaching from that direction.

Following closely behind was a pale-faced man, with several faint dark spots on his face, like marks left after a rotting wound healed; his eyes were thick with malice, completely undisguised.

Compared to a human, he resembled a corpse craving fresh flesh and blood.

"Undead Jiesen." Leikdun, hidden in the shadows, whispered softly, then shifted his gaze to the final silhouette.

Some ten or so meters behind Undead Jiesen stood a thin yet sturdy man, his hair cut very short, standing up like countless tiny spikes.

The tips of his palms gleamed with a metallic luster, reflecting the crimson moonlight; his black nails looked like black daggers.

The distance between him and Maric and Jiesen ahead kept being pulled apart.

"Werewolf." Leikdun murmured, recalling the werewolf he had once encountered in Feineport.

His right thumb lightly rubbed the bone staff he held, his eyes on the werewolf revealing undisguised killing intent.

The distance between Maric and Jiesen remained within seven or eight meters, alternately lengthening and shortening, back and forth.

While chasing Maric, Jiesen's facial dark spots gradually swelled, turning translucent, as if rotting fluid were seeping out.

Wherever Maric and Jiesen passed, a layer of white frost formed, freezing the surrounding soil inch by inch; the surrounding weeds withered and rotted at a visible speed.

Ha!

A pale hand shot out from the frost-covered soil, accurately grabbing Jiesen's ankle.

Pa! Jiesen, as if expected, twisted his body and kicked hard, snatching the hand emerging from the soil at the wrist.

The flesh at the break had already rotted; white maggots writhed out from inside, one after another.

Having reached the ambush site, Maric finally stopped, pinching his lips and blowing a shrill whistle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Corpses rose one after another from the surrounding soil, a chilly wind sweeping the area.

Countless translucent phantoms, as if smelling a bloody feast, surged toward Jiesen, constantly tearing and gnawing at his body.

"Hmph!" Jiesen also halted, letting out a cold snort.

Streams of phantom instantly shot out from his body, some screaming as they vanished, others lost in place.

The next moment, Maric and Jiesen simultaneously raised their right hands, aiming their index fingers at each other.

Soundlessly, the air between them exploded, sending up strands of black mist.

Jiesen made no other move, but Maric stepped back a step, his disheveled hair instantly withering a few strands, which drifted down.

Jiesen's eyes, full of undisguised malice, locked onto Maric like a predator eyeing prey about to be caught; he gave a low, contemptuous laugh:

"Maric, you're still this weak."

At this moment, the werewolf Tailer, who had been shaken off earlier by Jiesen and Maric, finally caught up.

"Don't rush to settle Maric; wait for Sharon to rescue him, Lord Steve is on his way."

The werewolf Tailer lowered his voice and said.

Leikdun, sitting silently on the nearby warehouse roof and watching this scene, narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling this werewolf seemed more rational than the Undead Jiesen.

"Are the Indulgence faction of the Rose School the higher the sequence, the madder they become?"

Leikdun gazed at the scene below and murmured softly.

The Undead Jiesen, who had originally stood before Werewolf Tailer, suddenly turned his head; his pale face was grim and grim, and in his pupils a silhouette faintly appeared.

That silhouette wore a black court gown, had blond hair and a delicate face, and bloodless skin, making her look like an exquisite porcelain doll.

Jiesen's two hands reached out, gripping Werewolf Tailer's throat.

Creak! The sound of bones unable to bear the weight followed.

In the next instant, Tailer's neck swelled, sprouting stiff black fur, briefly resisting the force on his neck.

Seizing the moment of respite from the werewolf transformation, Tailer reached into his pocket and shattered a preset spiritual shackle.

Instantly, the open space and the surrounding warehouses were shrouded in a veil of crimson moonlight.

The force on Werewolf Tailer's neck gradually eased, and Sharon's silhouette slowly emerged from behind Jiesen.

Tailer's face showed a grin of delight and cruelty; he took from his pocket an item constantly emitting a tranquil glow, a dark red ornament shaped like a full moon, surrounded by scarlet gems, with a moon symbol and mysterious pattern at its center.

It was like a miniature "full moon," a "full moon" filled with crimson.

Sharon instinctively stepped back a few steps; her illusory, flickering spiritual state kept fading, then she fell to the ground, dust and mud staining her black, elaborate court gown.

Tailer raised the ornament that continuously radiated crimson moonlight, panting, his voice hoarse and feral as he laughed:

"Too bad, your counterattack has long been anticipated by Lord Steve, and Sharon, your primary possession target is surely Jiesen, whose sequence is higher than mine, so he gave the Crimson Moon Crown to me."

