Chapter 402: A Bizarre Middle Ages

’A bizarre version of the Middle Ages... and on the surface, no sign of the Extraordinary.’ After dealing with the knight, Qi Suian altered his appearance to match the people of this world.

He then headed toward that small village.

This area was all part of Baron Fisher’s fiefdom, and Baron Fisher was a nobleman of the Grand Kingdom.

Because information was scarce and communication difficult, Qi Suian was unable to get a complete picture of the world.

But he could be certain of one thing: this world was full of rumors about demons and tales of the Church’s miracles.

It was said that Priests wielded a power known as Divine Techniques, while demons possessed Magic.

Of course, one thing could be confirmed: the Magic of demons was not the same as the Magic of Wizards or Mages, but rather a dark, sanguinary power.

Furthermore, although these demons looked human, they were not human, but another type of dark creature that, like bats, rested by day and came out at night.

When Qi Suian heard the description, he assumed they were vampires.

But on second thought, ’Aren’t vampires supposed to be beautiful? How could these be ugly?’

However, these demons weren’t a particularly dominant force; it seemed they were severely suppressed by the human Church.

This was all assuming, of course, that these were truths and not just baseless rumors.

The main issue was the complete lack of any energy readings. The idea was as absurd as a whale in a puddle, so Qi Suian remained skeptical.

So the first thing he did was go to the village where the knight had burned the demon’s thrall.

And following the knight’s description, he found the grave of the blacksmith’s daughter.

Under the cover of night, he had Fei dig it up.

His interrogation of the knight had taken some time; by the time he was done, night had fallen.

In this era, there was little entertainment at night. People were exhausted after a long day’s work and had gone to bed early.

Besides, they had to wake up early for work the next morning. The idea of staying up late was unheard of.

What he unearthed was a nauseating corpse, burned beyond recognition. The bone structure confirmed it was female.

’Nothing seems off. It’s just an ordinary corpse.’ Qi Suian couldn’t see anything unusual about it.

He even performed a hands-on analysis of the skeleton. It was that of a normal human female from this world, with no discernible problems.

’Don’t tell me this was all just some messy, unjust case,’ Qi Suian muttered, having Fei dig up the graves of those said to be the woman’s victims after she had supposedly risen from the dead.

The knight had burned them as well, to prevent them from also becoming the demon’s thralls.

Their condition was just as normal; there was nothing out of the ordinary.

’So, where’s the opportunity around here?’ Qi Suian wondered.

His gaze then shifted to a swarm of bats fluttering nearby. As he directed Fei to rebury the bones, he observed the bats intently.

He knew bats weren’t inherently evil; in fact, they were often beneficial to humans.

Vampire bats were only a small minority of the species.

They did carry a lot of viruses, but as long as you didn’t go out of your way to bother them, they were essentially harmless.

He even knew that bat guano had medicinal uses.

But something about this particular swarm of bats was very wrong.

They weren’t flying but hanging upside down from the surrounding trees, staring intently at Qi Suian.

Just like people.

This scene made Qi Suian reconsider the story about the blacksmith’s daughter rising from the dead as a demon’s thrall.

"A demon?" Qi Suian asked softly.

Just as he was trying to figure out how to capture every last one of the bats, they suddenly took flight, swirling into a vortex.

In less than three seconds, they transformed into a handsome, middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes.

Qi Suian’s pupils contracted. He couldn’t comprehend how the man had transformed from bats into a person.

The entire process defied logic and involved no detectable energy.

A swarm of bats simply swirled together, coalesced, and became a man.

It was completely beyond Qi Suian’s comprehension. The phenomenon felt metaphysical, something he simply couldn’t grasp.

"A Demon Hunter from the Church?" The middle-aged man sized up Qi Suian, his tone seemingly mocking.

"Not exactly. Who are you?" Qi Suian asked calmly.

"If not a Demon Hunter from the Church, then you must be one of those folk School Demon Hunters." The middle-aged man’s sneer deepened.

"I am curious. What possessed you to hunt a Baron of the Blood Race?"

"Relying on nothing but that strong body of yours?"

As he said this, the middle-aged man licked his lips.

"You’re Baron Fisher." Qi Suian’s expression didn’t change. So he was a Baron.

Just as the Baron spoke, Qi Suian suddenly whipped his head around, his hand shooting out to catch the man’s head as he stooped to bite his neck.

Qi Suian couldn’t understand how the man had suddenly appeared behind him.

It seemed to be some kind of ability—fast and imperceptible—but the man himself was far too weak.

His teleportation was a success, but his attack was too slow, allowing Qi Suian to grab him easily.

Fangs extended from his gums, seemingly capable of ignoring Qi Suian’s innate durability. If Qi Suian hadn’t been holding his head down, they truly would have pierced his skin.

