Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 883: Worry-Free, Three Lives (11)

Cythacyl is a seventh-generation vampire, and the highest bloodline in the Fernandez family belongs to the previous Viscount Fernandez, who was violently hanged and was a fifth-generation vampire.

The power of the previous generation is stronger than that of the next, giving the elder who initiated the turning a powerful control over their progeny. This is almost a rule in the vampire world.

Karen is a vampire of the same generation as Cythacyl, so Tu Shenyi can be considered an eighth-generation vampire.

Among vampires, different generations exhibit different changes. For instance, vampires from the Takizawa family, which are transformed beings, should be regarded as vampiric monsters. They may have a lower generation number, but their strength is not measured by generation.

Additionally, vampires possess their unique special abilities, and the effects of these abilities in battle naturally vary. Therefore, unless they belong to similar categories, it’s difficult to define the strengths and weaknesses among vampires.

Unless all vampires have evolved to the third generation, which is the level of clan leaders from the thirteen clans, also known as princes.

Regardless of the clan, third-generation princes, whether transformed or wild faction, possess enough power to suppress vampires of the third generation and below—this is an undeniable rule among vampires.

Among lower-generation vampires, there is also a situation where the progeny "devours" the elder who initiated their transformation, assimilating the elder's bloodline and breaking through the long accumulation of time to advance to a higher generation.

Karen and Cythacyl once knew each other, and they could be categorized into similar factions, which is why Cythacyl could say that Tu Shenyi should not possess such great power.

"Although I don't know whether you 'devoured' Karen or obtained your power through other means," Cythacyl shook his head, his gaze cool, "as a junior, you should observe the etiquette of your kind. Tu Shenyi, you are being very improper."As he spoke, Cythacyl transformed into a flicker of light, appearing in front of Tu Shenyi.

He would not fear Tu Shenyi’s suddenly increased power. Although seventh-generation vampires may seem low in rank, most of the vampires active in the world are actually of the sixth or seventh generation.

Above the fifth generation are old antiques; they are either sleeping or remaining in their residences, taking on the important responsibility of guarding their kin and rarely appearing.

Not every encounter is like facing Luo Qiu, who is so powerful that one has no chance of retaliation.

In the blink of an eye, as Cythacyl appeared before Tu Shenyi, he swung his blood whip. However, in the next moment, Cythacyl was astonished to find that Tu Shenyi was faster, and it was almost effortless!

Tu Shenyi easily grasped Cythacyl's wrist, rendering his blood whip completely ineffective.

After seizing Cythacyl’s wrist, Tu Shenyi pulled him up, swung him around, and then slammed him down onto the ground!

Cythacyl's entire back crashed against the floor, creating a large amount of debris. He lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, looking as if he was contemplating life.

At the same time, several short swords made of blood light suddenly shot down from the air, nailing Cythacyl’s hands and feet to the ground, completely immobilizing him.

Ah—!

Cythacyl let out a cry of despair—of course, such damage wouldn’t cost his life as a vampire. But the pain wouldn’t vanish!

Tu Shenyi calmly circled around Cythacyl and remarked nonchalantly, “Cythacyl, have you been in dark trade for too long that you've forgotten how to fight?”

“Tu Shenyi!!” Cythacyl appeared frantic, revealing his sharp fangs, clenching his fists, trying to struggle free from the restraints of the blood swords.

“A vampire’s strength largely comes from anger; you’re certainly angry now.” Tu Shenyi shook his head. “But it’s a pity you’ve lived too comfortably; your body has rusted, hasn’t it?”

Furious blood energy erupted from Cythacyl, creating a stream of heat that began to swirl around him, causing the front of the laboratory to become a windstorm.

Tu Shenyi merely shook his head. With a wave of his hand, another massive blood-colored sword appeared out of thin air, aiming directly at Cythacyl's heart.

For vampires, the weakness lies in the heart—the source of their strength. When the blood-colored giant sword pierced through the skin of Cythacyl's chest, his expression changed dramatically.

The power that had erupted from anger plummeted instantly, replaced by profound fear… perhaps Tu Shenyi was right; Cythacyl hadn’t fought in a long time!

In the face of imminent death, what came to his mind was not how to resist but the instinct to escape born from fear and the rose-like patterns imprinted on the blood-colored sword.

“You… you really did 'devour' Karen… this is her…”

The blood-colored sword pierced through the skin of his chest, easily penetrating Cythacyl’s body, nearly burying the blade within him. After uttering his last words, Cythacyl closed his eyes, his body completely still.

