Creations of Blood Magic

"Ah!"

Liu Qian heard Janice cry out like a startled fawn, followed by strange looks from Jelena and the warriors. Only then did he realize that his [Wildfire] had burned his hastily woven feather skirt to ashes.

He stood stark naked among the piled corpses, feeling rather embarrassed by Janice's cry and the armored soldiers' strange looks.

Only when Jelena tossed him a robe did he manage to cover himself.

Once dressed, Liu Qian approached Janice.

He could not understand High Valyrian and could only rely on Janice to relay information.

But his innocent movement put the warriors on alert.

As he tried to approach Janice, the armored soldiers immediately raised their swords. The eyes beneath their bronze helmets were filled with vigilance and distrust, even though Liu Qian had just fought alongside them.

Fortunately, Janice came to her senses and hastily spoke up. "Sister, let him come over. He won't hurt me. You know I can tell whether someone means well or means harm."

Jelena knew her sister was right.

But the flame sorcery Liu Qian had displayed posed far too great a threat. She feared he had some ulterior motive involving Janice.

After a moment's hesitation, Jelena granted Janice's request and allowed Liu Qian to come over and speak with her.

Seeing Liu Qian safe and sound, Janice smiled happily. "Liu Qian, I'm so glad you escaped that chimera. I thought..."

Janice stopped before finishing her sentence, afraid her ill-omened words might bring misfortune.

Liu Qian looked at Janice, whose thick hair, bright as molten silver, concealed the disfigured half of her face, leaving only the beautiful left half exposed, and said:

"Maybe I was lucky. I plunged into the Withered Woods and ran for my life. That Monster Bird probably got tired and stopped chasing me."

Liu Qian had no intention of revealing that he had killed the chimera.

Janice translated what Liu Qian had just said for Jelena, only to find Jelena looking his way.

"That kind of chimera lives near the Fourteen Flames year-round. It rarely comes here to hunt. Perhaps something here caught its interest."

Hearing this, Liu Qian felt a faint unease. Could that purple-furred monster have come for me?

Keeping his expression unchanged, he changed the subject:

"Wait, you said it was called a chimera?"

Jelena had no intention of dwelling on the previous question either. She had Janice translate for her. "Chimeras are creatures that Valyrian Warlocks created through blood magic. Their forms are usually combinations of different creatures. But they are savage and uncontrollable, so the Warlocks of Old Valyria always kept them confined in laboratories in the Fourteen Flames. When the Doom came, these terrifying creatures were released, along with blood magic materials that had escaped their control."

Jelena's explanation made things clear to Liu Qian.

From his knowledge of the world of Ice and Fire in his previous life, the Warlocks of Valyria had not only tamed dragons but had also been obsessed with flesh-grafting blood magic and other dark practices.

They had forced humans to mate with other creatures to produce deformed offspring, combining the traits of different creatures to create terrifying beings they could command and enslave.

There was even a theory that dragons were creatures the Warlocks of Valyria had created through blood magic.

Many of Liu Qian's questions were gradually answered by Jelena's words.

Those human-faced maggots that burrowed into sailors and roasted them alive were undoubtedly the products of Warlocks modifying Fire Dragon Worms.

There were also the scales Janice had said Tyria's residents were born with, which gradually spread across their bodies as they aged. That condition was very likely caused by some blood magic material the Warlocks had kept in their laboratories.

Liu Qian felt incredibly fortunate that he had not gone to Valyria City with Gerion, and even more fortunate that he had escaped along the way.

His suspicions had been correct. Danger lurked everywhere in Valyria City. With the Fourteen Flames nearby, it had suffered the worst devastation during the Doom.

He could already imagine the terrifying sight of monsters overrunning the Fourteen Flames and Valyria City. That madman Gerion still dreamed of plundering treasure from Valyria City. It was sheer delusion.

"Who are these people?"

Liu Qian surveyed the disciplined warriors around him for a moment before asking.

