Chapter 35

A group of warriors in black uniforms approached from outside the town. Although there were only a dozen or so, each of them exuded a strong aura of bloodshed. The armbands they wore featured a crossed flintlock and a bloodstained bayonet, the emblem of the Imperial Expeditionary Force!

The town gate had completely collapsed, with broken pipes futilely spewing steam. The houses around the gate had been blown apart by the explosion. The bald sheriff was half-buried in the rubble, groaning softly.

Because the town gate blocked the path of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, they simply blasted it open.

Behind the expeditionary force soldiers, there were dozens of people staggering along. They were covered in injuries, their hands bound with wire and chained together. The rusty wire had cut deeply into their flesh, and the wounds were still dripping blood. If they walked too slowly, the expeditionary force soldiers would lash them with whips.

In the darkness, the dimly glowing sign of the Manju-saha and the flickering lights from the broken windows of the bar stood out particularly. The group of imperial soldiers changed direction and headed towards the bar.

Two tall warriors entered the bar first, scanning the area.

Their gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and no one in the bar dared to meet their eyes. The automatic rifles in the hands of these two warriors were extremely powerful, capable of turning everyone in the bar into corpses in less than a minute.

One of the warriors pointed at Qianye and said coldly, "Prepare food for twenty people. Hurry up!"

The other warrior pointed his gun at the scavengers and shouted, "You dirty pigs, clean the tables and get out! Now!"

The scavengers smiled desperately and wiped the tables clean at lightning speed before fleeing the bar. The other patrons voluntarily gave up the best tables and hid in the corners. The imperial soldiers hadn't ordered them to leave, so no one dared to move.

A tall officer slowly entered the bar, lowering his head as he passed through the door frame.

He had thick, arched eyebrows, and his eyes were like the most vicious and cunning night hawks in the Eternal Night, scanning everyone in the bar with the gaze of a predator. He chose a table in the center and sat down.

Outside, a series of shouts and curses could be heard as the dozens of people were herded into the bar by the expeditionary force soldiers, crowding into the corners.

The officer glanced at the people in the bar and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Look at them! These are people tainted by Dark Blood. Their fate is to work in the Black Mines until they die, until the Dark Blood takes over and they become mindless monsters, craving fresh flesh, and are killed by the guards. Open your eyes and look well! Anyone who falls to the side of the Eternal Night will meet the same end!"

Fear rose in everyone's eyes.

These captured people were all called Blood Slaves. Those bitten by vampires would be tainted by Dark Blood, turning into mindless beasts. They would crave fresh flesh at mealtime and attack targets on command until they died in battle.

In any place under imperial rule, Blood Slaves were usually executed on the spot. Those who hadn't yet transformed were sent to the Black Mines to work until they died.

Pureblood vampires were rare, but Blood Slaves were highly dangerous. Legend had it that just being scratched or bitten by a Blood Slave, or even being too close to them, could result in being tainted by Dark Blood. The original patrons and women in the bar huddled together, trembling, trying to stay as far away from the Blood Slaves as possible.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man from the captured Blood Slaves rushed out, falling to his knees before the officer and shouting, "I am not a Blood Slave! I have not been tainted by Dark Blood!"

The officer's face twisted into a sinister smile, and he said, "I know."

The middle-aged man was stunned, looking up in disbelief. But what greeted him was the dark barrel of a gun!

A loud bang echoed through the bar, and all the bottles and glasses trembled. The middle-aged man remained kneeling, but his head had been completely blown apart, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.

The officer blew the smoke from the gun barrel and said to the headless corpse, "I know you're not a Blood Slave, but harboring one is the same crime."

A warrior stepped forward and asked, "Lieutenant Liu, should we deal with his two sons as well?"

The officer glanced at the group of Blood Slaves, where two pale young men, the middle-aged man's sons, were cowering, trying to hide behind others.

Lieutenant Liu pointed at them and said, "You two, come out and throw this corpse to the dogs, then clean the floor! I hate the smell of blood."

The two young men trembled as they came out, obediently carrying their father's corpse out. Everyone in the bar knew that if they resisted, the Imperial Expeditionary Force had hundreds of ways to make their lives worse than death.

Just as Lieutenant Liu and the imperial soldiers were distracted, a Blood Slave in the group suddenly screamed, "I don't want to go to the Black Mines!" and charged towards the back door of the bar, trying to escape.

The officer's face twisted into a sinister smile again, and he took a peculiar rifle from his back, aiming it at the fleeing Blood Slave's back. His movements were slow but swift, and by the time the blue patterns on the rifle lit up, the Blood Slave had only crossed half the hall.