Tu Shenyi bent down, gripping the hilt of the blood-colored sword, slowly pulling it out… but he suddenly paused.

The blade was not completely withdrawn, but in that moment, Cythacyl's body began to dissolve—like a sandcastle being washed away by a stream.

Cythacyl's body gradually flowed away, eventually transforming into a substance resembling black sludge.

Tu Shenyi finally pulled the blood-colored sword out of the ground and shook his head: “You’ve lost much of your combat ability, but your ability to escape has grown.”

As Tu Shenyi spoke, he glanced around, ensuring that Cythacyl wasn’t hiding elsewhere, before finally walking away slowly, muttering, “Cythacyl, if it’s not you, then it’s left with Longze and Eve…”

…

In the cellar maze of the vineyard castle.

Somewhere deeper underground, even more hidden than the cellar maze, lay a black coffin—a long coffin that suddenly burst open.

A figure abruptly sat up from within the coffin, gasping for air, his face still displaying a look of terror.

Cythacyl instinctively grasped at his heart, his expression shifting from fear to a snarl, no longer handsome or charming. “I actually wasted a substitute clay figure… After all these years as a dark merchant, I’ve only managed to obtain two from the Magician’s Association! Tu Shenyi!”

Cythacyl crawled out of the black coffin, feeling somewhat fortunate that he had almost been instantaneously killed by Tu Shenyi, and he hadn’t even unleashed his full power…

He snorted coldly and suddenly declared, “What’s wrong with being a merchant? Merchants are full of treasures; if I weren’t a merchant, I might have died this time!”

Cythacyl suddenly looked up, as if trying to see through the layers of earth above him, searching for everything in the cellar maze above. His gaze turned cold. “Tu Shenyi, it seems you are unwilling to offer your true blood… then don’t blame me.”

Saying this, Cythacyl suddenly extended his arm, rolled up his sleeve, and used his nails to cut into his wrist.

A stream of blood flowed from his wrist, falling to the ground, but it was instantly absorbed by the black soil below.

Cythacyl murmured something softly.

“Sleeping ancestor… great progenitor of the blood of Fernandez… please awaken from death…”

The blood seeped into the soil, continuously sinking deeper… Finally, it seemed to settle upon something.

It was a completely desiccated corpse.

The moment the blood seeped from the chest, the heart of the dried corpse suddenly thumped... A pair of bloodshot eyes opened wide!

...

...

As they moved forward, Luo Qiu suddenly stopped, making Zhong Luoyue, who was following closely behind, feel tense.

In such a terrifying environment, the tightly wound nerves can easily be disturbed by small things.

"What happened?"

Luo Qiu simply glanced at the ground, and Zhong Luoyue looked down as well. But there was nothing on the ground; she had no idea what Luo Qiu was looking at.

"It's nothing, just suddenly remembered something," Luo Qiu shook his head.

Zhong Luoyue seemed to have gotten used to this young man; upon hearing this, she just nodded. She watched the butterfly flying ahead and asked in confusion, "Why are you following it? Is there a special meaning behind it? Also... you can't be considered an ordinary person, right?"

The last question was one Zhong Luoyue decided to ask after pondering for a while.

Luo Qiu glanced at Zhong Luoyue and continued to follow the luminous butterfly. Zhong Luoyue had to hurry to catch up, "Sorry, everyone has their own secrets. If you don’t want to say, I was being reckless."

Luo Qiu suddenly said, "Actually, from my perspective, you are also not an ordinary person."

"Me?" Zhong Luoyue was taken aback, then she smiled bitterly, "Facing those terrifying zombie hordes and bloodsucking monsters, I'm just meat to be slaughtered."

"What is the definition of an ordinary person?" Luo Qiu asked again.

"An average person," Zhong Luoyue furrowed her brow and cautiously gave an answer—she suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if she was humbly seeking guidance, like facing a mentor.

But this person... was still very young.

"Without a prominent family background, without a life of material wealth, but with a sound mind; they can feel disappointment, and they can feel joy..."

Luo Qiu slowly continued, "They also don't have any particularly dazzling talents, but they might have one or two things they are good at. They struggle in society, thinking about tomorrow every day. Their vision isn’t long-term, but they focus on the present, filled with hope yet also resentment. There are many things they feel powerless about, but there are also quite a few things they can achieve. They are the largest group of people in the world."

Zhong Luoyue tentatively asked, "Common people?"

