Chapter 416: The Rot Bracelet Delivered Itself, But...

Even though Golem, Stephanie, and their group had left five minutes early, they failed to make a clean getaway.

Their pursuers had used some ability to immediately locate the newly excavated underground safe passage and seal it off.

As a result, they were trapped in the underground tunnel, unable to advance or retreat.

One Blood Race Count and ten Viscounts, plus a number of other members of the Blood Race—it was impossible for the resistance fighters to survive on their own.

Casualties appeared instantly. One member’s blood was drained from a distance, leaving behind a desiccated corpse.

"Tell me the whereabouts of Governor Oliver. Otherwise, death will become the one thing you desire most," the leading Blood Race Count said, having made an example of one to terrorize the others.

Their goal was never just to kill these few resistance members, but to find Oliver, the third-generation Blood Race member.

A few little mice were of no consequence.

"Him? We turned him to ash and poured him down the sewers of Brasov City," Golem said coldly.

At this point, all he wanted was to vent his anger.

He said this because the Blood Race turn to ash when exposed to direct sunlight.

And for the Blood Race, this was a form of torture and humiliation.

This infuriated the lead Blood Race Count, as it was highly probable that what Golem said was true.

They hadn’t found any trace of Oliver in the resistance hideout; he had vanished completely.

Either he had really been "sunbathing," or he was never here in the first place.

But since the other party had admitted to it, his only choice was to strike immediately.

"We have a deal! You get us out of the city, and I’ll give you the information!" Stephanie suddenly shouted.

But she was a step too late. In the time it took to shout that one sentence, more than half of her members had already been killed.

She and Golem were skilled fighters with ample experience against the Blood Race, which was how they managed to protect themselves. The other surviving members were all wounded.

Her words, however, made the lead Blood Race Count’s eyes flash with a cold light. ’There’s someone else hiding nearby?’

"If you’d agreed earlier, so many people wouldn’t have had to die." Qi Suian’s voice came from behind the Blood Race Count.

The Count twisted his neck one hundred and eighty degrees around.

The good news was that he could indeed see him. The bad news was that seeing was all he could do.

Fortunately, he reacted fast enough. His neck stretched out like a noodle, and his jaw unhinged like a snake’s, opening his mouth to a grotesquely exaggerated size.

He wanted to bite Qi Suian’s head off in one go.

Instead, Qi Suian grabbed his head and, with a SNAP, twisted it clean off.

After the head was separated from the body, both parts were still alive due to the inherent immortality of the Blood Race.

Carrying the Blood Race Count’s head, Qi Suian scanned his surroundings and, with extreme speed, finished off all the remaining members of the Blood Race.

Only the Blood Race Count in his hand was left.

"Let’s talk," Qi Suian said, casually tossing the nameless Blood Race Count into the Melting Furnace.

He didn’t care if these people lived or died; he only wanted information about the Rot Bracelet.

"You have to get us out of the city first!" Stephanie, unafraid of Qi Suian, stated directly that their deal was not yet complete.

"That’s not how this works." Qi Suian shook his head. "You don’t have to give it to me, and I won’t kill you. But I can guarantee that you will never leave this tunnel."

He wasn’t lying. The deaths of these Blood Race members would be sensed by their superiors.

It was similar to the Soul Lamps from fantasy tales, which could determine if a member of the Blood Race was still alive through the snuffing out of their true name.

So, with this batch of the Blood Race dead, the next wave was already on its way.

Even the Blood Bath Queen herself might descend, considering a Count had been killed.

Even though this Count remained nameless from beginning to end, he was still a high-ranking member of the Blood Race.

The only rank higher was Duke, a position that someone like Oliver—a third-generation Blood Race member with achievements, seniority, and the favor of the Blood Bath Queen—could hope to attain.

Otherwise, the highest one could ever reach was Count.

Hearing this, Golem shot Stephanie a look, telling her not to say anything.

He had always been against Stephanie handing over information about the Rot Bracelet, even if it meant they would die without a proper burial.

But it was worth it.

It was more advantageous for humanity if a Blood Race Sacred Artifact remained lost.

He was also worried that the Blood Race Sacred Artifacts were being recovered far too frequently.

Setting aside the three Sacred Artifacts that were never lost, there was the Execution Axe that the resistance leader had given to the Daywalker, and the Rot Bracelet that Stephanie knew about. That was already two.

It was almost as many as the ones the Blood Race currently possessed.

The Blood Race did have three, but with Cain’s disappearance, the Corpse Hand was as good as lost, too.

Stephanie understood Golem’s meaning, and then she made her decision.

"Fine. But you have to promise to hold off their reinforcements," Stephanie conceded.

If Qi Suian refused again, she was prepared to take the secret of the Rot Bracelet to her grave.

"As you wish. You have three minutes before the next wave of pursuers arrives. Make it quick," Qi Suian said.

"It’s here in Brasov City," Stephanie said, then motioned for everyone to hurry.

But Qi Suian stopped them.

