Chapter 0081: Rebirth in Blood and Fire

Beneath the earth, the Crocodile Hunter moved swiftly through the soil. Ever since they had passed through the electric trap, the abnormal interference with earth elements had vanished. In order to survive, Grim had been forced to abandon the Rock Python, leaving it to entangle that terrifying lightning adept, while he stealthily summoned the Crocodile Hunter and fled with Mary.

Now, Mary could hardly be called a person; she was more akin to a heap of charcoal dragged from a fire. Her skin was entirely carbonized, crumbling to fine ash at the slightest touch. Beneath the flaking charcoal, steaming, half-cooked flesh and tendons were exposed. It was clear that the searing heat from the wild currents had destroyed most of the muscles and bones in her body.

With such grave injuries, an ordinary person would have been well beyond saving. Yet Mary, as a mutated bloodline apprentice, bore the peculiar traits of her vampire heritage—a heart core that could not shatter, and a soul that could not perish. Even amidst the ruin of her body, a faint hint of her soul remained detectable.

“Chip, scan Mary’s condition and provide the most reliable treatment plan,” Grim commanded, though his heart trembled, his voice remained composed and steady.

“Beep—status scan initiating… Warning, warning, target’s flesh survival rate below 7%, consciousness core damaged… Warning, warning, target’s life force continues to deteriorate. Without immediate intervention, consciousness core failure is imminent…”

“Enough with the pointless chatter—give me the most feasible treatment plan!” Grim interrupted impatiently.

“Blood. A large amount of blood… The target possesses a mutated vampire constitution; as long as there is sufficient fresh blood, even if the entire body is destroyed, so long as the consciousness core comes into contact with blood, resurrection is possible.”

“Blood?”

Grim shook his head, cursing himself for his stupidity. Mary was a vampire—what better cure for her than blood?

“Change direction immediately. Find an area rich in underground creatures. Quickly!”

Half an hour later, in a gathering of green-skinned goblins, the enormous Crocodile Hunter suddenly emerged from the earth.

Green-skinned goblins were a humanoid subspecies, averaging no more than a meter in height. Their green skin was tough as leather, and they sported large, donkey-like ears. Their diet was so broad that it encompassed nearly all organic matter. In the underworld, they ate nearly everything except stone and soil.

Individually weak, they had evolved to live in groups. In the subterranean world, they were at the bottom of the food chain, yet they were the most widespread and numerous of all creatures. Their most prominent characteristics were an indiscriminate appetite and astonishing fecundity.

By all rights, such frail creatures should not have survived, but they could be found in every region of the underworld. The reason was simple: food was scarce below ground, and reliable sources were hard to find. Thus, green-skinned goblins served as livestock for other underground creatures and clans. When others could not find enough to eat, they would raid the goblin settlements for sustenance.

Truth be told, goblin flesh was sour, tough, and carried a stench that was impossible to dispel. Unless driven by starvation, even the most desperate creatures hesitated to burden their guts with such a meal.

Perhaps it was this that ensured their eternal survival.

But today, misfortune fell upon this goblin tribe.

Within a cramped cavern, over a hundred goblins were gathered, preparing their “delicacies.” The camp was so primitive it was almost despairing: aside from scattered piles of rubble, there were only countless burrows dug from the mud, and the solitary tent was nothing more than a filthy scrap of cloth propped up by a stick.

Yet this tent, repulsive even to the most destitute human vagrant, was the greatest symbol of the goblin chieftain’s status.

It was mealtime; the hunting goblins had returned, chattering noisily as they tossed their lizards and insects into a massive stone cauldron at the center of camp. The bonfire blazed, and the cauldron’s murky green broth seethed with countless unidentifiable objects.

There were bones of unknown origin, chunks of strange-colored meat, sharp beast fangs, writhing shellbugs, and ghastly pale eyeballs…

A few goblins stood on a platform, stirring the cauldron with sticks, bringing strange objects up from the depths. This stew, toxic and foul, was the most coveted meal of the day.

Countless goblins crowded around the fire with their stone bowls, jostling for a spot near the front, awaiting their chieftain’s arrival. As chieftain, the privilege of first tasting the “delicacy” was his alone.

