The battle between the Earthly Fire Dragon and the young warriors had come to a deadlock. They
stood in place now, not yet advancing back into the fray. The dragon also did not hurl fire at them
anymore. It just paced there and roared fiercely at them, warning them not to come any closer to the
lake full of magma behind it. It was protecting the lake.
At first, they had felt rather thrilled when Karl claimed that he knew of a way to defeat the dragon. But
his proposal of drawing ten drops of blood essence was quite ridiculous. They looked at him with
disbelief in their eyes.
After all, blood essence was the most essential and vital part of a creature. It was as important as a
creature's life. Generally speaking, a warrior of Blood Purification had six to eight drops of blood
essence. But what did Karl just say? That he needed ten drops of blood essence from warriors at the
eighth grade of Blood Purification!? Preposterous!
For a warrior of Blood Purification, losing one drop of blood essence meant that he would lose nearly a
sixth of his strength. He would become quite weak and his life would be endangered!
No wonder Pompeo and Aiden were feeling shock and trepidation! It was understandable for them to
have such mixed feelings.
"Karl, why do you need them? Feel free to explain, please!" Theo asked after he had been silent for a
while.
"Everyone, I'm sure all of you know what we could find in that lake. This is a grand opportunity for all of
us. If we miss it today, we won't be able to have such a big opportunity anymore,"
Karl stepped forward and explained. "I'm well aware that the blood essence is of extreme importance to
all of you. But the dragon blood is of even greater importance. Once we succeed, I can assure you that
we are all going to gain more than enough to pay off the blood essence we contributed."
He then took a deep breath and continued, "I need ten drops. Five from us and five from you. So, what
do you think? Think carefully and make a wise decision, please!"
Hearing Karl's speech, Theo, Pompeo and Aiden began to calculate carefully. In Ricky's team, only the
three were at the eighth grade of Blood Purification. They were now expected to donate the blood
essence.
The dragon blood? Or the blood essence? They were struggling with this dilemma. On one hand, they
were eager to defeat the dragon. But then again, they did not want to take the risk of losing their blood
essence by giving it to a man they had just met.
"Karl, let me ask a question. Why are you so confident that you will kill the dragon with the blood
essence?" Pompeo finally said. It seemed as though he had begun to trust Karl and wanted to know
more.
"Check this out!" Karl said, not answering him directly. Instead, he began to do something.
He closed his eyes and gathered his internal strength for a few seconds. Then he opened his eyes and
stretched out his right palm. Immediately, crimson spiritual energy appeared, creeping on the palm.
Soon, a complex array was shown on his palm.
"Th... This is an array! You are an array deployer!" Theo blurted out in shock. His companions were
also surprised.
Although array deployers might not enjoy as high a reputation as casting masters or pill refiners did,
they were still respectable. They could form arrays in advance and thus could fight against a large
number of enemies at the same time.
What was more, many clans and organizations constructed their buildings with the help of array
deployers because they were able to form advantageous arrays as the foundations.
Generally speaking, an array deployer was even more powerful than a casting master at the same
level.
"Yes. As you can see, I'm an array deployer at the intermediate level!" Karl announced boldly, raising
his chin up. Obviously, he was proud of his identity.
'An array deployer at the intermediate level!?' Ricky muttered to himself silently, in surprise. He had
heard quite a few things about array deployers.
Array deployers were divided into different levels. There were array deployers at the inferior,
intermediate, and advanced levels. Respectively, they were as strong as the warriors of Skin
Refinement, of Blood Purification, and of Bone Reinforcement.
In addition, there were array deployers who were even more powerful than those at the advanced level.
They were called array deployers of king level.
'It seems that he is quite strong and is not as ordinary as he has presented himself. I have to be more
cautious from now. He is a difficult one to deal with. It's just a good thing that he doesn't know my real
strength, ' Ricky thought to himself, growing more alert.
"The array in my hand is a higher array of intermediate level. It's called the Bloodsucking Array. It can
defeat a creature at the ninth grade of Blood Purification when it's formed successfully. However, it's
not easy to form one. I need blood essence from the warriors. Otherwise, it won't come into effect," Karl
explained.
"It needs the support from the blood essence. Even with ten drops, the array would only maintain its
power for about one hour."
"You mean, we only have one hour to defeat the dragon?!" Pompeo blurted out.
"Yes, that's right!" If you are unwilling to denote your blood essence, it's fine. You can leave. We will try
to find other warriors. I'm sure there are people out there who would take the risk to get the dragon
blood," Karl stated.
