Chapter 77: Chapter 75 Tainted Blood

Karl had been silently observing the entire battle.

He wished the Fischer family would grow and thus had not given any casual reminders.

Every reminder would consume spiritual power, and bestowing favors too frequently would devalue their worth over time.

Now Karl finally sensed fully that the mysterious rare artifact carried by the evil cultist was pulsating with spiritual fluctuations!

It was that one!

“Tainted Blood,” a treasure-class rare artifact.

Its form was that of a beautiful and delicate gemstone constructed from scarlet blood, akin to a stunningly beautiful blood-red rose.

Once carried by the user, it would automatically activate an extraordinary effect in times of severe injury, greatly strengthening the body’s physique for several minutes, equivalent to approaching the strength of mid-level Transmutation.

Almost everyone noticed something odd, feeling an intense surge of momentum climbing, as the cloaked figure with a mask’s trembling body was about to burst forth with astonishing strength!

“Shoot!”

The sheriff who dared not step forward yelled out, still not daring to rush up casually.

The two who adhered most to the knight’s spirit were about to die; he, a low-level Beginning Bloodline Knight, felt he didn’t even have the right to fight to the death.

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!”

Many had already reloaded their bullets, and a flurry of flintlocks fired one after another, hitting the blood-soaked cloaked figure with the mask.

However, a shocking twist occurred that stunned everyone!

The body of the cloaked figure, made fragile by the effect of “Speed Sketching,” was once again elevated by the extraordinary effect of “Tainted Blood.”

Though the dense flintlock bullets continuously caused new abrasions, making his strong body bleed profusely, they could never deal a fatal blow!

His cloak, soaked with the blood of himself and others, was almost like a blood-red robe, appearing extremely terrifying.

The blood all over him suddenly boiled, interweaving and coalescing before everyone’s eyes as if enchanted, granting the cloaked figure tremendous power!

“Ahh!”

A beast-like roar erupted from beneath the mask, filled with pain and despair!

He felt a bullet containing black light within his body, which was gradually corroding and devouring the soul deep within, and he couldn’t shake it off.

What in the world was that?

In his despair, he madly lunged at the crowd, hysterically initiating his final slaughter; with mere swings of his hand, several guards who were close by were smashed to pieces like clumps of mud.

“Run for it!”

“Monster!”

The guards who had already started to flee didn’t hesitate to turn and run; casualty rates had reached the extreme, and the final volley hadn’t killed the enemy, their morale completely collapsing.

The incredible strength that erupted from the enemy was impossible to contend with; Byrne didn’t think twice before turning to run.

The numerous Extraordinary Exponents also scattered in every direction in retreat, those too slow were outright killed by the cloaked figure, and everyone at the pier was pursued with utter fear.

“Jump into the sea! Quick, jump into the sea! Jump, for God’s sake!”

Byrne shouted loudly, struck by a sudden inspiration.

He could see that the severely wounded and enraged cloaked figure had nearly lost all reason and would prioritize attacking those on shore instead of making an effort to attack in the black waters.

The people from the Fischer family hurriedly jumped into the sea, and many others followed suit, desperately swimming towards the distance, hoping to evade the monster’s pursuit.

Just as Byrne was about to jump into the sea, the cloaked figure with the mask suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking him from the sea.

In an instant, his breath almost ceased, his blood running ice cold.

The mysterious figure, monster-like, with boiling blood all over, stood before Byrne like a malevolent bloodflower, menacingly barring his way.

The distance between him and the water, although only a few steps away, now seemed insurmountable!

A fist too quick to be seen shot towards him in a deadly blur!

The lethal force it contained was enough to completely destroy the fragile human body and take away what should have been a most precious life.

“Accelerate!”

Blue light burst forth from his eyes!

Byrne’s figure suddenly sped up, instinctively sidestepping the dark blur, his rational gaze meeting the madness beneath the mask for a moment.

He then dashed past the cloaked figure’s side, leaping into the pitch-dark sea, splashing water, and continuously swimming away.

The cloaked figure on shore hesitated for a moment, not rashly entering the water to pursue; the boiling blood around him seemed to fear the seawater.

People from the East Coast could all swim; Byrne, Irene, and the guards of the Fischer family hid in the water for a long time.

Fear gripped everyone; they waited until almost certain of safety before finally swimming back.

When they resurfaced, all they could hear were continuous wails and cries; the pier was littered with bodies, and the number of injured was beyond count.

Byrne quickly observed the black-robed, masked person, drenched in blood and kneeling on the ground; it seemed he had no signs of life left, and Byrne finally let out a deep breath.

“He must be dead.”

After climbing out of the water, he fired another shot at the enemy. Seeing the body fall in response, he confirmed the black-robed, masked person was completely dead before he truly relaxed.

He sat down wearily on the ground, panting heavily, feeling completely drained, unable to even lift his fingers.

