In the distance, Akali's eyes widened slightly when she saw Luke's attack succeed, and she watched with intense concentration.
She knew Luke must have used Stealth Arts to slip past Xolaani's senses.
Stealth Arts was the technique she was currently devoting herself to mastering.
After throwing a smoke bomb, combining it with Stealth Arts would make her almost impossible to track.
At that moment, she finally realized just how powerful the technique truly was.
Even an existence as powerful as Xolaani had been unable to detect it?
"It seems I underestimated both of you. Since a little more time no longer matters, I suppose I'll entertain you for a while."
The corners of Xolaani's mouth curved upward like crescent moons. As she spoke, her body instantly dissolved into blood, splashed onto the ground, and vanished.
Luke's slash landed only a fraction too late.
He stared at the spot where Xolaani had disappeared and frowned slightly, recognizing it as a form of blood magic.
He had encountered blood magic once before in Noxus.
Briar was a product of blood magic. To transform her into a terrifying living weapon, the person wielding that magic had infused it directly into her body.
Luke had more or less guessed that person's identity.
Vladimir, the Crimson Reaper, also known as the vampire.
He was an ancient monster who had lived for centuries, and his blood magic had most likely been learned from the Darkin.
After all, the Darkin were the progenitors of blood magic.
In terms of skill and mastery over blood magic, even ten Vladimirs would probably be unable to compare with Xolaani.
Now that Xolaani had disappeared without making a sound, Luke swept his gaze across the surroundings.
Many people still remained inside Mistfall, most of whom had been drawn over by the commotion.
Less than three minutes had passed since Xolaani seized Linju's body.
These people knew nothing about Xolaani's power and were approaching with confused expressions.
"What happened here just now?"
"I only heard a huge explosion."
"I saw blood-colored light covering the sky."
"I've got a terrible feeling about this place. It's giving me the creeps."
The people continued talking as they walked closer, completely unaware of the situation. Even some who had already been present, as well as the disciples of the Ancient Sword School, remained confused.
Had that monster been killed?
Why had she suddenly disappeared?
Luke knew Xolaani was definitely not dead. She had merely used blood magic to hide herself.
The battle was far from over.
"This place is dangerous! Don't come any closer!"
His warning rang out clearly, but it was already too late.
Some people stopped, but others ignored him completely. From their perspective, there was no visible danger.
They continued walking forward without concern.
Squelch!
Without warning, spikes of blood erupted from the ground and pierced straight through several people. The light immediately vanished from their eyes.
However, the attack did not seem to kill them.
The blood spikes pulsed as though pumping something into their bodies.
Crimson patterns rapidly spread across the bodies of those who had been impaled. Their lifeless pupils first contracted, then suddenly expanded. Their bodies began swelling at an astonishing rate, as though limitless power were surging through them.
Blood energy sprayed from their bodies and formed a lingering crimson mist.
"Kill!"
"Roar!"
Savage cries rang out as their scarlet eyes locked onto Luke and Master Yi.
"Go, my children."
Xolaani's voice echoed from an unknown location.
The instant she finished speaking, the transformed warriors grabbed enormous weapons from nearby and became streaks of motion, charging toward Luke and Master Yi at tremendous speed.
Luke and Master Yi moved simultaneously, blocking the incoming attacks and feeling an inhuman amount of strength crash against them.
Their expressions became somewhat grave.
"She's badly injured and definitely won't recover immediately. She intends to use these people to delay us. We need to finish this quickly."
Luke rapidly analyzed the situation. Xolaani had to be hiding somewhere while healing her wounds.
The Grievous Wounds effect inflicted by Snowglance was not so easily removed.
The immediate problem was the people whose strength had suddenly skyrocketed.
"You're right. That attack inflicted rather serious injuries on me. However, you only have two minutes. Come, let us race against time."
Xolaani's voice sounded as though she were whispering directly beside their ears, carrying a hint of pleasure.
As she spoke, several more blood spikes burst from the ground and impaled another group of people.
Within moments, several more blood thralls were born.