Now, Theo, Pompeo, and Aiden began to consider his offer.
"Pompeo, Aiden, I'll take out three drops, and you will take one out. What do you think of this?" Theo
said, turning to Pompeo and Aiden. It was clear he wanted to take the opportunity.
Hearing Theo's suggestion, Pompeo and Aiden did not reply at once. Instead, they looked meaningfully
at each other and nodded. Immediately, the blood vitality emerged from their bodies and gathered
between their eyebrows. Soon, two drops of blood essence gushed out from their foreheads.
In an instant, they faces grew pale, the blood draining out. They panted weakly as if they were hurt
badly.
"Don't…" Seeing what Pompeo and Aiden just did, Theo was struck dumb. He was touched by their
selflessness, and was also concerned about their wellbeing.
"Theo, you just reached the eighth grade of Blood Purification. If you lose too much blood essence, I'm
afraid it may be fatal for you! So, let us donate two drops each. You can just give one drop!" Pompeo
said weakly, rubbing his chest with one hand to ease his ill feeling.
'This is what a real family or friend would do!' Ricky thought to himself, feeling quite touched at their
actions. Then he thought of his so-called families and friends in the past. They had won his favor when
he had a good break, but abandoned, humiliated, or even tried to kill him when he was at his lowest
time.
'Humph! They were nothing but dishonorable bastards!' he cursed silently.
Theo nodded to Pompeo and Aiden with a decisive look. "I thank you, my friends! You just did me a big
favor!" he said sincerely, eyes shining.
"You are our friend, our family!" Pompeo said.
Then Theo also closed his eyes and activated his internal strength to extract the blood essence out
from his forehead.
After they had completed their five drops, Pompeo turned his eyes to Karl, indicating it was their time to
do what he had promised.
Immediately, Karl turned around and nodded at his men. Without hesitation, the three men let out five
drops of blood essence.
'They even did not think for one second before they took the blood essence out! So decisive! They
seem to be quite cooperative. But could this be real?' Ricky questioned silently. He was not being mean
or critical to them. It was just that his previous experiences made him suspicious of everyone and
everything. The martial arts world was a jungle and danger lurked everywhere. One wouldn't survive for
long if he was careless and naive. It was better to always keep cautious and stay alert. What was more,
Ricky did not know Karl well. So far, he was uncertain about his true character.
"Don't worry. I took your blood essence and I will make the best use of it. I will not disappoint you!" Karl
promised. He went to Theo and collected their blood essence. Then he started to draw the array.
He initiated his energy, with his palms facing up. Visibly, streaks of crimson lines emerged and flew into
the air.
This went on for about half an hour before it ended. Then he placed the blood essence into those lines.
"Everything is ready! Guys, step backwards, please. Just let me show you how I will slay this monster!"
Karl declared confidently.
Everyone took several steps backwards, in anticipation of his powerful performance.
They could not defeat this Earthly Fire Dragon even before they lost the blood essence. Now, with
weakened bodies, they would by no means be able to fight it.
Karl strode up to the roaring dragon. When he entered its territory, the dragon launched attacks at
once. It opened its mouth and spat fire. Immediately, a ball of burning flames was hurled down at Karl.
This fire was powerful enough to destroy several warriors at the eighth grade of Blood Purification.
Everyone present could feel its massive destructive energy.
Karl felt it as well. Of course, he would not go and fight against it face to face. So he jumped here and
there to evade the attacks from the dragon. He was doing this to annoy it.
A few minutes later, the dragon had lost its patience. This was exactly what Karl wanted! He led it to
the array he had prepared.
Immediately, the crimson lines appeared in the array, and the ten drops of the blood essence rapidly
spread in ten directions.
"The Bloodsucking Array - the Bloodsucking Claw!"
Karl roared all of a sudden. The crimson lines were activated. Together with the prepared blood
essence, they began to absorb the ferocious blood spiritual energy in the space. Impressively, the lines
turned to a blood-red claw, hanging in the air.
Now, Karl also ejected a drop of blood essence from his body and shot it into the claw. So far, this
Bloodsucking Claw contained eleven drops of blood essence from warriors at the eighth grade of Blood
Purification.
The tremendous energy from the claw made Ricky and the other warriors feel quite in awe.
The next second, the Bloodsucking Claw dashed straight at the Earthly Fire Dragon. The enraged
dragon almost lost its mind at Karl's attack. It spewed out another flame ball, this one even more
powerful than the last, and aimed it at the Bloodsucking Claw.
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