Chapter 41: The Setup

Mu Se and William dashed through the night, swift as lightning. William would often glance back at Mu Se, his impatience evident. Mu Se gritted her teeth, exerting all her strength, yet barely managed to keep up with William. After all, in his ancient dire wolf form, William’s speed and explosive power were monstrously potent.

William suddenly halted, and Mu Se stopped as well. The two swiftly approached each other, and Mu Se released a large amount of blood aura, instantly vanishing from sight. In their place, a mound of earth appeared, with a half-dug pit nearby.

At first glance, it looked like an unfinished fortification, one of many on this battlefield, nothing out of the ordinary.

In the darkness, the sound of engines grew louder, and several motorcycles streaked across the land like lightning. Even when they were closest, the engine sounds were not loud, clearly equipped with force arrays for silencing.

The motorcycles, exuding a chilling killing intent, vanished into the distance.

William and Mu Se remained hidden, biding their time. Their senses were extraordinary, and they recognized these as the Zhao Clan’s patrol riders. Everyone knew the Zhao Clan’s patrols were elite, often moving in multiple groups, and were mysteriously connected to the main army. If they encountered enemies, reinforcements would arrive in layers, quickly overwhelming the adversaries.

For now, they only saw one patrol, but others might be nearby. More importantly, the Zhao Clan had a heavy presence in the area, with numerous powerful warriors. Although both William and Mu Se were formidable, they were not there to fight and did not want to attract unnecessary trouble, especially if the Duke of Youguo got involved.

While hiding, Mu Se asked, “Why did you refuse to revert to human form once we neared the Unfallen City?”

“Why not? It’s just unnecessary,” William replied.

Mu Se scoffed, “You can’t even open a box, and you say it’s unnecessary?”

“Isn’t that what you’re here for?” William retorted.

Mu Se huffed, “I was forced to join halfway. You didn’t plan to use me to open boxes and chests, did you?”

William’s expression remained unchanged, “I thought humans would deliver things in pouches.”

Mu Se raised the small box, exaggeratedly, “Send a drop of blood in a pouch??”

“What, is that a problem?” William bared his fangs, his eyes filled with menace.

“No, no problem, it’s normal. It should be in a pouch!” Realizing she was outmatched, Mu Se’s attitude was always pragmatic.

“That’s right,” William grunted.

Mu Se took out her vampire blade, a peculiar short dagger barely wider than a finger, nearly transparent. She extracted Night Pupil’s blood from the box, measured it with the blade, and deftly sliced the crystal, dividing the blood into two parts. She then quickly cut two thin slices of crystal to seal the cuts.

She handed the crystal containing more of Night Pupil’s blood to William, “Is this acceptable?”

William nodded slowly.

Mu Se waved the crystal, “If it’s any less, it won’t be enough for our clan’s prophecy master to activate the secret ritual.”

“Are you sure the Lightless King will summon that old man to preside over the ceremony?”

Mu Se affirmed, “There’s no doubt. This is his most important matter. He’s even willing to pay a high price to negotiate with the Empire to get Night Pupil back. Now that he has a new lead, why would he trust anyone else? This blood is just enough for one Celestial Prophecy.”

William pondered, “Why does he value Night Pupil so much? It shouldn’t be like this. If it were one of Monroe’s princes, it would make sense. Are you hiding something from me?”

Mu Se laughed bitterly, “You overestimate me. I haven’t officially joined the Lightless King’s side. How could he tell me such important matters?”

William thought for a moment, “True, let’s stick to the original plan.”

Curious, Mu Se asked, “How are your preparations going? You know, the old man the Lightless King summoned is no simple figure. Before he was injured, he could compete with Lin Xitan in the Celestial Arts.”

William gritted his teeth, “Of course I know! If it weren’t for him, several werewolf tribes wouldn’t have been discovered in their final hiding places, and no bloodlines would remain!”

Mu Se sighed, “That’s history. Though your Peak of the Clans maintains the oldest and most orthodox werewolf lineage, your weakness is too obvious. The more different werewolf bloodlines, the stronger your highest secret arts. So, anyone would try to eliminate isolated, unique-bloodline werewolf tribes. Without those secret arts, fewer tribes would have been wiped out.”

William growled, clearly hitting a sore spot.

“I must kill that old man!” William said, “With human cooperation, we’ll lure him. His injuries are still unhealed, and using the Celestial Prophecy will mean his death!”

Mu Se couldn’t help asking, “Who are you working with? Your own shamans can’t do this.”

William finally said, “A Demonkin grand sorcerer.”

Mu Se gasped, “The Disaster grand sorcerer?”

“Exactly.”

Composing herself, Mu Se said, “If it’s him, it’s possible. But how did you contact him?”

William said, “The Demonkin are always eager to weaken the vampires.”

After a moment, Mu Se said, “No! You’ll benefit greatly, and I’ll lose a lot.”

William glanced at her, “This significantly weakens your clan’s power, and you have no reaction?”

Mu Se calmly said, “It’s fine. We’re also betraying the Demonkin. Plus, even the Disaster grand sorcerer would pay a high price. Most importantly, that old man’s death means I can approach the Lightless King.”

As more patrols passed, Mu Se and William quickly left once the coast was clear.

When Wei Potian finally woke, he found himself in a world transformed. The same place, but surrounded by dark races’ corpses, including a Demonkin. The bodies indicated a sudden battle, with Wei Potian unconscious and the dark race squad annihilated. Yet, Wei Potian had no memory of the fight.

The nightmare-appearing ancient tree was gone.

Wei Potian shouted and jumped up, feeling intense pain in his head and rear. He vaguely remembered the head pain, but why the rear?

He touched his buttocks, finding them intact. Running his Thousand Mountains Heart Technique, the pain subsided, and he moved on. At the tree’s former location, he saw no trace. Not even a wood splinter.

Unwilling to give up, he dug a deep pit but found no roots. Doubting his memory and the woman’s face, it felt unreal.

Glancing around, he noticed a leather tube left by Mu Se, emitting force aura.

Wei Potian picked up the tube, finding a map inside. Shocked, it depicted a detailed defense layout of a Demonkin Marquis’s sector!

This special paper stored force, displaying a 3D map when activated. In both the Eternal Night and the Empire, such maps were top-tier military intelligence, rarely seen below Major General rank.

If genuine, this map was invaluable. The Empire could use it to devastate the sector, possibly even luring the Marquis to his doom under a commander like Lin Xitan.

Wei Potian felt dizzy, as if struck by a massive windfall. Just presenting this map would secure his promotion to Major General, even if temporarily lacking in combat power.

However, his first thought was, “Finally, no more house arrest!”

But he wasn’t entirely careless. The strange appearance of the bodies needed thorough investigation. Besides a Viscount’s identification, nothing valuable was found, but the Demonkin Viscount was proof enough.

Leaving the bizarre scene, Wei Potian carried the Demonkin corpse, heading for the Unfallen City.

Returning smoothly, Wei Potian entered the Wei Manor without alerting anyone.

Seeing the stern middle-aged man in the courtyard, Wei Potian froze, finally managing, “Father.”

Marquis Boxiang grunted, “Wandering during house arrest, seems the family rules mean nothing to you.”

His voice was cold, tinged with disappointment. Sensing the tone, Wei Potian rushed to present the map, “I wasn’t wandering, I brought back a great accomplishment.”

Marquis Boxiang, skeptical, took the map and, after a brief look, his expression changed. Studying it closely, he finally said, “Is this real?”

“Check it against frontline intel,” Wei Potian suggested.

Marquis Boxiang took a deep breath, “No need. This defense map is genuine.”