I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

She nodded and replied softly.

“Your brain.” Gerald tapped his head slightly. “You say your knowledge hasn’t faded, you immortal.”

"From now on, you will be responsible for answering any questions I have—and you must be available whenever I call. The same applies to other needs; you have no right to refuse my requests."

They were treated like slaves.

Kal'tsit thought to herself.

But at this moment, she had no other way to survive.

Kal'tsit could only lower her head and swear allegiance to her almost master-like being.

"...Understood, I promise you."

"Very good, then next—"

Gerald was interrupted by a sudden ripple before he could finish speaking.

A strange feeling came from the wind.

Just like the excitement he felt when he first met Lamaren, the wind whispered in his ear, and the boundaries of the world were quietly torn apart at that moment, leaving only two breaths in the space.

【bring it on. 】

The wind urged him on and guided him.

The flow of people outside is being artificially altered; a more powerful will has descended upon this place.

Not only that, but there was another being who was extremely excited, gradually heating up to boiling point—the cloth on his shoulder was emitting a sharp look of excitement, constantly urging him to go to the appointment.

"...Stay here and let your monster protect you. Make sure you don't come out."

Pegasus briefly uttered these two sentences before walking outside under Kal'tsit's slightly surprised gaze.

She soon found out why.

Because there was a smell of blood in the air.

Chapter 82: Battles, Part Two (10,000 words)

Outside Kazdel, an abandoned plot of land.

In fact, the location Kal'tsit chose inadvertently allowed her to avoid many spies. If Gerald hadn't come after sensing her presence, she might have survived there for a long time.

Theresa was very decisive and resolute in her attitude toward external enemies, but her methods of internal purges could only be described as slightly merciful.

The two siblings rewrote the laws and rules of Kazdel, and although many prisoners who were supposed to be granted a "general amnesty" after Elesh's death had already died on the battlefield, the new prison was still under construction.

Thus, some with malicious intent were banished from Kazdel, while those with wavering allegiance fled the city. The capable ones went far away to the battlefield, while the less capable ones secretly settled around the city, hoping that one day their merciful demon lord would discover them, so they could feign pitifulness and injustice in an attempt to gain her forgiveness.

However, this group of people probably didn't expect that they would never see the judgment of that merciful prince.

What awaited them was an end built of blood.

Silence slowly rose in the gradually boiling blood, tinged with a bright red hue.

Muscles collapsed, skin ulcerated, and even vocal cords were burned. The limbs lost all ability to move the moment the blood became abnormal. The screams were thus drowned out in the quiet afternoon.

And what destroyed all of this was only blood.

The moment the first drop of blood fell to the earth, a crimson river surged from the cracks in the ground, spreading invisible tentacles to silently cling to all living beings. After devouring the first person, the blood did not cease its hunting spree; it would carry that portion to the next target.

Repeating this process, in just a few breaths, those wills filled with hatred will return to the souls.

So when Gerald stepped out of that cramped and foul-smelling space and returned to this plot of land, he witnessed everything before him.

A word suddenly popped into his mind; no other word could describe his current situation more accurately:

A sea of ​​corpses and blood.

In the very center of that boundless sea of ​​blood, the master of the Blood Court, the Blood Demon Lord Ducarre, cast a scrutinizing gaze upon Pegasus.

His eyes narrowed slightly, his deep red pupils standing out even more vividly against his pale face.

The appearance of Blood Demons is often misleading – for most people who don't know them well, not all Blood Demons look like the stereotypical red-eyed creature.

This characteristic usually only appears in the most powerful red-eyed demons among the blood demons, which is a manifestation of purifying one's bloodline to a certain extent.

The purer the blood, the stronger its ability to manipulate blood.

The Blood Demon Lord's deep red eyes were like rubies stained with blood; their original clarity and brightness were now clouded with a hazy shadow.

His pure white hair fell to his waist like silver threads, but upon closer inspection, one would find that those hair strands were not single lines, but rather a pattern pieced together from countless other people's hair with blood lines.

"This is not a suitable place to talk, Pegasus."

He began to speak, his gaze slowly shifting, sweeping across his surroundings.

Throw it at those dilapidated buildings, crumbling walls, and ruins mired in mud.

Throw your gaze upon the pools of blood where those struggling to survive left their mark in the dark alleys, upon the traces of life left by those who were driven out—a barren, broken, and fragmented scene.

There was not a trace of sympathy, only disdain and contempt.

“I thought this Demon Lord would at least have some wisdom and decisiveness, just like what she did before, killing when necessary and cutting off when necessary… but she didn’t. Even if this tainted blood is only placed around Kazdel, it is a stain on the future of the race.”

"When pests grow in the yard, instead of burning the weeds and insects together, they are carefully selected, gathered together, and finally thrown out of the yard... How foolish!"

