It was getting darker now, and visibility was dropping. The vampire ran through the trees, and soon disappeared under the cover of the darkness.
I turned back into my human form and entered the forest as well. The dark forest was covered in a thick layer of miasma, and the branches of the trees were connected to each other. They looked as if they had eyes, scrutinizing the people passing by closely.
I was soon engulfed by the misty miasma. I felt as if I was going to lose all sense of space and time.
I walked deeper into the forest, and then several human silhouettes appeared on the ground in front of me. As I got closer, I realized they were several corpses that were strewn about on the fallen leaves. I crouched down and turned over one body that had been face-down, wanting to get a look at his face. I spotted two huge bloody holes in the corpse’s neck. I got to my feet and turned over several other bodies. All these stiff corpses had two black holes in their necks and their bodies had been clearly sucked dry. Obviously, the vampires had murdered them.
I was a little annoyed and smashed my fist into the ground heavily. Blair was right. The vampires had managed to sneak into the imperial city. I didn’t know what had befallen Rufus, and that made me extremely worried.
The feeling of uneasiness intensified. Although Rufus had brought a huge platoon of soldiers with him and they were stronger than the spearhead army, I was still eager to locate him.
The longer the delay, the more unfavorable the situation would become. Once darkness fell, the vampires’ would also become more energetic.
I stood up and walked farther into the forest, ignoring the rapidly darkening sky.
Soon, the faint sound of fighting from up ahead reached my ears. My heart clenched painfully, and I picked up my pace. When I reached the edge of the cliff, I spotted a group of people fighting.
Although the skirmish was a little distance away, I could easily recognize Rufus at the center of the group in one glance. He was fighting a group of vampires with his men. I could only see that a fierce battle was underway from the distance, but they kept moving around, so I couldn’t gauge the specific situation.
To avoid being spotted by Rufus, I hid behind a big tree that was a little away from the edge of the cliff. From the cover of the tree trunk, I saw Rufus standing safe and sound. My body sagged with relief.
The numbers and skills of both sides were well- matched. The clash was intense. Although Rufus was in an advantageous position, my intuition warned me that he wasn’t in a good condition right now. I had seen him holding his chest with his hand several times. The vampire next to him nearly struck him numerous times, and he dodged the attacks with difficulty.
My gut churned ominously. Was Rufus not as good as he used to be? Normally, he wouldn’t make such a mistake.
Maybe he had made these blunders by accident. I calmed my raging emotions down and watched the battle unblinkingly.
It was only when he narrowly dodged two successive attacks from the vampire that I was certain he was seriously injured. His reflexes were sluggish and his strikes were restrained. Every now and then, he would hold his chest with his hand.
But it was too dark. If I wanted to see clearly, I would have to move forward a little. I hurriedly left the safety of my hiding spot and rushed ahead.
Crystal’s POV
In just a short amount of time, the situation became increasingly grave. Rufus’ mobility was severely hampered, while the two vampires who were attacking him were only marginally injured. They not only had extraordinary strength, but also displayed excellent teamwork, as if they had received extended training to fight against Rufus.
Rufus’ wounds had seriously affected him, and the bandage wrapped around his chest was now stained with blood. The two vampires seemed to outperform him.
The vampire standing directly in front of him also noticed his struggle. His lips curled up into an arrogant smile and he mockingly said, “I didn’t expect the strongest werewolf leader to experience such a wretched day. I think I’ll give you a decent death and transform you. What do you think? It will be interesting to turn the lycan king into a vampire.” With a thunderous expression, Rufus remained silent and extended his arm to block the attack.
Evil smiles lit up the vampires’ faces, and they exchanged glances as they slowly moved in tandem to get closer to Rufus. They synchronized their movements efficiently. It was clear that they wanted to f0rce Rufus off the cliff.
Darkness was falling rapidly. The wound on Rufus ‘ chest had probably popped open again from the vigorous movement, and blood gushed out, completely dyeing the bandage on his chest red.
I was so agitated that I rushed to the trees closest to Rufus, racking my brain for a solution. I couldn’t go any closer to him. If I did, my scent would reach him and he would discover I was around, which was the situation I couldn’t very well explain later.
I bit down on my lower lip, my anxiety so high that beads of sweat popped up on my forehead. Rufus was in a very bad state and wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. The vampires were unrestrained and exploited his weakness to subdue him.
