"Tell me your identity and all your experiences." Mike leaned down to look at the Vampire, who was sprawled on the dirt ground in a disheveled state.
"My name is Marius, and I am from the Normanus family from a thousand years ago…" As if resigned to his fate, Marius rolled over, lay on the ground, and looked up at the young man before him, revealing all of his information.
The Normanus family was a very famous noble family before the fall of ancient Rome. It was indeed easy to understand why a pure-blood Vampire would appear in such a noble family.
"Then tell me, have you ever killed humans during your Vampire life?" Mike's eyes became stern.
Although he did not use hypnosis, he still had a way to discern whether the other party's next words were true.
"No, in fact, I am a pacifist among pure-blood Vampires. We firmly believe that one day, Vampires can coexist peacefully with humans…" Marius revealed his secret without reservation.
During the peak period of the Vampire race a thousand years ago, there were also various disagreements within, forming many factions.
The pacifist faction, which wanted to live in peace with humans, and the ruling faction, which wanted to enslave humans, were two of the many factions.
It was just that the former's power was too weak compared to the latter, and Marius was therefore exiled and wandered in various places.
"Then do you still have contact with other pure-blood Vampires?" Mike continued to ask.
Today's pure-blood Vampires are not only few in number but also very good at hiding, making it difficult for X Squad's information gathering sub-team to find them.
If Marius hadn't been worried about the safety of his blood descendant, Lestat, Mike and the others would have found it difficult to catch him.
"No, I spend most of my time sleeping. I haven't contacted other Vampires for a long time." Marius shook his head.
His personality was more inclined to that of a "shut-in"; he would usually find a place to sleep when he had nothing to do.
Only when he was truly bored would he come out for some fresh air and, to the best of his ability, help humans who were in urgent need of assistance.
For example, Lestat; if Marius hadn't happened to meet him when he needed help, he might have died from excessive blood loss a hundred years ago.
"Will you kill me?"
Believing that he had no value to the handsome young man in front of him, Marius finally couldn't help but ask the question in his heart.
At the same time, he silently got up and tidied his appearance, seemingly wanting to leave with more dignity.
It was no wonder Marius thought too much; he had not reacted at all before being instantly subdued by the young man in front of him.
He didn't even understand what ability the other party used.
The immense pressure caused by this situation made Marius feel so powerless, even when facing a strong second-generation Vampire a thousand years ago, he had never felt so helpless.
"Join King Investment Group, and I will spare your life." Mike knew the other party had misunderstood, but he didn't explain too much, choosing a more direct way to recruit the other party first.
Such a powerful and benevolent pure-blood Vampire was very suitable for managing the Vampire employees in the shoe factory.
Mike had even thought of a position for him: to be Van's assistant first.
"I'll join—" Marius immediately gave an affirmative answer.
Although he still didn't quite understand the intricacies, being alive was always better than dying meaninglessly.
It could be seen that this pure-blood Vampire of Count rank was quite adaptable.
"Very good. Someone will arrange your work and company benefits later." Mike's attitude became "cordial," and then he continued, "Now, let's go to the West District to see what Lestat and Akasha are up to."
...
"When we go in later, everyone should act according to my signals. I will find an opportunity to ambush Akasha with everyone…"
In front of the Queen of Egypt's castle in the West District, Lestat explained the upcoming course of action to the surrounding Vampires.
Since most of the miscellaneous Vampires who came here were a disorganized rabble, overly complex plans were useless to them.
Instead, the simple and brutal strategy of a mass ambush was a good plan for them.
"Report, Your Majesty! Lestat has arrived!"
Not long after, the Vampire guard at the castle gate brought good news to Akasha.
"Bring him in." Akasha, sitting on her magnificent throne, showed a hint of a smile on her face, exuding a Queen's aura in every gesture.
Subsequently, Lestat and his One line people entered the great hall under the guidance of the gatekeeper.
"Lestat, come up. Let me have a good look at you," Akasha smiled and beckoned, signaling her "little lover" to come forward.
Then, under the gaze of the many Vampire guards and the Queen of Egypt in the great hall, Lestat, unable to withstand the pressure, unconsciously stepped forward.
It was at this moment that a small hand pulled Lestat.
A jealous Jesse, with her brain short-circuited, did not realize how dangerous her action would be.
"Who is she?" As expected, Akasha noticed the trick and asked sharply.
The Queen of Egypt, without a smile on her face, unleashed her full aura, instantly making the great hall so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
"She, she is my human friend, who wants to pledge allegiance to you…" Lestat didn't know how to cover for the girl for a moment, so he could only come up with a clumsy excuse before the Queen of Egypt got even angrier.
