Published at 9th of June 2026 8:24 am

Chapter 1789 Final Attempt

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When the Hermit saw the newcomer arrive on the battlefield, his expression turned utterly grim.

The Blood Lord's figure looked haggard, to say the least. No, upon closer inspection, he only appeared to be exhausted. If one observed carefully, one would notice that his breathing was stable and there was a faint rosy sheen to his complexion.

It was just that his clothes were tattered, and his body was smeared with the remnants of a brutal battle. Other than that, he actually seemed to be quite healthy.

Don't tell me…

The Hermit's heart sank when he came up with a hypothesis, which, he believed, was likely to be true.

Blood magic! Has his understanding of this insidious art reached such a degree?

And very soon, he arrived at another conclusion, one that was equally shocking.

If he's here, then what about...

The fighting came to a halt, and the battlefield fell into a strange silence.

"Human," the azirai devil flapped his wings and landed on the ground, his gaze locked onto the incoming figure of the Blood Lord.

"What about your opponents? Did you finish them?"

Marden cast a brief glance at him, then ignored him. He finally arrived beside his friend, Leland, and asked in masked concern.

"How're you holding up?"

The Stone Lord quietly studied Marden's figure. Just like the Hermit, he could also tell that his friend's condition was far better than he made it seem. He couldn't help but wonder how such a thing came to be. He attributed it to the gory research Marden had conducted in Indus. That was the only possible conclusion he could come to.

Regardless, it was wonderful news that another Elder had finally joined the battle. More importantly, he also seemed to be in far better shape.

"I'm fine," Leland said with a grin.

Behind him, the devil snarled. "Ah, yes," Leland added, "What about those Magi from Ravenfell? Did you…"

He knew how deep Marden's relationship was to the people of Ravenfell. He also understood why the man was adamant about fighting Daniel Ranzenberg and Nylian Feno.

Marden deeply looked into his old friend's eyes and nodded.

"Yes," he said softly. "It's over."

Sensing the turbulent emotions deep inside of him, Leland couldn't help but ask, "Can you fight?"

Marden turned to the other side of the battlefield. Although he couldn't see the Hermit's real body, for the old man had expertly hidden himself with the help of illusion magic, he knew he was nearby.

"Let's finish this," he muttered coldly. "It's about damn time."

He paused briefly before solemnly saying, "We need to go assist Master. That lightning strike earlier…"

His words trailed off.

Leland's expression turned equally grim. "I know," he said with a nod. "I have a bad feeling about it."

The two cultists and the devil slowly spread out across the battlefield as they prepared to fight the Hermit.

'I think I have a way of finding his true body,' Marden spoke to Leland and the azirai through Mind Whisper.

Needless to say, the two were surprised. They had been battling the Hermit for the past several hours, yet they had always failed to locate the old man's true self. Ordinary senses did not work, and mana perception also turned out to be futile.

'I have been researching applications of blood magic,' Marden continued. 'And during that process, I created a spell that senses the activity of a person's circulatory system. Or more simply, the blood flowing within their veins.'

'No matter how far someone runs, as long as their bodies contain blood… I can find them.'

As he spoke, his hands blurred as he performed one seal after another. At last, he cast his magic.

Blood Sense!

Marden closed his eyes and extended his senses outward. It was different from mana perception. In his mind's eye, everything had turned red. Blood red.

A moment later, he felt it. Leland's blood. It was strong and steady like an immovable mountain. Every heartbeat was clear in his mind, like a drum echoing through the crimson darkness. He could sense the flow through the man's veins, the warmth of life moving through his body.

Then his focus shifted. The azirai's blood entered his awareness next. Different from a human's, it was colder, slower, yet far denser. It carried an unnatural vitality that immediately stood out from everything around it. It was thick with mana and carried the breath of something dark, ancient, and evil.

Marden's brows furrowed slightly, but he focused his attention and pushed the spell further. For a few seconds, there was nothing.

And then, he felt another presence.

It was faint and far away, almost at the edge of their battlefield.

The blood was weak compared to the others, lacking the overwhelming vitality of Leland and the azirai, but it was unmistakably human. A slow pulse flickered at the edge of his senses, distant enough that he could barely hold onto it.

The Blood Lord's eyes snapped open, the crimson in his pupils deepening ever so slightly. He turned to a certain direction and coldly said, "There."

The azirai devil couldn't help but maliciously grin, "Keep that spell activated, human. Let's go."

Then the three turned into speeding blurs, rushing straight past the Hermit's illusory figure and charging toward his true body.

The Hermit's expression changed. He immediately cancelled his illusion magic. Knowing that the enemy had found a way to locate his true body, there was no point in keeping his illusion spells active.

He immediately started to retreat, hoping to use the surrounding terrain as his advantage.

But the three were already upon him.

Marden attacked from the front. The azirai moved to his side. Leland circled behind him, cutting off any path of escape.

The Hermit gritted his teeth and slammed his staff on the ground. A wave of mana burst outward!

The Blood Lord madly pushed through it head-on, while the azirai flapped his wings and slipped around the blast like a fish in water. Behind the Hermit, Leland lunged forward as earth magic protected him from the blast. He conjured an iron club and swung it at the old man's spine.

The Hermit twisted at the last second.

This was nothing more than a desperate final attempt at survival.

For the old man knew…

His time had come.

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