NOVEL NEXT Chapter 528: The Blood That Never Dies
Bang, bang, bang… boom…
Suddenly, sharp sounds rattled through Ethan's ears. The crashes and roars tore him from his sleep. He opened his eyes, still dazed, still caught halfway in a dream. During his healing, he had drifted through countless visions, and in many of them a single woman appeared. He could never quite see her face, yet she radiated a tenderness that reached into him, a warmth he had never known in either of his two lives.
"Boss! You're finally awake!"
A voice rang out, loud enough to make Ethan flinch. His head snapped to the left, then to the right, but no one was there. He recognized the voice instantly—it was Micah.
"Boss, don't bother looking! I've merged with the array. Get up and help, quick—we can't hold them much longer!" Micah's voice came again, hoarse this time, strained with urgency.
Ethan froze for a moment before speaking. "What happened? Didn't we already finish off that old geezer?" He pushed himself upright, scanning the surroundings. New faces dotted the array around him. When he reached out with his senses, he realized they weren't particularly powerful. Among them, though, he recognized Regis, Hank, Quinn, and several others who had followed him earlier. They must have arrived later as reinforcements. Judging by the situation now, however, their presence was less of a help and more of a burden.
"We're not sure," Micah said quickly. "Two days after you went into meditation, the world shook, but nothing else happened. Then Dragon Child and Bongo dragged some old man into the array. The three of them were talking with him when chaos suddenly broke out in the Blood Clan's grand array. The next thing we knew, countless terrifying beings charged us head-on."
The picture snapped together in Ethan's mind. The old man had to be the Serpent-Turtle. As for the Blood Clan's disturbance, it could only mean one thing: the portal had opened. And those so-called terrifying beings Micah mentioned… they were most likely Blood Clan warriors from another world.
Ethan wasted no more words. In the next instant, his body flickered and shot toward the boundary of the array. A portal opened before him and he stepped straight through.
What he saw beyond made his chest tighten.
The entire world outside was drenched in crimson. A choking, bloody aura clung to everything, stretching endlessly in every direction. Only the array Micah maintained remained untouched, a fragile sanctuary amid the storm. On the ground below, twisted Blood Clan creatures swarmed in countless numbers, and the moment they caught sight of him, their roars shook the air as they rushed forward.
"Out of my way!"
Ethan's voice cracked like thunder as power burst from him in a violent surge. The Blood Clan warriors closest to him were flung backward, clearing an empty space around him in an instant. Without hesitation, he triggered his Swift Flight Form, his body shooting into the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow. As he ascended, his Battle Embodiment system shifted, sliding him seamlessly into Panther Form: Stealth.
From above, the battlefield spread out before him. Three figures fought in the midst of a tightening ring. Two of them—lithe, graceful—were unmistakably Bongo and Dragon Child. The third was an old man in a dull yellow robe. Facing them were seven Blood Clan warriors, their bodies dripping with gore, their movements precise and deadly.
The old man in the yellow robe fought with astonishing power, keeping three enemies locked in combat by himself. Bongo and Dragon Child each held back two. But Dragon Child was bleeding heavily, her movements sluggish, every strike and dodge costing her dearly.
Ethan's heart clenched. He realized just how long he had been absent. His healing trance had dragged him into a deep meditative state, three or four days at least. In that time, the battlefield had changed beyond recognition.
Just as he shot higher into the air, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Brother, charging in like this won't help."
Ethan halted mid-flight, startled. "What's wrong?"
"Look down," Yaya replied.
He cast his gaze back toward the ground. Around Micah's grand array, countless lights flared. Every time a Blood Clan warrior reached the array, they were cut down by the combined attacks inside. Yet when their bodies fell, they dissolved into wisps of thick crimson mist that streamed toward the distance—toward the very place where the Blood Clan's original pillar of light had once stood.
Ethan's breath caught. "What is that?"
"That's the Blood Clan's essence," Yaya explained patiently. "As long as their essence exists, they'll be reborn in their own world. Kill them as many times as you like, it makes no difference."
"Holy hell, that's insane!" Ethan cursed aloud, eyes widening in disbelief. "Is there no other way?" His chest sank as helplessness clawed at him. The Blood Clan wasn't just powerful—they were effectively immortal. Who could possibly stand against that?
Above him, Dragon Child and Bongo fought desperately, their situations worsening with every passing second. His hands curled into fists.
"There isn't no way…" Yaya's voice drifted, hesitant.
"No!"
Luna's sharp voice cut through before she could continue.
Ethan blinked, stunned by the sudden interruption. He stayed silent for a moment, then said firmly, "If you say no, Luna, then we won't use that method." He wasn't stupid. Clearly, the two had argued over this before. If Yaya was willing to bring it up despite Luna's resistance, the solution had to involve a heavy cost—most likely to Yaya herself. If it endangered anyone else, Yaya would never suggest it. In the short time they had been together, Ethan had learned at least that much about her.
"But if we don't act, this world may not withstand the Blood Clan's invasion. Even more people will die," Yaya pressed, her gentle voice trembling, but her words carried determination. "It's not that serious for me. I just won't be able to manifest for a while."
Her words struck him harder than the battlefield noise around him. In his Mindscape, he saw her small, smiling figure. The thought of losing her—even temporarily—made his nose sting.
"Waaah… Beastie doesn't want to leave Sister Yaya…"
The childish wail of the creature bound to his Sigil of the Wild Legion echoed in his mind, adding fuel to his turmoil.
"Is there truly no other way?" Ethan murmured, voice heavy. His eyes swept over the world below, the crimson landscape teeming with Blood Clan. Inside Micah's array, hundreds of thousands of warriors stood shoulder to shoulder, unleashing everything they had into the tide.
He looked closer. He saw the resolute faces of Clearspring's people, the unwavering ferocity of those from the Forgotten City, even the grim focus of the late arrivals with their weaker strength. None of them faltered. Every hand, every heart, was bent on fighting the endless Blood Clan.
Ethan's chest tightened. He remembered clearly how the people of Clearspring had once cowered, their will broken. Compared to that memory, the determination he saw now was a world apart.