Chapter 431: Take the risk?

[Ding! Erin has accepted the blessing.]

[Ding! A bond has been forged through the blood pact, and Erin has become your third bloodbound follower.]

[Ding! Erin has received Minor Blessing. All her stats are increased by 100.]

[Ding! The stronger the blessing, the stronger the bond and the influence. Bloodline stabilization is required before altering the grade of the blessing.]

[Ding! Erin has awakened a hidden bloodline, the Bloodline of the Venomous Dragon.]

Erin staggered, her serpentine body trembling violently as the system’s notifications echoed in Damon’s mind. Scales rippled across her skin like waves, iridescent blue-green shifting into a deep crimson hue laced with black veins.

Her forked tongue flickered uncontrollably, spitting sparks of venom that hissed and burned holes into the ground.

“My… my Lord…” she gasped, clutching her chest. Her aura surged outward, vast and oppressive, no longer just serpentine but something greater, something ancient.

Wings of poisonous mist unfurled briefly from her back before dissolving, and for a heartbeat, the phantom of a colossal dragon loomed behind her. The air itself quaked at the image, and even the roc circling high above shrieked in alarm, flying away as if unwilling to draw too close.

Damon’s crimson eyes gleamed. “A Venomous Dragon, huh?” He smirked, tilting his head as Erin dropped to her knees, dazed but euphoric. “Not bad. Looks like I just made myself a real monster.”

He had expected Erin’s awakening to be a lot more impactful when compared to Mark or Kate. He had even expected her to awaken some sort of bloodline but he did not think that she would become so powerful.

Erin’s eyes snapped up to him, glowing dark crimson, slit pupils dilating with reverence and hunger. “I will not fail you, my Lord. From this moment forth… I will become the strongest pillar you can lean on.”

Damon smiled and patted her. “Can you get up first. Let me take a good look at you.”

The massive serpent floated up in the air even without any visible wings. She rose with eerie grace, her colossal body no longer bound by the earth. Venomous mist coiled beneath her like invisible wings, each pulse of aura lifting her higher into the sky.

Damon nodded his head, impressed. Erin was still clearly in C rank. In fact, it looked like her levels had fallen after the transformation and bloodline awakening, and yet she was able to fly. This only showed how powerful her draconic bloodline was.

He then examined the snake from top to bottom.

Her scales were crimson with black patterns that sometimes looked like runes. Her head was sharper now, more draconic than serpentine, crowned with subtle ridges that hinted at horns yet to come. From her eyes blazed a cruel majesty, slit pupils deep and black as midnight, glowing within pools of crimson fire.

Damon wanted to see the full power of her unleashed bloodline, but clearly, now was not the time. Erin’s entire body was trembling as she was still undergoing some changes.

“You should go and feed. There are plenty of demons for you to consume. Go wherever you want and have a feast! Your transformation should require a lot of energy.”

Erin bowed her massive head in acknowledgement. She then zoomed forward into the distance with an explosive speed, clearly showing off her newly improved stats and abilities.

Damon smiled. He could already imagine the chaos she would unleash among the lesser demons. A single C-rank, freshly awakened, flying and exuding such dominance… it would be enough to send entire packs scattering.

But more importantly, it would feed her quickly, forcing her unstable bloodline to adapt, stabilize, and evolve further. She should be ready just in time for the action. The second Blood Hall purification raid was coming up fast, and this time they would be the ones to have a draconic beast fighting for them.

Damon’s gaze shifted to the egg that was still sitting awkwardly on his chest. He wondered when this little thing was going to hatch. After all, two dragons were better than one dragon. Maybe he could find another zone where the egg could absorb some abyssal energy. But to do that, he had to find such a place first.

However, none of this was his priority. The first and foremost thing he needed to take care of was Blood Reign. She needed to wake up already.

Damon took out a weird crystal from his inventory. This was one of the items he had looted from La Rocha’s many laboratories. It did not have a clear system description, and overall, it looked very suspicious. Even Blood Reign thought so, which was why she was not very keen on using it.

But now circumstances had changed. Blood Reign was yet to recover, and his aura was probably out for everyone to take a good look at. If he did not bring this under control soon enough, then it would be catastrophic.

The crystal in Damon’s hand pulsed faintly. Threads of murky light crawled beneath its surface in jagged veins, neither mana nor blood, but something foreign that resisted being categorized. He closed his fist around the crystal.

This was definitely a gamble, but he had to take it. Otherwise, he would forever be waiting to run into something that could be useful for Blood Reign’s recovery.

The probability of running into something like that was high only in the land of vampires. But if he got there, then he would essentially be naked and vulnerable, which was not a good idea.

Even if his primordial bloodline was shrouded, they might still be able to sense Blood Reign’s soul fragment, and a legendary weapon’s soul fragment was enough to send the entire Bloodlands into a frenzy.

A legendary weapon’s power was not ordinary. A D rank could stand toe-to-toe against a C rank with just a single legendary item. In the same way, a C rank could even survive the fight against a B rank, thanks to the legendary item.

Every second, his legendary item was exposed, and he was not completely shrouded, there was a chance that things could become unnecessarily complicated. Damon did not want to take those chances. It was better to gamble with what he had in his hand.

Besides, knowing La Rocha, that crystal should not be an ordinary thing. Damon had a feeling he was not going to lose out here.

Damon rolled the crystal in his palm, making up his mind. Of course, there was also one other person who needed to agree to this. “Blood Reign, do you have enough energy to consume this? Are you willing to consume this and take the risk?”

For a moment, there was only silence. Damon was not even sure if he was going to get any response. It was not like he could forcefully shove the crystal into her soul fragment. He did not have enough experience to do something like that.

Then finally, inside Damon’s mind, the faint voice of Blood Reign flickered, softer than a whisper yet heavy with fatigue. “My Lord… I can consume it.”

Damon froze for a moment, the edges of his crimson eyes narrowing. For Blood Reign to respond without a single taunt or sarcastic bite was unnatural. That spirit of his had always been snarky and troublesome, even when weakened.

The fact that she accepted so meekly meant one thing, her strength had plummeted to the point where she had no other choice.

Damon hesitated for a few more seconds. He then nodded his head decisively. “It’s fine. Just do it. Whatever happens after that, we will deal with it together. I will not give up on you so easily.”

A low, wavering hum echoed in the back of his mind as Blood Reign stirred, her presence reaching toward the crystal. The moment contact was made, a violent surge of energy screamed through Damon’s body.

It wasn’t fire, lightning, shadow, or blood. It was raw power without name or color, an energy that defied every law his instincts knew. His veins lit up as if molten metal had been poured into them.

His bloodline unexpectedly tried to assimilate the energy in the midst of this chaos, but to Damon’s surprise, his bloodline was actually lacking the ability to consume it instantly. There was a lot of struggle and resistance.

Blood Reign’s presence flared in his mind, louder and sharper than it had been in weeks. “It’s too much… hold on… my Lord!” she cried, but her voice carried both fear and exhilaration.

She reached greedily for the stream, pulling it into her fragment, while Damon’s primordial bloodline fought to devour it at the same time.

The clash turned his body into a battlefield all of a sudden. His blood roaring crimson and golden, the unknown energy pulsing pale and grey, and Blood Reign’s essence slicing through both like a blade struggling to keep its edge.

The ground cracked outward in a wide circle, runes appearing everywhere, while the crystal in his grip shattered into dust.

The raw energy didn’t vanish. All of it funneled straight into him, demanding to be claimed. His lips peeled back in a snarl, crimson eyes blazing. “Mine… all of it… is mine!”

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