Ye Ming travelled through the city of Benguela with haste. Even enshrouded by the night, Benguela was still brightly lit due to all the lights in the city. Thanks to the relatively benevolent governance of Marquis Ollier, Benguela was more prosperous than other cities Ye Ming had seen. He could see a blood collection point at the roadside from time to time. Humans queued relaxedly with their sleeves rolled up, waiting to have their blood drawn. Nary a trace of anxiety nor fear could be seen on their face, as if it was just a very normal routine. Ye Ming could not decide if he should feel happy or sad for them.
“I should probably feel happy for them. At the very least, they’re much luckier than the captive humans.” Ye Ming shook his head to get rid of these feelings of pity and compassion. What he needed to do now was to become stronger, not to become a savior.
It suddenly rained. Braving the downpour, Ye Ming silently arrived at the Marquis’ castle. The castle walls were notably higher than the walls of the castles of the other Counts, but even that could not stop Ye Ming from using his flight skill to get inside.
Ye Ming landed lightly on the courtyard. The patrolling guards did not notice him; they merely chatted and laughed among themselves when they passed right by him. After they left, Ye Ming began his operation.
The layout of Marquis Ollier’s castle was similar to that of the Harland castle in Hardy City, in that it was also divided into an inner part and an outer part. Therefore, Ye Ming explored it the same way. He first followed slightly behind the patrolling guards to search the outer part of the ancient castle.
While the patrolling guards made lewd jokes in front, Ye Ming followed leisurely at the back to pick up treasure chests. It was a rather comfortable stroll.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a treasure chest!]
Ye Ming searched around and found the chest hidden behind a bush. When he got closer, he saw that it was a silver treasure chest. Inside it was a drop of Viscount Blood Essence. The effect of Blood Essence of this level was already very limited for the current Ye Ming. He would require a hundred drops of it to advance to the next rank. How many treasure chests would he have to find to amass that amount?
He now desperately hoped to find Count or Marquis level Blood Essences from the treasure chests. Of course, he could only hope; what he would actually get depended entirely on luck. After weighing the Viscount Blood Essence in his hand a few times, he kept it in his pocket.
He hastily caught back up with the patrol squad and continued his search on the outer castle. While passing by a large fountain, Ye Ming once again heard the sound of system notification.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a treasure chest!]
Ye Ming instantly saw the treasure chest hidden in the fountain. He glanced at the patrol squad ahead. Only after waiting for them to move far away did he dare step into the fountain to pick up the treasure chest. The {Stealth} skill was not powerful enough to stiffle sound, so the noise he made was still quite loud. He must wait for the patrol squad to move far enough to not hear the splash.
Having moved out of the fountain, Ye Ming could barely wait to open the treasure chest. It was yet another silver treasure chest, and it gave him yet another drop of Viscount Blood Essence. Ye Ming instantly put it away and hurried forward. When he finally caught up with the patrol squad again, he overheard one of the Vampires say, “Have you all heard? Something terrible happened in Marquis Andrew Brujah’s territory. His men were murdered one after another. Marquis Andrew is now offering a reward of 500 gold coins for catching the murderer.”
“Yup, I’ve heard. The murderer is apparently powerful enough to kill two Barons under Marquis Andrew. They say he fled to the north. Do you think he might have come here to Benguela?”
“Meh, the chances are slim. This city is also a territory of the Brujah clan. He can’t be that stupid. If it were me, I wouldn’t be wandering in a territory govered by the same clan. It’s much safer to go somewhere else.”
“Well said, captain. I think so too,” a patrol squad member shrewdly sucked up to his captain.
Another member of the squad said, “Yup, that’s right. The captain makes a good point. If it were me, I wouldn’t stay in Brujah territory either.”
‘You stupid bunch of a$$-kissers. Not only am I in Brujah territory, I’m right behind you. What can you do about it?’ Ye Ming could not help lambasting them as he trailed them from behind.
When he noticed that the squad was about to finish patrolling, Ye Ming quietly left and found another patrol squad to follow behind, starting a new patrolling route.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a treasure chest!]
Shortly after changing routes, Ye Ming received another system notification and found a treasure chest under an oak tree. It was also a silver treasure chest, and it also contained a drop of Viscount Blood Essence.
Ye Ming had grown tired of finding Viscount Blood Essences by now, so he no longer felt any excitement. He put it away and kept searching.
Not long after, he switched to yet another patrol squad and began treasure hunting on a new route. Unlike the first two patrol squad, the members of this squad were highly disciplined; they did not engage in any idle chatter while on patrol duty. Ye Ming followed after them as they climbed up the castle wall. From atop the wall, he was finaly able to survey the inner castle.
The inner castle was obviously much taller than the outer castle. It was brightly lit, and he could vaguely hear singing voices coming from inside. After taking note of the general direction, he followed after the patrol squad again.
This time, the last guard on the squad formation seemed to have noticed something. He abruptly turned his head around. Ye Ming hastily stopped and watched him carefully. When the guard saw that there was nothing behind him, he frowned in confusion. In the end, he could only turn back around and continue his patrol duty.
Ye Ming breathed a sigh of relief. This time, he made sure to move even more carefully and did not dare to take the operation lightly anymore.
Every ten minutes, Ye Ming would go somewhere he could not be seen, wait for a while, and reactivate {Stealth}.
*Ding* [Congratulations, you have discovered a treasure chest!]
Upon receiving the notification, Ye Ming instantly looked around. He ended up finding a silver treasure chest in a notch on the castle wall. As before, he acquired another drop of Viscount Blood Essence.
After making sure that he had searched almost the entire outer castle, Ye Ming detached himself from his current patrol squad and headed towards the inner castle.
Upon entering the inner castle, Ye Ming found that the Vampires inside were unusually busy. Numerous maids could be seen shuttling back and forth between the kitchen and the great hall, bringing all kinds of delicacies to the table.
Ye Ming boldly walked to the great hall. Through the door, Ye Ming caught sight of an old, balding Vampire dining in the hall. Despite his age, his movements were truly elegant; the way he moved his knife and fork made him seem like he was completing a work of art rather than dining.
Suddenly, the man’s movement stopped. He looked up at the great hall’s entrance, and a slight frown appeared on his face. The place he was staring at was exactly where Ye Ming was standing at.
‘He spotted me? No way!’
While Ye Ming was watching him anxiously, the old Vampire suddenly threw the dining knife in his hand. The dining knife flew straight at Ye Ming’s face with chilly intent.
Ye Ming was shocked. He knew the old Vampire was not doing this randomly; he really had detected Ye Ming’s presence. Ye Ming quickly dodged to the side. At the same time, his figure emerged from thin air; the {Stealth} effect would automatically disappear when he was attacked.
Ye Ming knew he had gotten into trouble. He instantly tried to run back out.
He fled with everything he had, knocking a Vampire maid down along the way. Meanwhile, Marquis Ollier simply wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and said, “Tell the guards to catch that man by any means.”