Free Web NovelChapter 257: Next Time
The wolves were nearly twice the size of ordinary ones. Their black fur contrasted sharply against the endless snow, and unlike normal predators, they made no attempt to hide themselves.
There were around ten of them surrounding Ulrich from every direction, their enormous fangs protruding from their mouths like elephant tusks while their tails writhed into living snakes that hissed violently at him.
The moment Ulrich felt the power flowing through their bodies, his expression turned thoughtful.
It was familiar. The same power that existed within him.
Which meant these creatures had not simply mutated naturally. Their transformation had been influenced by the King’s corpse itself.
The corruption inside the mountain had already spread into the wildlife. At this point, it was entirely possible that the whole mountain existed under the influence of the dead King and perhaps the concubine as well.
"This entire mountain intends to kill us," Ulrich murmured calmly while observing the wolves circling him. "Perhaps this is some sort of trial."
But when he looked around again, he suddenly realized something strange.
Everyone else had disappeared. Andrew, Matthew, even X were nowhere to be seen anymore. The mountain had likely separated them through whatever mysterious force controlled this place.
Ulrich sighed softly under his breath. "That is rather inconvenient."
The wolves suddenly charged all at once. Snow exploded beneath their paws as they lunged toward him from every direction, their distorted jaws opening unnaturally wide.
Ulrich simply raised one hand. Smoke immediately burst from his arm like living darkness before spreading through the air and wrapping around every wolf simultaneously. Their bodies froze mid-charge as horrifying shrieks echoed throughout the forest.
Then the smoke tightened, bones shattered violently, and flesh collapsed inward. One by one, the wolves were crushed apart under Ulrich’s power before their broken bodies dropped lifelessly into the snow.
The smoke slowly retreated back into his arm while Ulrich calmly brushed dust from his sleeve as though nothing important had happened.
"Disappointing, not even remotely entertaining."
His thoughts drifted toward Matthew afterward.
Andrew would survive easily enough. He was mentally resilient, physically capable, and X was accompanying him as well.
But Matthew... Ulrich narrowed his eyes slightly before suddenly chuckling at himself.
"Why exactly am I worrying about that boy this much?"
A faint smirk appeared on his face. "Nostalgia truly does strange things to people."
It almost felt like Isolde had intentionally left behind a troublesome responsibility for him to deal with.
The ground beneath him suddenly shook violently.
Ulrich immediately stepped back as the snow-covered earth nearby began rising upward like a living creature awakening from deep beneath the mountain. Cracks spread across the frozen ground before a gigantic mutated bear emerged from underneath it.
Its crimson eyes locked directly onto him while the fur covering its body glimmered unnaturally sharp, each strand resembling a blade.
The creature roared. Instantly, the fur detached from its body and shot toward Ulrich like thousands of needles slicing through the air.
Ulrich lifted himself effortlessly above the attack, his body floating through the storm of projectiles while countless blade-like hairs embedded themselves into the snow and trees behind him. Within seconds, the entire area beneath him looked like a field of swords.
"Hm." Ulrich sounded genuinely unimpressed.
"Another crude imitation of psyche bloodstyle. How tedious."
In a single instant, he appeared directly in front of the bear while thick smoke poured from both of his arms and forced itself into the creature’s open mouth.
The bear immediately began convulsing. Its body swelled larger and larger as the smoke rapidly filled it from the inside until it exploded.
Blood erupted across the forest like rain, splattering across the snow, the trees, and even the sky itself until the entire domain seemed soaked in red. freёwebnoѵel.com
Ulrich landed quietly on the ground beside the creature’s severed head, the only part of the body that remained mostly intact.
Its eyes were still moving, blood tears streamed from them continuously while weak sobs escaped from the creature’s throat.
Ulrich’s expression slowly changed, because the voice no longer sounded like a beast.
"Help her..." the creature whimpered weakly.
Another sob escaped its throat. Blood continued pouring from its eyes.
"Please... help her..."
The same words kept repeating in his ears as Ulrich leaned closer to stare into the statue’s eyes. At first, he only saw a woman crying. Her back faced him, but her long black hair was clear as day while her shoulders trembled weakly.
Ulrich blinked and the woman was suddenly standing right in front of him. At the same time, the scenery around him completely changed into a cave.
Cold air brushed against his skin while darkness stretched endlessly behind the woman. She slowly raised her hand and pointed ahead, making Ulrich follow the direction of her finger.
What he saw made his eyes widen instantly.
Three bodies were lying on the snow. Himself, Andrew, and Matthew. Blood spread beneath them, staining the white ground red and black while their bodies remained completely motionless. There was no doubt they were dead. freewebnσvel.cøm
The woman slowly turned toward him. Her green eyes were filled with sadness. She finally spoke in a quiet voice.
"Next time, you will become statues."
Ulrich had not felt fear from a single sentence in a very long time, yet the moment he heard those words, anxiety slowly crept into his chest. It was such a weird feeling.
The cave disappeared, replaced by the familiar sight of their campfire. Andrew was sitting right in front of him with a confused expression while Matthew remained near the pot, stirring stew as if nothing had happened at all.
"What’s wrong with you? Are you tired?"
Andrew asked before scoffing lightly. "Nah, never mind. I don’t think vampires can even get tired. Maybe X’s power is making you feel weird."
"Don’t mind him, Lord Draemir, I can give you blood if you’re hungry."
Ulrich barely listened to either of them. His gaze had already shifted toward X, who was silently watching him from across the fire.
The man said nothing, but the faint smirk on his face already answered the question inside Ulrich’s mind.
What he saw was real.
Several possibilities immediately formed inside his head. The first was simple. The vision could merely be a warning that the mountain would eventually claim them, and after death they would become statues just like the frozen people scattered across the forest.
The second possibility was worse, it was their future considering the concubine was a pharos. The truth she might have seen was probably close to foreseeing.
However, the third one was even more disturbing.
X suddenly smirked wider. "Looks like the concubine doesn’t trust you as much as you thought."
Ulrich glanced at him calmly. "Then what about you? Is your power too weak to prevent it?"
"Hm..." X rested his chin lazily on his hand. "Some fates shouldn’t be changed, Ulrich. There are things better left untouched, and this is one of them."
Ulrich chuckled softly and shook his head. "Now I understand why Roanna dislikes you so much."
"You know she’s a terrible example, right?" X shrugged.
"That woman hates whenever reality doesn’t go the way she wants. Fate was never going to tolerate someone like her and don’t blame me, I already helped you once tonight, and that was my limit. This time, try doing it properly."
Ulrich only shook his head before finally standing up from his seat.
"Good night, everyone. Let’s rest for now."
He left the fire and walked toward the tent alone.
Now he finally understood which possibility was the correct one.
