Relying on the dispersed hummingbirds, the surrounding terrain clearly imprinted itself in Derby's mind. Surrounded by the elite Bloodthirsters, he steadily approached the Wind Cellar.

Thanks to the information gathered by the Domination Object, numerous pieces of intelligence flashed through Derby's mind, including the escape of Vasilina and Aimou. The two chose to escape through a window rather than entangle with the elite Bloodthirsters.

Derby felt slightly relieved; it seemed the opponents weren't fools, realizing victory was impossible, hence choosing to retreat.

But this sense of relief didn't last long. Derby understood that once these two left alive, they would surely seek reinforcement, which would affect his subsequent actions.

Therefore, Derby remotely commanded the elite Bloodthirsters to continue pursuing Vasilina and Aimou. During the earlier skirmish, Vasilina's fist had suffered a scrape, leaving traces of blood. Although scant, as members of the Night Race, they were exceedingly sensitive to blood.

In the distance, the elite Bloodthirster lowered its body, sniffing amidst the shattered ruins for the faint scent of blood, soon capturing Vasilina's presence, and charged down the corridor like a hunting dog.

Despite both being Overlords, Derby and Lebius had vast differences.

The Blade-Biting Wolf under Lebius's control was essentially just Evil Wolf Armor entirely crafted from Alchemy Metal—a mindless dead entity with all actions reliant solely on Lebius's command.

Thus, Lebius had long been training himself in precise Ether manipulation and focusing his will, enabling him to simultaneously operate multiple Blade-Biting Wolves.

Derby's Domination Object, however, consisted of elite Bloodthirsters, monsters possessing a certain level of intelligence. They could accept Derby's mostly rudimentary instructions. In comparison, Derby was like a Beast Tamer, and the elite Bloodthirsters were his beasts.

With simple commands, the elite Bloodthirsters would autonomously execute orders and engage in combat, significantly reducing Derby's mental exertion.

Just like now, Derby ordered the elite Bloodthirsters to hunt down Vasilina, and the frenzied creature sought the target on its own, occasionally reporting back with the latest progress.

Derby focused his attention on what lay ahead, squinting his eyes to perceive the surrounding Ether fluctuations. The Wind Cellar was the core domain of the Clarks, surely possessing numerous defenses at its entrance.

An elite Bloodthirster advanced ahead, larger in size than the other elite Bloodthirsters, clad in heavy armor and holding a massive shield.

Holding the shield before it, accompanied by the Bloodthirster's progression, it moved like a heavy wall advancing down the narrow road, crushing all debris in its path.

Derby clenched the dagger in his hand, its poison was limited, able only to break a few defenses in the Void Realm.

Contemplating this caused Derby a wave of frustration since not long ago, the hummingbird accompanying Zefirin was damaged, causing Zefirin to lose contact.

In this operation, Zefirin was very important; her Secret Energy restrained Ether and possessed powerful functionality.

In their last conversation, Zefirin had been attacked; the opponent was extremely strong. For this, Derby had dispatched Haiqi to support her, but soon after, the hummingbird with Haiqi was also damaged, and Haiqi too lost contact…

Derby didn't want to think pessimistically as it would only hinder his actions.

Raising the dagger, he stabbed the air, to the naked eye, there seemed to be nothing there, yet the dagger struck something invisible, its metallic tip shimmering with radiant light, hindering its advance.

Derby exerted all his strength on the dagger; the poison released and vaporized upon contact with the air, the toxin corroding the invisible Ether. The sound of shattering glass echoed all around.

Suddenly, the crisp sound of shattering intensified, as if a glass wall before him collapsed, shattering to the ground with a crash. Simultaneously, the obstruction felt by the dagger vanished; Derby had breached a defense.

Derby was preparing to delve further when he sensed the elite Bloodthirster he had sent after Vasilina was now approaching him.

Before Derby could feel puzzled, an Ether reaction spontaneously emerged nearby, with the opponent making no effort to conceal their intent, releasing their Ether fully, allowing it to escape from their body.

Derby angrily said, "Here to die, huh!"

He was intimately familiar with this Ether reaction; it belonged to Vasilina, who had just escaped from him. Now she wasn't only back, but was making sure Derby wouldn't miss her by fully releasing her Ether.

If their tier was evenly matched, Derby would interpret it as a declaration of war, but with such a significant tier gap between them, it seemed more like her provoking him.

Vasilina moved swiftly, her Ether reaction continually closing in on Derby, and from a rough perception, Vasilina's movement path had no twists and directly headed towards him.

She has arrived.

Almost immediately upon realizing this, the rumbling sound of collapsing material ensued, as Vasilina punched through a wall, breaking through.

