Chapter 141 Luck
“What are we waiting for?!” Nord shouted at his beast companion. “Let’s go!”
The delinquent yanked his beast’s fur forward, making the Bat stumble unstably, awkwardly unfurling its skinny wings and lurching over the dungeon cliff with an angry hiss at its rider.
Nord nearly fell off the damn beast, hugging the bat’s mane with all his strength as he plunged towards the earth, screaming his lungs out with curses.
Niveh laughed wholeheartedly hearing the boy’s desperate cries. She looked towards Nessa.
“Well? Go! What are you waiting for?”
Nessa fumbled nervously for a second. She looked towards Rin.
“Can you go first?”
Rolling her eyes, Rin, as though she already had experience riding an aerial beast, controlled her bat and made it fly with precise movements.
Watching her go, Nessa mustered her courage and mirrored her actions.
Soon enough, she was soaring through the air with an elated smile.
Meanwhile, Liam looked over his shoulder. His squad was a short distance away, but they all managed to figure out how their ride works.
Bolts of crimson lightning spread through the churning clouds like cobwebs. More than once, Liam and the rest were nearly struck down, but narrowly missed.
Shifting his attention to the Citadel, Liam estimated it would take at least five to six days to arrive there.
From what Niveh had told him, there were special ‘docking’ sites where you could lay down your beast and enter the city.
Flying over the spires was a big no-no, since those structures belonged to the ruling class of vampires. Little was known about them, as even upper vampires knew nothing except that they existed.
Especially the plateau. Liam’s eyesight could only make out the silhouette of the castle atop it, as pure mist enshrouded it like an ethereal dome.
…Presumably, Alucard lived there, but no one knew for sure.
Even at that distance, the hair on his skin rose, warning him of danger.
There wasn’t any particular goal that Liam had in mind. Simply mapping the city was enough, but it would help to know how the place functioned.
Until that time, Liam had nothing to do except cultivate.
///
Five days passed.
The Citadel was only a few more hours away. As the group got closer, they could see the smaller buildings and the streets that bustled with all kinds of vampires.
It looked like a regular civilization, only the inhabitants sucked blood and lived off it. Not all vampires were practicing Blood Arts. Some were strong, yet weren’t built for fighting or killing.
Structures closer to the plateau looked much more grand, while those built towards the borders were more mild looking.
Liam put on his hood. Other than their group, there were hundreds of others that rode on Blood Bats.
Most of them followed a particular trajectory to land within the city, a ‘runway’ of sorts paired with countless stations – tall poles for the bats to hang off of and grip.
The space was dark and provided shade for the Blood Bats to sleep in until their owners returned.
[Follow the line and put your hoods on,] Liam transmitted to the rest.
They responded with a quick nod, merging with the swarm of screeching bats that filled the air.
Rounding up the runway, Liam lowered his beast and slowed it down. A few of the surrounding vampires – both below him and beside – looked at him amazed.
Domineering a powerful Blood Bat required considerable skill and strength, and only higher vampires exclusively possessed that sort of ability.
‘Damn it. Even this turned out against me,’ Liam thought with a grimace, pulling down his hood tighter.
He chose one of the furthest stations to land his beast on, where there were little to no vampires around.
With a low-pitched screech, the bat stretched out its claws and gripped the handle with them, halting its flight instantly.
Liam dropped off the beast with a lithe step, then slowly spread his mental waves around the area.
Towards the exit that led inside the city, an upper vampire that looked like a guard made note of the people entering.
The Citadel had its own law system, and its own army.
The ‘Nocturne Legion’, as they called it, was responsible for the safety of the city.
As a bare minimum, the lowest ranked ‘Bloodguards’ – a fancy way of dubbing their soldiers – were Rank 2 upper vampires.
The Bloodguard stationed at the exit wore a single loose black garment that didn’t cover his muscular but pale arms. His deep set scarlet eyes scanned every individual that passed by the stations.
A stern expression wrapped around his face, but as he glanced at Liam’s figure, he looked a bit nervous.
‘Does he think I’m a higher vampire?’
What luck!
The rest followed suit, parking their companions and getting off to meet with Liam.
At first, the plan was torn between escaping through a different side of the docking stations, or letting Niveh do the talking with the guard.
They didn’t really trust the vampire girl with that bit, though.
[Change of plans. I’ll lead us in. You all stay quiet and follow.]
Liam spoke the same words to Niveh, who looked confused at first, but then reluctantly nodded.
They all pulled the hoods over their faces just a little more to be safe.
Clearing his throat, Liam began leisurely walking towards the exit followed by his hooded group, ignoring the guard’s existence entirely.
The man was a bit reluctant to call out, but nonetheless, he did, with the most respectful voice he could use.
“Sir? Your name?”
Liam halted his step, slowly creaking his head towards the vampire. This chapter is updat𝓮d by nov(e)(l)biin.com
Bloodlust wasn’t something an upper vampire could regularly emit, nor feel.
Even during his fight with the Blooder, Liam couldn’t affect the higher vampire with his mental waves.
But Liam was no longer a Rank 1 Magus.
The Bloodguard had to suffer the full brunt of his unadulterated killing intent, making him recoil in fear and nearly vomit blood.
“Please, forgive me,” he begged in a strained voice, head lowered.
Just then, Liam stopped, looked away, then resumed his leisurely steps with his group sticking closely behind him.
Chapter 142 Little
Liam felt several pairs of eyes piercing holes in his back, but he promptly ignored them and focused his attention on the surroundings.
‘That little trick won’t last forever. We need to map this place out then bounce.’
The first thing he noticed was the amount of ‘Ora’ in the air. It was brilliantly pure and came in abundant amounts.
Perhaps even better than the ‘Ora’ Well back at the academy.
The source was obvious. The giant plateau – nearly the size of four large mountains on top of one another – radiated dense waves of ‘Ora’ that spread throughout the city.
The smell of blood was so pungent one could taste it.
Now that they were slightly closer, Liam spotted countless lines of red that led upwards to the plateau, stemming from the very ground they stood upon.
Zooming in for a clearer inspection, Liam realized it was an upstream flow of pure blood.
‘I know too little.’
Smaller structures lining up the obsidian roads were made with interwoven bloodwood and dark stone.
They were jagged and unruly in shape, with nocturnal creatures hanging off every corner they could find.
Swarms of bats flew overhead and chirped, blood-eyed rats skittered around dark alleys.
There were a few vampires wandering around here and there, but they looked relatively normal, if one could call them that.
‘Loitering around as a group will eventually garner attention… but splitting up has never been a good idea.’
First, Liam wanted to know the layout of the city, what currency they used, what facilities they offered, and the likes.
Not to mention, they needed someplace to stay. Someplace quiet and insignificant for them to rest in and maybe lose the suspicion they attract during their time here.
