No Hero

I lost. As expected, Charles is really strong! It’s a pity though…

At that time, it looked like he wasn’t himself anymore, so it doesn’t count as a true loss. I wonder, will he be okay after eating so many blood candies? You really can’t eat the things Bàba makes in large quantities.

Outside the railings, someone yelled in rage, “Why would you want to harm the family head?”

My entire body was tied up, so I could barely turn my head to look at him. That was Dong Fang Lei. Charles said that he is the head butler working alongside Curtis, but he doesn’t look like a butler in the least bit. Yup, Charles is still better.

“Our prestigious Elysees family head is so loyal to you, yet this is how you repay him? By delivering his most important brother figure into the hands of the Church, and then trying to kill him?”

“Gēge issued a command.” I calmly watched him, but I could not shake the nagging feeling that something was off.

Dong Fang Lei shouted furiously, “Are you saying that as long as he issues a command, you’ll do anything?”

“If Curtis ordered you to kill Charles, would you do so?”

Dong Fang Lei froze, and fell silent for a while. He then answered, “If the family head has done nothing wrong, then even the substitute family head cannot give the command to kill him. I would not follow it.”

I laughed, and said, “At first, you didn’t even like Charles, and would give him the evil eye upon seeing him. Your hatred level even reached eighty percent…”

Right, I know what’s wrong now.

Since when did all the system analysis disappear?

Shouldn’t there be a lot of numbers floating next to each person? Why is it that now, I can only see Dong Fang Lei?

What exactly is wrong with me? Could this be the result of not listening to Gēge’s orders? Is the chip broken?

“The family head changed my view of him through his actions.” Dong Fang Lei stated, as though it was a matter of fact. “At first, I thought the family head refused all responsibilities while still having command over the entire Elysees family. Afterwards, I found out that he was willing to put his own life at stake for the sake of the substitute family head and the family. Yet, he did not have any intentions of taking back his authority from the substitute family head. Therefore, I changed my mind. Is that not perfectly normal?”

I looked at Dong Fang Lei, wanting to know if what he said was the truth. If I just analyze him… But there was no need. Even without the computer chip’s analysis, it was clear that he was telling the complete truth.

***

The video feed showed that more than half the vehicles had gone past the inspection point. It was at this time that the young master finally made a move. The image screen moved forward some distance, then a cylindrical object suddenly appeared in the top part of the camera—that was a cannon!

That caused me to freeze up for a bit. At first, I was concerned that if X were truly inside one of the vehicles, it would be highly likely that the cannon blast would hit him. Thinking more on it, though, the choice of transport the Church would use to transport X would be no ordinary vehicle, and X himself was not that weak. He had even said that bullets cannot kill a vampire, and that had most likely been based on personal experience.

In short, I did not speak up to stop it, and watched as the barrel of the cannon started emitting light… Light?

A faint blue light was radiating from the barrel body, extending slowly until it reached the mouth of the barrel, as though gathering strength. The cannon shone brighter and brighter, until it shot out an eye-catching, bluish-white beam of light straight at the vehicle leading the procession. The vehicle seemed to have been particularly reinforced and was as thick as a city’s wall. The front of it was even pointed so it could knock away anything standing in its path.

The beam shot by the energy weapon ended in the front of the vehicle, where a similarly bluish-white shield had appeared. It was a little bigger than the vehicle, and once the laser beam hit it, a strange buzzing sound rang out as the laser turned to dust and was absorbed into the shield.

The current generation of modern technology is certainly eye-opening. I had originally assumed that energy weapons were limited to handguns, and I had never imagined the young master’s hair-like energy weapon. Afterward, I also managed to see many various types of energy weapons and defensive items in the recent battles.

In the past, one could only see such high-tech weapons in movies. It was unfathomable that they had long existed in real life but had all been hidden away because these organizations were unwilling to let others discover their true strength.

Ni Cai indifferently said, “Though the energy weapon being used is powerful and easy to carry around because it’s small, it’s very easy to detect. Additionally, it’s not very efficient, as the energy shield is also made of energy and is more effective blocking energy weapons than bullets.”

