Cain did not waste another breath.
The mont the line of Moonshade vampires stood firm before him, weapons raised, eyes burning with accusation, he stepped forward.
He did not draw a blade.
He did not release a spell.
He simply moved.
To the onlookers, it looked like he vanished and reappeared in the sa heartbeat.
Bang.
The first Blood Knight in his path felt a force slam into his chest like a battering ram. Armor that had endured countless battles dented inward with a sickening crunch, and the knight’s body lifted from the ground before crashing backward into two others behind him.
"What—"
Bang.
Cain’s shoulder drove into another soldier’s midsection, sending him tumbling end over end through the air. The impact echoed across the stone path leading to the tower gates.
Bang.
Another fell.
One by one, Cain blasted through the formation using nothing but his body. No grand display of mana. No flashy technique. Just overwhelming physical force delivered with precise control.
To the vampires watching, already trembling from the aftermath of the Blood Moon, it was incomprehensible.
Their vision still swam with lingering crimson haze. Their blood still burned hot inside their veins. Every sensation felt heightened and unstable.
And in the middle of that chaos, this unknown soldier tore through a wall of Blood Knights as if they were straw dummies.
"Who is he?"
"How is he that strong?"
"He is only using his body!"
A Blood Slave clutched his own chest, still fighting the excess power left behind by the vanished moonlight. His eyes widened as another knight was sent flying.
"This cannot be right... our Blood Knights are fifth stage Blood Condensation..."
Another voice shook. "Even in this state, they should not fall so easily!"
Cain did not slow.
He slipped between two raised spears, pivoted, and drove his elbow into a knight’s jaw. The man’s helt cracked, and he dropped instantly, unconscious before he hit the ground.
The observers felt fear creep into their excitent.
The Blood Moon had made them feel invincible.
Now they watched their comrades fall like leaves in a storm.
"Stop him!"
"He is breaking through!"
The ground was littered with groaning bodies. None were dead. Cain had asured his strength carefully. He knocked them out with precision, striking nerves and pressure points that would not cause permanent harm.
He did not have ti for anything more.
Then a roar cut through the confusion.
"Enough!"
A tall figure stepped forward from the side path, crimson cloak snapping behind him.
Blood Soldier Captain Hall.
His presence alone caused several nearby vampires to straighten instinctively.
Hall’s voice thundered across the courtyard. "You unknown soldier! Stop being a deserter!"
He pointed his blade at Cain’s back, fury blazing in his eyes.
"To abandon your brothers in battle is an insult to the Moonshade family bloodline!"
His words carried weight, not rely because of his rank, but because of who he was.
The onlookers whispered, even in the midst of chaos.
"Captain Hall..."
"The one who defended the eastern border alone for three days..."
"The man who severed the arm of a rival clan elder during the Red Marsh conflict..."
"He led the assault during the Black Fang uprising and returned without a single casualty under his command..."
"He broke through to fifth stage Blood Condensation before he reached one hundred years..."
"He is known for never retreating, never bowing..."
One vampire added breathlessly, "He once fought six Blood Condensation enemies at once and forced them all back."
Hall stood tall, chest rising and falling heavily, his blood aura flaring bright red.
"If you insist on fleeing," he declared, voice thick with anger and pride, "then I, Blood Soldier Captain Hall, will deal with you myself!"
The crowd stirred.
"Captain Hall himself..."
"That random soldier is finished."
Cain turned slowly, eting Hall’s gaze.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only impatience.
"No way you can stop ," Cain said plainly.
Gasps rippled through the onlookers.
"He dares speak like that?"
"To Captain Hall?"
Hall’s lips curled. "I prefer you do that," he growled. "It will teach others the lesson of coward deserters like you."
His stance lowered, blade angled forward, blood aura thickening around him like a living cloak.
The tension snapped.
Hall lunged.
His speed was impressive by this plane’s standards. The ground cracked beneath his foot as he propelled himself forward, sword slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.
The onlookers held their breath.
The unknown soldier would be cut down.
That was the only possible outco.
Cain moved.
He did not step aside.
He did not block.
He simply advanced into Hall’s attack.
For a brief second, their figures overlapped in a blur of motion.
Then Hall’s blade stopped mid swing.
His eyes widened.
A single finger pressed against his sternum.
Cain’s finger.
A small, controlled pulse of force traveled inward, bypassing muscle and bone, striking directly at a nerve cluster near his heart.
Hall’s expression froze.
His aura flickered.
And then his body went limp.
He dropped straight down, unconscious before his sword even hit the ground.
The courtyard fell silent.
They were shocked.
Truly shocked.
Mouths hung open.
Eyes stretched wide.
"That... that was Captain Hall..."
"He did not even exchange three moves..."
"He did not even use a spell..."
Their gazes slowly shifted.
Cain’s back faced them now.
He was already walking forward again.
The image burned into their minds. The silhouette of a man who had just felled one of Moonshade’s most accomplished captains with a single touch.
Before they could recover, another presence surged forward.
"Hold!"
A deeper voice echoed from near the tower gate.
Vice Vanguard Blood Captain Zed stepped out, his aura far denser than Hall’s had been.
Even the shaken onlookers straightened.
"Vice Captain Zed..."
"He surpassed Hall years ago..."
"He once crushed a Blood Condensation rival from another house with bare hands..."
"He trained personally under two elders..."
"He defended the northern pass during the Iron Ridge conflict and slaughtered an entire invading squad alone..."
"He is rumored to be on the brink of sixth stage..."
Zed’s eyes burned with controlled fury.
"You unknown soldier!" he shouted. "Stop being a deserter!"
His voice carried authority that silenced even the murmurs.
"To flee while your family bleeds is the deepest insult to the Moonshade bloodline!"
He stepped forward, each footstep asured and heavy.
"If you insist, then I, Vice Vanguard Blood Captain Zed, will deal with you!"
The onlookers trembled.
If Hall had fallen so quickly, perhaps this was different.
Zed was stronger.
More disciplined.
More experienced.
Cain glanced at him with a faint smirk.
"No way you can stop too," he said lightly.
Gasps rose again.
"He is insane..."
"Does he not understand who stands before him?"
Zed’s expression hardened.
"I am not Hall," he said coldly. "Do not underestimate ."
His blood aura condensed tightly around him, forming a visible distortion in the air.
Then he vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of Cain, fist driving forward like a cannon.
The impact thundered.
Dust exploded outward.
For a split second, it seed like Cain had been struck cleanly.
The onlookers leaned forward, hearts pounding.
But as the dust settled, they saw it.
Zed’s fist stopped inches from Cain’s chest.
Cain had caught it.
Not with his hand.
With two fingers.
Zed’s eyes widened.
Before he could react, Cain stepped forward slightly and tapped his forehead with a knuckle.
A faint ripple passed through Zed’s body.
His aura flickered once.
Twice.
Then vanished entirely.
His eyes rolled back.
He collapsed straight down, unconscious just like Hall.
The courtyard was silent once more.
They were shocked.
Shocked beyond words.
Vice Vanguard Blood Captain Zed, a pillar of Moonshade’s military might, felled in a single casual exchange.
Slowly, trembling gazes lifted.
Cain’s silhouette was already moving away, nearing the Blood Tower gates.
No one dared step forward now.
They simply stared at his back as he continued without hesitation.
The accusations of deserter died in their throats.
The red haze of earlier rage faded into cold realization.
Who... is he?
Cain did not look back.
He passed through the towering gates, crossed the courtyard stones, and reached the entrance of the Moonshade Blood Tower once more.
The doors lood before him, heavy and ancient.
He stepped inside without pause.
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