Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

[The most likely options...excluding those not active on the surface, others, and those who have begun to interfere...the races most likely associated with that guy named Riku are forest elves, goblins, and mechs...if Alice pays extra attention, it should be mechs. The others... are tentative.]

[...Perhaps there is another possibility.]

With a 'snap,' a hand landed on Xiao Honglu's shoulder. The twelve-year-old self-proclaimed wise man, lost in thought, realized he had been distracted—he shook his head and nodded to Ming Yanwei, who had reminded him. Then he let out a soft sigh and fulfilled his duty as the team's think tank advisor.

He began, "Based on the intelligence we've gathered, the orc army currently near here isn't particularly strong. They don't have any super elite individuals capable of using high-level blood corruption; at best, they're just a group of moderately enhanced Tier 2 with a bunch of elite grunts. For us, it shouldn't be difficult to hold them off on the outside."

“But I advise us not to do that, because we must keep our existence a secret and prevent information about this mortal settlement from leaking out. So…” He glanced at Zhan Lan and then said, “Sister Zhan Lan, can you alter the celestial phenomena here and artificially create a natural disaster?”

The glint in Zhan Lan's eyes flashed and disappeared in an instant. Her will briefly patrolled the vast outer space when she heard Xiao Honglu's words.

“It’s a bit difficult, but not impossible.” Zhan Lan nodded, and a cloud map representing an area of ​​about thirty kilometers in radius appeared in her hand, constructed with her mental power. As she gazed at the surface of the cloud map, the leaden-gray clouds piled with spirit remains began to rotate.

“I can spend about fifteen minutes preparing a ritual to generate a ‘black storm’ from the nearby spirit cloud. But its destructive power will not be very high. It may be an instant kill for mortals, but for orcs with spirit resistance, this spirit storm will not be much more troublesome than an acid rainstorm.”

“That’s enough.” Xiao Honglu nodded. “My goal is simply to confuse the public. This level of disruption is just right to cut off communication in this area, while not arousing excessive suspicion from the orcs on the outside. Right now, the orcs should only know that their advance force has been wiped out, and further investigations have not yet begun.”

“We need to hold out here for twelve hours, so we must use misleading or luring methods to keep the main force of the orcs out. Sister Zhan Lan, your ritual needs to be prepared in fifteen minutes. So during this time, we need to give those orcs, who will definitely find some traces, some luring messages, while making them have the illusion that the enemy is not very strong.”

His gaze shifted to Cheng Xiao, the newcomer who had joined the team in the previous match. This unreliable fellow, skilled in family-inherited Gu techniques and internal energy, and who had recently begun studying the Southern and Northern Dipper martial arts, instantly realized that he, as the softest of the bunch, was clearly too weak and best suited to draw attention and mislead others. After all, in the current Central Continent team, finding a member whose combat strength wasn't at least twice his was a pipe dream.

“Understood.” Cheng Xiao raised his right hand to his forehead, seemingly wanting to salute, but then forcibly suppressed it. He nodded, the nonchalant smile that had never faded from his lips growing even brighter. “I guarantee the mission will be completed. They will absolutely not be able to detect it, and they will absolutely not be able to break in through the gate.”

"Don't be nervous, Sister Ming Yanwei will protect you. She'll make sure you don't run into enemies that are too far beyond your capabilities." Xiao Honglu turned his head and glanced at Ming Yanwei, who was dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit and remained silent like a proper shrine maiden. After receiving a nod of affirmation from her, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Very good, he's still manageable. And since he's manageable, he won't need to spend too much effort on the more detailed things later on—he made a list in his mind, arranging all the things that he had to do later but weren't suitable to say aloud. And the next step is to execute them.

A commotion could be faintly heard coming from the residential area outside the meeting room. Clearly, the reincarnators weren't the only ones who had discovered the problem outside the ruins. And now, presumably, all the residents of the settlement knew about the situation outside. Xiao Honglu even heard footsteps approaching, and he knew without a doubt that the footsteps belonged to Liu Yu.

The reincarnators exchanged glances, their responsibilities now clear. Their next task was not to waste time in the spacious meeting room. Zhan Lan, Ming Yanwei, Cheng Xiao, and the others left. Only Xiao Honglu remained in the room to complete his pre-arranged duties.

Calming the panicked crowd and rallying them again was a newly learned skill for Xiao Honglu. He planned to put this ability to practical use—he casually found a spot away from the door and sat down. Then, he counted from one to ten.