Jelena made no attempt to hide anything. "They are my men, warriors of Tyria. We came out to gather ghost grass and bring it back to Tyria."

"Is this ghost grass very important to you?" Liu Qian pressed.

"Ghost grass is a crucial ingredient the blood warlock of Tyria uses to make a potion that slows the growth of our scales. Of course it's important to us."

Jelena explained as Janice relayed Liu Qian's endless questions.

Hearing the word "sorcerer," Liu Qian was filled with curiosity. There was still a blood warlock in Tyria?

Had the Doom failed to wipe out all those madmen?

Liu Qian found himself in a quandary.

He had originally planned to travel to Tyria with Jelena and her sister, both to learn the secrets of Valyria's Doom and to search for dragon eggs and Valyrian weapons.

But the information Jelena had revealed left Liu Qian deeply hesitant.

He reckoned he was far stronger now than when he had first arrived in the Valyrian Ruins.

Especially since he had just harvested another large amount of dragon spirit, bringing his bloodline purity to 3%.

Still, it would have been a lie to say he was completely confident he could escape unscathed from a Valyrian blood warlock.

On one hand, he could stay in the Withered Woods and keep killing monsters to increase his bloodline purity. On the other, he could head to Tyria in search of greater opportunities.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Qian quickly made his decision.

Staying in the Withered Woods and continuing to hunt Scaleclaw Monsters would improve his bloodline purity.

But as Jelena had just said, chimeras did not stray far from Valyria City.

Liu Qian had an ominous feeling that this chimera had come specifically for him.

If there had been one, there would be more. If Jelena had not disabled one of its heads with an arrow, and he had not badly wounded it with a sneak attack to its rear, Liu Qian might not have killed it so easily.

The wilderness was simply too dangerous.

Tyria was the only city in Valyria he had confirmed still had inhabitants.

Liu Qian could easily inquire there about the whereabouts of dragon eggs.

Even if there were no dragon eggs, he could find an opportunity to leave and return to grinding monsters later.

After all, this was his only chance to enter with a legitimate reason.

Liu Qian told Jelena that he wanted to go to Tyria. To his surprise, she had no objections.

She told Liu Qian:

"The lord Warlock of Tyria has always instructed us to bring back outsiders who enter Valyria

because Tyria's population is dwindling, and we need outsiders to work for Tyria without pay. That is Tyria's tradition."

"What happened to those people afterward?"

Liu Qian did not particularly care about working without pay. He wanted a reason to go to Tyria anyway.

Jelena gave him a long look. "They all died. No one can survive indefinitely in the Valyria Ruins. This place is crawling with all kinds of blood magic creatures. Tyria's Blackstone Walls can defend against every creature except parasites. Those who recklessly venture in but are lucky enough to reach Tyria are killed by vicious parasitic creatures. Only residents like us, who are already infected, are immune to those disgusting worms."

Liu Qian's heart lurched. The sight of people infested with human-faced maggots was still vivid in his mind, and he had no desire to die such an agonizing death.

But he immediately realized something. He had been fine all this time. Could his dragon bloodline also be remarkably effective against parasites?

Putting those thoughts aside, Liu Qian looked at Jelena and probed, "Aren't you afraid I'll cause trouble for you in Tyria? I'm a Warlock, after all."

Having witnessed Liu Qian's strength, Jelena frowned slightly at his words. "I advise you not to step out of line in Tyria. Tyria is ruled by the lord Blood Mage. No one can cause trouble under his watch, and that includes an eastern Warlock like you."

Hearing Jelena's undisguised threat, Liu Qian could not help smiling.

Was Tyria's blood warlock really as powerful as she claimed?

He did not believe it.

If that were true, the blood warlock would have long since led Tyria's residents to restore Valyria's glory. Why would he need to cling to a miserable existence here?

Still, caution was warranted.

He looked toward Jelena, who was directing the soldiers as they cleared the battlefield and carried away the bodies of Tyria's fallen warriors.

Once everything had been taken care of, they set off for Tyria.