285-295

Chapter 285 Darling~

Dilan's wound on the back had already healed, and his entire body was overflowing with the energy the Blood Essences had provided.

He felt bloated and as if too much blood was circulating through his body. This was why he was willing to give Victoria some of his blood.

"Try to cut me," Dilan ordered before stretching out his right arm to let Victoria do what she wanted.

"Are you insane?!" Williams asked in disbelief to see their leader ask her to cut him as if he was some fruit.

Even if they didn't know what exactly would happen if a Vampire drank someone's blood, it was a fact that Dilan could die the moment Victoria would cut open his wrist's artery.

Revealing one's wrist to a stranger and holding it bare was already weird, but allowing an unknown Vampire to cut your arm and drink your blood was simply insane.

Dilan eyed Williams for a moment before he smiled lightly.

"I am not offering her my blood for her sake, or just because she is hungry. Don't be so nervous," He tried to reassure him and act as if his behavior was not crazy.

Deep inside, Dilan knew that his actions were insane but he felt that it was correct.

"Yes, Darling~" Victoria suddenly said as her claws enlarged.

They were razor-sharp and she lightly cut Dilan with them. Or that was what Victoria intended to do, only to realize that her nails were not sharp enough to cut him. This stupefied her for a moment, forcing her to circulate mana through her claws to sharpen them.

This time, Victoria used some more force, only to note that Nial had to support her with his free hand as well.

He was still smiling, just to look at Victoria with a particular question in his mind.

"By the way, why are you calling me Darling? Is that some sort of kink?" Dilan was a bit confused as he had never been called Darling. His lovers in the past had never used that term of endearment either. It was not as if he had had many lovers, especially because he had never mustered the courage to approach anyone he was interested in when he was still living under the roof of his father.

Everyone, he was close to, could have been endangered by being befriended with him, after all.

"I don't have such a kink…though I have lots of other kinks~" Victoria wiggled her eyebrows and spoke in a seductive voice.

"If you want to get to know them, just tell me, I will be more than happy to share with you in detail," She added, licking her lips as her eyes were drawn to the bits of blood that trickled down her claws. It was impossible to injure Dilan seriously with her power, not after his stats had increased so much.

'How was this bitch strong enough to injure him severely?' Victoria asked herself in confusion, wondering how the wife of the Mihorl clan's patriarch had been strong enough to injure Dilan. She wanted to figure out how that was possible but her instincts prevented her from perceiving anything other than Dilan's blood.

The smell of his sacred blood hit her nostrils, it aroused her, and she could clearly feel an itch between her legs.

"And you are my darling because that is who you are to me," She added lightly, before biting into Nial's arm. Her crimson eyes widened and their glow intensified. The crimson eyes shone so brightly that everyone around was dazzled for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Victoria's hands were tightly holding onto Nial's arm, trying to never let go of him again.

The more blood she drank, the stronger Victoria seemed to become. Her strength increased by leaps and bounds, clearly showing the difference between a hungry and a satiated Vampire.

A moan filled with all of her desires escaped Victoria's mouth. She moved away from Nial's arm when she was done, but instead of moving away from Dilan altogether, she began to caress his cheeks.

"You definitely are my darling~," She whispered, smiling at him lovingly.

The bloating he had felt disappeared, which was what Dilan had expected to happen. Nonetheless, the current situation was a bit weird.

"Who decided that you can call me that?" Dilan repeated incredulously, but Victoria seemed to be totally unbothered. She was still caressing his cheeks. Her eyes were fixated on his lips, and everyone around could tell what she was thinking about.

"Well, I did~" She whispered quietly, and leaned forward.

However, Dilan lifted the hand she had bitten, pushing it gently against the forehead to prevent her from getting closer.

At this moment she noticed that he had already stopped bleeding, but this only attracted her further.

'A human with the regeneration capabilities of an old noble Vampire.'

"Well, whatever. I guess you are done drinking. Let's search for the keys, and save your naughty talk for later," Dilan tried to put some sense into her.

Yet, the moment he finished speaking he noticed that everyone was staring at him weirdly, and only when it was already too late did he realize that he made a big mistake.

"…for later? So can we do it later? Yay~~!" Victoria exclaimed with a childlike glee and grasped his hand before she went in the direction of the four Sanctum keys. She halted in her tracks only for a moment when she noticed that the others weren't doing anything. Thus, she turned her head in the direction of Williams and the others before she ordered them.

"You guys go take your corpses, their essences, and your little friend there!"

Everyone merely blinked as they registered what she had implied. Yet, even Dilan couldn't say something against that order. He would have said exactly the same.

"Just do what she said," Dilan gave up, waving off his hand.

His words added more to their confusion as they could not understand why he was not blocking her advances.

"Well, I guess our group just gained another powerful Ascender…or noble Vampire, to be precise," Silas' weak voice reached everyone.

He looked at the others with a faint smile, while lying on the ground. His wounds were healing rapidly thanks to the potions he received.

The fight against the bloodthirsty Ascenders and the Vampire Servants had been quite difficult for him, and he didn't remember everything.

"Yeah looks like it…but she seems nice, I guess?" Ailee commented, not sure what to think about Victoria. She was only a bit sad about something when she recalled Yvonne and Kathrine, which caused her to mumble,

":..Kath and Yvi will have lots of trouble, now that such a rival appeared out of nowhere…"

Oliver just nodded his head and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Kathrine and Yvonne are definitely amongst the most beautiful women I've ever met…but Victoria…wow, she is gorgeous, and knows how to play with men…" Oliver said in a dreamy voice that was overflowing with jealousy.

And just like Dilan, only when it was already too late did he realize what kind of mistake he had made. But the damage was done.

"If you think that Victoria, Kathrin,e and Yvonne are so beautiful, how about you pursue them?" Ailee retorted in a seething voice before she turned around with a "hmpf!" and stomped off in frustration.

"Oh shit…"

Chapter 286 Lonely

Dilan didn't need to have many brains to notice that Victoria became even naughtier the moment she digested his blood.

Her eyes were filled with lust, and she clung to him like a young girl, who had fallen in love at first sight.

When she jumped on him, and coiled her legs around his waist, while her hands reached behind his neck, Dilan frowned.

After all he was a normal man, so it was impossible for him to feel anything when the most beautiful woman he had set eyes on clung to him like this.

His little monster twitched in his pants for the first time in a while, causing Dilan to smile wryly.

"Do you want to do it?~" Victoria immediately asked, her eyes gleaming brightly. Becoming one with her Darling would bring her additional mana benefits.

In fact, all Vampires gained strength by mating with someone strong and powerful. The effect was not easily noticeable under normal circumstances. Only when the mate was someone much stronger, and highly compatible with oneself would one notice an increase in strength after mating.

Victoria could tell that she was highly compatible with Dilan. She felt a restless energy course through her ever since she came in contact with him, and they had not even known each other for long.

"Girl, get back to your senses," Dilan said laughing lightly before he lifted his right hand. It reached her head in an instant and just a moment later he flicked his fingers against her forehead.

Victoria's grasp around his neck loosened and she almost fell to the ground. However, Dilan's other hand gently went behind her back to break her fall.

"Ooff, was that really necessary?" Victoria asked in a sulky voice. She didn't even realize it but her behavior changed a bit after Dilan flicked her.

'Is it normal for Vampires to get horny after drinking blood?' Dilan wondered while continuing to eye Victoria.

"Can you get down?" He asked calmly. Victoria followed his command but her eyes were clearly glued to the monster that was hidden beneath Dilan's pants.

"You are not honest to yourself~," She said jokingly as her fingertips lightly grazed his neck. Dilan was just about to tell her off when Victoria removed her hand quickly.

"I know, I know, the Sanctum Keys…" Victoria quickly uttered before moving ahead. She had to hide both her disappointment that Dilan didn't submit to his wild instincts, and also that she was totally embarrassed by what she had just done.

'Are you stupid, girl? Why would you suddenly pounce on him? He definitely thinks that I am a weirdo now… Since when did I start doing something so stupid??' Victoria couldn't believe what she had done instinctively.

She felt like she had only one chance to get her hands on Dilan before he would escape her grasp. This was utter nonsense but her instincts had basically forced her to jump on Dilan. The intensity with which vampires felt emotions was several times stronger than humans.

The moment someone angered them, it was not unlikely for a bit of annoyance to turn into an action exhibiting emotion towards the person who annoyed them. It was exactly the same with lust. However, under normal circumstances, Victoria had herself under control.

Dilan's blood was the issue and at fault for Victoria's action. She was unable to control herself in the slightest after she had gotten just a taste of his blood. It was simply too delicious and arousing.

In a single feeding, Victoria had regained her entire strength, and she could clearly tell that her strength would increase just by drinking Dilan's blood a few more times.

After having lived on the blood of animals for close to 1500 years, Victoria had been overwhelmed by Dilan's blood that tasted like a delicacy she would want to feast on again. It had been impossible for her to reject his offer.

Thus, she ended up in such an embarrassing situation. However, she was not the only one who was affected.

'I didn't expect her to jump on me…it's only normal for my body to react, but still…' Dilan thought, shaking his head.

Victoria's scent still lingered around him, and so was the memory of her body rubbing his while she had clung to him.

