Chapter 182: 174: The Essence of Blood
Baron Hovern is dead.
He died from a fatal blow delivered by Chris, quickly disappearing from this world, with no chance of survival.
The nominal ruler of Nasir Town was thus killed by an interloper who had taken over his home.
However, the existence of Baron Hovern himself had long since ceased to be important. Some sort of monster that had taken residence inside Baron Hovern was completely freed from its shell upon his death.
"What is that monster!"
The patrol guards outside of the street were stunned. They gazed upward, trembling, confronted by a monstrous presence so terrifying that its very form seemed to grow larger by the moment!
It looked like a beast made of interwoven, dirty red chunks of flesh, its body dripping with dark red fluid, its form unstable, constantly shifting and swelling with a torrent of distorted blood as if it was endlessly growing and wriggling.
The bloody monster's body exuded an iron-rust-like foul smell, inducing a strong sense of nausea, and it appeared both weird and horrifying, like a nightmarish incarnation formed from coagulated blood!
Facing it, people even felt a strong sense of collapse and helplessness.
"What on earth is that thing? How could it appear in Nasir Town!"
"Oh gods! Please save us, ahhhhhhh!"
"Everyone, don't be afraid, Lord Chris is still here; he will definitely defeat that monster!"
The reactions of the patrol guards were mostly panic, fear, and a turn to run!
Many, seeing Chris's figure, buoyed their spirits because of the Fischer family's prestige built up over more than twenty years. However, ordinary people still involuntarily backed away, not daring to approach.
Chris took a deep breath and stepped forward, fully aware of the oppressive feeling emanating from the bloody monster.
It was an incarnation of the Mighty Bloody Demon, possessing a strength close to that of a Monarch Level.
According to a book that recorded mysterious knowledge, the Sea God is a mysterious entity based on the concept of "ocean," hence naturally savage, elusive, and majestic as the sea.
The Mighty Bloody Demon, on the other hand, is a mysterious entity based on the concept of "blood," tied to people's fears, and the power it holds is definitely skewed towards the evil and terrifying.
Chris stared at the incarnation of the Mighty Bloody Demon.
He knew very well that Byrne and his sister were not here, and aside from himself, the strongest combat power in Nasir City was Rishia, who performed sacrificial rites.
But that was an unconventional, limited power, and deep in his heart, Chris had always been reluctant for the family to rely on the miracles of the Lord of the Lost.
It wasn't just because of his sister's continual self-sacrifice, but also because of his nature.
He believed in the Lord of the Lost but never wanted to excessively depend on His might.
"Everyone leave."
Chris issued his command coldly to the people around him. They quickly left the area, and the severely injured Vanessa and the little girl were also taken by the guards out of danger's reach.
Only Chris and the beast remained on the street, locked in a face-off.
"Ao!"
The bloody monster let out a huge roar and then suddenly shot out dozens of blood arrows that attacked from all directions. The next moment, the blood arrows exploded into a rain of blood in the sky.
Chris weaved through the downpour of blood, displaying almost uncanny agility and evasion. Even so, he could not completely avoid all of the blood rain and was quickly stained drop by drop with the blood.
The "Angel" in silver and white was gradually bathed in crimson blood.
A certain malevolent force in the blood quickly began to erode Chris's body, forcing him to painfully kneel on one knee, unable to move normally.
The dozen-meter-tall bloody monster had no eyes to speak of, so he was unable to use the Eyes of Conviction.
Fire of Sin was the first choice!
Chris stared at the bloody monster and summoned the Fire of Sin. Black flames appeared on the enemy's massive body, burning fiercely and causing the bloody monster unbearable pain.
At that moment, the barrier of the Black Mirror had also been activated over Nasir Town. Black mirrors appeared everywhere in the town, their surfaces gradually rippling. An invisible force enveloped the whole town as the mirrors, like points, connected with lines to each other, eventually forming a huge black Array.
With the power of the Array accumulating for many years, the power of the bloody monster was quickly suppressed; it could only exert about half of its normal strength, immediately giving Chris a chance to catch his breath.
However, the blood that stained him was too deadly, containing some kind of evil curse. Ordinary people would die just by touching it, and even Chris could only struggle to hold on.
The next moment, the blood twisted and began to wriggle like scarlet worms, trying to burrow into Chris's body!
Thus, black flames began to burn upon him.
Chris burned himself with the Fire of Sin!
The pain that went straight to the soul made Chris's body tremble rapidly, and though the scarlet worms seemed to consciously try to flee, they were still consumed by the black flames.
He stood up slowly in silence, bathed in flames, enduring the torment inflicted by the black Fire of Sin.
