Chapter 176:

“This quest was not issued by me.” In the Blood Vulture Halls, Murphy, relying on his powerful vampire senses, listened to the autumn rain falling on the ground from underground. The sound of rain and the clouds obscuring the sunlight made him feel comfortable, but at this moment, the vampire lord’s mind was not at peace. Because just now, while checking the communication between the core bead and the lower-level beads, he accidentally discovered a quest that was not issued by his own hand. It was precisely the “Hidden Quest” related to Meow King’s profession, but it did not come from Murphy or other NPCs holding Computation Beads. “Avalon” Murphy caressed the core bead. At this moment, a strong sense of unease welled up in his heart. The little players thought this was a game, and all quests were generated by the system, but the truth was not so! The so-called “quest system” was just a “smoke screen” that Murphy developed for them using the peculiar properties of the Computation Bead. Theoretically, this was a privilege belonging only to Murphy’s faction, because the “encryption” of the administrator system made it impossible for other models of Computation Beads to crack this special layer of communication structure. But now, Meow King had received a quest from “outside the system.” Murphy didn’t think someone was playing tricks, his first reaction was that the Avalon deity had really manifested, because this was not the first time Avalon of Nature had “manifested” to Murphy! Previously, when hunting those maddened vampires trapped in sub-space filth with the old knight, he had completed a “communication” with the Avalon deity using the handwritten divine scrolls of the old knight. Although that was also just the other party unilaterally scrutinizing him, along with those prophetic-sounding words uttered by the old knight before his death, as for using the Computation Bead to issue quests, it was not surprising. If even a 432-year-old vampire big sister could learn to use the Computation Bead, then for the mysterious Astral Realm Great Spirit, it would be something that could be mastered with just a glance. “My god watches over you, my god blesses you, my god shall walk with you, the multitudes of spirits shall tread the celestial seas beside you, Alpha, continue forth.” Murphy’s vampire memory was excellent. He repeated the old knight’s final admonition in his heart. Now it seems that what the old knight said was not just delirious talk, Avalon really seemed to be paying attention to him, this vampire... No? Nature god, have you suddenly developed some strange interest in shit? I’m clearly an Eternal Sin Descendant! Murphy grumbled harshly. Then he thought of the unlucky vampire Mary he had rescued earlier in Bataxin city. She said she had heard a voice in her desperate situation telling her that Murphy would come to save her. That time shouldn’t have been Avalon’s doing, right? The vampire had previously mentioned this to Tris, and Tris promised she would investigate, but now Murphy was uneasy and decided to inquire again with the “professional” currently by his side. “Pop” Murphy pushed open the door to Tris’s office, only to see Tris sprawled on the desk, hugging a bottle of wine and snoring away. Well then. Tris was an orthodox vampire, and on a rainy day like today without sunlight, it was their favorite dormant time. Falling asleep peacefully to the sound of rain was not only a privilege of humans, vampires liked it just as much. Murphy shrugged, not disturbing Tris’s hard-earned rest. He gently draped a cloak over Tris’s shoulders and quietly retreated. The entire Blood Vulture Halls were very quiet at this moment. Probably all the vampires except him had already fallen asleep in this rare leisure, even including Adele and Maxim. They inherited Murphy’s bloodline but only had a slight resistance to sunlight, which did not prevent drowsiness during the daytime. Murphy estimated that even Lady Shani and her Thorn followers should be asleep by now. He thought so. But after turning a corner with his hands behind his back, he saw Count of White Mountain Andrei sitting at a table in a corner, holding a cup of red tea and leafing through a book of poetry. The latter looked as if he was “staying up late,” using red tea to combat the temptation of sleep. But it was clear that he was struggling hard, yawning from time to time, which seriously undermined the sense of “seriousness,” “rationality,” and “maturity” that had always existed and he strived to maintain. Actually, this kid is quite handsome too. But the path he’s taking is not the same concept as the “handsome” that comes face to face with Lord Murphy. “Why aren’t you sleeping?” Murphy approached him and asked in a gentle tone: “Are the coffins we prepared for you not comfortable enough?” “No, the walnut coffins are full of tranquil fragrance, more suitable for enjoying peaceful dreams in this Transia region than the coffins we make from cold wood.” Count Andrei politely raised his teacup to Murphy, saying: “I just haven’t adapted to life as a vampire yet, some habits of being human are still stubbornly resisting. You don’t seem to have such troubles? You’re clearly like me, a blood clan rookie who’s just been transformed for a year.” “Oh my, there must be some tricks to these things.” Murphy sat down next to Count Andrei with a smile. The latter very gracefully brewed a cup of royal red tea for him as well. Murphy fabricated to Andrei: “When I was still human, working odd jobs in Kadman City to support myself, I heard some locals tell stories about ‘Daywalkers.’ I guess it was just a folk legend, but quite interesting nonetheless.” “Hmm? Daywalkers?” Count Andrei was a melancholy poet, he was also quite interested in these folk legends, so he asked: “Does it refer to vampires who can move freely in sunlight? That sounds unlikely, our sinful blood determines that we can never be accepted by the sun.” “Yes! I know, however, sunlight will accept humans. That is not just a privilege, my kindred.” Murphy took a small sip from the teacup, glancing at the Count of White Mountain. He spoke in a drawn-out voice: “What if you are a unique individual with a vampire shell, but harboring a deeply hidden human soul? The sunlight will scorch your shell, but it will also soothe your soul. At first, I also viewed the baseless legend of the Daywalker as a laughable story, but as you’ve seen. Though I still cannot walk peacefully under the sunlight, I can now enjoy the embrace of the night while also moving freely during the day without being troubled by fatigue. In fact, when I’m active during the day, my soul rejoices even more. They all say I’m a vampire. Now Blood Dread and Blood Vulture have both suffered clan extinction, Charlemagne and Salrokdar have also returned their souls to midnight, and Grand Duchess Oksana’s spirit in heaven should be satisfied. However, one of the culprits, the Wolfsbane Clan, has not yet suffered calamity! Wolfsbane also contributed to the disaster in Kadman City. Old Edward and his wolf cubs are already our common enemies, so, your answer is...” “Tell me the truth! Otherwise, I can only refuse you.” Tris said sternly: “As a grand duchess, you can’t possibly wage war just because of historical factors. That’s already an 800-year-old matter. I see that you, a madwoman who dares to personally harm your elder, don’t seem like someone who would respect tradition. Speak up! Why target the Wolfsbane Clan?” “Sigh, it’s getting harder to deceive people these days. As expected of a well-informed old auntie.” Lady Shani smiled while once again stimulating certain emotions hidden beneath Tris’s coquettish expression. She tugged at her braid and revealed the real reason: “I’m currently the court intelligence officer for Her Majesty the Wolf Queen, and I’ve confirmed that I have a troublesome opponent on the ‘business level’! Old Edward and his clan have bowed to King Louis, they will act more rampantly under the shadow of the Goldflower Kingdom, this is inevitable! Alas, this line of work is getting harder. But we should be more professional. As a royal member of the Nordtov Kingdom, my monarch needs me to weaken the strength of potential enemies to lay the foundation for future rivalries between the two countries in various fields. Is this reason enough?” “That’s more like it.” Tris nodded in satisfaction and said: “In principle, I can agree, but what do you plan to do?” “We’ll discuss that when the time is right.” Shani gently extended her hand to Tris. The Blood Vulture Grand Duchess also removed her glove and clasped hands with Shani. As their white, beautiful fingers closed together, a drop of blood seeped from each of their palms, mingled, and then returned to their respective bodies. The Sacred Blood Covenant was formed! Of course, this covenant had no binding force on Golden-rank blood clans, but both Tris and Shani could sense that an alliance would do them no harm. The increasingly arrogant Wolfsbane Clan indeed needed to be severely disciplined! This was the rule of the blood clans! Whenever a clan became too powerful, other clans would always unite to suppress them. Hmm, this was a sacred tradition! “Where’s Niuniu?” Sword Saint Ashina, who had changed into her beloved Midnight Hunter ceremonial outfit and was preparing to attend the embrace ceremony, chewed on some malt candy and curiously asked Sister Pomegranate, who was also wearing the ceremonial outfit. Sister Pomegranate pursed her lips, pointed upward, and said: “He’s talking with the NPC he rescued. By the way, why do I feel like my stinky brother’s relationship with that NPC is quite unusual? Am I overthinking it?” Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Blood Vulture Halls. “Are you really determined to become a vampire?” The weakened Lady Amber was still trying to dissuade her warrior Niuniu, but the latter had already changed into the Midnight Hunter ceremonial outfit, which represented Niuniu’s decision. Not far behind Niuniu were his two minions, his dormitory mates Khaki Tony Tai and Path of Mud and Oil. These two athletes had also completed the elite challenge yesterday morning with the help of the new battle tactics developed by Brother Joy Stick. At the moment, they were whispering strange things to each other, with very, very “base” expressions on their faces. Faced with Lady Amber’s plea, Niuniu didn’t feel anything strange. He spoke to the worried Amber in a friendly tone: “Haven’t we discussed this topic before? Don’t worry, becoming a vampire doesn’t mean I’ll become a monster. It’s just a choice of power! Only with power can one realize one’s ambitions! Although I don’t know what my ambitions are. But I’ve already made arrangements with other friends, I can’t back out at this point.” “Just because of a promise? You’re willing to risk walking into the night, enduring that dark temptation until one day you’re corrupted and fall into a true evil being?” Amber said somewhat excitedly: “You deserve a better life! Such an excellent young man like you-” “Then let’s make a promise too?” Seeing that time was running out, Niuniu said to Lady Amber: “You’re a Witch Hunter, a warrior who specializes in hunting evil spirits. Therefore, if one day I fall and become an evil spirit in your eyes, then you will kill me with your own hands, how about that?” Lady Amber fell silent. After several seconds, she reached out and clasped hands with Niuniu. She threatened in a low voice: “Then you’d better keep yourself in check, my warrior. If one day I learn that you’ve become a monster, my arrows won’t show you any mercy!” “Mm, it’s settled then.” Niuniu also grinned. Then, under Amber’s worried gaze, he turned and walked into the halls with his two friends. They were still talking about things like “paper people” and “wives” that Amber couldn’t understand. But Niuniu and Lady Amber’s relationship was indeed just friends! Yes, at least for now.