This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 206 The Craving for the Source of Sweetness
Nie Weiyang was beside the Bone Sacrifice Court, while He Kang was on the outskirts of Xunshan. Between the two lay the entire devastated stone forest, a distance that also separated life from death.

The distance was too far; in theory, he wouldn't have made it in time!

But the next moment, Han Jiangxue shot out from the crowd like an arrow, the tip of her ice staff bursting with a chilling light, accurately hitting the horrific wound running through He Kang's body.

Extreme cold instantly spread, temporarily freezing the gushing blood. The blood vessels, which were trying to contract inward, were forcibly pulled in place, and a layer of pale frost covered the wound. This brutal freezing temporarily locked away life, but also brought a deadly numbness.

He Kang opened his mouth and slowly fell backward.

Several healers' lights followed immediately. They rushed out from the surrounding crowd, and almost simultaneously, a sharp explosion rang out in the distance!
Yi Jian's bullet sliced ​​through the air, ignoring the already vanished trajectory of the slender figure, and precisely disappeared into a certain part of the void.

A suppressed groan of pain rang out, and half of an arm, which had been blown off and was shimmering with starlight, suddenly appeared, fell to the ground, and then turned into specks of light and disappeared.

At that moment, the furious roar of the heavy motorcycles drowned out all the noise.

The lucky sign was like a flood, forcefully smashing through the stone pillars blocking its path and carving out a straight path amidst flying rubble. How many enemies it killed along the way was completely beyond Nie Weiyang's consideration!
In just a few breaths, Nie Weiyang had closed in on the skill's range. Before the motorcycle had even come to a complete stop, he had already leaped down, pointing his sword:
"[Life Link]!"

A gentle yet swift white light, like a thorny chain, briefly bound the fates of the two. He Kang's rapidly declining health points suddenly slowed, but damage surged wildly into Nie Weiyang's body.

Life links enable people to share life recovery and also share the burden of injury.

Saving a child with a damaged carotid artery is naturally not the same pressure as saving an adult man with a penetrating heart injury!

Nie Weiyang groaned and staggered to his knees.

His health bar, which was already down to one-fifth, was reduced even further. He Kang's near-death injuries weighed heavily on his already overburdened body, like a mountain.

The brain felt dizzy from lack of blood, and the edges of vision began to darken... Worse still, the thirst for blood that had been forcibly suppressed by reason finally erupted under this extreme weakness and intense craving for life energy.

A strong, sweet, cloying stench of blood wafted in from all directions—every drop of blood spilled on the battlefield became an irresistible temptation. The scent seeped into his mind, igniting a primal thirst. It wasn't just the enemy's blood; every human fighting fiercely around him, their blood coursing, even He Kang, Han Jiangxue, and the healers—at this moment, they all exuded a warm, alluring fragrance in his senses…

A crimson glint appeared uncontrollably in Nie Weiyang's eyes; he had never been so disheveled in any of his previous battles.

His eyes were like a bottomless sea of ​​blood.

A massive and chilling mental pressure emanated from him, cold, inhuman, and carrying the aura of a predator. Several healers who wanted to help stopped in their tracks, instinctively looking away, unable to meet his eyes.

Unbeknownst to anyone, between his tightly pursed lips, sharp, pale fangs were slowly and uncontrollably elongating, yearning for the warm...source of life.

……

The boiling sea of ​​blood completely swallowed up the last shred of reason.

That wasn't just a simple loss of control; it was falling into an incredibly real and unforgettable nightmare.

The surrounding battlefield clamor—the lingering sounds of motorcycles, the healers' cries, the ongoing fighting in the distance—was instantly pulled away, distorted, and ultimately drowned out by another sound.

The crackling sound of flames burning wood.

The dull thud of a blade slicing through flesh.

A desperate cry.

Someone is calling him... calling his name.

“Nie Weiyang…”

He smelled... a richer, sweeter aroma, unlike the rough, rusty smell of the battlefield.

"Nie Weiyang!"

He saw... not Xunshan, not Shilin.

It was that familiar mountain settlement he had once protected.

Beside the warm campfire, trusting yet weary faces smiled at him.

They had just repelled an attack and were sharing limited food and water.

The children curled up asleep in their mother's arms.

And he stood in the shadows.

A prolonged hunger—not for food, but a craving for something else—gnawed at his insides and brain like poisonous insects. He suppressed it desperately, his nails digging into his palms, leaving deep, bloody marks. He couldn't… he absolutely couldn't… He had endured this long, how could he…

"Old Nie! Want a drink?"

The string of reason snapped.

My vision was covered by a pure crimson.

He only remembered moving, as fast as a ghost. The cold metallic touch in his hand—it was the short sword he knew best.

Then came the massacre.

Efficient, precise, and merciless slaughter.

He saw those trusting smiles freeze on their faces, transforming into astonishment and incomprehensible fear. He heard familiar voices calling his name, the tone shifting from worry to a piercing scream. He felt warm liquid splash on his face and lips, the alluring scent almost driving him mad.

He especially remembered that figure—the leader of the settlement, and the strongest among them.

He roared and charged forward, trying to stop him, his eyes filled with pain and desperation. Their blades clashed, sparks flying. But out of control, his strength was terrifying.

Finally, he pinned his opponent firmly against the burning broken wall, his fangs piercing the pulsating, powerful carotid artery.

The sweet, scalding liquid flowed down his throat, temporarily quenching his burning thirst and bringing a moment of false satisfaction. But at the same time, the leader's last look, a mixture of shock, despair, betrayal, and a lingering trace of pity, pierced his soul like a poisonous thorn.

He drained him dry.

When he briefly regained consciousness, what he saw was a hellish scene: ruins, firelight, piles of corpses... and his hands and body covered in blood.

And then there were the pale bodies of his former comrades at his feet, bodies whose lives he had drained.

More than a thousand people. Among them were many he had sworn to protect with his life.

He, his white hair stained dark red with blood, stood in the middle of the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, like an abandoned, utterly lost monster.

"……No……"

In reality, Nie Weiyang let out a muffled, almost choked growl.

The illusion was so real that the regret and self-loathing from the past almost tore him apart on the spot. His body trembled violently, the pain from the depths of his soul even temporarily suppressing the bloodlust surging within him.

He must not... let history repeat itself.

Absolutely not!

(End of this chapter)