Humans, in the perception of Vampires, naturally had an undisguisable "fragrance."
Jesse's human identity meant that she had already been discovered by the Queen of Egypt and the Vampire guards in the great hall the moment she entered.
At this moment, many of those Vampire guards even showed greedy eyes towards Jesse.
There was no doubt that as long as the Queen of Egypt gave the order, they would rush up and tear the girl to shreds.
"Friend?" A woman's unique sixth sense made Akasha realize that the girl in front of her was her love rival.
So, she elegantly walked down from the throne and circled Jesse, observing her.
Ordinary appearance, average figure, only her aura was relatively youthful…
The Queen of Egypt made an evaluation of the girl in her heart.
This was indeed the case; compared to the beautiful and alluring Akasha, Jesse, who had just graduated from college and was like a bookworm, indeed had little to commend her.
"I don't need weak subordinates, especially since she is a human." Akasha, who believed she had the 'advantage,' stared at Lestat and ordered, "Now kill her, and then we will rule the world together."
Power is a good thing…
Beauty plus power, the Queen of Egypt did not believe that Lestat could refuse her proposal.
However, this Vampire Queen, who had lived for thousands of years and whose strength had almost reached its peak, could control the lives and deaths of many people, but she did not understand the hearts of men.
She thought Lestat would like a powerful and beautiful woman like herself, but she didn't know that Lestat, who was accustomed to freedom, preferred a "little" woman like Jesse, with her clear and unaggressive temperament.
To stall Akasha, Lestat first pretended to kill Jesse under the other party's gaze.
Then, when the Vampire Queen relaxed her guard, he suddenly bared his fangs, turned, and pounced on the other party.
"Now!"
At the same time, Lestat issued the ambush command.
Hundreds of miscellaneous Vampires who came with him, upon receiving the prompt, instantly bared their fangs and collectively pounced on Akasha.
With hundreds of Vampires launching a surprise attack at the same time, the scene looked incredibly grand for a moment.
"Jesse, how are you? You weren't scared, were you!" In the chaos, Lestat found the girl standing alone, and then led her to a safe place.
Yes, Lestat's previous charge was a feint; when the other miscellaneous Vampires rushed up, he quietly took the opportunity to leave the battlefield.
He completely treated the other Vampires who came with him as sacrificial lambs.
However, it was precisely these reckless miscellaneous Vampires who erupted with powerful combat strength, and with their human wave tactics, they directly submerged the Queen of Egypt in the crowd.
All of this happened so suddenly that the guard Vampires in the hall didn't even react before Akasha disappeared beneath the many attackers.
Then, some of the Vampire guards Akasha had brought back hesitated for a moment before preparing to step forward to help her.
"Everyone, listen to me. Akasha is tyrannical and you will not have a good outcome helping her. Why don't you resist her with us...?" Lestat, who had retreated to a safe position to watch the show, saw that the Vampire guards were in a bad situation, so he loudly incited them to rebel.
No matter what, it was a good thing to help the miscellaneous Vampires attacking Akasha stall for a while longer.
However, Lestat would not have thought that the hundreds of Vampire guards in the hall were all subordinates forcefully brought back by the Queen of Egypt through intimidation.
In fact, these Vampires were only restrained by the Vampire Queen's terrifying strength, and had little loyalty to her.
After hearing Lestat's incitement, many Vampire guards stopped their movements, and a few even wanted to join the miscellaneous Vampires.
After all, no one would feel comfortable having a powerful "boss" appear over their head for no reason.
It was at this moment that the miscellaneous Vampires piled on top of Akasha suddenly felt a pressure from their souls, and then they seemed to be simultaneously hit hard, and were all thrown flying.
Scattered all over the floor...
Looking at the center of the area, Akasha looked around at the attackers with a grim expression. As for her, after a round of multiple attacks, not even her hairstyle was messed up.
"You worms, how dare you rebel against me? Go to hell!"
Immediately, Akasha spoke coldly.
Then, as her gaze swept, those weak miscellaneous Vampires lying on the ground had their negative emotions triggered, and were instantly burned to ashes from the inside out by heart fire.
After one AOE attack, over ninety percent of this group of miscellaneous Vampires were cleared out.
Only seven or eight miscellaneous Vampires whose strength had reached the Viscount level resisted the mental attack and survived.
However, their disheveled appearance indicated that their situation was not very good either.
Akasha's powerful effect with a single strike startled the Vampire guards in the hall, and they quickly put away their petty thoughts and pretended to be qualified guards.
However, their previous inaction also did not escape the Queen of Egypt's eyes.
"I said, I don't need trash here."
