Chapter 3

"Is she the one who led the way? Is she the one who led the way?

He didn't want to believe it, but how could he not? He hid here, and no one knew except for Delin. The women from Delin's family swarmed in like bees, clearly having made arrangements beforehand. If it wasn't her who brought them, then who? Besides, she had a silver talisman hidden in her sleeve, a trap set up to deal with him!

He had suffered many serious injuries, but none had hurt him as deeply as this time.

A red mist surged in his eyes, he gritted his teeth, suddenly grabbed her by the neck and pulled her back, pressing her down beneath him.

The women exclaimed in shock, and at the same time, they rushed forward, their swords and arrows pointed at him. As long as the female leader gave the order, they would kill him on the spot.

He seemed unaware, gripping her slender neck tightly, locking onto her terrified and chaotic eyes.

Her little face was covered in tear streaks as she cried, "I'm sorry, Delin..."

Sorry? Sorry for what?

Sorry for betraying him? Sorry for begging him to spare her life? Sorry for ultimately treating him like a monster?

His eyes were filled with resentment and desolation, pain and despair. The red mist in his eyes turned into tears of blood, dripping onto her eyelids, forming vivid red droplets.

"Because of you, I thought... I could finally live as a human being... live with you." His voice was hoarse, a sorrowful smile on his face. "It turns out, it was all just my delusion, wasn't it? Humans and monsters, they are ultimately on different paths..."

He slowly raised his palm and hoarsely said, "If you want a different path, I'll give you one." He suddenly struck her, heavily hitting her left shoulder.

Her shoulder bone shattered, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. She heard her mother angrily shout, "Monster!"

The female leader raised her silver sword to attack him, but he dodged to the side. She launched three attacks in succession, and he evaded two of them, but the third one pierced his chest. He raised his right palm and plunged it into the female leader's heart.

"Don't..." she screamed, her left shoulder in excruciating pain, and coughed up another mouthful of blood. Tearfully, she looked at her mother who had fallen to the ground, crying out, "Mother! Mother!"

The women rushed forward, and he pulled out the sword from his chest, charging into the crowd. The blades and swords cut into him, but he seemed unaffected, tearing apart each body with his bare hands.

The cries of agony filled the air, and the moonlight was stained red with blood.

Her little face turned pale, tears streaming down as she watched him, like a tiger among sheep, killing her aunt, who had just been married for three days, and the twin sisters from the neighboring family. He killed her relatives with whom she had lived day and night.

"No! No! No..." she cried sorrowfully, unable to bring back the boy who had become bloodthirsty. One by one, her loved ones fell to the ground, tearing her heart to shreds...

The last woman also fell, and everything returned to calm.

He stood silently among the bodies, and after a while, turned and walked to her. The new robe she had made for him was torn to pieces, revealing his fair skin covered in wounds. Blood covered his body, but the wounds quickly closed, eventually turning into beautiful red scars.

She couldn't shed tears anymore, staring blankly with her clear, bright black eyes, devoid of fear or anger.

His appearance, as if dead, was also desolate, devoid of joy or anger. He looked at her in a daze, feeling the curse snake on his neck, and tore it off, along with his skin, causing blood to flow. The wound quickly healed.

"Vampires fear silver, but I am half human. If I don't hit a vital spot, I won't die. The curse snake can kill vampires, but it can't deal with someone like me, whose bloodline is impure." He chuckled lightly, speaking to himself in a desolate manner. "In the end, I was saved by this bloodline that everyone despises. Didn't I tell you all this? Why didn't you relay it to them and let them die in vain?"

She didn't respond, staring at his blood-soaked handsome face with a dazed expression, as if she didn't recognize him.

He looked at her foolishly, drawing this line of hatred with his own hands. From now on, she would only hate him, and even if she hated him, he still...

"I struck you, and it hurt, right?" He suddenly took off his robe and kicked off his boots, leaving only a tattered pair of pants, his body covered in visible red marks. He leaned down to look at her. "Look at me, my wounds have closed, do you think I don't feel pain? Of course, I feel pain. I have flesh and blood, and I bleed and suffer when injured. Just because I'm not human, does that mean my pain doesn't matter? Just because I'm not human, you won't even give me a chance to live? What about Delin's family, who is supposed to save the world? I am still half human, yet you abandon me!"

He laughed wildly, revealing a demonic aura. "I spare your life, waiting for you to come and kill me. Just you wait, I won't die so easily. If you want me dead, I won't die! I'll wait for you to come and kill me. The next time we meet, either you kill me, or I take your life!"

Seeing her still silent, he approached her, her delicate and bewildered beauty, and angrily said, "Speak! Why aren't you speaking? You used to love talking so much, telling so many stories. Why aren't you speaking now?"

At her words, she finally reacted, slowly shifting her gaze towards him, staring at him for a while. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and tears streamed down her face.

Her eyes were filled with sorrow, silently asking him - why? Why?

His cruelty instantly crumbled.

"Don't cry." He coaxed her hoarsely, wanting to wipe away her tears. He raised his hand, but saw that it was covered in blood.

He clenched his fist, gazing at her tearful and sorrowful eyes, unable to restrain himself any longer. He leaned in and kissed her bloodstained soft lips.

"I love you..." his faint whisper was scattered by the night wind.

He gazed deeply at her one last time, then stood up and left without looking back, his fair skin covered in wounds shining in the night.

She quietly shed tears.

It wasn't until dawn that a woodcutter passed by and discovered this battlefield. Among the more than a hundred corpses, there lay a young girl barely clinging to life.

The Delin family had fought several major battles against vampires, but this battle was the most brutal. It was recorded in the clan's history as the "Night Battle of Xiaotianpo," resulting in the loss of 161 clan members, including the female leader. The entire clan of spellcasters suffered heavy casualties, and the Delin clan was severely weakened.

Some lost their beloved mothers and wives, while others lost their sisters and daughters. Their loved ones came to interrogate her about what had happened, and she confessed, bearing the blame.

According to reason, she had caused such a great disaster, and the female leader should have punished her. However, the female leader died in this battle, and she became the only remaining spellcaster in the clan. The position of the female leader couldn't be filled by an ordinary person without power. She was the culprit and the only heir.

After discussing among the elders, the clan members believed that the clan couldn't be without a leader for even a day. Furthermore, her mother had died because of him, and she would surely show him no mercy when they met again. Therefore, they decided to appoint her as the new female leader, allowing her to redeem herself.