Chapter 1 A Confirmed Identity

Heiser Anna no longer doubted Hao Ren's identity – at least, she no longer doubted that this man was indeed Vivian's "close friend."

Not just anyone could get Vivian's little bat. In fact, as far as Heiser Anna knew, she had never even heard of Vivian giving her little bat to anyone as a token. However, the little bat's aura could not be faked, nor could the submissive and quiet manner it displayed when curled up in Hao Ren's palm. The former proved it indeed came from Vivian, and the latter proved it was indeed a "token" that Vivian had voluntarily given to someone else.

"It's been centuries since I last saw Vivian-sama, and she's already developed a new hobby…" Heiser Anna muttered to herself, a little dazed as she looked at the little creature in Hao Ren's hand. "She's still trying to fight her amnesia."

"Now do you believe what I said?" Hao Ren looked at her with a smile, casually storing the little bat in his dimensional pocket. "I'm telling you, I've known about you for a long time; it's just that you don't know me – I also know that your current guardian is Hesperides, am I right?"

Heiser Anna suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She looked at Hao Ren warily, as if facing a formidable enemy. "You're not going to say that you held me when I was little, are you?"

Hao Ren was taken aback by the bat spirit's train of thought. "Why would I say that?"

"Isn't that what distant relatives who suddenly pop up like to say?" Heiser Anna argued plausibly. "'I held you when you were little,' or 'You peed on my neck when you were little,' or 'You used to like to grab my beard'… I'm telling you, don't go around spouting nonsense just because of your seniority. I don't respect elders very much…"

Hao Ren was amused by the bat spirit's childish behavior. "What nonsense are you thinking? I wouldn't say that – besides, you're a little bat who cultivated into a spirit. You've been this big ever since you took on human form, so there's no such thing as 'when you were little.'"

Heiser Anna touched her chin. "You even know that, so it seems there's nothing wrong with it."

"...Is your vigilance never going to end?" Hao Ren was exasperated by the bat spirit's endless probing and wariness, so he quickly changed the subject. "Alright, your identity has been confirmed. Now, can you tell me about your plan? Why did you deliberately let the humans capture you?"

The witches around them, including Madam Marie, had been listening to Hao Ren and Heiser Anna's conversation since the beginning, and they had been completely dizzy for a long time, as if listening to a heavenly book. When they finally heard that they were going to talk about serious matters, they all looked over with renewed energy.

But Heiser Anna glanced at the people around her with some unease, frowning slightly. "What I'm about to say isn't something that just anyone can hear. It's fine if you witches know, but if someone leaks the news to demon hunters or the like…"

"I think they can be trusted," Hao Ren thought. This was something that had already happened in history, so there was no need to worry about leaks in the future. Of course, he had to urge the little bat spirit to tell them everything. "Before we 'rescued' you, they already knew that a group of demon hunters was approaching this place, but they still chose to take the risk. From that point of view, they won't easily betray us."

"A group of demon hunters is already approaching this place?" Heiser Anna immediately raised her eyebrows. "Those guys are really quick on their feet… Since that's the case, there's no harm in telling you. After all, we can only unite in the face of demon hunters."

Hearing Heiser Anna's unintentional words, Hao Ren's heart suddenly skipped a beat:

From what she said, was there really a group of demon hunters approaching this place?

He had fabricated the news of a demon hunter squad approaching this place entirely to bluff the witches in order to gain their trust smoothly. Could it be that this casual false news had accidentally stumbled upon the truth?! What kind of cursed mouth and lucky break was this…

While Hao Ren's mind was racing, Heiser Anna continued, "I don't know how many of you have heard of Vivian Ansester, the ancient blood clan elder. What I want to tell you is that this powerful, great, wise, and perfect blood clan elder is sleeping in this place."

The witches stirred slightly, but they just exchanged confused glances and discussed in low voices. None of them seemed to have heard of the name that Heiser Anna had added a lot of praise to. Only the wizard Barn shook his body almost imperceptibly, and a hoarse, low voice came from under his hood: "I've heard her name, but only heard of it… It is said that she is one of the oldest and most powerful blood clans in the world?"

"There is no 'one of'," Heiser Anna raised her chin proudly, as if she was the one being praised. "Only one wizard among you guys has heard of this name, tsk tsk… Well, it's no wonder. After all, you are residents on the edge of the dark world. When Vivian-sama was active, you didn't know which corner you were in as a handyman. Let me put it this way, Vivian-sama has been sleeping and resting in this place for more than two hundred years, and I am her only blood descendant – here I especially emphasize, Mommy loves me!"