'Did I become a pervert all of a sudden?' He wondered, doubting himself.

However, it was just the fact that Ascenders also had a heightened sense of emotions than ordinary humans which rendered them incapable of controlling their body properly.

Dilan was pretty sure that he would give in if Victoria were to approach him like this more often.

But it was not as if this was something illegal.

'I am just a man, and it's not like I have to live like a monk, or do I?' Dilan shook his head at this thought.

It was only obvious that he didn't need to hold back, just because he was the leader of a large group, or because Milarn had changed in its entirety.

He could do whatever he wanted to, and as long as he didn't break his own rules everything would be perfectly fine.

"By the way, when was the last time you fed? It doesn't matter whether it's human or animal blood," Dilan asked all of a sudden. He had some thoughts on his mind and getting to know Victoria would help him sort some of them.

Victoria slowed down when she heard that Dilan was talking to her. She had calmed down from the incident she had caused before and could answer him without blushing, or feeling like pouncing on him.

"The last time I drank the blood of an animal was probably before the Primordial Ascension happened. And I never drank the blood of humans before. Y-you were the f-first one…" Victoria said, turning shy when she revealed that Dilan was the first human she had consumed the blood of.

However, Dilan just nodded his head. His little monster had calmed down and his mind was freed of naughty thoughts as well.

'So her instincts probably went into an overdrive causing the bloodlust?' He concluded before asking the other question that interested him a lot.

"Were you alone from the beginning, or did you separate from your people to meet the Patriarch of the Mihorl clan?" Dilan didn't intend to hide what he wanted to know from her.

He asked in a straightforward manner and hoped that Victoria would answer honestly. This was important to trust her enough to allow her inside his group.

There was a distinctive difference between Vampires and humans, after all.

Victoria would probably kill everyone who approached her. However, every single man would find it hard to not be attracted by her appearance and the natural charm that she exuded as a noble Vampire and confident woman.

That was why Dilan had to know whether she would be able to control herself and if she was trustworthy enough, and not secretly an opponent, who was sent out to seduce the leader of their rival group.

Seeing that Victoria's expression changed drastically upon getting asked whether she was alone or not, Dilan knew that there was something she was hiding. She seemed to be on the verge of crying all of a sudden but Dilan didn't do anything to console her.

He merely appeared next to her, to make his presence known. Within the following minutes, Victoria calmed down as she revealed,

"I have always been alone….since the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord had been created by the King…"

Chapter 287 Legacy Hall

It was not difficult to find the Sanctum keys inside the military base.

They were not actually well hidden and with a Vampire by his side, Dilan got his hands on them within minutes.

"Do you trust Clerens?" Victoria suddenly asked.

She behaved as if she had never been affected by Dilan's blood and as if she had not tried to pounce on him just a few minutes ago.

This caused Dilan's lips to curl upward.

"There is no reason for me to trust him. It usually takes time to trust someone, if you're not sure whether someone is trustworthy or not," Dilan answered calmly as he eyed Victoria.

"What about me then?" She asked, understanding the meaning behind Dilan's words.

"I left one of my severely injured people by your side. That should be more than enough to tell you that I don't think badly of you," Dilan answered in all honesty.

He couldn't say that he trusted her wholeheartedly but it was not as if he doubted her in any way.

Victoria might be a Vampire but it was not something that mattered to Dilan. She seemed genuine when she said that she had been lonely and her behavior suggested that she didn't try to hide anything.

Victoria looked a bit displeased with Dilan's answer but she didn't probe him further about it.

"What exactly is this Sanctum even? Clerens never told me much about it. He just wanted me to join him to enter it," Dilan tried to switch the topic when he recalled Clerens and the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord.

The Vampire Lord was the Lord who ruled over all the Vampires of the Shikan plains. In the hierarchy, he was immediately next in line after the King of Vampires. His bloodline had been pure and he was powerful.

However, Clerens said that the old Vampire Lord was killed by the new Vampire Lord and that the King of Vampires had created a Sanctum for the Old Vampire Lord to rest in all eternity.

"Only the descendants of the Old Vampire Lord were supposed to be able to enter the Sanctum. However, the King of Vampires wanted to make things more interesting by creating other ways to enter the Sanctum and to get to know the secrets only a Vampire Lord could procure.

The King of Vampires made it quite difficult for direct descendants to enter the Sanctum as well. After all, it required the five Sanctum keys to be entered," Victoria revealed in addition to the information Dilan had already procured.

"So the Sanctum is just the grave of your old man?" Dilan asked, slightly confused. He had expected it to be some secret heaven for Vampires to grow stronger. The fact that it was just a grave came across as quite a disappointment.

Victoria shook her head at Dilan's question, attracting his interest once again.

"It might be the Old Vampire Lord's grave, but it is also considered the Legacy hall built by the King of Vampires. Anyone who could enter the Sanctum, pass all the trails, and enter the innermost area of the Sanctum is said to gain the power to become the next Vampire Lord. There are also all kinds of treasures inside the Sanctum," Victoria didn't need to go into detail because all the information was rather useless for Dilan.

Nonetheless, he was thankful for the information he received.

"Well, whatever. It might not be useful for me but if that place is nearby and safe, I can move there with my group," Dilan remarked.

If it required the five Sanctum keys and the blood of a noble Vampire, preferably the blood of the Old Vampire Lord's descendant to enter the Sanctum, it was definitely safe to enter.

The more Dilan thought about it, the better he liked the idea of moving there as long if they would have to give up their base in Shiron.

He smiled a bit, only for Victoria to start frowning deeply.

"Move there…in the Sanctum? I don't think that it's safe there…" She could only say, but Dilan didn't seem to be listening to her anymore.

"Let's go out, we should return to the Blue Star camp. Clerens is probably eagerly waiting for us," Dilan said smiling sheepishly.

Victoria couldn't understand how Dilan could switch topics so quickly but she meekly followed him. It was not as if she had anything to say, to begin with, when it came to Dilan.

He wouldn't listen to her, either way.

When Dilan and Victoria left the military base, they saw that the others had collected all the Essence crystals. They were already waiting for Dilan to leave the battlefield. The entire battlefield was overflowing with corpses, blood, and body parts and all three, Kuhn, Silas and Oliver started to feel uncomfortable at the gruesome sight.

The three had been able to kill dozens of opponents, but now that everything was over they felt like vomiting. Dilan felt that this was both understandable and a bit like the behavior of a hypocrite.

But it was not as if anyone in his group was perfectly normal. He had taken in a lonely noble Vampire, who was not right in her head either. Victoria might seem normal at the first glance, but she was just horny.

Dilan had noticed this more than once, but he didn't mind it. It was quite funny and amusing, and a change from the serious atmosphere.

Returning to the Blue Star camp wouldn't take long under normal circumstances, but Silas could only move slowly. There was no way that he could run around as if he had never been injured.

He was not Dilan, after all. That was one of the few reasons why they got their hands on a large van. In a matter of three hours, they reached the Blue Star camp, where they were welcomed by Clerens. He looked brightly at Dilan because he could sense that the remaining four Sanctum keys were in his possession.

When Victoria got out of the van, Clerens stiffened and his expression froze. He looked at Dilan in shock and was unable to say anything.

"Your expression is funny, Clerens. Are you not happy to see us return alive?" Dilan asked lightly, only for his expression to turn icy.

"O-of course, I'm happy to see that all of you returned alive…but you do know that there is a new member in your group, right? D-do you know who that is?" Clerens stuttered in utter disbelief. He couldn't believe his eyes and rubbed them several times, hoping that his eyes and mind were tricking him.

But even after rubbing them several times, his mind didn't allow him to comprehend what was going on.

"I do know who Victoria is. Thanks for your concern," Dilan replied as he turned his head to look at the others. Silas looked much better than before but it was still quite obvious that he was not well enough to return home.

"But…she is a psycho!?!? How can you act that nonchalant?! If you don't kill her, she will kill you sooner or later!" Clerens sounded truly agitated. Dilan was not sure why that was the case but he didn't really care about it.

It was his decision what he would do with his people, and who he would accept in his group.

"I won't kill her," He answered slowly and calmly, and intently observed Clerens' reaction.

"She killed my entire clan!! If you don't kill her, I will!" Clerens snarled as his eyes turned crimson red. His fangs and claws grew before a second passed but Dilan could only look pitifully at Clerens.

"Well, good luck killing her," Dilan said nonchalantly and stepped aside before pointing in Victoria's direction.

"Ey, greenhorn, do you want your head bashed like your entire family?!" A cold and threatening voice reached his ears, followed by a heavy pressure that weighed on Clerens all of a sudden.

Before a quarter of a second elapsed, Victoria vanished to reappear by Clerens' side. Her hand was pressed tightly against his chest, slowly freezing his skin and bones.

"Maybe a sculpture of you would be even better, don't you think so, Darling~?" Victoria asked, her head flicking to Dilan as she revealed a beautiful smile,

"Darling?!? Not again!!"

Chapter 288 Head or Key

"She mercilessly slaughtered my entire family!! Don't let that psycho enter your life, or you will die an even more miserable death than them," Clerens was literally begging while trying to ignore the pain his body had to endure.

