Chapter 8: Vampire

Without daring to hesitate for even a second, Bai turned and ran, her slender little legs pumping as fast as they could.

The unidentified creature behind her seemed to pick up speed as well, sticking close to her heels.

“Hahaha………”

Her frail body hadn’t gotten far before she was already gasping for breath.

But when she looked ahead, the forest still stretched endlessly before her.

When she finally couldn’t run anymore, Bai gritted her teeth, stopped, turned around, and tried to look fierce as she shouted,

“Bai… Bai’s not afraid of you! If… if you’ve got the guts, come out and fight Bai one-on-one!”

The rustling in the grass suddenly stopped.

Bai tensed into a “battle stance,” standing off for a long time, but nothing emerged.

She let out a sigh of relief, put her hands on her hips, raised her little nose, and said smugly, “Hmph, just as I thought, you’re scared of Bai!”

Just then, Bai felt the sunlight above her gradually get blocked by a shadow, and a wave of warmth landed on her shoulder.

She reached up and wiped it off, only to find herself suddenly smeared with a thick, foul-smelling yellow liquid.

A moment later, a stench of rot and blood hit her nose, followed by the low growl of a beast from behind.

Bai slowly turned her head, dazed, and came face-to-face with a pair of massive, blood-red eyes.

A gigantic black dog stood before her, its body like a moving mountain of darkness.

Its thick, midnight-black fur seemed to swallow all surrounding light, exuding a suffocating sense of pressure.

Its head was enormous and grotesque, with a blood-red crack splitting its forehead like a third eye yet to open.

Its eyes gleamed like two frozen moons soaked in blood, the irises veined with red.

Fangs curled like daggers, gleaming white and razor-sharp, dripped stinking saliva that splattered onto Bai’s shoulder.

Bai shrank back and said timidly, “Mister Dog… how’d someone your size even fit into the bushes? Can you… do it again for Bai? Hehe…”

“ROOOAAARRR!!!”

The black dog roared, splattering Bai’s face with its rancid drool.

Bai wiped it off with her hand and forced a smile.

“How about… Bai brushes your teeth for you, and you let Bai go, alright?”

Veins bulged on the dog’s forehead as its deafening growl grew louder.

It raised a massive claw, almost bigger than Bai herself, about to strike when, “Sword Technique: Cross Slash!”

A crisp female voice rang out from deep within the forest.

A golden arc of sword light shot out like lightning, slicing straight through the black dog’s claw.

“ROAAARRR!”

The dog let out a pained howl as its massive body toppled to the ground.

“Back!”

A tall, graceful figure stepped in front of Bai.

It was a woman clad in silver-white fitted armor.

The armor’s elegant lines clung tightly to her athletic figure, blending beauty with a warrior’s strength.

Her face was both delicate and resolute, radiating a commanding presence.

Her eyes were like deep lakes, and her golden hair was tied high in a ponytail, swaying lightly in the breeze.

In one hand, she gripped a silver-white longsword, the blade gleaming coldly, reflecting the fierce determination in her eyes.

The golden-haired knight stood firmly between Bai and the beast.

She turned her head slightly to glance at Bai, a flicker of confusion in her eyes, but the dog’s growl drew her attention back.

“Hide behind the tree!” the knight barked.

Snapping out of it, Bai scampered off and hid behind a tree, poking her little head out to peek.

The knight gripped her silver sword with both hands, then leapt lightly into the air, soaring six meters high.

“Cross Slash!” she shouted, her voice low and sharp.

The silver sword carved a glowing cross in the air, the slash radiating like a rainbow straight toward the beast’s chest.

The creature let out a howl of pain as its old wound split open once more, blood gushing out in a torrent.

But instead of retreating, the injury only enraged it further.

It opened its massive jaws and spewed a jet of black flame straight at the knight.

Bai’s eyes widened in surprise as she watched the familiar black fire.

It looked just like the flames Yalbera once summoned.

The knight swiftly retreated, sweeping her silver sword in a graceful arc before her.

The black flame was cleanly sliced apart.

A bead of sweat trickled down her temple, she had clearly already been through a tough fight even before arriving, and now her strength was running low.