Derby commanded, "Deal with her!"

This time, all the elite Bloodthirsters sprang into action; Derby had already wasted too much time on Vasilina—he had no leisure left to toy with her.

Upon entering, Vasilina wasn't quick to attack. Instead, she spared Derby a glance before crashing into another wall, retreating into another room, like a bothersome little bird pecking at you before flying away.

Derby wasn't planning to let her off lightly, the elite Bloodthirsters crashed through the walls in unison, the booming noise relentless, pursuing Vasilina.

Behind the swirling dust, what awaited him was a blade that slashed down from above.

Vasilina wasn't skilled with blades, but with enough brute force, even a clumsy swordsman could unleash a lethal sword dance.

A slender wound extended along the shoulder of the elite Bloodthirster. Vasilina intended to slash through his throat with a single strike, but the elite Bloodthirster wore a neck guard, sparking flashes.

The elite Bloodthirster intended to continue attacking, but from the wounded shoulder came an unbearable searing pain. The wound didn't heal; instead, it turned gray-black and decayed, like a burnt-out shell.

Standing afar, Vasilina wiped the blood off the blade, the metal emitting a hoarse sound of corrosion.

The Clarks own a vast estate, even the decorative swords hanging on the walls are made of silver. Who knows who had the idle time to sharpen all these blades?

Vasilina was gasping for air, her chest heaving rapidly. She exuded a strong Ether reaction, but it wasn't Vasilina's Ether; it was Aimou's.

Like a backup energy source, Aimou provided Vasilina with Ether support, while releasing Ether widely. In this area, Aimou's Ether reaction stood like a burning torch.

The mechanical spinning sounded from one side; Vasilina quickly rolled towards the cover nearby. Immediately, dense bullets rained down on the spot where Vasilina had just been, piercing through everything in their path.

Without giving Vasilina a chance to catch her breath, heavy footsteps sounded from behind the wall, Aimou shouted, "Get down!"

Vasilina crouched down just in time as a heavy blade broke through the wall, and if she hadn't dodged, she would have been cut in half through the wall.

Using her nimble body, Vasilina leapt back into the corridor through the smashed gap, but other elite Bloodthirsters were already waiting there.

"You have nowhere to escape."

Derby taunted, as if declaring his victory.

Indeed, Vasilina had nowhere to run. She glanced outside the window; the elite Bloodthirsters launched their claws, anchoring themselves to the walls. If Vasilina jumped out of the corridor, she would be attacked by them.

Now Vasilina was left with one choice, to flee back. But in this straight corridor, no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't escape the elite Bloodthirsters' pursuit.

Derby gazed at the solitary Vasilina, a more loathsome smile suddenly broke across his face.

A vague Ether reaction was rising from the end of the corridor. With the hummingbirds scattered around the outskirts, Derby recognized who it was—it was Zefirin.

Zefirin finally arrived, effectively blocking Vasilina's last escape route.

Things were going smoothly again, Derby was about to laugh, while Vasilina and Aimou felt it was hopeless. The situation that was already unwinnable became even more bleak.

Zefirin's footsteps were like approaching funeral bells, an irresistible pressure descended on both of their hearts. Zefirin's figure gradually became clearer, completing the encirclement.

Then another fiercer Ether reaction erupted, not within the building but outside it.

"Duck and cover!"

Vasilina heard a familiar voice; without a moment's hesitation, she immediately ducked and rolled several times, hiding behind the wall.

In an instant, a massive wind pressure descended, shattering glass windows under the intense squeeze; the fierce wind rushed inside, mixed with debris, blowing so fiercely that Derby couldn't keep his eyes open.

"What the…"

Derby didn't have time to question before a piercing sharp sound echoed, like a knife scraping his eardrum.

Wind guns shot in from outside the building, striking the tall elite Bloodthirsters. The powerful impact pushed their bodies, knocking them down and crashing them into the rooms behind.

The beastly cries were endless; after the raging howling wind, numerous distorted broken decorative swords appeared in sight. Some embedded in the elite Bloodthirsters, while others stabbed into walls and the ground, turning the area into a wasteland in an instant.

At this moment, Zefirin also arrived from behind. As her figure came into Derby's view, he was terrified to see Zefirin's dreadful state.

Zefirin was covered in wounds; her abdomen was a bloody mess, and her blood-red pupils were filled with terror.

Zefirin wasn't coming to meet with Derby but was fleeing, seeking aid from him.

"I've told you, follow her, and she'll lead us to others."

A cold voice echoed in the ruins, a touch of cyan flame ignited at the end of the corridor, and then more cyan flames surged through, engulfing the surrounding matter like a tide.

From the end of the fiery path, a rugged Armored Knight strode forth.

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