"If you are willing to cooperate, I can guarantee that you will leave safely. Otherwise, I believe the outcome of this battle should be obvious to you."
Demon officer Lieutenant Colonel Luka's gaze settled upon Lanqi and Xigelei, his voice calm and resolute.
He did not understand why this confidant of Duke Eduardo, the Fourth Progenitor, had arrived at the Demon Realm border ahead of schedule, nor how a count of the Blood Clan could have been defeated. Even so, he was certain that the human's mana was largely depleted, his already faint magical fluctuations having grown even more ethereal. Meanwhile, the incredibly powerful wolf girl appeared to be at the end of her rope, her strength nearly exhausted.
After defeating a Blood Clan count, neither of them had the strength for another round.
The entire Land of Evernight fell into a brief silence.
The surrounding snowfield seemed to wait for their decision as well.
"Haha, hahaha!"
Count Gregory laughed hysterically with what little strength he had left.
With grand peace talks between the Blood Clan and the Demon Realm imminent, a lieutenant colonel of the Demon Realm naturally would not stand by and watch a Blood Clan count be butchered by humans on their border.
Furthermore, this human and wolf girl clearly had not realized how exalted the Blood Clan's status was in the Demon Realm under the current political climate.
"..."
Lanqi placed a hand on Xigelei's shoulder, signaling for her to relax.
Xigelei gritted her teeth.
She was desperately worried that the victory within their grasp would be overturned by this Blood Clan count. If they let him go, these demons would undoubtedly return the blood to him. He would quickly recover and resume hunting them down.
Yet before the warm hand on her shoulder could ease her tension in the slightest, she heard Count Gregory screaming from the ground.
"Let me kill them! Let me kill them!!"
Count Gregory shrieked like a madman.
"..."
"According to the North-South Treaty, in disputes involving humans and the Blood Clan, we cannot assist humans, and along the Demon Realm border, we must do our utmost to ensure the safety of the Blood Clan."
Hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Luka glanced at the Blood Clan count on the ground before explaining and adding to the two of them.
Xigelei's face turned pale once more.
She had never imagined that a victory practically in their grasp would end in utter ruin at this very last moment because of demon intervention.
What they faced was not just a single Blood Clan count, but the entire Blood Clan backing him.
This was a power born of the Blood Clan's racial heritage.
Or perhaps Count Gregory had anticipated every eventuality all along, choosing to hunt them down in a place as far as possible from the orc city-states and right against the Demon Realm border.
"Help me seize her! She's of the Wolf Clan! She's the criminal who assaulted me, the mortal enemy of our Blood Clan! You demons are obligated to arrest her and hand her over to the Blood Clan!"
Seeing the demon officer make his stance clear, Count Gregory continued to shout his demands.
The demon officer fell silent for a moment.
Although the demon race bore no grudge against the near-extinct Wolf Clan, they were well aware of the blood feud between the Blood Clan and the Wolf Clan.
"Little girl, even if you run now, you'll soon be wanted by the Demon Realm. Make things easy for everyone."
The Demon Realm officer finally looked toward Xigelei and drew a dark-red longsword.
Subduing her might take a bit of effort, but if she ran, it was a long way to the orc city-states; without a vehicle, she had no hope of escaping.
Once she fled, the Demon Realm border guard would deploy more troops at the Blood Clan count's behest to conduct an extensive search across the region. No matter where she hid, she would soon be surrounded by Demon Realm forces.
"All right, human. Please take your leave."
The demon officer turned to Lanqi.
This was the greatest concession he could grant. As a neutral party, the Demon Realm had no need to offend the Polant Empire—the royal insignia on the overturned sleigh in the distance made the human's nationality obvious.
From this human's attire and bearing, one could tell he was a fairly high-ranking figure in the Polant Empire; killing him might invite trouble.
"Luoqi McCarthy, I've already marked you! No matter where you run, I will slaughter you, and I will kill everyone connected to you!!"
Count Gregory's throat trembled incessantly as he let out shrill, snickering laughter.
