Blood Warlock: Succubus Partner in the Apocalypse

The so-called Forest of the Ancients was one of the largest forests within the territory of the Gales Kingdom. The area it covered was so large and vast that it could be considered a country of substantial size in its own right. Proof of its exceptional size was the fact that even with its radiation spreading everywhere after the nuclear missile exploded, King Philip had estimated that only 1/20th of the entire Forest of the Ancients had been affected.

Considering that the nuclear missile that Xuanyuan Wentian had launched was about twice the power of the atomic bomb that ended World War II when American bombers attacked Hiroshima, one could now imagine better the size of this forest.

There, all kinds of mutant beasts and mutant plants inhabited. However, mutant beasts and mutant plants were not the only residents of the Forest of the Ancients.

A 4-meter tall brown-skinned beast with a mutant beast bone in its right hand that looked like an oversized sword growled furiously as it led at least 5000 similar creatures but whose skins were dark green in a heated chase.

"These orcs really don't get tired? They are surprisingly fast despite their size." Bai Zemin clicked his tongue as his body flashed through the forest trees in an attempt to lose his pursuers.

As for the reason why he was being chased....

"You killed the leader of the orcs that occupy the western area of this forest and even tore off the leader's wife's head after sneaking into their territory, do you really think they will stop chasing you just because you want them to stop chasing you?" Lilith said not knowing whether to laugh or cry as she followed him closely.

It had been five days since Bai Zemin purposely acted coldly towards the second princess of the Gales Kingdom. After Seraphina ran out of the room feeling sad and angry, Bai Zemin decided that it was better not to stay in the castle any longer and after leaving a Third Order Soul Stone he left using Invisibility and the veil of the night as a cover.

A Third Order Soul Stone was definitely a great treasure even for the Gales Kingdom, after all, the king of the kingdom was a Third Order soul evolver; which meant that even he was not 100% safe in a death fight against a Third Order enemy who may or may not have a Soul Stone in its head. From a logical point of view, the debt of them helping Bai Zemin had been settled in a way.

However, Bai Zemin did not see it in that way. This was because the second princess of Gales, Seraphina Di Gales, had done something for him that Bai Zemin would hardly be able to repay.

However, despite his gratitude and goodwill towards her, Bai Zemin knew that staying in contact with her for more time would do more harm than good in both the short and long term. Therefore, he did what he did.

During those five days, Bai Zemin had spent most of his time hunting in the Forest of the Ancients; all kinds of creatures regardless of race. Except for sleeping at the top of tall trees for 2-3 hours per day, stopping to eat for 30 minutes, or going to Bearcrest City to sell monster corpses after removing the Soul Stones from their heads, the rest of the time was spent hunting.

"With the death of the orc leader and with the fall of the leader's wife, the orcs of the western part of the forest will soon enter into disputes to see who will be the new leader and will probably get out of control. But none of that is my problem." Bai Zemin said casually as he looked over his shoulder at the stubborn orcs.

They were all powerhouses among the soul evolvers of the orc race as they were in the Second Order while the one leading them now was in the initial levels of the Third Order.

"As long as I bring the head of these two to that noble of the Gales Kingdom I'll be able to get that damn fruit to get the rest of my soul completely cured once and for all." Bai Zemin said as he turned around and waved his hands towards the sky. "As for all of you, you can all die since you don't understand how kind I was being by not slaying all of you."

"Bah, shameless. You clearly weren't planning to let them go from the start or else you wouldn't have lured them here."

On the sides of the forest; on the trees, on the leaves, on the rocks, on the grass, and on the ground, large amounts of fresh blood suddenly began to move strangely as waves of mana caused a certain stimulation after the activation of a magic skill.

It was the trap that Bai Zemin had set earlier when he foresaw that the orcs would chase after him. After all, his soul was not yet fully recovered and although the number of enemies was not a problem, their power was.

Approximately 5000 Second Order orcs with overwhelming strength and 1 Third Order orc!

The dark red blood took on a bright crimson color as in moments they turned into thousands of thick magical chains. However, if one looked carefully one would be able to see that amidst the bright crimson, there were tiny golden dots around the chains.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!...

The orcs clearly did not expect this kind of trap, therefore, by the time they realized what was happening it was too late to retreat. Approximately 3500 of them were tied by the blood chains and despite the relentless struggle they planted the thick chains only creaked but showed no sign of breaking any time soon.

"Less than two thousand..." Bai Zemin muttered as he fiercely punched forward with his right fist wrapped in a golden dragon claw gauntlet.

BOOOOM!!!

The Third Order orc was forced back over 60 meters, crushing several trees in the process after taking the punch from the human that was not even half its size. However, the fact that Bai Zemin did not hold back on that punch and the orc was still standing was proof that his power was not at its peak and it was also proof of how terrifying the orc's Strength stat was.

"I have no choice but to use that legendary technique." Bai Zemin clicked his tongue as he saw the approximately 1500 orcs charging towards him swiftly and the Third Order orc slowly regaining control over its trembling arms.

"Legendary technique?" Lilith looked at him in confusion.