I assumed that the young master must be very aware of this, as he had personally modified his own weapons.

As expected, the young master answered as he ran to a new location, “I intended for them to detect the attack, as the objective of this mission is rescue, not elimination. The higher the body count, the harder it will be to deal with the aftermath.”

Hearing that, Ni Cai gave a “Hm” to acknowledge that he understood but then added, “But this attack is not strong enough to create the kind of chaos I need.”

Noise kept coming over the feed; it was the sound of metal colliding lightly with metal, like from fiddling with a weapon.

“This is just the alarm bell for the start of the war.”

The young master had just raised his second cannon, but before he fired, we heard various guns and cannons firing from all directions. Then, he too fired, this time aiming at the body of the car.

“You have so many helpers?” Ni Cai’s voice sounded a little surprised.

“Yeah. I’ll send over the others’ feeds.”

Ni Cai seemed confused as he asked, “But I only gave you two visors. How are you going to send over the others’ video feeds to me?”

“I don’t need any from you. I own a lot of visors. I’m now giving you the position and authorization of a host. You can connect to them yourself.”

“Very well, read it to m—” Ni Cai said, then cut himself off. Following that, he stiffly said, “I received it.”

Many images appeared on my visor. They were all from the viewpoints of our allies, so in theory we should not be able to see anyone. However, we could still see our allies on our screens. They were able to see each other due to their sheer numbers.

That was the adjudication squad. It seemed that even if the young master had a falling out with the Sun Emperor, he could still control the adjudication squad.

These adjudication squad members had actually come up from the ground. Seeing as a lot of the dirt on their bodies had solidified into clumps and was practically stuck on, they must have been hidden underground for quite a while.

Melody pulled up her visor, faced the screen—I guess it was a certain adjudication squad member—and made a peace sign. In another image, Mr. Bramble was leading Dell, May, and even a bunch of adjudication squad members to attack from the other side.

Suddenly, the image from the young master’s view was greatly enlarged. Beside him was someone who was dressed in a very familiar way, a little like how a vampire would dress—they were pretending to be me! 𝗳𝒓𝙚e𝓌e𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝙚𝙡.𝑐૦ｍ

“Dark Sun, what a great strategy!” Ni Cai praised, “Working with you really saves me a lot of hassle.”

The young master did not reply. He and a few other adjudication squad members kept on relocating and attacking with a variety of weapons. The Church’s vehicle fleet went on the defensive, but large group of people marched out of the large door in the back, wearing heavy gear and armed with various weapons.

The people at the front were wielding giant shields, which looked like a defensive wall that even artillery fire would be unable to take down.

At that moment, we saw from the other smaller screens that adjudication squad members had started attacking from different directions. Their firepower was not as strong as the young master’s, most likely because they were hiding underground, but it was not to be underestimated. The fact that they did not fear death was the most headache-inducing, as some of them had even turned themselves into human bombs, using their bodies to break through the defense.

Immediately, the sound of explosions rang out through the entire abandoned nuclear plant. There must have been a lot more adjudication squad members than were displayed on the visor.

“Charles, you all get ready to move.”

The young master made this remark, then stepped out of his hiding spot. He was dragging a giant suitcase. Upon opening it, the Death Scythe was assembled and once again made its appearance in the world.

The young master was dressed in the standard attire of Dark Sun, wielding his giant Death Scythe. It seemed like he had absolutely no intention of hiding his identity, but, thinking about it again, it was fairly pointless to do so anyway. The Church already knew who he was, and trying to hide it was unnecessary.

Many people stood beside him, all from the adjudication squad, though one was masquerading as a vampire.

Just how many adjudication squad members are there? Is this all of them, or just a portion of their numbers? I did not think that the Sun Emperor had this many adjudication squad members under him. Of course, he definitely still had his own army, as the adjudication squad was only meant for assassination, storming fortifications, and rescue missions.

I vaguely felt that the situation did not look good, and decided that I should have Curtis clarify the current military might of the family when I got back. Now that the Elysees had appeared on the world stage, we could no longer afford to be as indifferent as we once were and must have the means to protect ourselves.

