Chapter 435: The Last Scion of the Villeries Family

Villerlis Town was not exactly a large, prosperous town.

It seemed to be one of the first places where the Daywalker had attempted some targeted reforms, but those had later failed.

As a result, the Villeries family, the former nobles of this land, had also fallen into decline.

Qi Suian had read the intel on Villerlis Town. The decline actually had little to do with the Daywalker; it was mainly due to the town’s unique geographical location.

The report described the locals as simple and honest, though that was yet to be confirmed. In any case, that sort of description was usually tied to poverty.

’I wonder what the condition of the last member of the Villeries family is. I got here as fast as I could. I hope they didn’t die on the way.’

The reason Qi Suian cared whether this person lived or died was that only if they survived could he kill the Daywalker himself.

Otherwise, if it came to a real fight, killing the Daywalker wouldn’t be easy.

"This should be the place." Qi Suian landed on the ground. He had just flown over long stretches of mountains and forests. It was a good thing he could fly; walking all the way here would have been a real pain.

This was a small path where, according to their agreement, someone from the Villeries family was supposed to meet him.

If they weren’t dead, that is.

So, he planned to wait here until nightfall.

If no one showed up, it meant they were dead, and he would just leave.

As for entering Villerlis Town? Forget it. He had no intention of facing the Piercing Demon head-on by himself.

After waiting for about half an hour, someone approached.

According to the feedback from his reconnaissance network, it was a woman with very fine features.

This gave Qi Suian a bad feeling.

He wouldn’t have been afraid if it were an old man on his last breath, or a child, or even a stout, middle-aged woman.

But he was terrified of meeting a beautiful woman like this. They were the most likely to have a chemical reaction with the protagonist halo he carried.

It was a known fact that protagonist halos—be it on a reincarnator, an Ancient Martial Protagonist, or any other type—came with a "romance-luck" component.

If they didn’t meet a beautiful woman, their lives were mostly just fighting and killing. But if they did, things were guaranteed to go haywire.

"Are you the Demon Hunter sent by the church?" A cold, crisp female voice called out, and Qi Suian knew he was in for it this time.

He suspected this was an opportunity his protagonist halo had snatched for him.

Originally, the Daywalker was supposed to come here. A beautiful woman like this would have helped him resolve his inner turmoil, dispelling his death wish and setting him back on his prophesied path.

But things were different now. Qi Suian had arrived first, and at the Daywalker’s own request.

Now that it had fallen into Qi Suian’s hands, could anything good possibly come of it?

"Yes, I am the Demon Hunter sent by the church. My name is Van Helsing." Qi Suian sighed.

"I remember the intel said your name was Fisher. Why the change?" the woman asked, confused.

"Oh, that’s also me. You have to prepare a couple of identities when you’re out and about," Qi Suian said dismissively, his mind already racing on how to handle the situation.

He could sense that the woman before him bore a blood seal left by the Piercing Demon. If she moved beyond a certain range, it would trigger, and the Piercing Demon would inevitably give chase.

’A fight would be unavoidable. This is an "opportunity," after all. It’s impossible for it not to come with both benefits and trouble.’

If Qi Suian really fought the Piercing Demon, he definitely wouldn’t be able to protect her. She might even die in the crossfire, which would be a loss for the Daywalker’s side.

But making Qi Suian a babysitter was completely unrealistic. All he wanted to do was kill, kill, kill.

After much thought, he decided to bet on his speed being greater than the Piercing Demon’s.

He’d take her directly to the church headquarters. If the Piercing Demon actually dared to follow, he’d be poking the hornet’s nest that was the church.

"You’re coming with me. I’m taking you to the church," Qi Suian informed her.

"But my instructions were to cooperate with the Demon Hunter to kill the Blood Race." The woman immediately grew wary.

Getting the name wrong was one thing, but getting the objective wrong too? She suspected the man before her wasn’t the Demon Hunter from the church at all, but an impostor.

"What’s gotten into the Daywalker? Why would he give you that order? He told me to ensure the survival of the last scion of the Villeries family," Qi Suian stated bluntly.

Then he slapped his forehead. "My intelligence is dropping again. Why am I even explaining this to you? I’m taking you with me. It’s not like you can resist."

Qi Suian reached out, grabbed the nameless member of the Villeries family, tied her up securely, and hung her upside down.

He even skillfully gagged her with a strip of cloth.

Only after he was done did he belatedly realize she wasn’t an enemy.

"Oh, my apologies. I rarely have teammates, so I’m used to tying up enemies," Qi Suian said, righting her from her upside-down position.

As for untying her, that was out of the question.

If Qi Suian hadn’t been so efficient, she would have definitely screamed.

"Mmph! Mmph!" She mumbled something, struggling and squirming anxiously.

"Don’t worry. I’m the one who slayed the Blood Bath Queen. A mere Piercing Demon can’t possibly match my flight speed," Qi Suian said proudly.

The woman ripped the gag away with a violence that bloodied her mouth. "The Piercing Demon left a curse on me!!!" she screamed.

