'Duke' Farnburg (Part 1 - Four Chapters One)

The exasperated thousand-year Duke erupted in fury. They lunged at Yin Xuege with such speed that the Yin Clan's Marquises and Yin Xuege himself couldn't track their movements. Even the Yin Clan Marquis who had forcibly boosted his strength to the Duke level could only catch a glimpse of two faint human figures.

Only the Blood Spirit Sword let out a sharp cry, like a living creature, unleashing a stream of blood-red light over three meters long as it rapidly circled Yin Xuege. A large area of sharp blood-red light formed a dazzling halo around Yin Xuege. When the two thousand-year Dukes touched the blood-red halo with their sharp fingers, two piercing screams echoed. Their fingers were severed at the root, and drops of deep crimson blood sprayed out continuously.

"You lowly mongrel, we will tear you limb from limb!" After suffering a great loss and hearing the sharp screams of their companion, the two thousand-year Dukes shrieked in unison.

But as soon as their cries began, the ground around them suddenly vibrated violently. An immensely powerful, suffocating, sinister pressure descended from above. A giant blood-red claw, several meters in diameter, slammed down from the sky, shattering the barrier set up by the three thousand-year Dukes as if it were made of paper.

The blood-red giant claw roared as it descended from the sky. After tearing through the outer barrier, it pressed down upon the two thousand-year Dukes. It was like a giant swatting a fragile earthworm. The two powerful thousand-year Dukes, barely able to breathe, suffered compound fractures throughout their bodies and collapsed on the ground, utterly incapacitated.

The sound of low hoofbeats approached from a distance. A gray-black mist suddenly rose from the surrounding plains. The neighing of warhorses echoed, but mixed with the neighing were strange wails and cries, as if countless wronged souls were lamenting.

The muffled hoofbeats grew closer. Judging by the density of the hoofbeats, at least several hundred knights were rapidly approaching.

A strong wind blew from the west, and indistinct figures appeared in the mist. Yin Xuege and the others watched in horror as at least three hundred Headless Knights, clad in black armor, galloped towards them. The warhorses they rode were either skeletal horses devoid of flesh and blood, or zombie horses with glowing phosphorescent flames in their eyes and chilling breaths spewing from their mouths.

The heads of these Headless Knights were severed at the shoulder. They either held their heads in their left hands, hung their heads from their belts, or simply tied their heads to their mounts' reins, letting them sway in the wind. They exuded a bone-chilling cold, and their auras were so powerful that they were definitely not inferior to any of the Yin Clan's Marquises.

Three hundred Headless Knights with strength comparable to Marquises!

Yin Xuege released the thousand-year Duke he had drained of all essence, who now lay on the ground, gasping and unable to move. Gripping the Blood Spirit Sword, the innate bat wings behind him erupted with dazzling blood flames that shot into the sky. The massive bat wings flapped lightly, his eyes glinting with blood-red light as he stared intently at these uninvited undead creatures!

Headless Knights, these were notorious terrifying existences in the Western world. Before the Era of Dharma Decline, they had been the perpetrators of countless brutal massacres in the West. In the Era of Dharma Decline, having lost their natural environment, they could only attach themselves to powerful Blood Demon nobles and families, serving as their retainers and enforcers.

However, deploying three hundred Headless Knights of Marquis-level strength at once was a significant undertaking! The forces behind these Headless Knights were definitely not weaker than the Yin Clan.

Accompanying the muffled hoofbeats, these Headless Knights split into two teams as they rapidly approached Yin Xuege and the others, galloping past them on both sides. Then, from within the mist, the tinkling sound of wheels could be heard, and crimson rose petals began to drift down from the gray-black fog.

With a flick of his wrist, Yin Xuege swung the Blood Spirit Sword soundlessly, slicing all the approaching rose petals into shreds.

Then he saw lights in the mist. Sixteen magnificent white horses with crimson eyes silently floated three inches above the ground, galloping forward. Dragging behind them was an exceptionally ornate four-wheeled carriage. Driving the horses and wielding a long whip on the driver's seat were two elderly figures dressed in scarlet court robes, their gray-white hair styled into intricate curls.

These two ancient-looking elders exuded an aura even stronger than the three thousand-year Dukes from before. Blood-red light flickered in their eyes, fangs subtly protruded from their dark red lips, and their withered black hands bore sharp claws. These were two incredibly powerful Blood Demon Dukes, and undoubtedly of the thousand-year Duke caliber.

Behind the carriage, over a hundred large bats flew silently. As the carriage stopped less than ten meters away from Yin Xuege, these bats landed, spewing dense blood mist, and transformed into handsome men and beautiful women, standing respectfully on either side of the carriage.

