Chapter 180: How To Deepen Your Bonds With Your Vampire Mother

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If it weren't for the helmet he was wearing, Vlad would've fallen unconscious right there. Taking the hit that pushed him down, he quickly stood back up, his sword slicing upward and then horizontally in response to his mother's attack. 

"{Cross Slash}!"

SLASH! SLASH!

A cross-shaped slashing wave hit Teressa at point-blank range. This time, Teressa couldn't dodge the attack, but the energy charged her spear, intercepting the long-range sword aura attack. 

BOOOM!

An explosion of auras erupted as blood energies dispersed in the surroundings. Vlad's eyes widened, realizing his mother was gone a second before he heard the spear piercing through the wind behind him. 

"Shit…!" 

He gritted his teeth, ducking down and barely avoiding an attack on his right shoulder before regaining his foothold and attempting to sweep her legs to make her fall.

However… 

"Ugh?! I can't…?!" 

His eyes widened, realizing his mother's legs were so strong that he simply couldn't sweep them away and make her fall as he had planned. 

"You're too clumsy. You rely on skills and magic too much." 

"Ah!" 

Vlad panicked as his mother kicked his stomach, sending him flying with immense strength. As he fell to the ground, he hit a tree, piercing it in half and causing it to collapse into the walls around the house. 

"Fuck, she's beating my ass…" 

Vlad groaned, slowly standing up again as he boosted his Aura even further, using his Blood Spiritual Ki to enhance his power and emphasizing the strength of his skeleton. 

"I can't use Skills or Spells… but these energies and my skeleton… they might be from skills, but they're now part of my body." 

He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate and expanding his senses around him. He had taken things too lightly, like he didn't care that much, and now he was being humiliated by his vampire mother.

Queenie was probably livestreaming it anyway, so god knows how many people were watching him get his ass kicked.

He couldn't let his image be tainted like this… 

"Hm? You closed your eyes? I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but… I'm coming." 

FLASH!

Vlad sensed when his mother "disappeared." It was actually a movement technique of sorts, which allowed her to take a step forward and then release immense force from her legs, propelling her toward her destination rather than walking.

Her movements couldn't be seen with his current eyes, so Vlad decided to close them and rely on a stronger sense—his own Aura, which he expanded around his body like a spiderweb.

And… 

"There!" 

CLAAASH!

His sword managed to intercept her spear as he sensed his mother touching his "spiderweb." The strength of her attack, coming from above, was still incredible. 

["Just what the hell are you doing?! Haven't you learned anything about the martial arts from your previous life?! Use Murim's Martial Arts, fool!"] 

He heard the Heavenly Demon's annoying words, and Vlad realized he wasn't wrong.

Using his mother's weight against her, he let her fall over him by loosening his sword's grip for a second.

As she fell, he quickly pushed his sword upward toward her chest. Before Teressa could counterattack, the power of gravity pulled her down, making Vlad's sword hit her chest before she could retaliate. 

CLAAASH!

Teressa was blown away but didn't fall, quickly regaining her balance and standing a few meters away from her son, smiling. 

"That was surprising. What was that just now? Some sort of technique of your own creation? No, it was more than one." 

"You think I'll explain to my enemy what I did? That would only make it easier for you, Mother." 

"Hmph, well said." 

Teressa's smile changed as she became completely serious now. 

"Very well, then. I'll get serious now! Vlad, you'd better not fall again, or we'll extend these thirty minutes to an hour!" 

Suddenly, she stepped forward, jumping toward Vlad like before.

And yet… 

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

For some reason, his spiderweb-shaped aura detected not one, but three presences coming at him at once. 

"Damn it! She's in multiple places at once?!" 

Teressa had somehow divided her presence and touched three places at once, fully grasping her son's ability immediately after facing it once.

She was definitely a warrior worthy of the attention of even the Iron Blood Empire's Ruler! 

"Now, let's see if you can tell which is the real Mommy, my son!" 

Her spear rushed three times at once, aiming at Vlad's chest, his left shoulder, and his right leg. 

"They must be decoys using her own aura, but if I open my eyes right now, it'll be a waste either way…!" 

His thoughts raced within that single second as his instincts acted faster than his mind.

His aura manifested into his second hand, forming an Aura Blade.

And…! 

SLAAASH!

He desperately spun around, slashing and attacking anything around him. Teressa's attack was instantly stopped, the force of his spinning blow pushing her back once more. 

"Hoh, not bad!" 

And yet… 

"But you still have a long way to go, my son." 

"Ah!" 

Vlad's eyes widened, realizing all three of those attacks were actually decoys made out of her aura.

The real Teressa was above him, hitting Vlad with the handle of her spear and sending him flying with immense force. 

BOOOM!

He crashed into the walls of their garden, blowing a hole through them with his body. 

"Ugh…" 

Teressa slowly walked toward her son, helping him stand up. 

"Vlad, the Vampires that might come after us will be just as strong as that, if not even stronger with skills and magic," Teressa explained. "We are merely the bottom feeders of the family. Those who reign above everyone else… are truly to be feared." 

"…Your point?" Vlad sighed. "I'll simply get stronger." 

"Well said!" She nodded. "You did fine for a first spar. I can already feel our bonds deepening! You're free to go." 

"Our bonds deepening?! She just beat me down senselessly!" 

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