“Ugh…”

Count Gregory clutched at his neck, retreating with tears streaming down his pained face.

Before he could react further, Sigrid’s whirlwind was upon him. He felt his legs lose all sensation as Sigrid’s heavy kick smashed into his knees, sending him spiraling to the ground.

In an instant, the rush of air and explosive sounds surged closer. Sigrid's lunge punch followed by a side palm strike left Gregory seeing stars, his ears deafened to the howling snow. He was on the verge of collapsing.

Even without the sun, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Strange rays of light intertwined, forming a net from which he couldn't escape.

Every snowflake on the snowfield was illuminated by an unearthly glow, transforming the entire landscape into a fantastical world paved with countless diamonds.

The clear and increasingly impassioned melody of the Moon Goddess's strings instantly transformed the previously somber and chilling atmosphere into one of warm agitation, as if leaping from one extreme to another.

"Let's see how long you can keep up this charade!"

Count Gregory roared, his voice fragmented.

In this land of eternal night, it would still be several hours before the brief daylight arrived, unless they continued toward the Demon Realm.

This sun, summoned through magic, would eventually exhaust the human's mana.

Once his mana was depleted, even if Gregory was severely injured, he would catch and kill them both before they could escape the snowfield!

Count Gregory's figure twisted in the sunlight on the snow, his power slow to recover.

He trembled with rage in the blazing sun, his fury driving him to madness, but he was like a cornered beast, his blood seeping deep into the silvery-white snow.

Each time he unleashed a weak spell, lashing out with his claw-like hands, it stirred up a gust of wind within the blizzard.

But Sigrid's boxing grew more and more skilled, a relentless storm leaving no escape, constantly reshaping Count Gregory's understanding of the wolf clan!

And in the distance.

The Poet of Great Love, with her cheerful and lovely voice, played her violin and twirled in place.

Boss Cat hid in the shadows, shaking his head.

Lanci's boxing style was quickly becoming the Demon Realm's version of military calisthenics.

"Boss Cat, I've noticed that many of my enemies have volatile tempers."

Lanci said to the shadow at his feet.

"Meow?"

A puzzled sound came from the shadows.

Lanci himself was not idle, occasionally casting [Misguided Healing] on Count Gregory to provoke him, and unleashing [Basic Etiquette] to make him kneel whenever he got close.

Each ray of healing light that landed on Count Gregory made him more disoriented, trembling in greater pain, as if the world was constantly spinning.

Having the [Mark of Hopelessness] slightly enhanced his summons, and the blazing light of [Radiant Virtue] was also half a point stronger than before.

Although Lanci's greatest confidence lay in his ample mana, activating [Radiant Virtue] still consumed it rapidly.

"He gets so angry just from a gentle tap with magic."

Lanci explained to Boss Cat.

Boss Cat: "..."

Buddy, don't die.

If you die, I'll fall out of the shadows, and I'll die too.

"Unwavering!"

Lanci recalled the Poet of Great Love after he began kiting Gregory.

Besides conserving mana, she would be very unhappy if she was accidentally killed by the aftershock.

But now, even without the Poet of Great Love, he had drawn aggro very well.

Gregory was completely enraged; even picking up a stone and throwing it at him would stack his fury.

"Argh! I'll kill you!!!"

Gregory’s chest felt as if it were being torn apart. Not only was his soul being scorched by the sun, but each breath was like a fiery baptism. Tortured by the two ruffians, every nerve in his body was enduring the pain of being pricked with needles!

He couldn't find his bearings, his five senses seemed sealed, and he was being treated like a toy by his enemies.

But Count Gregory still didn't give up, retaliating with all his strength.

Because he was immortal!

The momentary pain meant nothing; it would only make his revenge after victory all the more insane!

Count Gregory closed his eyes tightly, his breathing halting and fragmented, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

Even though his brain was now dizzy and disoriented, he knew one thing.

He could feel that in this open terrain, the power of the sun was weakening.

As time passed, the light gradually began to fade, the golden hue on the snowfield slowly receding, returning to its original silvery-white tone.

His remaining rationality told him that if he could just hold on a little longer, soon, it would all be over. He would use his immortality to show these two foolish and weak beings what an insurmountable chasm existed between worms and higher life forms!

Even though he was covered in wounds, as long as he was given a chance to breathe, he could quickly recover.

Until now, none of their attacks had meant anything!

Just endure it, just a little longer!

The Rank 5 little wolf, a cub he had never even looked at, was now his greatest threat, and that Imperial Artisan was chanting spells in the distance that caused him immense pain; he was the one who deserved to die most!

Count Gregory, once again beaten to his knees, felt himself becoming somewhat delirious, using his hatred to maintain his thoughts with all his might. Suddenly, he felt a deadly chill coming from in front of him.