That said, they still needed to explore the heart of the citadel, where all the ‘important’ activity took place in.
Liam was careful not to stress his mental waves too much, since that could possibly alert the stronger ones of his presence.
Instead, he kept his senses low to the ground, enough to know the precise number of people around him. With his newfound control, that wasn’t difficult.
‘Good, some places offer rooms.’
Liam sensed a series of weird-shaped buildings that crowds of vampires passed through and entered further ahead.
‘It’s still too crowded,’ Liam thought, annoyed.
“What’s the goal?” Nord whispered as his vigilant gaze scoured left and right. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om
Liam realized he’d gone silent for some time. Sensing no one around to eavesdrop, he explained firmly:
“We’ll just explore and note down our findings for now. Then we find a place to stay in within the outskirts. Also, if there’s even a chance that you might have gotten found out, abort and run straight towards your bats.”
Exchanging a stern nod with his group, Liam shifted his attention to the surroundings once more.
They passed by a spot that looked like a potion/alchemy store. Nessa’s eyes glittered with curiosity, yet the space was occupied with vampires, making her grumble in annoyance.
A few more interesting places met their eyes.
Blood Art stores were apparently coveted all around the Citadel. Flocks of rich looking vampires – judging by their bright red garments and cold expressions – filled those large buildings.
There were arenas for vampires to fight against one another and even weapon stores, selling blood-made items that were ‘enchanted’, from what Liam heard and saw.
More than once, a series of Bloodguards passed by Liam’s group. They also had their own base, which was swarming with powerful guards and Rank 3 higher vampires.
‘Gotta avoid that.’
Meanwhile, the vampires’ currency resembled hardened blood tokens. The purer the blood, the more valuable the token.
As they traversed the streets, Niveh asked if she could split off and do her own thing, but Liam firmly denied her request.
“I only have a little bit of Bloodtokens saved up. Can’t you let me enjoy myself?”
‘Well, that solves our money problems,’ Liam thought derisively.
Eventually, Liam decided to call it a day and headed away from the main attractions, moving towards the outskirts where the number of people dimmed and the air grew a lot more eerie.
Around dark alleys, sketchy looking vampires hid, presumably looking for a victim to rob.
Liam’s group of five didn’t look weak at all, and no one dared to attack.
Eventually, they arrived at a run-down triangle shaped building, lined beside small houses.
They muddled through the circular entrance to see a pale, wrinkly, unkempt old hag crept up behind a counter.
A welcoming expression gripped her indifferent face, but her weak Nexus tingled when she glanced over at Liam.
She began with a respectful greeting, but received none in response. The short one wearing black walked over, his face obscured.
“One room, how much for one week?”
“Er, ten tokens,” the hag responded, unsure whether to increase her fee or not.
Liam took out ten circular bloodtokens from under his sleeve and threw it on the woman’s desk. A grumble sounded behind him, but he ignored it.
The old hag suppressed any annoyance from appearing on her face, picking up the tokens with a forced smile before handing Liam his key and directions to the room.
Making their way to the room, they quickly realized it wasn’t much.
It was lit by a single blue flame fixed above a dirty bed, and denied them the chance to practice their specializations due to the limited space.
“I choose the bed,” Niveh proclaimed, already settling below the blankets and beating Nord to the punch.
Rin gestured to the corner and claimed it, silently cultivating as she faced the wall.
Nessa looked uncomfortable with how the room looked.
“Too dirty for your tastes, your majesty?” Nord teased, sarcasm dripping from his tone.
Nessa scowled, her cheeks getting a bit red with anger. “Not all nobles are rich, idiot. Are these the living conditions you’re used to?”
Nord shrugged and picked a corner to lay down in.
“Not like I ever had a choice.”
Chapter 143 Hunt
The Bloodguard overseeing the bats’ docking stations couldn’t shake off the encounter he had with the higher vampire.
Higher vampires had a reputation of being proud, haughty and arrogant pieces of work. Despite nearly killing him, he knew his troubles wouldn’t end there.
If anything, he might even get relieved of his duties and executed just for not recognizing authority. A brutal society it was.
A giant Blood Bat – a pack leader – shadowing the skies and slowing over the runway brought the guard out of his musings. He cursed loudly.
Another higher vampire!
The man watched as a broad-shouldered, ruby-haired and cold-faced lady gently got off her beast and began walking towards him.
Instantly, he lowered his head and made way, but that remark didn’t go unnoticed by the woman.
“What’s wrong with you?” she questioned, making the guard curse his fate once more.
“N-nothing, Ma’am,” the guard fumbled and shifted uncomfortably in place.
The woman scowled, leaning closer. “Tell me. Now.”
Letting out a short sigh at his sealed fate, the guard spoke with a reluctant tone, mentioning the specifics of his disrespectful encounter with another higher vampire.
As the Bloodguard spoke, he realized the woman’s expression was growing more and more enraged. He knew he had only a few more minutes of life remaining.
“There isn’t any scheduled visit from a Legionnaire except me. What did he look like?”
Huh?
“I… didn’t see his face. He wore black and was together with 4 others. Ma’am… he made me cough blood. Was that… not a real Legionnaire?”
The woman frowned. Saying nothing, she stretched out her right hand.
With an eerie caw, a large crow with beady red eyes split the air from above and perched on her arm.
Shifting her gaze to it, she spoke one word.
“Hunt.”
///
Two days passed.
Liam slowly gathered intel regarding the city, leaving the inn alone and sticking close to the shadows.
The city ran through magical constructs powered by blood themselves. They were basically imitations of normal inscriptions and formations, only weaker and more primitive.
It helped that his presence concealing ability had been enhanced to an amazing level. Even his smell was hidden.
That didn’t stop a few daring hoodlums from attacking him.
They were dealt with shortly and their Nexus’ were stored.
Other than that, his findings were satisfactory.
In short, the Citadel was ruled by ten large families, further emphasized by the ten giant spires erected around the plateau that nobody could get within 200 meters of.
They were oligarchs whose combined wealth presumably rivaled that of Echorian Royalty. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om
The political system was similar to the nobles back in Echoria, only here, authority was considerably more iron-handed.
Higher vampires were called Legionnaires, and they were greatly respected and known.
In hindsight, pretending to be one wasn’t wise, since it could bite him in the back.
…Oh well. What could go wrong?
They were gonna stay there for a few more days anyway, mapping out at least one section of the Citadel.
The city was too big to explore fully, and Liam honestly felt like he had a leash on his freedom.
Every second spent in the Citadel felt like time wasted, and Liam needed to get back to the academy to experiment and grow stronger peacefully.
On that note, he did covertly practice a bit with his illusionary abilities that came with his eye.
