IETSTSMLARA | The Ambitious Vampire Prince | 92
Even though Lin Su said so, after entering this city for a distance, he was still surrounded by patrolling soldiers.
"Golden hair, blue eyes, what's your name? What do you do?" The leading soldier scrutinized Lin Su's conspicuous hair and eyes and asked.
"My name is Ivan, I'm a... hunter." Lin Su held his horse and looked back, "Any problem?"
"Wait, I heard they're looking for an alchemist." A soldier behind the leader said.
"A hunter?" The leader soldier looked Lin Su up and down, "With your slender arms and legs, I doubt you can even beat me. What can you hunt? Rabbits?"
"No, I hunt demons." Lin Su smiled, "Specifically, vampires who oppose the Holy Church."
The other soldiers were puzzled, but the leader's expression changed slightly. "You know of their existence? How do you prove it?"
"My apologies." Lin Su flipped his finger. Before anyone could react, a delicate dagger was already at the leader's neck.
Other soldiers reached for their swords to defend, but Lin Su withdrew the dagger and smiled, "Do you believe me now?"
His skills were indeed mysterious. The leader also looked unsettled, the sensation of a cold dagger at his neck was quite perilous.
However, this clearly proved that this man was not a traitor to the Holy Church. After all, an alchemist immersed in his laboratory day after day couldn't possibly have such skill.
"It seems you're not the one. You may go." The leader of the soldiers stepped back.
Lin Su smiled and nodded, "Thank you."
He calmly led his horse out from the encirclement of the soldiers, showing no signs of panic from start to finish.
【 The host is still stable.】 praised System 06.
"Wait." The leader shouted from behind.
Lin Su stopped and turned back with a puzzled expression, "Is there something else?"
"Here," the soldier leader tossed him a purely black medal, saying, "This represents a verified mark that will allow you to avoid further inspections in other cities."
Lin Su took it and looked at the multi-pointed star pattern on it, smiling. "Thank you."
"If you can, please hunt down more demons. I'm counting on you," the soldier leader said.
Lin Su paused for a moment with the badge in hand. "Alright."
Humans and vampires cannot truly coexist peacefully. Despite once being of the same kind, when one becomes a hunter, they are irreversibly divided.
Vampires cannot control their bloodthirsty desires; their nature often turns cruel. When they realize they can hunt humans at will, this brutality escalates. Even if some retain a shred of humanity, a state of hostility has already taken root.
Humans fear and dread vampires, seeking swift elimination. Vampires, in turn, see humans as prey, perpetuating a cycle of bloodshed.
Lin Su doesn't oppose regular feeding. In this chaotic world, some people in the lower ranks need to survive. With no other options, they may even sell their souls or blood on the black market—a rampant practice. Both vampires and blood clans depend on blood for survival, much like humans need food. They too have legitimate needs.
To achieve peace, humans would need to become powerful one day, while vampires would need to be willing to live concealed among them.
However, this is a contradiction. With the pride of vampires, why would they be willing to live among sheep? And once humans become powerful, they would not tolerate the existence of a species that threatens their safety, one that views humans solely as food.
Just like this human, he had hatred hidden in his eyes, which is why he shows unusual tolerance toward this hunter.
This is merely a minor incident. Lin Su put away the badge and continued forward. When he left the Bird Empire, he had Joe take Ian out of the country because it was no longer entirely safe there due to him.
Of course, he had also arranged a place for them to go. Money can move mountains. Apart from the Bird Empire, there are safer havens in other countries where Joe's alchemical skills can ensure their survival once settled.
The city-state is called Dura, and the final destination he set to Qiao was Baron City-State, where the second largest holy church is located. It takes passing through three city-states from here to there.
Lin Su looked at the map, analyzing the most suitable route, and set off after preparing enough dry rations.
Along the way, he specifically chose dense forests or pitch-black narrow streets, coordinated with System 06, and indeed hunted down many vampires who were slaughtering humans.
Mithril pierced through the heart or skull, leaving the bodies desiccated and hideous. Except for the ears being cut off, the rest turned into ashes under the sunlight.
At the same time, both the Holy Church and the vampire factions received news of a formidable vampire hunter emerging.
Within the Holy Church of the Roland Empire, a whole box of pale gray vampire ears was received.
This kind of thing, which disperses into ashes under sunlight, is definitely not something humans can easily imitate.
"Thirty right ears in total," the bishop counted the ears in the box, feeling his fingers trembling a bit. "He must be an exceptionally skilled vampire hunter."