"Guess where he is now?"

A bright yet not blinding light, like pure holy dawn, fell, similarly covering this warehouse area and the enclosed open space in the middle.

The pure dawn light and the crimson moonlight vied for dominance, the light becoming chaotic and blended.

Sharon rose from the ground again, but she did not revert to a spiritual state.

Although the surrounding crimson moonlight was somewhat suppressed by the dawn light, its influence remained; moreover, the dawn here also weakened and affected her, especially when she was in a spiritual state.

"Isn't this supposed to wait until I find the vengeful spirit Steve before acting? Did Al find that hidden vengeful spirit? Or did the plan change, so he directly intervened in the battle?"

Likewise hiding in the shadows, Clein furrowed his brows, anxiety continually welling up inside; the previous plan had been completely disrupted.

While Clein hesitated whether to also act, the battle below intensified.

The dawn light contending with the crimson moonlight condensed into chains in the air, beginning to restrain Werewolf Tailer and Undead Jiesen.

Seizing this opportunity, Sharon stepped back two steps, then with some difficulty raised her arms, removing the black glove on her right hand with her left hand.

The next moment, Sharon's palm burst forth with endless phantom light; intertwining before her into a bronze gate covered in mysterious patterns, filled with indescribable meaning.

The gate swayed, creaked open, and split a crack!

Pairs of hands—pale, transparent, fang-filled, or bloody and skinless—stretched from the crack, crossed the void, and seized the werewolf Tailer holding aloft the Crimson Moon Crown.

Pairs of indescribable eyes densely packed behind the bronze gate stared silently at the prey ahead.

Werewolf Tai Er hadn't fully broken free from the chains forged by the dawn light when he was seized by arm after arm, by slick illusory tendrils—dark‑green vines bearing infant faces—that were about to start coiling around Tai Er.

These bizarre things wailed and shrieked, straining to drag werewolf Tai Er toward the back of the door.

Werewolf Tai Er struggled to keep a sliver of sanity, preventing himself from dropping the raised moon crown behind him.

Ma Liqi, having taken a sedative earlier, was not fully affected by the full‑moon fruit brought by the Crimson Moon Crown.

Seizing the moment, he immediately poured the remaining two sedatives down his throat.

Layers of frost spread toward Sharon, and Jason had already broken free of the chains.

He extended his right hand, thumb up, index finger aimed at Sharon.

Ma Liqi quickly pointed at Jason with the same gesture; silently, the air around Sharon exploded, hurling her several meters away.

The brilliance of dawn weakened Ma Liqi's and Jason's spells, while also having just shielded Sharon.

In the next instant, several pure, blazing rays struck Jason and Tai Er in succession, the purifying force piercing their flesh and spreading across their bodies.

On the roof of a nearby warehouse, a slowly rotating brass ring hovered behind Lei Kedun, surrounded by many pale‑yellow sheets of paper bearing strange patterns and symbols drifting in the air.

In the next moment, Lei Kedun's figure became instantly transparent, as if turned into a statue formed of countless stars.

The statue shattered, and brilliant starlight flickered and surged.

Ma Liqi swiftly pounced on Jason, his savage assault tearing Jason's body apart repeatedly.

But in the next instant, Ma Liqi's movements slowed, then halted, his hands uncontrollably clutching his own throat, pressing hard.

The shadow beneath Ma Liqi suddenly came to life, flooding like water, binding him tightly and restraining his suicidal attempt.

Brilliant starlight flickered and surged beside werewolf Tai Er, who was about to be dragged into the bronze great gate. Clusters of starlight reconvened within, and Lei Kedun, gripping a Bone Staff, emerged from them.

He raised his hand and brushed the blade‑like tip of the Bone Staff; a power born of corruption surged forth, forming an unusually long, razor‑sharp blade.

The vengeful spirit Steve, possessing Ma Liqi, sought to leave Ma Liqi's body to aid Tai Er, and most importantly, to prevent the Crimson Moon Crown from being taken.

A holy, descending beam of pure, radiant warmth instantly enveloped both Ma Liqi and Jason.

The shadow coiling around Ma Liqi's body at that moment became a layer of protection.

Nearby, the undead Jason, still not recovered from the recent successive purifications, emitted plumes of black smoke.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang; on the open ground far beyond the holy light, a flash of pale gold streaked instantly, striking the apparently empty field.

Where the bullet struck, brilliant flames erupted, quickly outlining a figure clad in a black tailcoat and dark‑red cloak.

(End of Chapter)