Chapter 18 Hunting a Count is a Breeze

Outside of Castle Lichtenstein, in the dense mountain forest, black smoke spiraled into the sky like a black dragon, roaring its existence.

Sparks spread and multiplied across the treetops, threatening to dye the entire forest a color redder than the evening sky.

Behind the stained-glass windows of the chapel, the sounds of conversation vanished instantly. Everyone wore expressions of utter shock as they stared at the inexplicable events unfolding in the forest, struggling to comprehend it all.

The setting sun cast irregular patterns of light and shadow through the colored glass onto their faces, making their expressions even more bewildered and obscure.

Although their eyes darted back and forth between the black smoke and the forest, their hearts filled with questions and worries, no one spoke. Finally, they all turned to look at Lan Qi.

Could it be...

That the lawyer had foreseen all of this?

"I'm really impressed by you two..."

Hyperion had already figured it out at this point.

That old schemer Frey hadn't left at all! He had been hiding in the forest, setting traps all day!

Fighting Frey one-on-one in the forest terrain, with the wounded Saintess of Destruction in the open and the well-prepared Frey in the shadows, the Saintess of Destruction was in for a world of pain.

As the others gradually understood the situation, hope for victory rekindled in their hearts!

In the corner beneath the rose window, the expression of the priestess from the Church of Rebirth froze.

She couldn't understand this sudden turn of events, and her heart began to pound wildly.

"How... how could this be..."

She quickly counted the number of people in the chapel, confirming that everyone was there.

Intense confusion and unease made her brain race.

Then, as if remembering something, the priestess's eyes widened suddenly.

Indeed, one person was missing.

The bastard who had disrupted their plans from the very beginning, the one who had vanished from the map!

If this was all a deception, then what was the meaning of all the anxiety and humiliation she had suffered today?

Before she could process her nearly collapsing emotions, the priestess of the Church of Rebirth opened her mouth in terror, her face filled with despair.

"Ah ah..."

She saw a new message in the Shadow World –

[Traitor Adelais has been killed. Blood Lord Count Palocas will arrive at the border of the Honing Empire, coordinates Castle Lichtenstein, in approximately six hours.]

Instantly.

"Do you know what you've done?! She was the Saintess of Destruction!"

The priestess roared hoarsely,

"Now we're all going to die together!!!"

She had relied on the Shadow World's mechanics, believing that killing the traitor would attract a vampire count, ensuring her own survival back to the real world.

But now, when the vampire count arrived, he would unleash indiscriminate slaughter!

Because the mission objectives and story backgrounds of the two vampire familiars were those of ambitious individuals plotting to overthrow the Blood Lord!

At the same time.

Not far from the priestess.

The last glimmer of light seemed to disappear from the eyes of the noble mage girl who was tied up, replaced by despair and a hint of resignation.

"The vampires... are they an inescapable nightmare after all..."

Her lips trembled slightly, as if accepting an irresistible fate, yet hating it with all her being.

...

The mood of the others in the chapel turned utterly frigid at that moment. Even the most stalwart executioner slumped to the ground powerlessly.

Their feelings had been on a roller coaster.

They had just understood why Lan Qi had been so calm—it turned out he had foreseen that the detective was lying in wait in the forest.

But before they could rejoice, they were struck by a thunderbolt!

The good news was that the Saintess of Destruction had been dealt with.

The bad news was that they were all going to die tonight.

These two were too ruthless, treating the Saintess of Destruction like a monkey. Even if the insane Saintess of Destruction couldn't defeat the detective ambushing her, she would have chosen to commit suicide, dragging everyone down with her.

It was no surprise that they had lost.

It was just that they had harbored so much hope before, making the disappointment all the more acute.

With the last hope shattered, the team was filled with a sense of dejection.

"Oh well."

"We tried our best."

"Whether we win or lose, we have no regrets."

"Anyway, none of us feared death when facing the followers of the Church of Rebirth."

The chapel suddenly fell silent, the weapons finally weary.

The sorrowful setting sun seemed to foreshadow their lives, burning in their pupils before plummeting heavily.

Their mutual encouragement felt like a final farewell. They could at least be satisfied with their efforts today, and a sense of resigned acceptance filled them.

Facing the seventh-tier count who would arrive tonight and the full five nights ahead, they couldn't think of any way to win.

This was truly the end.

...

...

Wait, is that Lan Qi's expression?

Perhaps out of habit, the challengers in the chapel couldn't help but look at Lan Qi.

He was still calmly sipping from his goblet!

"Why are you all looking at me? Let's eat first."

Lan Qi looked at them in confusion, pointing to the banquet table as if he had been waiting for them all to eat for a long time.

The title of this Shadow World clearly stated "Chapel Banquet."

It was obviously a Shadow World themed around tourism and dining. What were they doing standing around if they weren't going to eat?

"Could it be that there's still a way..."

Everyone stared in astonishment in the same direction.

The setting sun shone through the meter-high windows onto Lan Qi, his figure sitting leisurely on the sofa, appearing more radiant than the sun itself.

"Six hours is more than enough to hunt a count, isn't it?"

Lan Qi grinned, revealing his confident smile again.

It was reminiscent of the certainty he had when wielding lightning in the Infernal Corridor Academy!

...

At the Yggdrasil Academy, in Jera Memorial Square, all the students wore the same expressions as the challengers in the scene.

Incredulous yet unable to believe it.

A seventh-tier vampire count.

And a full five nights.

Even if all of them combined could contend with the top sixth-tier Saintess of Destruction, a seventh-tier count was a terrifying being that they, mere humans, could never withstand!

The higher the tier, the greater the difference in strength between each tier.

"It's said that Lan Qi's epic masterpiece on the registration card master exam... was a little sun..."

"That's just a fake sun, it doesn't have the power of the sun!"

The sight-sealing function of [Radiant Virtue] is a relatively versatile and practical card, but considering its indiscriminate targeting and high mana cost, it is still too weak as an orange epic card.

"I can't bear to watch."

The atmosphere in the square had changed from the earlier uproar to deathly silence.

Many students began to leave Jera Memorial Square as if they couldn't bear to see this oppressive, hopeless scene.

This seemed like a tragedy destined to happen in six hours.

The teachers' conference room must be extremely somber at this moment.

Because Yggdrasil Academy was about to lose three of its most outstanding new students tonight.

Recommending a friend's book~

(End of chapter)