Akasha's cold voice rang out again.
This time it was aimed at the Vampire guards. The Vampire Queen's eyes emitted "Petrification" rays.
The Vampire guards hit by these rays, regardless of their strength, instantly turned into statues.
It must be said that the innate abilities of a second-generation Vampire Elder are simply so unresolvable.
Just as the remaining Vampire guards were trembling and waiting for death, Lestat jumped out again.
"Haven't you realized yet? Your Queen has no intention of letting you go. If you want to live, why not take a gamble?"
At the same time, Lestat, who had incited the remaining dozens of Vampire guards to rebel, quietly glanced towards the hall exit.
He was clearly planning his escape route.
"Worms should have the awareness of worms."
On the other side, Akasha, with her absolute strength, did not care about Lestat's provocation.
She elegantly shifted her gaze, turning each of the Vampire guards who dared to launch a death charge into statues.
"Now what do you have to say?"
After killing all the rebels, Akasha instantly moved, blocking Lestat, who was pulling Jesse and preparing to escape.
Immediately, the petrification ray was activated again.
Jesse, held by Lestat, didn't even have time to take out the garlic and "Bible" from her embrace to resist before she was instantly frozen in place.
At the same time, the petrification effect slowly spread from the girl's legs towards her head.
There was no doubt that Akasha was deliberately tormenting the girl.
"No—!"
Seeing yet another beloved girl about to die, Lestat let out an unwilling roar.
"This is the punishment you deserve for betraying me—!"
Looking at Lestat's regretful and pained expression, Akasha's face finally showed a trace of joyful smile again.
Then, she continued with interest, "If you turn her into a vampire now, you might be able to save this poor girl. So, what are you going to do?"
Hearing the Vampire Queen's words, Lestat knew he had no choice. To save her, he could only take a gamble.
Having understood this, he bared his fangs and slowly approached the girl's neck, then closed his eyes and bit down.
Sure enough, after Jesse was turned into a Vampire, the petrification effect on her stopped.
However, the symptom of petrification reaching her waist did not recede.
No need to think, this was Akasha's doing again; she was controlling the petrification effect.
"What exactly do you want?" Lestat, feeling deceived, angrily looked at the Vampire Queen.
"It's simple, surrender to me," Akasha extended her arm and said, "Come, be mine."
Yes, when a Vampire becomes powerful enough, its blood power can unilaterally turn other Vampires into its own kin.
Facts proved that after all these events, Akasha still valued Lestat, who possessed a melancholic temperament.
And her method was very clever. Jesse had already become Lestat's vampire kin, and now if Lestat were to become her kin, then it would be equivalent to Jesse also becoming her kin.
And among Vampires, the kin system is strict; lower-ranked kin simply cannot resist their superiors.
In this situation, as long as Akasha's plan succeeded, what would Jesse, who became the descendant of her blood, use to compete with her for a man?
"I hope you keep your word—"
Lestat understood very well what the Vampire Queen was thinking, but to completely save Jesse, he could only obey her commands.
Enduring humiliation, Lestat slowly kissed the Vampire Queen's wrist, then bit by bit absorbed her blood.
...
"Don't even say it, your kin is quite capable. If he had been born in the right era, he would at least be a hero-level talent..."
At the castle entrance, Mike, who had watched a turning emotional drama, smiled and teased Marius, who had also followed.
Lestat, whom Mike praised as having the potential of a hero, was Marius's kin.
Under normal circumstances, a Vampire's kin would not easily change allegiance; that would be a betrayal of their previous superior.
If it truly came to this, it would often be a fight to the death.
"He was forced..." Marius seemed not to blame Lestat, and then asked, "When do we make our move?"
Although he had witnessed Akasha's powerful abilities, in Marius's heart, the unfathomable Mike might not be an opponent for the Vampire Queen.
He had a feeling that as long as Mike was willing to act, he would definitely be able to save Lestat.
"Make a move? The show isn't even over yet, why would we make a move?" Mike didn't care about Lestat's life, and even Jesse's life or death was not important to him.
When facing people who are foolishly dying...
Let go of the urge to help, respect others' fate, and avoid self-move.
This is the most correct approach.
"Besides, you don't think your kin will surrender so easily, do you?" Mike hinted, "I have a premonition that he will give us another surprise."
Lestat, who could perform all those previous maneuvers and endure humiliation, could never truly learn to surrender deep down.
This tendency might have already been present a hundred years ago, otherwise, it wouldn't make sense how the usually good-tempered Marius was angered away at that time.
"Alas—"
At this moment, Marius seemed to realize that Mike didn't care about Lestat at all, and couldn't help but sigh.