Chapter 118: The Gray-White World

The blood mist created by Blood Butcher’s self-detonation completely enveloped Bai Ye. The dense, crimson haze obscured the view of Xing Yu and Xue Lan, leaving them unable to discern the outcome.

"Hmph!" Before the mist had even dissipated, a cold snort echoed from within. A blood-red vortex formed at the center of the haze, hungrily absorbing the remnants of the explosion. As the mist vanished, Bai Ye’s figure was revealed.

A blood-stained scimitar lay embedded in the ground before him, but its owner was nowhere to be found. Blood Butcher’s desperate, suicidal strike had left not even a corpse behind. As for Bai Ye, the intended target, he remained entirely unscathed, save for his clothes, which were now even more tattered than before.

"To think he would attempt to harm a vampire with blood... I hardly know how to praise such stupidity," Bai Ye sneered, casting a disdainful glance at the abandoned scimitar. "Thanks to this piece of trash, the injuries I sustained from that previous ant have been completely healed." He then turned his gaze toward Xing Yu and Xue Lan. "Well, the annoying ants have been dealt with. Xing Yu, it is time for us to settle our score. This time, I will not let you escape. I will finish you once and for all. Liliana is mine—no one shall take her away." With a roar, Bai Ye lunged toward them.

"Xue Lan, run! I will hold him off," Xing Yu shouted, teleporting forward to meet the charge. His black scythe collided with Bai Ye’s razor-sharp claws. The wounds that had only just begun to heal instantly tore open again, and Xing Yu was sent flying backward by the impact, blood spraying from his body in thick, crimson arcs.

"Domain: Song of the Blood Knight!" Ignoring the command to flee, Xue Lan unleashed her domain and charged at Bai Ye, intercepting his pursuit of Xing Yu. From the crimson field swirling around her dark-gold knight’s lance, the battle song of the Blood Knights emerged—a symphony of tragic horns, ceaseless slaughter, the clashing of blades, and the thunderous beat of galloping hooves, all crushing down upon Bai Ye.

"A domain? How interesting." Seeing Xue Lan’s technique, Bai Ye halted his pursuit, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "In that case, witness the domain of your King. You should feel honored to die within it." As he spoke, grey-white mist surged from his body, transforming into a torrent that rushed toward Xue Lan. "Domain: The Grey-White World." With his words, the monochromatic domain engulfed the entire space, sweeping up even Xing Yu, who lay gasping on the ground.

Trapped within the grey-white void, Xue Lan halted her advance. The crimson domain surrounding her dark-gold lance still pulsed with fighting spirit, and the stirring anthem continued to ring out, but she had lost her target. Bai Ye had vanished from this colorless world. Xue Lan searched cautiously for any sign of him, but found nothing. Trapped in his domain, she and Xing Yu, already at a disadvantage, had now become Bai Ye’s playthings.

"Welcome to my world, you two!" Just as Xue Lan braced herself for an unseen strike, Bai Ye’s voice echoed from behind her. Without looking, she thrust her lance backward without hesitation.

The sound of metal clashing rang out, but Xue Lan felt the domain attached to her weapon rapidly dissolving. She leaped away, staring back in shock. Behind her, an identical lance had blocked her strike, but this one was composed of a grey-white hue, gripped by a knight clad in grey-white armor.

"This is the first time I have revealed my domain. You may take pride in dying within it," Bai Ye’s voice came from behind the armored figure.

"Bai Ye?" Xue Lan gasped.

Standing behind the knight was a figure dressed as a jester in grey and white, wearing a mask split down the middle—grey on the left, white on the right—concealing his face. Yet, his voice confirmed his identity beyond a doubt.

"It is I," Bai Ye said from beneath the mask. "Welcome to the Grey-White World."

"The Grey-White World?" Xue Lan asked, her tone heavy with caution.

"Indeed. This is my world," Bai Ye replied proudly. "If the world you inhabit is the positive side, there must inevitably be a grey-white shadow world that corresponds to it. My world is that shadow. Here, you shall face another version of yourself, identical in every way." He lightly traced the armor of the knight before him. "In this realm, I am the master. Go on, play with your double. I have no time for you now; once I have finished off that trash, I hope you are still alive." With that, he turned his back on her and walked toward Xing Yu with a smile.

"Damn you! Don't look down on me! Stay here!" Xue Lan lunged, her lance tracing a straight line toward his back.

*Clang!* The grey-white lance struck hers again, and the grey-white knight blocked her path, staring at her expressionlessly while holding his weapon ready.

"Get out of my way! I have no time to waste on you!" Xue Lan spat, her dark-gold lance once again shrouded in her crimson domain. The grey-white knight remained unmoved, his own weapon shimmering with monochromatic light as he stood firm.

"So be it. Then die." Seeing the knight would not yield, Xue Lan thrust her lance forward with all her might. "Song of the Blood Knight: Requiem of the Fallen, Dance of Blood!" As she brandished her weapon, the sounds of ancient, sorrowful warfare filled the air. Accompanied by her elegant, dance-like movements, countless spectral knights appeared around her, charging toward the grey-white figure.

The grey-white knight raised his own weapon, and a phantom legion, identical in form but composed of grey-white light, surged forth to meet them.

The two legions collided with brutal force. Xue Lan and her opponent drove their lances into each other’s chests. After a deafening roar, silence returned to the grey-white world.

Both spectral armies vanished into nothingness. Xue Lan and the grey-white knight stood motionless, their lances still buried deep in one another.

Xue Lan’s left shoulder was pierced through, her arm hanging by a mere thread of flesh. Blood spilled from her lips as she released her grip, stumbled back, and fell to one knee.

Across from her, the grey-white knight stood like a statue before his knees buckled, and he collapsed. Xue Lan’s lance remained embedded in his chest. No blood flowed from the wound, but his body began to disintegrate, shedding grey-white dust into the air until he vanished entirely.

"Don't underestimate me, Vampire King," Xue Lan wheezed, picking up her lance and struggling to her feet. "A mere forgery could never defeat me." Her shoulder wound began to knit together slowly as she turned toward Xing Yu.

But just as she took a few steps, a sense of danger prickled at her back. She whirled around just in time to block a strike from a grey-white lance.

The knight she had just destroyed stood before her once more, entirely unharmed, and launched another relentless attack.

"Damn it... I knew it wouldn't be that simple," she thought, gritting her teeth. "Xing Yu, I'm afraid I cannot help you for now; you must look after yourself. Lady Liliana is already on her way. You must survive!" With a silent prayer and a hardened gaze, Xue Lan thrust her lance forward, shimmering with crimson light, to meet her foe.

Facing an opponent of equal strength, this was a struggle of life and death. With no room for distraction, Xue Lan faced the grey-white knight with unwavering resolve.