Chapter 133 Demonic Sacrifice 14

After obtaining crucial intelligence from the butler, Xia Qi, Sister Hong, and Ding Xiang discussed the plan overnight in the cabin.

"We need to take out the leader first," said Xia Qi, lowering his head to draw the escape route on the map. "Only by capturing the old Count can we round up the rest of the vampires."

"The plan sounds solid, and I approve!" said Sister Hong excitedly.

"The plan is good... but who’s going to lure the Duke over?" asked Ding Xiang blankly.

Xia Qi thought for a moment and said, "You haven’t directly confronted the Duke before, so I should be the one to lure him. You can back me up in case of an emergency."

He had fought the old Count many times and was familiar with his battle style. If someone else went, he wouldn’t be able to trust them. After all, the old Count’s strength was on par with half a Blood King, and only the Duke in his prime could have controlled him, apart from the current demon dragon.

Sister Hong worriedly said, "Xia Qi, the demon dragon’s going to freak out if you do this. Let me be the bait instead."

"What if we just don’t tell it? That way, no one gets worried." Xia Qi felt a chill down his back and quickly turned to look out the window to make sure the demon dragon wasn’t secretly following him. Seeing that it wasn’t, he relaxed.

"This... doesn’t seem right," hesitated Sister Hong.

If the demon dragon found out what Xia Qi was up to, it would lose it for sure.

"Sister Hong, it’s safer for Xia Qi to go than us," Ding Xiang said seriously. "The Duke hates him. When he sees Xia Qi, he’ll be blinded by rage and more likely to fall into our trap."

With Ding Xiang’s persuasion, Sister Hong reluctantly agreed to let Xia Qi take the lead.

"That’s settled then," Xia Qi decisively concluded, turning to prepare for the confrontation with the old Count the next day.

With the butler’s help, their weapons and equipment had improved significantly. Sister Hong and Ding Xiang each had a bow with silver arrows to prevent Xia Qi from being killed by the old Count halfway.

After setting everything up, Xia Qi left the cabin and returned to the valley.

By the stream in the valley, the demon dragon wrapped its wings around itself, trying to curl up as much as possible while staring blankly at the water.

At the sound of familiar footsteps approaching, the demon dragon lifted its massive head and stared into the forest with wide, alert eyes.

"I’m back, buddy."

Xia Qi raised his hand to part the bushes, but before he could react, the dragon’s head shot out from the bushes and scooped him up, dragging him into the forest.

...

The next day, while the demon dragon was still sleeping, Xia Qi carefully climbed down from under its belly and headed to the cabin to meet up with the others.

The three of them dressed in the castle servants' uniforms and followed the butler all the way to the East Hall.

The old Count was reluctant to use the Count’s study, so he had built a new one in the East Hall.

Xia Qi hid a vial of garlic juice in his sleeve and took the human blood breakfast prepared for the old Count. He then went up to the third floor alone.

He reached the door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

"Creak—"

As the door opened, a stale, musty smell greeted him as he stepped inside. He scanned the room and spotted his target by the balcony window.

The dim light filtering through the stained glass cast a gloomy haze over the room. On the black leather sofa, an old man with graying hair was leaning back, his eyes closed in apparent rest.

Xia Qi was startled and almost didn't recognize the old Count.

The old Count clutched a pocket watch in his trembling hand. From Xia Qi's angle, he could clearly see the Count's sharp nose, deeply sunken eye sockets, and his mouth, which was curved downwards like an inverted crescent.

The old Count looked decades older than before.

Xia Qi slowly approached and placed the tray beside the old Count, lowering his voice as he said, "Your Grace, your breakfast is here."

The old Count opened his eyes and picked up a goblet of blood. After taking a sip, he looked at Xia Qi suspiciously and asked, "Are you a new butler? Why haven't I seen you before?"

"Yes," Xia Qi nodded, pulling up his sleeve as he quickly set the breakfast on the table, deliberately exposing his arm with its visible blue veins.

The old Count, holding the goblet, looked at him with an increasingly strange expression.

"Please enjoy your meal, Your Grace. I'll be leaving now," seeing that the old Count had taken the bait, Xia Qi slightly curved his lips and hastily gathered the tray, turning around and leaving quickly.

Watching Xia Qi's hurried departure, the old Count narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was off.

"Stop right there!" The old Count suddenly stood up and shouted at Xia Qi, who was heading towards the door.

Instead of responding, Xia Qi threw the tray behind him and swiftly closed the door, not bothering to look back as he dashed down the stairs.

Vampires were naturally faster than him, so he needed to create some distance between himself and the old Count.

Just as Xia Qi reached the second floor, he heard a loud bang from the third floor, as if the door had been forcefully opened by the old Count.

The old Count breaking the door open confirmed that he had transformed into his vampire state.

Xia Qi knew he couldn’t be careless. As he ran, he snatched a vase from the hallway and hurled it behind him without a second thought.

The sound of shattering continued to ring out behind him, accompanied by the old Count's curses.

The old Count was rushing towards him, and just as Xia Qi reached the east gate, he heard another loud explosion behind him. The old Count seemed to have landed.

A cold gust of wind brushed the back of his head, and Xia Qi knew something was wrong. Turning around, he saw a red blur flashing towards him at lightning speed. Without thinking, he pulled out the garlic water and splashed it at the old Count!

Thanks to his previous experience with holy water, not a single drop of garlic water was wasted. It landed directly on the old Count's neck and body, and within moments, smoke began to rise from the Count's neck.

Seeing this familiar scene and feeling the familiar sensation from splashing the liquid, the old Count immediately realized who his attacker was.

