[V6C86 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]

The only bright color on her pale body was her red lips which formed an odd contrast with her frail appearance.

There was blood dripping down her fingers. Her aura was calm, not at all like someone who had just experienced a fierce battle. However, there was anxiety written all over her face, and the billowing of her robes in the wind seemed to outline her loneliness.

Several figures appeared over the distant horizon and zoomed over at great speeds. Merely from their agility, one could see just how powerful they were. Even so, their running stature appeared somewhat frantic.

The girl’s expression turned even more worried, but she forced herself to remain in place until those people arrived before her.

Those who had arrived were all vampires. Judging from their insignias, they were all from the twelve ancient clans, but there wasn’t a single person from the Lightless Monarch’s Dracula clan. This was clearly out of the ordinary since this battle was being overseen by Medanzo and Noxus. According to convention, their direct lines should be the main force here.

The vampires revealed fearful expressions as they arrived in front of the young girl and saw the surrounding scenery. They all fell to one knee and said respectfully, “Greetings, Your Excellency Nana.”

Nana’s worried expression grew deeper. “Where’s Julio?”

The leader among the vampires said hesitantly, “Sir Julio stayed back to guard our retreat. He asked us to tell you not to wait. He’ll leave the battlefield on his own and meet you on Twilight Continent.”

“That wasn’t the plan, why did he have to stay back?” Nana asked.

The vampire replied, “It’s probably because the Monroe clan’s squad was left behind as rearguard…”

Nana’s expression turned resolute as she glanced toward Giant’s Repose. “You leave first, I’m going to look for him.”

“Your Excellency, you mustn't. The Evernight camp has fallen. Their frontlines were already attacking the castle when we pulled back, and even our dukes have left the battlefield. The human divine champions are surely heading toward the main camp. You’ll be walking right into their hands if you go now!”

“Move!” All the vampires were pushed away with a jolt of her blood energy.

The leader gritted his teeth as he blocked Nana’s path and shouted, “Sir Julio will definitely charge out. The Lightless Monarch can return to save him no matter how many imperial experts there are. You must not go!”

Nana sneered, “Lightless Monarch? Any other monarch will surely return to save their men, but him? Humph! Meanwhile, Julio…”

Nana didn’t continue because she understood Julio all too well. He wouldn’t leave the battlefield until the very last moment.

That vampire blocked Nana’s path once again. “Your Excellency, you must return with us. This is Sir Julio’s will, as well as that Majesty’s!”

“No one can order me! Scram!” Nana’s shout erupted with the full force of her superior bloodline. All of the vampires fell limp to the ground and could only watch as she ran toward Giant’s Repose.

The vampires looked at one another. One of them said with a wry smile, “How are we going to explain this? What’s wrong with Nana?”

An older vampire sighed. “You lot don’t know, but Her Excellency Nana was drifting about the outside world when she was young. She had almost died when Sir Julio found her during a patrol mission. He was the one who saved her and raised her. Nana returned to the Mammon clan only after awakening her bloodline.”

All the vampires knew Julio and Nana shared a good relationship and always worked together. But none of them knew there was such a story behind them. Although Nana’s strength had gradually surpassed Julio’s in recent years, it seemed she still considered him her father at heart.

The wind on the Evernight Continent was different from Twilight Continent. It was desolate, cold, and contained a constant chill that would seep into one’s heart. This caused the running Nana to tighten her clothes subconsciously.

The words Julio had spoken to her before setting out on this expedition emerged in her mind: “The flames of hope have been ignited in our hands. We mustn't let it die.”

It was then that Julio made her stay back in the reserve army and barred her from joining the exploration party. Nana didn’t quite understand it back then because there shouldn’t be any danger at all in this battle. How could Evernight lose with the Queen of the Night on their side?

Moreover, even if there was danger, divine champions and marshals were the only ones who could pose a threat to them. What was there to fear? But she decided not to force the issue so as to set Julio at ease.

Who would’ve thought a great battle would erupt once more just as the races were beginning to retreat? Things took a drastic turn for the worse, and even the Evernight main camp had fallen to the humans. Nana suddenly realized that Julio must’ve stopped her from joining the battle because he had a certain premonition.

Nana ran faster and faster, but her heart grew colder and colder.

Julio had a mysterious ability which only a handful of top characters from his bloodline knew of. This outstanding marquis possessed the ability to listen to fate. Since he was a young viscount, he would often see fragments of the future through the dense mist.

At the same time, Julio was a man of great intelligence and would often be able to deduce the future through these fragments. He wasn’t a diviner or a prophet, but one who could glance at fate.

Nana knew Julio was never happy because he could see fate but had no power to change it. Julio’s periods of happiness had been short-lived ever since discovering the awakened Nighteye on Evernight Continent. Later on, he grew more and more despondent.

Nana had never understood why Julio was in low spirits, but on this cold, wintery night, she seemed to have understood a bit.