“Dark Sun, as expected, you’ve finally shown your true colors.”

A member of the Church spoke up at this time, attracting my attention. The young master looked over. He did not react or reply, but merely raised his Death Scythe and seemed to not move a muscle. From my perspective, he was likely directly commanding the adjudication squad members in his mind. They appeared to be endlessly changing formation, attacking and defending with impeccable movements.

“Hero? What a joke!”

That was Anceo. I immediately recognized this man at a glance. He had previously been a part of the Sin Elimination Committee’s squad that was tasked with chasing X all the way to Sunset City. That time, he was brazen enough to try groping the young master. Then, he did not recognize Dark Sun as human, causing the young master to be deeply saddened!

To think that now, he would dare to provoke him…

Ni Cai quickly said, “Charles, Lieder, the Sin Elimination Committee is starting to descend into chaos. Head out immediately; the route has already been uploaded. However, I can’t guarantee your safety. The Church knows that we have a hacker on our side, and they should have some hackers on their end too. I have already tried my best to eliminate the traps, but there’s no way to ensure the route is safe. If an issue occurs, you’ll all have to play it by ear.”

Lieder gave me a tug, and I brought my attention away from the visor’s feed back to the mission. Now was not the time to be angry. I had to save X as quickly as possible, which would allow the young master to retreat and no longer have to suffer or bear with that Anceo guy. That would be the best way to go about this.

“Move out!”

We stepped out of the storeroom. There was no one along the way, which made me a little puzzled. If not for the concern that we might be spotted by the surveillance cameras, we could have charged in without reservations.

“This is so much simpler than kidnapping Ri Xiang Yan.” Lieder still had time to leisurely smile as he said, “It sure was less relaxing than the situation right now. Though I don’t agree with calling Ri Xiang Yan the Sun Emperor, I can’t deny that he’s a lot stronger than a lot of monarchs throughout history.”

Absolutely. I fully agreed, even though I did not want to praise him. At the moment, the Sun Emperor was more an enemy than a friend, so I could only hope that he was weaker than we imagined, not stronger.

“Be careful, behind this door is the core zone. Additionally, the current situation doesn’t seem quite right.” Ni Cai spoke gravely and earnestly, “I tested many doors, but I could only open three. There must be traps set up beyond these three, given that our opponents are already on their guard. I can’t guarantee that the way through this door isn’t trapped.”

“I understand.” I was already plenty surprised that we had not run into trouble from the moment we entered up until now.

“I don’t think you fully understand. As soon as the door opens, you all might be shot to death in an instant. Do you get it now?”

Hearing that, Lieder laughed and said, “Even if I don’t understand, I don’t think I have another choice.”

I grabbed a blood candy from my pocket, swallowed it, and then said, “Please open the door.”

Ni Cai started counting down, “Opening the door in three seconds, please get ready.”

I warned, “Lieder, hide behind the door. Just cover me with your gun.”

Lieder froze, and then did as I said. He could not help but jab, “Didn’t you say that we aren’t friends?”

“Three…”

“Yes, we are not friends.” I kept my knees slightly bent, and formed a rapier in my right hand with my blood ability. My left hand gripped the energy dagger, and I prepared to dash forward at any moment’s notice.

“Two…”

Lieder raised both his guns, and exclaimed in disbelief, “I’m now really doubting your definition of the word ‘friend.’ Who exactly do you consider a friend? How about you give me an example?”

“One!”

The door opened, and the words slipped from my mouth, “Yue Gang.”

However, this was not an answer to his question. Instead, I was calling out a name. 𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

The one who appeared behind the door was Yue Gang, who was equipped from head to toe. What he was wearing was exactly the same as the priests outside, and the equipment was clearly from the Church. Next to him was Father Alex, and for some reason, the two of them heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing me.

It cannot be… My heart sank. The suspicion that Yue Gang would turn around and oppose me never crossed my mind. Instead, I was worried that he was being controlled. Or, even worse, perhaps Father Yue was in trouble, and Yue Gang had been coerced into coming.

