Chapter 238: Confrontation with the Vampire Count

Morgiana had been lying on the roots of a tree for about a minute when she stood up, leaning against the parasitic vines on the tree. Then, supporting herself on the tree, she barely moved. Her long dress was in tatters, her outer woolen coat riddled with holes, and her waist was bleeding continuously. After moving a few steps with the support of the tree, she used up all her strength immediately. Her legs softened, and she nearly fell.

Gripping the parasitic vines tightly, Morgiana barely leaned against the tree. The wound on her waist kept bleeding. The curse power of the vampire was seeping into her body through the wound. If it were her heyday, she could have expelled these curses, but now she could only endure.

"Ugh~" Blood flowed down from the wound on her waist, wetting her dress and staining her stockings red. Morgiana knew she was facing a painful choice.

Was it to seek help at the risk of being discovered, or to find a place to hide and wait for assistance?

Either way, Morgiana knew it was fraught with danger. With continuous blood loss and becoming increasingly weak, she couldn't hold on for much longer.

Having only teleported a little over a thousand meters, she had very little time to make her choice. Leaning against the tree, Morgiana breathed lightly, feeling her body sliding down, her vision gradually blurring.

No, hiding would only mean waiting for death! The lake witch bit lightly on the tip of her tongue with her teeth, a faint pain brought back a bit of her spirit. Morgiana, holding onto the parasitic vines, forced herself to move her feet.

Dawn broke, and the pure light of dawn pierced through the leaves, casting light and shadow into the forest. The morning mist filled the forest. Morgiana's stunningly beautiful face was anxious; her condition was dire, and the sunlight made it easier to expose her location. Lower-level blood creatures or vampires fear the sunlight because they dread the Sun God Petra, but high-order vampires are not so afraid of sunlight. Unfortunately, Manfred was a high-order vampire, once a vampire leader.

Barely taking a step, her legs were so weak that she couldn't exert any strength. The dew wetted Morgiana's long dress, making her steps even heavier.

"Shh~shh~" The sound of something moving through the bushes came from ahead!

Who was it?

She couldn't care less! Morgiana threw herself out, her legs softened, and she rolled down the slope from the high ground along the roots of a large tree.

What caught her eye was a young Grail Knight in exquisite silver full body armor, wielding a war hammer, passing through the bushes, his black hair, blue eyes, and the Grail Knight badge with open wings on his chest indicating his identity.

"Ryan?"

Morgiana's voice was as faint as a mosquito. The lake witch exhaled lightly and then fell headlong from the air.

"Morgiana!" Ryan immediately rushed over and caught the falling lake witch, holding her in his arms. Seeing Morgiana's condition was very bad, Ryan hurriedly asked, "What happened? How did you become like this?"

"Ryan... how did you... find me?" Morgiana's voice was weak, the lake witch's azure pupils filled with regret and relief.

"I saw you going alone to negotiate with the tree spirit and was worried about your safety, so I followed. Along the way, I met an injured Silvan, which told me you were in danger! Then I felt my seal was opened, so I rushed over through the night." Ryan picked Morgiana up, the chosen champion's face was very anxious: "You are seriously injured! I can't feel any magic from you! What happened?"

"The tree spirit... betrayed me. The vampire... wants to sacrifice me to... Nagash." Morgiana said weakly, Ryan immediately took out the precious potion brought by the elf, applied it to the injured waist of the lake witch, and stopped the bleeding first.

"The vampire... will soon catch up... Ryan, be careful..." After saying these words with her last strength, Morgiana passed out.

"Princess Morgiana!" Ryan gently shook the fragile body of the lake witch, and after confirming she was still alive, he placed her behind a large tree. The chosen champion frowned: "Vampire?"

Ryan immediately felt an evil force approaching. So, he stepped out from behind the large tree, and just two steps out, Manfred's figure appeared in the distance, a hundred meters away. The vampire count held a scythe in one hand and the Blasphemy Blade in the other, his black-red cursed armor hung with human heads, and the two giant spikes behind him were dense with skulls. He was a bit startled to see a Grail Knight appear here.

The cunning vampire count immediately guessed that a Grail Knight had come to rescue Morgiana. But seeing Ryan so young and composed, Manfred was somewhat uncertain. In his view, Morgiana was seriously injured, without magic, and had difficulty moving. How could she possibly send out a distress signal? Even if there was a little magic left, she would have used it to escape. It was impossible for a Grail Knight to appear here so quickly.

