Chapter 281: Fierce Melee

The vampire count's swiftness reached level eight, the fastest enemy Lei En has ever seen, and combined with Phantom Step it can run on air as if flying, yet more agile and faster than flight.

In the blink of an eye it covered nearly a hundred meters, arriving close as if by a flash.

And it was still invisible.

Lei En's face was hidden beneath his armor, raising a shield to protect Mei Lige and Ya Si Ke, maintaining a defensive stance as if he hadn't seen it.

Suddenly, Aieriting paused.

A red beam shot from its fingertips, instantly striking Lei En, piercing his hard armor and entering his body.

Bloodthirsty Frenzy!

This is the vampire aristocracy's most common control spell, filling the target's mind with a craving for blood, driving thoughts into madness; if a breath of crimson plague mist is inhaled as well, the effects stack, quickly turning the victim into a zombie‑like blood servant.

Like a moving humanoid steel fortress, Lei En trembled all over, falling into an uncontrollable state just like Luo Jue.

As Aieriting cast Bloodthirsty Frenzy, it also exposed its position.

Mei Lige instantly locked onto it and instantly unleashed a Whirlwind Technique.

A gust rose from the vampire count's feet but did not engulf the target; Aieriting's whole body ignited with blood‑colored flames, triggering "Blood Boiling Rush".

This Element, similar to a charge, again surged its speed, dashing forward as if teleporting.

Ya Si Ke flung a "Ghost Needle Grass", turning into a sky of sharp poisonous needles, leaving no blind spot in the front.

However, he is only a high‑rank cultivator and not adept at offense.

To the vampire count, these poison needles were child's play; a sweep of his blood‑colored cloak and a surge of red light repelled all the needles striking him.

"Die!"

Aieriting ignored the stationary Lei En, lunging at Mei Lige, waving ten sharp claws rapidly, shooting out thin, long blood‑colored blade rays.

Blood Cutting!

Dozens of blade rays spread like a fishing net, covering a radius of several tens of meters, and being just inches away, they encompassed Mei Lige and Ya Si Ke.

Sss…

Mei Lige couldn't activate "Spirit Wind Technique" in time to relocate; her flame shield was slashed by successive long swords, beginning to violently quake; Ya Si Ke, being more clever, ducked behind Lei En, yet was still cut by a blood‑colored blade ray, and his lotus‑leaf shield shattered instantly.

"I'm done!" Ya Si Ke's face turned pale, shouting in despair.

He frantically tossed a piece of white hardwood, forming a tall wooden wall that was torn apart in an instant; another blade ray would slice him into fragments,

Meanwhile, Aieriting itself kept going, its twin claws tearing toward Mei Lige's neck.

As a vampire count proficient in melee and blood‑type spells, it prefers using magic against melee foes, restraining spell‑casting enemies with close‑quarters combat to fully exploit its advantage.

Its twin claws had already touched Mei Lige's shield, piercing through, exposing her pale neck.

Suddenly, a shield studded with nine massive spikes appeared before his eyes, filling the whole view and slamming down head‑first.

Bang!

Aieriting was struck to the ground by the shield blow; the hard palace floor was gouged into a trench several meters long, several blood‑filled wounds appeared on its body, countless bones cracked, its mind reeling, its whole body dyed red with its own blood.

Lei En was surprised; the vampire count's vitality was so tenacious that it survived his full‑power strike without dying.

Moreover, Aieriting's wounds healed at a visibly rapid rate.

He glanced at the blood pool in the palace's center; clearly, the pool gave Aieriting near‑infinite life, comparable to the legendary Element "Undying Body".

Hard to hit…

Lei En muttered.

Yisu emerged from the Shadow Plane, lunging onto the dizzy Aieriting, wildly stabbing with his sleeve swords for over ten thrusts; a Level‑5 Tear triggered, shredding its chest into mush.

The excruciating pain made Aieriting react; a burst of blood‑colored light exploded, pushing Yisu back.

Yisu, still airborne, just vanished, and Mei Lige's Six‑Ring Fireball Technique came again.

Boom—

The vampire count was blasted away, crashing beneath a palace corner.

Lei En couldn't help but shake his head.

He saw clearly that at the instant the fireball exploded, Aieriting's blood‑colored cloak formed a barrier that again blocked the fireball's power.

This epic‑level blood‑colored cloak had resistance to magical damage that was too strong.

It reached at least high‑grade resistance, reducing spell potency by half.

Don't underestimate half; combined with the vampire count's own protection and skin resistance, it might only endure thirty percent of magical damage, which for Aieriting, powered by the blood pool, is almost ignoring spells entirely.

Lei En immediately made a judgment.

Either destroy the blood pool to cut off its energy source and then blast it to death with magic, or seize it, violently crushing its body to deny any chance of recovery.

He didn't know how to destroy the blood pool, and it was hard to control the lightning‑fast Aieriting.

At this moment, Ya Si Ke timely used "Ice Heart Fruit" to cast a spell, helping Luo Jue break free from the Bloodthirsty Frenzy, and re‑applied Purification to each teammate to prevent infection from the airborne plague.

Luo Jue regained his resolve and, without hesitation, charged straight at Aieriting.

The vampire count flipped and leapt, and Luo Jue's silver sword split into dozens of sword shadows, blocking it in the corner.

Clang‑clank, a few sounds.

The silver sword clashed with the claws, spraying sparks.

Luo Jue employed every means, rotating various seal spells, grappling with Aieriting for several seconds to deny it casting, but the enemy's speed was too great; a single slip let it seize the chance to escape from the corner.

Aieriting transformed into a wisp of blood smoke, appearing beside the blood pool.

The churning blood pool instantly healed its wounds; it raised its hand to cast again, and Yisu emerged from the Shadow Plane, launching a backstab.

Poof!

Two sleeve swords pierced through Aieriting's chest, the intense pain interrupting its spell.

"Ah…"

The vampire count roared in anger; Yisu's strike landed, and he instantly retreated to the Shadow Plane, giving it no chance to counter.

When the wound was tended, Luo Jue chased after again.

Bang—, an icy roar knocked Ai Ruiting to the ground; the silver sword slashed straight at his head, but only struck the air, and the Vampire Count's figure vanished.

A "Silver Moon Dust" exploded at Luo Jue's feet, and amid the swirling silver sand the Vampire's trail was revealed.

Ai Ruiting ran upward on air, trying to shake off the Demon Hunter's entanglement.

However, barely a few meters after it leapt into the air, Yisu's white silhouette appeared overhead, and his twin sleeve swords drove down hard, aiming straight for the eyes.

Ai Ruiting shielded his head with both arms, and amid a wave of excruciating pain, he was struck back down.

Below, Luo Jue was already waiting, and the silver sword swept down again.

This dazzling series of close‑quarters entanglements, fast as lightning, saw the two men and the Vampire's figure appearing everywhere in the palace, preventing either spellcaster from intervening or casting wide‑area spells for fear of harming their own teammates.

Lei En also dared not easily leave Mei Lige and Ya Si Ke's side, and could only watch the battle like an outsider.

(End of Chapter)