Amid this demonic, chaotic scene, the Crocodile Hunter burst in.

Grim, carrying Mary, emerged from its back, casting a cold gaze over the grotesque tableau. In a low voice, he commanded, “Kill them all.”

With that, he paid no further heed, instead seeking a relatively clean spot to gently lay Mary down. Even this slight movement caused clouds of black ash to drift from her charred body.

Grim drew a dagger from his belt and, without hesitation, plunged it into Mary’s chest. Slicing open the half-cooked flesh, heedless of the rising steam, he parted the tissue with his hands, exposing the dying “heart” beneath.

This was both Mary’s heart and the core of her consciousness. So long as this core survived, even a ruined body could be reborn through blood.

Having exposed the heart, Grim did not hesitate to slash his own wrist. The moment his blood dripped onto the withered, shriveled heart, a spark of vitality returned to it. The ashen, yellowed flesh flushed red, and fine veins branched out like twigs, rapidly spreading and growing.

Soon, a thin membrane of blood enveloped the heart, and as Grim’s blood continued to fall, it extended further, sending tendrils of vessels snaking through the body.

Before his eyes, Mary’s heart regained its normal appearance. The blood continued to drip, every drop absorbed almost instantly. At last, with a soft thump, Mary’s heart began to beat once more.

“Blood, I need more blood…”

Cracks formed at the lips of Mary’s charred visage, revealing the dark red flesh beneath, and her parched, desperate voice issued forth.

His own blood would hardly suffice.

“Isn’t it done yet?” Grim growled quietly.

By now, the goblin camp was awash in a storm of blood. The Crocodile Hunter had collapsed the cave entrance with practiced ease and was now swinging its massive body, impaling the green-skinned creatures with earthen spears. Meanwhile, the Earth Golem had separated from the hunter and strode to Grim’s side, two goblins skewered on its long spear.

With a sweep of its hand, a shallow pit half a meter deep appeared. The golem tore open the goblins’ bodies and tossed them into the pit. As blue blood gushed from the wounds, the bottom of the pit grew slick and muddy.

The Crocodile Hunter slaughtered, the golem bled the corpses. Within moments, the pit was brimming with blue blood, and a mountain of deformed goblin bodies lay piled around it.

Grim carefully moved Mary’s slightly recovered form into the blood pool. As her body was submerged, bubbles roiled violently, nearly boiling the pool.

The blood level dropped rapidly.

“Hurry! We need more blood!” Grim urged.

More goblins were thrown to the edge, their blue blood gushing into the pit, forming a spring that just managed to meet the demands of Mary’s resurrection.

After a quarter of an hour, with a splash, blood fountained as a flawless, nude female form rose from the pool, hovering in midair.

Freshly reborn, Mary was dazed; her emerald eyes snapped open, staring blankly at her surroundings. Her tender, fair skin gleamed with a crystalline luster, her delicate body radiant and alluring.

After blinking and recalling for a moment, Mary finally regained her memory.

“You… you’re Grim? I… am Mary!”

In the span of three breaths, Mary had returned once more.

“Damn it, how could you use such filthy blood to revive me? You idiot, don’t you know I despise the blood of these lowly creatures?” Before Grim could even greet her, Mary sniffed herself and shrieked in protest.

Well… Grim had to admit that he knew little about vampires, and the combination of vampire and woman was an even more mysterious and unpredictable species.

“Welcome back! And thank you,” Grim said sincerely, bowing deeply. His words held double meaning, the depths of which only these two could truly comprehend.

Had Mary not shielded the frail Grim in the earlier battle, she could have braved the lightning trap with minor injuries. Yet she had chosen to protect him at her own expense, nearly sacrificing her own consciousness core.

If Grim claimed he felt nothing, he would be a heartless stone. Yet as a sorcerer’s apprentice, trained to be ever cold and rational, he preferred to bury his feelings deep, savoring them only in solitude.

Thus, for Mary’s selfless rescue, Grim could only allow a simple “thank you” to convey the fullness of his heart.