I didn’t dare to show up in front of them, so I had to conceal myself behind the tree and secretly mobilize my black witch powers. I cast a few spells at the vampires.
The vampires engaged with Rufus were f0rced to slow down their assault. I was overjoyed and quickly used witchcraft to control their movements. However, Rufus noticed this as well. He spun around and shouted in the direction I was hiding, “Who is there?”
I reflexively retreated a few steps as I became the target of his sharp gaze. Perhaps my quick reaction aided in saving me from being discovered, but he kept shooting looks over his shoulder. His thick brows were tightly knitted, and his face had a questioning expression.
Fortunately, the dense miasma in the forest shrouded my figure at this point. The battle between the vampires and werewolves had created various stenches of flesh and blood. Rufus might not be able to find me.
I heaved a sigh of relief and carefully poked my head around the tree to look at him.
From one corner, a vampire launched an attack at Rufus while he was distracted. Rufus reacted quickly and the two flew at each other at a dazzling speed. At this moment, the two vampires who I had controlled with witchcraft regained their self-will. They cooperated with each other to strike Rufus from both sides and hit him on his chest.
Rufus stumbled but managed to steady himself. He lowered his head and bent over slightly, putting pressure on his chest wound with his hands. More blood poured out of it and dripped from his fingers to the ground.
I pinched myself hard to stop myself from charging ahead. Just as I was about to unleash my witchcraft to help, the vampire standing in front of Rufus pushed him off the cliff, sending him tumbling down.
Rufus’ men were terrified. They wanted to save their king, but were entangled with vampires.
At that moment, my eyes widened and my heart pounded painfully. Without hesitation, I jumped off the cliff.
Crystal’s POV
I looked down the moment I jumped off the cliff and felt somehow relieved. Fortunately, a lake was waiting for us down there. I didn’t know how deep it was, but I figured it was better than literally falling into pieces.
I reached out, hoping to grab the corner of Rufus ‘ clothes, but he fell so fast before I even got to prepare myself. I wasn’t ready to take the leap. Rufus came into contact with the water with a loud splash and immediately passed out. He was unconscious as he sank.
I took a deep breath. It was now or never. I then landed into the lake as well and felt the water around me move away in a huge plash before engulfing me once again.
The lake was very deep. The cold water quickly permeated my clothes, and I couldn’t help but shiver. But there was no time to get occupied in that sensation.
I scanned the lake to search for Rufus’ sinking body. When I spotted him, I swam toward him and tugged him by his clothes.
Rufus went out like a light, and it was probably because he was losing too much blood. The blood that gushed from his chest wound was immediately diluted by the lake water, dyeing it red.
There would be no use if I panicked right now. I tightly took a grip of Rufus’ clothes, pressed my mouth against his, and breathed into his airway. Making sure he didn’t drown was first on the list.
As we slowly fell to the bottom of the lake, I could feel the weeds around undulating along the waves. I tried dragging his arm to reach the surface, but my feet got entangled with the weeds. I was now anchored to the bottom with an unconscious Rufus. I struggled hard but accidentally inhaled a mouthful of water. I felt the sharp pain draw against my chest as I fought the reflex to choke.
I wasn’t the best at swimming. Even when I was training for the military, I scored the lowest in that department. Still, that was then and this was now.
I shook my pounding head against the water, held my last breath, and pulled myself down to free my feet from the clutch of the weeds. It was not until I felt dizzy that I managed to successfully break free. Pushing myself to survival, I jumped out of the water with Rufus just in time before I expended the remaining bits of my oxygen supply. I wheezed, while dragging Rufus ashore. And then, I laid him flat on the stone and performed a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Rufus coughed the water out of his lungs violently. After that, his breathing became stable, but he was still in a coma.
With no time to waste, I carried him with difficulty and walked forward.
The dusk that swallowed us whole was hindering my sight from seeing the path clearly as I walked aimlessly through the forest. I was aware it was dangerous, seeing as I was wounded myself and carrying another injured person to anywhere that would ensure our safety. The buzz the forest created one after another resonated. It was as if the source of those hums hidden in the dark were waiting for an opportunity to attack; if I showed an ounce of hesitation, those beasts would definitely pounce and devour me and Rufus.
Rufus was severely hurt that his body couldn’t handle violent jolts. We were both wet from the fall, and if I didn’t tend to him right away, his condition might worsen. I needed to quickly find a place to hide. I quickened my pace, hoping to spot at least a cave.
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