All Liam had to do in order to make it work was shape his mental energy into any form he wanted, think of the color, then flick on a ‘switch’ in his eye.
Just like that, a ripple of iridescent light would spread through the air and display an ethereal blade or sword or whatever Liam had imagined.
It wasn’t perfect by any means… but it could definitely prove useful now and again.
Other than that, Liam couldn’t suppress the urge to test out absorbing vampire’s blood. More specifically, the Blooder’s.
Fixing himself a relatively safe place to work in – an abandoned area within the distant outskirts – he began to examine and study Vxich’s blood.
There was a crucial component he was missing in order to practice Blood Arts like an actual vampire.
Blood manipulation.
Liam needed to find a way to control his blood.
There was always ‘Ora’ manipulation, but that didn’t have the precision and control to harden or shape blood into a desired form.
Liam had a few theories on how to learn and force that ability into his own body.
The first was the purified blood.
Although he wasn’t 100% on it, he imagined that refined and enhanced blood entering his bloodstream would eventually attune to his body. Even if the blood was from a vampire.
The King’s Eye had actually supported that argument.
There wasn’t anything in the blood that was specifically designed for a vampire’s body.
In other words, it was similar to a human’s, only more pure.
Liam’s idea was crazy, like all his other inspirations, and anyone would be right in calling him a maniac.
In short, that ‘idea’ consisted of slowly replacing all the blood in his body with purified vampire blood, at a pace that his body won’t outright reject.
Then, he would gorge down the Nexus’ stored in his ring, starting with the Blooder’s, and eventually working his way to those under.
Obviously, he didn’t know if eating a center of power was going to have any effect, but at this point, why not?
Liam took several safeguards before attempting anything – mainly eating the remaining body strengthening/nourishing pills – but eventually, he began.
For the first step, he diluted small amounts of Vxich’s blood with his own.
For one, that would have definitely reduced the purity of the blood, but would be much safer for his body to ingest.
‘There’s plenty of it remaining. I can afford to be safe.’
Tensing his hand, his nails grew black and lengthy. In the next moment, he slowly dipped his fingers into the container of blood.
A euphoric feeling pulsed through Liam’s blood, reddening his pale face. He was tempted to absorb more, but held off the urge.
A moment later, his decision proved correct, as the pleasurable feeling was replaced by a cruel pain.
Chapter 144 Sacrifice
Almost instantly, pangs of agony forced Liam on his knees.
The blood felt like it was digging into his skin and viciously gnawing his flesh, paired with magma flowing through his veins.
Normally, Liam was used to such pain. Yet even with his added status as a Rank 2 Magus, it wasn’t ignorable.
Thick veins bulged all over his body as he suppressed the urge to shout.
However, he didn’t stay idle as his body readily rejected the purified blood.
Amidst the burning, piercing and paralyzing feelings, he began to guide the blood and spread it throughout his circulatory system using his mental waves.
It dimmed the pain to a bearable amount, since it wasn’t concentrated on one spot.
At the same time, it eased his body in accepting the vampire’s blood.
Liam let out a shaky breath.
It wasn’t done there.
He took out the Rank 3 Nexus from his ring. The majority of lifeforce inside the organ was preserved, but it looked less bright than before.
As a safety measure, Liam waited until he saw signs of his body getting attuned to the blood.
It took an hour, but he felt his skin getting colder, albeit the pain lingered.
‘Starting instantly with the Blooder’s heart wouldn’t be ideal… but a Rank 3 Nexus has blood manipulation abilities.’
Gritting his teeth, Liam clamped his teeth on the heart and bit off a large chunk.
The urge to vomit had never been stronger. Even raw magical beast meat wasn’t as foul as a vampire’s heart.
Liam retched and gagged, but held back the nauseating taste and forced it down his throat, not sparing even the fleshy tendrils.
Like so, after four bites, the Nexus was fully consumed.
Instantly, his body protested with an even greater burst of pain.
His stomach acids began to boil, as though it was going to melt through his organs.
Still, his body held on.
All Liam could do was slightly lessen the cruel backlash of consuming a Rank 3 center of power.
As the excruciating hours flew by, the Blooder’s organ started to melt into Liam’s body, fusing together with him.
There was no magical ‘awakening’ of any kind. At least, not instantly.
However, Liam could feel a difference with the refined blood he absorbed. It was like he formed an extremely faint connection with it.
Despite the pain, an ear-to-ear smile formed on Liam’s face.
It worked!
…Somewhat. The connection was too faint for Liam to control or know what to do with.
‘…I have to strengthen it.’
A moment later, he diluted another mixture of Vxich’s blood with his own, then absorbed it through his nails.
The same horrible pain ensued, forcing Liam to lay flat against the stony floor, grunting and groaning.
As it subsided, Liam felt the connection ever so slightly strengthen.
A moment later, he took out another Nexus. With a heavy breath, he bit down and hurriedly chewed like a wild animal.
Again, besides boiling inside, the connection between his blood and body grew, like weaving one string to another.
Another hour passed.
‘I should stop,’ Liam thought, feeling like he was thrown into an incinerator then stabbed all over.
‘I can feel it naturally growing, but too much stress could shatter it all together and ruin my body.’
Taking a moment to revitalize himself and cultivate, Liam got up and headed back to the inn they stayed in.
His eye was a bit bloodshot, but that wouldn’t look strange to his crew.
As he passed by, his gaze couldn’t help but fall on the plateau, enshrouded by the mist.
‘Alucard… from what I’ve heard, nobody has seen him for thousands of years. Is he even in there?’
Revel seemed to think Liam could ‘perforate fear’ into his Nexus, but Liam let out a weak laugh remembering that. He smiled.
One day.
Soon enough, he arrived, entering through the single back window of the space.
“Why were you gone for so long? We were getting worried,” Nessa said, irked.
“Rin was gonna begin forging and burn the entire place to the ground. The other two idiots wanted to run out and check out the fighting arenas.”
Liam gave the three a stern glare, but they conveniently avoided his gaze. The wall was an interesting thing to look at, apparently.
“Three more days. After that, we’re leaving for good,” Liam planned, then laid down on the free side of the room. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om
An entire district was mapped out in the span of two days, while another was halfway done. As soon as that was complete, they would leave once and for all.
“I have to say,” Nessa voiced with a meek tone. “Despite working with you guys for nearly a year…we barely know each other. Why don’t we share a bit about how we got here?”
Liam hummed noncommittally, Rin raised a brow, Nord scoffed derisively.
“Now you ask?” Nord questioned. Although the boy kept a stern face, Liam could tell he wanted to know more.
“It’s not like you have anything to do except cultivate,” Nessa responded snidely. “Besides, you already know all about my origins, why can’t I know yours?”
A long silence followed.
Surprisingly, Nord was the first to break the ice.
