Chapter 92: Lin Xiao, the Little Prince of Blood Donation

[Houndslayer: Title Lv. 1. When facing canine monsters, attack power increases by 10%, and a loud roar can briefly cow the enemy, leaving it dazed.]

Roar!

Lin Xiao bellowed at Lucien as though scolding a husky.

Sure enough, the werewolf leader, who had been seeking an opening to strike, froze where he stood. A whining sound slipped from his throat as he shrank back, edging away with visible fear. He had truly been frightened.

A perfect chance!

Lin Xiao seized the moment at once. He lunged forward in a rushing slash, and the Interstellar Doomsday Battle Axe swept across with the motion, hewing into Lucien’s thigh.

The keen blade split open a wound more than ten centimeters long, and blood sprayed out.

After landing the blow, Lin Xiao halted, his brows drawing together slightly. He had expected that strike to sever Lucien’s leg outright, yet it had only carved a wound. The man’s body was unnaturally hard, as though forged from rubber—tough beyond belief.

Lucien howled in pain, spun around, and swept out with a massive wolf claw. It crashed through the air with an explosive crack, like a rocket launching from its tube, terrifying in force.

There was no time to dodge. Lin Xiao could only raise the haft of his axe to block. A tremendous impact slammed into him, hurling him bodily through the air toward the wall behind him.

Lucien was about to press the attack when Lin Xiao, still suspended in midair, gripped the axe in one hand and clawed at him with the other. A gigantic black talon flew from his hand and seized Lucien by the head.

Roar!

Lin Xiao let out another furious bellow, shaking Lucien’s mind and stunning him for an instant. Then he yanked hard, dragging his own body back through the air. The Interstellar Doomsday Battle Axe came crashing down from above, and with a wet thud, a huge arm dropped to the ground, blood splashing everywhere.

Ahhh!

Lucien screamed, clutching the stump of his severed arm, agony drilling into his bones. However powerful his constitution, the pain of losing a limb was still beyond endurance.

Lin Xiao landed steadily, his battle axe leveled at Lucien.

The victor had already been decided.

In truth, during that pull back, he could have taken Lucien’s head. But his younger siblings and parents were present, and he did not wish to do something so brutally grisly before them. So he had only chopped off one of Lucien’s arms—though that was cruel enough.

Nick, Eddie, and Eric stared at Lin Xiao in astonishment. None of them had imagined that he would defeat Lucien head-on.

Nick and Eddie in particular knew Lucien’s strength all too well. They had, after all, been savagely beaten by him not long ago—so badly that forgetting it was impossible.

The more they saw of Lin Xiao, the less they could fathom his true power. Every time they met him, he seemed far stronger than before. They could not help wondering: if this went on, just how far would he rise? Could he one day rival the gods themselves?

Joy covered Will’s eyes, not wanting him to witness such a bloody scene. But to her surprise, he pulled her hand away and looked straight at the one-armed Lucien, his face utterly free of fear.

He, too, was beginning to grow.

“You lost, Lucien.”

Lin Xiao raised his battle axe. The magical flames on it swiftly burned away the werewolf blood, and a thick, rank stench flooded the air around them.

Lucien controlled the twitching of his muscles and sealed the wound. With one hand he picked up his severed arm and said weakly, “You won. I yield the position of werewolf leader.”

With that, the werewolf chief turned to leave. He understood well enough that his opponent had shown mercy. Otherwise, what lay on the ground would not have been an arm, but his head.

“Stop. Why did you capture Michael in the first place?”

Lin Xiao’s voice rang out. If he did not uncover the reason, he would never feel at ease.

Lucien did not answer. In a flash he rushed to the wall, leaped atop it, and looked down at them from above.

“It no longer matters,” he said. “Nothing matters anymore. I have lost completely, and so I have no more need of him.”

Then he jumped down the far side and vanished swiftly into the depths of the darkness. A desolate, heroic wolf’s howl echoed over Lake Campus.