"Especially when this scene is finally presented to you, a citizen of God."

His gaze fell coldly: "It makes me feel particularly humiliated."

The moment those words were spoken, the air seemed to suddenly drop to freezing point, and the smell of blood permeated the air even more intensely.

The blood river behind the Blood Demon Lord erupted almost instantly, its rusty waves surging in the sunlight, nearly submerging the entire abandoned site.

The narrow hiding spot now lay behind Pegasus, the only place yet untouched by the blood demon before them, but the river of blood had eventually reached it. Hidden within, Kal'tsit held her breath, closed her eyes, and awaited death with near despair.

But Pegasus wouldn't allow it.

Gerald gently moved his fingers, causing the surging river of blood to stop around him as if time had stood still.

Blood is a fluid.

If Ramalen and he had very poor compatibility, and Theresa and he had extremely poor compatibility, then the compatibility between him and the Blood Demon Lord in front of him was at the other extreme—he was able to stop the sea of ​​blood surging towards him with almost no effort.

The wind did not cut through the sea of ​​blood; it merely imprisoned it in place. Thus, the flow of crimson was completely distorted, and all the waves were frozen in the air by the wind the moment they approached Gerald, unable to move forward even an inch.

"Heh." The Blood Demon Lord narrowed his eyes, seemingly not surprised by Gerald's skill, but merely admiring a work of art that spanned the heavens and the earth: "You stopped the surging itself. Interesting. Blood stopped for you. It seems that everything truly needs to be seen with one's own eyes."

After admiring him for a long time, he let out a soft apology through his nose: "Why did you help Sarkaz on the battlefield, Pegasus?"

"Don't you think there's a bit of a gap between these two sentences, Blood Demon?"

Gerald didn't even need to think too much before shutting down the conversation and reclaiming his right to speak: "What reason do I have to answer your questions? And what makes you think you can earn my respect in this way? Through this so-called test?"

"Don't misunderstand, this is just cleaning up the area around my home. To deal with you, this level of magic is far too weak."

"Moreover, your performance on the battlefield was truly amazing. Even if you weren't a Sarkaz, I should still show respect to the strong, not treat the weak in this way."

Upon hearing this, the Blood Demon Lord showed no sign of anger. Instead, he took a step forward and nodded to show his stance.

"It's fine if you don't want to answer. Your blood has never hesitated, and even when you saw me, you were filled with the joy of challenging the strong. Very good. I originally thought that the appearance of that brother and sister was just a coincidence. I never thought that this was indeed an era in which heroes emerge."

“Even though you are the most despised of the gods, you are completely different from those hypocritical lords. You deserve my respect and all my strength. That’s why this space should only contain the two of us, instead of letting a weakling who doesn’t belong to the Sarkaz eke out a living behind you.”

Kal'tsit, who was hiding in the shadows, trembled violently upon hearing these words.

The shadow of death could not obscure her current confusion: Why was Pegasus on the Sarkaz battlefield? Why was Blood Lord here?

And more importantly, why would the Pegasus who killed her shield her from the sea of ​​blood emanating from the King of the Royal Court?

If Gerald were to answer these questions, he would probably just roll his eyes at the lynx and sigh, wondering if the boy was a bit slow on the uptake.

Because the process of confrontation is itself a process of analysis.

Pegasus said one thing, but in his heart he had a completely different idea—to come into contact with the Blood Demon's sorcery would allow him to gradually understand the opponent's habits and fighting style. For example, just from the recent probing, he was already able to judge the approximate difference in their strength.

It is classified as an allotrope.

The opponent can manipulate blood, while he can manipulate the wind; the opponent can shape blood into various forms and manipulate hard blood to harden it, while he can turn the wind into a sword in his hand and throw out an invisible spear; the opponent can burn the blood in the enemy's body through boiling blood, while he can crush a person by using the air pressure inside and outside the human body.

One has accumulated the power of a long-lived species, the other has special attacks against fluids; he has the advantage in short-range bursts, while the other has the advantage in long-range endurance; they are both small fry crushers, and even their hair color is similar.

This goes beyond just being able to fight.

Among all the current powerhouses at the level of the Lord of the Royal Court, the Blood Demon Lord opposite him is the only opponent he is certain of being able to defeat.

Gerald tilted his head, a smile appearing on his face: "I thought that after helping you, a king like you would at least straighten out your attitude, maintain some elegance, and not be so impulsive."

"Do you still harbor the illusion that you should share the glory with the Sarkaz just because you helped us win a war we should have won anyway, Pegasus?"

The Blood Demon chuckled, "Don't try to fob me off with those lame excuses. It seems our Demon King has had some private conversations with you, inviting you to Kazdel for negotiations—but your blood doesn't lie."