“There’s not much to say, really. I was born in a middle-of-nowhere village, to a mother that died after giving birth, and a father that disappeared right after.”
Nord’s voice was solemn and cold at the same time.
“Most of my people regarded me as a bad omen because of my eye color… calling me “cursed” or whatnot. Even my brothers and sisters avoided me,” his tone grew colder. “They were right, though.”
“The first thing I did when I got a tempering method was butcher every villager in that place.”
Nessa flinched, looking at Nord’s indifferent eyes with a trembling gaze. Liam still had his back to the wall, and Rin gave the boy a probing look.
“Pretty much it. I enjoyed fighting them enough that I wanted to do it again and again until my death,” Nord gestured to Rin, concluding the explanation. “You next.”
The deaf girl said nothing for a solid minute, before sighing as she shook her head. With no particular expression on her face, she gestured:
‘I was a sacrifice.’
Chapter 145 Hijack
Everyone raised a brow.
“Sacrifice to what?” Nord questioned. Eventually, he picked up on the sign language shtick.
‘Dragon,’ Rin gestured back. ‘A Rank 5.’
Liam widened his eye in slight shock, turning his attention to the girl.
Everyone else looked just as stunned, except Niveh, who had no idea what they were saying.
Seeing Liam sit up from his sleeping place, Rin let out an amused chuckle.
“Rank 5?!” Nessa exclaimed, like she didn’t believe her words. “Impossible… how? Beasts like that are too dangerous to live around normal civilizations. Their presence alone creates a Rank 5 Death Zone.”
‘Death Zones’ were areas that high ranking beasts inhabited within the wilderness.
Such areas were classified by their danger levels, ranging from Rank 4 to Rank 6. They didn’t always specify a beast living there. Sometimes, the climate and conditions of a location was simply too dangerous to venture into.
As far as Liam knew, Death Zones were desolate and abandoned areas that no human, Zenith or not, dared to venture through without reason. Unless of course, they came heavily armed and prepared.
‘It lived under the earth. I remember it clearly. It was nearly the size of a mountain, and was covered in giant white scales.’
Rin paused for a bit. There was a solemn and deep emotion in her violet eyes, but she continued.
‘My people wanted to sacrifice me to it in exchange for attaining its ‘sacred power’, whatever that meant. They entered its lair all at once, with me tied up as a meal.’
Rin’s lips curled upwards to form a disturbing smile.
‘Instead, the dragon slaughtered them all with the flick of his claw… and spared me. I still don’t know why… but one day, I will find out.’
After that, Rin went silent.
Liam lowered his head in thought.
‘Magical beasts get more complicated as the ranks progress…It’s clear she’s hiding most of the story, though.’
He raised his head, only to see everyone staring at him in silence.
“There’s nothing interesting about my past.”
That was all Liam said, before turning his head and laying down to sleep. Obviously, he wasn’t sleeping.
His mental waves were always on guard in case there could be an attack of any sort.
“C’mon…” Nord said, disappointed. “Give us something more than that…”
A long silence followed, making the group think Liam wouldn’t respond. They were about to move on, but Liam spoke.
“Stars. I want to touch the stars.”
He owed them that much at least.
Nord nodded in silent approval. Rin raised her brows, and Nessa was taken aback.
///
The next three days passed swiftly.
The group discreetly investigated different parts of the Citadel with seemingly no difficulty.
Liam resumed his schedule of absorbing blood, eating a Nexus, and resting.
Something he added to that was killing hostile vampires that lived in sketchy back alleys.
They were basically criminals, and no one would even care that they went missing.
Meanwhile, Liam’s connection with his refined blood grew to a decent amount.
More than 1/15th of his body was now attuned with that liquid.
Eventually, Liam decided to test it out.
Forming a tiny vertical cut on his palm, he tried to manipulate the blood without the usage of ‘Ora’.
Nothing happened.
Blood simply gathered into Liam’s palms and continued to flow, making him disappointed. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om
He increased his consumption of Nexus’, even eating two per day.
Liam was intent on eating even more, but held himself back in case it had a dire effect on his body.
After the eighth heart was consumed, Liam focused on the newfound connection he had with his blood.
Slowly, the liquid changed shape!
It twisted and turned as Liam arduously shaped it to.
It was a bizarre feeling, manipulating his own bodily fluids – like moving a limb without any bones.
Unfortunately, Liam lacked the ability to harden his blood like a regular Blood Arts user.
In time, that would change.
Soon enough, the three days were over.
Liam left his ‘workshop’ – which was really just an abandoned chamber in the outskirts – and headed shot straight towards the inn.
As he made his way, a cawing noise entered his ears. He shifted his gaze above.
A raven had its beady eyes fixed right on Liam’s, circling above his figure.
Liam grimaced.
‘Have we been found?’
Slowly, he lowered his head. A second later, his hand blurred, and three needles shot at the raven’s body, piercing through it and exploding into dense gas.
It let out a screeching caw, then desperately flapped its pierced and corroding wings to escape.
Instead, it plunged to the ground, where Liam promptly severed it in half with his shortsword.
Blood splattered on the obsidian floor.
A long distance away, a ruby-haired woman surrounded by armored Bloodguards opened her crimson eyes with a churning anger.
“Eastern Gate, near the Outskirts. Go!”
///
Liam cursed loudly at his complacency.
He instantly changed direction and started to run towards the north.
Meanwhile, his legs started to transform into dark mist, making him look like a blurry wraith.
At the same time, he spread his senses fully.
From the north and west, he could feel distant groups of Bloodguards converging on his location.
In the distance, even armored Blood Bats were rapidly flying to his location.
‘Damn it! We can’t even head back to our rides!’
Taking out his Jade, he instantly connected it to Nord’s. A second passed, and it flickered to life.
“Yeah—”
“We’ve been found. Quietly leave the inn through the window and avoid the Bloodguards. Meet me on the north side where the bats pass through the runway.”
Liam’s undisturbed voice gave the others a levelhead to think calmly. Even Nessa didn’t panic.
Without pause, the group put on their hoods and left through the back window one by one.
Despite being focused, their hearts were uneasy. They were still young, after all. Dying in a foreign land wasn’t part of their plans.
Meanwhile, Liam rounded up a large obsidian tower and climbed it with wide strides. Ten handspans above, a swarm of Blood Bats flew past.
The runway was, as he thought, swarming with vampires. From the high vantage point, he could see twenty soldiers waiting for anyone suspicious.
Running away on foot was definitely impossible, thus, Liam had a different plan in mind.
‘How do I hijack a bat midair?’
Chapter 146 Chase
Liam watched with furrowed brows as Blood Bats tore through the air, a cacophony of screeches ringing through the air.
He needed to subdue one, and fast.
