The snow began to fracture, every fissure seeming as if carved open by an invisible bloody light, until the horizon of the snowy realm seemed to transform into a massive magic circle.
"I will confirm one last time. Does Mr. Luoqi truly not consider joining our Blood Clan?"
Across the silver-white snowfield, a piercing, icy wind flapped Count Gregory's long coat, yet the bitter chill felt nonexistent to him.
"I genuinely admire you. Your talent ought to be put to use for our Blood Clan."
Those fissures gradually began to glow, and a crimson mist billowed into the sky, sealing off the entire snowbound expanse before Xigelei and Lanqi, as if tons of magical power were about to crash down upon them.
He walked with slow, deliberate steps, observing the expressions of Xigelei and Lanqi.
The little werewolf's breathing was ragged with exhaustion, her gaze brimming with confusion.
Yet the Imperial artisan beside her remained entirely expressionless, appearing untouched by any outside emotion.
Though possessing only a mortal body, he exuded the unwavering presence of a superior ruler.
His gaze alone seemed to reject every offer Count Gregory made.
"...How regrettable. Since you are both enemies of the Blood Clan, you shall be obliterated together."
Count Gregory's voice carried a hint of disappointment. His deep, majestic crimson eyes resembled an abyss, one that could pull a person endlessly downward until their soul was lost.
He had lost all patience.
"..."
Xigelei looked up at the tall figure beside her, knowing full well that she stood no chance against this Blood Clan Count.
Lanqi might have survived, but because he had provoked the Blood Clan Count, now even he would be annihilated.
She could only watch the surrounding snowflakes tremble amidst the shuddering power, as if resisting an indescribable terror.
Heavy, dark clouds gathered in the sky, rapidly swirling under the pull of bloody mana to form a colossal vortex.
Between heaven and earth, all sound and color seemed swallowed by Count Gregory's mana, leaving only a dead silence.
On the ground, Lanqi and Xigelei could barely feel their own existence, as everything around them blurred and grew indistinct.
The magical mark unleashed by Count Gregory seemed poised to erase everything, including their senses.
"It is over,"
Count Gregory coldly declared.
From high above, a crimson tsunami fell from the vortex.
At this life-or-death juncture, Xigelei was strangely calm.
Her eyes reflected Lanqi's silhouette, her violet pupils shimmering with tenderness and acceptance.
She had imagined many ways she might die.
Yet she had never thought that when facing death, she would find an ending as peaceful as a dream.
She knew there was not a shred of hope—just as the sun would never rise over this Land of Evernight.
Yet she took hold of Lanqi's hand.
As long as she was beside this person, that gentle paradise in her dreams seemed half-real.
Who knew? Perhaps...
Her lips trembled slightly, yet she made no sound.
Time accelerated in an instant, and the overwhelming mana descended to swallow their figures.
Suddenly, an astounding roar erupted across the snow plains, ten thousand claps of thunder ringing together through the air as if to shake the entire world!
Count Gregory sneered as he watched the weak swallowed by magical power.
Then a sudden gale swept across the entire snowfield, heralding the arrival of dawn.
This Roar of the Storm Dragon began as a mere swirl, but it rapidly swelled into a violent hurricane capable of tearing all things asunder.
Beneath this formidable Tier 7 wind magic, all the spells Count Gregory had cast fluttered like fragile sheets of paper and were effortlessly snuffed out.
And that was not all.
Lanqi covered Xigelei's eyes.
The earth rumbled, and blood bloomed.
From his other hand burst a brilliant orange lightning that shot straight into the sky.
Was it a destroyer or a demolisher?
In an instant, Gregory, his face bleached pale by the blinding light and shadow, could not tell.
Then, at once.
A dazzling radiance like the sun flooded the entire snowfield.
The Land of Evernight turned in an instant into a realm of pure white light, ready to burst through the night sky, coating the snowy ground in an iridescent aura!
Like ripples cast down from a pure white heaven, a sphere of light like the morning sun rose over the Land of Evernight, and beneath the blessing of its light, the earth grew warm.
Under this mighty power, time seemed reversed, turning midnight into high noon!
Count Gregory, who had just been looking down from on high, clutched at his eyes in agony as if they were pierced by ten thousand needles, even as the gale whipped up by [Roar of the Storm Dragon] hurled him into the sky.
The power of the sun altered the color of the sky, piercing straight through the clouds.
Beneath the sunlight, this wind blew gently across the land, leaving the snowflakes suspended in midair, simultaneously rising and falling.
And standing at the eye of this tempest was the god who commanded the sun.
His gaze was filled with mercy and compassion, yet held a hint of regret, as if declaring the end of this game.
This was a summon Lanqi had not used in a long time, and now he finally let it shine its light once more.
[Radiant Virtue]
[Category: Summon Card]
[Quality: Orange Epic]
[Tier: 3]
[Effect: Continually consumes a large amount of mana to summon a harmless miniature sun of maximum brightness, interfering with the vision of all targets and raising nearby temperatures. The radiant effect gradually strengthens in confined spaces and gradually weakens visually in open terrain.]
[Remark: In the morning our song shall rise to Thee; merciful and mighty, revered by all saints. Glory and praise belong to the wondrous Sun; casting down golden crowns around the glassy sea, ten thousand heavenly hosts bow down, praising our Lord's true name: Lanmen.]
"No, impossible!!"
In that instant, Count Gregory would rather believe that this blinding light searing his eyes was nothing more than an illusion.
Yet the reality was that his strength had withered to barely a tenth of its former might!
Moreover, this solar power seemed to endlessly refract and amplify across the snow, threatening to inflict a dreadful punishment far worse than direct exposure to the blazing midday sun.
"A good day begins in the morning. Young people ought to sleep early and wake early to maintain a healthy routine, rather than turning day and night upside down. Caught another Blood Clan member pulling an all-nighter."
Lanqi remarked with a sigh, listening to Count Gregory's agonizing shrieks under the light of Radiant Virtue while shielding Xigelei's eyes with his hand.
He had always felt that the Blood Clan had a major flaw: terrible sleep schedules.
Not only was it bad for physical and mental health, but it also easily set a terrible example for youngsters.
They had almost led Xigelei astray.
"Y-you..."
Xigelei's voice was hoarse. With Lanqi covering her eyes, the piercing brilliance also compelled her to keep them closed instinctively.
She had no idea what had just occurred.
At this moment, she only wondered if she had truly tumbled into a dream.
It turned out.
Beneath the blood moon, there really was a sun.
And there really was someone like the sun from her dreams.
Someone who, just when she thought the world had reached a dead end, would come to bring her light.
Chapter 556