With a loud bang, the carriage door was kicked open, and a scarlet carpet silently "flowed" out from inside. The carpet, made of an unknown material, shimmered with a faint blood-red light. Like a living thing, it traced an arc, extending directly towards Yin Xuege, and stopped precisely at his toes.

"Yin Xuege, little fellow, I told you we would meet again!" With a piercing laugh, an old acquaintance of Yin Xuege – Farnburg, who had been tortured to the brink of death in the Blood Prison of the Great Berlin City-State – slowly emerged from the carriage.

Yin Xuege recognized Farnburg instantly because he had absorbed twenty drops of Farnburg's vital essence, and had firmly memorized the old man's aura. If he had to recognize the man by his appearance, Yin Xuege felt it would be extremely difficult!

The first time he met Farnburg, he was an old, frail man, emaciated from torture, on the verge of expiring. Unable to escape the Blood Prison himself, Farnburg had to ask Yin Xuege for help, and in exchange for twenty drops of his vital essence, Yin Xuege had casually rescued him from the blood rain.

But the Farnburg who appeared before Yin Xuege today looked no older than his early forties. His face was radiant, and he appeared like an emperor on an outing. Although no aura leaked from him, a noble and majestic presence emanated from him, making it obvious to anyone that he was extraordinary.

"Old Duke Farnburg, you!" Yin Xuege stared blankly at the rejuvenated Farnburg, unable to speak for a long time.

His dark hair was braided into a complex, large braid. He wore a court ceremonial robe with gold and red as the primary colors, blood-red tight riding pants on his lower body, and dark gold high-top riding boots. Over ten rings, each emitting powerful magical fluctuations, adorned his fingers. Farnburg's attire was incredibly flamboyant, as if a romantic emperor from a Western fairy tale had reappeared in the world.

With a strange smile, Farnburg calmly walked up to Yin Xuege, then extended his finger and gently tapped Yin Xuege's shoulder: "Do you remember what I asked you? Little fellow who doesn't even know the most ancient and traditional secret canons and precepts, I said I would come back for you!"

Yin Xuege helplessly glanced at the eight Yin Clan Marquises behind him. He was astonished to find that their gazes were as if they had seen a ghost, staring blankly at Farnburg's face, their expressions frozen.

Yin Xuege blinked, then carefully examined Farnburg's restored youthful face, only then noticing something amiss!

On Farnburg's forehead, a thumb-sized blood-red demonic script flickered intermittently. The structure of this demonic script was extremely complex. At first glance, its shape resembled a crown. Yin Xuege stared at the demonic script, which seemed to be growing from Farnburg's flesh and blood, for a moment, and felt his blood boil, as if uncontrollably wanting to escape his body and merge into this demonic script.

"Damn it, old Farnburg, you said you were just an ordinary Duke?" Yin Xuege suddenly felt his teeth itch.

"I never said I was an ordinary Duke! Perhaps I did? You must have misheard!" Farnburg smiled brilliantly, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth that flashed with a faint essence in the sunlight. He proudly extended his hand, patted Yin Xuege's cheek forcefully, and then burst into even louder laughter.

"Look, what's happened here? Three thousand-year Dukes from the von Blainburg family? Well, these are my old acquaintances too! This one, cut into several pieces, Dekum von Fank Blainburg. I even attended his grandfather's coming-of-age ceremony!"

A thunderous roar sounded in Yin Xuege's mind. He looked at the smiling Farnburg, completely at a loss for words.

This fellow named Dekum was a thousand-year Duke who existed before the Era of Dharma Decline! According to the rule that the more powerful the Blood Demon race, the harder it is for them to reproduce, this fellow's grandfather must have been at least six to seven hundred years older than him! And Farnburg attended Dekum's grandfather's coming-of-age ceremony? This meant Farnburg was much older than Dekum's grandfather?

Could such an old fellow be just a Duke? No wonder such strange illusions appeared within Farnburg's vital essence when Yin Xuege absorbed it! No wonder a mere twenty drops of vital essence could make Yin Xuege's life origin so robust and powerful.

His mind was a bit chaotic, but Yin Xuege quickly calmed himself and recounted the events of the past few moments in a few words.

Farnburg's eyeballs suddenly turned a dazzling dark gold and red. He slowly turned around, looking at Sander and Fennice lying unconscious a hundred meters away, and then he burst into laughter. In his piercing laughter, the tall grass within a radius of several thousand meters was snapped at its roots and torn into countless fragments by the sound.

The wind blew, and the shattered grass blades whirled up, coalescing into a twisted green tornado in the sky.

A small explosion of four chapters today, requesting recommendation votes. Can you give me your great support? (To be continued)