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Chapter 30 - Chapter 30: The Bloodstained Crown

The bone-piercing dagger still lodged in her shoulder, blood winding its way down her black robe to pool in a small, dark red puddle at Lin Xi's feet. The wind howled across the city walls, scattering the strands of hair damp with cold sweat from her forehead. The searing pain blurred her vision, yet her mind was clearer than ever—that strike had severed not only the blood clan's summoning, but also her long-held hesitation and cowardice.

Lucifer's fingers dug into her shoulder, nearly embedding into bone. Dark-gold energy surged violently toward the wound, only to be fiercely repelled by the newly born balancing force within her. Two forces formed an eerie stalemate within her torn flesh—neither merging nor fiercely clashing, but achieving a bloody coexistence.

"How dare you—" Lucifer's voice ground out between clenched teeth, his crimson pupils blazing with fury that seemed to ignite into tangible flames. Never had he been so openly defied, nor had anyone dared leave such a blasphemous wound upon a body he had marked.

Lin Xi raised her uninjured hand, seizing the wrist that had clamped down on her shoulder. Her fingertips were icy from blood loss, yet her grip was ironclad.

"This cut," she gasped, her lips pale but her eyes blazing with terrifying intensity, "is returning His Majesty's 'mark'."

Below the city walls, the Shadow Lord roared in fury as his summoning was forcibly severed. A torrent of dark purple energy surged like the broken floodgates of the River Styx, crashing violently against the royal city's protective barrier! The entire city wall shook violently, fragments of stone cascading down.

War erupted in full force. The frenzied roars of wolf warriors mingled with the shrieks of bloodkin. Magic and blades clashed, sparks flying in blinding flashes that lit the night sky as bright as day.

Yet atop the battlements, the standoff persisted.

Lucifer fixed his gaze on Lin Xi as if he intended to devour her whole. The Alpha pressure radiating from him raged like a storm, attempting to crush the fragile equilibrium she had just established. Lin Xi clenched her teeth as Chaos energy surged within her, engaging in a silent battle with Lucifer's power within every inch of her meridians. The wound on her shoulder tore open again and again, blood gushing forth more fiercely.

"Do you think this pathetic resistance will free you from me?" Lucifer yanked her closer, their noses nearly touching. His scorching breath washed over her face, carrying the scent of blood and gunpowder.

"I need no escape," Lin Xi met his savage gaze, her voice trembling slightly with pain yet carrying a cold, sharp edge. "I only need His Majesty to understand: I am not a pawn to be manipulated, nor a vessel awaiting a mark."

She forced her wrist, prying each finger gripping her shoulder apart. The motion drained most of her strength, yet carried an unquestionable resolve.

"I am Lin Xi," she stated, enunciating each syllable of the name nearly forgotten, "whether as a sacrifice, an advisor, or a 'Shadow Blade'—I will survive on my own terms, or... die."

Lucifer's crimson pupils narrowed slightly. He stared at this blood-soaked "male" before him, whose gaze was as sharp as a tempered blade. A dagger symbolizing his authority still protruded from the man's shoulder, yet he dared to meet Lucifer's gaze so directly, to defy him. Rage still burned in his blood, yet a more complex, darker emotion crept like poisonous vines—a fully ignited desire for conquest, and a hint of fascination with this defiance he hadn't even recognized within himself.

The battle raging below the city walls grew fiercer. A corrosive energy blast unleashed by the Blood Clan pierced through part of the barrier, howling toward the battlements where they stood!

Lucifer's eyes sharpened. Almost instinctively, he yanked Lin Xi behind him, his other hand sweeping out to form a shield of dark-gold energy that forcibly blocked the attack! The shockwave from the collision ripped a tear in his cloak.

Sheltered behind him, Lin Xi watched his broad back, a complex flicker passing through her eyes.

Lucifer slowly turned, his gaze returning to the shoulder bleeding profusely and the glaring dagger. His fury seemed to settle, transforming into a deeper, more chilling calm.

"Very well." He reached out, not to strike, but to grasp the hilt of the dagger, "Bone-Eater." His fingertips brushed against her icy fingers with a cruelty bordering on tenderness as he slowly pulled the blade from her shoulder.

The excruciating pain of the blade tearing through flesh made Lin Xi groan, nearly collapsing, but his other hand firmly supported her waist.

Lucifer raised the blood-stained dagger to his eyes, his tongue lapping the warm, warm blood that was hers along the blade. His crimson pupils narrowed in satisfaction.

"Lin Xi..." He repeated her name, as if savoring a strangely flavored poisonous fruit. "I accept your... declaration of war."

He leaned down, his fangs piercing her gushing wound once more. But this time, it was no longer a forced marking. Instead, it was a ritualistic sucking and licking. Dark gold.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Lin Xi..." He repeated her name, as if savoring a strangely flavored poisonous fruit. "I accept your... declaration of war."

He leaned down, his fangs piercing once more into her gushing wound. But this time, it was no longer a forced marking—instead, it was a ritualistic sucking and licking. Dark golden energy flowed with his movements, no longer raging violently but instead weaving and entwining with the chaotic power within her in a more intricate, irresistible manner. It formed a more complex, more indelible imprint of their pact.

"From this moment on," he lifted his head, lips stained with vivid blood, his voice low and possessive, "your resistance, your pain, every breath you take—all shall become a feast to please me."

He hoisted her across his shoulders, ignoring the fierce battle raging below the city walls, striding purposefully toward the inner city.

"As for this war..." He gazed down at Lin Xi, her consciousness fading from blood loss and exhaustion in his arms, his fangs glinting coldly in the shadows. "I will win. And you... you will witness firsthand how your 'method' blooms in my grasp—into what a... dazzling destruction it becomes."

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