These creatures were also known as Darkin blood thralls. Some Darkin could use blood magic to transform humans into blood thralls, granting them immense power and forcing them to serve.
Xolaani was one of the greatest practitioners of this art.
Her blood magic could not only control humans and force them into absolute loyalty, but could even subjugate other Darkin.
Humans branded with her blood sigil would immediately gain strength comparable to a soldier-class Darkin.
The Darkin themselves were also divided by strength.
From lowest to highest were soldier-class, lieutenant-class, general-class, and king-class.
Although soldier-class Darkin were merely the most ordinary among their kind, they still possessed tremendous power.
Luke and Master Yi were already extremely powerful humans. If she transformed them with her blood sigil, they would begin at lieutenant-class and might even reach general-class.
They would become reliable servants.
After seeing their strength, Xolaani naturally no longer wanted to simply leave.
The remaining people finally realized how serious the situation was and began fleeing in terror.
At least ten people had already been transformed into blood thralls. They surrounded Luke and Master Yi, swinging enormous weapons at them.
Faced with such a siege, the two could do nothing but continuously defend themselves.
The situation reminded Luke of a war machine he had once encountered named Sion.
That mindless monster had known nothing but slaughter. Although Galio had defeated him with ease, Sion was still an opponent that most humans would have been powerless to resist.
Now Luke and Master Yi were effectively facing ten Sions at once.
Worse still, the one commanding them was the far more cunning Xolaani.
Her words made the situation feel even more urgent.
Two minutes.
They only had two minutes.
The Darkin's overwhelming power was plain to see. If she recovered from her injuries, defeating her would become far more difficult.
Even more despairing was the fact that creating a blood thrall did not seem to cost Xolaani anything. She merely needed to will it, and another one would be born.
Within moments, several more blood thralls joined the battle.
Watching from the distance, Akali, Ahri, and Wukong were beside themselves with anxiety. They hated that they lacked the strength to help.
Even Luke had not felt this much pressure in a long time.
With his movement techniques, the blood thralls could not easily injure him. The problem was that an even more powerful Darkin was hiding somewhere nearby, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Time continued passing one second at a time.
Less than two minutes remained.
Luke and Master Yi fought side by side with such flawless coordination that they seemed like inseparable companions who had battled together for twenty years.
The blood thralls could not overwhelm them for the moment, but merely holding their ground was nowhere near enough.
Luke took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm.
The more desperate the situation became, the less he could afford to panic.
One thing was certain. Xolaani was badly wounded, and she was not nearly as calm as she pretended to be.
A playing card silently appeared in Luke's left hand as Dual Focus began to display its value.
A portion of his mental awareness spread outward. Layered scenes appeared before his eyes like a deck of overlapping cards.
He began to think.
A Darkin's true body was their weapon, while a human was merely a disposable vessel.
What was the fastest way for a Darkin to heal injuries sustained by their vessel?
Replace it with a new body.
The instant Luke realized this, he turned over a card and saw exactly what he needed to see.
"Master Yi, I'll leave this place to you for a moment."
As Luke spoke, he activated his ability.
Destiny!
A halo of light surrounded his body, and he vanished from where he stood.
Master Yi was immediately left to face more than a dozen blood thralls alone, but he did not utter a single complaint.
He silently placed his trust in Luke.
The next second, Luke appeared directly behind Akali and swung his sword.
Realizing she could no longer remain hidden, Xolaani finally revealed herself and looked at Luke in surprise.
"I didn't expect you to realize it so quickly."
Nor had she expected him to arrive so fast.
Creating the blood thralls had only been intended to keep the two of them occupied.
Her true objective had been to find a new vessel, and Akali had been her original choice.
Unfortunately, this human had reacted too quickly, causing her plan to fail.
Akali, Ahri, and Wukong immediately turned around and stared warily at Xolaani.
Akali realized that she had just come within a hair's breadth of death, yet she had not sensed the danger even a moment before it arrived.
Without Luke, would Xolaani have already seized her body and forced her to turn her weapons against them?