It wouldn’t be long before they were found.
He kept himself hidden pretty well, but the armored Blood Bats over the skies were rapidly combing the ground. They were pretty damn fast, too.
Zooming distantly, he spotted Nord, Rin, Niveh and Nessa moving towards the north.
They were smart enough to split up and not move as a group, seamlessly blending in with the crowd.
Good. He didn’t have to worry about them.
Liam’s mind raced.
He couldn’t just use his blades to strike down a Blood Bat and potentially kill it.
Not to mention, failing miserably would no doubt grab the attention of his pursuers.
He had one chance to grab onto a decent Blood Bat midair, kick or kill off the person riding it, then circle around and pick up his crew.
Whether or not he could be discreet was an issue for later.
Heaving a sigh, Liam closed his eye and dimmed the noise around him, honing his focus to a blade’s sharpness.
Absolute serenity calmed his mind, dispelling any paranoid or anxious thoughts.
When he opened his eye, he wasn’t worried anymore.
Slowly, Liam cocked his body just below the tower’s tip. Simultaneously, the layer under his skin hummed, tightening his already tense muscles.
With his target in sights, Liam’s knees sprang like a coiled spring, propelling him through the air with explosive speed!
He must’ve miscalculated the strength in his body, since he reached a height of 16 meters in less than an instant!
At the peak of his ascension, Liam felt as though a lightning bolt was about to tear through the churning clouds and strike him back down.
Thankfully, no such thing happened.
But… what goes up, must come down.
Liam began to plunge rapidly, like a torn kite falling down, guided only by the gales of wind.
WOOOSH!
Below him was the stream of Blood Bats… only, he was a little too far to the side.
Liam didn’t have time to curse, as the bat closest to him was swiftly passing by.
Leaning himself forward to ride the waves of wind, Liam spread his arms to slow down his dive and control his trajectory.
Meanwhile, the vampire riding the beast was completely oblivious to the raining figure above him.
He was casually steering his beast when Liam shot at him from the side, blade in hand, sticking it into the vampire’s neck and using the man’s body to cushion his fall.
That… turned out to be a mistake.
The vampire’s grip on the bat’s fur was still tight as he died. As soon as Liam killed him and essentially used him as a pillow, he fell lifelessly on one side and the bat began to tilt excessively.
WOOOSH!
Cursing, Liam barely managed to catch the bat’s hair as it slowly rolled and started to fly upside down. The vampire’s corpse fell right off, but the screeching bat didn’t stop flying.
At that point, the onlookers in the distance caught sight of the bat and thought some sort of event was taking place.
Instantly, they began cheering!
Hanging like a loose thread in the wind, Liam shifted his balance and pulled himself up from the beast’s hair, and in doing so, caused the bat to perform an inverted nosedive straight towards the earth.
Liam’s grip slipped more than once, but he pulled himself up by the skin of his teeth.
Just as he and the bat were about to smash flat against a building and turn to mush, Liam pulled upwards, missing death by an inch.
The crowd of vampires roared and started to cheer loudly.
At that point, it was impossible for Liam not to get noticed by the Bloodguards, both aerial and on land.
Even the Legionnaire noticed him as she made her way towards the north. An enraged grimace formed on her face as she increased her speed.
“Is… is that him?” Nord muttered to himself in amazement. Grounding his teeth, he used wind to bolster his speed.
Rin did the same with a slight frown on her face. Her feet burst with miniature explosions as she jumped across buildings with wide strides.
Nessa and Niveh began to synchronize their abilities – the former used a heavy water spell that catapulted both of them forward, and the latter used her strings to direct their launch and soften their landing.
There weren’t too many people that saw their abilities, since they were in a fairly desolate area of the outskirts.
Those that did were visibly shocked.
Vampires had a dark underside. Liam himself had seen so. Within the deeper parts of the city, fresh human parts were being sold for a heavy price.
Hearts, hands, limbs, skin, eyes, even nails. Human flesh was a delicacy, and their blood was even more so. They were grown in farms, after all.
So to see their cattle using powerful abilities, gave them a jolt of disbelief.
Meanwhile, Liam steadied his mount, scouring the ground for his group’s sight.
Finding them, he did a sharp turn and lowered himself to the ground.
‘Faster! Fly faster!’ Liam shouted inwardly, sensing the armored Blood Bats, Bloodguards and Legionnaire making a beeline towards him.
Blood-red auras grew in his vision as several long-ranged attacks shot at him from behind – bullets, javelins, nets meant to ensnare his beast, and claw-shaped arcs of blood.
Liam promptly swerved and rolled his beast. Most of the bigger attacks whizzed by, but a blood bullet managed to pierce his beast’s flesh, forcing it to screech in pain.
Still, it flew on, only a bit slower than normal.
In a moment, Nord and Liam were going to intercept.
The red-eyed boy ran with all his strength and then leapt through the air, his hands stretched.
At once, Liam’s hand clasped tightly with his, and he threw the boy over the beast.
Chapter 147 Pet
“You’re actually crazy!” Nord shouted as he laughed thrillingly, even as the Bloodguards were readily closing the distance.
Liam ignored the remark and flew towards Rin next.
The deaf girl’s feet boomed with a burst of explosive flames as she barely managed to intercept the ride, grabbing onto Nord’s hand and rolling onto the tufts of bat fur.
Niveh and Nessa followed right after. With the added pair of hands, they pulled each other up with relative ease.
From then on, Liam headed straight towards Jack’s location.
“Contact Jack, tell him we’re coming and bringing some friends.”
Liam’s voice was disturbingly calm, but that only instilled confidence in his group.
Nessa instantly took out her Jade and did as he instructed.
Tailing them not far behind were about two dozen armored Blood Bats, with a tall, mean looking lady at the forefront, standing atop her beast.
“We’re dead! We’re dead!” Niveh uttered repeatedly, anxiously looking over her shoulder and meeting the woman’s bloodthirsty gaze. “That’s Madam Ursul, the Sanguine Witch!”
As she said those words, the Legionnaire flicked her wrist.
Coagulations of blood gathered around her palms to form two long, transparent sickles.
She hurled them at Liam’s back with unreal speed, but as he evaded, the scythes clipped off a large chunk of flesh from the bat.
The beast let out another screech of pain, its speed dulled once more.
Meanwhile, Liam’s eye held a dark light as he swerved his ride and barely dodged the flurry of attacks shot at them.
‘If I eat another Rank 3 Nexus, won’t my blood manipulation get stronger?’
Nord and Rin blocked most of the attacks aiming for the bat’s main body, but the Bloodguards shifted their attention to the wings.
Liam looked over his shoulder as his group struggled to defend against the tide of vampires.
Nord used most of his spells to push back the assault, his face growing slightly paler.
