Chapter 1048: Caged Beast

The Evernight experts naturally wouldn't sit by and watch Qianye escape. The Demoness vanished with a cold snort. Knowing that it was their fault, Edward and Basil gave chase as well.

Anwen sighed. "The rest of you follow me." He then ran steadily into the distance, in a somewhat different direction to Edward and Basil.

The vampire experts were somewhat hesitant, not knowing whether they should follow Anwen. Eden said coldly, "If you don't follow the young lord, are you going to follow Edward instead? Do you think you can even catch up?"

This was fairly reasonable. Edward's prestige had fallen drastically after a series of setbacks. Especially when he couldn't suppress Qianye at all with his blood energy, it brought about some doubt in the vampires who attached great importance to bloodlines.

Several vampire experts followed Anwen, while the remainder went after Edward. Twilight gritted her teeth and ultimately left in Edward's direction.

Eden glanced at the vampire experts he had persuaded as he followed Anwen with a smile.

Anwen wasn't moving particularly fast, likely because he didn't want the vampire counts to lose their way. These counts came from the lower ranking families among the twelve major clans and didn't quite have good relationships with Edward's Perth clan, to begin with. Add to that the Holy Son's unconvincing performance in battle, these counts made the decision to join Anwen instead.

How were they going to catch up to Qianye at this speed, though?

Even though Anwen was taking care of them, those vampire counts couldn't help but feel some suspicion. It was at this time that a series of explosions echoed in the distance, and a mixture of demonic and blood energy surged into the sky, crashing into one another like giant dragons.

The commotion, and especially the oceanic suppressive might in that blood energy, caused all the counts to cower in fear. Even their blood energy flow was slowed down somewhat. At the same time, they felt a complicated emotion in their hearts. No one knew if it was the relief of having caught up to the action or fear of the impending battle.

The Demoness had already intercepted Qianye, and the two were locked in fierce combat. Edward and Basil had missed their mark, and were hurrying over from far away. The direction Anwen had picked was actually correct and led straight to the battlefield.

The vampire counts felt weak in the knees, but they were ready to speed up and rush into the fight. Anwen, on the other hand, wasn't in a hurry. He even slowed down, saying, "What's the rush? Are you all looking to die? Wait until she has drained Qianye's strength, that's when you people will be of use. If you want a taste of the Shot of Inception, though..."

Anwen couldn't finish his words before he was overcome by a strong sense of palpitation. He glanced over subconsciously and happened to see a pillar of black energy shoot into the sky!

It was a strange luminous feather with a dark outer edge and stem. Only the feather hairs were sparkling with a faint golden radiance.

Anwen couldn't utter half a word more after the feather entered his vision, and could only stare as it shot into the sky. He couldn't help but tremble before the extreme danger and power, but for some reason, he couldn't turn his eyes away.

The outline of a fair lady appeared high up in the sky, one so faint that it was barely discernible. But this feather shot toward her as though it had eyes, tearing through the layers of demonic energy in front as though they were tofu.

The Demoness let out a muffled groan as her silhouette froze mid-air, alternating between clarity and darkness. Demonic energy rolled about her like boiling water, apparently no longer under her control.

Only then did Anwen come to. He shot into the air and immediately flew toward the Demoness.

The latter turned back and stopped Anwen with her cold gaze. "I'm fine."

Anwen wanted to say something but was hesitant. Qianye's Shot of Inception was completely different from before—who would even believe that a single attack of his would've stopped the Demoness from hiding and sent her demonic energy out of control? Despite that, he also knew how proud the Demoness was. Since she had said she was fine, Anwen wouldn't dare interfere even if she wasn't.

If she were truly fine, why would she stand there frozen while Qianye made his escape?

As though she knew Anwen's thoughts, the Demoness said, "Rest assured, he's also injured. He can't escape my grasp."

Anwen looked toward the ground and saw some lingering embers on the ground. A sudden idea popped up in his head as he landed near the rocks. He picked up some of the dying flames and observed them carefully. Only when they were entirely extinguished did he speak, "Auric flame blood?"

The shock in Anwen's voice was difficult to hide. The Demoness' figure turned dark once more, much like a smudge of ink in the sky. It would seem she had once again regained control of her powers.

She said in a rare solemnity, "Yes, auric flame blood."

"There's actually someone who possesses auric flame blood apart from those old bastards? Don't tell me..."

"Correct, he has made successful communication with the River of Blood."

