Chapter 42

Without any pretense, Zhou Yi spoke straightforwardly.

"Your father invited me and the Blade Warrior to participate in this hunt because you have the ability to create a new race, a race that not only threatens vampires but also humans. I can be indifferent to the fate of vampires, but I cannot be indifferent to the survival of humans. So, I want to hear what you have to say."

"I can prove to you that everything my father said is a lie," Chadnomah said, opening his mouth to roar. A moment later, several answering roars came from the distance, and then, in Zhou Yi's sensitive senses, several mutants were rapidly approaching.

A few mutants could not change the gap between the two people, and both sides understood this. So Zhou Yi remained unmoved, allowing Chadnomah to demonstrate. He was also very curious about what Chadnomah intended to show him.

After a while, three mutants with significant differences in form appeared before Zhou Yi. One had a figure similar to a normal person, wearing a hooded sweatshirt similar to Chadnomah's. Apart from his strange appearance, he did not look much different from an ordinary human.

Another was small and looked like a large, hairless gorilla. This not only described his appearance but also his movements. He did not even want to stand upright, instead choosing to support himself with his forelimbs, maintaining a four-legged posture. He looked almost indistinguishable from an animal.

As for the last one, he was a replica of the first mutant, but his appearance was even uglier, and his body was somewhat hunched. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his bones were deformed, with strange protrusions on his sternum and pelvis. Most importantly, his eyes were dull, unlike the first one, which still had a hint of intelligence. This guy's eyes looked like those of a wild animal, filled with savagery.

After carefully distinguishing the differences between the mutants, Zhou Yi turned his head to Chadnomah, wanting to hear how the progenitor of this race would explain it.

"As you can see, these are the mutants I have bred so far," Chadnomah pointed to the first mutant and explained to Zhou Yi.

"This is the second generation, transformed from vampires. It takes twelve hours to transform them. They have relatively normal intelligence and are more powerful and regenerative than vampires. They can infect others, turning other species into one of us, which is the key to my plan. However, their bloodlust is very strong, and one feeding only sustains their physical condition for 24 hours. If they do not feed in time, their physical condition will rapidly deteriorate."

"This is a new type, transformed from humans and the second generation. His strength is only slightly greater than that of ordinary vampires, and his bloodlust is even stronger, but he is not contagious. He will deteriorate after 36 hours without feeding. For my plan, he can only serve as cannon fodder to attract attention."

"And this is the third generation, the main force for my attack on my father's castle. They are the result of the initial vampires I transformed, transforming other vampires. They only obey my commands, are full of aggression and feeding desire, and have the same regenerative ability as the second generation. They can complete the transformation in just one hour. The vampires they attack will appear unchanged, but 18 hours later, they will rapidly transform into a similar sub-species. Moreover, neither the third generation nor the sub-species are contagious to humans. Unfortunately, this species deteriorates the most severely, only lasting 24 hours. Even feeding cannot reverse this deterioration."

"Maginoros concealed the most critical thing from you, the deterioration period! Only I do not deteriorate, and I cannot destroy a race by myself."

Chadnomah was telling the truth, and Zhou Yi could deduce this. He had been monitoring their physiological characteristics, analyzed by Medusa. However, some things were not as simple as he thought.

Mutants may have a deterioration period, but that is for their third generation. Before that, the second and third generations could cause significant harm to humans, which no one could estimate. Even if they were not contagious, they still had a bloodlust, which was enough to prove that they posed a threat to humans.

Everything was concentrated within 24 hours. The sky was already brightening, and they would not appear before humans in daylight. But after the sun went down, they would definitely appear on the ground to attack Maginoros' castle. Once Chadnomah lost control, these bloodthirsty beasts would definitely attack humans.

Zhou Yi was in a difficult dilemma. He wanted to see the evil tumor of Maginoros suffer the consequences of his son's revenge and even extinguished his own desire to confront Maginoros. However, he was also worried about Chadnomah's loss of control. As a Dawn Knight, his sense of responsibility made him want to nip the worst-case scenario in the bud.

Chadnomah was also waiting for the Dawn Knight to make a decision. He had already prepared for the worst. If the Dawn Knight decided to kill him, he would mobilize all his descendants to resist. No matter what, he had to survive and take revenge. He had been preparing for this revenge for over thirty years, and it had become the dominant force in his thoughts.

"Do you know what the best outcome is, Chadnomah?" Chadnomah waited, but received this question.

"The best outcome?" Chadnomah was taken aback, then said without hesitation, "It must be the success of my revenge."

"That is just what a good outcome should be. The best outcome would be for you and Maginoros to perish together." Zhou Yi said this and then clenched his hand at the mutant transformed from a human, immediately enveloping him in a 4000-degree white flame, which turned him to ashes in an instant.