He was already quite satisfied with the Demon Realm officer's handling; under normal circumstances, after all, the demons might not have shown such deference to the Blood Clan.
"..."
Xigelei did not know what to do.
She could run, but she could not ask Lanqi to flee with her and be hunted down by demons at her side.
If this Blood Clan count were let go today, endless disaster would await the two of them.
It might even endanger her younger brothers and sisters at the orphanage.
Duke Eduardo, the Fourth Progenitor, had already discovered her; he would never allow her to go on living. That was a supreme Tier 9 Blood Clan powerhouse whom no one could oppose—even her father, whom she had believed to be the strongest, had died by his hand.
Xigelei's palms grew cold.
In that moment, she wanted to kill the count immediately. If only she could kill him before the demons attacked! Yet she knew all too well that killing a vampire was utterly impossible.
Such was the injustice of their races.
The hope she had grasped with such difficulty was being submerged and shattered by the freezing wind and snow, plunging her back from a beautiful dream into a living nightmare.
This despair made her feet feel as though filled with lead, leaving her nowhere to run.
Without her noticing when, Lanqi had picked up her beret, placed it on her head, and given it a gentle pat.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me,"
Lanqi spoke to Xigelei in an assured tone.
Xigelei looked up in a daze.
Defeating a Blood Clan count head-on earlier had already felt unreal enough.
Could a miracle truly happen twice?
Her eyes seemed to ask: *Luoqi, do you still have a way?*
"Good, wonderful! Help me seize him too!"
Count Gregory burst into laughter.
Originally, if this human had offered no resistance, the Demon Realm army would have had no justification to help capture him as well.
But now, even if this imperial craftsman had the favor of the orc high lords, he would have no chance of fleeing back to the orc city-states!
It spared him so much trouble!
"Human! Cease your resistance!"
The demon troops sensed that Lanqi was about to make a move. Though his magical power remained faint and steady, they were certain this man had no intention of compromising with them.
He did not look like someone preparing to leave at all; his stance was that of someone resolved to protect this wolf girl to the bitter end.
And yet.
All the demons saw was a cocoon-like sheen of lightning rising around the man's figure.
Lieutenant Colonel Luka immediately raised his hands before him to ward off any sudden sonic blast or flurry of snow.
In the next second.
At the end of the electric light diffusing across the dim snowfield, an indistinct silhouette emerged.
Like a sovereign standing upon a black reef, only his brilliantly glowing demonic silhouette and those eerie emerald eyes flickering in the dark night were distinct.
The glowing, fissure-like markings across his body faintly exuded the aura of a quasi-king.
His gaze swept over them.
*Clang! Clatter!*
The weapons of the Demon Realm soldiers tumbled to the ground, leaving only their empty, trembling hands.
The supreme, exalted aura of a great demon was laid bare. Even without understanding what had just transpired, the demon officers and soldiers reacted instinctively, dropping to their knees before him.
"Now this is an internal matter of the demon race. That Blood Clan count is my spoils of war—there shouldn't be any issue with that, should there?"
Lanqi clasped his hands behind his back, looking as though he had reverted to that headmaster of Purgatory Corridor Academy benevolently instructing his students.
"Yes, my lord! Please forgive our impudence! We had no intention of offending you—we truly failed to recognize your true self earlier!"
Lieutenant Colonel Luka pressed his head low to the ground and responded in a trembling voice.
This was no aura a three-mark or four-mark great demon could possess.
If faint royal aptitude was present, he had to be at least a six-mark great demon!
"..."
Xigelei's startled eyes reflected the radiant, demonic form.
For some reason,
she felt not the slightest fear toward this demon, clutching tightly to the back of his coat.
Though she could not grasp the cause and effect or the secrets hidden within this man named Luoqi for the moment,
she knew he would not harm her. And having been exposed as a member of the Wolf Clan, if she wanted to survive at the hands of the demons, she had to hold on to him with everything she had.
Chapter 560