"I know about that. It’s a harmless Blood Seal. If you want one, I can give you one." As he spoke, Qi Suian revealed the fifteen Blood Race Blood Seals on his hand.

The two extra ones were from the Death Clan and the Thin Blood Clan.

"No, that’s not the point," the woman said, blood trickling down her chin. "If I leave Villerlis Town, the townspeople will die because of the curse."

"The Piercing Demon wants to make me his fourth Blood Race bride. The curse is on me, but its effects target the townspeople."

"I can’t leave. If I do, the townspeople will die."

Qi Suian’s face darkened, and he couldn’t help but curse, "Damn it! That Daywalker set me up."

’Given her attitude, if I really were to take her by force... it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.’

’So what if a few people die? I can just knock her out and be done with it.’

’And if she resents me for it later? Who cares.’

With that thought, he ignored her protests and simply knocked her unconscious.

Anyone else would have had to stay and fight the Piercing Demon head-on.

But Qi Suian was different. The Daywalker only required the woman to be kept alive; he hadn’t specified any other conditions.

After knocking her out, he attached an oxygen supply device, stuffed her into his Subspace Pocket, and took off immediately.

He even extracted the Blood Seal from her body to prevent the Piercing Demon from tracking them.

’I’m so used to stuffing people into the Melting Furnace, I almost threw her in there too,’ Qi Suian thought, feeling a little relieved.

’It’s mainly because I tied her up like an enemy. Force of habit, I guess.’

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the sky began to darken. An ominous wind howled, and countless bats began to circle overhead.

Then, a bolt of blood-red lightning struck. As it dissipated, an elegant, handsome, middle-aged man in a tuxedo landed gracefully in its place.

He had appeared right in Qi Suian’s path.

"Mr. Van Helsing Fisher, where might you be taking my fiancée?" the man asked gently. As he spoke, he reached out and rummaged through Qi Suian’s pockets.

In one swift motion, he pulled the Villeries woman from the Subspace Pocket.

"I knew it wouldn’t be that simple." Qi Suian’s face was a mask of frustration. ’A protagonist halo meeting a beautiful woman really is a huge pain in the ass.’

With a sudden lunge, Qi Suian snatched the woman back and pinned her to the ground with his foot.

"I promised the Daywalker I’d bring the last member of the Villeries family back," Qi Suian said coldly. "I hope you’ll do me the favor of stepping aside."

"Otherwise, I’ll just kill her, and neither of us will get what we want."

Qi Suian planted his foot on the Villeries woman’s head. If the man tried that trick again, he would crush her head to a pulp, and they could both walk away with nothing.

The Piercing Demon was stunned. This was the first time he’d ever seen someone threaten him with their own ally.

But he quickly realized that the man truly didn’t care. He was the only one who did.

’If I didn’t care, why would I have rushed here to save her?’

"Whatever the Daywalker promised you, I can double it," the Piercing Demon said, indicating he was open to negotiation.

"His life," Qi Suian replied calmly.

If the Piercing Demon was stunned before, now he was truly shocked.

’What the hell is wrong with you two? Each one is weirder than the last.’

"I’m afraid you can’t double that, since you only have one life."

"So why don’t we each take a step back? You find a new bride, and I’ll leave Villerlis Town." Qi Suian felt it was unlikely the other party would agree.

’There must be some secret connected to the Villeries family.’

A strange smile curved across the Piercing Demon’s face.

"Do you take me for Elizabeth?" As the Piercing Demon spoke...

...countless blood-red bats erupted from under Qi Suian’s foot. Unseen, the Villeries scion had vanished, reappearing in the Piercing Demon’s arms.

And then, Qi Suian was upon the Piercing Demon. He delivered a massive slap that sent his opponent spinning two and a half times through the air, yanking the woman back at the same time.

His skills and mechanics were indeed inferior to the Piercing Demon’s, but that couldn’t make up for his superior stats.

’What good are all your fancy, flashy abilities if you can’t even dodge my slap?’

The Qi Suian of today was no longer the same person who struggled to even clash head-on with the Blood Bath Queen.

He had gone from white-tier gear to legendary gear; how could he not have improved?

As the Piercing Demon landed, Qi Suian delivered a high kick, blasting him into a mist of blood.

He definitely wasn’t dead, of course. Qi Suian had never thought he could kill the Piercing Demon on his own, so he slung the Villeries scion over his shoulder and made a run for it.

Meanwhile, his mind was already thinking about finding a safe, deserted place to dissect her and see what goodies she had.

’Otherwise, why would the Piercing Demon be so fixated on her?’

The blood mist reconverged, forming a blood-red moon in the sky.

"You can’t esc—" The Piercing Demon didn’t even finish his sentence before Qi Suian’s figure vanished without a trace.

His speed was simply too great, so fast that not even his dark powers could keep up.

On top of that, he possessed immense physical strength and brute force. Qi Suian had smashed a huge hole right through the barrier seal at the edge of Villerlis Town, which hadn’t been able to slow him down in the slightest.