He was already half frozen, but his expression was still overflowing with anger as he continued to scream,

"She will eradicate your entire group, just to satiate herself at your horror!"

Dilan didn't know anything about Clerens' family or that Victoria had killed them but it didn't really matter to him either.

He was rather uninterested in Clerens' matters.

However, Victoria was of a different opinion. Her expression changed drastically, and worry gleamed in her eyes when she heard what the half-frozen Clerens said all of a sudden.

"I had a reason to kill them! They were after my blood!!" Victoria hurriedly tried to explain. She pushed Clerens away from her while turning in Dilan's direction.

She didn't want him to misunderstand her and approached him quickly. Reaching for his hands, she held them and looked at him with watery eyes.

"I had to kill them to protect myself. They wanted my blood to purify their own blood. Clerens' family planned to save some of my blood to enter the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord as well! Darling, you have to trust me…" Victoria was trying her best to explain the situation to him as well as possible.

However, this was much more difficult than she had expected. Victoria had already forgotten about the family Clerens belonged to, which was why she didn't tell Dilan about everything beforehand.

But this made it look like she was trying to come up with excuses while frantically moving her hands. This was quite difficult as she did not want to let go of Dilan's hands, fearing that he would get angry with her.

"Calm down," He tried to reassure her before gently freeing his hands from her grasp. Afterward, he lightly pressed her hand with his before turning his head to Clerens, who was lying on the ground half-frozen.

"If you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your people, how about we stop this farce? My head is already aching because of all this bullshit, I have to listen to," Dilan suggested, extending his hand to help him get up.

Clerens tried to move but as he was half frozen this was much harder than expected. Nial released the Blazing Serpentine Blade from the storage ring. He enlarged it, and coiled the flat side of the blade around Clerens before using the Pyromancy orb to manifest small flames.

The situation was extremely humiliating, and both Kuhn and Oliver had to try hard not to laugh.

They had been a bit astonished when they looked in Clerens' direction, and Victoria's spontaneous response to subdue him but the tension quickly dispersed at the sight of Clerens being warmed to regulate his body temperature.

Once he was unfrozen, Dilan retracted the Serpentine Blade. He stored it away before finally helping Clerens up from the ground.

"Even if I were to kill you, and your people would try to take revenge, they would only die a needless death. So get your act together," Dilan declared while showing Clerens that quite a few Soldiers had already come out of the base to take a look at what was going on.

They hadn't seen Clerens' eyes, fangs, or claws but what all of them had witnessed clearly was that Victoria had attacked Clerens.

If not for Dilan, they would have definitely intervened. For a moment, they hesitated to reconsider what they wanted to do because Dilan was also present.

Nobody was strong enough to face him head-on, and everyone knew that Dilan would kill them the moment they targeted him with their killing intent.

"Okay, okay, I have calmed down…" Clerens said and raised his arms despite being still agitated. Dilan didn't bother about Clerens' emotions and if he felt wronged.

They entered the Blue Star camp under the scrutinizing gazes of many Ascenders. It was easy to sense the hostility between the most beautiful woman they had ever seen and Clerens.

Their relationship was definitely not rocky, but they could also see that the woman was clinging to Dilan's arm. She looked at Dilan in a pitiful manner, melting the hearts of all the men around her and also making them feel a bit jealous.

"If I could have a woman like her, I would do it with her every single day! What a shame…" One Ascender stated in a voice clear enough for everyone around them to hear.

Dilan and the others heard that man as well and almost as if Victoria wanted to respond to him, she pulled Dilan closer to her.

His arm was squeezed between her bosom as she moved closer to his head and whispered in his ear,

"See, others would do it with me every day. How about we do that?~"

Victoria licked her lip seductively as she smelled Dilan's warm blood. She wanted to take another bite and pounce upon him right at this moment.

But in the end, she could hold herself back as she saw Dilan's reaction.

Now was not the time for her to behave like this, and neither were they at the right place.

"Darling, calm down," Victoria quickly said and released Dilan from her grasp.

Dilan responded with a faint smile but he didn't say anything as he followed Clerens.

"Don't worry girl, he is always a little bit…cold and distant. You will learn to understand this," Ailee said, gently slapping on her back when she saw Victoria's smile disappear.

In the three hours in which they drove through the Shikan plains, the two women got to know each other. They were far from becoming best friends, but Ailee liked Victoria.

She was a nice woman. A bit crazy, but nice nonetheless.

All of them were now inside the office that was cramped with Clerens, Dilan, and the six others, who merely looked at each other.

"Soo, can I get the Sanctum Keys?" Clerens asked, eyeing Dilan and Victoria.

He was not sure how much Victoria told Dilan about the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord but he had expected the worst. The entire situation had blown out of proportions because Victoria had suddenly appeared.

Clerens had not even known that she was still alive. He could have sworn that the new Vampire Lord would have attempted to kill her more than a few times and finally succeeded.

But seeing her right in front of him clearly meant that he had failed while she was still alive, and kicking. Furthermore, she seemed quite powerful.

Clerens didn't like this. He was frustrated and felt like destroying his entire office.

But he maintained a calm expression as he awaited Dilan's answer.

"How about you give me your Sanctum key instead? Our goal will be the same, either way," Dilan said, holding out his hand before motioning in a demanding way.

He smiled innocently but everyone could tell that he was mocking Clerens.

"As long as the Sanctum is not too far away from here, we can take a look, you can go inside and I will just test how dangerous it is. You won't need to sacrifice me or my blood because we have Victoria here, as well," Dilan sounded calm as he spoke but the words he said were a clear sign that he knew what Clerens had planned.

"So if I don't want to die, I have to give you my Sanctum key?" Clerens asked, clenching his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white and blood trickled to the ground.

Dolan nodded his head calmly and gave him a choice, an easy one in his opinion.

"It's either your head or the Sanctum key."

Chapter 289 Region Announcement

It was only obvious that Clerens didn't want to die. That was why he was forced to hand over the Sanctum Key to Dilan.

He eyed Victoria vigilantly at the same time just to see that Dilan revealed the four other Sanctum Keys. Without further ado, he added the last Sanctum key to the keychain of the others.

However, nobody expected two notifications to pop up right in front of him. One of the notifications was golden in color, while the other one looked the same as ever.

[Region announcement <Shikan plains>: The keys to the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord have been found and brought together. The Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord will be remodeled. Instance Dungeon <Sanctum of the Blood Monarch> has been created]

[Host has received Coordinates of the Instance Dungeon's location, Information about the entry requirements, and more secret information as Possessor of the Five Sanctum rings!]

When Dilan finished reading the second notification, numerous pieces of information flooded his mind. It ached a bit but it was not unbearable. Dilan had felt far more pain, which was why he could keep up his poker face as he accepted and digested the information.

Only he received the second notification and nobody else. However, the first message was shown to everyone living in the Shikan plains.

"Well if that's not a surprise," Dilan said with a smirk. He didn't sound shocked but rather interested.

The Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord had just gained much more importance in Dilan's eyes after reading the second notification.

"What the hell…is that system thing now even altering the places that already existed?" Williams asked, trying to understand what was going on.

It was obvious that collecting the five Sanctum keys had been the catalyst for the notification that had just happened. It was still a mystery to figure out what exactly this system was. It didn't do much and it was actually not a big influence on everyone's livelihood, usually.

But despite that, there were times its influence was quite annoying and intrusive, to put it simply,

"If this Instance Dungeon is anything like the Pagoda of Time, it will be just as dangerous, or possibly even more dangerous to enter…" Kuhn mumbled, shuddering at the thought of the Pagoda of Time.

Meanwhile, though Dilan's group knew about Instance dungeons, neither Clerens nor Victoria had ever heard about them. They were oblivious and their shock mostly originated from one particular aspect.

"Sanctum of the Blood Monarch…why did it suddenly turn into that??" Clerens asked in confusion, not expecting an answer. He was merely talking to himself.

But Victoria heard him and she was just as confused as Clerens. Her father's Sanctum had just been remodeled by some sort of system.

"The Blood Monarch…" Victoria repeated quietly, which attracted Dilan's attention.

"You know, who or what that is?" He asked straightforwardly. The information he had received was still being processed by his brain, but he was too impatient to wait for everything to be organized.

"The Blood Monarch is said to be related to the King of Vampires…but he never lived in the human world…nobody knows how strong he actually is, what he does, or where he lives. From a young age, I was told fairy tales about the Blood Monarch..and if I can speak in all honesty, it was blood,y cruel, and destructive.

In terms of a human's descriptions of dreams, dreaming about the Blood Monarch's fairy tales is probably one of the worst nightmares one can get," Victoria said, her lips twitching.

She was not sure what to think about the sudden change in things. Did she like it or not? In the end, she just wanted to stand in front of her father's grave to end her grief and guilt.

"Instance Dungeons are very resourceful. If this one opens a shop to everyone who reaches the final floor, it will become even easier to advance Tiers. The Taurus Shop is already an exception…though it is expensive," Oliver opined while rubbing his hands.

With Yvonne, Ailee, Kathrine, Williams, and the others, they conquered the Pagoda of Time one time, while creating several new records in the <Group > raid of the Instance Dungeon.