So Extraordinary Exponents are that powerful, even if they are just at low-level Transmutation.

“The books say that the gap between each small level starting from Transmutation is very apparent, and Extraordinary Exponents with greater strength are probably invincible even to armies, right?”

Byrne fully understood now that Level 2 Extraordinary Exponents really were at a transformative level.

The “monster-like” evil cultist’s final madness lasted only a brief three minutes, but the pressure of his near mid-level Transmutation strength left a deep imprint of intense fear in the hearts of all present.

Byrne took a deep breath, frowning, as he looked towards the silent old priest.

As the leader, the old priest’s misjudgment of the battlefield was the main cause of this bloody massacre.

He found he had been over optimistic in his expectations of the fringe members of the Tempest Church.

Of course, the sudden strong wind was also a critical point; he really didn’t understand why the dignified Tempest Overlord couldn’t control the sea breeze?

“After all, if it wasn’t for my ‘Speed Sketching’ causing the evil cultist to accumulate injuries rapidly, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

Relying solely on the remaining people to encircle and kill, it was likely that the outcome would have been the enemy killing many before desperately fleeing.

Irene, having climbed out of the water, took deep breaths and turned her gaze to the young knight of the Verne family, whom she had just treated. Although he lay unconscious on the ground, the injury on his neck was essentially stabilized and no longer affected normal breathing.

“He survived.”

But soon everyone realized that the older knight from the Verne family had died.

After the strike pierced his heart, Irene jumped into the water to save her own life, and with no one treating him, the old knight soon died a restless death.

The father, seeking revenge for his son, died completely before his son could be revived. When the awoken son would eventually come to, who knew what thoughts would lie in the depths of his heart.

Irene, without hesitation, approached the corpse of the black-robed, masked person covered in blood, and from it, she extracted a gemstone as dazzling as a crimson rose and tucked it into her bosom.

“What are you doing?”

Emil, a silver descendant, came over; he was holding his thigh where Lady Isaac had just stabbed him, looking at Irene with confusion and greed.

“Woman of the Fischer family, are you hiding something?”

Irene stood up and responded coldly, “No, I was just making sure that he was really dead.”

Emil wanted to argue, but then he saw Byrne and Aaron standing beside Irene, all three of them silently gazing at him with meaningful looks, and he was suddenly at a loss for words.

A strong sense of fear suddenly surged through him, and he swallowed nervously, then quickly went to find the old priest, who looked utterly exhausted.

Emil expressed his inability to continue fighting and looking for Lady Isaac, stating he would leave first.

“Go ahead.”

The old priest was also aware of his insufficient command abilities and, combined with the damn weather, led to heavy losses among the guards trying to kill the evil cultist, including the death of a knight.

Damn it, the weather, of all things, should be under the control of the Tempest Overlord!

He remembered how a decade ago, the East Coast’s sea breeze was relatively stable due to the grand power of the Tempest Overlord, allowing people to live and work in peace.

For some reason, the marine environment had deteriorated over recent years, and there had been frequent disputes and changes within the Tempest Church as well.

The old priest had met with the high-ranking members of the Tempest Church several years ago; they all had anxious expressions but refused to explain the reasons.

Moreover, he had heard that other major churches were also suddenly plunged into severe chaos and infighting.

He had a vague feeling something terrifying, perhaps even world-altering, had happened, which could have an unimaginable impact on the future of all living beings.

Byrne watched coldly as Emil left with his men. Good, tonight was finally the time to settle accounts with them.

He then confirmed that the person whom Irene had killed was indeed the brother of Lady Isaac and finally nodded.

He discussed with the Mayor of Nasir and the old priest; the mayor and sheriff were in charge of staying to treat the injured, while the rest of the Extraordinary Exponents, along with guards and escorts, searched for traces of Lady Isaac; she could not be allowed to escape Nasir.

Mayor Andes asked, “Well, in that case, isn’t Madam Irene staying to heal the injured?”

Irene shook her head and continued, “During the capture and killing of Lady Isaac, there may also be severely injured parties; I must follow them.”

Mayor Andes nodded, indicating his agreement and then watched as the people of the Fischer family left, falling into deep silence.

He couldn’t help but sneak a peek at the neck of the young Verne knight, where there wasn’t even a mark to be seen.

After becoming the Mayor of Nasir, Andes had long heard about the healing powers Irene possessed, originally thinking she was a high-level Beginning healer type spellcaster, but recently he felt something was amiss.

Because the healing effects seemed too powerful, and it was clear that Irene herself couldn’t be a Transmutation-level Extraordinary Exponent, which was strange.

The townspeople, not having seen other healers, would never suspect anything, but Andes, who came from the Hovern family, had seen other healing Exponents and knew there was something unusual about it.

He silently took note of this matter, not following up with his questions.