At that moment, Qianye was just coming out of the kitchen with a tray of food.

In that instant, Qianye, the Blood Slave, and the officer's gun barrel formed a straight line!

The officer saw Qianye, but his lips twitched, and he still pulled the trigger!

Instead of bullets, a red light burst from the rifle's barrel!

A huge hole suddenly appeared in the center of the Blood Slave's body, and the red light, still powerful, continued forward, blasting through two walls before finally dissipating. The power of this red light was extraordinary, comparable to a large-caliber machine gun!

Qianye's body was not shattered, nor was he injured. At that moment, his body was strangely tilted at a 45-degree angle, his feet firmly planted on the ground, just enough to avoid the officer's shot.

A light thud, and a drop of blood fell from above, landing on Qianye's face, forming a small blood flower. Against his pale skin, the blood flower was particularly striking.

Qianye's breathing suddenly became heavier, and a faint deep red flashed in his pupils. But this anomaly was fleeting, and Qianye's body, as if pulled by an invisible thread, straightened up, and not a drop of the drink in the tray was spilled.

Thud, the Blood Slave's body finally fell to the ground, his hand reaching out, just a few centimeters from Qianye's toes.

Lieutenant Liu's pupils contracted, and he suddenly laughed, saying, "I never expected to find a true expert who has awakened his Origin Power in such a small place! This is truly surprising!"

Qianye said softly, "Just barely surviving."

The officer's gaze was as sharp as a knife, staring intently at Qianye, and asked, "You're not quite eighteen, right?"

"Seventeen and a few months," Qianye replied.

The officer circled Qianye a few times and said, "At just seventeen, you've ignited your Origin Power node. That's quite a talent! With Origin Power and at such a young age, you could have a bright future, yet you hide in this small place. You seem quite complex."

Qianye remained silent, not responding.

The officer took out a metal badge with the emblem of the Expeditionary Force and threw it into Qianye's tray, saying, "My name is Liu Jiang. I don't care who you are or what you've done. If you're willing, you can take this badge to the Expeditionary Force fortress and find Lieutenant Colonel Chu Xiong. He's short on hands right now. As long as you join the Imperial Expeditionary Force, whatever you've done in the past, even if you killed a noble in the upper continent, it won't matter, understand?"

Qianye bowed slightly and said, "Thank you!" Facing this opportunity that many would die for, he showed little reaction.

Liu Jiang noticed Qianye's lack of interest in joining the Expeditionary Force and didn't force the issue, returning to his seat. Qianye placed a large glass of strong liquor and a plate of smoked potato and meat in front of him.

The officer lifted the glass, sniffed it, and his eyes lit up, saying, "Good liquor! I never expected to find such good liquor in this small place. If Chu Xiong knew your skills, he would definitely want you." However, he then put down the glass and said, "Alright, go get me some water. I never drink on missions."

Qianye took away the glass and replaced it with water for Liu Jiang.

This was the Imperial Expeditionary Force stationed in the Eternal Night continent. On one hand, they were cruel and brutal, killing without mercy. On the other hand, the millions-strong Expeditionary Force was the backbone of the resistance against the dark races in the entire Eternal Night domain. With them, human settlements like Lighthouse Town would not be overwhelmed by the dark races.

Qianye brought out tray after tray of food, and the imperial soldiers buried their heads in eating, not a single word spoken. The bar suddenly fell silent, and everyone felt an oppressive atmosphere, but no one dared to move, let alone leave the bar.

Just as the imperial soldiers were halfway through their meal, the bar door opened silently, and two men in black trench coats walked in.

They were spotlessly clean, a stark contrast to the wilderness. Strangely, no one had noticed their arrival.

As soon as they entered the bar, they scanned the area, and their brows furrowed even more with each thing they saw, as if nothing in the bar, including the imperial soldiers, met their standards.

Liu Jiang saw the emblem on the corner of their trench coats and his face changed, standing up immediately. But just as he was about to speak, one of the men in black said coldly, "Did I tell you to stand?"

Liu Jiang was furious, but when his gaze met the man's, he suddenly felt as if he had been hit hard. He grunted and fell back into his seat, his face turning pale, clearly injured.

The man snorted and said contemptuously, "A bunch of trash, no wonder you're stuck in this hellhole. If the empire relied on you to fight the dark races, it would have fallen long ago."

Liu Jiang's neck veins throbbed, his hand moving towards the Origin Power gun on his back, but he wisely stopped.

Seeing this, the two men in black trench coats became even more disdainful.

At that moment, an old voice came from outside the door, "Miss, this place is unclean. Not only are there Blood Slaves, but also some scum from the Expeditionary Force. You shouldn't go in."

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