Child of Destiny

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Bang!

Cling! Cling! Cling!

The exchange between Duke Bellion and Vladimir continued to intensify as time passed. And alongside the rapidly growing intensity, the sword techniques that the two were using continuously evolved into high-ranking swordsmanship.

Shin, who had seen quite a number of sword techniques, couldn't help but become amazed at the two. He even put himself in the shows of the two, trying to see what he could do if they were facing their sword techniques.

He later realized that he would be having a hard time facing them even if he used his Yin-Yang Swordsmanship.

As the battle progressed, Shin noticed that Duke Bellion was slowly getting the upper hand. He was gradually familiarized with the ever-changing tempo of his opponent's attacks. His counterattacks were also getting on point, targeting the small gap between Vladimir's series of attacks.

Shin knew that the flow of the battle was about to change. And the two who would be stirring it would be Duke Bellion.

Swoosh!

Right after that thought entered his mind, he saw Bellion take a quick step to the side, dodging another stab from his opponent before raising his broadsword and swinging it at Vladimir.

Swoosh!

The series of movements were executed in a fast and smooth manner, making it look like a natural movement from Duke Bellion's side.

The broadsword traveled in the air extremely fast, leaving a trail of light on its path as it headed toward its opponent.

Puchi!

The moment the broadsword descended, it instantly cleaved Vladimir, not giving the elemental spirit the time to dodge.

But despite seeing that, the expression on Duke Bellion's face turned to a deep frown. He knew that his sword could cleave anyone in halves, but what he felt with this particular strike was a little odd.

There was a hint of resistance during the cleaving of his sword, but it the soft a smooth like slashing inside a pool of water.

As if confirming his suspicion, the 'Vladimir' in front of Duke Bellion suddenly turned into a pool of blood that fell on the ground.

After that, another pool of blood suddenly appeared behind the vampire duke before shooting up in the air and turning into a humanoid figure before materializing into Vladimir.

Before Duke Bellion could even respond, Vladimir quickly thrust his rapier forward, targeting the exposed back of his opponent.

Duke Bellion didn't have the time to move and dodge or turn around and block the incoming strike, leaving him with no choice but to let it land on him.

But he naturally not going to let the rapier hit his bare back that easily. He, instead, enter his blood transformation form and formed a sanguine armor that covered his entire body. He even went straight to his second transformation to make sure that his defense would be able to endure the incoming attack.

Boom!

His overwhelming aura quickly exploded right after he entered his transformation, sending a strong ripple in the air that stirred the entire throne hall.

Clang!

It was at that moment when the tip of Vladimir's rapier landed on the back of his opponent. But aside from creating metallic sparks and resounding sounds in the air, nothing special happened.

Quickly after that, Duke Bellion turned around and swung his now crimson-bladed broadsword without any hesitation.

His movements were quick and decisive just like earlier, but before he could even land his strike, Vladimir was already retreating away and was currently undergoing his own transformation formation.

'Elemental Spirit Transformation (Blood): Blood Sovereign'

During his transformation, the surrounding blood elemental mana gathered toward Vladimir once again, seemingly stealing the energy that was supposedly supporting Duke Bellion.

At the same time, a pair of blood wings materialized on Vladimir's back. There were also a series of magic runes glowing on the surface of those wings, pulsing in a rhythmical manner.

His rapier also became even more exquisite as the design that it had become much fancier, especially its hilt and the guard that it had.

Alongside those changes, the steel-like claws on his left hand became much sturdier and sharper. There was also a sanguine glow on them, showcasing the deadliness that they had.

Aside from that, there was also a golden crown shining above his head, making his current appearance even more majestic.

The aura that was coming from Vladimir showed its suppression effects against the vampires once again, especially when the crown on his head appeared.

The urge to kneel down and worship Vladimir appeared once again. And this time, it was a much stronger bloodline suppression that even Duke Bellion showed some signs of being affected by it.

Even though it only lasted for a moment since the vampire duke was able to quickly fought it, such a suppression made Duke Bellion become warier at Vladimir.