The Roland Empire has long been troubled by vampires. Even though the knights can eliminate some, it comes at a very heavy cost.
Although there are some spontaneous vampire hunters, their effectiveness is not great either. A hunter who can eliminate thirty vampires at once will bring a glimmer of hope to humanity.
"Having such a vampire hunter is a blessing for humanity," said the vice bishop.
"What is his name?" asked the bishop counting the ears. "Does he not have the intention to stay and serve in the Holy Church?"
"He is called Ivan. It seems that hunting vampires is only for the bounty of the Holy Church; once he collects the bounty, he leaves," a servant said.
"That's a pity," the bishop sighed. "If he were here, the Roland City-State would certainly be safer than it is now."
"Cheer up, old friend, we have to rely on ourselves," the vice bishop patted his shoulder. "Even with one more person like him, the legend of demons won't stop. Having a period of peace is also good."
"I just wanted to know the secret of his immense power," sighed the bishop, "but I doubt he would share it."
...
Lin Su indeed left after collecting the bounty. Although common folk knew little about vampires, many nobles were aware. The bounty was funded by nobles and the Holy See, with a reward of ten gold coins per vampire, totaling three hundred gold coins for thirty vampires.
In this world, while one didn't need to be obscenely rich, money was still essential.
The weighty coins hung from the horse's back, as Lin Su lay reclined upon it, half-closing his eyes under the canopy of greenery overhead. Sunlight filtered through sporadically, inducing a drowsy sensation.
This leisurely and decadent feeling, occasionally experienced, could still relax the mind.
Just as he pondered how Selt would deal with him next, he suddenly heard a voice: "Robbery! Get down!"
The voice was deep, but sounded young.
Lin Su opened his eyes, and before he could react, he found himself already sitting up straight. Ahead of him stood a figure draped in a black cloak, wielding a dagger and demanding, "What do you have? Get off the horse!"
Half of the person's face was obscured by a black hood, revealing only excessively red lips and a pointed chin. Without looking up, the figure tightened their grip on the dagger and repeated, "I said, dismount!"
The voice had a cool, hoarse tone of a youth, yet carried an underlying sense of menace.
【 Host, this is a vampire】, System 06 reminded him.
Although the cloak concealed them well, the system detected a temperature significantly lower than that of a normal human, a fact that couldn't be mistaken.
A faint smile played on Lin Su's lips. He dismounted gracefully, his mithril dagger pointed directly at the vampire's heart. The short statured vampire panicked, swinging the dagger wildly, stumbling and falling to the ground. His exposed fingers were occasionally caught in the sunlight filtering through, prompting him to cry out in agony, clutching his knee and pleading, "Don't kill me, don't kill me! I haven't harmed anyone, I swear..."
He was trembling all over, and even his voice was shaking. The figure curled up in Lin Su's embrace was extremely thin.
Lin Su squatted in front of him. As he reached out, the vampire shrank into a ball until the large hood was lifted, and Lin Su saw the somewhat familiar face and said, "It really is you."
The vampire lifted his head, surprise filling his eyes when he saw the familiar blonde hair and blue eyes. "It's you, Mr. Lin..."
"I go by Ivan now," Lin Su interrupted, examining him. "How did you end up like this, Arnold?"
Once a candidate for the holy son, Arnold had turned into this vampire in just over a month, his body now painfully thin compared to his time in the clergy.
"Ivan, the vampire hunter!" Arnold's eyes flashed with concern. "Are you here to kill me? I haven't..."
"I know you haven't harmed anyone," Lin Su stepped back, keeping a safe distance. "Though I am a hunter, I don't kill good vampires."
Arnold relaxed slightly. "Really?"
"Really. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be wasting time here," Lin Su assured him. "You look hungry. How do you normally feed yourself?"
Arnold relaxed a bit more and said softly, "I knock out passersby, take a bit of blood, and leave. Lately, there have been very few people passing through. I'm sorry."
On his way back, he had been turned into this by a demon—a bloodsucker, as the legend said. He feared sunlight, craved blood, and felt so cold that he wasn't sure if he was still alive.
Unable to return to human cities, he could only live like this, but he still didn't want to give up on life.
"Would you be willing to come with me? I can provide you with blood," Lin Su asked gently.
In an age where transfusions could save lives, obtaining blood bags was relatively easy.
"Your blood? No, no!" Arnold shook his head repeatedly.
"Of course not. Drinking my blood would be addictive, and it belongs only to one person," Lin Su smiled.
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Thanks for the update
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