“Charles, charge right in!” Lieder shouted, “With your speed, no one can stop you.”

That is my only choice now. Thinking of X’s situation, there is no room for concern. I cannot hesitate any longer!

“Charge in, my ass—the heck, where did he go? Charles, don’t run!”

Sorry, Yue Gang. I really cannot stop here. X is at death’s door…

“Hey! The guy you’re looking for isn’t here!”

I froze in my tracks and hesitated for a moment. I could not confirm whether Yue Gang’s words were true, though I did not suspect that he was lying. It was more likely that he was being tricked by others.

“My old man has already left to chase them. He wanted me to stay here to warn you that this place is an empty shell, and E.X is in the motorcade.”

I froze, then instantly returned to stand in front of Yue Gang.

Yue Gang stared at me with wide eyes and shouted, “How can you run so fast? Are you teleporting?”

“I’m using drugs.”

“H-How could you take drugs? Do you think I won’t arrest you and throw you in jail, you idiot!” Yue Gang asked in worry, “What did you take? Snow? Obsidian? Zombie Hop? This stuff is all terrible! If you keep eating it, it won’t take long before you have to start wearing diapers!”

“Concentrated human blood.”

“… This doesn’t seem illegal.”

This was not the time for idle chit-chat. I anxiously asked, “Did you say that X was in the motorcade? How would the Church dare to transport him out of here? Were they not going to kill him at dawn?”

Yue Gang scratched his head and said, “You’re asking me so many questions, but I don’t have a clue either.” He looked at Father Alex.

I had actually wanted to hear Yue Gang explain it personally. Though Father Alex appeared to be an ally rather than an enemy, I found myself unable to fully trust him.

Perhaps he had known that, and that was why Yue Gang was here? If the person calling me had not been Yue Gang, I most likely would not have stopped, not even if it had been Father Yue.

Father Alex explained, “Charles, you can’t go in. All that’s left in the Sin Elimination Committee is the suicide squad. This place is a giant trap. The moment you step into the heart of the place, there will be an explosion and you’ll be blown to smithereens.”

I froze. The Church wants to blow me up? Why would they want to do that?

Lieder said perceptively, “That doesn’t sound logical. This person beside me is the Elysees family head, and blasting him to bits is a serious issue that would cause a war. Don’t underestimate the Elysees family. When the butlers go crazy, things can really go out of your expectations.”

Alex sighed, “I have no doubt about that.”

“Then why would the Church still do it?” I tried my best to inquire calmly, even though I was very anxious and simply wanted to know where X was as soon as possible.

Alex shook his head, saying, “They feel that you are abnormally strong for your age, and hence believe that you have received X’s inheritance. If they were to let you go, perhaps the vampire that the Sin Elimination Committee pursues will switch from E.X to you. Additionally, it would be harder to kill you than X, because you have the support of the Elysees family. This would make you a more terrifying opponent than the solitary E.X.”

Inheritance? I was simply unable to understand. X did not have an inheritance of any sort. Was it related to why Sin calls X a sin?

“My strength came from Lied—a source unrelated to X.” At that point, I hesitated for a moment, but still decided not to speak of the medicine. Most likely, the Church would not believe it, but it would definitely land Lieder into a lot of trouble.

I did my best to avoid looking at Lieder so as not to raise suspicion. However, he gave a faint smile, and even mouthed out the words, “Not friends?”

… Perhaps I do not need to concern myself with this person’s safety in the least, given that he himself does not mind it at all.

“I believe you,” Alex gave a bitter laugh as he continued, “but the Church wouldn’t.”

I took a deep breath, and asked, “Yue Gang, can I trust what he says?”

Yue Gang quickly clarified, “I don’t know this guy. My old man just told me to come over and tell you that E.X isn’t here, and then listen to this guy over here for the rest.”

I did not let him off the hook with that and continued to ask, “Then, can I trust what Father Yue says?”

