Free Web NovelChapter 357: Wind, Blood And Monstrosity
[Music recommendation: Daughtry - Heavy Is The Crown]
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"What in God’s name are those monstrosities!" Edward gasped as he stared at the gigantic monsters.
Everyone wore a grim expression as they faced the new threat, as if the existing chaos were not enough. Iskara’s face hardened as he barked orders, "Prepare for ranged attacks! Archers and magic users, concentrate your power on taking them down!"
"Do you think that will be enough?" Regulus voiced his concern.
"It definitely won’t be enough... but let’s hope it holds them until I am ready. Cover me, Regulus," Iskara replied. He glanced at Regulus, whose eyes went wide as he met Iskara’s gaze and understood exactly what the King was planning.
"You’re not planning to do what I think you’re planning, are you?" Regulus asked, a spark of excitement catching in his eyes.
Iskara stepped forward, his voice calm. "We need to use every card at our disposal, Regulus."
With that, the Vampire King dropped to one knee and stabbed his sword into the ground, shocking and confusing everyone around him. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Regulus barked, "Step back, kids!"
The others were unsure of what the King and Duke were up to, but they complied and moved away.
While the rest followed orders and launched ranged attacks at the demons, their strikes earned them wild, deafening and bone chilling screeches, holding the creatures back before they could get close.
Damien, Cece, Edward and Victor stayed close to Iskara and Regulus, fighting off any ghouls that came their way. At the same time, they kept a curious eye on the Vampire King, waiting to see what he planned to do and they did not have to wait long.
First, they felt a sudden surge of power radiating from both Iskara and Regulus and then their eyes began to glow a bright crimson.
Regulus raised his hands, and suddenly there was a dip in the atmospheric pressure. The wind began to rise and swirl around Iskara’s kneeling form alone. It grew fiercer and fiercer before quickly turning into a powerful miniature tornado around him, forming what looked like an impenetrable barrier. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Many were stunned, as it was the first time they had witnessed Duke Regulus, also known as the White Tiger, using his vampiric powers. The sight left everyone in awe.
"Commander Alex, did you know His Grace could control the wind?" Caleb asked in a low, bewildered voice.
"No, but elemental powers will definitely come in handy considering the level of danger we are dealing with," Alex replied after slicing down a ghoul charging toward them.
Then he turned to look at his king and murmured, "However, I am more curious to see what His Majesty is planning to do."
Alex’s sharp red eyes then noticed Iskara glance at his sword with glowing crimson eyes. He saw how Iskara ran his hand along the blade, allowing his dark red blood to flow down the metal and drip into the ground. After that he closed his eyes.
His body began to glow with a heavy crimson aura, and the ground started to tremble.
Alex and the others looked around, wondering what was happening and it was only then his sharp eyes caught something moving beneath the ground like a flowing liquid. He narrowed his gaze to focus, and his eyes widened in surprise when he realised what it was.
"This..." Alex murmured before looking back at his king in awe.
The same reaction spread across the others when they noticed that the fluid moving across the ground towards the Vampire King was none other than blood.
All the blood spilled across the battlefield began to gather into a wobbling mass in front of Iskara. Then, before everyone’s eyes, it grew larger and larger before splitting into five massive blobs that slowly began to take shape.
People’s eyes widened in a mixture of shock, horror and utter awe as the giant forms made from the blood spilled across the battlefield began to solidify into something utterly... grotesque.
Every single mind seemed to scream the same thought in unison.
’Just what in the living hell is that?’
Yet no one dared utter a word as they watched the shapes transform into creatures that looked like terrifying demons rising from the abyss.
It had a tall, humanoid body made of dark crimson flesh and blood, with visible veins and muscles that gave it a grotesque appearance. Its long horns curved upward, and a glowing red core sat at the centre of its oval-shaped head.
Large skull-like structures covered its shoulders, while several long, writhing tentacles extended from its back, some ending with smaller skulls.
Damien and Cece’s eyes twitched in bewilderment.
Cece muttered absent-mindedly, "That must be the..."
"...most obnoxious thing I’ve ever seen," Damien finished her sentence, keeping his eyes fixed on his uncle’s creations.
Iskara opened his eyes and looked at his creations as if he were proud before turning his head towards Regulus, silently asking what he thought of them.
Regulus raised a brow and commented with a straight face, "Well, cousin, it seems you have quite the wild imagination. Let’s hope they perform as smoothly as the surface of their humongous heads."
A smirk appeared on Iskara’s lips for a brief moment before it vanished. His gaze shifted to the vile woman who continued laughing as she watched the demons she had summoned create havoc among those nearby, even as they were being attacked by arrows and magic wielders.
Raising his hand forward, Iskara commanded, "Go. Fight those demons and defend my people."
At once, the creatures formed from blood snarled before launching themselves at the demons Selene had summoned, attacking them as if they possessed minds of their own.
Damien, Cece, Edward, Alex, and Caleb watched in stunned silence until Caleb finally spoke. "Well... no matter what... they seem to be doing a good job of giving it back to them."
The others could only agree in silence as they watched the massive creatures trade brutal sucker punches.
Without another word, they all rejoined the battle. But while everyone else was occupied, locked in combat with one foe or another, one man remained silent and still in the very center of the battlefield.
Solan’s eyes were vacant and dull as he stared at the woman who now appeared in her true form. The pure and innocent image of his wife, Selene, which had always remained sacred and untouched in his mind and heart, had crumbled before his very eyes.
Every word the woman had spoken to him earlier felt like a hammer striking his heart. It rendered him unable to move or help anyone, even as he heard the cries of his people being injured or killed by the enemies surrounding them. He knew that as the king, he had a responsibility to protect them using the powers bestowed upon him by his Goddess, yet he remained frozen.
The shock was simply too much to digest in such a short time. He knew that nothing he did could change the fact that the horrendous things she had uttered were absolutely true. At the thought of it, her crude words began to seep into him like a dark abyss and he felt himself sinking deeper every passing second, with no one able to pull him out.
He realized not only that his wife was never truly his wife but a demon, but also the fact that she had killed his daughter with her own hands. He had been there when she gave birth to Evelyn. He had seen a gleam in her eyes as she looked at their child, but now that memory had shifted from a mother’s tender love only a mask to cover deceit and malice.
He thought back to Evelyn’s birth, when she was so tiny and glowing like a star in his arms. He remembered the pure joy of holding that new life. Suddenly, another harsh reality came crashing down on him. The daughter he had held with such tender affection was gone.
For the first time in a long time, his cold blue eyes teared up as the ugly reality continued to sink in. He felt that not only had he lost his wife all over again, but he had also lost his innocent daughter.
He was supposed to be a father who loved her, showered her with affection, and protected her, yet he had not. Not only had he turned a blind eye to her existence, but he had also pretended not to notice how much weight she had lost. He had ignored how she flinched if she moved too quickly, as if she were reeling from some hidden injury.
He never asked about Evelyn’s absence from social gatherings, and he never visited her when Elara gave him the excuse that she was unwell. He had ignored the fact that her eyes, which once sparkled like jewels, had lost their shine completely while she lived in the palace he was so proud of.
He never asked or questioned anything. Oh, how blind had he been? He had not only been blind to the true colours of the vile woman in front of him, but he had also been blind to his own daughter’s pain and suffering.