’So he really is a vampire.’ Qi Suian’s expression showed a hint of surprise.

Without hesitation, he executed a shoulder throw, his strength more than enough to slam the vampire violently to the ground.

Yet, he didn’t die.

This was completely at odds with his physical constitution.

He was physically weak, yet he possessed rule-based abilities and an extraordinary degree of immortality.

Qi Suian couldn’t help but recall one of the methods the knight had mentioned for killing demons.

Fire, sunlight, Holy Water, and a wooden stake through the heart.

Qi Suian didn’t have access to the first few, but fire... he could manage.

"As a School Demon Hunter, you seek money and fame. I can give you these things." Baron Fisher turned into a cloud of mist, easily escaping from Qi Suian’s grasp.

He then re-formed into his human shape.

"You are very strong. I can make you a knight, or even one of my ghouls."

"If you perform enough meritorious deeds for me, I can even grant you the Embrace, making you a true member of the Blood Race." The man offered him an olive branch.

But the Baron had barely finished speaking when Qi Suian was already in his face, slamming him to the ground. He raised a fist and brought it down on the man’s face.

The punch caved in Baron Fisher’s face, leaving a massive crater.

Foul, putrid blood burst forth, possessing a shocking corrosiveness.

Wherever it splattered on the ground, it ate away at plants, soil, and rock alike, leaving behind pitted holes.

Qi Suian, however, was largely unaffected. To say nothing of his own physical fortitude, even the shield protecting him wasn’t breached.

’Percentage-based damage...’ Qi Suian confirmed that this blood’s corrosive effect was not based on power, but on a force similar to a concept or a rule.

But in the next moment, Baron Fisher’s face regenerated completely. A look of bewilderment crossed his features.

"You haven’t mastered any Divine Techniques, so why are you so strong?"

How could an ordinary person be powerful enough to beat a Baron of the Blood Race into such a state?

Qi Suian hauled the Baron to his feet. His polymorphic energy converted into the fire element, and flames instantly erupted over Baron Fisher’s body.

The Baron was startled at first; after all, fire truly was his bane.

But he quickly noticed something odd. The flames on the man’s hand seemed fake.

"Your fire can’t hurt me," Baron Fisher said with a grin.

Qi Suian shoved the flames onto him, but Baron Fisher ignored them completely, dissolving into a swarm of bats.

He once again broke free from Qi Suian’s control.

"I will be in my castle, awaiting your arrival, Demon Hunter." With that, the bats flew off.

Qi Suian pointed, and a Dark Energy Beam shot out, striking the swarm of bats.

The bat it struck was disintegrated on the spot.

The intense pain caused the entire swarm of bats to wail in unison and then fall from the sky.

’Fire is a vampire’s bane, but it has to be fire from this world, not from another.’ Qi Suian was certain of this from Baron Fisher’s reaction.

The fire needed to be from this world, not from somewhere else.

’Second, when he turns into a swarm of bats, they aren’t disconnected. They remain linked to each other.’

’Finally, the Dark Energy Beam can kill the bats, which means it can bypass his immortality to a certain degree.’

’I just don’t know if it’ll work on the vampire in his complete form.’

Muttering to himself, Qi Suian quickly approached the fallen swarm of bats.

"You... What is this power? How can it plunge me into death?" Baron Fisher leaned weakly against a tree.

"The power of a human. What else would it be?" Qi Suian walked over and lifted him up.

The good news was that the Dark Energy Beam could, in fact, kill him. The bad news was that he had somehow managed to revive himself.

’The Dark Energy Beam can deliver a one-hit kill, but it doesn’t come with a warranty against resurrection.’

’It handles the sale, but not the after-sales service.’

"The Church’s Divine Techniques are not this cold and merciless."

"They are filled with passion and holiness," Fisher immediately refuted the claim.

"Is that so? Then I suppose I’ll have to see it to believe it," Qi Suian said, dragging the Baron along as he quickly found a cave.

After making a few simple modifications to the space, he took out various pieces of equipment.

He was preparing to dissect the vampire to gain a deeper understanding of its kind and the state of the Church.

Unlike that ignorant knight, this man surely knew more truths about the Extraordinary.

Besides that, Qi Suian wondered, ’If I use this vampire as fuel, how much evolution energy will I get to raise my armor value?’

He had now fused with the Tai Sui God, so its armor value was naturally his own.

"Wait, what are you doing???" Baron Fisher couldn’t understand, but he could see that the things Qi Suian was taking out were meant to be used on him.

’These unfamiliar-looking instruments... combined with my current weakened state, this is definitely not good.’

"’Just a little something to improve your health, of course.’ As Qi Suian spoke, a scalpel formed from his polymorphic energy made the first incision.