Chapter 122: The True Strength of the Blood Archduke

Two RPG rounds hit the target squarely—or rather, Duke Cullen caught the rockets head-on.

A deafening explosion resounded. A rocket capable of piercing tank armor was no joke. Lin Xiao knew he could withstand handgun bullets, and even rifle rounds without much issue, but a sniper rifle or a rocket was still beyond his limits unless he used his skills.

Yet Duke Cullen had met them head-on with such casual disdain, tanking the rockets with his bare flesh. Lin Xiao highly appreciated this spirit of reckless bravery—indeed, it would be best if both sides perished together.

Just as he was gloating, a sniper bullet shot toward his forehead at extreme speed, traveling at least three times the speed of sound. It was almost silent, having left its own sound far behind.

Lin Xiao had no time to react. Fortunately, the three witches reacted instantly, combining their telekinetic power to block the incoming sniper bullet. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable—he likely would have had his head blown off.

The smoke in the air slowly dispersed. On the shore, the enemies were reloading another rocket, aiming at the yacht.

Just then, five or six blood-red arrows pierced the air with a screeching howl, flying at speeds no slower than a sniper bullet, and struck the six men in suits.

The blood arrows impaled them, lodging in their bodies. The skin on their faces paled rapidly, and their bodies shriveled at an alarming rate—a sign that the blood and moisture in their bodies were being sucked dry.

Still shaken, Lin Xiao looked up into the sky. He saw that half of Duke Cullen's body had been blown to pieces, looking as if he had been run over several times by a main battle tank.

His arms and wings were blown away, one leg was gone, and a mess of viscera hung beneath his abdomen. It was a gruesome, stomach-churning sight that made one want to retch.

With injuries this severe, Lin Xiao estimated that even if his Purification skill were upgraded to Level 4, he would still be dead. Unless he possessed a resurrection skill, he might as well buy a coffin and pick a grave plot.

Yet Duke Cullen did not die. The old vampire opened his mouth toward the six men. Most of his neck had been sliced away by shrapnel, leaving his head tilting comically to one side.

The six blood arrows pulled out of the men's bodies, flew back, and slid into his mouth with a wet slurp.

A powerful burst of bloody light erupted from the surface of Duke Cullen's body, enveloping him. His wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The cracking of bones, the squirming of muscle, the knitting of blood vessels and nerves, and even the sound of cell division and replication joined together like a song of life, endless and vibrant.

A moment later, a fully restored Duke Cullen stood before them once more, appearing completely unchanged—save for the six desiccated corpses on the shore.

Duke Cullen descended gracefully from the sky and landed beside Lin Xiao. Reaching out, he snatched the captive from Lin Xiao's hand, opened his mouth to reveal a maw of sharp fangs, and bit into the man's neck, gulping down his blood.

Lin Xiao swallowed hard and took two steps to the side. Beside him, Barbara turned pale with fright. She rushed to Zoe's side, grabbing her arm and trembling violently.

The other captive in Lin Xiao's hand was also white as a sheet. These men did not fear death; they had even dared to detonate the high explosives planted in the gas station to take their enemies down with them.

But before the ferocious Duke Cullen, all of his courage vanished.

If you dared to risk your life, he dared to drink your blood and eat your flesh. What punishment could be crueler than that?

After drinking for two or three minutes, Duke Cullen finally raised his head, still unsatisfied. He casually tossed the corpse aside, which landed in the river with a splash. He then pulled a white handkerchief from his breast pocket, which had been blackened by smoke.

Frowning, he squatted by the pier and washed the handkerchief in the water until it turned white again. Standing up, he elegantly wiped the blood from his mouth and sighed:

"Though it is rather unrefined, I must admit that tearing open a prey's throat to drink their blood is truly a wonderful sensation. It is like a classic waltz, the melody lingering long after the dance has ended."

Lin Xiao and the others gave forced laughs. What could they say? What did they dare say?

Recovering instantly from such severe injuries—the strength of this ancient vampire duke was simply incomparable to that imitation, Lestat.

He was a true vampire, an immortal monster, the eternal protagonist of legends and myths.

Lin Xiao had originally thought that decapitating him last night would have killed him. Looking back now, it was fortunate he hadn't completely burned his bridges, or else his own desiccated corpse would currently be feeding the fish at the bottom of the river.

The gap in their strength was too vast. Let alone reaching Level 15, even if he reached Level 20, he would not have absolute confidence in defeating him. Only upon reaching Level 24, on the verge of his first Awakening, would he have the confidence to confront and kill him.

"Barbara, what are you doing here?"

Zoe's voice rang out, breaking the awkward silence. Barbara glanced at Duke Cullen, shrank back in terror, and stammered:

"After you left, I drove along the lakeside road to catch up. I want to save Nancy too. She was taken right in front of me, and I have a responsibility to rescue her. I arrived at the river mouth gas station early last night and parked my car by the roadside to wait for you to pass by. That was when I suddenly saw them."

Barbara pointed at the captive in Lin Xiao's hand and continued:

"They came to the gas station on a speedboat and killed all the staff. I was scared out of my wits, so I got out of the car and hid in the woods by the road. I only ran out to warn you when I saw the Jonathan family's yacht arrive."

After speaking, she stole a glance at Lin Xiao and quickly lowered her head. It was precisely because she saw him on the yacht that she had risked her life to run out and warn them.

Lin Xiao felt a massive headache coming on. If not for Barbara's life-risking warning, Duke Cullen would have been caught off guard, and the two rockets would have hit the yacht. While the Duke might not have died, Number Eleven, Zoe, and the other two witches, as well as Stefan and Michael on board, would have suffered heavy casualties.

In other words, her warning had indirectly saved their lives. Of course, Duke Cullen also deserved some credit.

Everyone looked at one another, finding it hard to believe. It was incredible that a defenseless girl had saved a group of superhumans, yet it had happened.

Zoe hugged Barbara to comfort her. Heaven knew how much courage it took for this girl to rush out. Those ruthless killers, who had wiped out the entire gas station staff, would certainly not have spared her.

Lin Xiao's feelings were a tangled mess. He hadn't wanted to get too involved with her, yet their paths had crossed again, and in a matter of life and death. He didn't know what to do now.

With the matter resolved, Duke Cullen carried the captive and flew into the woods on the shore, claiming he was going to interrogate him. Everyone knew the man was dead, and that he would die a horrible death.

Lin Xiao and Stefan busied themselves refueling the yacht, filling several large canisters of gasoline to bring aboard as reserves.

At the same time, the two of them went to the convenience store on the shore and took plenty of food and drinks. As for paying, they wanted to, but unfortunately, there was no cashier.

Lin Xiao was not one to take petty advantages, but they had killed the assassins from the Holy Paradise Church, which could be considered avenging the dead. These supplies would serve as their compensation.

By the time they were ready to set off again, a problem arose: what were they going to do with Barbara?