Vance needed only one drop of blood. Upon hearing that request, Celine gave it to him without any hesitation. She concentrated her Battle Aura onto her hands and lightly squeezed it. A drop of fresh blood then formed at the tip of the finger.
She acted way too fast. It was too late by the time Link wanted to stop her. Link then sighed as he thought about how Celine was a lot more trusting than him.
If a Level-7 Lich were to ask for a drop of his blood, he would think it through carefully before deciding whether to agree to his request. This act was extremely risky. A drop of blood could be used to play many tricks on the victim in dark magic.
Fortunately, Vance had no ill intentions. Upon getting the drop of blood, he pointed his fingers at the Death Beetle and whispered, "Blood Mist."
The drop of blood flowed towards the beetle and exploded in mid-air into a ball of pale blood-red mist. The beetle was crawling around freely before the mist covered it. However, after it was hit by the mist…it seemed to be unaffected by it at all.
Link and Celine stared at Vance, waiting for him to explain. Both of them had a foundation in magic; it was impossible for them to not notice if the spell had taken effect.
Vance was embarrassed at his failure and scratched his smooth skull with his bony fingers, emitting a screeching sound. After a while, he looked at Celine and said, "Your blood has issues. You are not a pure-blooded demon."
"My mother is a human." Celine nodded. For Vance to have been able to tell this just from a drop of blood was a testament to his strength.
"No, that's not all!" Vance stared at the remaining drop of blood on Celine's fingertips and immediately salvaged it with his fingers and placed it in his mouth.
Following which, he grinded his teeth against one another. After half a minute, Vance shouted, "How could this be? This is unbelievable! Oh my god!"
Link and Celine exchanged glances as they did not know what would make a thousand-year-old Lich like Vance so agitated.
Vance started circling Celine as he asked, "Celine, do you still remember your mother? What did she look like? What traits did she possess?"
"My mother? She was really pretty and looked quite similar to me. Also, she was very nice to me most of the time. However, she would get angry at me for no reason sometimes. Then…That's all! From what I remembered, she is simply an ordinary lady."
As time passed, when Celine reminisced about her mother, she no longer felt the burning hatred she did for her father. Currently, she merely cherished the memories she once had with her mother. It was not to say that the hatred completely disappeared—it was merely buried deeper as part of her life experiences.
"No, that's not right. She is definitely not an ordinary lady. Your blood possesses an extremely mysterious power. I feel like I have seen it before. Let me think…Damn it. I can't remember! Oh my god, my memory is horrendous. It has been too long."
Vance knocked his skull with full force, creating a loud hollow sound. From the looks of it, it appeared he would only give up after he smashed his skull into smithereens.
Link had to stop him, "Alright, Vance, it is fine. What we have to do now is to deal with this beetle!"
Vance stopped and cast his glance back at Celine, ignoring Link's words. Even though it was only a pair of green flames staring at her, Link could still feel the passion and drive within those eyes.
"Celine, listen to me, you are a miracle! Your blood possesses two extraordinary powers. One of them is extremely pure demonic power, while the other one is an exceptional mysterious force. I cannot pinpoint it, but I am sure you will reach terrifying heights in the future."
Link was slightly surprised as well. He only knew that Celine's father was a powerful figure. However, he did not expect her mother to be so prominent as well.
Celine seemed to be less surprised than expected. She fell silent for a while before turning to Link and said, "I believe this is why my father is so bent on pursuing me despite the countless children he left on the World of Firuman."
Link looked up as though he was reminded of something and said in a serious tone, "Yes, your father probably knew about the truth of your mother's strength."
These two sentences seemed extremely disconnected for people who had no knowledge of Celine's background. Vance then asked, almost in a trance, "What do you mean? Who is Celine's father? If it is such a pure demonic power, I'm afraid he must be a Legendary status individual?"
Link stared at Celine, and upon her approval, Link said, "Celine's father is the Lord of the Deep, Nozamas."
The moment Link mentioned that name, Vance gasped as the cold air shot through his skull, emitting a slight whistling sound. No one knew how he managed to accomplish that with two rows of empty ribcage.
It took Vance three whole minutes to recover from his state of shock. He then stared at Link and spoke with a very serious tone, "I can assure you that once Nozama gets hold of Celine, something terrible will happen. Link, you have to stop this from happening!"
"I will do my best."
"No, not just do your best. There can be no slip-ups. If not for the fact that she is a good-natured girl, I would even suggest that you kill her right now." Vance said these words unapologetically.
Link fell silent upon hearing those words while Celine's face turned a sickly pale. She had realized that she had underestimated her father's determination to seize her all this time.
Would her father have spared if she possessed such value? Would Link have enough time to grow stronger?
She had no idea.
However, this was not what Link was thinking about. He was a lot more optimistic. He would always deal with the situation at hand first. As for problems that may appear in the future, he would deal with them when they come.
