Chapter 564: Choice

"Look! Those old fellows have sensed it; they are awakening."

As Thomson Beaulieu said, the powerful beings of the Ventrue clan sleeping in the mausoleums were awakening one by one. Vast and mighty auras appeared around the town of St. D'S.

At that moment, a thought directly transmitted into the minds of the two.

"Young master of the Wülfenstein family, may I ask what is your purpose in coming here?"

Though the words in this thought were gentle, they contained a formidable spiritual will that struck the mind, carrying a full measure of intimidation.

"I have come to fulfill my promise!"

Li Mochen looked down like a sovereign surveying his territory: "As I told Clotaire Ventrue, you now have three choices: submit to me, stay away from me, or choose to die by my hand."

"What a domineering declaration!"

Thomson Beaulieu couldn't help but complain: "But could you please bring more people? There are over a dozen demigods here alone."

The thought extending from the mausoleum was furious: "Young man, I know you wield the Divine Authority of Life and Death, another terrifying being after Isis who controls both life and death. But do not think that the noble bloodline has no resistance against your feeble power. Our Ventrue clan does not wish to conflict with you, but if Mr. Wülfenstein insists, the Ventrue clan will make you realize your weakness."

"So, you refuse to submit?"

Li Mochen sneered coldly, then turned to look at the demigod mercenary beside him: "It seems they still lack reverence for me. Let me confirm again: according to the contract, you cannot let these beings approach within a hundred meters of me."

"I'll do my best!"

Thomson Beaulieu hesitated slightly: "I can restrain them a bit, but only handle no more than six at a time. The rest you'll have to deal with yourself. Not too long, EM~ ten minutes?"

"Enough! I don't need that much time to destroy them."

A glint flashed in Li Mochen's eyes, and then a bolt of lightning flickered in his pupils. The next instant, two intangible domains centered on him covered the entire town of St. D'S and the surrounding ten kilometers.

In that instant, hundreds of vampires hidden in the town let out a piercing wail. Under the violent conflict of life and death energies within their bodies, their forms rapidly turned to smoke.

But at this moment, the massive magical energy array covering the entire town of St. D'S was also activated. It formed a huge semicircular shield, protecting the town nestled in the valley.

This made the vampires who had narrowly escaped immediate death breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Mochen's Divine Authority of Life and Death acted on them simultaneously. If the activation of this magical protective array had been even slightly slower, they would have followed the fate of their dead kin.

However, just 0.1 seconds later, most of these people changed color again. Panic once more bred in the minds of all vampires. They found that the balance of life and death within their bodies was still shifting. Though the change was slight, it was indeed progressing against their will.

If this continued, it would take at most five to six minutes for the vast majority of vampires in this town to return to dust.

"Whoa!"

Thomson Beaulieu was stunned for a moment, looking at Li Mochen with shock: "High-level Divine Authority of Life and Death? By the gods, the vampires of this era must have been cursed for ten generations."

Below them was a mythic-level magical protective array. If even this magic circle couldn't block it, it could only be a high-level divine authority!

The first time he had experienced Li Mochen's life-and-death power, the latter was clearly not this strong. At that time, Li Mochen's Life Divine Authority had only barely suppressed him. He had relied more on Death Authority to suppress his cell activity.

Was it the effect of that 'Ring of Strength'? But that only increased Li Mochen's strength and mana.

At this moment, the many powerful vampires awakened from the mausoleums were furious and alarmed. In an instant, dozens of swarms of blood bats surged from the surrounding mountain peaks—thousands upon thousands, their momentum blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

"Do you know what you are doing, you bastard of Wülfenstein? You are declaring war on the Ventrue clan, on the entire Camarilla, on the entire vampire race! Today you will surely be buried here; we will prepare a grave for you—"

The voice cut off abruptly, as Li Mochen projected a beam of black and white light toward the south. In an instant, the large swarm of blood bats on that mountainside was swept away, completely annihilated!

But at that moment, the countless blood bats had already charged close to them, less than three hundred meters away. Thomson Beaulieu began to act, throwing out several grenade-like objects that exploded into a vast purple electric light in midair, forming a magnificent thunder net.

"This is the 'Nine Heavens Divine Thunder of the Cave' refined by Eastern cultivators—God knows why it has such a long name!"

Thomson Beaulieu smiled back at Li Mochen: "But you have to admit, they are quite professional in subduing demons and monsters. It works well, doesn't it?"

Li Mochen, however, focused on dealing with the blood bats blocked outside the lightning net. The Bane of Death bought him at least enough time for two shots of 'North-South Polar Annihilation Divine Light'. As the black-and-white beams crossed the sky, at least one-tenth of the countless bat swarms, numbering in the millions, were cleared.

At this moment, at least seven different divine authorities began to act on them.

The Water Divine Authority tried to drain the moisture from their bodies, causing rapid fluid loss; the Iron Divine Authority caused the iron in their blood to coagulate, clogging blood vessels and even piercing internal organs; the Plague Divine Authority caused viruses and bacteria on them to multiply profusely; and a mental-type divine authority, 'Obscurity', interfered with Li Mochen's thinking, creating a membrane between his consciousness and the outside world, clouding his mind and making it difficult to accurately judge the battle situation.

