Grand Duke's Wrath (Third Update)

While on their journey, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi opened the Golden Treasure Chest that Marcus had dropped.

Marcus, as an 8th-level Boss Tier, was defeated in a non-sunlight environment, making him exceptionally difficult to defeat, earning him an A-Tier Battle Rating. Strictly speaking, this rating is somewhat low, as Marcus's stats, after being boosted by 20%, are actually no weaker than 9th-level Boss Tier.

Bai Xiaowen essentially killed Marcus in a one-on-one fight—that's right, it was Bai Xiaowen and his summoned creatures fighting Marcus together in a one-on-one fight. As Hero Class, that's a very impressive achievement.

However, Battle Rating don't have detailed levels like A+ or S-; above A-Tier is S-Tier. Bai Xiaowen's killing of Marcus didn't reach the S-Tier rating, so the Spirit Realm Rules could only give him A-Tier.

Facing the thirty-two gleaming gold cards, Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi took turns drawing, with Bai Xiaowen going first.

"You have obtained the item: Blood Pact."

[Blood Pact: S-Tier item. Forms a contract with a life form of Elite Template or lower (including Elite Template) to make it your servant. If the target life form agrees, success is guaranteed without any further checks. Otherwise, a check based on overall attribute conflict is required.]

There is another line of smaller print:

"Warning: Regardless of whether the contract is successfully signed, your maximum Life Value will be permanently reduced. The reduction is related to the template and level of the target you are signing with; the higher the template and level, the greater the reduction."

This Blood Pact is a replica of Marcus's Blood Thrall Conversion skill. It can contract with Elite Template life forms without racial restrictions, truly deserving of its S-Tier item status. However, it's not needed for now.

Li Shuyi flicked her finger, and another golden card flipped over.

This time, what appeared was a bottle of dark red blood called "The Blood of the Grand Duke".

[Blood of the Grand Duke: Special Item. This is pure blood extracted from the body of Vampire Overlord, possessing a fatal attraction to Undead Species Bloodkin.]

"This thing... is most suitable for Kitz."

Bai Xiaowen pondered for a moment before speaking.

Kitz was leading the way, asked, "Boss, you called me?"

Turning his head, Kitz immediately saw the dark red blood bottle in Bai Xiaowen's hand.

"Hmm?" Kitz's nose twitched, and his forward steps slowed involuntarily. He stared intently at the vial of Blood of the Grand Duke: "This stuff... it's a bit strange, why do I feel such a strong urge to drink it..."

"Then here you are. I hope it will help you improve your strength." Bai Xiaowen handed the Blood of the Grand Duke to Kitz.

Like a drug addict going into a frenzy, Kitz eagerly opened the bottle and gulped down the Blood of the Grand Duke in one go.

"How do you feel?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

"Hiss... it feels a little warm. A little comfortable," Kitz said.

"That's a good thing. After becoming Vampire, the senses of being a normal person gradually disappear, including body temperature," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile.

"Mmm, this is the first time I've felt warmth inside my body..." Kitz groaned comfortably, "It feels even better than a massage."

Kitz was telling the truth. After becoming Vampire, he went to certain brothels to find scantily clad young women, and gradually he lost all feeling for them. This was also a side effect of the Vampire's "Cursed Body."

"Boss, I need to rest for a bit." Kitz transformed into a beam of light and disappeared into the Black Soul Stone.

Bai Xiaowen: "..."

Li Shuyi gave a bitter smile, "I didn't expect that not only would it not enhance our immediate combat capabilities, but it would also put us into hibernation... at this critical juncture."

"It was my oversight."

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "However, it shouldn't be a big problem. In this kind of tomb environment, the terrain is cramped and not suitable for a large number of summoned creatures to fight at the same time. Kitz's attack power is not strong; his only strengths are his survivability and recovery ability, so he won't be of much use."

Kitz's hibernation makes room for Rageclaw to appear.

"Well, you can do the last draw," Li Shuyi said.

Bai Xiaowen casually pointed, and with a flash of golden light, the pattern of a coat of arms appeared.

The Spirit Realm Rules notification reads, "You have obtained the Gold Equipment: Blood Grand Duke Emblem."

[Blood Grand Duke Emblem (Bind on Pickup)]

[Quality: Heroic Tier (Gold)]

[Equipment Slot: Trinkets]

[Equipment Requirements: Base Agility 30]

[Attribute: Movement Speed +10%]

[Additional Skill: Grand Duke's Wrath: Upon activation Blood Drain, gain 20% bonus critical Critical Hit chance and 20% Blood Drain on all damage dealt (including Blood Drain from basic attacks and skill damage) for 10 seconds. Each enemy kill grants 10% increased movement speed (this effect does not stack) and extends the duration of Grand Duke's Wrath by 1 second, up to a maximum of 30 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.]

[Durability: 39/40]

[Note: Begin a feast of flesh and blood, a carnival of slaughter, and please the Blood Demon God!]

"A high- Golden Tier accessory... top-quality!" Bai Xiaowen declared, then smiled smugly. "Perfect for you. Looks like my luck is on the better side this time."

This piece of equipment provides a permanent 10% movement speed, which is already quite good. There are very few items that increase movement speed, except for boots which generally provide a 4% increase.

Whether for melee or ranged combat, a 10% increase in movement speed is invaluable, and the higher the level and the stronger the attributes of the Awakened One, the more they value movement speed.

Given Li Shuyi's current strength, this 10% increase in movement speed is at least equivalent to the value of 5 points of agility attribute, and there is also room for stable appreciation in the future.

As for the additional skill "Grand Duke's Wrath," it looks very impressive, and the double bonus to Critical Hit rate and Blood Drain is also quite good, but the downside is that the duration is too short, only 10 seconds.

As for the later part, the duration increases with each enemy killed, which is for group battles where you can easily defeat weaker enemies. When fighting bosses, you basically don't need to worry about extending the duration; it only lasts for 10 seconds.

Fortunately, the Critical Hit rate bonus synergizes well with Li Shuyi's "Thunder Mark" passive skill. Now, after activating the Grand Duke's Wrath, Li Shuyi's additional critical Critical Hit rate bonus has increased to 27%. Considering the Critical Hit benefit from her high agility, she can basically land a Critical Hit every two hits against low agility targets, making her output even more powerful.

In addition, the effect of Blood Drain should not be underestimated, as it significantly enhances survivability.

"Luckily, my base agility is 32, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to meet the requirements of this equipment," Li Shuyi said.

"Although the Spirit Realm Rules do not stipulate that Gold Equipment is divided into high and low grades, according to the statistics of the Awakened, there are still obvious differences. Gold Equipment obtained in lower-level planes generally has lower attributes, and there is no demand for it or the demand is extremely low. However, in higher-level planes, high-grade Gold Equipment obtained will greatly enhance the personal strength of the Awakened, Overwhelming Crush of low-grade gold equipment, and the demand for such equipment will naturally increase accordingly," Bai Xiaowen said.

Li Shuyi happened to have an empty accessory slot, and she happily put on the "Blood Grand Duke Emblem".