Nessa was in the same boat, but she gulped down an elixir and resumed shooting streams of water from her hands.
In between, she’d sneak in a ‘fire surge’ potion at them, which erupted into red flames that killed two of the chasers.
Nessa burst into cheers, oblivious to her change in personality.
Meanwhile, Rin was the most effective in countering the attackers. She hurled inscribed daggers that exploded upon contact with the bats, along with fireballs and lances of fire.
The number of chasers were halved, yet the biggest threat was not taken care of.
“Coat the bat’s wounds with your strings,” Liam suddenly ordered Niveh. Letting go of the bat’s reins, he looked to Nessa. “You drive.”
The noble looked confused, but Liam already left the bat’s head and walked to its back.
“Where are you going?!” Nessa asked with an incredulous tone, but grumbled with a curse and gripped the bat’s mane.
Liam’s probing gaze locked with the Legionnaire’s, sparks forming in their scarlet and golden irises as they gauged each other’s strength.
‘She’s stronger than Vxich, that’s for sure,’ Liam’s eye turned cold. ‘But then so am I.’
Slowly, the Sanguine Witch was getting closer. Her red lips curled upwards to form a sadistic smile, displaying her razor-sharp canines. Another pair of sickles formed in her hands, but she didn’t throw them.
Nessa continuously swerved and moved in unpredictable ways to evade the incoming attacks, but the chase wasn’t close to being over.
They were still two weeks of flying away from reaching Jack’s location, after all.
Nord and Rin gave Liam a worried side glance.
Why were they looking at each other like that?
Liam simply had his black blades unsheathed as he stared at the Rank 3 vampire in calm silence.
The distance was readily getting closed, and the Sanguine Witch’s smile grew broader.
Suddenly, under everyone’s incredulous gaze, Liam crouched, activated Fleeting Foot, slid his feet behind the bat’s rear, then leapt forward like a tightened spring at the Rank 3 vampire.
Madam Ursul smiled joyously at Liam’s arrival. From just a glance, she knew what he was planning to do.
All she needed to do to end the fight then and there was to change her bat’s direction and let Liam plunge to his death.
…But she didn’t.
Her cheeks were flushed red as her sickles smashed against Liam’s wakizashi and katana.
CLING!
“I LOVE THE CRAZY ONES! BECOME MY PET!”
A barrage of instantaneous attacks followed as soon as Liam found his footing.
Liam focused all his pressure and bloodlust on the vampire, making her wince in pain and recoil, but the smile didn’t leave her euphoric face.
Shards of hardened blood and dark bone from their weapons started to shatter.
Deep, corroding cuts started to appear all over the vampire’s body.
Liam let loose his chains and needles, followed by quick executions of his martial arts.
Slowly, the smile on her lips started to die down. As the fight continued, her elated expression changed to one of worry.
She hadn’t landed a single strike!
Any time she was about to, her sickle went straight through Liam’s misty body.
Meanwhile, entire chunks of her flesh were cleaved right off.
Ducking under the sickle that was nearly severed off his head, Liam activated Cartilage Brace and shot four needles at Ursul’s neck, then weaved in and attempted to thrust his katana into her chest.
The Sanguine Witch sidestepped while her pores secreted a membrane that slowly covered her body, barely evading the needles.
Liam watched in slow motion.
It was his first time fighting seriously since advancing to a Rank 2 Magus, but every movement he made was crisp and precise, like his mind and body were one.
Not to mention, he predicted every one of the vampire’s attacks and didn’t attain even a single wound.
What he saw before as an impenetrable defense, was now filled with openings he could take advantage of.
Liam’s shortsword tore through a spot in the membrane before it fully formed, piercing through the Witch’s abdomen.
Before she could counter appropriately, Liam’s katana changed trajectory mid attack.
Instead of aiming for the chest, it changed target and swiped horizontally against the woman’s neck, cleanly severing off her head in one swift movement.
The last thing she saw before her vision went dark was Liam’s grim and mocking smile.
“You said something about a pet?”
Chapter 148 Human
Liam stored the Sanguine Witch’s body, even grabbing onto her dislodged head with his chains before it flew away.
The remaining vampires instantly lost their courage with the Legionnaire’s death.
Why would they try to fight someone their superior couldn’t kill?
They’d rather live for another day. Although the higher-ups could potentially execute them for cowardice, they’d gamble their chances.
Instantly, they turned around and headed towards the distant Citadel.
…But Liam chased after them.
Zooming towards the Citadel, he realized there was no backup in sight, meaning the dearly departed Madam Ursul hadn’t ordered for any.
Or, she simply didn’t order them to chase.
Lower vampires strictly followed the instructions given by their leaders, and the Sanguine Witch clearly thought she was above receiving support.
At the same time, Liam didn’t want any witnesses to the battle he just had.
There weren’t too many cultivators that could wield darkness, after all.
If they were to make an effort and search for him, they could narrow down their inquiry and find him with ease.
If that were to happen, Liam didn’t doubt he would be used as a pawn to soothe things over.
‘Not gonna happen.’
As Rin, Nord, Nessa and Niveh went one direction, he went the other, trailing after the remaining five.
Liam was atop an armored, peak Rank 3 Blood Bat, and its speed was way faster compared to the others.
In a flash, he soared towards the nearest vampire, whose already pale skin grew even paler, swiftly launching three needles into each wing of the beast it rode.
Liam’s aim was on point.
The needles tore through the skinny membranes between the bony wings of the bat, then exploded, corroding through and making it lose the ability to fly.
Only the main body of the bats were armored, and their wings were freely exposed.
The vampire’s screams and the bat’s screeching eventually faded as they both plunged downwards, consumed by the thick layer of fog enshrouding the ground.
Liam’s vertical iris constricted, shifting between the other four.
“What are you?!” one of the vampires shrieked as Liam pulled up behind it, shooting another barrage of needles that clipped the bat’s flying ability.
The other three were dealt with in a similar fashion.
All they could do was throw random attacks in a panic, but they were too distraught for any to land.
Liam swiftly retrieved two of their corpses midair before they tumbled down, then began flying back to his group.
‘I have a good amount of vampire hearts left in my rings. With the Witch’s, my blood manipulation prowess could even double.’
‘I’m not even done with draining Vxich’s body, too.’
A smile formed on Liam’s lips despite the dire circumstances.
There was much to be excited for.
///
Crimson lightning struck the mountain peaks, between and below which two Blood Bats flew with a short distance between them.
Soon enough, Liam caught up with his group.
At first, they were prepared to attack him, thinking he was the Witch or some other Legionnaire, but quickly realized he wasn’t.
“You crazy bastard!” Nord shouted, not bothering to hide his amazed and loud voice. He laughed. “You keep taking all the glory!”
Rin shook her head in defeat.