“That’s for my old man…” Yue Gang scratched his head, then answered magnanimously, “Anyway, I’ll follow you wherever you go right now! I’ll bet on whether that old man of mine would dare to sabotage his only son! If I get done in, my mom will definitely bury him and commit suicide afterward. So with this one act of sabotage, the whole family would be a goner. I’ll use my entire family’s life as a guarantee! You should be convinced now!”

I surrender. It is really impossible not to be convinced by this.

“What they said should be true.” From the visor, I heard Ni Cai speak quickly, “I obtained the image from the central area, and there’s no one inside. Damn it! Lieder, Charles, hurry up and get out of there. They’ve probably already realized that we figured out the truth, so the door will—”

Before Ni Cai could finish his words, the sound of doors closing came from behind us. However, they immediately sprang open again.

“Hurry and get out!” Ni Cai sternly said, “You all only have less than a minute to get out, and I can’t promise that I can delay it that long.”

One minute? I was stunned. How could this be possible? Not unless I use X-speed to escape while completely abandoning the others.

At this moment, Lieder burst into a mad dash. I froze for a little and was just about to pull Yue Gang along with me so that we could escape together, but then realized that the other had long since “jetted” out of there—yes, “jetted”. On his feet were metal boots. The soles were spraying white flames, and he shot out of there like a whirlwind.

As he ran, Yue Gang turned back and shouted, “Charles, you idiot! You still aren’t running! Are you standing around waiting to die?”

When I returned to my senses, there was not even a single person by my side. Even Father Alex was running ahead of me.

I suddenly realized something. Could it be that my reflexes are too slow? Perhaps this is why my ability upon reaching adulthood was X-speed. Even if I had a late start, I would still be able to catch up in the end.

With a burst of strength from my legs, it took mere seconds before I went from last to first place in the race. But I did not stop running, as waiting for the others was meaningless. Looking at the route charted on the visor, I decided to go ahead clear the road of any possible obstacles, so as to avoid obstructing the others’ escape later.

Ni Cai sternly instructed, “Charles, stop the door ahead from closing.”

The doors were already almost shut when he finished speaking. I immediately grabbed the cleaning cart beside me and pushed the whole thing over. By the time it reached the doors, they had already closed to a width narrower than the cart. With the sheer momentum of my dash, I lodged the entire cart in between the doors.

This entire time, the cart emitted the shrill sound of metal being compressed, and doors continued compressing the cart even more as they closed. Apprehension had just kicked in when the doors stopped moving, the crushed cart leaving a gap that a person could just barely fit through.

The Church must certainly be regretting buying such a high-quality cleaning cart.

At this point, the three people behind me had caught all up. While they were alarmed by the sight, they did not stop, even so. They leapt across the cart one-by-one and continued fleeing.

Striking red numbers appeared on the visor, indicating thirty seconds left.

This is too ridiculous. What happened just now should only have been a dozen seconds or so, and it even felt more like ten seconds to me. Why is half the time suddenly gone?

“Hurry and run.” Ni Cai’s breathing sounded abnormally heavy, and he quickly said, “I’m fighting for time right now, but they’re very stubborn on activating something and are even willing to give up control of the doors for it. I’m guessing it’s a bomb.”

Hearing Ni Cai’s words, we ran like mad.

“If they are willing to give us control of the doors, it means that the explosion will be extremely powerful. Even if you make it out of the base, if it’s only by an inch, you might not be able to escape.”

In the space of the time it took to activate X-speed, I instantly said, “Let the young master retreat.”

Ni Cai fell silent for a while, and then said, “Dark Sun is no longer able to retreat. The Church has most likely made their move, because the adjudication squad suddenly all collapsed, so now he’s surrounded.”

I was shocked. I had not imagined such an unforeseen turn of events. No wonder Ni Cai cut off the video. He must have been worried that I would get distracted, perhaps? The Church’s numbers were so high, so how could the young master deal with them without the adjudication squad? Especially since, now, the Church insisted on blasting me to bits despite knowing that it would lead to them being at odds with the Elysees family. Would they would use a similar method against the young master?

I was about to tell Ni Cai to show me the video, but he spoke before I did.

