The fire dragon spewed scorching flames, lunging at the twelve White Robe Cardinals.
“Divine Judgment!”
The twelve White Robe Cardinals screamed in terror, their faces twisted in madness as they unleashed their most powerful skill.
Twelve beams of intense Holy Light shot into the sky, converging into a massive Radiant Blade.
The Radiant Blade, radiating dazzling Holy Light, slashed towards the fire dragon in the air!
The enormous Radiant Blade struck the fire dragon’s body but caused no harm. With a thunderous roar, the Holy Light vanished without a trace.
The fire dragon, having absorbed the Radiant Blade, roared and spewed flames, engulfing all twelve White Robe Cardinals.
Gizack and Joseph couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
In the sky, a mass of blood-red light and a mass of Holy Light continued to clash, still locked in a stalemate.
Leo didn’t want to waste any more time here. He gathered his energy, and a long spear appeared in his hand.
With all his might, Leo hurled the spear straight at Douglas in mid-air.
Douglas suddenly sensed danger. Looking down, his face turned pale with fear.
Without thinking, Douglas gripped his Holy Sword and slashed downwards.
A massive cross-shaped sword light descended from the sky, like a brilliant comet falling from the universe.
In an instant, the cross-shaped sword light collided with the spear, erupting into two terrifying cascades of light.
After breaking the spear that had ambushed him, Douglas barely had time to catch his breath when a sinister and eerie laugh echoed, “Cain’s Wrath! Die!”
With a thunderous boom, Cain’s left hand grew larger with the wind, transforming into a gigantic palm print that slapped down towards Douglas.
Douglas looked up, his face ashen with fear, for he had no time to gather his strength to counterattack.
Cain’s left hand struck Douglas with a resounding slap.
In the sky, a red figure plummeted rapidly, looking lonely and helpless.
In a flash of light and shadow, Prince Fred descended from the sky. Folding his six massive blood wings, he bowed respectfully and said, “Thank you for your assistance, Master.”
Leo waved his hand dismissively and walked over to pull the Holy Sword embedded in the ground.
“Master, what should we do next?” Duke Gizack asked respectfully.
Leo thought for a moment and said, “It’s not yet time for an all-out war with the Church. Our primary goal is to secure the leadership of the Dark Alliance. Let’s retreat.”
“Yes, Master.” Fred and the others responded respectfully.
In the next moment, Leo and four vampires disappeared into the Black Mist Forest.
Not long after, two young men appeared at the site where Leo and his group had fought.
These two young men were not clerics; they wore classical knight attire with peculiar badges on their left chests.
They had stern expressions and noble appearances, exuding an elegance unique to aristocrats. The antique European swords strapped to their backs added a touch of ferocity and menace.
They belonged to the Church Inquisition, a violent institution dedicated to eliminating all enemies of the Church. Their elite members were known as the Twelve Paladins.
These two young men were among the Twelve Paladins.
“Josiah,” the taller paladin surveyed the battlefield, “the fight here seems to have just ended.”
“It was vampires,” Josiah, who was slightly shorter, nodded. “Lucius, Archbishop Douglas just arrived. Why don’t we see him or his personal guard?”
“Could something have happened?” Lucius frowned with concern.
“No,” Josiah shook his head. “As a Cardinal Archbishop, Douglas is incredibly powerful. Even the strongest vampire wouldn’t be able to harm him in such a short time.”
“True,” Lucius nodded but then his expression changed as he bent down to pick something up. “Wait! Josiah, look at this.”
“What?” Josiah walked over and upon closer inspection, his expression changed dramatically. “It’s Archbishop Douglas’s Silver Cross! Could it be…”
Josiah didn’t finish his sentence. As clergy members, they never parted with their crosses for even a moment. Especially not Douglas’s Silver Cross, which symbolized the glory of the Twelve Cardinals; he would never discard it lightly.
This could only mean one terrifying possibility!
“Hurry! Contact all nearby church members immediately and search for Cardinal Douglas!”
“If we have no news by dawn, we must report this to His Majesty!” Lucius said gravely.
Josiah nodded and was about to use his phone to contact other church members when his expression changed. He shouted sharply, “Who’s there!”
With a shout, a sharp sword light shot from behind Josiah towards a nearby bush.
The domineering sword light instantly penetrated the bush, exploding into a cloud of dirt and branches.
A shrill scream followed as a small black figure darted out from the sword light, desperately fleeing into the depths of the forest.
Josiah was about to strike again but was too late. He could only watch as the black figure disappeared into the darkness.
“What was that?” Lucius’s face changed.
“I don’t know. It must be some evil vampire creature,” Josiah said angrily.
“It seems the vampires are hiding nearby. We shouldn’t stay here long,” Lucius looked at Josiah.
Indeed, if even Cardinal Archbishop Douglas couldn’t handle these vampires, their strength must be formidable.
Without further delay, Lucius and Josiah turned into two beams of white light and vanished.
Deep within the Black Mist Forest, a wobbly black figure emerged from the woods and landed in Prince Fred’s left hand. It was a small black bat.
Seeing blood on the bat’s shoulder, Prince Fred’s face changed. He enveloped the bat in a faint blood light with his right hand.
Soon, the bat’s wound stopped bleeding and began to heal.
After healing the bat, Fred waved his hand. The bat screeched and flew into the sky.
“How is it?” Leo asked as he turned around.
“Master, the Church’s Inquisition is also on the move,” Fred said uneasily. “It seems they plan to wage a major war against the Dark Alliance. I’m worried that killing a Cardinal Archbishop won’t scare off the Church but will instead provoke an even stronger retaliation.”
Leo was silent for a moment before saying calmly, “What’s meant to come will come sooner or later. Notify everyone that no vampire is allowed to clash with the Church before the Dark Conference.”
“Yes.” Prince Fred and several others bowed respectfully.
Two days later…
Leo had just finished his training when Thirteen Vampire Princes requested an audience.
In a small conference room, Leo sat at the head while Thirteen Vampire Princes sat on either side.
Leo glanced at them and asked, “Who will take Prince Amos’s place?”
“Master, it will be me, Duncan,” a relatively young vampire stood up and replied respectfully.