"From the moment you landed in the air, the fighting spirit in your blood could already cross the entire perimeter of Kazdel and reach my sense of smell. That blood is pure enough, noble enough, with only a few impurities, to excite any hunter."

"You're going to use all your strength against me?" Gerald's smile widened. "That prince won't be happy about that."

The Blood Demon Lord's tone had turned into a cold laugh: "【Demon King】, ha, what a prestigious title."

"But among the Demon Lords, there have been too many weaklings. Perhaps I should have given her more time, but now she doesn't even care about the face of our homeland, and she shows too much mercy to those weaklings, indulging in empty dreams... Just like my weak brother, who makes jokes like 'Sarkaz is incapable of bearing the war, and it will take generations to repair Kazdel.'"

"And the help from outsiders will only make that Demon King weaker." His deep red eyes seemed to pierce through Pegasus's body. "I know you're just as excited as I am, Pegasus. I'm sure you won't care about this little bit of manipulation—let's see what choice that Demon King will make, shall we?"

"It is still clinging to naive imagination, that even if it offends a king of the royal court, one should still protect a foreigner."

The bloody smell in the air was even stronger.

"I will eventually see the error of my ways and realize that only through war can I awaken my poor compatriots and restore the name of Tikkaz to Terra."

……

Gerald did not answer, but simply lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing that Pegasus seemed to have no intention of responding, the Blood Demon Lord took a graceful step forward, preparing to manipulate the other's blood to sound the horn of attack.

The fragile lives behind him could not possibly survive the aftermath of a battle at this level, so apart from getting a slightly unpleasant stench, there was nothing else to worry about in fighting here.

The only problem is-

"A banshee's curse?"

However, before he could launch his next attack, the wave that attempted to manipulate the blood was instantly deflected by something emanating from Gerald. A spell symbolizing inviolability shone from Pegasus's body, and a spell coiled towards the Blood Demon Lord like a serpent.

“Troublesome thing…” The Blood Demon Lord frowned, trying to manipulate his blood to annihilate the incantation in the sea of ​​blood, but his mouth continued to speak:

"Ramalen actually got to know you and made all these preparations for you? How pathetic, the struggle of a broken royal court... Even she has become so weak. Perhaps I should prepare myself to hear the final lament of the Banshee's Royal Court."

The smile on Tianma's face disappeared.

The curse ignored the sea of ​​blood's obstruction and continued its tearing and biting of its enemies. Even the Blood Demon Lord could not maintain his perfect condition after enduring the curse personally prepared by the Banshee Queen.

The ultimate protection that Kola Marlena provided for her lover could not be erased by a simple blood spell.

But the sword made of wind can.

"I confess to you, my love, that I failed to keep my promise."

The incantation that rushed towards the Blood Demon Lord gradually dissipated under the brilliance of the sword light, leaving only the Pegasus's stance of slashing in place to explain what had just happened.

"I have rarely encountered an enemy so foolish. The way he could not use his weapon properly, despite possessing it, made me feel like a child, which made me angry. So much so that I had to give him a defeat and humiliation that left him speechless in order to calm my emotions."

Gerald placed his hand on his chest and spoke slowly.

The Blood Demon Lord had not yet realized why the Banshee Queen's curse had suddenly vanished. He was only puzzled and confused by Gerald's words.

At this moment, Pegasus posed a question to Blood Demon: "I want to ask you, monarch of the royal court, how many years have you lived so far?"

“I existed long before the Balrog embarked on the path of punishment. The history of Kazdel is also my history.”

"So the Blood Lord said, completely disregarding Gerald's words. His admiration was now undisguised: "It's a pity you're not a Blood Lord. Even if you were just a half-Sarkaz, your name would surely echo in history."

“That was a long time ago.” Gerald nodded. “But why is it that whenever the Blood Demons are mentioned, the races, including the Sarkaz, only think of your infamy? Why has Kazdel been repeating the cycle of destruction and rebirth for so many years, many times longer than my own?”

"I can't help but wonder, what have your wars, your killings, and your impulses ultimately brought to this race? Which has died more, your fellow Sarkaz or your enemies?"

“War is not the goal; what war brings is.” Gerald’s eyes gleamed with pity, perhaps even sympathy. “So you have never been a demon king, nor have you ever understood war. A king like you, who clearly possesses great power, tries to make others obey your commands, believing that this is the right path, even though you have never succeeded.”

"You don't know how to learn, you don't think about exploring the outside world, and you haven't learned anything from your failures and lessons. Forgive my bluntness, but even a beast should have learned something new over the long years... Don't you find that pathetic?"

A blood spear suddenly solidified in the air and arrived in front of Gerald in the next second. He sliced ​​it open with wind blades like butter, and it melted into the air.

A few drops of blood fell onto the tuxedo that Ramalyn had woven for him, slowly flowing down the cuffs toward the fabric.

And then there was another one.