“You guys…”

I froze, having never heard Ni Cai’s voice be this somber. His voice was usually cold, and his way of speaking was monotonous, with barely any deviation either way.

“Run!”

The sound of explosions rang out from the back, and everyone’s expressions changed. Our mad dash became even faster, almost more like flying.

“I’ll shut the door, but this isn’t going to delay it much. You all—”

We were already unable to hear what he was saying, as the rumbling sound of the explosions followed close behind us, and all our concentration was focused on moving our legs even faster.

“What the flying fuuuuu—” As Yue Gang ran, he miserably shrieked, “My old man really sabotaged his son!”

Alex shouted, “No such thing! They clearly said that they would wait till Charles entered the central area before detonating the bomb—damn!” His expression changed, and anger appeared on his usually gentle face as he growled, “They intentionally tricked me with false information! But how could they have deceived me—unless all those people were also being lied to!”

That is not important, really! I truly do not care whether your powers are of mind-reading or prophecy.

The exit doors were within sight, but the explosions were already right on our heels. I gritted my teeth, circled around, and grabbed all three of them. In this time frame, I also split my attention to releasing my blood ability and solidifying it into a thick shield behind me. Then, I bent my knees slightly, waiting for the right moment. As the heat wave from the explosion hit us, I seized the opportunity to rush out.

One leap, two, then three, followed by sprinting and more sprinting. I could not tell whether I was running or being blasted outwards, or perhaps it was both.

I charged ahead with all my might, until even my surroundings blurred. Only when I reached an unavoidable obstruction in front did I think about slowing my footsteps, but I then realized that I was completely unable to stop. The moment I tried to stop, the momentum kept us moving forward. In the end, we all fell to the ground, rolling into a big pile together.

I laid on the ground, gasping for air in large mouthfuls, as I felt my heart thump so vigorously that it was almost about to leap out of my chest.

“Charles! Charles, you’re still alive, right?”

I looked at Yue Gang, who was making a big fuss as he got to his feet, but I was simply was too out of breath to even reply. However, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing my face.

He said in disbelief, “These drugs that you took are simply terrifying! You’re actually using that angry ‘roid stuff, right?”

You mean steroids, but those are not very effective on vampires.

“Where on earth are we? Did you take us all the way around the world?”

Nothing of the sort, though I do feel breathless to the point where I feel like I have circumnavigated the globe.

Lieder and Alex were looking over, seemingly quite dazed and not yet fully recovered. Their reaction times were apparently slower than Yue Gang’s, but it was also possible that Yue Gang simply had nerves of steel and would be unfazed by even crazier situations.

Alex turned back and stared at something not too far away. He muttered, “This is simply too unbelievable. You actually managed to outrun an explosion?”

“And while carrying three people.” Lieder smiled bitterly.

“What the heck!” Yue Gang followed Alex’s line of sight and his face immediately turned ashen. He looked flabbergasted as he continued to curse.

I looked over in confusion. The fake nuclear power plant was already half-ruined, and it really looked as though a nuclear explosion had occurred. Perhaps the Church was intending to use this excuse? If a mishandled nuclear plant had exploded, no one will dare to even come near this place in the future.

“L-Lieder… living… then reply. Otherwise, I will abandon the mission and start running for my life.”

Ni Cai’s voice transmitted over the visor, jerkily at first, then becoming crisp and clear.

Lieder took a deep breath and replied, “Yes, I’m still alive, and with only a few additional bruises to boot. This is really all thanks to Charles.”

Ni Cai was quiet for a moment, then said, “Then go over and assist Dark Sun. However, I must warn you that there’s way too many of the Church’s men. A direct confrontation has zero chance of victory and could only drag out the inevitable. Let me try and see if I can restore the power of the adjudication squad, but I can’t make any promises.”

Young Master! I forced myself onto my feet, and instantly shouted, “Send me the video feed from the young master’s group!”

“Hold on, due to interference from the explosion, it’s a bit unstable right now. Don’t go over yet. The Church will probably assume that you all were caught in the blast and died, so I’ll find a route for you all to sneak in. Perhaps we can catch them off guard.”