The thought tormented Akali and made her hate her own weakness even more.
"It isn't your fault. You'll become incredibly strong in the future. For now, all of you need to get out of here."
Luke held his sword ready and stared at Xolaani.
Most of her body had already regenerated, and both arms had long since been restored.
It seemed that she could fully recover even faster than two minutes.
"Make sure you win!"
Akali looked at Luke's back before leading Ahri away with Wukong.
She was not someone who wallowed in self-pity. Once this was over, she would work even harder to become stronger.
She refused to remain a burden.
"Are you worried that I'll attack them? Don't be. I am a very dignified person."
An elegant smile appeared on Xolaani's face.
"Very few humans earn my recognition, and you are one of them. Why not become my subordinate? I can make you far stronger than you are now."
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
Luke stepped forward and transformed into a streak of light, his blade aimed directly at Xolaani's body.
"Right now, I only want to kill you and get out of this godforsaken place."
"Do you truly believe you can defeat me alone?"
The corner of Xolaani's mouth rose as she blocked the sword with one of her bone saws.
Although combat was not Xolaani's greatest specialty among the Darkin, that did not mean she was weak.
She had crossed countless brutal battlefields and survived every one of them.
Luke could no longer be bothered to exchange words with her. He devoted himself completely to the battle as several forms of Sword Intent surged around him and his gaze became incomparably sharp.
His slashes were astonishingly fast, yet Xolaani still managed to block them.
However, she soon noticed that Luke seemed to be growing stronger with every passing moment, causing her eyes to flicker.
What kind of power was this?
Only ten seconds had passed, yet Luke's overall strength had increased by at least a third. As he grew stronger, his different forms of Sword Intent became even sharper and more extraordinary.
His movement technique was equally remarkable. Not one of her attacks had managed to strike him.
Xolaani was not fighting Luke with a playful attitude.
On the contrary, she was becoming increasingly serious.
Red light flashed through her eyes as crimson energy poured from her body. The next instant, the two chained bone saws shot forward, dancing wildly through the air as they attacked Luke.
In Luke's eyes, it seemed as though countless bone saws were rushing toward him.
He calmly drew a breath and swung Snowglance at incredible speed, blocking every incoming strike.
Countless sparks erupted through the air.
His slashes had already surpassed what the naked eye could follow. He possessed Chain Slash, a technique that increased his attack speed, and had later learned Wuju swordsmanship as well.
Even so, the dense barrage of attacks from the two bone saws placed him under immense pressure.
More terrifying still, Xolaani seemed to have only just begun fighting seriously.
The corners of her mouth curled upward in pleasure as the blood-red energy surrounding her became increasingly vivid. She swept out her slender arms, producing a tremendous force that descended upon Luke.
No matter how Luke dodged, even when he used Wind Underfoot to rapidly create distance, the two bone saws pursued him like shadows.
The chains attached to them extended without limit.
At the same time, the wildly dancing bone saws formed a protective barrier around Xolaani.
Luke could not break through and approach her.
Although Conqueror was steadily increasing Luke's overall strength, Xolaani was also not in her complete state.
Her wounds were still healing little by little.
So this was the power of a true Darkin.
She was on an entirely different level from the shield Darkin Luke had encountered before. Despite how much Luke's strength had increased since then, the pressure he felt now was still nearly overwhelming.
He still had a final trump card, but it was a power he could not use unless absolutely necessary.
"For a human, surviving my attacks for this long is already quite impressive."
Xolaani looked at Luke, even finding enough leisure to speak.
Meanwhile, Master Yi's situation was not much better.
He was powerful, but the beings surrounding him had all reached at least the level of soldier-class Darkin, and there were more than a dozen of them.
Under such a relentless siege, Master Yi could only use Wuju movement techniques to continuously evade while searching for opportunities to counterattack.
Those who were weaker cared only about escaping with their lives and did not dare remain in the area.
Akali, Ahri, and Wukong were unable to help either.
They could only watch anxiously from the distance.
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