The next moment, a slightly anxious voice rushed in, bringing with it the hot air from outside.

....................................

Alice blinked.

Just moments ago, two messages reached her one after the other. One message came from the temporary location system she had set up. The other message came from Chu Xuan.

The message was very simple.

First, Zheng Zha has disappeared.

Yes, that's right. Zheng Zha, who had unlocked the fourth stage of his genetic lock, gained a basic understanding of how to use supernatural powers, and was carrying a number of life-saving items, has disappeared. In broad daylight, without a sound. In Alice's location system, one second Zheng Zha was happily dealing with a group of extremely unlucky demons, and the next second he vanished as if he had been edited out of a video! This abrupt change startled Alice so much that she immediately activated numerous remote intervention methods, even considering forcibly opening a space bridge and risking being watched by other powerful races to jump directly to the airspace where Zheng Zha disappeared!

She ultimately did not do that. And the reason she didn't is actually quite simple.

That was the second message from Chu Xuan. And the message contained only four words.

"Ignore him"—that's what Chu Xuan's communication log said.

Communication ended.

Although Alice had no idea what Chu Xuan was doing, the communication had ended. Clearly, Chu Xuan had anticipated Zheng Zha's reaction, decision, and actions, and had conveniently used his actions to set a trap, digging a pit for him. And this guy, whose thinking ability was comparable to an ape, simply jumped straight into it.

The specifics are unknown, as are the purpose of this trap and its intended target. In short, Zheng is currently being targeted and persecuted by Chu Xuan. Meanwhile, the clever, adorable, obedient, and beautiful Miss Alice decides to ignore it all.

Let him suffer as much as he wants; it was his own choice, so he can't blame anyone else. I've already advised him as much as I can. Now, the only thing I can do is wish this guy who's fallen for Chu Xuan a peaceful death.

So Alice pulled her attention away from that boring trifle and focused on something more important. For example… how to elegantly and politely beat up this seemingly high-class guy in front of her.

Yes, that's right. She elegantly and politely beat the guy in front of her. Because at this moment, she was in the inherent territory of the vampires, or more precisely, the theoretically strongest vampire. Inside the castle of Grand Lord Alucard. She sat at one end of a table about twenty meters long. And the host of this place, a gloomy, dark figure, exuding the aura of blood—whether a young man, a middle-aged man, or a beautiful young woman—sat on the other side of the table.

He raised his scarlet wine glass to her in salute!

Even getting into a fight is so complicated!

Section 23 - Failure to Reach a Consensus.jpg

Alice arrived in this area two minutes ago—two minutes, exactly one hundred and twenty seconds. When she followed Israphael's memory path to the vicinity of the vampire's royal city, what came into view was a vast wasteland blasted into ruins.

That must have been a fierce battle, with the conflict between the Winged Race and the Vampire Race leveling the Vampire Race's capital city. Although in the end, there was certainly no clear winner—because besides the circular craters that stretched across her field of vision and the scorched wasteland that had been burned to a glazed state, Alice also detected a large amount of blood in the air.

Blood of vampires, blood of winged races.

Although there are no corpses, the lingering echoes of a soul's decay still reverberate in the air. If a creature with high spirituality but poor physical constitution were to stray into this battlefield, it might be instantly killed by the killing intent and hatred emanating from those echoes, and its corpse might even bear the marks of being cleaved by a knife or axe.

Of course, this level of murderous intent and hatred was nothing more than a gentle breeze to Alice. It was something she could easily ignore. It wasn't even worthy of being used as Alice's tools—though it might have some positive effect on building fortifications. But its quality and quantity were far too scarce; it was only good for bullying ordinary mortals who hadn't reached the transcendent level.

Alice stopped at the edge of the wasteland, fully activating her senses just before stepping onto the battlefield. Since transforming into Remilia Scarlet, her perception and control over blood-related matters had greatly increased. And it was precisely because of this that she sensed something amiss.

This blood... is strange. It clearly possesses characteristics of different life forms, yet it subtly forms a unified whole. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is merely a perceptual illusion.

Extraordinary beings should not be delusional unless they fall into the schemes of a higher level of being—Alice understood this principle well and practiced it at all times.

So she pondered, her red and black wings fluttering slightly. Many possibilities were deduced from her mind, only to be rejected by her again. In the brief moment of her shifting thoughts, a crimson mist, appearing from nowhere and definitely not originating from the blood-red aura in the atmosphere, obscured her vision!