In a way, she imagined that Lawrence’s strength was a little above her own. Now, her previous thought of him becoming a Rank 2 Magus wasn’t too far fetched anymore, yet she had no way to confirm it.
“I’m surrounded by crazies… every single one of you,” Nessa uttered under her breath as she maneuvered her mount.
Niveh was just thankful she accepted Liam’s offer, remaining silent and avoiding his piercing gaze.
“What happened to that woman?” Nord eventually asked over her shoulder. “We couldn’t see because of the fog and growing distance.”
Liam said nothing and simply maintained some space between him and his group, cultivating in silence as the soft gusts of wind pulled his hair back.
In truth, he took a slight gamble when performing his little stunt. He wanted to keep the Rank 3 Nexus without his group members having any right to ask for it, but he underestimated just how fast he dealt with the Legionnaire.
“She fell off.”
Was all Liam responded with.
///
The two weeks of travel passed quickly.
At one point, Liam had taken his group under the Witch’s bat in order to reach their location faster.
During the time period, he couldn’t do much except eat, cultivate and keep a lookout for anyone trailing them.
Thankfully, they were far enough from the Citadel. Even if anybody was following them, it would take a similar period of time for them to meet up.
On the way, Rin began to mark and jot down the various farms and Feeding Grounds they passed by. There were too many to count.
Liam made sure to fly low through the Blooder’s territory, so as not to alert the other domain rulers.
‘Though… I could use another Rank 3 Nexus…’
Liam shook his head. He was being a little bit too ambitious. Settling for what he had was enough for the current time.
Eventually, they reached the foggy cliff where the Korsan lands met the blood-red sea.
Liam ‘parked’ the bat just before they went through the misty areas. They would walk the rest of the distance on foot, since the bat was a little too big to fit inside the boat.
Before they passed through, Liam exchanged a knowing nod with Rin.
Upon entering the wraith infested area, Rin simply hurled a simple fire lance spell that cleared open a path. Several shrieks rang out as the ‘will-breakers’ – the nickname Rin had given the ghosts – were vanquished.
The group instantly passed through and climbed down the docking port where the ship was.
“Took you all long enough,” a voice complained. A moment later, a large form blurred, revealing the darkwood ship with a slightly cranky looking man atop of it.
Looking at the disheveled, exhausted and cold-faced youths, Jack realized he had it quite easy compared to them. His lips curled to an awkward smile.
“Welcome back.”
Chapter 149 Cycle
As everyone entered the ship, Jack didn’t waste a second and exited the cliff cavity, making a beeline towards Echoria.
Unrelentingly, the tumultuous waves were chaotic as ever, smashing against the darkwood ship and swaying it unstably.
Liam stayed out for a while with his eye keenly stuck to the Korsan lands, just in case an unexpected enemy appeared.
Everyone else had entered their cabins, desperate for rest.
Gradually, the sounds of lightning striking the ground faded in the background.
Half an hour passed, and there was no attacker on sight. The lands grew further and further apart, and Liam lost the interest to keep looking at it.
Overall, a decent experience, all things considered.
Liam had gotten the chance to finally advance to a Rank 2 Magus, while making massive improvements to his Blood Weaving and understanding of the vampiric language.
Not to mention, the blood manipulation he was itching to test out, and the remaining hearts he needed to eat…
“You can give me the fill now. I’m sorry about Gerald, by the way… he was a good kid,” Jack kept his voice low, pity visible in his eyes. A moment prior, the sailor had awkwardly communicated to Niveh and gave her an empty room in the cabin.
Liam gave a terse hum in response, before telling Jack the events of what happened during the past half a year.
The man’s expression changed like the colors of a rainbow, but his shock at Liam’s thinking and planning was the most prominent.
After an hour passed, Jack was at a loss for words.
Concluding his explanation, Liam began to head towards the ship cabin. “I’ll be in my room.”
Alone again, Liam grinned.
He instantly took out Vxich’s body, but not before concealing his presence to any unwanted snooping.
Rin was especially guilty of that, and he caught her stalking him more than once.
The Blooder’s body – at least, what remained of it – was still in okay condition. He could still juice out the remaining blood left in his body, and that’s exactly what Liam started to do.
For the next week, Liam drained, diluted, then absorbed the vampire’s blood.
He even paused his cultivation in order to rest, seeing as his body begged for respite.
Time passed.
Liam’s body had now absorbed all of Vxich’s remaining blood.
His eye was always bloodshot, and he was in a constant state of agony.
Yet his body’s connection with his ichor was steadily growing stronger. So was his manipulation of it, and Liam hadn’t even consumed the Witch’s Nexus yet.
Testing out his control, he found that he could mildly harden the blood to create little spheres of blood, barely the size of his finger.
‘This is just the start. I can push myself more.’
Thus, Liam took out the Sanguine Witch’s corpse.
Madam Ursul’s body was missing a few chunks here and there, but other than that, was in pristine condition.
Liam didn’t doubt that he would get a hefty reward if he simply gave the academy the Legionnaire’s body.
But why would he?
‘Money won’t make me more powerful.’
With that thought, Liam bit down on the Witch’s heart.
Liam could instantly tell that Ursul’s heart was much more refined and purified, judging by the dense waves of lifeforce that melted into his boiling stomach and nourished his body.
It took another week to digest the center of power, but when it fully dissolved in his belly, Liam felt like his manipulation ability had doubled.
With an eager and hopeful gaze, Liam tested out his control once more.
Manipulating his blood no longer needed much effort, and he had plenty of practice to get used to how it worked.
The cut on his arm secreted large amounts of blood that gathered into the shape of a small liquid needle.
Under Liam’s command, the blood-made needle slowly hardened, turning solid… but it slowly melted as his control over it waned.
‘Not enough. I need to strengthen it even more!’
Liam began to absorb the Witch’s blood. This time, he lessened the dilution of the mixture.
He made sure to avoid going overboard, but that didn’t stop him from testing out his limits.
After an entire week and a half of cruel, terrifying pain that almost made him pass out, Liam absorbed more than one-third of the Witch’s blood.
‘I need to finish draining the entire corpse before we arrive in Echoria. There’s only a few more days left.’
Again, he reattempted forming a blood needle, making a cut on his palm and repeating the process.
This time, as it slowly transitioned from liquid to solid, the needle remained rigid and didn’t fall apart.
Exerting a bit of force on it, the needle shattered after Liam used a bit more strength.
Liam heaved an exhausted sigh, but his determination didn’t dare wane.
With no Psionic Rune training to undergo, he had much more time to work on other aspects of his strength.
Despite that, Liam paused his bodily and core cultivation, only doing so when his body was sapped of its strength, and pairing it with at least two hours of rest per day. He even suppressed the urge to forge and inscribe.