Vladimir seemed to have a languid expression on his face contrary to the majestic aura that he was releasing. But at the same time, there was a threatening feeling being emitted by his body despite him not doing anything.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Right after fighting the bloodline suppression coming from Vladimir, Duke Bellion quickly changed the trajectory of his sword before sending a series of sanguine waves forward, not waiting for his opponent to complete their transformation.

Seeing the incoming waves crisscrossing against each other, Vladimir wore a mocking expression and muttered. "Daring to use the power of the blood in front of me? Foolish!"

At that, he raised his hand in front of him, seemingly trying to catch the incoming sanguine waves. And when those waves were about to reach him, a crimson vortex suddenly appeared in front of his hand and sucked the sanguine waves in it.

But during that time, Duke Bellion already launched himself forward, seemingly expecting that his attack would not have any effect on Vladimir.

He was already right in front of his opponent and currently in the middle of brandishing his broadsword forward. There was also a brilliant sanguine glow surrounding his sword, shrouding it with a thick aura blade.

Swoosh!

The space seemed to have been split by the broadsword of the vampire duke.

Shing!

In response, Vladimir flipped his left hand where the crimson vortex was, letting it float above his palm. He then closed his hand and clasped the crimson vortex, holding firmly into it before opening his hand once again.

Boom!

Quickly after that, a powerful explosion suddenly occurred, creating a series of crimson distortions in the air. It seemed to have cast a crimson net in the air with the thin crisscrossing lines around Vladimir.

Bang!

And when the descending broadsword of Duke Bellion collided against those crimson lines in the air, it immediately faced a series of powerful resistance that prevented him from moving his sword further.

Taking advantage of that situation, Vladimir quickly stabbed with his rapier, creating a blinding flash due to how fast it was.

Duke Bellion decisively abandoned his broadsword at that moment and backpedaled, distancing himself away from his opponent as fast as he could.

Vladimir quickly chased after him, not willing to let go of the opportunity that he finally grasped. But when he was moving forward, he suddenly noticed a strange movement from the broadsword hanging in the air.

He saw a thin thread made of blood wrapped around the hilt of the sword. And with a slight tug from Duke Bellion, the broadsword was suddenly pulled and drew an arc in the air while heading toward the back of his opponent's head.

Vladimir quickly halted his advantage at that moment and swiftly turned around, swinging his rapier at the incoming broadsword and deflecting it during the process.

Clang!

Right after Duke Bellion caught his broadsword, he was about to kick the ground and charge forward once again when he suddenly saw a group of sharp weapons floating behind Vladimir.

There were a variety of bladed weapons made of blood pointing forward, daring the vampire duke to charge ahead and face them.

'Elemental Spirit Skill (Blood): Weapons of Blood'

Seeing that Duke Bellion suddenly stopped his tracks and stayed rooted on his spot, Vladimir quickly waved him and sent the weapons made of blood forward.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Seeing the incoming barrage of blood weapons, Duke Bellion quickly shrouded himself with a thick blood elemental mana before swinging his broadsword left and right, trying to defend himself against those materialized weapons.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions immediately followed every time Duke Bellion brandished his sword against the blood weapons heading towards him. And despite the seemingly endless rain of weapons, the vampire duke remained calm and collected, responding to each of them without any panic on his face.

He knew that it would be a foolish choice to use blood elemental powers against Vladimir given the high affinity that the latter had shown. His only option was to rely on his swordsmanship and rich combat experience to deal with his current opponent.

Hu~!

Thinking about it, Duke Bellion took a deep breath to regulate his breathing before circulating his inner mana. He also emptied his mind and solely focused on the battle, erasing all of the useless thoughts inside it.

The moment he did that, the air surrounding him instantly changed, creating a heavy pressure that spread through the entire hall.

Shin, who was closely paying attention to the battle, immediately sensed the change of atmosphere surrounding the vampire duke. It was giving him heavy pressure that he could only sense from top experts like Nathan Springfield and Elias Stuart from the real world.

A solemn expression immediately surfaced on Shin's face, fully understanding that this was going to be a difficult battle even for the currently Vladimir.

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