This was also why they gained quite some Dungeon Points, and permission to look at the Taurus shop. The items in the shop were extremely expensive, but even more so, useful.

"It surely is useful but what are we going to do now? If the Blood Monarch is truly as unique as Victoria said, the Vampires of the Shikan plains will flock to the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord to enter the Instance Dungeon of the Blood Monarch… Should we just wait for them to kill each other before we search for the Instance Dungeon as well?" Silas wondered out loud. He was still weak but he heard everything. He was a bit concerned that Dilan would do something reckless.

Their leader was a great and powerful man, but he was not actually known for thinking things through. As long as one had the necessary strength this was not necessary. And the fact that only Dilan was extremely powerful and much stronger than anyone else made him more reckless than he needed to be in most of the cases.

"Waiting might be a bit troublesome as well…They need the Sanctum keys to enter the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord. The [Sanctum of the Blood Monarch] Instance Dungeon is the entire Sanctum, and one can only enter it with the keys…At least the first one to enter needs the Sanctum keys…the following won't require them," Dilan suddenly said, looking at the others with a complicated expression.

They returned his expression, just with more confusion, which lead Dilan to speak more,

"I have received some information about the Instance Dungeon, its location, and a bit more for being the person in possession of the Sanctum keys," He said, trying to act nonchalantly, only to fail miserably.

"That means all Vampires will rush to the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord just to find out that they need the Sanctum Keys. Because they know that the Sanctum keys had been collected by someone, the Vampires will follow their instincts to rush toward you. They will kill you and your entire group, collect the Sanctum keys and leave afterward," Clerens nearly laughed out loud when he summarized the current situation.

He looked at Dilan with a mocking smile, only to freeze in place, when he noticed that the office's temperature decreased rapidly.

Victoria was staring daggers at Clerens and was ready to kill him the moment she received Dilan's permission.

"That…is too dangerous," Ailee cautioned before adding, "It's great that we know about the threats now, but what are we supposed to do now? Whether we approach the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord actively or stay at our base, we will have to face all the Vampires either way."

Ailee didn't sound especially frightened. She was just stating facts which Dilan appreciated. Nobody needed to panic right now.

"How many noble clans of Vampires lived near the Center of the Shikan plains?" Dilan suddenly asked as he turned in Victoria's direction.

The Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord was located in the center of the Shikan plains. Thus the noble clans close to the Sanctum would find out that the Instance Dungeon lies behind closed doors.

They would also be the first ones to actively search for the Sanctum keys. Only days later would the other Vampire clans get to know about the intel when they reached the Sanctum in person.

'The Shikan plains are humongous. Even if some people are as strong or fast as I am, it will take days for most to cross the distance from their home to the Center of the Shikan plains, and a week to reach our location. If they move in armies, they need to adjust their speed to the slowest of them, which would further prolong the time until they finally encounter us!' Dilan thought after a while.

A plan was forming in his mind and he felt that a great opportunity awaited them. It was a fact that he had the keys to an Instance Dungeon, meaning that he would be the first to enter it. If the Instance Dungeons were similar in its operations, those who entered them first would receive a certain bonus.

This was exceptional and something Dilan looked forward to. Simultaneously, Vampires were also powerful opponents. Dilan was excited at the thought of fighting them, especially considering that their Essences were unique and very helpful to Dilan.

He would have loved to fight thousands of them. The only issue was that he was unlikely to be able to fight thousands of Vampires with his current equipment, let alone the fact that his stamina would run out before he killed half of them.

Dilan's head rattled but he was extremely excited with all the information he received. And this was something the others could tell as Dilan's battle spirit was hard to miss.

It weighed heavy on everyone's body and mind.

"Looks like we have some more trouble to take care of…"

"We will fight more Vampires, won't we?"

"He is so sexy~~"

Chapter 290 A Monster's rampage

"So you say that there are more than 50 noble Vampire clans in the entire Shikan plains?" Dilan asked, feeling slightly confused as he added, "I thought there were more…"

The Shikan plains were humongous and considering that he had encountered so many Vampires in the last few days, he had been sure that there were 100, or possibly 200 noble Vampire clans.

"I think you are misunderstanding something…" Clerens suddenly interrupted, preventing Victoria from explaining the situation further.

"The Mihorl clan is one of the few families, who didn't expand their territory. Usually, their sons would have long since built their own side branch. Furthermore, the Mihorl clan was considered rather weak…before the Primordial Ascension, at least," Clerens explained, only for Victoria to barge into the conversation.

"Let's just say that there are more than 25,000 Vampires in the entire Shikan plains and that all of them are after you!" She said with an unusually bright smile on her face. Her eyes were gleaming brightly as she stared daggers into Dilan's body.

Victoria wanted to see how Dilan would fight against a total of 25,000 Vampires, and how he had obliterated them. This was her dream and somehow also her hope.

"25,000? Out of these 25,000 around 500 should be noble Vampires, including the new Vampire Lord and other extremely strong clansmen. This is not something we can handle in a single battle," Dilan spoke in all honesty. There was no need to hide the truth.

25,000 Vampires were too much for him to handle, especially because there was another problem.

"They'll have strong Servants and bloodthirsty Ascenders in their rows as well. This will increase their numbers to 100,000 at the bare minimum," Silas added, only for Victoria to shake her head.

"Increase it to 250,000…" She said, still smiling lightly. However, her expression changed a bit as well when she figured that it would be quite difficult for a single individual to kill so many opponents.

Even Vampires didn't have enough Stamina to fight against a quarter million opponents…

"At least they won't come together and attack us at once. But another problem would be the fact that others will be attracted as well. First of all, other monsters will attack the moment the blood of a noble Vampire spreads through the surroundings.

Furthermore, by now everyone had received a notification about the Instance Dungeon and the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord. That included humans, monsters, and probably other races of the night such as Werewolves. That is if I'm not mistaken," Dilan revealed with a forlorn expression.

At that moment, a slap could be heard. Everyone turned in Clerens' direction, where they could see a small imprint of his hand on the forehead. He smiled weirdly, and couldn't believe how the situation had escalated that much.

"I'm gonna be honest. Right now, I'm truly happy not to be in possession of the Sanctum Keys. The moment the first Werewolf will be attacked by either Vampires or humans, the entire Shikan plains will become a Warzone," Clerens just said as he began to shudder.

He had had encounters with werewolves every now and then in the past. They were already strong enough before because their physical strength had been enhanced drastically. But now that the Primordial Ascension had occurred, they were bound to become wild beasts that followed their instincts more than anything.

Their strength would be unrivaled and their bonding as a pack would further turn them into a formidable group of powerful people. Killing or injuring a werewolf in the open would have terrifying consequences. Thus, Clerens was quite happy that he was not the cause of the trouble that awaited the Shikan plains.

"So you believe that Werewolves will try to enter the Instance Dungeon as well? Or maybe they will just try to reap more benefits by killing as many Vampires as possible when they're focused on collecting the Sanctum Keys," Dilan was still quite calm.

He was actually unbothered by Clerens' remark simply because it showed how much of a frightened coward the Vampire was. The entire situation was an opportunity. They had to become stronger to prevent powerful monsters from killing them.

In the end, Clerens had never faced the mighty prowess of an actual Dragon. It was frightening and not the type of existence one should ever consider facing head-on. At least not with their strength.

Thus, becoming stronger was not even an option, it was a necessity.

"Should we return to inform the others about everything?" Williams asked, dragging Dilan out of his thoughts. Williams ignored Clerens as well as he focused solely on Dilan.

Dilan just looked over to Silas, who was still not able to move very well.

"I guess we can leave, but in the Van or some other vehicle. Silas shouldn't run around yet. He doesn't heal that fast," Dilan suggested after giving it some thought.

Silas smiled wryly when he heard what the leader said, and felt disappointed in his own capabilities. Dilan noticed Silas' reaction and he smiled faintly.

"Buddy, don't act like a sulky child. You know that I didn't mean it like that. You need to rest, period." Dilan ordered in a tone of finality, not allowing Silas to say anything in return.

Dilan was just about to turn in the direction of the office's door as his ears perked up.

The sound of thunder reverberated through the Blue Star camp as lightning exploded near the base. This attracted Dilan's attention, not because it was uncommon for a bolt of lightning to explode somewhere but rather because the sky was bright and cloudless.

Dilan looked out of the window, and everyone's gaze followed him.

"It's definitely not raining, or am I blind…?" Oliver asked in confusion.

However, just when Oliver voiced out his confusion an ear-piercing screech echoed through the surrounding. It caused shivers to run down the spine of many Ascenders and all the Survivors, just for another thunderous bold of lightning to impact near the base.

"Looks like you guys got a guest," Dilan commented as his eyes flicked to Clerens. He smiled in a mocking manner before he waved his hand lightly.

"We will take our leave then. Good luck defeating this thing," Dilan said before he thought about something and added, "…but pay attention. This is not a Gold Tier-1 monster."

He didn't say anything and calmly left Clerens' office. Clerens could only look at Dilan's retreating figure in confusion. He tilted his head, only to hear the third thunderous bolt of lightning.

It exploded close to the military base, destroying the building with a single impactful hit.