Meanwhile, as the blood tainted with the evil curse had been completely incinerated, Chris had gradually regained control over his body, now able to move normally.
At the same time, he also felt something, that the household manager Theo, not in Nasir Town, had discovered his own situation through the "household management" extraordinary trait.
The old man was transmitting life force and spiritual power through "household management."
Chris's body, which had been near death, gradually received a surge of strength.
"Awooo!"
Under the burning of the black Fire of Sin, the bloody monster writhed, growing a gaping maw, and let out another tremendous roar.
People on the entire street were shocked to see Lord Chris, bathed in black flames, suddenly leap high into the air and charge into the body of the bloody monster!
The heavily injured Vanessa couldn't help but cry out in terror.
"Chris!"
However, at the moment Chris truly touched the bloody monster, his rune power "Countdown Timer" activated!
Having set a three-minute countdown as soon as he learned of the situation here, the "Countdown Timer" finally came due, freezing everything nearby in time for three whole seconds!
The bloody monster completely maintained a state of stillness.
Chris, engulfed in black flames, plunged into the frozen bloody monster, swinging uncountable slashes like a whirlwind, carving a path of madness. Through "Tracking Senses" and discriminating by scent, he found the monster's only core within the three seconds!
He was covered in crimson blood, and in the next instant, it would come alive again, howling as it dragged Chris straight into a crimson hell.
Yet, Chris had silently swung the Black Blade, piercing the core that resembled a heart!
In the next moment, the enormous crimson monster began to crumble, and a torrent of blood gushed down the streets like a waterfall, the stench instilling fear in the hearts of the people.
And Chris, despite his severe injuries, retracted the Fire of Sin, enduring the pain without losing consciousness.
From the broken crimson heart, he extracted a scarlet gemstone, standing in silence on a land drenched in blood.
The scarlet gemstone was a "Blood Element," which was the source of most mysterious rare artifacts; these "Elements" would gradually evolve into mysterious artifacts after separating from their mystical entities.
However, before naturally evolving into mysterious artifacts, "Elements of Mystical Entities" could also be crafted into powerful alchemical tools through alchemy.
"Lord Chris is our savior!"
"It's a success!"
"We're saved, thank the gods, thank the Guardian of the Fischer family!"
Seeing the massive and terrifying bloody monster destroyed, the people outside the streets finally let go of their anxiety and cheered enthusiastically!
Soon enough, the news of Lord Chris destroying the beast spread throughout Nasir Town.
Chris glanced at the scarlet gemstone in his hand once more, sensing that it was an offering suitable for the gods.
Holding the scarlet gemstone and ignoring his serious injuries, he searched for the also heavily injured Vanessa and breathed a sigh of relief only after seeing her situation had stabilized.
"Chris, you're gravely injured; it's a pity Irene isn't in Nasir Town..."
Vanessa's abdomen and arm had been pierced by blood arrows, but she paid no attention to her own injuries, instead, she was very worried about Chris's condition.
This sudden incident couldn't be concealed; they could only report the matter to the Tempest Church.
Several days later, the Fischer family learned of the whole story from Acting Bishop Zayne.
It turned out that Baron Hovern had killed his wife and brother when he fled from Fein City and had even murdered several innocent bystanders he encountered to drink their blood, completely losing his sanity.
His identity naturally represented the Hovern family of Cyart, and now the Hovern family was under a joint investigation by the churches.
Under normal circumstances, this matter might have been suppressed, but now it was being used by the two major churches as leverage, undoubtedly to serve as a major condemnation in the trial against the Hovern family!
Everyone could see that after so long, no other pillar families had offered help, and the downfall of the Hovern family of Cyart was a foregone conclusion.
Thus, the situation for the Eagle clan, who had relied on the Hovern family, turned awkward, and even many of the smaller clans following them started to display ambivalent attitudes, privately considering whether to switch allegiance.
The usually balanced situation on the East Coast was completely broken.
Everyone was speculating whether the Lion clan would take drastic action to turn decisively against the Eagle clan.
But the Eagle clan was no insignificant family; even with their patron gone, they still had significant connections within the country, and if they were eradicated on any trivial pretext, the Lion clan would also face enormous pressure.
The enraged Cyart King might well pursue the matter to the end and no longer tolerate the local forces of East Coast Province acting wantonly, severely punishing the Lion clan.
In the silent night, Viscount Zavier "Black Hawk," clad in a black robe, arrived alone by the lakeside of Sunrise Lake at the center of the East Coast.
He stood beside the waters, waiting tranquilly for Viscount Bast to come for negotiations.