"Hmph," Bai Zemin pointed to the sky and in an instant spent over 250 Mana points. Approximately 4000 blood spears flashed in the sky, and a moment later, they plummeted down shattering the surroundings and shaking the atmosphere.

"Gate of Bab-!

"Stop!"

...

Blood spears rained down from the sky and hit the orcs with precision, becoming their downfall. Some were pierced in the chest several times, others had their heads pierced through from side to side, and some were directly pinned to the ground after falling to their knees with at least five or six blood spears piercing their backs and legs.

Although the orcs put up a fight and many of them managed to shatter some blood spears, the Blood Manipulation skill was really very hard to counter. When the blood spears were broken and the orcs prepared to continue defending against the crimson storm, that same broken blood spear would reform and cunningly attack them from behind causing injuries that eventually became the beginning of their end.

Approximately 15 minutes after the constant bombardment, all the Second Order orcs were finally slaughtered.

Bai Zemin walked towards the Third Order orc who was currently kneeling and was covered in bloody wounds from feet to head. After stopping 2 meters away, he rubbed his chin while carefully observing the creature.

After a few seconds, Bai Zemin muttered feeling somewhat lost, "I really don't understand why on earth that ponytailed princess calls me an orc."

"Human... Die!" The orc growled speaking in a language that was a mix between Gales and some other unknown language at the same time as it slammed its left fist forward with the intention of smashing Bai Zemin's head into pieces.

Bai Zemin's expression did not change at all, and just as the orc's fist was only 1 meter from his head, the creature's arm was stopped dead in its tracks when a thick blood chain wrapped around its wrist and pulled back hard as it floated into the sky.

"Mysteries of life." Bai Zemin muttered, moving like lightning and appearing before the astonished orc.

Bai Zemin twisted his body as he jumped at the same time before fiercely slamming his knee into the creature's head.

[Critical Hit!]

BOOM!!!

The orc's head exploded in a bloody mess with fragments of broken skull flying everywhere along with brain matter scattering across the ground and nearby trees that swayed after the powerful explosion.

A hand of blood rose from the ground and soared over 20 meters into the sky, closing into a fist after catching something and slowly shrinking before finally stopping in front of Bai Zemin and slowly opening, revealing the Third Order Soul Stone inside.

Bai Zemin stored the Soul Stone carefully in his spatial storage ring, and after observing the golden dots that seemed to shine like real gold around the crimson blood for a few seconds, he simply shook his head and canceled the activation of Blood Manipulation.

Those glowing golden dots probably had something to do with the huge jump in power that the Blood Manipulation skill had after evolving to the Third Order, Bai Zemin wasn't too sure but it was definitely a good thing so it didn't matter.

After collecting all the Second Order blood and storing it in his liquid storage pearl, Bai Zemin collected over 260 Second Order Soul Stones before finally stopping to look in the direction of Gales.

"Since I'm passing through, maybe I should go see how those kids are doing in secret... Come to think of it, today should be the last day of the competition of kingdoms."

His voice soon became a whisper that was blown away by the wind, and after an unnatural gust, his body disappeared without a trace.

* * *

The deepest part of the Forest of the Ancients was forbidden territory for mankind or any other race. In fact, in all the maps of the explored zones, an area with the head of a horned goat in the center was marked in purple almost black with a wide circle.

All the brave soul evolvers who had dared to go there confident in their own strength or that of their parties had never returned. This was because the area was inhabited by demons, the worst enemy of the human race in Eventide World.

It was rumored that one of the 10 demon generals under the Demon Lord resided there. It was common knowledge that all the generals serving the Demon Lord were terrifying powerhouses whose levels ranged from level 140 to level 160, which meant that they had the potential to bring down a kingdom king.

Fortunately or not, rumors were just rumors; no one really knew whether one of the world's most terrifying demons resided there or not, but since the Gales Kingdom never suffered any large-scale attacks and demons rarely left their comfort zone, no one gave it much thought.

Inside a dark cave in the deepest part of the Forest of the Ancients, some important figures were gathered and at this moment their eyes were burning with bloodlust as they looked at the 6-foot-tall figure in front of them.

This was a very handsome man despite his odd features such as his pointed ears. His skin was dark blue as was his hair, but his body was covered by thick jet black armor which gave him a much more glorious appearance. His red eyes looked like glowing gems in the dark and the bloodthirsty smile on his face was so attractive that a normal human woman would easily fall for it.

This man was one of the 10 generals of the demon race and his current level was 153, ranking him in the middle of the 10 generals in terms of power.

"The report is correct?"

The demon general's voice was soft and charming but so blood-chilling that it sent shivers down the soul.

"Lord Bel'gos, we have confirmed it. The report from His Majesty's concubine is correct and several of the brightest seeds of the future of the human race have gathered in the capital of the Gales Kingdom."

"Haha..." Bel'gos clapped his hands and chuckled lightly. However, a second later, there was a chilling aura coming from his body as he said in a cruel voice, "In that case, we'd better go greet the humans to herald the beginning of a new era."

* * * * * * *