Chapter 679: Level 20
Vlad’s eyelids twitched slightly before finally opening, revealing his intense, dark-red eyes that now glimmered with renewed vitality. His body felt heavy and residual exhaustion lingered within every muscle, but the severe pain from before had faded considerably.
The Depravita exhaled deeply, assessing his internal condition carefully before murmuring to himself, "By tomorrow, I should be fully recovered."
A small smile appeared on the Depravita of Wrath’s lips as he sensed the revitalized energy coursing through his veins. Turning his gaze slightly, Vlad’s attention shifted to the small yellow cat nearby.
Jormungandr’s expression was intensely focused as he wielded a delicate magic blade, skillfully slicing open the hardened skull of a Vorometallicae Sage.
The small yellow cat’s movements were precise and surgical, carefully extracting the brain without damaging it and placing it carefully into a specially prepared container. Around him were numerous similar containers, each holding more brains and hearts harvested from their defeated foes.
The grisly scene, though grotesque, only widened Vlad’s smile. In each harvested organ, he saw progress—a direct path toward his evolution into a True Depravita. Every Sage-level brain and heart meant one step closer to achieving the power necessary to save Freya.
Suddenly, Vlad’s expression sharpened, and his eyes narrowed as his spatial perception expanded beyond his residence walls. His consciousness detected thousands of unfamiliar figures walking through the streets and courtyards of the Korokor Fortress. These new presences had clearly arrived while he slept.
"They are reinforcements sent from the Golden Sky Fortress," Jormungandr said quietly, noticing Vlad’s reaction without raising his head from his delicate work. "They arrived a few hours ago. Almost all of them are Guardian-tier warriors, but each is equipped with specialized armor designed to synchronize their energy fields, vastly increasing their durability and collective strength."
A glint of understanding flashed in Vlad’s eyes as he absorbed this information. Indeed, merely three hundred Sages were far from sufficient to sustain prolonged battles against the relentless Voroe assaults. Even small losses accumulated rapidly, potentially eroding their forces over time.
Ordinary Guardian warriors would stand little chance in a Sage-tier confrontation, which was evident from the Voroe Guardians’ catastrophic losses. But with specialized equipment and sophisticated energy formations, Guardians could be significantly empowered, explaining why the reinforcements had taken so long to mobilize.
Vlad was pleased to see this critical improvement in their defenses, yet his expression quickly hardened once more, focusing on his primary goal. His piercing gaze returned to Jormungandr, and the small yellow cat immediately understood the unspoken request.