Chapter 329: Hunting Nobles (3)

WHOOSH!

It wasn’t just Han Su himself. His form was Flashing as he rapidly closed the distance. His left hand was slightly raised, copper-colored blood already seeping from his briefcase. It followed his forward momentum, hiding within the chaotic black shadows and shooting forward like a volley of bullets.

‘Not good!’

Count Albarrez had just dealt with the black shadow in front of him. He was focusing all his efforts on finding the Little Lamb Girl’s location—that was the only thing he cared about. He hadn’t paid much attention to the Independent Investigator from Giant Horn City.

After all, he knew that no matter what he did, and no matter how furious Giant Horn City became, nothing could truly threaten his life.

But just as he was letting his guard down, a warning from deep within his bloodline suddenly flared up.

His pupils turned pitch-black against his will, his gaze piercing coldly through the spiritual turbulence to look ahead.

In an instant, he saw the figure hidden within the black torrent, as well as the specks of copper bullets that accompanied it. His gaze was cold, filled with a condescending arrogance, and he let out a low growl that seemed devoid of any human emotion:

“You dare profane the blood of a Knight?”

“…”

“What?”

‘I was certain I’d considered every detail, but I never anticipated a change like this.’

In that instant, as he faced the Count’s advancing figure, Han Su felt as if he were seeing a figure on horseback. The man’s towering and oppressive presence far exceeded his imagination.

‘Even the copper-colored blood under my control feels like it’s faintly slipping from my grasp. At this moment, I can’t even say for sure what would happen if I actually charged forward and reached him!’

“Withdraw!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he made his decision. He grabbed the Little Lamb Girl, his form instantly Flashing and vanishing into the night. The copper-colored blood under his control also changed direction at the same moment, hurriedly flying after his retreating figure.

“I…”

It was only after the bizarre spiritual turbulence before him had dissipated that the Count finally let out a long breath.

The blackness faded from his eyes. He didn’t even quite understand what had just happened.

But with a brief moment of sensing, his expression suddenly twisted, and his beard stood on end in shock.

“My…”

“The blessing I received when I was knighted… it’s been used up…”

“…”

He could hardly even imagine who had just targeted him. All he felt was an irrepressible rage surging to his head.

“Giant Horn City actually dared to try and kill me?”

“Where did they get the nerve? How dare they try to kill a true noble?”

“…”

“Move! Move!”

The more he thought about this, the more frightened he became. Although he hadn’t gotten a clear look at what had just tried to attack him, he knew how important his blessing was. It would only be consumed when his life was in genuine danger.

Most importantly, unless his research was accepted by the World Council, he would never be able to receive a second blessing in his lifetime.

‘That was one of my lives, and it was just used up without me even realizing it?’

He flew into a rage, cursing loudly, “Make Giant Horn City understand the price of angering a noble!”

“Also, open that coffin…”

“…”

His fury startled his Vampire nephew, who stood not far behind him. The nephew didn’t know what had happened, only the consequences of opening that coffin. “Uncle, the person in the coffin is too old. She can no longer tell friend from foe…”

“Giant Horn City is trying to kill me, and you want me to worry about that?”

The Count roared, his face as dark as if it had been soaked in water. He stared intently into the darkness before him. “Open her coffin and give it the Spiritual Coordinate of that Black Goat!”

“Tell it that even if it has to slaughter everyone in Giant Horn City, it must bring me that Black Goat!”

“…”

“…”

‘Nobles aren’t so easy to kill…’

On the other side, Han Su had sensed something was wrong and immediately retreated, having long since melted into the wilderness.

By now, with Investigator Wei Ya making his move, the area had already descended into chaos. The people brought by Giant Horn City and Skinning Manor had long ago surrounded the mountain, forming an encirclement with no less than thirty-six blocking positions.

An encirclement of this scale would be enough to prevent even a mouse with supernatural abilities from escaping. However, they had one fatal problem.

