It should have proceeded as per plan. Tristan was supposed to leave the space knight, sacrificing the man's life to contain the enemy while he ran to safety.

But the sight of his reliable subordinate being pierced through by the laser-like beam caused an incalculable measure of anger blooming inside him.

Without him realizing it, Tristan had found himself casting [Blood Synthesis].

In matters of seconds, spear-like constructs made of blood were materializing around him and brandished their tip at the Forlorn Prince. He created as many spears as he possibly could before launching all of them toward the approaching Prince Janus.

Seeing the incoming attacks that looked like impregnable barrage, the Forlorn Prince swiftly dismissed the spell he casted on Chieng and directed it to the spears, intending to smash all of them to smithereens.

Out of the numerous blood spears flying at him, a few managed to pass and hit their target but they were only able to leave a mere scratch on the elf's body as they couldn't really pierce his skin.

He was once more disappointed in how his blood synthesis skill had been unreliable for him.

There was one skill under his belt that he hasn't used or tried.

[Blood Legacy] his new third skill after the [blood seal] and [blood synthesis]. He had high hope that this could be the solution to his current situation. Unfortunately, his hope was crushed with a notification that came to mind

[Unable to use skill - prerequisite not fulfilled]

He wonders if he needed large an insane amount of blood essence for it, or anything else.

When he saw how the Forlorn Prince dashed towards him at such speed that it could almost be described as flying, Tristan decided to stand his ground. He had no plan to be hit on the back while running away.

His two hands were placed in front of him and enveloped by scorching flames. Tristan was ready for another fight, one that literally determined his fate.

But then, both to their surprise, an arm suddenly appeared and grabbed the foot of the running Forlorn Prince. Prince Janus, who was caught off guard, was stopped in his tracks before his body fell to the ground as he felt something pull him.

It was the space knight, Chieng. Apparently, the man hadn't died yet!

Tristan then remembered that Chieng as a space knight had two functional hearts. Prince Janus had only destroyed one of them, and thus, Chieng managed to catch the other party. After all, no one expected their enemy not to die after having their hearts broken.

Chieng, whose hand on the Forlorn Prince's ankle exerted all of his strength and hugged the latter, immobilizing him. The huge Asian man, blood covering his body, still has the strength to hold down the elf.

While Tristan was trying to process what was happening, a voice came from his earpiece waking him up.

(Run, Master! I will hold him down!)

Tristan immediately turned his body and dashed as fast as he could. To his surprise, his heart felt a pang as his ears heard the sound of broken bones and torn body coming from behind him. He didn't need to use his eyes to know that Chieng had sacrificed himself for him.

The space knight had always been under the influence of [Blood Seal]. Therefore, Tristan wouldn't believe it if others said he was loyal to him. However, the companionship between them was real and the sacrifice he made surprisingly affected him.

Tristan hated it. He hated the reality that despite his strength, he still had to run like this. The fact that he was still not powerful enough to hold his own fate, even after his upgrade; he hated it.

Even so, Tristan couldn't just turn back and fight the Forlorn Prince. If he did that, it meant Chieng's sacrifice was in vain.

Therefore, he kept running forward. Utilizing the speed his battle power provided, Tristan's figure sped through the forest as his eyes looked for Serene and Astrid.

After a minute of running, he finally caught sight of them. Once again, he gritted his teeth when he saw both Serene and Astrid were already entangled by dozens of thorny plants.

Serene, who saw Tristan standing between the trees, shouted, "Just leave me!"

On the corner of the forest, he saw the pale-looking female elder behind all of this, and as he saw Serene struggling out of the plants that surrounded her, he screamed out the frustration bottled inside him as things were really going out of his hand.

It's quite easy for him to decide not to leave Serene behind, but as he was about to blast all the thorny plants with his [Fireball] spell when Tristan suddenly sensed something was coming at him from behind.

He quickly moved out of the way and the thing went past him. As his body recollected its balance, his eyes darted around and saw it was the Forlorn Prince. The man had already caught up to him.

As soon as the Prince arrived, once again he displayed the laser-like beam as it rapidly came at Tristan. Knowing entirely well he couldn't dodge it with his current condition, the only defensive measure he could think of right now was the [Blood Synthesis].

In the blink of an eye, Tristan had created a thick circular shield out of blood. However, the Forlorn Prince's [Lightning Ray] easily went through it and his chest was successfully pierced by it.

Blood spilled out of Tristan's chest, and as if that wasn't bad enough, the beam actually not only injured him, but also electrocuted him. Hence at this time, Tristan couldn't move his body due to numbness.

Now, he understood why Elroth and Chieng were easily incapitated by the beam. After all, it wasn't normal for a fighter of their caliber to be taken down with just one hit. The hidden impact of the beam was painful as hell, and it made his body unable to help but kneel down.

At the moment, Tristan could only grit his teeth violently as he tried to resist the pain.

The destructive lightning energy was still in Tristan's body as he felt a burning sensation all around his body. Tristan could see his life was slipping away when a notification suddenly popped into his mind.

[Body's condition has become critical. Host needs immediate treatment]

[Restore health for 500 Blood Essence]

[Proceed?]

"Yes!" said Tristan, while still resisting the pain.