"And?" Qi Suian asked.

He wasn’t surprised that the Rot Bracelet was in this city; after all, he was here himself.

But the entirety of Brasov City was hardly small. Where was he supposed to look?

She couldn’t just give him a city name and expect him to tear the place apart to find it. How long would that take?

"It’s in Oliver’s Governor’s Mansion. He kept it in a hidden vault."

"He originally planned to present it as a celebratory gift on the Blood Bath Queen’s day of birth to further secure his own position."

"He just didn’t live long enough, because you killed him," Stephanie said bluntly.

Golem looked stunned. "Stephanie, why didn’t you say so sooner?"

He never would have imagined that the Blood Race had actually recovered the Rot Bracelet. If Oliver hadn’t kept the matter under wraps, he would have never known.

"No, the Rot Bracelet isn’t in Oliver’s Governor’s Mansion. The only thing there is the Blood Bath Queen."

"Even now, you’re still trying to set a trap for me." Qi Suian saw through her lie.

He decided to press her one last time. If she didn’t give him the real answer, he would kill them all.

If she did, he would kill just her.

Trying to send him to his death was reason enough to kill.

"Two minutes left. One sentence. Otherwise, you all die," Qi Suian threatened directly.

Stephanie could see she had reached Qi Suian’s limit. She felt a sense of helplessness; she hadn’t wanted to test the mysterious man’s boundaries.

But she had to, in order to gain the greatest possible advantage.

"It’s..." Before Stephanie could finish, her gaze fell on something behind Qi Suian, and her eyes filled with terror.

"It’s in my hands," came a proud, female voice.

Qi Suian turned and saw a woman in a red robe adorned with magnificent jewels and ornaments.

She was not some young, beautiful woman, but a graceful and regal-looking middle-aged noblewoman.

The Blood Bath Queen, Elizabeth Bathory, had come in person, and she was much faster than Qi Suian had anticipated.

And on her hand, gleaming for all to see, was the Rot Bracelet.

"She wasn’t lying. The item was indeed in Oliver’s Governor’s Mansion," the Blood Bath Queen said, corroborating Stephanie’s story.

Qi Suian ignored her words. His gaze traveled down from the Rot Bracelet and soon fell upon a cup among her ornaments.

The Blood Cup. She had brought it with her as well.

’Two Blood Race Sacred Artifacts at once. Stealing them will be a hassle.’

"You want them?" the Blood Bath Queen asked with a light laugh, noticing Qi Suian’s gaze.

"They’re Blood Race Sacred Artifacts. Who wouldn’t want them?" Qi Suian said plainly.

Meanwhile, his mind was already calculating how he could snatch both Sacred Artifacts from her.

He had assessed her strength the moment he saw her.

The Blood Bath Queen was indeed a cut above him in strength. However, assuming she didn’t use the Blood Race Sacred Artifacts, Qi Suian was seventy percent confident he could take them.

If she did use them, all bets were off.

He didn’t know the specific uses of the Blood Race Sacred Artifacts.

He only knew that the Rot Bracelet was related to plagues, which posed a limited threat to him.

The Blood Cup was different. It was related to blood. True, he had no blood, but who knew what its effect was?

As Qi Suian spoke, the Blood Bath Queen picked up the Blood Cup from her waist. The moment she touched it, blood miraculously filled the cup to the brim.

She took a delicate sip before saying, "It can draw forth the blood of any member of the Blood Race."

Qi Suian couldn’t see the use in that, but then he saw a massive dragon’s head form from black mist behind the Blood Bath Queen.

"And by drinking a sip, one can temporarily gain one of the blood’s owner’s powers." After speaking, the Blood Bath Queen took another sip.

The next moment, pure black dragon scales covered her body.

Qi Suian didn’t wait for her to say a third sentence; he attacked. How could he not know whose power she had obtained?

Vlad III Cepes, Son of the Dragon.

’So he really does have the power of a dragon. I thought it was just a derogatory nickname.’

"My nephew in name. He is also of the Blood Race, so I too can obtain his power."

A torrent of black dragon’s breath spewed from the Blood Bath Queen’s mouth.

It covered the entire conical area in front of her. Qi Suian blasted through the dragon’s breath with polymorphic energy and a Dark Energy Beam.

The members of the resistance, however, were not so lucky. Qi Suian hadn’t blocked the dragon’s breath completely, only the area around himself.

They were caught in the blast. The moment the black dragon’s breath touched them, a sinister, dark flame instantly reduced them to piles of ash.

But because death came so quickly, they felt no pain.

In a way, it was a merciful end.

"Actually, I’m a bit puzzled," Qi Suian said. He didn’t retreat or dodge, but instead rushed forward, launching an uppercut toward the Blood Bath Queen’s jaw.

"Why didn’t you choose the Progenitor or the Piercing Demon? Why insist on the Son of the Dragon? I’d think those two would be stronger."

The punch landed, shattering the black dragon scales on her jaw, and the Blood Bath Queen was sent flying backward.