After all, who knew what could happen in the future? For all you might know, your current efforts might be the preparing you for failure.
He pointed at the beetle and told Vance, "It will be fine; let's settle this beetle."
"If we do not have demonic blood, let me think…" Vance started patting his skull again. Sooner or later, a dent would appear in his head.
This time, it only took half a minute. Vance then said, "I have another idea."
Following which, he stuck out his finger and rubbed it onto Celine's crystal blue sword. He immediately shaved off a pile of bone dust. After collecting the dust, Vance threw it in the direction of the beetle and said, "Skeletal Jungle."
These bone dust completely covered the beetle. Eventually, the exterior shell of the beetle was completely covered with a layer of white powder. The spell took effect this time. The beetle immediately began to spin around, while the feelers on its head twitched uncontrollably. It then fell off the stone after a few moments of struggle.
"Alright, this little guy is now blind."
Vance smiled proudly and signaled for Link and Celine to catch up. He then led the way.
After walking for 60 feet, they saw another Death beetle. Vance then skillfully used the same tactic to blind the beetle before he continued forward.
Around 150 feet later, a 15-foot-tall stone appeared right in front of them. An even taller cliff sat behind the stone. Vance then said, "The entrance to the underground palace lies behind this stone. It is filled with deathly spirits and detection spells I placed many years ago. Even my Traceless spell will not be fully effective in that place. We have to be prepared for battle.
"I understand." Link took out his Starcatcher Wand while Celine held her crystal blue sword tightly, leading the way.
They walked around the huge stone and true to Vance's words, they saw a four-foot-tall and four-foot-wide entrance. They then entered the underground palace, and after walking for 30 feet and making a turn, they saw a ball of mysterious purple light on the walls. Under the illumination of the sinister light, one could see uniform indentations on the walls. Within each of those indentations was a skeleton, standing motionless.
Vance immediately reminded, "Be careful, they are all alive and are Level-3 in strength. Do not disturb them if possible. You will also trigger all the Skeleton Warriors in the area if you awaken one of them."
Celine trod extremely carefully as she was leading the way. Link helped to look out for traps as well, although he had a question, "How about the person who infiltrated just a moment ago? Why didn't he awaken these Skeleton Warriors?"
Vance then whispered, "I'm afraid he knows some high-level infiltration skills. You must know that the best way to deal with Skeleton Warriors is to not awaken them. This is not a very difficult thing to do, especially when they are all low-level undead."
"I understand."
The three of them then moved forward carefully. The deeper they went into the palace, the more spacious the cave. When they reached a depth of around 300 feet, the corridors became 15-foot-tall and 30-foot-wide. The pillars on both sides also became smoother. There were even more lights attached to the walls, providing more illumination.
"Take note; the Security Hall lies ahead. There are some security beasts I created dwelling inside. They are actually undead created from the body parts of many ferocious beasts. You guys might not like the way they look, but do not underestimate their strength! They can go against a Level-5 Warrior head-on!"
While Vance was speaking, the three of them reached the entrance of the Security Hall.
One could already see the security beasts at the entrance. These creatures were not motionless like the Skeleton Warriors. They patrolled the area constantly, completely blocking their way forward.
These security beasts indeed looked very peculiar. Link could clearly see the mouth of a wolf, the claws of a tiger, the tail of a crocodile attached to every one of them. They were formed from the body parts of at least 10 different animals, and the joints connecting those parts seemed extremely amateur and roughly made. It seemed as though they were merely tied up with a rope. A thick, viscous green substance also dripped from the joints.
Link could not help but comment, "Vance, I have issues with your taste."
Vance then rebutted, "This is not about taste. I must first give priority to the feasibility of these security beasts, and not their aesthetics. After 400 years, the number of security beasts has already been depleted by 90%. There used to be 300 of them roaming around. Now, there are only 30 of them left."
"How should we get past? Do we sneak across, or use brute force?" Celine ask.
"There is no way to sneak across; these creatures are sensitive…"
"Then how did the other fellow get past?" Link asked quizzically.
"That would only mean that that person is a friend of the magic swordsman. He is not their enemy." Vance laid out his hands helplessly as he gave a bitter smile.
Link then stared at the security beasts and estimated their strength. He then said with a worried tone, "There are 30 security beasts around here. That would mean a total of 30 Level-5 Warriors. They are also well-dispersed. It will be difficult to deal with all of them.
"Don't worry, I have already figured it out. Celine and you will block them. You only have to stall them for ten seconds. I will cast a Level-6 control spell to halt their movements…"
"Shh…" Celine interrupted Vance before she positioned her ear in the direction of the Security Hall. She then said, "Listen, someone is speaking. It's getting closer, do you think they are coming out?"
"That is a possibility." Vance was immediately excited.
"Then we will just wait and see," Link smiled as he said.