The remaining two mutants growled uneasily but were immediately stopped by Chadnomah. He tensed his body, knowing that the moment of judgment that would determine his fate had arrived.

"You have 24 hours. Before tomorrow's sunrise, I will not interfere with your war with the vampires. However, you must control your descendants. I will not allow any innocent humans to be harmed, except for those humans who are mixed with vampires. After 24 hours, whether it is you or your descendants, I will not let them survive."

Chadnomah suddenly opened his mouth, splitting his terrifying mouthparts and roaring loudly, a sound filled with the desire and determination for revenge. Clearly, he was very excited. Excited to be alive and to take revenge.

Zhou Yi understood Chadnomah's feelings. To him, this was a farce, but it still had value to watch. What is justice? For some who practice heroism, it is protecting others' lives and defending their rights. But for Zhou Yi, he more believed in letting people get what they deserve, rather than losing what they should not.

For Chadnomah, revenge was what he deserved.

Zhou Yi turned and left the place. He had other things to do. Chadnomah did not stay long either; he still needed to prepare for tonight's attack. Maginoros' biggest mistake was gathering the vampires here, which would become the breeding ground for Chadnomah's forces.

Sensing Chadnomah's departure, Zhou Yi spoke in the empty environment.

"Blade, what will you do? Will you stop him?"

The tall figure of the Blade Warrior emerged from the shadows. He tilted his head and looked at the direction Chadnomah had left, then said,

"No, I also like killing vampires, and Maginoros should taste the fangs of his son. However, do you really trust him?"

"I trust his desire for revenge, but beyond that, it doesn't matter whether I trust him or not. Before tomorrow's sunrise, if they do not destroy themselves, I will destroy them."

"Whatever." The Blade Warrior shrugged. "I'll keep an eye on a few streets, but that's all. The rest is up to you."

"Thanks!" The Blade Warrior's words were not just an offer of help but also a choice to stand on his side.

"Don't thank me, you still owe me a car." The Blade Warrior waved his hand and turned to leave. "I like something tougher, a military Hummer would be great."

Zhou Yi smiled; this was a guy worth befriending.

The two, who now understood the origin of this farce, would no longer maintain any so-called alliance with the vampires. Whatever the vampires' plans were, they were no longer relevant. They were ready to withdraw. All the final accounts would be settled before tomorrow's sunrise.

The vampire guard was still engaged in a fierce battle with the mutants. The growing mutant population was overwhelming the elite vampire warriors, leaving them struggling to keep up. No matter how they called the two vampire hunters on their communication devices, they only received static. They had to request support from the vampire headquarters and even abandon all the vampires here.

In the underground lair of the vampire headquarters, in the nearly decayed castle.

The vampire grand duke, Maginoros, was enjoying his meal. As Chadnomah had said, the nearly decayed grand duke could no longer use his vampire fangs and had to solidify the blood into a gel before swallowing it.

Despite his pretense of elegance using human dining utensils, he could not hide this fact. Generally, no one would disturb him while he was eating, not even his daughter, except for his servant, Yassa.

But there were always special circumstances, and this time someone had burst in.

The intruder was Kaylo, the nominal legal advisor of the European Health Consortium. In reality, he had a deeper identity as the chief biological scientist under Maginoros. Chadnomah's transformation was all his doing.

Seeing Kaylo burst in, Yassa, who usually maintained order around the vampire grand duke, rarely spoke but instead frowned slightly. This already indicated that Kaylo's position here was not low.

"Your Excellency, there is bad news. The vampire guard has suffered heavy casualties, and the Dawn Knight and the Blade Warrior have disappeared, seemingly having discovered something. Should we change our plans?"

The vampire grand duke put down his knife and fork, stood up with the help of the table, and walked step by step towards a pool of churning blood behind him.

"The casualties of a few pawns do not change anything. As long as the prey is still in the net, there is no problem. These sacrifices are still acceptable."

Not everyone could understand Maginoros' pretentious way of speaking, and Kaylo was no exception. He bent his body and asked tentatively,

"Tell Rehart what to do. Also, inform our rats that the Blade Warrior is key to our plan and must not be allowed to escape."

"Understood, Your Excellency. May I be excused?" The decaying smell of Maginoros was enough to make anyone nauseous. If possible, Kaylo would not want to stay with the old man for even a second. However, he always did his surface work well, and no one could detect his true thoughts.

"Go!" Maginoros waved his hand, and Kaylo immediately bowed and left.

At this moment, the vampire grand duke was completely immersed in the blood spring, and for a while, only the sound of churning blood could be heard. After a long time, he spoke.

"Yassa, the Dawn Knight is yours to deal with."

"Please rest assured, my lord," Yassa knelt on one knee and said respectfully and sincerely. "I swear on my life, the Dawn Knight will not disturb you in the slightest!"