The unpredictability of it was what made it so deadly.

Therefore I dodged, diving to the side while deflecting the closest two with both of my swords. However, as I avoided the deadliest of his blows, the ten blades on Xu Wu Cheng's hands s.h.i.+mmered and changed shape, las.h.i.+ng out at supersonic speeds like a whip. Even as I twisted my body out of the way and deflected a couple from my throat and chest, I felt a couple of cuts as the sharp blood whips sliced the skin on my face and arms before retracting.

"Oh? You're good. I didn't expect you to survive that."

Dude…you were nowhere as fast and skilled as the Black Swordsman. I survived countless exchanges with him, of course I would be able to withstand a few strikes from a relative greenhorn like you. At least that was what I wanted to say, but instead, I grinned wryly.

"You really are bloodthirsty, aren't you?" I muttered, watching the blood blades dance around his fingers like laser lights from a dis...o...b..ll. "First you want to suck Nan Gong Ji Yan's blood, and now…"

I didn't even complete my sentence when ten blood whips lashed out at me, trying to flay me alive. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, this vampire couldn't even take a joke, could he?

Jumping back, I unleashed my own ice spells, freezing the blood whips and turning them into crimson ice in an instant. Xu Wu Cheng scowled as he withdrew whatever blood that wasn't frozen and glared at me.

"Aren't you afraid that somebody will detect your ma.s.sive flare of mana and killing intent and come?" I asked, glancing around as if expecting a horde of teachers to come rus.h.i.+ng in. "Lower your bloodthirst or something, geez."

"Room 5 is an abandoned cla.s.sroom in the highest level that's barred to students. n.o.body will come here. The teachers are too far away to sense our mana so high up."

How convenient for him. Well, yeah. Unless the teachers possessed a sensitive mana sense or were casting tracking spells for some odd reason, they most likely wouldn't be able to sense the sharp flunctuations of mana unless they were in the same room. Xu Wu Cheng was right. We were out of range of most mages' sixth senses.

Worse, n.o.body would come to an abandoned cla.s.sroom unless they were a h.o.r.n.y couple who wanted to do lecherous things…and even those couples would lose their libido and seek an alternative place when they heard the commotion we were making.

…wait, what?

Why was there an abandoned cla.s.sroom in the top, most prestigious school in the wealthy Flandor City?! Wouldn't they have the funds and money to renovate the cla.s.sroom or something? What's with this wastage of s.p.a.ce?

Before I could whine about that, I was forced to duck under another whistling blood blade and freeze a second one that sliced my face off my skull. Shattering the frozen blood with a swing of my black sword, I widened the distance between us.

"Stop freezing my blood," Xu Wu Cheng ordered, his hypnotic golden eyes trying to mesmerize me. Unfortunately for him, his spellbinding power was useless against a veteran mage like me. I had gone through countless life-and-death experiences and developed a steely resolve. It would be difficult for him to shake my solid mental core.

"Let it go," I sang as I dodged another whistling blood blade that actually slashed through the concrete wall, gouging out a huge chunk of debris. d.a.m.n, that was dangerous. I froze the next blood whip before using my white sword to smash it apart into thousands of blood-red crystals. "Let it go…"

"You have quite the big mouth, don't you?"

"I don't want to hear that from a clichéd shoujo manhua bishounen who spouts out cheesy lines in the hopes of being romantic and just end up sounding very corny."

Xu Wu Cheng's lips twisted into a snarl. "When I drain you of your blood, you'll be wis.h.i.+ng that you were dead."

"When I freeze you, you'll be wis.h.i.+ng that you were a lot less cold-hearted."

Okay, so maybe that wasn't a convincing retort, but in my defense, I was focusing more on trying to survive instead of making witty comebacks like Spiderman or Deadpool (my idol!). Those guys had plot armor and red spandex to help them survive anything their enemies threw at them, and even if they died, the guys at Marvel headquarters would ensure that they come back to life again. I didn't have such a luxury.

While doing a backflip to avoid another painful slash from the multiple blood blades that were literally flying off Xu Wu Cheng's hands and deflecting those that had gotten too close for comfort with my swords, I yelled at the stunned Ji Yan.

"Do something! Help me or run away, I don't care! Just don't sit there like an idiot!"

Snapping out of her stupor, Ji Yan scrambled for the silver knife…not screwdriver!!!...that she had dropped earlier when Xu Wu Cheng crushed her hand. Rolling across the floor to avoid the vampire's blood blades with her quick reflexes, she jumped to her feet and brandished her s.h.i.+ny weapon, her mana flowing aggressively around her.

On my own, it would be very challenging for me to defeat Xu Wu Cheng. Not impossible, but still difficult. But with Ji Yan's a.s.sistance, my odds would improve considerably. I was hoping Teresa Taylor or Teacher Einsberg would sense the ongoing battle, but I knew that was unlikely. As experienced and powerful as they were, neither of them had an advanced sixth sense and had no reason to be casting any tracking spells. That time when Teresa Taylor showed up at the warehouse when Kufa and I were saving Saya from a nest of Chiropterans, it was because we had set the whole structure ablaze and the fires could be seen from far away.

This time, I didn't set the cla.s.sroom on fire. As tempted as I was to ignite a spark and burn the whole place down, I couldn't, not unless I wanted to kill the person I was trying to save in the first place. Ji Yan and I were on our own.