"Wait!! Dilan, wait!! What do you mean by 'not a Gold Tier-1 monster?!?'…Answer mee!!" Clerens called out to him desperately. He could tell that everyone in Dilan's group was worried, and he had a bad feeling as well.

There was only one monster outside but its rampage was destructive and dangerous.

Yet, oddly enough, Dilan seemed to know more about this monster than anyone else. It was weird, but not impossible.

Scurrying after him, Clerens rushed towards Dilan who halted in his tracks upon hearing his pleas.

He had only gotten a glimpse of the monster but that was more than enough for him to tell that the Clawed Bears paled in comparison with the purple feathered thunder-controlling eagle that had entered his view.

'It's either a Platinum Tier-1 monster…or a Tier-2 monster…'

Chapter 291 What can I get?

Dilan was ready to leave the Blue Star camp for good. It would be destroyed, either way, so there was no need for them to stay.

With a calm expression, he left the office and walked through the masses of panicking Survivors and Ascenders. The Tier-1 Ascenders were trying to prepare themselves mentally for what awaited them.

If the monster tide had already been dangerous and scary, the purple-feathered Eagle, who was soaring through the air, was several times more dangerous. The destructive power each bolt of lightning caused was devastating and caused several explosions as a chain effect was initiated.

The vehicles in the surrounding area were destroyed, multiple holes were blown into the highly endurable walls of the military base and several corpses were already lying on the ground.

While the Survivors were running for their lives and trying to reach the deeper parts of the military base to be protected a little bit better, Dilan was unruffled as he passed through all of them.

They were looking at him and were trying to find a ray of hope, only to realize that Dilan didn't even throw a glance at them.

"Dilan? Are you not going to help us?" Clerens asked when he appeared next to Dilan. He was pretty sure that Dilan wouldn't let the other humans die so easily.

It didn't matter, whether Dilan liked him or not, the lives of his brethren had always been important to Dilan. That was what Clerens was could tell for sure.

"Why should I help you? You wanted to sacrifice me to enter the Sanctum of the Old Vampire Lord. If not for Victoria, you would have the Sanctum Keys by now and I would still be oblivious to the truth," Dilan didn't halt stop in his tracks when he spoke.

He had no intentions to do what Clerens wanted from him, not for free, at least.

"If I kill this beast for you, what will you give me in return? You can hire me as your mercenary, otherwise, I will just leave and the Blue Star camp will cease to exist," Dilan said and finally halted in his tracks to look at Clerens.

"B-but Dilan??" Oliver's voice suddenly reached Dilan. His expression clearly showed that he was baffled what Dilan just said. However, Oliver was not the only one, who was baffled.

Kuhn and Silas felt exactly like Oliver.

'He would let all these innocent Survivors die, just because he doesn't like Clerens?'

"Are you serious, right now?!?" Clerens shouted out, his body moving instinctively as he grasped Dilan by the collar.

But instead of panicking, Dilan smiled mockingly at Clerens.

"Don't act out of character, Clerens. Aren't you supposed to be calm, deceiving, and aloof?" Dilan's mocking smile widened the more he said.

Clerens grit his teeth, let go of Dilan and turned his head to the huge hole in the wall that had been caused by a single bolt of lightning. He saw the huge purple-feathered eagle, who could create highly destructive lightning without difficulties.

'Dilan is right. This monster is not something either I or the others can handle…' Clerens knew that he was not strong enough. It would be impossible for them to survive if the purple-feathered Eagle wouldn't stop its rampage.

Clenching his fists tightly and gritting his teeth, Clerens swallowed his pride as he accepted the fact that Dilan was their only hope

"I will give you…just take whatever you want…but only three items and only after you killed the beast…" He thus said, trying to hide the fact that he hated the current situation.

Clerens didn't even know what Dilan needed, which was why he was forced to propose giving Dilan three items of his choice. There was no time to start negotiating, not if Clerens wanted the military base and his people to survive!

Dilan smiled faintly as his body turned in the direction of the hole in the wall.

"Alright, we have a deal then," Dilan spoke calmly before he started to speak to his own people, "You guys will have to stay behind. Your attacks should be useless against this type of monster."

After that was said, Dilan the stones below his feet crackled when he used all his strength to catapult his body forward. His speed accelerated at a tremendous speed the moment he passed through the hole in the wall.

Meanwhile, the others could only look at the blur Dilan left behind. Oliver sighed deeply, somewhat relieved because he had figured out that Dilan merely played around with Clerens to make some profits.

"Our attacks will be useless against this annoying Eagle?! I don't believe that!" Ailee suddenly exclaimed and she also disappeared through the hole.

"Can't she just do as she was asked?" Oliver sighed again. His expression turned sour and against all his instincts that told him to hold his horses, he followed Ailee.

"What a cute couple!" Victoria exclaimed in joy, crossing Ailee out from her list of rivals before she turned into a blur as well

Her thoughts were running wild, just in the completely wrong direction… 'I cannot lose out to them! My Darling will be disappointed if I don't cheer for him!'

Williams, Silas, and Kuhn had nothing better to do than to pass through the hole in the wall as well as they left behind Clerens, who could only shake his head.

"I sincerely hope that you guys die fighting this monster," He cursed quietly, just to recall something as he added, "…but only after it is severely injured…"

Dilan had yet to activate any of his abilities as he rushed toward the purple-feathered Eagle. It had noticed their arrival but that didn't seem to bug it.

The purple-feathered Eagle kept soaring through the air, firing one bolt of lightning after another at the base. Something about the military base seemed to irk the monster, which attracted Dilan's attention.

"What are you trying to achieve, little angry bird?" Dilan asked while keeping a bright smile on his face.

The closer he was to the purple-feathered Eagle, the more obvious its huge size and overwhelming power became.

Dilan had been pretty sure that the Eagle couldn't be a normal Tier-1 monster from the beginning but now that he sensed its whole power from close-up, he could tell that this was not everything.

'Is that the difference between a Tier-1 and Tier-2 monster?' He wondered while a CrimsonClaw Dagger appeared in his hand.

Using his momentum, Dilan stomped with his feet on the ground before he spun around to create additional momentum just to throw the dagger straight at the purple-feathered Eagle.

It was flying around 200 meters in the air which made it hard to hit the target. Fortunately, the Eagle seemed to be close to 10 meters in length, meaning that the target was not that small.

The CrimsonClaw dagger turned into a red flash as it soared through the air with rapid velocity. Only when it collided with the purple-feathered Eagle was the red flash forcefully halted.

When the CrimsonClaw dagger collided with the Eagle, the only sound that reached Dilan's ear was a nearly inaudible thump noise. Before even a second passed the CrimsonClaw dagger was deflected and it fell to the ground.

"Well its not like I didn't expect that," Dilan mumbled. Yet, just a short moment later, a bunch of fireballs, a salve of arrows and several blazing molotov daggers impacted on the purple-feathered eagle.

In response, a smokescreen covered the area around the purple-feathered eagle only for an enraged screech to echo through the surrounding.

The monster emerged out of the smokescreen as it dived down to the opponents, who had attacked it just a moment earlier.

There was not a single scratch on the eagle's purple feathered. The plumage was merely a bit disheveled!

"As I said, you guys won't be able to injure it!" Dilan spoke loud enough for everyone to let them hear him.

"You forgot about me then, Darling~!" Victoria turned in a flash to reappear next to him. She concentrated her power in the palm of her fingers where she conjured several tiny needles of Blood-Ice.

Once they were created, Victoria released them the moment the purple-feathered eagle was close enough to her to cause the most lethal damage.

"Bleed for me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as her eyes turned crimson red. She licked her lips in satisfaction, while her battle lust was fully unleashed.

'Maybe it will be funny with her?'

Chapter 292 Angry bird

When the Blood-Ice needles were released, the purple-feathered Eagle's first reaction was to evade them.

However, as it had already taken a full dive to attack Ailee, Kuhn, and Williams, evading the Blood-Ice needles was impossible.

As evading was impossible, the purple-feathered Eagle was ready to block the attacks. Yet, just when it looked like the monster would accept getting injured, two bolts of lightning were released from the eagle's body.

Their strength obliterated the Blood-Ice needles before they blasted toward Victoria. Her eyes widened in response but she was ready to face the attack.

But just before the bolts of lightning could impact her, Dilan pushed her aside.

"Whaat?" Victoria blurted out when she was shoved away. She could only see how the purple bolts of lightning burst open the concrete they were standing on while looking at Dilan's outlines.

"You Idiot!! Why are you blocking this attack? I'm a Vampire, I would have survived this easily!" Victoria screamed in frustration as her emotions were in total disarray.

But it was just at this moment when Dilan emerged from behind the bolt of lightning. His clothes were a bit burned but other than that he was unscathed.

"But you would have gotten injured. I need you to be unscathed, otherwise, we cannot deal with that monster," Dilan said, with a bright smile on his face.

His entire body was electrified but he enjoyed this feeling. He looked straight in the purple-feathered Eagle's eyes while flashing a mocking smile.

"You bastards are not the only ones with stats of an existence at Tier-2!" Dilan shouted out before he turned into a flash.

His Health stat was at 137.4 Units right now, and he received a 10% amplification from the Title [Beyond the Stars] and the Ilran Chestplate increased his Health stat by another 10 Units!