Anwen narrowed his eyes. "This is important news."

"You rarely say such nonsense."

Anwen sighed. "What I mean is, should we or should we not report this information to the Eternal Flame?"

"Oh?" A baffled Demoness asked, "Don't tell me you want to report to the other two? This small matter doesn't warrant the Emperor's attention. And the last one... you know what state he's in."

Anwen said, "I didn't mean we should pick clans. I'm considering if we should keep this a secret."

The Demoness was surprised. "Who would've thought? Don't tell me you want to finish him off with your own strength. Humph, it's not that I look down on you, but you don't even have a good chance of beating him. Your sword tricks are so intricate that almost no one can evade, but what's the point? Even if you hit Qianye, you can't kill him. His shot, on the other hand, will take away a good chunk of your life."

Anwen only laughed wryly at the Demoness' merciless mockery. "Don't you want to kill him personally?"

The Demoness said seriously, "Considering your great knowledge on miscellaneous stuff, I don't mind telling you the truth. From an expert's point of view, I naturally wish to do him in myself. The stronger he is, the better of a grinding stone he would be, and the higher he would be able to push me up. But for our race, the right thing to do is to kill him off earlier. If he can communicate with the River of Blood at this young age, he'll surely become the next Habsburg and light up a seal in the River of Blood. What that means is very clear to both you and I."

Anwen sighed after a long moment of silence. "I feel that Qianye's not a bad person, if you can just ignore the racial differences. His future achievements will be great, and he'll make for a trustworthy companion when we explore the depths of the void one day."

The Demoness snorted. "It's not even certain if you can become a great dark monarch. Isn't it too early to discuss void exploration? "

Anwen smiled confidently. "If you can become a great dark monarch, so can I. On this one-way path to exploring the extremes of power, the miscellaneous knowledge you speak of is much more useful than bloodlines and secret arts."

The Demoness laughed in cold skepticism.

As if he didn't hear anything, Anwen pointed at the distant sky. "Have you ever thought about what lies at the end of the skies? What exactly is the vault of heavens? Where exactly is this Great Maelstrom? Why are there no other beings outside of the twenty-seven continents? How did the void come to be? Did it exist since ancient times or is it a cage built by a powerful being we can never understand?"

The Demoness had never even thought about these things, perhaps she would never have an answer even if she did. Every question was like a distant bell that reverberated in her heart.

Anwen asked in the end, "Don't you feel that all the racial hatred we have is minuscule compared to these questions and the vast universe we live in? It's almost as though we're a bunch of wild beasts in a cage, intent on killing one another and deciding who's stronger. What's the point? Even if you destroy all your enemies, you'll only be the champion of a cage."

The Demoness sighed. "Perhaps you're right, but your words will only make sense when we do become great dark monarchs. It's more important to capture Qianye at present. Even if we're just champions of a cage, in the end, it's better than being destroyed and letting someone else become king."

Anwen had no way to refute this notion. "If everyone is so short-sighted, how will we ever break out of this cage and roam the vast realm?"

The Demoness replied, "I do hope you'll get stronger before you explore the vast realm. Otherwise, how are you going to break out of this cage?"

Anwen was dumbstruck.

Not many people could compare to Anwen in terms of fighting power, but the Demoness was definitely one of them.

Anwen shook his head. "Have it your way then, where's Qianye?"

The Demoness said, "I'm searching, he won't get far... found him!"

The Demoness vanished instantly, leaving a barely discernible streak of ink in the air to guide Anwen. This thread was formed of the Demoness' demonic energy, and only Anwen would be able to see it.

Edward and Basil had already arrived at this point, but seeing Anwen and the Demoness stationary, they could do nothing else but wait. It was now a proven fact that only the Demoness could capture Qianye.

The Demoness used her demonic energy to form an invisible border to prevent others from approaching. Edward and Basil naturally heeded this warning, so no one discovered the auric flame blood Qianye had left behind.

During this process, Anwen and the Demoness were using their race's supreme secret arts to converse via demonic energy. Outsiders simply didn't know what they were up to. Not to mention Edward and Basil, even Eden wasn't privy to the contents of their conversation.

Moments later, the Demoness left, and Anwen went after her after greeting the experts. Edward and Basil finally learned to be smart and keep up. The Holy Son's countenance was as gloomy as still water, and he didn't even look at the vampire experts who had chosen to follow Anwen.