Before he could guess what kind of attack it was this time, Sigrid had already clasped her hands together, fingers interlocked, and slammed them down on the top of Gregory's head.

"Brain Reboot!"

With Sigrid's punch, Count Gregory's eyes instantly cleared.

He had been knocked awake.

In the distance.

"Not bad."

Lanci stopped walking, watching Sigrid's newly comprehended boxing technique.

The disciple need not be inferior to the master, nor the master wiser than the disciple. He could often gain insights from his students.

Count Gregory, who had briefly lost consciousness, had his bones gradually deformed by Sigrid's beating. His weakened Rank 7 body ultimately could not withstand Sigrid's iron fists, and blood rolled out from his orifices like boiling water, staining the snow red. His mind was on the verge of collapse, yet he had nowhere to vent his anger!

Sigrid's fists were like steel bars, constantly denting Count Gregory's body, accompanied by the sound of shattering bones and fierce screams.

Lanci finally stopped keeping his distance and walked towards Count Gregory, who was completely suppressed.

The heavily injured Blood Clan Count was suppressed on the crimson snow, disheveled and miserable.

Count Gregory barely regained some consciousness, his forehead twitching with veins, a testament to his extreme anger and the anticipation of revenge.

These attacks could only weaken him, rendering him unable to act for a short time, but they were not true damage!

This was the Land of Eternal Night.

As long as he waited for the sun to disappear… it would be his turn.

Being beaten by a mere Rank 5 wolf clan member, each pain and humiliation left a deep mark on his heart.

The corners of Count Gregory's mouth twisted, and the laughter of someone who had completely lost it was particularly eerie in the silent snowy night.

He was waiting to regain his strength, then capture them in the most cruel way and torture them day and night!

These weak wolf clan members and humans, under the suppression of his race, were already destined!

"Alright, save some strength."

Lanci's gentle voice sounded behind Sigrid.

He was about to put away the sun as well.

It was impossible to kill a Blood Clan member by just beating them like this.

Once the sun disappeared, it wouldn't take long for the Blood Clan Count to gradually recover from his injuries that prevented him from moving.

Immediately, Sigrid temporarily stopped attacking, simply holding down Count Gregory, awaiting Lanci's instructions.

She understood that her attacks, apart from venting her anger and hatred, posed no real threat to the Blood Clan Count.

Although she didn't know what Lanci planned to do next, it seemed that he didn't have many spells besides his special summoned creatures.

His own magical fluctuations were even weaker than hers.

"My academic report can finally be continued."

As an ecologist, Lanci's original plan to complete the "On Ecological Balance and Blood Clan Governance" project in the Crestia Empire had already yielded preliminary valuable data and practical results in the previous Shadow World.

Now, he could obtain further supplements in this Shadow World.

Loren, his guiding teacher, had been facing too much criticism recently.

Lanci could only desperately engage in academic pursuits to prove Loren's strength.

"It's enough to beat the Count until he can't move. My team has professional Blood Clan sedation methods."

And so.

Amidst Sigrid's puzzled gaze and Count Gregory's frenzied shouts.

Lanci took out a medical instrument—

He produced a giant medical syringe.

This was the blood pressure resuscitation device he had used at the Saint Hall Villain banquet.

Sigrid was stunned.

She didn't know why Locky, an artisan, had a pile of strange things on him.

This syringe, if used with enough force, could probably extract two liters of blood from the victim.

It was originally supposed to be an item used by angels in white.

But once it became too big, it was no longer a medical tool, but a piece of torture equipment.

Count Gregory was still laughing, his eyes unable to open, unable to see what Lanci was holding, and still unaware of what he was about to suffer.

"Come on, Sigrid."

Lanci walked to Count Gregory's side, made sure he was energetic, and handed the syringe to Sigrid.

Teacher Lanci's handicraft interest class was about to begin.

Count was so happy, he should be in good spirits when he evolved later.

To prevent Count Gregory from becoming too excited after retracting the sun, the Lanci team's professional treatment was to lower the Count's blood pressure first.

After the practice in the previous Shadow World, his ecological research successfully proved that much of the Blood Clan's power came from the blood in their bodies.

Although draining the Blood Clan's blood wouldn't kill them, it would definitely render them unable to act and require a long time to recover.

"Sorry, Mr. Count, I originally planned to learn sealing techniques, but I later found that this thing is much easier to use than sealing techniques."

Lanci looked at the cheerful Count Gregory on the ground and said somewhat embarrassed.

He now realized that researching sealing techniques to fight the Blood Clan might be a roundabout way.

Magical sealing was really not as efficient as physical modification.

(End of Chapter)