Even without the use of an ability that boosted his Health stat further just the use of his special trait [Stone Skin] would render a few bolts of lightning useless.

On the contrary, the bolts of lightning were literally the best Dilan could have encountered right now as he received two notifications, which caused his mood to brighten up even further.

[Host has been struck by a bolt of lightning with the destructive force of a Tier-2 ability. First requirement to upgrade the ability <Thunder Step> advanced. Get struck by lightning 2/5→3/5]

[Host has been struck by a bolt of lightning with the destructive force of a Tier-2 ability. First requirement to upgrade the ability <Thunder Step> advanced. Get struck by lightning 3/5→4/5]

Dilan flashed a bright smile as he pushed past Victoria. She looked at him in dumbfounding for a second or two before she realized where she was, and what had just happened.

'Maybe…just maybe, he might be more of a psycho than I was told I am…' Victoria thought with a cheeky smile on her face.

Her heart fluttered wildly to realize that Dilan had rescued her and by following his trajectory she could tell that he wanted to provoke the purple-feathered eagle.

It was difficult to fight an aerial beast, even more so if it used long-range attacks as a means to fight and attack.

However, that was not something Dilan could be bothered about right now. Ailee and the others split up the moment they saw that their attack failed.

This forced the purple-feathered eagle to focus entirely on one opponent. The monster switched tactics and chose to attack Kuhn, who seemed to be the weakest.

However, this was a big mistake.

Kuhn's hands were shivering at the terrifying prowess the purple-feathered eagle showcased but he quickly found his senses back.

If he didn't act now, he was bound to die!

[Blazing Cyclone]!

Kuhn activated one of his strongest Occupational abilities, [Blazing Cyclone]. A huge inferno of flames manifested right in front of him before it turned into a cyclone that was blasted in the direction of the purple-feathered Eagle.

The monster was not resistant to flames but Kuhn was merely a Tier-1 Ascender. Most of his mana had been used up in the single attack. On the contrary, it took the purple-feathered eagle only a single concentrated bolt of lightning to pierce through the Blazing Cyclone.

Following that, merely a quarter of a second the bolt of lightning destroyed the Blazing Cyclone when Kuhn released the compressed flames.

A wall of flames emerged between him and the eagle, giving him the necessary leeway to jump to the side with all his might.

Just a moment later the purple-feathered eagle emerged through the wall of flames with its talons first. They were razor-sharp and brushed past Kuhn, only to cut through the cement.

Kuhn felt like he had escaped death by a hair's breadth. However, just as a thunderous sound emerged next to him, his heart skipped a beat.

The purple-feathered eagle released thunder from the tip of his right wing. The attack was aimed straight at Kuhn, whose heart was beating rapidly. He could see death approaching him at a breakneck speed and his face drained of all color thinking that his life would end right here and right now.

But just when Kuhn wanted to give his all to escape death, a purple flash emerged in front of him.

The entire stone foundation around Kuhn was destroyed as Dilan, who had activated both [Thunder Step] and [Second Acceleration] blasted through the fire and over the ground to give Kuhn a helping hand.

With the momentum he had accumulated, Dilan grasped Kuhn's robe before he hurled him through the air like a piece of cloth.

"Williams!!" Dilan's shout echoed through the surroundings. Williams reacted instinctively. He used his [Psychokinesis] ability to slow down Kuhn's fall, only to divert his attention back to Dilan.

However, what he saw there caused his eyes to widen. A highly concentrated bolt of lightning pierced straight through Dilan, while his distance from the purple-feathered eagle was not even 10 meters worried him.

But before Williams or anybody could help him, the concrete around Dilan burst open. A dread rose from the pits of their hearts as it was clear to the bare eye that no ordinary existence would survive this.

Even Dilan, whom nobody would call ordinary, wouldn't be able to overcome this unscathed. They had to do something to help him.

It was just at this moment when large icicles coated in bloodshot forward. They collided on the purple-feathered eagle's neck where they exploded, releasing thousands of shards that cut into the eagle's flesh.

A blood-curdling screech filled with pain escaped the eagle's mouth as its body reared up. The concentrated bolt of lightning ended but the counterattack was far from over.

Oliver emerged out of the eagle's shadows. His eyes gleamed coldly as he slashed out with his CrimsonClaw dagger.

[Violent Strike] was fully unleashed, providing Oliver with the necessary power to issue one of his strongest attacks.

The eagle's neck was already injured, which was why Oliver was certain that his attack would seriously maim, or possibly even kill the purple-feathered eagle.

But just as Oliver's hand shot out, the eagle flapped its wings to create enough force to change its position and evade it.

Oliver's attack missed its target and the eagle received the opportunity to snap at Oliver with its beak.

The purple-feathered eagle was much faster than Oliver. This was something Oliver hadn't calculated in his attack when he had issued it.

Thus, he could only frown deeply when he saw that the monster was faster and about to bite off his head.

[Shadow Walk]!

Instinctively, Oliver disappeared into the eagle's shadows to retreat. Simultaneously, a volley of arrows that were aimed at the eagle's eyes impacted its head. Even if they missed their target it was enough to distract the purple-feathered eagle.

Making use of this opportunity, a blazing serpent emerged to the eagle's right. It coiled around the eagle's right wing before tremendous force pulled a dark figure closer.

Dilan survived the bolt of lightning that had attacked him head-on.

He was not unscathed, and his injuries were not to be underestimated either. However, [Bracing Pain] had already amplified his stats, meaning that his Health stats was currently 200 times greater than that of the average human before the Primordial Ascension.

If he couldn't heal, while having an additional amplification from his Origin ability, [Regeneration], then nobody would be able to overcome this type of attack.

Dilan used the Blazing Serpentine Balde to push himself forward and closer to the eagle. Simultaneously, he restricted its movement for a short moment. Within the blink of an eye, he catapulted his body forward and landed on the eagle's back.

Meanwhile, a wonderful notification appeared right in front of him.

[Host has been struck by a bolt of lightning with the destructive force of a Tier-2 ability. First requirement to upgrade the ability <Thunder Step> has been completed. Get struck by lightning 4/5→5/5]

"Playtime is over, you fat angry bird!"

Chapter 293 Near-death

Dilan was tightly holding onto the eagle's plumage as it reared up. Its physical strength was stronger than Dilan's but that did not matter in the current situation.

The Blazing Serpentine Blade had disappeared in Dilan's storage ring and he was using all his might to not fall off the eagle's back. It tried to shake him off hard and moved violently while making use of its wings, talons, and head but Dilan maintained an iron grip.

Lifting one hand, a CrimsonClaw dagger appeared within it. He spun it inside his hand smoothly before he used his whole force to pierce the dagger inside the purple-feathered eagle.

When the CrimsonClaw dagger's tip and the eagle came into contact, Dilan heard a crack. Pain spread through his entire left hand all of a sudden and his eyes widened slightly.

"I cannot even injure you despite using my whole strength and the CrimsonClaw Dagger?" Dilan grit his teeth in annoyance as he felt how the CrimsonClaw dagger crumbled in his hand.

His hand was not broken from the crackling metal that reduced to pieces in his hand but that was merely owed to his high Health stat. Dilan was quickly healing, which allowed him to overcome what awaited him just a moment later.

As it was rendered unable to use any physical means to attack Dilan, the purple-feathered Eagle screeched out in anger. It created a highly concentrated bolt of lightning on its back.

The monster planned to attack Dilan with a bolt of lightning at first but because it could tell that Dilan's agility was not to be underestimated the purple-feathered eagle evenly spread out the bolt of lightning all over its back.

"Argghh!!" A groan escaped Dilan as he felt electricity charging through his entire body. Blood trickled out of his nose but Dilan didn't even think of letting go of the purple-feathered eagle.

He held onto its feathered body tightly, while seeing that the monster changed its tactic again. Instead of trying to attack Dilan, the eagle started to attack Ailee and the others.

Blood-Ice needles blasted in the eagle's face before it reached the others but the attacks barely fazed the monster.

The purple-feathered eagle blocked Victoria's hail of Blood-Ice attacks with its wings before it lunged at Ailee, who was the closest to the monster and therefore an easy target.

Oliver appeared in Ailee's shadow. He screamed out in rage and was ready to give his life if he could protect Ailee by doing that. Using his entire mana, he activated [Shadow Image] to create two shadow images of himself while his body was shrouded in shadows as well.

Simultaneously, he executed [Violent Strike] with all three shadow images. Shadow images couldn't be used to attack or defend under normal circumstances but Oliver ignored this as he used his entire mana to fuse the shadow images in the shadows that shrouded him.

Through this, his Violent strike became much stronger as the mana normally utilized for three [Violent strike] uses was executed in one. The shadow images merged with his attack providing an additional enhancement in Oliver's attack.

Oliver slashed at the eagle's beak with all his might as it dove down at them. The purple-feathered eagle was not the slightest bit scared as it faced Oliver's attack head-on.

Rather than fear, its eyes were overflowing with mockery. It was almost as if the monster had expected something like this.

For the first time since the Primordial Ascension had started, Oliver and the others witnessed the scheming of a seemingly ordinary monster. The purple-feathered eagle was clearly more intelligent than other monsters, which one could tell when it opened its beak to shoot a bolt of lightning out of it.

