Chapter 203: Seventh Rank Blood (2)

Chapter 203: 203: Seventh Rank Blood (2)

He could feel her hands gripping his coat, but he said nothing about it. He understood that she had been carrying these feelings for a long time.

After losing her mother, she had also been forced to leave her home. She had traveled through dangerous places, met people she could not fully trust, and nearly died several times.

Yet she was still trying to remain cheerful.

Cedric gently patted her back.

"You can cry as much as you need," he said. "I am not going anywhere."

Elowen held him a little tighter.

Puff climbed onto Cedric’s shoulder and looked at them curiously.

For once, the rabbit did not try to steal anything or demand food.

It simply sat there while Elowen cried.

Meanwhile, Lucard had reached the Nightfall Behemoth.

The enormous corpse lay against the broken mountainside. Its black scales were cracked in several places, and large sections of its head had been destroyed by the Crimson Sunwing’s final fire attack.

Lucard stopped beside its damaged shoulder.

Even dead, the beast possessed an enormous amount of residual mana.

The ground around it was covered in dark yellow magical particles. Some rocks remained suspended a few inches above the soil, supported by the remaining earth energy.

Lucard looked at the corpse with satisfaction.

"Finally, something useful."

He approached the deepest wound and placed his palm against the exposed flesh.

The Blood Absorption ability immediately responded.

A powerful stream of dark blood surged toward his hand.

Lucard’s expression changed.

So much energy.

The blood of the Nightfall Behemoth was completely different from the blood of the Fourth and Fifth Rank beasts he had absorbed before.

It was thick, heavy, and filled with earth mana.

Even the blood outside its body contained more energy than he had expected.

Lucard activated Blood Absorption.

[Blood Absorption activated.]

[Target: Nightfall Behemoth.]

[Rank: Seven.]

[Status: Deceased.]

[High-quality beast blood detected.]

[Warning: The target’s blood contains powerful earth-attributed energy. The host’s current Noble Blood Vessel may experience pressure during absorption.]

Lucard smiled faintly.

Pressure? That is nothing new.

He increased the power of Blood Absorption.

The blood began flowing into his body.

Immediately, a heavy sensation spread through his arms and chest.

It felt as though someone had placed enormous stones inside his veins. The earth mana resisted movement, trying to settle in his body rather than circulate with his blood.

Lucard frowned.

He had expected some resistance, but the difference between Fourth Circle and Seventh Rank was greater than he had imagined.

Interesting. Even after death, the blood still carries so much of its original nature.

He activated Blood Control and began separating the earth’s energy from the blood’s other impurities.

The process was not simple.

Every time he forced the energy to move, it pressed against his blood vessels. However, his Noble Blood Vessel was far stronger than an ordinary mortal body, and his previous experience as the Blood God allowed him to guide the energy carefully.

He did not try to absorb everything at once.

Instead, he divided the blood into smaller streams and refined each one before allowing it to reach his heart.

The pressure gradually became manageable.

Several minutes passed.

Then a familiar notification appeared.

[Blood Absorption successful.]

[Experience gained.]

[Level 40 → Level 41.]

Lucard felt his blood becoming denser.

His muscles tightened slightly, and the pressure inside his body decreased.

He continued absorbing.

More blood entered his system.

The Nightfall Behemoth’s enormous body still contained a vast amount of energy, but Lucard could not use all of it. Much of that energy was bound to the beast’s earth-attributed tissues and would require a stronger blood vessel to refine completely.

He focused on the portions he could safely absorb.

[Level 41 → Level 42.]

[Level 42 → Level 43.]

Lucard opened his eyes.

The ground beneath his feet was trembling faintly.

Not because the beast was moving, but because some of the earth mana entering his body was escaping through his skin.

My body is adapting to the earth energy.

He placed his other hand against the corpse.

The blood flowing into him increased.

A painful pressure spread through his bones, making his knees bend slightly. Lucard immediately reduced the absorption speed and concentrated on controlling the energy already inside him.

He had no intention of destroying his own blood vessels through greed.

After several more minutes, the pressure began decreasing.

Then another notification appeared.

[Level 43 → Level 44.]

Lucard slowly released a breath.