As Ni Cai explained, he was accompanied by the furious typing sounds of a keyboard, and it was evident that he was very busy. Though I was torn up with anxiety about the young master’s current situation, I felt that what he said made sense. Rashly heading over would only result in getting surrounded myself, and that would be of no help at all to the young master.

Alex anxiously replied, “We can’t wait anymore, we have to go over immediately. Sin is holding off on killing E.X for the sake of luring Charles over. Now they must think that we all died in the blast, so then E.X is in danger!”

My expression changed.

“Don’t you dare go over there! Give me three minutes.” Ni Cai warned us strictly.

I did my best to suppress my anxiety. To distract myself, I could only silently count three minutes out in my heart, but the more I counted, the more hurried I got. As a butler, I ought to be fairly accurate at counting in my head, but as of now, I could tell that I was counting too fast even without checking a watch.

At this time, Alex suddenly walked up to me and squatted down, extending a hand to touch my knee.

“…”

“Does it hurt?” He asked as he raised his head.

“I am fine.” I shook my head as I answered, “My knees feel a little weak, that’s all.”

“Drink my blood.” Alex pulled open his shirt collar, and calmly said, “Losing three hundred milliliters of blood won’t have an effect on me, but it should allow you to recover quickly.”

That was indeed the case. I had wanted to take another blood candy, but I was worried that if I were to take too many, the dreadful consequences would occur again. Therefore, I decided to drop all pretenses and went straight up to bite his neck for a small snack.

To the current me, three hundred milliliters of fresh blood was really just a small piece of cake.

Alex scrutinized my face, and praised, “Your complexion is already looking much better. With this kind of ability, no wonder the Church believes you have E.X’s inheritance and insists on killing you too.”

“Even if X has an inheritance of some sort, he is only one person, and cannot make waves to a huge extent.”

I simply could not understand why the Church would label him as their mortal enemy. X was strong, but Dark Sun was equally strong, and Anceo did not think of the young master as human either. So why would the Church not include Dark Sun as another target?

In my opinion, if the young master, who has the support of the Sun Emperor, wished to throw this world into chaos, his destructive power was definitely a thousand times stronger than that of one vampire.

Alex however looked at me with his brows knit together, as though he wanted to say something, but did not.

“Connected!” Ni Cai gave a small cry.

Only one image was projected onto the visor, but it was the scene that I least wanted to see. The young master was heavily surrounded and outnumbered, and yet his allies were only a mere few.

These were Ezart, Melody, Mr. Bramble, and the others. Thankfully, they appeared to be fine. Most likely, they had long headed out to help the young master, and so had not been caught in the explosion. The other person was Father Yue, whose fighting strength was rather shocking. He was fully armed from top to bottom, and the amount of firepower was simply dumbfounding, making me feel as though I was looking at an upgraded version of Yue Gang.

There was one more person, but because of the camera angle, I could not see who he was.

The Church seemed to have no intention of using bombs. Thinking more on it, the vehicles were so close by that, unless they were willing to kill their own people in the blast, the Church could not use the kind of bomb that we had just encountered. In addition, I believed they were not serious in trying to kill the young master.

Angering the Elysees was one thing; throwing the Sun Emperor into the mix was entirely another story.

The young master probably had a similar line of thought, which is why he would have refused to retreat even now. Otherwise, with his logical reasoning, he should have reached the conclusion that the rescue mission was a hopeless case and retreat was the only option. If he had retreated, the procession would have long disappeared from sight.

However, at the moment, the young master was still fighting, even with his whole body battered with wounds and even knowing the effort was futile. Such irrational behavior was completely unlike the young master. Yet, my heart was very conflicted by this, and I did not know how I should feel about it.

“When Dark Sun got into danger, he asked me not to transmit the feed to you, so you wouldn’t worry and be distracted.” Lieder said.

“The young master was correct.”

If I had seen this scene just now and had even the slightest hesitation, all of us would have died in the explosion.

“He is always correct.”

This time, the young master refused to retreat. This could possibly be the wrong choice.

This mistake, however, would be forever engraved in my heart.