The black dog gave her no chance to rest.

It lunged again, its mountainous body shaking the earth with every step.

The knight took a deep breath, spinning the silver sword in her hand.

The swordlight flashed like a falling star.

She leapt high, her blade aiming straight for the beast’s throat.

“Monster! Die!” she shouted, her voice fierce.

The silver sword pierced into the dog’s throat, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

The creature let out a piercing, mournful scream as its enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The knight stood beside the beast’s corpse, blood slowly dripping from her sword.

She gave the blade a flick, flinging off the blood before sliding it back into its sheath.

Just as she was about to wipe the bloodstains from her neck guard, she heard a rustling in the bushes.

Clap clap clap clap clap

The female knight turned to look back, and saw Bai behind the tree, clapping excitedly with a beaming face.

Her little hands smacked together with crisp slaps, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

This was the first time Bai had ever witnessed something straight out of a fairytale, an honorable knight battling a man-eating beast!

Nothing could be more thrilling for her!

“Big sis is amazing! You took down that huge monster in one strike!”

The knight’s face flushed red, and she turned away, rubbing her cheek in embarrassment.

But then something came to mind, and she shook her head, her tone turning serious as she asked, “Where are your parents? Why would they leave a child alone in the forest? Don’t they know this place is crawling with bloodthirsty beasts?”

“Parents? Bai doesn’t have any parents. Bai’s mom and dad died six years ago. Bai only has… big sister.”

Bai answered honestly.

The knight was momentarily at a loss for words.

Then she asked, “And where is your sister? This forest was sealed off by the kingdom a month ago because of the bloodbeast invasion. How did you even get in? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”

Scolded so harshly, Bai instinctively shrank her neck back.

This big sister is really strict… but it’s not Bai’s fault.

Bai didn’t know the flower would teleport her here! she thought to herself, feeling wronged.

But there was no way she could reveal anything about the blood clan.

Information about the True Ancestors was absolutely forbidden from leaking out.

On her first day as a blood slave, Lady Aiersha had warned her repeatedly, if she ever exposed the existence of a True Ancestor, the blood slave mark on her neck would instantly take her life.

After thinking for a moment, she forced out an excuse and said, “Bai and big sister came here to play, but we got lost and wandered into the forest. Then Bai got separated from her.”

“To play? Here?”

The knight looked at Bai suspiciously.

The southern forest was the last place anyone would come for fun.

She continued, “Where did you two come from?”

“Aitansiya.”

“Aitansiya?” the knight muttered, clearly unable to place the name.

“In any case, this is no place for a child to be.”

The knight resumed her stern tone.

Bai puffed up her cheeks, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, “Bai’s not a child anymore! Bai’s already…”

She thought for a moment, then raised both hands and started counting on her fingers one by one.

Finally, she confidently held up a “one” and a “four.”

“Eighteen!”

(Actually, she had just turned sixteen.)

“…Come with me back to the camp first. I’ll have someone escort you to the Kingdom of Novalia. If we find your sister, we’ll send her back as well.”

Came here for sightseeing?

The knight didn’t believe it for a second.

But the priority now was to get out of here.

She had chased two bloodbeasts into this area, and she’d only seen one so far.

If the other showed up now, she couldn’t guarantee the safety of the girl in front of her.

As she spoke, the knight took Bai’s small hand and led her through the forest.

Bai had a million questions and kept chattering the whole way.

“Hey, can big sis tell Bai your name?”

“Aurelia,” she replied casually, her eyes constantly scanning the forest for movement.

“What’s the Kingdom of Novalia?”

Aurelia gave Bai a strange look and asked, “You don’t even know about Novalia?”

“Bai really doesn’t.”

Aurelia sighed.

Was this dumb kid from some mountain village?

“Novalia is the largest human kingdom city in the south,” she explained patiently.

“Is it very prosperous?” Bai asked.

Aurelia was silent for a while, then said slowly,

“It used to be. Until they invaded. Since then, the kingdom has been in decline.”

“They? You mean that kind of beast from earlier?”

“No… vampires.”