The bolt of lightning collided with Oliver's attack and it was just a second later that Oliver's entire body was momentarily paralyzed. He was unable to move and he would have fallen to the ground if it was not for his feet that were firmly planted on the ground.

The purple-feathered eagle didn't waste time after throwing a bolt of lightning at Oliver as it closed its beak to continue the attack.

Oliver could see death dancing in front of him as the eagle's beak got closer with a speed that exceeded his own by far.

However, just when Oliver was about to get pierced by the beak of the purple-feathered eagle, it let out a horrendous screech.

The monster's attack was forcefully interrupted as multiple blazing Molotov daggers, arrows, fireballs and Blood-Ice icicles exploded right on the eagle's face.

All these attacks were more than enough to distract the purple-feathered eagle but Dilan's attack was what caused the monster to scream out.

He had manifested another CrimsonClaw dagger in his hand moments after the first one turned into thousands of shards.

However, this time Dilan didn't even think about attacking the purple-feathered eagle as stupidly as before.

The monster had a much higher physical resistance than its mana resistance. Dilan concluded this because Victoria's attacks were working while his attack hadn't worked.

He knew that he was stronger than her even after she regained all her strength. By connecting the dots he realized that he had made a grave mistake and chosen the wrong way to attack the purple-feathered eagle before.

More than 30 Units of Mana were compressed inside the CrimsonClaw dagger as he activated [Mana Slash]. The Crimson Claw dagger was already cracking because it was incapable of handling any more mana that could be compressed in the blade's rather small body.

Dilan didn't care about this at all as he continued to attack. The Mana Slash cut inside the monster's neck the moment Dilan released it.

This was what caused the purple-feathered eagle to give a whimpered cry of pain. Instinctively, it sensed that something was wrong. Flapping its wings it took flight in the air, while Dilan was still clinging to its back.

Angered and annoyed, the eagle was using the vast majority of mana to prepare to attack Dilan with all its might. Nobody had been able to face it before but the eagle now realized that it had been too arrogant. It fought too recklessly and ended up in a situation, where it was not able to escape anymore, not if it didn't make use of every weapon and trick in its arsenal.

However, Dilan noticed this and he didn't want to allow the Eagle to flee, let alone that he was going to get roasted by the attack the monster was about to discharge in the air.

"Even if your physical resistance is fucking high, there has to be a limit, you fucking piece of shit!!" Dilan screamed out and activated [Bearer of Pain] to refill the entire mana he had used up.

The more life force was drained from Dilan the stronger he started to feel. [Bracing Pain]'s amplification increased the more severe his injuries grew and the moment he reached the highest amplification, Dilan was ready to end the purple-feathered eagle's life.

The third CrimsonClaw dagger was filled with a total of 50 Units of Mana. This was everything he could utilize to activate [Mana Slash]'s strongest attack.

It may not be possible for the CrimsonClaw dagger to make the most use of a Mana Slash that had been activated with 50 Units of Mana but that was not something Dilan was concerned about.

The overflowing mana could just discharge within the purple-feathered Eagle, killing it!

Issuing a war cry, Dilan used his Strength that exceeded 120 Units after all the amplifications he received and brought down his hand tightly gripping the crumbling CrimsonClaw dagger.

It pierced through the eagle's purple feathers, and the skin underneath before sinking right into its flesh.

When the CrimsonClaw dagger pierced through the flesh he released the [Mana Slash] that shot out at once.

Just a moment later the CrimsonClaw dagger was destroyed but Dilan couldn't care less about that as the strongest attack he had ever created wreaked havoc inside the purple-feathered eagle.

The Mana Slash cut through its flesh, bones, and internal organs and it was not even two seconds after Dilan's final attack that the remnants of mana were released explosively.

The eagle's body expanded and it looked like it was about to die.

But Dilan was not patient enough to wait for it to die. He wanted it to die right here and right now without giving a way to escape.

Lifting both hands over his head, he used all his remaining mana to shroud his hands with it. Tightly holding his hands together he brought his arms down at the exact same location he pierced through the eagle's flesh.

"Die!!"

Chapter 294 Tier-2

Even if the purple-feathered Eagle was powerful, it was impossible to stay unfazed when the compromised force Dilan was able to release smashed onto it.

We were talking about the impact on a small spot equivalent to more than 120 times the average human's strength before the Primordial Ascension after all!

With an ear-splitting sound, the monster smashed on the ground barely twitching faintly.

It was lying inside a huge crater holding onto the last straws of its life. The purple-feathered eagle was trying to desperately clutch all the hope it could as a painful scream of desperation escaped its crippled body.

The Mana Slash combined with the terrifying impact Dilan had executed on its neck broke it, rendering the monster incapable of escaping.

But despite the unbearable pain that spread through the monster's body and its incapability to move properly, it was still twitching and trying to do everything it could.

Dilan saw this through his blurred sight. He was not completely unscathed either. Some of his life force had been deprived and the impact with which he landed on the ground was not to be underestimated in his state.

But his eyes were ice-cold when looking at the eagle below him. Not even the slightest trace of mercy could be seen within them.

"You are a tough one, huh?" He mumbled, stumbling against the monster's body as he took a few breaths to get back to his senses.

Dilan knew that the fight was over but he couldn't allow the purple-feathered Eagle to have the slightest bit of leeway.

It was unlikely that the monster could flee in its current injured state but the impossible had become possible with the appearance of the Primordial Ascension.

With that in mind, Dilan lifted his hands once again. He coiled them into fists as he continued to smash them onto the barely moving monster.

One smash after another landed on the purple-feathered eagle, whose cries turned more and more miserable and weak. Dilan landed one blow after another before the eagle fell silent once and for all.

As blood splattered on his face, Dilan's fists went numb and he lost track of how many times he had hit the monster.

Only when his Stamina was depleted and a cold hand reached out for him did he stop moving.

"It's dead, Dilan…calm down…" Victoria appeared behind him. Her hand was resting on his bloodied shoulder as she looked at the heavily breathing Dilan.

There was no trace of lust or the uncontrollable intent to continue to fight. She ignored the horrifying sight around Dilan and kept her eyes fixated on him as she wiped the blood off his face.

She seemed worried, which was the complete opposite to the behavior they had seen her showcase since they had gotten to know her.

Victoria was not someone who worried a lot about others.

Despite her unusual behavior nobody said anything. Everyone stared at Dilan in shock.

They had witnessed just how powerful the purple-feathered eagle was. This type of monster was not something anyone could have handled….except Dilan.

"Even if Yvonne, Kathrine, and everyone else would have joined the fight…we wouldn't have been able to defeat it, right?" Oliver asked in a weak and nearly inaudible voice as he looked at the remnants of the beast that had nearly churned him not too long ago.

He had barely survived the attack, and that was also only thanks to the dense shadows that had shrouded him the moment he was struck by the bolt of lightning.

"Only Victoria's attacks showed signs of inflicting damage to the eagle…and even that was negligible. They barely worked…" Ailee spoke while supporting Oliver to get back on his feet. She held onto him tightly as if she would never let him go again.

Because of that, Oliver smiled faintly even if it was painful. All the pain was worth it as long as he could protect Ailee! He leaned on her and his gaze lingered on her face as if he wanted to say something.

"Don't say something stupid, or I will throw you aside," Ailee sneered the moment Oliver opened his mouth.

He closed his mouth again and his expression mirrored that of a kicked puppy before he accepted the given situation.

"One step at a time it is then…" He could only mumble before feeling pain in his sides. Ailee had pinched him before her gaze flicked back to Dilan, and studied him for a moment.

"Looks like Victoria will become a precious and powerful member of our group…" She said to which Oliver could only agree,

"…and a rival for Kathrine and Yvonne," Oliver added, just to feel Ailee pinch him a second time.

Oliver smiled at her reaction but he could also see concern in her eyes.

"Just let them take care of their problem. They're adults and old enough to take care of themselves…especially Dilan," Williams suddenly joined their discussion as he appeared by their side.

He showed a trace of jealousy because he could tell that many women were interested in Dilan.

It was not as if nobody was interested in him but most women were basically after the protection a powerful Ascender could give his or her lovers!

However, that was not the case in Dilan's situation. There may be many women who were after him because of his strength but Kathrine, Yvonne or Victoria were certainly not interested in him just because of his strength.

Victoria was a unique case about which Williams couldn't say much but her genuine worry was enough for him to believe that she truly cared about him.

"Victoria must feel a special connection to him…I guess," Silas suddenly stated, trying to find the only logical explanation for Victoria's behavior.

"Maybe it's his blood, or maybe something else," he added before quieting down once again.

The reason for Victoria's weird behavior from the moment they had encountered her didn't matter to Silas at all. He had other things to think about and had enough on his plate to worry about.

Silas had been useless in the entire fight. He had been more of a burden than help, which frustrated him, especially after seeing how exhausted and weak Dilan looked.

'Am I even of any use to Dilan?' He wondered while his gaze lingered on his leader; the strongest man he had ever seen in his life.

Everyone knew that Dilan's past hadn't been easy. Nobody was able to find out something about his life before the Primordial Ascension but his behavior in certain situations and the scars all over his body was more than enough to understand that he had lived a rough life.