“That’s enough, Number Eleven. Release your mental control over them and let them welcome their new Werewolf King.”

Lin Xiao walked over and spoke to Number Eleven. The young girl let out a breath of relief and lowered her hands. At once, the group of sturdy young men began to recover their senses, standing there in confusion.

Eddie coughed and put on an air of authority as he stepped forward to explain. The werewolves looked from one to another, all of them finding it difficult to accept.

But Number Eleven was no fool. A moment before, she had deliberately loosened part of her control so they could witness Lucien’s defeat for themselves. They all knew what had happened.

Their leader, Lucien the Werewolf King, had been defeated head-on by this human. The throne of the Wolf King had changed hands.

Eric also played his part well, lifting Michael at the right moment. The werewolves dropped to one knee one after another and let out loud howls toward him, welcoming the new Werewolf King.

By a stroke of uncanny timing, Michael happened to transform just then. His body swelled violently in size, his muscles bulged to grotesque proportions, dense fur burst across his skin, and his face twisted and warped as a huge wolf’s muzzle thrust outward—ugly beyond words.

Awoooo!

Michael raised his head to the moon and howled. Beside him, Lucas also completed his transformation, broke free of Eddie’s grip, and stood there howling.

The strong young men all transformed into werewolves as well and joined in the chorus. Fortunately, the Berham family villa had been destroyed last time, and no homes remained nearby. Otherwise, such a commotion would certainly have brought the police.

Though, come to think of it, the town sheriff was already here.

“What do we do? How do we make them regain their reason?”

Lin Xiao turned to Eddie. This could not go on. They had to keep their sanity, or bloodshed and slaughter would follow easily enough.

“They need blood—the fresher, the better. Best of all is the blood of a human transcendent. That kind of blood contains spiritual essence. If they drink it over time, they can recover their minds.

“Other than that, suppressant drugs can also work. But those medicines have severe side effects. They do serious damage to the brain and suppress their abilities too.”

As Eddie explained, everyone understood at once. No wonder the man was such an idiot; he had probably taken too many suppressant drugs and ruined his own intelligence.

“The blood of a transcendent?”

Lin Xiao felt a headache coming on. The implication was obvious: he was being asked to donate his blood for free again. What was this, had they all decided he was some kind of model blood donor?

He had not yet made up his mind when Number Eleven strode forward, extended her wrist toward him, and offered it up for him to cut so Michael could drink her blood.

“I’ll do it. We men have stronger vitality. Giving a little blood is nothing.”

Lin Xiao pushed Number Eleven aside. He could hardly let himself be outdone by a girl.

He stepped in front of Michael, reversed the edge of the axe, and sliced open his own skin. Then he lifted his hand above Michael’s mouth, letting drop after drop of fresh blood fall into it.

Michael greedily swallowed the blood. The aura around him surged, and the expression on his face slowly shifted from savage madness to calm, until at last he returned fully to normal.

After giving about three hundred milliliters of blood, Lin Xiao withdrew his arm, pressed a hand over the wound, then moved to Lucas and did the same, letting blood drip into his mouth.

Joy could not bear to watch and wanted to stop him, but Sheriff Hope wrapped an arm around her and held her back.

He understood that this was a moment of utmost importance. It would determine Michael’s and Lucas’s future—whether they would remain themselves or become brutal, merciless monsters.

Dustin stood beside Eric. Both wore dazed expressions as they stared blankly at Lin Xiao giving blood. Their throats twitched faintly, and a flash of red glimmered in their eyes before vanishing.

After another three hundred milliliters, Lin Xiao began to feel light-headed. He quickly used Purification to heal the wound, but the blood and vigor within him had weakened considerably, leaving him faint and drained.

What a pity he had no flesh essence to replenish his blood and vitality. He would have to recover slowly.

“So... do you still have enough blood left? How about letting me have a couple of mouthfuls too? I’d like to regain my reason sooner rather than later.”

Eddie grinned shamelessly.

Lin Xiao shot him a look and replied with exquisite politeness:

“Get lost.”