Chapter 78: The Arrival of the King

Five water dragons attacked Ye Tang at once. She darted back and forth to evade them, just avoiding two direct assaults when another roared toward her from the right. Ye Tang stretched out her hand, summoning a shield to block the attack.

With a resonant thud, the water dragon crashed into the crimson shield, generating a powerful magnetic field. The other four dragons wheeled around and joined the assault, bombarding the shield relentlessly.

Seizing the moment when all five dragons attacked together, Ye Tang flung her right hand sideways, shattering the shield outward in an explosion. Cloaked in swirling smoke, she dashed swiftly toward YOYO.

Seeing Ye Tang approach, YOYO immediately ceased controlling the water dragons and drew her sword to meet her foe. Bereft of supernatural control, the dragons collapsed in fragments across the ground.

Confronted with YOYO’s formidable swordplay, Ye Tang—weaponless—could only dodge while unleashing flames, attacks that proved futile against YOYO. She slashed out sword energy, the sharp force carving deep marks into the rocks; had YOYO fought with the same seriousness before, Du Bin would have already been pulverized, now left barely clinging to life.

YOYO transformed her crimson blade into an eight-sword formation, each sword stabbing from a different direction under her command. "Does this feel familiar, vampire?"

"Stop. I don’t like that name."

"I insist, vampire," YOYO replied with mocking amusement.

Ye Tang leapt and dodged frantically between the eight swords, a tactic she had favored in the past. Finding an opening, she hurled a fireball at YOYO, but before it touched her, a wall of water rose to deflect it. For YOYO, the entire ocean was an inexhaustible source of power.

Their fierce battle on the island stretched nearly an hour, both warriors finally showing signs of fatigue. For YOYO, holding her own against Ye Tang for so long was no small feat; it seemed the vampire genes had granted Ye Tang extraordinary strength.

"Impressive. The power of a vampire truly is remarkable."

Just then, a drone appeared in the sky. YOYO realized the commotion had alerted the US military, sending the drone for reconnaissance. Before it could approach, it was shot down by supernatural defenders on the perimeter.

Ye Tang rushed to YOYO, swinging a punch. YOYO jumped lightly aside; the blow struck the ground, erupting in a huge explosion. Amidst the smoke, Ye Tang pressed her attack, landing punch after punch. YOYO dodged easily, countering in turn, while Ye Tang relied on agility to escape. Their offense and defense were so evenly matched that even the other supernaturals watching felt exhausted.

A careless slip left Ye Tang struck by several sword blows in succession. The blades’ burning effect slowed her wounds’ ability to heal. Ye Tang clutched her injured abdomen.

"Heh, the game’s over. Time to send you two lovers to your doom." YOYO snapped her fingers; more than a dozen supernaturals received her signal and scattered to different positions.

Chanting incantations, they summoned a massive spell formation from the earth, each linked by a chain of lightning. The array crackled with countless golden bolts.

Originally, Ye Tang intended to dodge, but she was immobilized by some invisible force, helpless as chains bound her. The shifting battlefield left Du Bin outside the array’s reach.

"Last time I spared you because of your special friend. Now that she’s restrained, who can save you? Heavenly Thunder Judgment."

From the pitch-dark sky, a tremendous bolt of lightning crashed down. In that instant, a shadow swept at breakneck speed to Ye Tang’s side, embracing her. A pair of wings enveloped them both as the lightning struck, unleashing a massive explosion.

As the smoke gradually cleared, an unprecedented terror revealed itself. YOYO seemed ill at ease with this power; it was overwhelming, so daunting she dared not act rashly.

The wings unfurled, revealing a black-robed man holding Ye Tang. As the wings opened, a blast of air swept the supernaturals aside.

"Wow! Such powerful strength."

"I’ve never encountered a vampire this strong before."

The black-robed man fixed his gaze, and with a bang, two supernaturals were pierced through by a force, their bodies convulsing before falling limp. The sudden violence left the others too frightened to move, afraid for their lives.

Ye Tang opened her eyes to find herself cradled by an unfamiliar man. Though awkward, a sense of familiarity lingered—yes, the scent was identical.

"What’s wrong? You don’t recognize your own father?"

Ye Tang was stunned. "Father?"

Indeed, a childhood without parents had made her envy other children, and accustomed her to solitude. Now, the man before her was her father, and she was left bewildered.

He knew she couldn’t accept him so abruptly. After setting her down, he said, "I can’t blame you. After searching for you all these years, finally seeing you now would be hard for anyone to accept."

He turned to YOYO. "You’re the leader, aren’t you? Courting death."

He vanished in an instant, reappearing before YOYO in less than a second. The oppressive aura left her reeling; she raised her crimson blade in defense, but with a crash, she was hurled dozens of meters away. About to fall into the sea, she rolled back and paused, the water rising to support her. She wiped blood from her mouth, her body trembling uncontrollably. This, she realized, was the true power of a vampire—the strongest force on earth.

The man did not continue his assault. He smiled faintly. "Is that all? You’re not worthy to be my opponent."

Ye Tang ignored them, instead rushing to Du Bin to check his injuries. "Luckily it’s not fatal, otherwise..."

"No worries. Some rest and I’ll recover," Du Bin replied, forcing a smile despite the pain.

The man witnessed this exchange and was displeased. In a flash, he appeared before them, pulling Ye Tang behind him and raised his hand to kill Du Bin.

Ye Tang panicked. "He’s not with them; you can’t kill him."

"Humans cannot be trusted. Don’t let his sweet words deceive you."

"Whether I trust him or not is my business, not yours. You claim to be my father, but I’ve never seen you. What right do you have to control me?" Ye Tang broke free and stood protectively in front of Du Bin.

"You... sigh!" The man’s face twisted in anger, seeing his daughter’s closeness to this human reminded him of his own past. He raised his hand to strike her, but in the end could not bear it. "You not only resemble your mother, but your temper is just as stubborn."

"You’ve never heard that daughters are meant to leave home, have you? Ha, ha..." At that moment, laughter echoed from the sky. Everyone looked up to see Wu Qiwei and Linglong descending onto the island.

YOYO, spotting Wu Qiwei, seized her lifeline. "Master!"

"Oh, so that’s your apprentice. No wonder someone’s so reckless."

"Thank you for the lesson, King Pan of the Blood Clan," Wu Qiwei said, approaching him.

Pan’s expression grew grave as he stared at the woman behind Wu Qiwei. "Linglong, do you truly intend to aid the humans? Are you going to betray me?"

Linglong’s gaze flickered. "I’m sorry."