The fog came quickly and went quickly. When she focused her attention on the red fog, the dense fog quietly dissipated, solidified, and shaped, finally revealing before her a tall and majestic ancient city gate.

To be precise, it was a colossal Gothic castle. Magnificent, splendid, and exquisitely decorated, along with its dark, massive stone foundation, stretched from the very edge of Alice's vision to the very end. The wasteland that had previously appeared before Alice was instantly covered by this suddenly appearing, colossal fortress. And the instant the castle was fully revealed, an enormous gate opened right in front of Alice!

The gates were wide open, revealing a deep, dark interior. Alice saw no servants or guards through the doorway. Yet, the open gates clearly and unmistakably revealed the will of the city's owners.

This is an invitation; the fortress's master invites the visitors to a banquet.

Alice's gaze swept across the doorway, and her focused attention led her to the conclusion that the fortress was a real structure, not a mirage.

[It's a physical entity, a physical entity with a material structure. To achieve this level, the other party must either be an expert in the field of creation, or their life level must be equal to or even slightly higher than mine… A complete Light of the Mind might not exist, but a simulated version should exist… Damn, were all the Skywing races wiped out here? But it doesn't really seem like it…]

[Tsk, Israphal's records don't mention a vampire lord like Dracula, so the most likely candidate is that Akkado. An alternate-world version of Castlevania… While barging in directly would be foolish—wouldn't it be better to just blast it apart with ranged magic from the outside?—if we want to create the concept Remilia needs, then we really have to do something this stupid.]

Fortunately, I had prepared in advance...

Lost in thought, Alice stepped into the vast city. A wide avenue paved with red carpet came into view, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of antique candlesticks that suddenly lit up in pairs. At the end of the avenue, a banquet hall was clearly visible six kilometers away.

Now that we're here, there's no need for much restraint. Now that we've taken the first step, there's no need to worry too much about the tens of thousands of steps ahead. And when the messenger brought that unexpected news, this unique meeting finally began.

..........................................

The vampire possessed a bizarre and enigmatic form. He sat there, resembling a cold and brooding young nobleman. He gently stroked a blood-red wine glass, his elegant and composed demeanor, tinged with a bloodthirsty air, like that of a battle-hardened lord. Yet, when the corners of his lips curled up, he revealed a light and delicate smile, like that of a young maiden. His form appeared fixed, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be an endless stream of converging blood and eyes within it. However, upon even closer inspection, the red and black blood streams dissipated again, transforming into countless overlapping human silhouettes.

To describe it in a more science fiction way, this vampire currently exists as a quantum aggregate composed of countless probability planes. It exists simultaneously in many ways across many timelines and spatial axes, and these countless possibilities are integrated into one, constructing a complete entity. What appears now is merely a tiny terminal for external interaction; in essence, it is an incredibly vast and profound existence.

To put it in a more fantastical way, this vampire has already ascended to godhood, possessing an ever-changing divine body and an inexhaustible source of power. Even if it hasn't followed the most orthodox genetic lock system, it must possess survival capabilities comparable to those who have unlocked the fourth-tier genetic lock. Even if the path of power it pursues doesn't allow it to freely control vast amounts of energy like a soul obsessed with its own, it must still have a similar level of energy reserves.

It was powerful, though in the previous world's illusory galaxy, it would have been utterly defeated by the fully-formed Exusiai. The fact that it was beaten rather than killed speaks volumes about its power. The proof of its ability to achieve this was the pure light emanating from its crimson eyes.

The light of the soul.

It failed to take shape, merely mimicking the form, yet it remains equivalent to the spiritual light of the true god's power.

If Alice hadn't already made contingency plans and hadn't recently achieved a breakthrough in her research, then she would probably only have been able to say goodbye and run away.

Fortunately, she was prepared.

The downside is that almost all previous plans will have to be scrapped. The strategy of using vampires to activate the divine essence... is probably not going to work.

Alice blinked and sighed inwardly.

Dealing with a group of vampires who have touched the transcendent level but haven't reached the true initial stage is a completely different matter from facing a true powerhouse with the ability to mimic the light of the mind. Against the former, she's confident that, in her Remilia form, she can thoroughly defeat them all until they surrender and relinquish the essence of the vampire race. But against the latter… even with her full strength, whether she can win is uncertain.

after all……

[Having already possessed a mimicry of the Light of the Mind, it would be considered a genuine deity in any world. If it were to advance further, it would become a supreme god or a great god of its own world. And facing such a being, the essence of the vampire race would likely have already been activated within it.]

