Second floor of Lichtenstein Castle, inside the bedroom.
Imperial Princess Alexia sat on the edge of the bed, her lifeless eyes reflecting an endless despair, like a caged bird waiting for death.
From the faint commotion drifting up from the base level, she knew that the Blood Clan Count had arrived.
Before long, the Count would slaughter everyone in the chapel, then come up to the second floor to find her.
And yet...
Her gaze turned toward the window. Through the ornate, carved window frame, she noticed the sky outside was gradually brightening!
Alexia stirred. Slowly walking to the window, she lightly pressed her palm against the cold glass.
Her haggard, bewildered face was faintly reflected on the pane. But even up on the second floor, she could feel the warm brilliance overflowing from the ground floor—light pouring through every pane of the chapel, possessing a power that seemed capable of illuminating the entire courtyard and the surrounding mountain forests!
The sky was deep and enigmatic, as if a gentle flame were burning across the night.
"This light... It's actually... just like the real blazing sun..."
Her voice hung faint yet insistent in the air, like a prayer whispered to a savior who existed only in fantasy.
"Is this your power...?"
Alexia could no longer conceal the emotional tremor on her face.
For the first time, she began to wonder—
Perhaps not a single word Lanqi had spoken to her was a lie.
Though common sense dictated that a sun could never rise at midnight,
an instinct permeating every fiber of her being told her that this light might truly possess the power to overpower the blood moon.
...
Meanwhile, in the real world, on Jera Memorial Square at Ikerite Academy.
Centered around the outdoor giant screen,
the sprawling radiance coated the nighttime world in an enchanting, glazed luster.
At this moment, the outdoor giant screen, now turned pure white, seemed to become the focal point of the entire campus. It held the gaze of every student and stole their voices, leaving them all staring in absolute silence at the dazzling crystal display.
Sitting on the square's steps and clutching their hot drinks, the students watched the giant screen unblinkingly.
Shock, astonishment, confusion, and excitement flickered in their eyes!
They could easily tell that the card Lanqi was using was Radiant Virtue, the Orange Epic magic card he had crafted during the registered card maker exam. It could summon a miniature sun of maximum brightness that dealt no damage while interfering with all targets' vision, with its brilliance gradually amplifying in enclosed spaces and weakening in open terrain.
Yet from start to finish, no one had ever imagined that it would be like a genuine sun!
However, Count Palocas's shrill roaring served as the most definitive proof.
Radiant Virtue was not only effective against the Blood Clan, but its effect was also unparalleled!
"How... how can his Radiant Virtue possess the power of the sun?!"
At last, a student spoke up, their voice brimming with disbelief.
Even if Lanqi had granted it the form and attributes of a sun, it should ultimately still be an imitation.
Unless the material used to craft the magic card had an intrinsic connection to the sun itself!
"Could that Unnamed Light Elemental Stone have originally come from the sun? But... how did Lanqi recognize it?"
Even though there was far too much they could not comprehend at this moment, they knew that the familiar feeling was back—all of it had returned!
The challengers had sounded the horn for a counterattack!
"Headmaster Lan! Teach that Blood Clan Count a lesson!"
"Show the Blood Clan the wrath of humanity!"
Instantly, cheers and rallying cries swept across Jera Memorial Square like an overwhelming tidal wave.
...
Inside Lichtenstein Castle, within the chapel that had turned into pure white glass.
"I come from humanity, so I shall naturally do my utmost for humanity."
As if hearing the cheers of his schoolmates back at the Ikerite campus, Lanqi murmured softly to himself.
Farther down from the banquet table where he sat,
Count Palocas's body was coated in a silvery-white sheen under the scouring of the incandescent brilliance. His already pale skin grew thin as paper, revealing the color of the blood vessels beneath, looking as though it would shatter at the gentlest touch!
"Watch my fist!"
The Executioner strode heavily across the chapel's stone slabs, each step pounding against Count Palocas's heart like an iron hammer. The greataxe in the Executioner's hands cleaved toward Count Palocas with violent fury, nearly tearing the air apart.
The instant the axe fell, Count Palocas's eyes were still clamped shut in agony. His combat instincts drove him to raise both arms with all his might to parry.
Boom!
Sparks scattered in an explosion of clanging metal. The Count managed to block the axe solely by relying on his seventh-tier physical constitution, yet his body rocked like a skiff in a violent storm, stumbling backward several steps in succession.
"Despicable human!"
Count Palocas bellowed in disbelief.
Was that what passed for a fist?! That shameless axe warrior was blatantly taking advantage of his blindness!
The Count's sleeves were torn to shreds, two hideous gashes left across his forearms, both hands trembling with sharp pain.
"Take a strike of my blade, Count."
Before the Count could recover, the Paladin's towering, righteous voice rang out from behind him.
Without anyone noticing, the Paladin had already positioned himself on the opposite side of the light. His silver armor was gilded with a golden luster by the sunlight, and he held a holy sword that seemed to illuminate the world.
Each step of his charging sprint landed like a rhythmic drumbeat, pounding deep into Count Palocas's heart.
The sound of the blade's tip scraping along the stone floor drew ever closer, exerting a pressure like seawater swallowing a sinking ship, forcing Count Palocas to brace himself in the darkness of his blinded vision.
Yet somewhere along the way, the Paladin had already discarded his sword and launched into a ferocious dash. Accompanied by the clatter of the hilt hitting the floor, the Paladin's hands slammed horizontally into both of Count Palocas's temples, sending a wave of dizziness through the Count that nearly brought him to his knees.
The male guard stood in the corner like a wraith, the short swords in his hands gleaming with a cold glint.
Count Palocas already felt his consciousness slipping. Before he could regain his senses, a deadly chill surged at him from the front.
Before he could even guess what kind of attack was coming this time, the male guard gripped his short swords with both hands and brought them smashing violently down onto Palocas's crown.
"Piercing straight through the skull!"
From a distance, the Poet of Great Love provided lively commentary in her cheerful, melodic voice.
She looked so thrilled that she seemed ready to dance, waving her slender arms behind the banquet table like a cheerleader, shouting encouragement for the vanguard on the front lines.
"You damned succubus—! Don't you dare let me catch you!"
Count Palocas's bones were gradually deforming under the barrage of underhanded strikes. He was furious enough to burst yet had nowhere to vent his rage! His skin ultimately could not withstand the sharp blades, and blood boiled forth like scalding water!
Chapter 152