So, he tested: "What an unlucky day, I actually met a Grail Knight in the forest. You are lucky, Grail Knight, I am not your enemy. I am just passing by. For the sake of your goddess, I have no intention of fighting you."

The morning light shone on Ryan's face, very calm, and he also thought to himself that the vampire count must have come to chase Morgiana. But he didn't know Morgiana was nearby.

So, Ryan also tested: "What a glorious day, just completed a sacred pilgrimage, the Isle of Lilies witnessed the glory of the ancient kings, and the lady sent me such an opponent. Vampire, accept my challenge! The chosen champion of the lady, Ryan Macado, challenges you!"

After speaking, Ryan took out a white glove from his bosom and threw it at Manfred.

Damn! A knight-errant! The vampire count knew there must be a battle between him and Ryan. Manfred raised his sword: "I don't want to fight you, Grail Knight!"

"For the lady!" Ryan didn't care so much. He looked like a young and reckless hot-blooded youth, raising his war hammer and charging at Manfred.

It seems this Grail Knight doesn't know about Morgiana. Now that it has come to this, the vampire count had no choice but to chant a powerful spell. A violent red and black energy burst forth from in front of him and charged directly at Ryan's location.

Nagash's Gaze!

Ryan swiftly dodged, avoiding this violent spell energy. Necromantic magic blasted a big pit in the forest ground, and all bushes and trees within a meter of where the spell landed were corroded to a charred black.

Ryan turned around, looking unfazed. The chosen champion of the lady quickly approached Manfred's location. His steps were very fast, covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.

The cunning vampire count then confirmed that Ryan really didn't know about Morgiana. If he wanted to protect something, he definitely wouldn't have let the spell explode

. Manfred roared, saying, "Give me your head, Grail Knight!"

"Die, midnight noble!" Ryan's war hammer, shining with white flames, smashed directly at Manfred's chest, unleashing unparalleled power.

Manfred hastily countered, the Blasphemy Blade clashing with the war hammer. The terrifying power from the blade let the vampire count know he couldn't take it head-on. He quickly retreated a few steps, then chanted a death spell: "Dark Despair!"

This was a high-level spell mastered by vampires. His soul released a powerful energy, intimidating enemies, consuming their will to fight, and spreading panic.

"Spell Dispel!" Ryan raised his left hand, pale blue psionic energy gathered and disrupted Manfred's accumulating magical structure. Then, taking advantage of the vampire count's interrupted spell, he approached again. His war hammer swept across, forcing Manfred to dodge. A tree, several decades old, was directly smashed by Ryan and collapsed thunderously.

What a powerful Grail Knight! Seeing this scene, Manfred was a bit tense. He had heard of Ryan's name not long ago and had not paid much attention at first.

The vampire count had lived for thousands of years. He had faced countless strong enemies and had also confronted Grail Knights. But this was the first time he had seen such a powerful Grail Knight. Manfred swung his scythe horizontally, aiming directly at Ryan's neck, then the Blasphemy Blade thrust diagonally upwards from the right lower side towards Ryan's left chest, about to pierce through Ryan.

Ryan swung out his left hand and directly grabbed the scythe. His war hammer's head struck the Blasphemy Blade, its power so great that Manfred had trouble holding his sword. Ryan's war hammer went up, aiming for Manfred's head.

But the vampire count chanted the next spell: "Curse of Ages!"

Manfred uttered an ancient curse from his mouth, containing countless wronged souls' complaints and jealousy towards the living. Ryan didn't dare to take it head-on. He had to abandon his offensive and immediately dodge. The purple-black curse flew out from Manfred's mouth, passing under Ryan's ribs, and struck a large tree.

The next scene opened Ryan's eyes wide. The vigorous tree aged, withered, died, and broke down in front of the Grail Knight, turning into a dead tree.

Taking this opportunity, Manfred chanted another spell, a seventh-circle necromancy spell, commanding the dead.

There were no corpses in the forest, so the vampire count couldn't summon a zombie army or a skeleton army to fight for him. But it didn't matter. Manfred von Carstein was proficient in all necromancy spells. His body was filled with necromantic energy, and the bones of dead animals and even forest spirits were called out from the ground, separating from the trees.

He wanted to summon Stone Tomb Spirits and Bound Spirit Knights!