She suddenly trembled as a chill scuttled out from her blood core and froze every inch of her vessels—she suddenly realized that Julio wasn’t coming back. Nighteye’s blood relatives were all dead. As the one who had guided Nighteye’s awakening, all connections related to her would disappear with his death. No one else would be able to find her.

No one knew that Nana and Julio had discovered Nighteye together. Julio hadn’t mentioned her name at all when he brought Nighteye back to the Monroe clan.

Back then, Nana had thought that Julio didn’t want to share the merits of discovering a primo. His strength growth had stagnated back then and would need to rely on the ancient blood pond in order to advance. Nana didn’t mind this at all. She was still very young and far from the peak of her life. Her strength was already growing by leaps and bounds without relying on external powers. Even if that weren’t the case, she would still be willing to give it to Julio.

Now, she finally understood that Julio had kept her behind the curtain because he had foreseen this day.

Nighteye’s sudden disappearance shook the entire vampire race. According to what Nana knew, there was a storm brewing among several clans, including the Monroe, poised to target the Perth clan. It was just that the Queen of the Night had always been tyrannical and proud. How could she lower her head under this pressure?

At this moment, Nana was filled with hate for Nighteye. She couldn’t understand what was so important about this primo that Julio had to sacrifice himself just to hide her traces.

Vague fluctuations of origin power arrived from the distance. Nana immediately knew that those were shockwaves produced from a battle between experts. The distance they had covered proved just how powerful the combatants were. Although she couldn’t discern their aura from such a distance, who else could it be except Julio since all the Evernight dukes had retreated already?

Nana sprinted toward the battlefield at lightning speed, completely ignoring the expenditure of blood energy.

In the Evernight central camp, the top floor of the castle had turned into an even ground. Even the great hall from which the two great dark monarchs used to observe battles wasn’t spared.

Julio stood amidst the rubble with an unfathomable smile on his face. He was still standing straight despite being wounded all over.

Seven or eight imperial experts had surrounded Julio with Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan as their leaders. Qianye had retreated to the outer rim at this point. He stood there with his sword pointed at the ground, staring at Julio in complete stillness.

Qianye had pulled back to catch his breath after launching a round of frantic attacks. An increasing number of top imperial experts arrived as more and more battles were won outside—soon, the battle had turned into a siege. But for some reason, Julio had no intention of running away.

One of the imperial experts flew up from below in a bid to launch a sneak attack from behind. However, Julio immediately turned around to face him. His speed was so fast that it seemed as though he had been facing that direction all along.

Zhao Jundu’s eyes lit up. The raging pillars of violet flame turned azure, increasing the restriction on Julio by two times. However, it was too late—Julio tapped lightly on the expert’s forehead before returning to his original position.

The victim’s expression froze as he took a few shaky steps forward. Then, a cloud of blood erupted from the back of his head.

Li Kuanglan’s expression was livid. “Trash! Always failing!”

This expert, a rank-fifteen champion, was a veteran general from the Jingtang Li Clan. The man had acted rashly in order to seize merits but was completely helpless before the wounded Julio. His head exploding was equal to giving Li Kuanglan a slap.

Zhao Jundu’s expression wasn’t any better. His Omniscient Seal was effective, but it was still broken through at the critical juncture. This was due to a disparity in rank, not something that could be easily remedied.

But Zhao Jundu and Li Kuanglan were well-experienced in battle. They quickly calmed their emotions and began searching for openings once more.

Julio seemed to be ignoring all the experts around him. He only looked up into the sky with his hand on his chest, his mouth opening and closing as though he were uttering something.

Qianye felt something peculiar in his chest. Without a second thought, he raised East Peak and hacked down at the air in front of him.

A scarlet beam of sanguineous light flew through the air, flickered around Qianye’s sword, and shot into his chest. This beam possessed immense penetrative power. It shot right through his armor, tore through his skin, and drilled into his body.

Just as before, the imperial experts only saw who Julio had attacked after the strike had connected.

Everyone was surprised because they had seen the might of Qianye’s heavy sword. No one at the scene was confident about taking it head-on, not to mention breaking through its momentum. It was quite likely that no one here could defend against this strike.

Mighty Marquis Julio couldn’t be underestimated no matter how heavy his injuries were. The six imperial corpses on the top-floor served as ample testament.

Zhao Jundu’s expression changed sharply as he released the charged-up shot without waiting for a suitable opening. Julio seemed to have overdrafted his power just now, so much so that he was one step too slow. Ultimately, the marquis failed to flash away and suffered a square shot.

Zhao Jundu didn’t follow up after the shot, neither did he look back at the results of the battle. He charged over immediately and stood in front of Qianye. Unexpectedly, Li Kuanglan also let go of the opening and was looking back at the two.

Qianye’s situation was much better than everyone had expected. He was pushed several steps back by the sanguineous beam but managed to gain his footing by thrusting East Peak into the ground. He remained gasping for a moment before looking up and gesturing that he was alright.

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