"Cla.s.s Vice-president Ji Yan, I'm hurt that you would side with a stranger over me." Xu Wu Cheng feigned hurt. "Moreover, I'm so much better looking, richer and stronger than him."

Dude, you were essentially blackmailing her and trying to suck her blood earlier. Why would she side with you? Also, what the f.u.c.k was with that justification? It reminded me of all those trashy CEO stories. So it was all right for the male lead to abuse the female lead and force her into a toxic relations.h.i.+p just because he was good looking and rich?

Absolutely disgusting.

"Richard is not a stranger. He saved my life before." Ji Yan nodded at me, and I was taken aback. So she knew who I was? Well…it wasn't strange. After all, Zhao Yan was the type to ensure that Ji Yan knew who she owed a debt of grat.i.tude to. At least she was still human.

"Ho…? So you two have that kind of relations.h.i.+p. I didn't know that." Xu Wu Cheng looked amused, but I didn't rise to his provocations. Instead, I glanced at Ji Yan.

"We should attack him together," I suggested as I retreated to her side, the both of us frantically trying to stay out of range of Xu Wu Cheng's attacks. There were only so many times we could deflect his ten blood blades with two swords and a knife. Ji Yan nodded tersely.

At a jerk of my head, the both of us rushed forward as swiftly as we could, swerving around the room and flanked Xu Wu Cheng from two different directions. Ji Yan came in low from Xu Wu Cheng's right, slas.h.i.+ng rapidly with her silver knife. Meanwhile, I descended from above and struck at Xu Wu Cheng's left with a slash from my Hei Yue. At the same time, I deflected a couple of blood blades with Bai Ri, glad that it was me who was taking the brunt of his attacks. If he had directed his spells at Ji Yan, she wouldn't have survived.

I wanted to summon my Constellation spirits, but they wouldn't do much in an enclosed s.p.a.ce like this. Ironically, their large sizes would become a hindrance in such a confined area, and Xu Wu Cheng would slice them apart easily with his blood blades. Again, I could just summon my large Constellation spirits and crush the whole room, but I would inadvertently end up squas.h.i.+ng Ji Yan as well. Since the whole reason why I interfered was to save her to begin with, that would defeat the whole point.

"Ah!"

However, our pincer attack failed. Xu Wu Cheng merely flicked his hand and five strands of blood wrapped around Ji Yan, entangling her in a crimson web. What the h.e.l.l?! Where was her magic? Her spells? Did she just only fight with a hook and chain or a silver knife?! How could she call herself a mage?

As for me, five deadly blades shot out, intent on impaling me.

"Scutum Sobiescianum!"

Having antic.i.p.ated that, I blocked the five sharp swords with my Constellation s.h.i.+eld. Scutum Sobiescianum absorbed the impact from Xu Wu Cheng's otherwise fatal strike without buckling, and I dove, descending upon Ji Yan's position to slice her free.

"Why aren't you using any spells?" I demanded as we withdrew. Ji Yan stared blankly at me.

"What spells?"

"…"

I gave up. I should have let this useless b.i.t.c.h die, after all.

"You should have seized the opportunity to attack me instead of freeing Ji Yan," Xu Wu Cheng chided in a mocking manner before he lashed out with another barrage of blood blades. The b.l.o.o.d.y projectiles clanged off my Scutum Sobiescianum, and the Constellation s.h.i.+eld shuddered from the impact. Even so, I maintained its hovering form between myself and my opponent while reconsidering my strategy.

Both Ji Yan and I retreated, pressured by Xu Wu Cheng's constant a.s.sault. Xu Wu Cheng's flexible and unpredictable blood blades snaked from around my stalwart Constellation s.h.i.+eld to attack us from the sides, but I was equal to it, swinging both Hei Yue and Bai Ri to cut them down, or parry them. Despite escaping the exchange unscathed, I understood that I was inevitably being forced into the defensive. I had yet to successfully launch an attack on my foe.

If only we were outside, where I could unleash my Constellation spirits without being restrained by the confined s.p.a.ce of the cla.s.sroom…

I glanced at the window, and contemplated throwing her out, and then following her. As long as we weren't stuck inside this blasted cla.s.sroom, I could summon a dozen Constellation spirits outside! There was also the option of exiting through the door, but the same problem applied – the corridor was too narrow and confined for me to summon my Constellation spirits.

The window was the only viable exit if I wanted to truly counterattack.

"He's strong," Ji Yan murmured, a slight shudder running through her slender frame.

"Cover me," I instructed, not bothering to argue with her or offer any encouragement. Wreathing both of my swords with azure mana, I lunged at Xu Wu Cheng, who countered with his blood blades.

The red weapons froze when they came in contact with my s.h.i.+mmering swords, crumbling easily as black and white metal cleaved through them like hot knife through b.u.t.ter. Xu Wu Cheng clicked his tongue when he was forced to retreat. Otherwise he would have his neck torn apart by a vicious slash that I delivered with Hei Yue. He retaliated by swinging his hand, only for me to parry the blood blades with Bai Ri. While red blood clashed against white blade, Ji Yan provided the cover I sought by stabbing his arm with her silver knife.

Hissing in pain, Xu Wu Cheng withdrew, cradling his wounded arm.

"Cla.s.s Vice-president Ji Yan, don't you want to surpa.s.s your sister, Zhao Yan?"

At that moment, Ji Yan froze and she stared at the b.l.o.o.d.y vampire, her eyes gleaming with dark desire.

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