Clutching at his smoking neck, the old Count roared in fury, "Xia Qi, it's you again!"

Although the garlic water wasn't as effective as holy water, it still caused some damage to the old Count. Xia Qi took off running again, shouting over his shoulder, "That's right, it's me again!"

The old Count, his eyes turning red with rage, bared his fangs and shouted his slogan once more, "Xia Qi, I will kill you!"

Since the Count’s death, the old Count had been in a state of deep despair. Now that the culprit, Xia Qi, was right in front of him, the old Count’s new grudge combined with old hatreds made him so furious that he wanted to tear Xia Qi into pieces.

Hearing the roar behind him, Xia Qi knew the old Count was completely enraged. After bursting through the east gate, Xia Qi sprinted toward the back mountain cemetery.

Driven by rage, the old Count’s speed intensified. Xia Qi didn't notice, but the old Count managed to scratch his back with his claws.

Xia Qi hissed in pain, realizing just how ruthless the old Count could be, the claws digging deep into his back, almost reaching his tailbone.

A silver flash darted through the trees nearby. Sister Hong and Ding Xiang seemed to be preparing to rescue him.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Xia Qi didn’t want Ding Xiang and Sister Hong to expose themselves, so as not to arouse the old Count’s suspicions. He gritted his teeth, pushed through the pain in his back, and signaled them to stay put for now.

Then he quickly took out the silver knife from his waist and threw it at the old Count behind him.

"Ah!"

Not knowing where the silver knife had struck the old Count, Xia Qi didn’t look back and continued to run desperately toward the graveyard.

Watching Xia Qi flee while the old Count pursued him through the trees, Sister Hong clenched her teeth, her eyes blazing with worry. "Xia Qi is hurt!"

"Calm down! He’s not letting us expose ourselves so the Duke doesn’t get suspicious," Ding Xiang persuaded earnestly. After a lot of effort, he finally managed to get Sister Hong to put down her bow.

Sister Hong cursed under her breath, "Can you believe the Duke’s chasing after his own daughter-in-law like this? What kind of father-in-law does that?!"

Ding Xiang sighed and added, based on his limited experience with soap operas, "Isn’t it usually said that the relationship between a daughter-in-law and father-in-law is better than with the mother-in-law? Why is it the opposite with them?"

As Xia Qi entered a downhill path in the valley, the old Count dove with outstretched wings and scratched his neck, leaving another bloody mark.

"Hiss—"

Xia Qi couldn’t help but suck in a breath. If he hadn’t dodged in time, the old Count would have slit his carotid artery!

As he neared the place where the demon dragon was hiding, Xia Qi threw his last small silver knife behind him, then dove to the side and rolled down the slope.

The demon dragon had been resting in the valley and, thinking that Sister Hong and the others had arrived with the old Count, got up eagerly, ready to impress Xia Qi. But as soon as he raised his head, he saw Xia Qi covered in blood, rolling down the slope.

The demon dragon froze, unsure if what he saw was real.

At that moment, the old Count emerged from the forest and, with a fierce pounce, aimed for Xia Qi’s neck and clawed down hard!

"Roar!!!"

A thunderous roar echoed through the sky. The demon dragon slammed his claw onto the ground.

A powerful gust of wind mixed with sound waves surged through the forest. In an instant, his roar sent both the old Count and Xia Qi flying.

The old Count’s back hit a tree trunk, and the back of his head was violently knocked. Dizzy, he leaned on the tree trunk, trying to stand up again, when a massive shadow loomed over him like a storm cloud.

The shadow moved with a speed that dwarfed even the vampires, leaving the old Count disoriented.

"Boom!"

The demon dragon’s claw stomped heavily on the old Count, burying him in the dirt so that not even his head could be seen.

"My God! Where’s the Duke?"

"Could the Duke have been burned to ashes?"

Sister Hong and Ding Xiang had caught up. They expected the demon dragon to go head-to-head with the old Count, but instead, they were nearly blown away by a wave of heat.

After getting up from the ground, Sister Hong noticed that the demon dragon’s condition was very unusual.

The area around the demon dragon was a mess, with countless gusts of wind swirling up dead branches and leaves, forming small whirlwinds.

Moreover, the demon dragon’s wings were dramatically raised, and every single scale on his body seemed to scream with rage.

Sister Hong stared at the demon dragon in shock, wondering why it had suddenly gone into a frenzy.

Was the demon dragon defeated by the old Count?

Or did the old Count take the chance to escape?

Following the demon dragon’s gaze, she looked where it was looking and saw Xia Qi lying on the ground, struggling to get up while clutching his neck. Blood from the old Count’s scratches had soaked through his right sleeve.

Seeing Xia Qi’s condition, Sister Hong suddenly understood what had happened and why the demon dragon was so upset.

"Xia Qi, are you alright?" Sister Hong rushed over and helped Xia Qi to stand steadily.

"I’m fine, just a little bleeding," Xia Qi forced a smile and turned to the demon dragon. "It’s not as bad as it looks."

"Roar."

Seeing Xia Qi injured yet trying to put on a brave face, the demon dragon’s anger instantly dissipated, and his scarlet eyes were clouded with a layer of mist.

Xia Qi hurried over and gently stroked the dragon’s face.

The demon dragon lowered his head, rubbing against Xia Qi with a heavy heart, letting out mournful cries.

"Ao."

Why did he put himself in such danger?

It broke the dragon’s heart.

Author's Note: Old Count: Can you two finish your lovey-dovey moment and get me out of this dirt already?