CHAPTER 321: TAKING THE LEAD

Right on the outdoor edge of the Tower, the crowds had reduced greatly, with only a few people left staring at the Ranking hovering in the air.

Ares Durnhold had a frown on his face as he observed all that was happening. Not too far away, the guild master of White Flame, Bryce Park, wore a cocky grin while giving the former a sidelong glance.

At that moment there was movement in the rankings, and Ares’ face—stern and calm all this while—finally broke. His eyes widened.

On the Ranking... it now showed that the relatively new guild Broken Dawn, Martial Palace, and Olympus were all now on Floor 70!!

Doodle Bodg was literally trembling in excitement when he saw this.

"Guys, Martial Palace, Broken Dawn, and Olympus are all on one floor! This is epic!"

After nonstop clearing, Broken Dawn and Martial Palace stepped into the vast Floor 70 lobby. They instantly noticed sound rumbling from a distant passage.

Boom—! BANG!

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.

Another impact followed, louder this time—like metal grinding against stone.

Sparks of noise—clashes, roars, spell detonations—echoed faintly from one of the dark tunnel mouths.

Gabriel quickly checked the ranking update on the forum, and his eyes flashed sharply.

They were now on the same floor as Olympus.

At that moment Bunny spoke up as well. "We’re currently on the same floor as Olympus."

"Hahaha! Let’s get this done with," Ragnarok said, clapping his hands excitedly.

Liang tilted his head and clicked his tongue. "Tch. Someone’s still fighting."

"It appears they took the East Route," Sophie said. "The dimensional gate hasn’t fully stabilized yet. When a team is fighting too intensely inside, the Tower leaks the echoes."

Gabriel understood immediately.

It was one of the unwritten rules of the Blood Tower:

’Each floor wasn’t one long path—it was a hub with multiple routes.’

The lobby was the only shared space.

Once a guild entered a route, the Tower split the floor into separate dimensional lanes, each with its own monsters and its own final boss.

Clearing any boss counted as clearing the entire floor, letting the guild proceed.

However, one needed to clear all the monsters in that route before it closed, which could sometimes be a maze of passages.

There was no need to bother with the other routes—unless an alliance was formed at the lobby, like Martial Palace and Broken Dawn. Then the parties could choose one path and proceed together.

If all the parties on one floor finished clearing, the floor would automatically reset, spawning new monsters and bosses.

That was why they could hear Olympus fighting, yet see no one.

"Only Olympus fights loud enough to make the Tower complain," Liang commented, his tone disdainful.

Anyone could notice at this point that Liang’s hatred for Olympus ran far deeper than the surface.

Another thunderous shockwave burst through the tunnel, making dust drift from the ceiling.

Gabriel looked in that direction and thought:

’They’re pushing themselves... or they met something nasty.’

He strongly suspected it was the latter—perhaps the boss.

Either way, Olympus wasn’t done with this floor yet.

And now that Broken Dawn and Martial Palace had arrived, the lobby was unexpectedly full—three top guilds on the same floor at the same time.

Quickly, Gabriel selected another route, seeing no reason to clash with Olympus. There was a huge fight ahead, and he couldn’t waste strength fighting competitors.

---

Sometime later, they finished clearing all the monsters in their chosen route and soon reached the boss floor.

The boss room was a colossal cathedral made of black stone. Blood pooled in the cracks.

Stained glass windows depicted scenes of vampires feasting on humans.

At the center of the hall stood a tall throne... and a figure sitting on it.

Naturally, this was the Vampire Duke, which meant it was far stronger than the Count he had faced on Floor 30.

However, Gabriel wasn’t too worried. He’d had several encounters with vampires in his past life and could confidently say they were much stronger in reality, which meant the Tower version was a lesser variant.

In real life, this boss would be far tougher.

"You dare disturb my hall..." the Duke said slowly, voice deep and echoing. "Mortals without blood lineage... filthy."

’This Tower really likes edgy lines,’ Gabriel thought calmly, a small frown on his face.

Then he added, stepping forward, "Olympus is probably occupied with the Duke on the other side as well. No solo hunting—let’s all clear this as fast as we can and proceed."

Liang cracked his neck.

"I’ll take the front with Sir Broken."

Gabriel drew his greatsword without comment.

The Vampire Duke rose from his throne and glided forward without warning.

His crimson cloak dragged along the floor, soaking up blood as he moved.

In his hand, a long black spear materialized, dripping blood from the tip.

"You will serve as fine offerings," he smirked.

Ten seconds later, he was already clashing with Gabriel and Liang.

Gabriel blocked the first spear thrust head-on, his Strength stat carrying the force easily—even at the Duke’s level.

Liang appeared at the Duke’s flank instantly, fists coated in qi.

"Annihilation Strike!"

His punch slammed into the Duke’s ribs, producing a dull thud.

The Duke retreated a step, clearly surprised by the power behind that attack.

Behind them, more vampires spawned from the blood pools.

Evelyn’s petals spun, carving through them effortlessly.

Sophie summoned rooted vines—still green, not crimson—and used them to bind the legs of brutes attempting to charge, while her devouring vines ate them alive amidst their piercing screams.

Martial Palace and Broken Dawn moved like a single guild.

It wasn’t clean—people still got hit, still screamed and cursed.

But it was efficient enough.

When the Duke tried to summon blood barriers, Gabriel’s Dark Flame Orbs burned through them.

When he tried leaping into the air to summon a crimson rain, Liang’s qi-laced jump punch knocked him back down mid-cast.

When the adds threatened to overwhelm, Evelyn and Sophie’s ranged control cut their numbers down.

The Vampire Duke’s HP bar dropped steadily.

80%... 60%... 40%...

"Finish it!" Liang shouted, sweat dripping down his jaw as he stepped back.

"My pleasure!" Gabriel replied coldly. He activated Bull Rush and slammed into the Duke’s side.

BANG! CRACK!

The collision’s impact was resounding.

At the same time, Liang’s fist slammed into the Duke’s chest from the front.

[Critical Hit!]

A bold red text flashed across the system.

The Duke’s body twisted.

His HP dropped from 18% to 0 in an instant, and he fell back, dead.

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT!]

[The mid-boss of Floor 70 (Vampire Duke – Valerian Variant) has been defeated!]

[Fastest clear in Valerian Sector: Broken Dawn + Martial Palace Joint Party!]

[Updating progression ranking...]

[TOWER PROGRESSION – VALERIAN SECTOR (UPDATED)]

Martial Palace – Floor 71

Broken Dawn – Floor 71

Olympus – Floor 70 (Mid-boss Clear: Pending)

Holy Church – Floor 66

Crimson Star – Floor 63

Adventurer Guild – Floor 61

White Flame – Floor 57

ChaosKnight – Floor 52

Martial Palace and Broken Dawn were now in the lead!!!