Chapter 1423: Clearing the Perimeter

Chapter 1423: Chapter 1423: Clearing the Perimeter

At the card table, the deeply troubled Gleeman casually played a card from his hand. After a few rounds, when his companion won again, he finally lost his patience, tossed the remaining cards onto the table, and angrily roared, "Where the hell did that guy Kamans go? Why is he dawdling and still not back?"

"Could it be that guy named Pei Yan got rid of him? Ah, hahaha!" The winner of the previous round, Marco, chuckled and teased.

"Do you find that joke funny?" Gleeman responded with obvious displeasure.

Hearing this, Marco put away his smile and sarcastically said, "I don’t know what you’re anxious about? You were the one who heard the rumors about the Prince’s fall, you were the one who led us not to return to the family base to observe for a while, and now you’re the one who’s dissatisfied! Hmph, I absolutely don’t believe the Prince is dead! Others might not understand, but you, as a member of the Blood Race, should know how inconceivable it is to kill an existence at that lord’s level!"

His words immediately sparked a discussion among the others in the room, with someone quickly echoing, "Yeah! I can hardly believe the Prince has fallen."

"Exactly, I heard that Clan Leader Rusfan was there that day too. He’s also just been promoted to a Prince-level figure. How could the two Prince-level members of the Blood Race not escape?"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

Marco, seeing that most people in the room agreed with him, spoke even more confidently: "I suspect that the lord isn’t dead at all! No, it’s not a suspicion; it’s certain! That lord must be faking his death to mislead the others. He’s either recovering from injuries or setting a trap for a counterattack. And us? We’re just scared by a rumor, too afraid to move forward, not even daring to return to the family! Hiding in this impoverished, remote place, we’ll be a laughingstock, even if we’re not punished by the family afterwards!"

Listening to Marco’s sarcasm, Gleeman’s expression was uncertain. He wanted to retort, but he vaguely felt the other had a point. Deep down, he didn’t want to believe Lord Delacuri had fallen just like that. But Pei Yan’s previous achievements and the series of odd behaviors from the family after the rumors made him cautious. His intuition told him that returning to the family was a dangerous move. Although the sense of danger was still strong, he believed that as long as he stayed hidden in a remote enough place without contacting the outside, Pei Yan, no matter how skillful, couldn’t find him. Once this storm passed, everything would naturally be fine. If the family indeed encountered a disaster, he would lead this small team to live incognito, leaving a spark for the family’s revenge and legacy.

"Alright, Marco! Gleeman’s concerns are not without reason. How many times have we survived by relying on his intuitive judgments? Isn’t that why we trust him?" Another person at the card table, Matilda, seeing the awkward atmosphere in the room, spoke up to smooth things over.

"It’s precisely because we trust him that we’re here. But since we’ve made the decision, we shouldn’t complain!" Marco, who had been saved by Gleeman in previous fights, retained a measure of respect for him. He was also frustrated by the oppressive atmosphere, so when his friend intervened, he grumbled as he picked up the cards on the table, shuffling them while changing the topic: "What on earth is Kamans up to? It’s taking a bit long."

"Be patient! You don’t know that guy; he’s probably out there sneaking a blood meal," someone in the room joked.

"That fool just lacks self-control! Didn’t Gleeman already say? This isn’t the family’s traditional territory; it’s the domain of the Three Great Councils. He shouldn’t be hunting here! Isn’t being targeted by Pei Yan’s group bad enough? Must he also bring the Three Great Councils’ pursuit upon us?" Marco, who knew Kamans well, thought this might actually be close to the truth. Although he too craved blood, he still voiced blame.

"Alright! That guy’s already back! If he really broke the rules, we’ll punish him later." Not long after Matilda said this, a sound of footsteps came from downstairs, and moments later, the door creaked open as a lean figure pushed the door from outside. Upon entering, he removed his hat and hung it on the coat rack by the door. As everyone’s eyes focused on him, several almost imperceptible figures started to stretch into the room through the gaps, moving from the shadows outside the window.

"Kamans! Have you contacted the family? What’s the situation over there? Are they asking us to return to the family?" Gleeman looked at Kamans’s shadow and questioned. To be cautious, he had sent Kamans away from their current hideout to another location to send inquiries to the family.

"Uh~ uh~!" Kamans, with his head bowed and face buried in shadows, mumbled unintelligible sounds. Instantly, those at the card table realized something was amiss, and they all stood up with a start. However, the person at the door wasn’t as alert. Being the closest to Kamans, he got up and pushed Kamans, asking, "Gleeman’s asking you! Fam..."

"Careful!"

Before Gleeman could finish warning, as everyone heard the crack of twisting bones, Kamans’s upper body twisted in an unbelievable way, like a rag being wrung, flinging his arms in two directions: sideways and behind him.

Seeing Kamans’s torso spin almost a full circle, revealing his face, the crowd finally noticed something wrong. A tattoo, not there before, had mysteriously appeared on Kamans. It was this tattoo controlling his body, twisting him into his current state. In Kamans’s expression of despair, he flung his two arms—one pierced a companion’s chest like a blade, while the other slashed the jacket of the person behind him.

The one stabbed in the chest reacted quickly, dodging backward before Kamans could continue attacking. Observing this, Gleeman yelled a warning, "Attack!"

As he warned, the room was already in chaos. From the shadows burst three huge black wolves, who had somehow snuck inside earlier. The moment these wolves appeared, they targeted the nearest people, immediately engaging in combat with three individuals.

"These wolves are summoned creatures! They have no blood!" one Blood Race member fighting the wolves quickly pointed out.

"Retreat! Let’s get out of the room first!" The room was too cramped and fighting made it impossible to move. Gleeman scanned the surroundings and quickly decided, rushing to a corner of the wall. He raised his hand against the wall, and with a sudden exertion of force, brought down half the outer wall, leading the way by shouting and jumping out.