The two sides were not united, which meant there were bound to be gaps in their blockade!

Han Su escaped through the blockade with almost no effort. As he moved further and further away, he casually left behind a syringe.

It contained a special pheromone created by Akbar using her own power. It could make those nearby see illusions; in this chaotic situation, everyone would unconsciously see what they wanted to see.

The people from Giant Horn City would see him joining Skinning Manor’s forces, while the people from Skinning Manor would see him being abducted by Giant Horn City.

‘And now, let them search!’

He could hear gunshots and battle cries erupting behind him. The chaos was like a single spark setting the wilderness ablaze.

Right now, his mind was solely focused on the illusion that had appeared just when he had a clear chance to land a fatal blow on the Old Count. It had subtly revised his understanding of these Ancient Nobles.

‘It seems Ms. Shen made it sound simple, but these Knight bloodlines won’t just stand there like wheat waiting to be reaped.’ More importantly, he had a burgeoning premonition that a crisis was imminent.

‘It seems my actions just now really scared the Old Count. He must be taking some drastic measures…’

He turned to glance at the Little Lamb Girl and immediately realized the problem.

‘Although I failed just now, I wasn’t exposed, so I’m safe. But the Little Lamb Girl isn’t. Her birth was connected to that Old Count from Skinning Manor, and it’s highly likely that he has Mastered her Spiritual Coordinate.’

‘This means that if he decides to hunt her down, he could find her using the Spiritual Coordinate no matter where she hides.’

‘In that case…’

An idea sparked in Han Su’s mind. He immediately changed direction and headed toward the glittering lights of Giant Horn City in the distance.

‘Hunting Nobles by myself is still a bit difficult, but at least I’ve confirmed one thing.’

‘That Count is definitely a descendant of a Knight.’

‘He’s the target I’ve been looking for!’

‘With that settled, all I need to do now is figure out how to complete the mission.’

He moved extremely fast, his figure seeming to melt into the night. Along the way, he saw several convoys of vehicles driving over from the direction of the city, looking like reinforcements from Giant Horn City.

It seemed the conflict between Investigator Wei Ya and the Old Count over there was escalating.

But just as he and the Little Lamb Girl reached the edge of the city, a message suddenly came in from Wei Lan:

“What on earth did you do? How did you manage to get Giant Horn City so worked up?”

“…”

Han Su was taken aback for a moment. He stopped in his tracks and replied, “What’s wrong?”

Wei Lan rarely pried into details. For her to send a message in this tone, she must have been genuinely curious.

“Giant Horn City just held a secret meeting. They’re making war preparations and mobilizing all available forces.”

Wei Lan replied quickly, “Also, I managed to do that thing you asked me for help with, although I had to use a method I never would have imagined…”

“Giant Horn City is still showing some restraint; they don’t plan on deploying their own armed forces. But they’ve gone and hired several teams of Mercenaries to deal with you. Among them is one particular Mercenary team whose combat record is astonishingly good.”

“In just one year since their debut, they’ve gone from being completely unknown to ranking seventh on the charts.”

“And the strangest part is, this Mercenary team has only one member…”

“…Do you know who this person is?”

“…”

Recalling what he had entrusted to Wei Lan earlier, Han Su suddenly thought of someone. A flicker of realization crossed his mind. “What’s his name?”

“Lü Xiaobai!”

Wei Lan’s voice held a hint of amusement. As the sound of a data file transferring came through the message, she mused softly, “It seems none of our little group of friends was ever content to live a quiet life in the cradle of reality…”

“Except for that rich young master from the Xu Family!”

“…”

‘That guy grew up and actually went off to become a Mercenary?’

Han Su looked at the defiant face in the photo and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

That fierce face overlapped with the image of the kid back in the Ancient Castle—the one who, even when facing monsters, was completely unyielding. The kid who would run if he could, fight if he had a chance, and if he couldn’t fight, would just curse all day long…

‘…Things are really about to get lively now.’