Of course, Ryan wouldn't let him succeed. The chosen champion drew the Goddess of Vengeance from his back, raising it high: "Group Dispel!"

The shining psionic light swept over the vampire count's summoned spirit army. Those enslaved animal souls and spirits immediately broke free from Manfred's control and scattered.

Damn! Arkhan didn't tell me there was a Grail Knight who could dispel magic! Manfred's efforts failed, and the vampire count clenched his teeth, his silver eyes staring at Ryan standing opposite him.

"Woah!" The vampire count roared angrily and once again fought Ryan fiercely. The Blasphemy Blade formed a dull light at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, stabbing at Ryan repeatedly.

"For the lady!" Ryan, wielding a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other, roared like a lion, fully displaying his combat skills. The Goddess of Vengeance burned with a very vigorous white flame, carrying a divine power and sanctity that vampires couldn't look directly at. Sometimes lightning exploded on the war hammer, sometimes flames spurted, and sometimes a whirlwind surrounded it.

The lake nymph's chosen champion, with his powerful strength, actually fought on par with the sanctuary-level Manfred. The forest where they were had turned into a scorched earth.

"Bang!" A clash of blades. Manfred frowned at the notch on the Blasphemy Blade. Necromantic energy flowed in, and the Blasphemy Blade was immediately repaired as new. Then he raised his hand, another Nagash's Gaze. Ryan caught it with his sword, was pushed back several meters, and then roared, tearing the energy bundle apart.

Unlike the leader of the Carstein family, Vlad von Carstein, Manfred was closer to a mage than a warrior. His melee combat ability was good, but he was even more powerful in mastering all death and necromancy spells. Facing Ryan's continuous dispelling of his summoning spells and Ryan's high magic resistance, Manfred always felt a bit uncomfortable, unable to use his full strength. Unable to summon undead servants, he had to engage in a fight with Ryan, which was what Ryan wanted.

"All undead must be purified, all dead must be buried in the graveyard, and you are no exception." Ryan was full of energy, and Manfred was powerful. The vampire count had a certain advantage, but he couldn't defeat Ryan in a short time.

"Eighth-circle magic, Zereus's Purple Sun!" Manfred released a powerful mana. A purple-black sphere, several meters in diameter, appeared out of thin air with his chanting, crystallizing everything in the forest it passed. The magical vortex destroyed everything along its path.

Ryan moved sideways, running fast, and rolled to dodge Manfred's spell.

Now! The vampire count's summoning spell worked. A giant zombie dragon appeared from the distant sky. The powerful black magic had deeply penetrated the bones of these ancient dragons. The dead giant dragon opened its mouth, spewing out a breath filled with filth and destructive power.

"Psionic Storm!" Ryan's eyes gathered pale blue psionic energy, then sublimated. A dozen lightning bolts shot out from his body, confronting the zombie dragon's breath. The zombie dragon took the opportunity to swoop low, stirring up a large amount of dust.

When Ryan dispersed the dust, Manfred was already standing on the dragon's back: "Interesting, Grail Knight, chosen champion Ryan Macado? I will remember you. Your little tricks can't fool me. Let's meet again if fate allows."

After speaking, the zombie dragon spread its rotting wings and flew into the distance.

Ryan stood silently on the spot. Five seconds later, the golden-armored Imperial Guards emerged from the depths of the forest. Two guards, wielding Guardian Halberds and Sentinel Swords, arrived next to Ryan, looking at the devastated battlefield: "Prince Ryan?"

"Such a cunning fellow. I originally wanted to capture him." Seeing the two Imperial Guards appear, Ryan sheathed his sword and sighed: "He must have sensed your approach, so he immediately retreated... Also, according to the Empire's history, Manfred is notoriously cunning. He won't be easily outwitted or fall into a trap."

The Imperial Guards didn't have transportation devices. They rushed over immediately after receiving Ryan's message. Ryan's original plan was to hold off the vampire count, and then when the guards arrived, they would capture Manfred. But Manfred

 was indeed too cunning, and Ryan's plan failed.

"Forget it, we can't catch what flies. Let's retreat." Ryan returned to the large tree and picked up the unconscious Morgiana: "Princess Morgiana needs treatment. Let's return to the Gien domain immediately."

"Ryan?" Feeling herself being picked up, the lake witch slowly woke up.

"I'm sorry, I'm late, my princess." Ryan said softly, seeing Morgiana's condition, he felt very sad.

"It's okay, you came... that's enough..."

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