Hao Ren's tears almost fell when he heard this. He thought that after he went out, he would have to persuade Vivian to treat the little bat spirit better. Had Heiser Anna survived the past six hundred years by hypnotizing herself?

Lily's mind suddenly flashed, and she blinked her eyes. "Is your deliberate capture by humans related to the demon hunters wandering around here?"

Heiser Anna nodded. "Vivian-sama is sleeping here, and human activities here have become more and more frequent in recent years. I am very worried that humans will disturb her rest, so I have been paying attention to this place for many years. Not long ago, I discovered that a group of demon hunters suddenly appeared in this area and showed purposeful activity. After several probes, I confirmed that those guys did not visit here for ordinary hunting. They were looking for something…"

Hao Ren looked at her. "Vivian's resting place?"

"That's right, they are looking for Vivian-sama's resting place. I can't sit idly by and watch this happen, so I made a plan, which is to lure them out and kill them. Because demon hunters will never let go of the prey that runs in front of them, as long as I jump out and show enough 'attraction', they will definitely 'hunt' me – anyway, the sleeping place of the ancient blood clan will not run away. In my original plan, I first deliberately let the humans capture me, and then used the exorcists in human society to spread the news, so that the demon hunters would know that a witch was captured in a nearby human city, and then I would make a big fuss at today's execution site, kill seven in and seven out, and then break out of prison in a high-profile way. At this time, the demon hunters would just pass by near the city. I firmly believe that the commotion I made would be enough to attract them to temporarily put aside their tasks and concentrate on chasing after me, so that I can lead them into the trap and kill them… Listen, listen, how good is this plan! You group of blockheads messed it up…"

After listening to the little bat spirit's plan, Hao Ren was a little dazed for a while, but he soon realized that it was indeed feasible to some extent: if an ordinary vampire dared to say that he would use himself as bait to lure and kill demon hunters, it would definitely be a joke, but this Heiser Anna is different! She has Vivian's power and talent, in other words, she is a freak who can drink holy water and eat garlic. This guy is born with super resistance to the power of demon hunters. If a few inexperienced hunters come… it is possible that they will be killed by this vampire's peculiar characteristics!

After listening to Heiser Anna's words, the witch Helen did not turn the corner all of a sudden: "If this is the case… our actions should not have disrupted your plan. Didn't you still make a big fuss as you wished? The chaos in the city today will definitely spread to the ears of the demon hunters soon…"

"You fxxking idiot!" Heiser Anna couldn't help but burst into a rage again when she heard this. "My plan requires precise calculations! How much noise I should make and what form of noise I should make are all designed in advance! How can it be the same as you bunch of people robbing the execution ground? If I make trouble alone, it's just a powerful witch running away. Then the demon hunters nearby will go deep into the isolated army without any worries, but what about you? After the news spreads, it will be like this: the aliens in xx are rebelling! A group of witches and wizards are attacking the city! Even werewolves have appeared! The aliens in this place are going to make a comeback – then the demon hunters will directly form a battle echelon to come over, and they will have to sweep everything away, okay?!"

Lily scratched her head. "Will it be like this?"

"Nonsense! Don't you know the virtues of humans? Especially their local churches and nobles, they will definitely spare no effort to exaggerate today's events in a serious direction – if they don't do this, how can they shirk their responsibility for unfavorable combat? And what you did today is a once-in-a-lifetime good material for them. How many people have witnessed a werewolf rampaging in the city… I deliberately disguised myself as a witch before! In the eyes of demon hunters, human wizards and pure-blooded aliens are completely different threat levels, do you know?!"

Heiser Anna's frantic reprimand finally awakened the witches, and Hao Ren completely understood how he and a group of witches had messed up Heiser Anna's plan today –

Originally, there should be only a few demon hunters wandering in this area. The little bat spirit was confident that she could solve them with her own power. However, the witches' fuss, especially Lily's public appearance as a "werewolf", would cause those demon hunters to become vigilant. Not only would they not fall into Heiser Anna's trap, but they would most likely ask for help from headquarters – for Heiser Anna, who was desperately trying to keep the secret of Vivian's sleeping place, this was simply a disaster!