There was even a mid-tier Ice Divine Authority that could freeze their limbs and blood circulation, hindering their movements, or even completely encase them in ice.

But these effects were only momentary before Li Mochen suppressed them all.

The benefit of cultivating the 'Dual Element Mystic Transformation Method' lay in this: it balanced both yin and yang aspects while also drawing on the power of the stars, making his abilities very comprehensive with almost no weaknesses. The current level of his technique alone was already far stronger than when he was Wenjian Taoran.

Unless the opponent's divine authority was indeed more than one rank higher than his, it was difficult to suppress him.

And even the mid-tier Ice Divine Authority from the enemy didn't bother Li Mochen. His own Ice Divine Authority was not inferior to theirs; he simply hadn't activated it due to mana consumption. The 'Five Elements' external elixir could provide him with demigod-level mana, but supporting the high-level Life and Death Authority was still very taxing—this was a power that should belong to high gods, even greater gods.

Thomson Beaulieu beside Li Mochen was also mostly fine. He was actually somewhat affected, but his vitality was so strong that he could ignore these divine authorities.

Inside Thomson Beaulieu's body was a mutant gene from an alien, complementing his own pathological conditions and coexisting in balance. Thus, no matter what injury he sustained, he could recover instantly, possessing a regenerative ability surpassing that of gods.

So even if moisture was locked tightly within his cell membranes by his cells, or iron shards from his blood severely wounded him, he didn't care; he could recover immediately.

Only the Ice Divine Authority was a bit troublesome, but Li Mochen's mid-tier Fire Divine Authority quickly resolved the Bane of Death's predicament. The latter was also helping himself; most of the cells in his body were already moving at high speed, and under Thomson Beaulieu's deliberate control, they were 'generating heat through friction', keeping his internal temperature far above normal even under the mid-tier Ice Divine Authority.

As for his mind, due to his immense vitality, Thomson Beaulieu's brain processing speed was already excessive and uncontrollable.

So this guy even let out a comfortable moan: "So nice! I haven't felt like a normal person in a long time. Mr. Little Wülfenstein, can you spare that one? That 'Obscurity' divine authority is very useful to me."

At this moment, his figure had already flashed away from his original position, arriving three hundred meters away, dual-wielding blades and fighting with the bats. He didn't stay in one place for long but kept teleporting and flickering, intercepting the vampire princes layer by layer within a 300-meter radius around Li Mochen. The 'Source Force Slashes' Thomson Beaulieu delivered with his twin blades had limited effect on these bat swarms. However, hundreds of dimensional blades burst from the blades—though fine, they were sharp and狂暴. Thus, each of Thomson Beaulieu's strikes still cut tens of thousands of bats into pieces, and the void power devoured the blood they shed.

Correspondingly, the danger these vampire princes posed to him was negligible. This guy was completely fighting with a life-for-life style, yet he could ignore all damage to his body.

Thus, even half a minute later, none of the bats could enter within a hundred and fifty meters of Li Mochen.

Although Thomson Beo had guaranteed he could intercept at least six vampire demigods, once the battle truly began, the combat prowess he displayed far exceeded his own predictions!

At this moment, an invisible wave once again radiated from Li Mochen's body. Though it only covered two hundred meters around him, it caused all approaching bats to tremble slightly, their aura rapidly weakening.

"Divine Domain? How cool!"

Thomson Beo couldn't help but whistle, and then his figure flickered even more cheerfully, his twin long blades even more unrestrained.

He knew this was a new manifestation of divine authority abilities after reaching a high rank, called 'Absolute Domain,' also known as 'Divine Domain'!

The extreme of the law domain is divine authority ability, and once divine authority ability reaches a certain level, it can re-manifest divine authority in the form of a domain!

Thus, Thomson Beo also judged that the guy beside him did not need overly tight protection.

This also caused all the surrounding bat swarms to emit terrified and awed shrieks.

"Divine Domain! He has actually mastered Divine Domain!"

"He hasn't even become a demigod yet!"

"Kill him, we must kill him! He will be the doom of our vampire race."

"Isis! Could this guy be the reincarnation of Isis? It's over, we're finished!"

Some of the bats became even more frenzied, charging desperately toward Li Mochen, while others showed signs of cowering, beginning to circle outside the two-hundred-meter range.

Li Mochen's lips curled coldly, his gaze indifferent and contemptuous as he watched the scene before him.

"Despicable mongrels, you shall revere authority!"

Boom!

As the domain trembled, all the bats within the two-hundred-meter range were annihilated in the clash between life and death.

A phantom sun also appeared in the sky above them, casting down crimson light and flames. The power of light and flame from the Titan bloodline, combined with mid-tier flame divine authority, turned this area into a sea of deathly flames.

Their bloodline origin, Hyperion the 'One Who Surpasses the Sky,' once ruled the sun, and his power likewise restrained all vampires.

At this moment, the 'Yin-Yang Life-and-Death Mirror' in Li Mochen's hand once again shot a beam of black-and-white light, penetrating deep into the bat swarm ahead.

