The disciples of the Thousand Swords Sect that assisted Dan and Senior Brother One Strike in their battle against the Ape Vampire Count mostly had cultivations at the Spirit Tempering Realm. Their understanding of the law of the heavens increased their latent battle prowess.
However, without a Divine Art and only having the support of superficial Spiritual Techniques. Their prowess couldn't compare to Dan who dealt most of the damage.
Debris flew everywhere and in each collision of lightning arcs in mid-air generated a shockwave which threw everything around them in disarray. Dan stood like a God of Lightning, his attacks were fierce and the Ape Vampire Count would miserably shriek in each exchange.
However, Dan knitted his eyebrows when he realized that the Ape Vampire Count would regain its vitality. Its attacks possessed the unique power of life-stealing and Dan had to dodge its attacks to prevent it from healing. Nevertheless, it considerably recovered its battle prowess since it managed to damage the small fries from the Thousand Swords Sect.
Dan clicked his tongue and glanced behind him. One Strike's group kept their tight offensive, but their defenses weren't as strong as their attacks.
"Shit, this isn't working, One to Seven, go back for now! The bastard is recovering each time it lands an attack..." Senior Brother One Strike commanded and though it pained him, he dissipated the Seven Stars Slaughtering Asura formation.
His offense lessened in strength, but the Ape Vampire Count's recovery power also reduced. With the disappearance of the small fries that kept feeding the Ape Vampire Count. The injuries that it suffered, healed slower and Dan could see that it couldn't keep up its recovery anymore.
"Blessing of the Lightning God: Manifestation!" Dan shouted and the air itself screamed as numerous arcs of lightning materialized in the air around him. Senior Brother One Strike's expression changed when he felt the peculiar sensation of dread coming from Dan's body.
The Manifestation Stance of the Blessing of the Lightning God boosted one's stats by fifty-percent and reduces damage suffered by thirty-percent. Not only that, each of his attacks would contain the corroding Lightning Qi.
His attacks charred the wounds of the Ape Vampire Count, preventing its recovery while Senior Brother One Strike's attacks targeted its previous wounds, bestowing upon it, pain that it found hard to handle.
The two worked in tandem, giving the Ape Vampire Count a hard time to retaliate. It tried manipulating its minions, but with the help of the small fries behind. None of them could approach the main battle area and disrupt Dan and One Strike's rhythm.
The remaining disciples of the Thousand Swords Sect kept their alert levels at the highest as they kept on repelling incoming hordes of Ape Vampires. Fortunately, Ape Vampires didn't possess that much intelligence and could easily be manipulated.
"Falling Silk Blade!" One Strike's jade sword blurred and numerous beams of sword lights flew towards the Ape Vampire Count's direction, battering its body as the intangible sword lights burned its flesh.
[Remaining HP: 31/100]
Dan darted his gaze at his peripheral vision and saw the Ape Vampire Count's remaining health points. With this pace, the latter would go down in several minutes at most. However, Dan wasn't concerned by this, he was concerned about how he could reap every benefit for himself.
Scanning his gaze around the area, Dan saw a scene which made him smile to himself. After simulating some theories inside his mind, Dan understood that he only had to buy some time as he launched his offensive once again.
Further at the distance, back at the desolate campsite of the Thousand Swords Sect.
When the fight broke out earlier, the Thousand Swords Sect disciples left the sealed disciples of the Paradyne Academy for death. They didn't even protect them from rogue Ape Vampires. Instead, they purposely let some Apes enter, which made a hard time for Kwydin and his companions.
Hiding behind tattered tents, the injures members of the Paradyne Academy huddled together with shivering bodies. The injuries that they suffered from fighting made them unworthy for further battles. Kwydin gave a wry smile.
The distance between the tent and the center of the campsite where the center of the formation, floated was merely just tens of meters away. But at this moment, such small distance became an impassable chasm.
"We're so close, yet so far..." A male disciple mourned, sticking his head out, he could see numerous Ape Vampires surrounding the floating orb. His expression went pale. He knew that once they neared the formation core, those Ape Vampires would definitely chase them down.
"Hey, who is that? There's someone approaching the Formation Core!" Someone pointed out and everyone stuck their heads out and saw the petite and bedraggled figure of Annie walking as stealthily as she could towards the Formation Core.
"That idiot, what is she doing here?! Is she throwing away her life?!" A male disciple scolded, and everyone's expression went solemn. A cultivator with sealed cultivation could only compare to a mortal. And one could imagine a mortal's end if they met an Ape Vampire.