Because of this, he was able to absorb what remained of Madam Ursul’s blood.
The result was extremely promising. Liam’s regeneration capabilities had improved to an amazing level, halving the time required for a deep wound to reform!
He could even feel his body naturally revitalizing itself as the blood circulated through his veins.
Taking a one day break, Liam nursed himself back to health, just enough to continue gorging down the remaining vampire hearts.
By the end of it, Liam was finally done with the cycle of absorbing and eating.
Dark bags were under his bloodshot eye, and his face was whiter than milk. His bare body was covered with dried off blood stains he couldn’t be bothered to wash off.
In a twisted way, he resembled a reverse vampire, except he didn’t consider vampire flesh a delicacy.
Fixing himself, Liam tested out his blood manipulation for the final time.
This time, he didn’t form any cut, simply “willing” the blood to seep from the pores of his hands.
It did just that.
Blood gathered and coagulated around his palms, gradually taking the form of a shortsword and wakizashi.
In an instant, it crystalized.
As soon as it did, Liam swung once against the darkwood floorboard.
To his satisfied delight, it cut off the steel-like material with ease.
Chapter 150 Weather
Liam took a minute to inspect the state of his blood-made weapons after the simple attack.
They were still in usable state!
Albeit, they wouldn’t last a real fight between someone of his level, but still.
‘This whole thing actually worked so well.’
There were a few things that needed ironing out, though.
For one, Liam instantly realized he couldn’t regularly use his blood as a weapon.
Although his bodily liquid becoming weaponizable was something unimaginably powerful and convenient, there was a limited supply of it.
Unlike a vampire, who could pump massive amounts of blood in a moment’s notice, Liam’s human heart just couldn’t do the same.
Moreover, now that Liam’s supply of vampire hearts were over, he didn’t have a clue on how to improve his blood purity.
‘Will it get better if I advance to the fourth Rank?’
That seemed like the most plausible conclusion. Skin, senses, hair, general appearance – everything naturally purified itself as one went up the ranks.
Still, the fact that his ichor could freely turn crystalized at any point was a massive upgrade.
‘If I had to guess, it’s at least at the Rank 1 middle-tier level. Maybe even more,’ Liam thought, inspecting his blood-made weapons.
‘…What would happen if I started inscribing now?’
Right as Liam was about to take out the parchments from his ring, Jack’s voice rang out from above.
“We’re here!”
Liam grimaced.
Time went by real slow when he felt pain, but fast at any other.
After taking a bath and changing into a cleaner set of tight, black-clad clothes, he exited and met with everyone else at the main deck.
It was nighttime, and Liam took a moment to gaze at the stars, igniting his ambition to touch them once again.
Meanwhile, Niveh was still holed up inside the cabin, afraid she’d turn into ash as soon as moonlight touched her.
‘I don’t blame her. It’s just sunlight reflected off the moon. Maybe it has the same effect.’
Nord had dark bags under his eyes. Rin as well.
Looking at Liam, they quickly realized he had it much worse compared to them.
He quite literally resembled a wraith, and they couldn’t imagine the migraine he was going through.
Nessa obviously didn’t push herself as much, but it looked like she was investing more time in cultivation.
Peering over the distance, the Echorian lands were readily getting closer, and so was the feminine figure waiting for them on the shores.
Kalia, donned in her embroidered silver robe, with a slight smile on her lips.
‘Ugh, I almost forgot about this woman,’ Liam thought, hiding a frown. On a closer look, he could gauge her aura much clearer now that he was a Rank 2 Magus.
Iridescent energies flew around her figure, originating from her abdomen and… body?
‘So it was a tempering method of sorts. Something only Royals use…’
That was interesting, but Liam doubted he had the jurisdiction or interest to find out.
The ship lined the beach and dragged itself over the sand, and the gangplank descended on land. Jack descended first followed by the others.
They quickly paid their respects, but Kalia raised her hand to stop them.
“You all look tired, forget the pleasantries,” Kalia stated, looking at the group’s expressions. Even Jack looked exhausted, and he didn’t even set foot on those lands.
“Jack has already given me everything I need to know. I’m sure you’re all tired and need a good night’s rest.”
Kalia smiled as her quiet gaze swept the group. Her golden eyes lingered on Liam for a brief moment, before shifting away.
“You can give me back the rings with all the resources you brought back,” Kalia said. The group did just that.
“Don’t worry, your rewards will be assessed and given once you arrive at the academy. All the lessons you’ve missed will be given in one to one sessions as well, and can accept the tests at any time. Lawrence, a moment, please?”
Liam made a slight nod.
‘What does she want? Did she figure out my advancement?’
The rest gave him a suspicious look as they left while he and Kalia remained.
“Is there a problem?” Liam asked.
Kalia remained silent. She gave Liam a deep, probing gaze, then spoke with a slightly distant voice:
“Another student died. I remember telling you not to go to mainstream locations if it will cost another life. Not to mention, you got caught and nearly captured.”
Liam stilled any bloodlust or cold pressure by leaking from his figure. He shook his head.
“Another ‘peasant’ died. Gerald had no family backing whatsoever, and the world has already forgotten him. And me going to a mainstream location got you years worth of valuable information, including how their political system and magical formations work.”
Liam wasn’t done.
“Keyword, “nearly captured”. The vampires didn’t even catch glimpses of our faces, and I silently killed off any that did. I took the necessary measures to keep the crew alive, and I always put the mission priority first. Not to mention, I literally brought back a live vampire.”
Liam had a hunch Kalia already knew that, though. She was probably just testing to see what Liam had in defense.
Royals couldn’t care less about the common population – if they did, the peasantry back in Ucladd would cease to exist. They had their own interests and priorities in mind. nove(l)bi(n.)com
Kalia had an unreadable expression. Liam spent a good minute attempting to understand her mental waves, but they were a mumbo-jumbo of complex meanings.
‘I really need to work on that. Reading minds could save me so much trouble in the future.’
“I suppose so,” Kalia said after a long silence, her gaze on the border of being cold. “I only hope your loyalty will be bought. I don’t imagine any other method would be effective in keeping you as an asset.”
At least she got one thing right.
“We will keep in touch. Your rewards will be brought to your dorms, but meet with the Headmaster just in case.”
From there, Kalia headed to the ship to meet the vampire girl.
With that, Liam was allowed to enter into the gem-powered bullet train, entering the back car with the others.
Thankfully, there was a bit more freedom this time. Everyone had their own “pods” – inscribed spaces with privacy and sound-deadening inscriptions.
It was basically like a first-class airplane seat, just more luxurious.
“What did you guys speak about?” Nessa asked, poking her head through the pod.
Liam quickly entered his pod before she began to bombard him with pointless questions.
“The weather.”
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