'He won't throw me away, right? I just need one more chance…' Silas thought, gritting his teeth. He had been nothing more than a burden in both fights which he had fought by Dilan's side. Silas knew that but he didn't want to give up, not after what he had just witnessed.

Dilan obliterated the monster that had nearly killed all of them by using attacks that exceeded the norms of anything Dilan had ever demonstrated!

He activated the same abilities he normally used but their strength exceeded the threshold of power his weapons could handle.

The CrimsonClaw Daggers were considered the strongest weapons owned by anyone in their group. They were razor-sharp and extremely durable.

Yet, those terrifying powerful weapons, which not a single Tier-1 existence could block without sustaining injuries, shattered after colliding with the purple-feathered eagle's body.

Dilan barely managed to stand up without realizing anything that happened around him. He didn't hear the others talking and neither did he feel that Victoria was trying to help him.

His entire focus was solely on the head of the monster he had just killed. Dilan's vision was blurred but as if his muscle memories were acting for him, he got his hands on a fist-sized Essence crystal.

It was thrice the size of ordinary Tier-1 Essence crystals and the Essence that swirled within was much stronger.

"A Bronze Essence crystal? Is that why it was so powerful?" Dilan mumbled incomprehensibly for everyone else to understand as he absorbed the Essence.

He needed the invigorating sensation of the Essence, otherwise, he would collapse on the ground without the ability to do anything against it.

[<Bronze > Essence of Tier-2 Level 5 Thunderbolt Eagle has been absorbed→ +1.7 Strength, +0.9 Health, +0.4 Stamina, +4.8 Agility, +6.3 Mana]

[Essence pool has been filled. Host reached Level 13(Tier-1)! +1.0 Status points can be allocated!]

[Essence pool has been filled. Host reached Level 14(Tier-1)! +1.0 Status points can be allocated!]

Chapter 295 Sanctum's Opportunity

Dilan's entire body was being invigorated as the Essence of the Tier-2 Thunderbolt Eagle spread through his veins.

His condition improved within seconds and his sight became clearer. All the exhaustion which he had felt from before seemed to have been wiped away. It was an amazing feeling but it astonished Dilan greatly.

'Two level ups and roughly 14 stats points…amazing!' He nearly exclaimed only to say something different, which he had taken note of.

"So pure…"

The Essence he absorbed had been dozens of times purer than the Gold Essence of the Clawed Bears. This was only obvious but it was still shocking because the purity and the humongous amount of Essence he had just absorbed were simply insane.

Under normal circumstances, Dilan would have never gotten so many status points, let alone enough Essence to level up twice. This didn't really make sense, especially not because of the Cursed Blessing [Will of the Primordial].

But the Thunderbolt Eagle was not only a whole Tier higher than Dilan but its level was also much higher.

'If the information I collected is correct, Level 25 is the highest Level an existence at Tier-1 can reach…'

That meant the Thunderbolt Eagle was close to 15 Levels higher than him at Tier-1, it had advanced to Tier-2 and leveled up no less than five times afterward. The Essence it must have accumulated to achieve all of that was tremendous, but sadly, Dilan was the one to have gained the most out of it.

"Tier-2 Essence is truly on a different level…" Dilan mumbled before he got an idea.

"Maybe hunting Tier-2 beasts would be the best?" He wondered, thinking that it would be great to level up quickly and increase his stats with ease. The stronger an opponent, the higher the use of their Essence for the hunter.

"No, that would be stupid. I could barely kill it by sacrificing my weapons and fighting recklessly…" Dilan continued to speak to himself, while Victoria was holding him up.

Dilan took a while to finish his train of thought but once he was done, he noticed that the others had already appeared around him.

All of them looked exhausted but they were calmly waiting for Dilan to give them the next order.

But instead of giving them an order, Dilan merely smiled as he stated the obvious, "We have to get stronger, much faster than our current speed of improvement!"

The others heard when Dilan mentioned that the Thunderbolt Eagle was a Tier-2 monster. They had already expected something like that but it was not as if they could actually believe that they had been facing a Tier-2 monster already.

The Primordial Ascension had happened less than 6 weeks ago, yet, the first Tier-2 monster had already appeared.

"More will come…soon, won't they?" Kuhn asked, his voice quivering with fear. The day when they left the Rian mountainside hospital was clear in his mind as day. Kuhn was haunted by these memories, the memories when the Red Dragon had emerged behind the mountainside. It was scary and a single thought was enough for him to start shuddering.

He didn't want to imagine how things would turn out if more beasts like the Red Dragon were to appear.

"Well, that was a Bronze Tier-2 monster. If we follow a 'normal' and linear process, we should face more ordinary Tier-2 monsters first before Bronze Tier-2 monsters emerge. But it's not like the progress of monsters would come to a stop just because we want them to.

There might already be Gold Tier-2 monsters out there and we were lucky enough not to meet them," Dilan spoke in a calm but serious voice. The Vampires they faced had already been at a high level as well.

It wouldn't have taken them long before reaching the maximum Level at Tier-1. Afterward, they would have advanced to TIer-2, thereby gaining immeasurable strength.

It was impossible to say how much stronger one would become by advancing from Tier-1 to Tier-2 but Dilan predicted that the difference was even higher than the first advancement.

The only difference was that one wouldn't choose an occupation while advancing but that the occupation would probably become stronger. But Dilan could only make predictions. It was not as if he had the ability to see in the future and tell whether or not his thoughts were correct.

"If that was only a Bronze Tier-2 monster, what would happen if there were more of them, or even stronger ones appeared?" Silas mumbled, imagining exactly what would happen. He began to shudder as well and his helpless gaze involuntarily turned over to Dilan.

Their leader looked quite calm, which reassured everyone. However, they also knew that Dilan had barely been strong enough to defeat the Tier-2 Thunderbolt Eagle. His strongest weapons were now destroyed and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to face another Tier-2 monster right now.

"Looks like we need to grasp the opportunity provided by the Sanctum," Williams said, his gaze lingering on the corpse of the Thunderbolt Eagle.

"Let's go back to Shiron first. We need to plan that out properly, otherwise, we might be the ones who will suffer…" Ailee cautioned, her expression visibly souring at the thought of thousands of Vampires taking them by surprise and attacking them while they were unprepared.

The Sanctum of the Blood Monarch may be useful and considered a great opportunity but the fact that thousands of Vampire would be after their lives soon enough was not something great.

They needed the Sanctum Keys and all five of them were in Dilan's possession.

"Yeah, let's go back. But before that, I will force Clerens to give me what I deserve!" Dilan chuckled lightly to lighten the mood so as to calm everyone around him. Unfortunately, this didn't work well, which was why Dilan shrugged his shoulders before he stored the corpse of the Thunderbolt Eagle before he set off.

The Thunderbolt eagle's talons and beak could be turned into powerful weapons, something that Dilan needed desperately. After all, the strongest weapons they owed were entirely useless against the first Tier-2 monster they encountered!

When Dilan returned to the military base of the Blue Star camp, he was eyed weirdly. Even if the Survivors had not witnessed his fight against the Thunderbolt Eagle they were not stupid either. By connecting the dots, they figured that Dilan and his group had defeated the monster that their own soldiers were too afraid to even face.

The people they had trusted and relied on hadn't even thought about fighting. They had witnessed the terrifying power each of the bolts of lightning had caused and that was enough for the Soldiers to determine that they would die the moment they would face one of the bolts.

Even the three leaders didn't dare to venture outside. Rather than sacrificing their lives, they retreated with their people to save their skin. The Survivors didn't even want to imagine what would have happened to their entire base and their lives if it hadn't been for Dilan.

It was a frightening thought and not something the Survivors wanted to keep thinking about.

"What do you think about this?" Williams suddenly asked as he appeared next to Dilan. Victoria glared at him because she wanted to spend some alone time with Dilan but that was something Williams tried to ignore.

"What do you mean?" Dilan returned the question. Williams could have been a bit more specific, which was why Dilan smiled wryly.

"The Soldiers' behavior. Some of them were the first ones to run away and it looks like they selfishly abandoned their own people just to be the first ones to reach the most secure zones inside the military base," Williams answered Dilan's question while he kept his focus on Dilan.

There was something that intrigued him and Williams wanted to find out whether Dilan had noticed it as well or not.

"Well, isn't it obvious what will happen next? The Survivors won't be able to trust these Soldiers because they abandoned them once. Who says that they won't do it a second time?" Dilan asked a logical question which made everybody pause and think. He shrugged his shoulders before he continued,

"…but they're too weak to leave the Blue Star camp on their own. They will either try to join us, wait for some other group to appear in the white shining armor to take them in, or they will just give up on life and accept the fact that they cannot trust their own people if a powerful monster were to appear." Dilan was still smiling lightly. He pointed out the most likely scenario, while only leaving out one potential outcome..

"So you don't think that they will start fighting for themselves? That they will try to become stronger to prevent being forced to rely on someone else ever again?" Williams asked with a glint in his eyes.

However, Dilan could only shake his head while pointing at the Survivors around them. They were shivering in fright, their eyes were filled with desperation and they could hardly control their body so as to not collapse on the ground.

"Nope, never!"