Besides, there really are still...

Her thoughts were abruptly cut short, for at that moment, the master of this place, the vampire lord named Alucard, raised his crimson wine glass to her. His unparalleled presence immediately manifested, transforming into a massive, overwhelming force like a collapsing mountain, crashing directly towards Alice's head!

"Alucard." The vampire individual, whose description defied easy categorization, possessed a peculiar voice. At first glance, it sounded like a gentle, slightly magnetic young male voice. However, upon closer inspection, one could discern hundreds, even thousands, of distinct vocal qualities within it. There were male and female voices, young and old, and all their voices converged to form a captivating melody.

“You can call me Alucard, it’s a name I used a long time ago. And I still use it now.”

Is it true that the content of a name is unimportant, but the existence of a name is necessary...?

“Remilia Scarlet,” Alice replied. For a moment, she had considered reverting to her original form, but then changed her mind and continued the conversation in the form of a young vampire.

The fortress's master drained his crimson cup, while Alice politely sipped it as well. Although she knew without drinking that the blood in the cup belonged to a 'Winged One' of the Skywing race, the vibrant life force sealed within it still slightly moved her as she swallowed the still-warm liquid.

“I thought the vampires had suffered a severe blow.” Alice put down her wine glass. After sensing the life force, she immediately and imperceptibly dissolved the trace of crimson she had just sipped on her lips before it touched her vessel. “I originally intended to do my part in this war, but now it seems that I don’t need to do so.”

Her interlocutor seemed to smile, but the reply didn't follow through.

“Remilia Scarlett. It’s a nice name, but it’s not one that’s used often. You came here with an ulterior motive. But now you find that reality and your thoughts are disconnected.”

The next moment, the long dining table, tens of meters long, suddenly shrank to two meters. And the vampire's face appeared before Alice!

“You want to kill me,” said Grand Lord Alucard of the vampires with certainty. “You want to pierce my heart with a silver stake, you want to purify my head with fire, you want to erase my traces with lightning, you want to cover my history with concepts—you want to kill me, and that’s why you’ve come.”

Alice glanced at the banquet hall, which seemed to shrink along with the dozens of meters between the long table, and confirmed that she had not sensed any spatial shift or material change whatsoever.

“No, all I wanted was to defeat you,” Alice replied. “You have what I need, and all I wanted was to obtain it. However, even that was only before I met you. After I met you, even defeating you was no longer part of my plan.”

"—You want the essence of the vampire race."

Alice remained silent.

"...You want to participate in the war of the gods and compete for the throne of the one true god."

"..." Alice fell silent again.

Her interlocutor smiled with satisfaction.

"The treasure you seek is here, and so is your enemy. To achieve your goal, you must be determined to kill me. To defeat me, you must harbor murderous intent; to surpass me, you must unleash that murderous intent to its fullest potential. I eagerly await your performance, and I am willing to wait."

“But I don’t do things that are meaningless,” Alice replied coldly. “Defeating you is no longer a worthwhile endeavor for me. I won’t waste my time on pointless goals.”

"Because the vampires have already joined the war, and you can't use your already depleted divine power to start another war?"

"Because the vampires have already joined the war, and I cannot use the depleted essence to start another battle."

The dining tables vanished without a trace, and the banquet hall was transformed into a spacious platform.

"It has to be you?" Accardo's ten fingers were clasped together, like a spire. The pure light in his eyes dimmed quietly, replaced by two crimson spots like karmic fire.

“It has to be me,” Alice replied, as the 'Gungnir,' formed from the scepter, silently appeared between her fingers. The red and black wings on her back rose slightly.

“Then I can only say that I am very sorry. Remilia Scarlet, I have always been willing to grant the wishes of my kind when I first meet them. But you will probably be the first to break the rule.”

“I’m sorry, that’s what I thought too.” Alice sighed and nodded.

The next moment, the upper half of her head vanished with the sound of a gunshot. A white-gloved hand, holding a black pistol, emerged from the shadows and wiped her brain off the face of the earth with a single blow!

Section 24 - Evangeline

Smash the brain? No, that was just an afterimage, a phantom, a remnant of will and breath left behind after high-speed movement. The instant the bullet was fired, Alice had already teleported behind the vampire lord, her wrist flicking, whipping the spear like a storm!