The First Magic World War

Lord Leo showed a smile of pleasure and said, "Qian Nan, you are indeed an exceptional soldier. I will disregard your earlier mistake. My two servants and I have been on the road for a long time and need to rest. You keep watch for the night."

Charles ushered Lord Leo into the adventure camp where the middle-aged member of the Blood Clan chose a large tree, leaned against the trunk, and pretended to sleep. His two servants split into shifts to guard their master, clearly distrusting the group of adventurers.

Charles wiped the sweat from his forehead and moved away from Lord Leo, finding a secluded spot to sit down with a sigh.

After rushing for a day and then fighting a battle, the sudden turn of events was extremely thrilling and adrenaline-pumping, but it left him doubly exhausted afterward. Charles felt sore all over and didn't even want to move a pinkie.

Although he had temporarily avoided danger through quick thinking, it was only a matter of time before Lord Leo realized he was not one of his own.

If Lord Leo discovered he was not a member of the Adonis Clan but had cultivated Bloody Glory, which the Blood Clan greatly detested, how would he preserve his life under the wrath of a High-Level Transcendent?

Charles still hadn't come up with a solution.

He knew that despite the seeming safety, danger lurked everywhere. A single mistake could lead to his untimely death. After resting briefly, although he was still very tired, he forcibly gathered his energy to operate the Protagora Breathing Method, needing to quickly assimilate Winterburn's life essence.

Lord Leo had impaled Winterburn, yet had not devoured his life force. High Order Blood Clan members prioritized the purity of Blood Energy, and uncontrolled, crazed devouring of life force could lead to monstrosity, so they would not randomly devour prey of lower Extraordinary Ranks except for occasional supplementation.

But for Charles, the life essence of a Fourth Order Knight was too precious, and he hadn't yet reached the level where he needed to be "picky," which is why he had delivered a stab.

After more than a hundred breaths, when all the life essence had transformed into Bloody Glory, Charles did not open a fifth Bloody Vortex. Instead, he chose to condense a Bloody Rune—Angel's Thorn!

His reason for making such a choice was:

Because of the Blood Rose!

Angel's Thorn was one of the thirteen Unique Skills of Bloody Glory and also the foundation of the Asiluo Clan's Secret Technique.

The Asiluo Clan, one of the Three Emperor Clans of the Blood Clan, specialized in Martial Techniques. Their swordsmanship was ranked first among the thirty-seven Blood Clan families. As the foundation of the Asiluo Clan's Secret Technique, Angel's Thorn was not only an Extraordinary Secret Art but also Extraordinary Swordsmanship, renowned throughout the Old Continent.

In the secret scrolls of Bloody Glory, the records about Angel's Thorn were vague. No one knew how the great sage Protagora had learned this technique and achieved full mastery, integrating it into Bloody Glory.

There were few students cultivating Bloody Glory in the four universities of the Empire, and since the death of the great sage Protagora, although other Unique Skills and runes had been mastered by some, no one had successfully cultivated Angel's Thorn.

Many scholars, after studying Protagora's secret scrolls and the customs of the Asiluo Clan, concluded that practicing Angel's Thorn required the "inheritance" of the Blood Clan.

The Asiluo Clan's elders would condense all of their cultivation into a special "seed." Only a member of the Blood Clan who received this "seed" could cultivate Angel's Thorn and step into the practice of the Asiluo Clan's Secret Technique.

Although Protagora had gifted the secret scrolls to the four universities, he himself had never taken any disciples, and after Fars and Byron established diplomatic relations, they declared that no member of the Human Race practicing Bloody Glory could enter their territories. Thus, no human had obtained the inheritance of Angel's Thorn since.

The Blood Rose's ability to forcefully open the fourth Bloody Vortex signified that it contained the previous master's understanding of the Asiluo Clan's Secret Technique.

Charles certainly didn't want to waste this opportunity.

With a gesture, the Blood Rose warmed slightly and transformed into a stream of bloody light, merging into his left arm.

In the Bloody Vortex on his left arm, the Magic Stabbing Sword transformed into a rune structure resembling a sword, trembling incessantly and striking gracefully.

Charles slightly closed his eyes, and myriad bizarre and ruthless sword techniques emerged in his mind. Each move was inconceivably fast, as swift as lightning and thunder.

It was fortunate that he had twice directly faced the Evil God, and his spirituality, comparable to a High-Level Transcendent, allowed him to deeply imprint these sword techniques in his mind and fully accept this Asiluo Clan's inheritance.

About several hours later, near dawn, Charles opened his eyes. There was a faint blood-colored gleam swirling in his gaze. He took a deep breath and with a flick of his hand, the Blood Rose appeared out of thin air.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He held the Vampiric Rapier in his palm, caressing it gently, and thought silently, "The Extraordinary Weapon that Louis gifted me likely has some history. He could claim sheer luck in obtaining Shalun's spear, but getting this Vampiric Rapier suggests a deeper intrigue."

"Louis probably doesn't know the origins of these two weapons; otherwise, he wouldn't have given one of them to me."

"I have a feeling this matter could involve some trouble!"

Charles heard someone call out the name "Qian Nan." Without time to reflect on his newly acquired ability, he hastily stood up and ran over to Lord Leo.

The Blood Clan Lord Byron, who had woken up, saw Charles and smiled slightly, saying, "I brought some blood bait. Would you like a couple of pieces?"

Blood bait, a type of blood food made with magic, is one of the favorite foods of the Blood Clan and can be carried around for convenient and long-term storage.

Since blood bait is made entirely from human blood, Charles, being human in both his past and present life, politely declined due to his psychological aversion to such food.

Charles smiled slightly and said, "I brought a blood servant."

Lord Leo nodded slightly without further persuasion, and with the service of two servants, he had a simple yet luxurious breakfast.

The two servants laid out a picnic-specific cloth on the ground, set exquisite cutlery on tin plates, and arranged some blood bait and pastries. They also took out a beautiful wine jug and paired it with matching tin cups.

After dining, Lord Leo wiped his mouth with a red napkin and said, "We can set off now."

The two servants efficiently packed up the cloth, cutlery, wine jug, and cups, and stayed close behind their master, silent throughout.

Charles called people into Maple Leaf Village, summoned all the female adventurers, tidied up the campsite, and set off with Lord Leo toward Machu Picchu.

After a morning of long and arduous trekking, Charles complained incessantly. He had never endured such hardship.

The adventurers he had gathered, due to their low income, did not own mounts.

The reason Lord Leo did not require a mount was that as a High Order Blood Clan member, whether for long-distance raids or short sprints, he was superior to ordinary mounts. Moreover, as a spy infiltrating other countries, having a mount was inconvenient and unnecessary.

It would have been awkward for him to have a horse just for himself!

Moreover, they did not pass through any large towns where they could have bought horses on their escape route.

Charles increasingly missed the Quickness Technique Runes he had never managed to master.