A glimpse of opportunity: Start by marrying a mermaid bride.

"Song Jin'ao...and you, you little mouse who loves France~"

Richard looked at Song Jin'ao and Zheng Xuan with amusement and said, "Get out of the way." Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan's expression changed slightly. Song Jin'ao held up his gilded tiger-head spear in front of him and looked at Richard, saying, "Get out of the way."

Richard smiled and said, "What an arrogant guest. You came to our church, killed one of our men, and now you think you can just walk away like that?"

Song Jin'ao then said with a cold expression, "It seems that we cannot leave today without seeing bloodshed."

Richard smiled and said, "No, no, not only will there be bloodshed, but your lives will also be spared."

"Zheng Xuan, hide for a while, I'll call you to come out later."

As Song Jin'ao spoke, he held his spear horizontally in front of him. Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan carried Li Jitong on his back and hid in a room. Inside were several frightened children. Zheng Xuan glanced at the children and said, "Don't be afraid, your brother will take you out in a little while. Now, can you help me look after my uncle?"

The children nodded obediently. Zheng Xuan then looked down to check his revolver, loaded it with bullets, and bent down to move outside. Outside, Richard and Song Jin'ao were already fighting.

This battle is between a martial artist of the seventh rank: a martial artist of the Transformation Realm, and a vampire of the seventh rank: an apostle.

This was a battle that spanned East and West. Richard gracefully drew his rapier, which looked like a slender icicle and exuded a chilling aura.

Opposite him, Song Jin'ao stretched his body, his muscles suddenly tensing up like the roots of an old tree, his gilded tiger-head spear pointing diagonally at the ground, like an angry tiger about to devour everything.

The two stared at each other, searching for each other's weakness.

Richard was the first to make a move. He found that Song Jin'ao's positioning was very sophisticated, blending seamlessly with his surroundings and leaving no fatal flaws. He had no choice but to launch a preemptive attack.

Richard was incredibly fast; his figure vanished in an instant, and when he reappeared, he was already in front of Song Jin'ao. His rapier transformed into a silver lightning bolt, aiming straight for Song Jin'ao's throat.

This sword strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless, carrying a chilling aura.

Song Jin'ao remained motionless, his entire being as steady as a mountain, an immovable stance—a famous principle of Bajiquan: "Head to the heavens, feet firmly planted on the land."

Just as the sword tip was less than three inches from Song Jin'ao, he slightly turned his body, his right shoulder sank, and the seemingly heavy spear suddenly emerged like a snake from its hole. With a shake of the shaft, he used the force of the "Iron Mountain Lean" to knock Richard's sword away.

Richard was thrown backward by such tremendous force.

That's a lot of force.

What he didn't know was that Song Jin'ao's awakened skill in the Martial Artist Sequence Nine Bright Strength state was "Great Strength", which increased his strength by 30% during combat.

With one move, Song Jin'ao forced Richard back, then advanced and seized the initiative. His tiger-head spear was wide open and powerful, with a rainbow-like momentum. His spear techniques were ever-changing, including many spear techniques such as collapsing, lifting, chopping, and smashing. His offensive was like a storm.

Richard was forced to retreat repeatedly, unable to utilize the many ingenious variations of Western swordsmanship.

After exchanging a few blows, Richard found himself at a disadvantage. At that moment, Richard's gaze sharpened, and the skill "Vampire Will," granted by the Vampire Sequence Nine Embrace, was activated, instantly bringing his mind into a state of absolute calm.

The opponent is strong, so I can't fight them head-on. I need to leverage my own combat advantages, which is speed.

Richard thought he could quickly break free from Song Jin'ao's entanglement and create distance, and then immediately use the Blood Shadow skill of the Vampire Sequence 8 Blood Servant, which can instantly increase the user's speed by 50%.

With a sudden surge in speed, Richard instantly broke free from Song Jin'ao's entanglement and transformed into a bloody shadow to attack Song Jin'ao.

UI.

Richard, whose speed increased dramatically, instantly left several sword wounds on Song Jin'ao, putting Song Jin'ao at a disadvantage.

Seeing this, Song Jin'ao frowned and suddenly activated the skill of a martial artist of the eighth level of Dark Force: Penetrating Bone Force!

At this moment, the spear was wielded in a dense, impenetrable manner, and Richard's attacks were mostly blocked. Although he would occasionally be hit by one or two swords, it was not a big problem. However, if Richard touched Song Jin'ao's spear, a strange force would be transmitted to his body.

With a few sword strikes, his tiger's mouth was split open, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Realizing that things couldn't continue like this, Li shouted angrily and directly activated the Vampire Sequence Seven Apostle ability: Vampire True Form.

Richard roared, and the next moment his eyes flashed red, his elegant mask shattered instantly, his height suddenly increased, his tuxedo was torn apart, his fingernails turned into sharp claws, and his fangs were exposed, making him look like a vampire.

Upon seeing this, Song Jin'ao sneered, "So it's a monster!"

Richard then roared, "How dare you blaspheme against God! Die!"

At this moment, Richard's speed increased again, and his strength increased accordingly, almost in every aspect.

At this moment, Song Jin'ao was at a disadvantage.

Just as the two were locked in fierce combat, a man dressed in a white tuxedo suddenly approached from a distance, hid behind a pillar, and raised his gold revolver.

Zheng Xuan was watching Song Jin'ao fight Richard when he happened to see this scene. He saw that the man's golden revolver was pointing at Song Jin'ao, so he quickly and quietly crept over.

Meanwhile, the battle between Song Jin'ao and Richard reached its climax, and Song Jin'ao also activated the ability of a martial artist at the seventh level of martial arts: External Release of Qi!

At this moment, Song Jin'ao was enveloped in red light, and the spear in his hand was also coated with a layer of red light. Song Jin'ao and Richard clashed against each other, and it was difficult to determine the winner for a time.

The guy in the white tuxedo pointed his gun at the target repeatedly, and Zheng Xuan slowly crept over, trying not to alert him.

They fought for another dozen or so rounds. Song Jin'ao's muscles and bones were throbbing, and he was giving it his all. However, it was indeed difficult to defeat Richard. After taking three more moves, Song Jin'ao created an opening, as if his internal energy was not flowing smoothly.

Richard sent Song Jin'ao flying two steps, and just then Song Jin'ao turned to run away. Richard's eyes flashed with bloodlust, and he roared, "You stay here!"

He charged straight at Song Jin'ao, but at that moment, Song Jin'ao suddenly gathered all his inner energy at the tip of his spear, executed a backflip, and thrust backward with a [Returning Spear!]

A flash of cold light appeared first, followed by a spear thrust out like a dragon. Richard had no time to react and could only raise his hand to block, but this spear, infused with all of Song Jin'ao's strength, pierced directly through Richard's chest.

So cool!

Richard stared in disbelief at the spear piercing his chest, the red light in his eyes quickly fading and dimming, death looming.

Bang!

But just then, a gunshot rang out, and a silver bullet shot towards Song Jin'ao at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

A shot rang out and struck Song Jin'ao's right arm.

Song Jin'ao's protective aura failed to stop it, and he cried out in pain.

Andrei, who was hiding behind the pillar, was about to fire a second shot after his first shot missed when a gunshot suddenly rang out beside him.

He felt a sharp pain in his arm, and the golden revolver in his hand fell to the ground. He turned his head and saw a Chinese teenager raising his gun and shooting at him again.