His Fourth Blood Circle was becoming stronger.

The improvement was noticeable. His blood moved faster, and he could control several streams at once without losing precision.

However, something else was changing.

The earth mana inside the Behemoth’s blood was no longer resisting him as strongly as before.

A portion of it had begun merging with his body’s natural defenses.

Lucard noticed that the heavy pressure around his bones was becoming easier to withstand.

He smiled.

Good. Give me something useful.

He gathered one final controlled stream of blood and absorbed it.

A strong pulse passed through his body.

[Level 44 → Level 45.]

[Current Level: 45.]

[Blood Circle: Fourth Blood Circle — Noble Blood Vessel.]

[Blood Absorption has reached a temporary refinement limit for the target’s current blood essence.]

Lucard withdrew his hand.

He had gained five levels from a single Seventh Rank beast.

That alone was an enormous reward.

Then another notification appeared.

[Earth-attributed energy successfully assimilated.]

[New Resistance Acquired.]

[Earth Resistance: Mid-Level.]

[Description: The host’s body has developed resistance to earth-attributed energy. Damage caused by earth magic, stone pressure, and earth-infused physical attacks will be reduced according to the strength of the attack.]

[Note: This resistance does not grant control over earth magic. Attacks from significantly stronger opponents can still cause severe damage.]

Lucard read the notifications carefully.

Then a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad."

He had expected the blood to increase his level, but gaining Earth Resistance was an additional benefit.

That was especially useful considering what had happened with Alan Gravenhart.

The old man was a peak Sixth Circle earth mage. His attacks had nearly killed Lucard, and the wounds he received were serious enough that he had required the Deepwell Spring water to survive.

With Mid-Level Earth Resistance, similar attacks would not affect his body in exactly the same way again.

Of course, that did not mean he could suddenly defeat Alan.

But it was a useful improvement.

The next time we meet, things will be different.

Lucard looked down at the Behemoth.

There was still plenty of blood inside its body, but his current blood vessel had reached the limit of what it could refine efficiently from this corpse.

Trying to force more high-quality blood into himself would only waste energy and risk damaging his body.

He decided to stop.

There were other valuable materials to collect.

Lucard formed his Blood Claw and approached the Behemoth’s head.

Several teeth had survived the Crimson Sunwing’s flames. They were thick, white, and incredibly hard.

He cut away four of the largest teeth before moving toward the surviving horns.

One horn had been broken during the battle, but the other remained mostly intact.

Lucard carefully separated it from the skull.

The horn was heavier than it appeared, and a small amount of earth mana still moved through its surface.

This could be used to create a powerful weapon.

He placed it beside the collected teeth.

Next came the black scales.

The Crimson Sunwing had destroyed many of them, but the undamaged parts of the Behemoth’s back still possessed strong defensive properties.

Lucard removed several large scales from the shoulder and back.

He also collected three of the long bone spikes growing along its spine.

These materials could be valuable to blacksmiths, alchemists, or noble families.

He did not know their exact price, but there was no reason to leave everything behind.

Finally, Lucard turned his attention toward the beast core.

Cedric had already been promised that reward.

And Lucard intended to keep his word.

He used his blood-sense to search the enormous body.

After a short examination, he detected a dense concentration of earth mana deep inside the Behemoth’s chest.

Lucard approached the location and formed his Blood Claw again.

He carefully cut through the damaged scales and thick flesh, following the mana concentration until he reached the inner cavity.

There, surrounded by dense tissue, was a large dark yellow crystal.

The beast core.

Lucard’s eyes narrowed.

It was nearly the size of a human head, with several golden lines moving beneath its surface. The earth mana inside was incredibly dense.

Even after the Behemoth’s death, the core continued releasing a heavy pressure.

Lucard carefully separated the surrounding tissue and removed it.

The moment the core left the body, several nearby rocks trembled.

Lucard examined it for a while.

Cedric will probably lose his mind when he sees this.

A Seventh Rank earth beast core was an extraordinary treasure.

Even powerful mage families would be interested in acquiring something like this.

However, Cedric had taken a serious risk during the battle. Without his crystal magic and Elowen’s light, Lucard might never have gotten the opportunity to finish the Behemoth.