Ascension Ritual (I)

The Bone Eagle shrieked in the air, and the Death Knight swiftly swept across the ground.

The Bone Eagle spewed out countless Hellfire beads from its beak, causing repeated explosions on the ground. The eerie green ghost flames that corroded everything spread across the land, emanating a dense, dark, corrosive power that would devour life with the slightest contact, making the earth resemble Hell.

"This place—no living beings Nullification!"

Meanwhile, Old Ward hovered in the air, brandishing his Eagle's Cry Silver Sword. One after another, decaying skeletons rose from the earth, summoned by this undead commander, surging from all directions to surround these uninvited guests.

Seeing this, Mezhuolash raised her Bloodstained Greatsword high, her pure black eyes flashing with an eerie light.

[The Oathbreaker Channel Divinity: Control Undead]

A dense cloud of dark mist erupted from the greatsword, controlling all the skeletons within its range and turning them against the enemy.

Players unleashed a variety of radiant and fire spells, easily destroying these fragile skeletal Undead Creatures.

Alger stared intently at the Death Knight hovering in the air.

He was so familiar with those movements and techniques that even when Old Ward became the Death Knight, he could still recognize traces of his past life at a glance.

A crimson ribbon appeared in his hand.

With a loud eagle's cry, the Dragon Vein Giant Eagle Iger appeared out of thin air.

This is the new trait of the Red Scale Conqueror upon reaching level ten – [Dragon Vein Link]. It allows the user to summon their mount anytime, anywhere, through the bond of dragon blood magic.

Alger flipped himself onto the giant eagle and said softly, "Come on, Ward Chris, my old instructor."

"Let me see if your skills have faded after you turned into this monster."

With another loud eagle cry, the Dragon Vein Giant Eagle spread its wings and took flight, rapidly ascending, its momentum in no way inferior to the terrifying Bone Eagle shrouded in ghostly flames.

The Death Knight, hovering high in the sky, naturally noticed the rapidly approaching enemy and went to meet it without hesitation.

"The lowly living."

His bones made a cracking sound.

Alger and Ward circled back and forth in the air, testing each other time and time again.

Turning, rolling, soaring, and diving—their actions in piloting the giant eagle had become instinctive, as if they were all cut from the same mold. However, Alger's actions were obviously more aggressive, often resulting in a flash of inspiration and a thrilling maneuver.

The blazing flames and eerie green will-o'-the-wisps intertwined, and the two knights in the air moved so fast that only fleeting glimpses of their figures and the firelight could be seen.

"Not bad."

Alger wiped the sweat from his brow, panting, and said excitedly, "Old Ward, you're still got it."

His half-dragon body was covered in wounds, and the dark, corrosive mist was slowly eroding those wounds.

"You despicable living being—die—"

Death Knight Ward wasn't in much better shape; his plate armor was shattered and torn, cracks appeared on his bones, and ghost flames were burning, healing his wounds.

They slowly climbed up, then plunged down relative to each other.

This is the final showdown.

The two gripped their longswords tightly, their bodies slightly crouched, their diving postures almost identical.

But just as they were less than ten meters apart, Alger and the Dragon Vein Giant Eagle simultaneously let out a terrifying roar.

[Dragon Roar Charge]

This dragon roar possesses the essence of magic, and even Undead Creatures would tremble at its power.

It was as if a gigantic Red Dragon illusion appeared above them.

"Dragon"

The Death Knight was slightly distracted.

The Bone Eagle beneath it was also so frightened that its whole body stiffened.

However, Alger seized this fleeting opportunity.

"Great Cleave!"

The half- Dragon Knight used the momentum of his rapid dive to Great Cleave.

With a crisp sound, the Eternally Burning Greatsword easily severed the bones in the Death Knight's neck, sending the skull, burning with malevolent light, flying high into the air before dimming.

The Bone Eagle beneath it also lost its Undead Essence; the ghostly flames that entwined its body extinguished, and its body turned into an ordinary skeleton, with the scattered bones falling from the sky.

Alger landed lightly on his giant eagle.

He casually dug a small hole in the ground, buried the cracked skull in it, filled it with soil, and then stomped on it to tamp it down.

"Rest in peace, you pathetic old man."

"I will kill that Old Vampire."

Alger stared intently at the heavy, intricately carved gate of Lachmann Castle, muttering to himself.

The underground of Lachmann Castle.

The space here is unusually spacious, not like the interior of a building, but more like a vast underground world.

Bats fluttered in the darkness, rats scurried in shadowy corners, and Blood Slave howled in agony in their iron cages.

In the center of this underground world is a huge stone platform, hundreds of meters in diameter, carved with twisted and eerie runes, surrounded by bottomless Abyss.

The stone platform is surrounded by seven tall stone pillars, which are carved with devil patterns. Almost every pillar is entwined with a Vampire Spawn by iron chains soaked in blood.

They were like sinners in religious mythology, chained to stone pillars, naked, with strange tattoos on their backs.

Each of them wore an expression of utter fanaticism as they chanted wicked songs.

Even Alexia, the eldest daughter of the Rackman Dynasty, was bound to one of the stone pillars, stripped of her heavy clothes, revealing her pale, beautiful body naked.

However, such a scene is not erotic at all; instead, it exudes a bloody, eerie, and terrifying feeling.

She murmured softly, "The day of the full moon..."

"Bats rejoice, sick rats sing."

"A blood mist obscured the sky, and ghostly shadows spread everywhere."

"Daylight may come, and eternal night will descend."

"He will become the immortal king of the night!"

"He will become the eternal master of darkness!"

"Let our blood boil in His body, let us embrace the great ascension!"

The sound of bats flapping their wings rang out.

Brad Lachmann came from the end of the passage. Instead of taking the stairs, he floated in the air and slowly rose onto the stone platform.

His scarlet eyes were filled with endless greed and anticipation; he was lost in reverie, as if reciting a poem.

"Finally..."

"After hiding in the dark for 172 long years, we have finally come out on top."

"Ascension, once I complete that great ascension, nothing will be to be feared, not even dragons can stop my progress."

"My children..."

Duke Brad stared fascinated at the naked Vampire Spawn bound to the stone pillars, his eyes filled with an undisguised, twisted love; in a sense, he truly loved them.

These are his offspring.

It was also the fuel that propelled him to ascension.

Duke Brad seemed to be thinking of something, his brow furrowing slightly.

"It's just a pity... that kid Todd didn't come back."