The First Magic World War

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Charles activated his Insight, locked onto Harriet who was hiding behind a building, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly felt a twinge of regret.

The last time he used the Anti-Space Sniper Rifle, he killed an assassin and blew away half of his body, leaving no chance to absorb his life force.

"Harriet is a High-Level Transcendent. If I could devour his blood essence, I might even break through to the Intermediate rank directly!"

"I still face the threat from the Evil God, and in three months, the Orc Assassin Alliance will continue to send new assassins. I must seize every opportunity to improve."

Charles hesitated briefly before deciding to take a risk.

Machu Picchu was his labyrinth; this was already his home turf, and there could be no better opportunity.

Lord Leo spared no ammunition, firing over a dozen shots and forcing Harriet to scurry around like a rat attempting to escape.

Charles, holding the Blood Rose, chose a corner of the wall, focused his spirit to activate the labyrinth, and then with all his might, thrust out with his sword.

Just as Harriet dodged Lord Leo's gunfire with a leap and a series of rolls, taking cover at a corner, a rapier, as if anticipating his moves, aimed straight for his vitals.

It was Charles who struck first, and only then did he activate the labyrinth.

Harriet had a near-death experience. Despite exerting all his effort and summoning his protective Fighting Spirit, the rapier still pierced through the Radiant Fighting Spirit and went right through his chest.

For this thrust, Charles had given up the Quickness Technique and instead invoked the runes of Angel's Thorn, channeling Bloody Glory into the four Bloody Vortexes around him, enhancing the power of the Angel's Thorn by forty percent. With the Blood Rose being a rare Extraordinary Weapon and all these factors combined, he managed the successful strike.

Harriet managed to kick out fiercely, but Charles had already let go of the rapier and casually jumped away.

As Harriet reached out to grasp the Blood Rose, attempting to pull out the stabbed rapier, a flash of red light shone on its hilt, and it automatically detached, flying into the darkness.

It was Charles who controlled the Blood Flame Qi, retrieving the Blood Rose.

As Harriet searched for Charles to kill this detestable enemy, Lord Leo adjusted his angle and fired another shot.

Although Harriet dodged it, a bullet fragment grazed his abdomen, causing blood to pour out instantly.

Charles took a deep breath and threw out the Vampiric Hand Axe.

Despite being a High-Level Transcendent, a Fourteenth Order Radiant Knight, in the critical split second, Harriet managed to catch the swiftly slashing hand axe, but immediately felt a pain in his abdomen as another rapier stabbed up from the ground, piercing it.

Enduring the pain, Harriet stamped down forcefully, the Radiant Fighting Spirit blasting through the ground. But underneath the soil, there was nothing left.

Charles had shifted an underground supply corridor from the Machu Picchu fortress over, and after thrusting with his sword, he allowed the supply corridor to return to its original place. Harriet's attack had only managed to strike the earth itself.

Having succeeded twice in a row, Charles absorbed only a small part of the life force. Yet, Bloody Glory still seethed slightly. He made a slight adjustment to his stance, ready for the next ambush.

Lord Leo leapt onto a nearby building and gestured to her. Charlotte hesitated for a moment before approaching.

"Lord, I have completed the mission and killed Archduke Ferdinand. I had intended to return to the Empire, but encountered several colleagues who said they hadn't seen you and guessed that you might be in some trouble. Therefore, I came back to look for you and ran into some Blood Servants I had collected on the way. Only then did I learn that you too were trapped here."

"I've been wandering around nearby, looking for a way to rescue you. Not long ago, I met a hermit nearby, who advised me that I needed to bring a High-Level Transcendent into the Labyrinth to get you out. I used all kinds of means to lure this high-ranking officer from the Fars Empire here."

Lord Leo was slightly pleased, as he had had enough of this accursed place. However, as a high noble, he maintained his composure with a wave of his hand and said, "I didn't call you over to discuss this matter."

"I know you're eyeing that High-Level Transcendent's rich life force and blood, but I must remind you that although we of the Blood Clan can draw upon the life force of our enemies to advance our Extraordinary Ranks, we cannot completely rely on this method."

"Higher-order members of the Blood Clan place more importance on the purity of Blood Energy. Indiscriminate and uncontrolled devouring of life force can easily lead to degeneration into monsters. Therefore, we do not consume prey of a lower Extraordinary Rank than ourselves willy-nilly, only occasionally supplementing a little."

"You are still a Low-Order member of the Blood Clan; for you it's not a big problem, but you should be at the critical point where you need to consolidate your Blood Core and advance to the rank of baron."

"Personally, I suggest not using the life essence of this High-Level Transcendent of Fars to advance your rank. Try to use it to attempt to consolidate your Blood Core instead!"

"Let me tell you a secret, the sooner you consolidate your Blood Core, the longer your life span will be, and the more time you can maintain your youth."

Charlotte was taken aback. The Protagora scrolls did not contain a Secret Technique for consolidating a Blood Core. Although this Great Philosopher of the Human Race had also lived long, he still died of old age just like an ordinary person.

Seeing the expression on Charlotte's face, Lord Leo could not help but ask in surprise, "You haven't learned the Blood Clan Secret Technique of the Adonis Clan?"

Charlotte took a deep breath and said softly, "I apologize, I am non-standard offspring!"

As it is well known, vampires do not have the ability to reproduce; they can only transform new vampires through the Arcane Rite or the First Embrace.

At the foundation of the Byron Empire, the belief was that Blood Clan members were noble and did not encourage the development of new members. They strictly cracked down on the unfettered creation of offspring, requiring all Blood Clan members to pass a "review" and obtain a "First Embrace certificate" before they could develop "Descendants" according to a regulated number.

Both the Arcane Rite and the First Embrace are incredibly inefficient processes, which has resulted in the population of the Blood Clan in the Byron Empire remaining low. Currently, the total population of the thirty-one clans does not exceed twenty thousand, which is even less than one-thousandth of the total population.

Despite the Byron Empire's strict regulations on the development of offspring, there are still Blood Clan members who develop offspring without obtaining a "First Embrace certificate." These offspring are referred to as "non-standard offspring."

These non-standard offspring, strictly speaking, should not even exist and have no right to learn the secrets of their clans.

Although the Elder Council of the various clans is not very strict in auditing non-standard offspring, generally turning a blind eye, these non-standard offspring are heavily discriminated against and most cannot receive the authentic heritage of their clans.

Lord Leo uttered an "oh" and said indifferently, "No wonder you always try to hide your Extraordinary Rank in front of me."

Charlotte gave an awkward laugh; his reasons for hiding his Extraordinary Rank were not due to this, but of course, he wouldn't explain.

Lord Leo casually tossed a book to her and said, "Even though you can't practice our Arthur Clan's Vampiric Scroll, the secret technique for consolidating the Blood Core inside can still serve as a reference; the method for Blood Clan members to consolidate Blood Cores is pretty much the same."