Chapter 197: The Siege of the Dark Races

As the golden demon-hunting knight was about to finish off the four blood clan members, whose energy was nearly depleted, a flurry of wing beats sounded, rapidly growing louder.

The demon-hunting knight swiftly turned to locate the source of the noise. On the edge of Varian, a city within the Bayleaf Duchy, a vast, dark cloud was quickly approaching from the sky.

The moonlight, which had been scattering silver brightness across the land, vanished upon touching this mass of dark clouds. Even the moonlight around it twisted and was absorbed—this cloud was devouring the moonlight.

Beneath this cloud, no light could be seen on the land, which was plunged into darkness and silence. It seemed as if where the cloud passed, no grass grew, and all life ceased.

As the cloud prepared to enter Varian, faint glimmers of light began to appear on the city walls at the edge of the duchy's largest commercial city. These were the defensive magic arrays engraved on the walls.

A barrier of light rose from the walls surrounding Varian, quickly forming a protective dome over the city, blocking the dark cloud outside.

"How boring. What significance does this defense hold for me?" A lazy hum emanated from within the cloud. Then, countless surges of blood energy formed a massive hand that slapped down towards the city's protective dome.

"Marquis Andre, this is human territory. If you do not wish to perish here, please leave."

Before the bloodied hand could fall, numerous rays of white light materialized in the air, forming a giant hand of holy light that met it head-on.

The collision of the two palms, each representing opposing forces, resulted in a destructive explosion mid-air, sending a violent shockwave across the wilderness outside Varian, breaking and destroying vegetation far and wide.

"Cardinal Felix!"

As the voice echoed from the cloud, a figure in a red robe, wielding a staff and with white hair, stepped forward. He stood in front of the protective dome formed by Varian's defensive arrays.

"Just hide in your temple. I won't trouble you if you don't block my way."

The "cloud" boiled like a pot of water at boiling point, with dense bat screams filling Varian, causing countless ordinary residents to hide under their blankets, trembling and praying for divine protection, hoping the city's strong could protect them.

This was not a cloud but a horde of nearly a million terrifying bats—a spectacle of a spirit will-level blood clan marquis after transforming into bats.

Thousands of bats flew out and quickly gathered, forming a handsome middle-aged man in black attire with a short cane, his appearance sinister.

"Third-order spirit will, with only six soul rings? You are not my match." Blood Clan Marquis Andre looked at the red-robed elder disdainfully. Behind him, fifteen blood-red soul rings of spirit will faintly visible, exuding a dark, bloody aura.

"Relying on this city's protective array to delay you until other cardinals arrive poses no problem." The marquis's contemptuous tone did not provoke Cardinal Felix, who spoke a fact calmly.

"The longer I delay you, the more cardinals can be teleported for support. Then, it will be your downfall.

I do not understand, who gave you the courage to attack a city guarded by a cardinal?"

"Who told you that the blood clan only sent one marquis today?" Amidst the enormous bat swarm, the blood clan marquis let out a deep chuckle, "We value the demon-hunting knight more than you think."

Flurries of wing beats approached from three other directions around Varian, each group of bats as numerous as those accompanying the blood clan marquis, forming a siege around the city.

The blood clan marquis intent on targeting the still-growing demon-hunting knight was not one but four, now all revealing themselves around Varian.

"Four blood clan marquises!" Cardinal Felix's expression darkened instantly, "How could there be so many high-ranking blood clan members around the Bayleaf Duchy?"

"Oh! In the Bayleaf Duchy, I am the only marquis. But after receiving news of the demon-hunting knight's appearance yesterday, I reported to a prince, who then sent three marquises to assist me in eliminating this ostentatious demon-hunting knight."

Howls echoed through the night sky, followed by numerous wolf howls, none as loud as the initial four.

Hearing these dense howls, Cardinal Felix's face darkened further.

On the ground, four giant wolves, with fur either silver or black, approached Varian from four directions, followed by a vast, tide-like swarm of wolves.

Eventually, four giant wolves, each over twenty meters long, stopped outside Varian's walls.

Under Cardinal Felix's gaze, one giant wolf, stepping on thirteen rings of spirit will, rose into the air, its massive body quickly shrinking to a standing werewolf form.

"Old man, do you open the defenses and step aside, or do I tear you apart and break through this barrier?"

Even in werewolf form, the four-meter-tall spirit will-level werewolf looked at Cardinal Felix with a menacing laugh, exuding wild arrogance.

"Eight spirit will beings, all to deal with one golden-tier demon-hunting knight." Cardinal Felix revealed a mocking smile, "You fear our human demon-hunting knights that much."

"Fear the demon-hunting knight?" Hearing the cardinal's words, the grey-furred spirit will-level werewolf laughed uproariously, "Don't be ridiculous. It's just a fallen legacy. I'm merely following the elders' orders by coming to this small, broken duchy. I'm curious to see what kind of creature the demon-hunting knight is, to make those old fools so wary."

"Heh, idiots with brains for muscles." Hearing the spirit will-level werewolf's boast, Marquis Andre retorted. The werewolves' history, though as long as the blood clan's, was recorded in a much cruder manner, nowhere near as detailed as the blood clan's.

"What did you say..." As the spirit will-level black-furred werewolf turned to glare at Marquis Andre, eight gold fireballs, each over ten meters in diameter, suddenly smashed into the eight dark spirit will-level beings surrounding the city.

"Everyone back off. This city is under my protection, Kaslana, today. Whoever dares to attack, dies!"

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