Expedition (4)

Once Drake was down, he could indeed perceive something was wrong. His men didn't send the ropes. He couldn't have expected the loyal dog Fang Zheng to betray him.

Down, Drake was blinded by the monstrous Giant Python Body.

Immediately, he started to use sword aura to carve the Blood Absorption Rune on its body.

[Do you wish to use 3 points of mana to activate the Blood Absorption Ritual?]

Normally, it only took a minimal portion of his mana pool to activate the forbidden blood ritual, yet this beast required him three whole points. Still, Drake nodded.

The 8-ton-big monstrous body condensed into a fist-size blood crystal.

Drake couldn't believe his eyes.

[Superior Pure Giant Python Blood Crystal

A condensed blood essence crystal from an intermediate-rank Adult Giant Python

Effect - (?)]

Drake couldn't resist it. His body was screaming at him. It was screaming at him to eat this blood crystal. It was as if he was yearning for this treasure all his life.

*CRUNCH*

His steel-like teeth made a dent in the crystal: 'So hard'

It hurt a lot. It was as if he was eating rock. Yet it was extremely satisfying.

[Your spirit is expanding...]

[Your Demonic Raven Bloodline has reached 30%]

[You have entered the Intermediate Acolyte Realm]

[Your Demonic Raven Bloodline had reached the second stage]

[You have awoken your second innate spell]

[Your vitality is rising]

[Your strength is rising]

[Your agility is rising]

[Demonic Raven Forcefield - Rank 0 Passive spell

Your skin is coated in a forcefield that prevent attacks below [Magic Power] degrees of damage to deal damage to you]

[Name - Drake Moonfall | Age - 15 Years Old

Race - Human / Wereraven

Demonic Raven Bloodline (Stage I) - 31% Purity

Attributes:

Strength - 4.3 (+4.5) | Agility - 3.2 (+3.5) | Vitality - 7.5 (+4.5) | Magic Power - 8.9

Perks: Demonic Raven Bloodline (Stage II: +1.5 Strength, +1.5 Agility, +1.5 Vitality), Grand Knight Physique (+3.0 Strength, +3.0 Vitality, +2.0 Agility), Sword Aura (Sword-related attacks deal 60% more damage)

Skills: Moonfall Knight Swordsmanship (108), Magical Knowledge (50), Etiquette (45), Archery (60), Architecture (60), Horsemanship (40), Cartography (26)...

Spell: Demonic Raven Vision (56), Shadow Touch (30), Demonic Raven Forcefield (3)]

After breaking through, Drake's senses became clearer. The vague smell of blood now became clear to him. He could now perceive the screams of his dying subordinates.

'What the...Were there enemies in the vacinity? It can't be, I scouted the area, and I cleared the territory free of monsters...It can't be...'

Unlike other bodies, only the blood was condensed in the blood ritual. The body was still intact.

'Its eyes alone might fetch for 100 magic crystals...'

However, his thoughts were focused on the battle ongoing above him. Climbing up didn't take more than a minute.

There, he was greeted with a gruesome battlefield.

'Arthur, John, Gale, Mael, Jake...'

Faces of men he knew, laughed with, trained with, drank with, were now lying on the cold ground, lifeless. Evangeline's left arm was severed, and although she was still standing, she could die anytime from blood loss. Around her, six knights were closing in, attempting to kill her for good.

'What the fuck is this army doing here?', Drake wondered

He could see more than a thousand armored men in the vacinity, including more than 30 knights. The Frozen Knight Order might be strong, but it couldn't put up a fight against such a difference of numbers.

For the first time in his life, Drake was getting a taste of defeat.

Out of his 200-men-army, only 30 were still capable of fighting. He hadn't been down for so long, had he? His trusted knights were on the verge of dying. More importantly, Drake could see another several acolytes next to Fang Zheng, one who possessed intermediate-rank cultivation and the rest having beginner-rank cultivation.

Their coat of arms made any doubt meaningless.

'Count Elderwood...What have you done?'

Unwilling to die a meaningless death, Drake changed his clothing in the midst of chaos with that of an Elderwood soldier. Revealing his identity here would only lead to his death.

As time passed, Drake bit his lips.

'Please just surrender, Arthur! You can't win against ten acolytes and thirty knights with so few soldiers. The fight with the giant python also exhausted us...You will die if you continue...'

However, Arthur was fighting like a lion, killing knights and soldiers indiscriminately. He wasn't showing signs of falling. As injuries accumulated on his body, he only fought harder.

It was something Drake taught him. Control your breathing, and only use as much strength as is needed. Show sign of weakness and you will fall.

Evangeline had taken these teachings to heart as well. After being poisoned, she had severed her own arm and stopped the bleeding with rags, while fighting six knights on her own. As time passed, knights would try to close the distance, but the moment one of them lowered their guard, she would rush and stab them. Even six knights failed to stop her, for a few minutes later, her sword claimed the life of two out of the six knights. In return, they only managed to stab her already useless left shoulder.

Ross, however, was not so lucky, as he was met with a terrible fireball that ended him.

What surprised Drake the most was not his trusted knights, but his soldiers. His soldiers fought fiercely. Even when met with such a desperate battlefield, they fought until their last breath. If their limbs were severed, they would bite the legs of soldiers. Even if their teeth were crushed, they would try to roll and break the balance of enemy soldiers. Their gaze showed that they had accepted death.

'What am I doing? Did I really waste the past three minutes looking at this battlefield passively? Am I really their lord? Am I really a Grand Knight from the Moonfall family, and intermediate rank acolyte? I am so much stronger than them. Even the Count Elderwood himself, an advanced rank acolyte, might not be able to overpower me with my second innate spell and Grand Knight Physique. Why am I afraid of his offspring made of intermediate and beginner acolytes? I am...pitiful. Oh, almighty lord, please allow me to redeem myself by cutting my opponents'

Drake's gaze no longer showed fear. For the first time in his life, he wasn't smiling in battle.

This time, Drake was incredibly angry.