188. Boreas Wind, Baleful Rain
"Roar!"
Staggering from the barrage of blows, the giant lion looked up only to see the massive crimson longsword descending once more.
It raised its front paws to block the attack, but suddenly felt a chill on the back of its neck.
I stood on its bloodied shoulder blade, fingers tightly gripping my saber's handle. The Hidden Abyss saber slashed outward, its trailing black mist stretching like a streak of thick ink across the sky!
Squelch!
Despite its tough vampiric body that had withstood both the Will Embodied Sword and Sun-Shattering arrows, the Giant Nemean Lion's flesh yielded like butter against that chilling blade.
A fountain of blood, ten feet high, erupted skyward.
My saber sliced cleanly through, piercing the vampire's mightiest defense. The green light burst forth at full power.
Invisible ripples radiated outward, tearing apart its muscles and bones.
The Will Embodiment of Dragon-Tiger Sword struck with swift, relentless slashes. Though not as sharp as Hidden Abyss, its massive size proved devastating. By the time it finished its assault, the lion was nearly cleaved in half.
Then, I drove the saber deep into the lion's forehead while gripping its mane and torn flesh at the neck with both hands. With a sudden burst of strength, I pulled as if to tear its massive head completely from its body!
The monstrous beast thrashed in terror.
With each struggle, more flesh tore away at its neck, bringing the beast's head closer to complete separation from its body.
Just then.
A monstrous face materialized in the sky, filling the heavens with its hideous visage. Its messy mane, deep blue wrinkled skin, gaping maw, and razor-sharp fangs dominated the view!
I glanced down and to the side.
Sure enough, the lion-headed vampire had broken free from the illusion, its expression now fierce and savage. The monstrous lion head looming in the sky was unmistakably its handiwork.
In the next instant, a violent gust of wind burst forth from the giant lion head's maw.
Ancient trees were torn from their roots as the devastating wind blasted everything in the mountain gorge sideways!
"..."
I kept my focus fixed on ripping the lion's head from its body.
The wind howled savagely, like spirits wailing in torment.
The wind carried an unusual chill. Rather than feeling icy against the skin, it created a freezing stagnation in the sea of essence and major chambers. Even the inner core's circulation of essence slowed to a crawl, dropping to mere fractions of its normal speed.
The power penetrated directly into the body, affecting both the sea of essence and essence channels.
This blood gift was truly bizarre.
But it didn't matter much.
After all, I was a body tempering warrior. If my inner core was unusable, I'd simply fight without it.
"Stop!"
The lion-headed vampire had no time to wonder why his Boreas Wind magic failed to affect the young man's movements.
The majestic beast lunged forward desperately.
The Boreas Wind was meant to be paired with the Baleful Rain—the first targeting the sea of essence while the second corroded away at flesh and bone.
If his brother really died at my hands, his power would be significantly weakened.
A twelve-foot spear materialized in his massive beastly hand. The weapon was a deep crimson, its shaft and tip forged as a single piece that spiraled like a coiled red python.
The massive spear suited the lion-headed vampire perfectly, and combined with his gleaming silver armor, he cut an imposing figure!
He soared into the air, unleashing a devastating thrust with his domineering spear!
Releasing one hand, my eyes flashed again with bright light. Through my golden eagle vision, the red dot of the thrusting spear slowed to a crawl. With a casual slap, I redirected the weapon, sending it piercing straight through the giant lion's back.
"Aow!"
The giant lion let out its last mournful howl, and then its head was completely torn from its body!
Witnessing his brother's brutal death with his own eyes, the lion-headed vampire's eyes turned blood-red with rage. He yanked out his spear and swept it through the air with savage force.
No words were needed now—only weapons to decide between life and death!
I dodged sideways while smoothly drawing Hidden Abyss, then slashed downward with matching ferocity.
A metallic clang rang out.
The crimson spear didn't last even a single breath before the long saber sliced cleanly through it.
The Nemean Lion vampire stared in astonishment. This was no ordinary weapon—his spear had been a prized gift from the Blood Moon Vampire King himself. Just what kind of treasure did this young man wield?!
But he had no time to think.
The long saber, wreathed in black mist, was already slashing toward his chest with unstoppable momentum.
The lion-headed vampire blocked with the broken spear, only for the halved shaft to be cut once more. When he instinctively reached to grab the saber, it split his palm open instantly. The chilling blade then plunged deeàp into his chest.
He wasn't split in half immediately because he managed to react just in time, using both arms to tightly grip my forearm!
"..."
I furrowed my brow.
No wonder he could crush embryo-stage harmonizing vampire lords—his strength matched mine even after my Sixth Transformation of Sanguine Resurrection, and actually surpassed it slightly.
"Stop messing around," I said coldly.
"I'm not messing around!" the lion-headed vampire snarled, his teeth grinding together.
"Let go, and I'll take you to see Lady Frostine," I said softly.
"I don't fucking believe you!" The lion-headed vampire struggled to push my arm away. With your abilities, how could Lady Frostine possibly still be alive? He thought to himself.
Just as he finally managed to make the saber withdraw slightly from his chest, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he watched helplessly as a thick demonic aura surged from my body.
Though slowed by the Boreas Wind, my essence circulation hadn't completely stopped.
With this surge of demonic power, the stalemate between us instantly shattered.
Schlick—
With a single stroke, I severed the lion-head from its vampire's body. Before he could transform into his bestial form, I quickly retrieved his vampire core.
[Slain a harmonizing Nemean Lion vampire, total lifespan 8923 years, remaining lifespan 3189 years, absorption complete]
[Slain a harmonizing Nemean Lion vampire, total lifespan 8631 years, remaining lifespan 3216 years, absorption complete]
Only after seeing the two notifications in the panel did I finally relax.
Taking on two harmonizing vampire lords simultaneously had been no small feat.
After carefully collecting the heart's blood and crystal cores from both vampires, I grabbed their bodies—one in each hand—and vanished using the Whispering Gale technique.
Such a big commotion—if it really attracted the Blood Moon Vampire King, that would be disastrous.
I'd be better off returning to Cascadia territory before attempting the simulation.
Things went more smoothly than expected—I would still make it back in time for supper.
Rose Hightower had mentioned she wanted to discuss something—I wondered what it could be.
...
Upon reaching Surrey's edge, I returned to the familiar grove where Rose had grilled tiger vampire meat for me near Chuckanut Mountains.
I dropped the two massive lion corpses onto the ground.
Without hesitation, I opened the panel.
I had originally planned to break through Cosmic Devouring Crystallization first, but I found that the lion's blood gift was quite practical, and it would serve as excellent material for the Seventh Transformation.
[Remaining Absorbed Lifespan: 17,995 years]
I placed the vampire core in my mouth and channeled the absorbed lifespan, directing it into the body tempering martial technique.
When it came to such vampire improvised techniques, even tens of thousands of years of lifespan seemed like a meager amount.