"Is there anything else?" Luo Qiu countered.

Zhong Luoyue shook her head, disagreeing, "What I mean is a different kind of 'not ordinary.' Perhaps... you have some special abilities, divine powers."

Luo Qiu said, "Miss Zhong, do you think that the wealth you have, the connections you possess, and what your family can achieve in the eyes of ordinary people is also a kind of special ability or divine power?"

"This..." Zhong Luoyue was at a loss for words.

It is said that money is omnipotent; it can almost do anything... Wealth seems to be a powerful ability too.

Luo Qiu smiled slightly, "Recently, I watched a movie about two superheroes. The first superhero asked the second one what kind of superpower he had. The second superhero replied that it was speed; he had unparalleled speed, even faster than lightning. Then the second superhero asked the first one what kind of superpower he had, and the first superhero's answer was that he was very rich."

Zhong Luoyue opened her mouth in surprise.

Luo Qiu continued, "Those with superpowers can do many things; the wealthy one can afford many high-tech gadgets and can also achieve many impossible feats. And they..."

Luo Qiu looked at Zhong Luoyue, "In the eyes of the world, are all superheroes. What do you think, Miss Zhong?"

Zhong Luoyue shook her head, smiling bitterly, "My question is different from that, but I have nothing to say right now... you're engaging in sophistry. However, I won't ask again."

"Perhaps you will prefer your past state more in the future," Luo Qiu said softly, "but maybe not."

"Alright." Zhong Luoyue smiled bitterly again, "Thank you for this philosophy lesson... However, I just want to leave here. Maybe you can help me? Let's get straight to the point; take me away from here, and I will never owe you anything."

"There's no need to rush. You will be very safe with me," Luo Qiu said casually, "for now, I won't leave here."

Zhong Luoyue felt helpless—she truly had no way to deal with this guy.

However...

The comparison between superpowered heroes and wealthy heroes made Zhong Luoyue understand something in her heart... Unfortunately, the current situation did not allow her to calm down and fully contemplate its meaning.

The butterfly was still flying ahead, and the two seemed to be moving deeper underground.

But that strange butterfly soon stopped, hovering in front of a stone door—this was also the end of the passage they were walking through.

The butterfly now rested on a protruding decoration beside the stone door. Luo Qiu approached, fiddled with it, and seemed to trigger some mechanism, causing the stone door to rumble and slowly move.

The phone's flashlight instantly illuminated the room behind the stone door.

It was empty, with nothing inside—just a stone chamber. Zhong Luoyue used her phone to shine around, discovering that this stone chamber wasn't large, perhaps around thirty square meters.

However, the walls of this chamber were densely covered with cracks, as if clawed by wild beasts.

These cracks crisscrossed and were thickly packed, almost covering all four walls—at the same time, the flashlight moved to the front, revealing tools meant for restraining people.

Chains and shackles hung from the walls.

"This seems to be a place for imprisoning people," Zhong Luoyue frowned, "It looks like the castle has some history; this basement is built like a maze. Perhaps the former owner of this castle was a lord or a military figure... this underground maze might be a defensive measure."

"What's your basis for that?" Luo Qiu asked curiously.

Zhong Luoyue replied, "I saw some of the zombies, and the leather armor they wore resembles that of several hundred years ago... The mysteries of this place are probably much more than one can imagine."

"Good deduction," Luo Qiu nodded but did not offer much more praise.

"This place is useless," Zhong Luoyue shook her head, "just a prison cell with nothing worth seeing... What are you doing?"

She saw Luo Qiu approach one of the walls, extending his hand to feel the claw marks. His fingers moved slowly along the grooves, repeatedly and deliberately.

Suddenly, Zhong Luoyue heard some noise, prompting her to rush closer to Luo Qiu and shine the phone's flashlight toward the direction of the sound.

It was a corner of the stone chamber, where a small figure was curled up, trembling... It was a woman in a black dress, and she had white hair.

Next to this white-haired woman was a hole, a broken hole.

Did she come into this room through that broken hole? Zhong Luoyue thought instinctively, but at that moment, Luo Qiu had already walked over to the trembling woman.

"You... be careful," she couldn't help but remind him.

Luo Qiu waved his hand, signaling that he was fine.

Finally, he reached the curled-up woman, squatting down, and gently said, "Elizabeth."

The woman slowly lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot beneath her white eyebrows, tears streaming down her pale face. Only her lips had a strange red hue, with two fangs protruding from her mouth...