Then, in the next instant, a mournful wail came from that direction, the despair of approaching death filling the spreading fluctuations of soul thoughts.

At the same time, within the town of St. Desi, a large number of vampires were also annihilated.

After two minutes, some mid- and low-rank vampires could no longer withstand Li Mochen's power, their bodies beginning to disintegrate from the inner source level.

"Stop, all of you!"

This sudden sound, hoarse and heavy, resounded through the sky above the entire town of St. Desi. At the same time, as countless blood bats converged, a figure appeared five hundred meters away from Li Mochen.

It was an old man in a black-red coat with a pale face. After appearing, with just a single mental pressure, he caused the many demigods and legendary vampires around to cease their attacks.

“Mr. Willdenstein, if you do not intend to destroy our Ventrue clan, then please stop your power, okay? I think we can talk again.”

Li Mochen fixed his gaze on this man, then raised an eyebrow: “Odysseus Ventrue?”

Also the Ventrue King, one of the four elders of the Camarilla, vice chairman of the New World Dark Council, a powerful being comparable to a lesser god.

“It is I!”

The old man gave a slight bow, displaying appropriate humility before Li Mochen.

“Mr. Willdenstein, I beg you again, please stop your power. If you continue, none of our clan members in this town will survive.”

As if to show sincerity, the millions of bats, as he spoke, gradually retreated to several kilometers away, even returning to the underground tombs.

“I can give you two minutes!”

Li Mochen temporarily restrained his extended divine authority of life and death: “Now give me an answer: submission? Death? Or departure?”

“I myself would prefer a fair treaty.”

Odysseus Ventrue smiled bitterly: “Our Ventrue clan is willing to pay money and property to gain Mr. Willdenstein’s friendship. Believe me, it is a wealth worthy of your status and your power.”

“Odysseus, are you trying to fool me? As long as you submit, or if I kill you all, your wealth will be mine to take as I please. As for a treaty, before this, there might have been such a possibility. But ever since your clansman Clotaire Ventrue twice provoked me personally, there is no longer any possibility of peaceful coexistence between us, Ventrue King.”

Li Mochen shook his head, while looking at the view projected into his eyes by Light Demon No. 8: “Reminder: you have one minute and fifty seconds!”

“But Mr. Willdenstein, Clotaire Ventrue does not represent the entire Ventrue clan! That was merely his personal action.”

Odysseus Ventrue’s brow was already knotted: “I hope you can give me a chance. Our Ventrue clan is willing to pay the price to appease your anger toward our clan.”

“One minute forty seconds. I am not joking with you, Ventrue King! You should be able to feel my determination and will.”

Li Mochen’s voice remained as cold as ice: “You should be grateful that the Ventrue clan has always observed the Six Traditions, which gave you a chance to live. Otherwise, I would not even be willing to talk with you. As for whether Clotaire Ventrue’s actions were personal, I don’t need to care or delve into that, do I?”

His gaze pressed oppressively on Odysseus Ventrue: “This is not a place for reasoning, Odysseus Ventrue! Your weakness leaves you at my mercy. So what makes you think I should let you go?”

“Survival of the fittest, right?”

Odysseus Ventrue murmured, glancing downward. He saw the panic and fear on his clansmen’s faces. He also sensed the apprehension and helplessness of the legendary and demigod vampires behind him.

This peaceful town, before that young man, was like an anthill under an elephant’s foot.

He sighed softly, and then his aura subtly changed, faintly connecting with the entire magical energy defense array here: “I want to know, what do you mean by ‘departure’? Leaving the New World?”

“It means handing over all your possessions, signing a spiritual contract never to return, and leaving this plane. You can understand it as exile.”

This time Li Mochen did not press further, explaining patiently. But his words caused all the high-ranking vampires around to stir.

Odyssey Ventrue smiled bitterly once more. The condition of surrendering all property was acceptable, but the requirement to leave this plane was something the vast majority of his clan could not accept.

This plane included the Dark World and the Light World, as well as the Abyss and so forth.

Beyond the plane they currently inhabited, there were other planes that could accommodate them. Over the past few decades, the Astral Observation Bureau of the American government and the CIA had discovered over a dozen planes. Among them, World Three harbored a vast number of living beings.

However, the rejection of the plane was a major problem, enough to make them spend the rest of their lives in agony, which was little better than death.

"What about submission?"

"Of course, your Ventrue clan shall submit to me forever, honoring me as your king."

Li Mochen raised his chin slightly, his posture proud, and the corners of his lips hidden behind his mask curled upward: "Obey my commands and laws, serve me, and pay tribute to me. In return, I will grant the Ventrue clan the greatest rights to exist in this world, as well as my protection! Let me remind you, you now have only thirty-five seconds left."

"I can agree to this condition! A great being who holds the authority over life and death is worthy to be the king of all our blood kin."

Odyssey Ventrue once again bowed with a hand over his chest, while his blood energy became more tightly integrated with the protective array of St. D's town. This caused the moon above them to be tinged with a bloody hue.

"But before that, I, Odyssey, also ask Your Highness to accept a few conditions from me."