Annie Thompson stared at the group of Ape Vampires as she bit her lower lip. Her knees endlessly trembled like a leaf, but she still continued her journey and trodded with slow and heavy footsteps towards the Ape Vampires.
She knew that she didn't stand any chance in fighting against these Ape Vampires. However, if she didn't make use of the current commotion and take the opportunity to unseal themselves. She knew that those disciples from the Thousand Swords Sect will never let them go.
And their fate would be worse than being torn apart by these beasts.
Taking a pebble on the ground, Annie threw it at the opposite direction and when it landed, the Ape Vampires turned their heads toward the source of the sound. Giving Annie the opening that she needed to move closer and hide behind a tattered tent.
Sweat continuously dripped from her forehead and her wildly beating heart could almost burst from her chest. Senior Brother Kwydin and his companions that observed from afar, felt as tense as her. As if they were the ones doing the deed and approaching certain death.
"Damn, what is she trying to do? Distract them using pebbles? That won't work! Ape Vampires won't bother with such minute sounds..." One of the disciples shook their heads and Kwydin didn't retort his claims. However, when he ruminated over the words that he just heard. His expression flickered as he said, "Won't bother with minute sounds? How about we support her and create a huge sound, together?"
Everyone turned towards him and stared at him for a moment before shaking their heads, "Senior Brother, that's too dangerous, if we manage to do that, we should make sure that Annie won't fail, or else we'll all die together..." A disciple chimed in with sweat riddled on his forehead.
"Indeed, it is extremely dangerous but other than that method, what can we use? Look, Annie is trying her best to distract them even for a moment just for the sake of an opening that she could exploit! We shouldn't be so cowardly!" Senior Brother Kwydin explained and everyone around him turned silent. Glancing at Annie who kept on throwing pebbles towards the Ape Vampire's direction. They felt somber in their hearts.
"Okay, let's do this, even if I die, I'd rather die while trying than die without doing anything for my survival..." A male disciple nodded his head and a light of determination surged inside his eyes.
His display of courage affected his fellow disciples and soon. Everyone agreed of their distraction plan as Kwydin took the lead and revealed himself to those Ape Vampires. The remaining disciples scattered in different directions as the Ape Vampires roared towards the skies and also scattered.
Annie's changed, sweeping over her gaze on her fellow disciples that risked their lives to give her that precious opening. She gritted her teeth and ran towards the center of the campsite. Unfortunately, for her, a single Ape Vampire still remained and it pounced at her direction.
Time itself slowed down as Annie's mind went into overdrive. Entering a state of utmost concentration. She condensed everything that she learned in her entire life and made the greatest rolling evasion that she ever did in her life.
~Whoosh~
Her clothes fluttered in the air as she bent her body and leaped toward the ground. Her head barely dodged the Ape Vampire's sweeping attack by a hair's breadth as her hand stretched out and captured the floating Formation Core!
But before she could crush the floating orb in her palms. Senior Brother One Strike's voice echoed behind her, followed by the reverberating explosion of thunder and a bright flash of lightning which temporarily robbed her sense of vision.
Bang!
A fierce explosion occurred and Senior Brother One Strike's body flew into the air like a ragdoll. With a venomous expression on his face, he stared at Dan's direction with hatred and anger,
"You bastard, how dare you attacked me while under the heaven's oath!" His hatred turned into gloating upon this realization.
"Heaven's Oath?" Dan sneered in his heart and stared right into his eyes, "There's no such thing such as Heaven's Oath that can bind me in its grasp..."
Senior Brother One Strike sneered in his heart as he stared at Dan's figure, 'What a retarded man, does he really think that an oath made under the heaven's name can be taken so lightly?' An oath made under the heaven's name would warrant the heaven's punishment if violated.
One Strike could only imagine Dan's miserable end after violating the oath of not attacking each other until the Ape Vampire Count, died.
Several breaths later, nothing happened.
This made him frown his eyebrows, 'Nothing is happening? Why? The oath should be in effect, why is he not being punished?'
His fellow disciples who observed the sudden commotion stopped their sneering, "Hey, what's going on here? Why are the heavens not punishing him for his violation of the oath? Could it be that the oath didn't take effect?"
Disciple Seven, one of the most impulsive young man in their group couldn't help himself and pounce at Dan's direction with his sword raised towards the skies. A cold sheen enveloped his sword, but before it could descend, thunder reverberated in the skies and heaven's punishment struck the poor disciple, instantly turning him into dust for violating the terms of his oath.
Witnessing what just happened before their eyes. Everyone turned silent, only the whistling of the wind and the faint rustling of trees could be heard as everyone stared at the previous location of the disciple that just died.
"Just what did happen?"