Lucius's presence was a huge variable. It was because of his presence that the townspeople were agitated.
No one would be willing to accept a wanted murderer into their town. For the safety of their families, they would come forward regardless of how timid they were.
"Catch him!" Lucius shouted to the crowd. "In the name of the mayor, I order you to arrest this murderer! I promise that his bounty will be used to rebuild this town and to help the widowed and orphans!"
The impact of this promise was terrific! Upon hearing this, a few men immediately charged at Van Helsing and attempted to catch him.
How could Van Helsing give in without a fight? He was an arrogant person from the start. Even when he was wanted for murder by ignorant people, he never bothered to explain anything. It was also not the first time he found himself in such a predicament either. He immediately drew the pistol kept behind his back and fired two shots into the sky!
The sound of the gunfire deterred the townspeople. They were only holding only axes, sickles, and manure forks, and they understood the might of guns, so of course they did not dare to rush forward.
In the past, Van Helsing had used this method to solve being surrounded and thought it would be no different this time. However, he did not expect that there would be a mishap this time. The mayor, Lucius, also drew a gun and pointed it at Van Helsing!
"I'll shoot if you dare resist!" Lucius said eerily.
Van Helsing was in a difficult position now. Would he really have to have a gunfight with these people to fight his way out? If so, then he would truly be a murderer!
He came here commissioned by the Knights of the Holy Order of the church to destroy the vampire Dracula. How would he finish his job if he were to be hunted by the entire town?
Van Helsing could not count on the monk Carl. Facing this scene, he had already long curled up in fear. Van Helsing hesitated for a moment before complying. He put down his gun and raised both hands in surrender, leaving himself at the mercy of the large men to twist his hands behind him and press him onto the ground.
"Tie him up!" Lucius felt immensely proud today as he ordered in great delight.
However, at this moment, the silent Anna suddenly said, "Wait, you can't arrest him!"
Van Helsing was slightly astonished as he turned his head and looked at this lady, not knowing why she would speak out to help him.
Lucius's face darkened. "Why?"
Anna replied, "If he is really like what you said, and if his name is Van Helsing, then he shouldn't just be a wanted criminal but also a very famous monster hunter! I know the name. It is said that he killed a vampire a hundred years ago!"
There was a commotion among the townspeople, monster hunter? Vampire hunter?
Lucius could not care less, but he remembered what Roy told him. "Miss Anna, how are you going to guarantee for him?"
Without waiting for her response, he continued, "Miss Anna, I hate to mention it, but I still want to remind you. I admire the oath your family made to the Lord and your family's efforts to kill Dracula over the centuries. However, have you ever thought that it is the incapability of your family that has resulted in Dracula still being alive today, leading to Transylvania suffering from the vampires for hundreds of years. Every household in this town has lost relatives to the vampires. And this is all the unshrinkable responsibility of your family."
Language was an art, and what Lucius said about the current situation was indeed the case. As descendants of the Villelis family, Anna and her brother, Viken, had always enjoyed special treatment in town. This was the result of the people admiring their family's efforts in eliminating the vampires, but the root of this disaster also stemmed from their family.
When Lucius stated these facts according to Roy's instructions, the people present looked at Anna, and their eyes flashed.
Lucius's words evoked painful memories of losing their loved ones, but many people had no way to vent their frustrations…
"Bah!" One of the women in the crowd suddenly spat on the ground.
This spit, like a ripple effect, caused others to start pointing at Anna.
"Baron Lucius is right. The nightmare of the vampires all stems from their family!"
"I don't understand it. Why can the souls of their family enter Heaven after they kill the vampires?!"
"That's right. What about those of us who have been harmed by the vampires? For those killed by the vampires, their souls will go to hell…"
"This is unfair! We aren't any worse than them when it comes to faith!"
"Why is God giving their family a privilege?"
The whispers gradually turned into finger-pointing. Seeing the loathing in those eyes, Anna could not understand how a simple sentence caused the situation to become like this???
Van Helsing listened and also felt that this was becoming very problematic.
He actually understood why. Before sending him, the church had told him that the Villelis family had helped defend its left wing in Eastern Europe, allowing the church to secure victory in the war of faith, so it had to ensure the Villelis family did not fall.
In other words, it was because the Villelis family was valuable…
Did that mean that the ordinary people who had no merit deserved all of this?
Van Helsing did not know the answer to this question. Some unspoken rules were unspoken for a reason…
"Therefore, Miss Anna!" Lucius sneered while holding the gun. "If I were you, I would place more thought into how to eliminate Dracula and not interfere in the laws of the town!"
"Tie him up and bring him away!" Lucius directed the townspeople to move with a wave of his hand.
Van Helsing could not resist and could only let the crowd push him away. Hundreds of the Transylvania townspeople escorted Van Helsing and Carl toward the wilderness outside town. There were no prisons in town, so they usually tied up prisoners and left them in the wild.
While being taken away, Van Helsing repeatedly turned around to look at Anna. Now that he knew her identity, he was thinking about how to escape and then look for Anna, a descendant of the Villelis family.
Looking at Van Helsing's departing figure, Anna knew that her family had lost their foundation in this town from now on…
Just as Anna was out of sorts, she suddenly heard a voice behind her.
"Hehehe. Dear Anna, you have now become a pitiful little thing!"
Anna's heart skipped a beat, and she drew her dagger from her waist as she turned. However, her hands were immediately restrained. One of Dracula's brides in her human form was standing behind her.
Clamping down on Anna's hand holding the knife, this vampire bride looked smug. She had been hiding among the crowd and witnessed the whole process, so she was feeling ecstatic.
"So, how does it feel to lose all support?" The bride smiled while speaking. "For the past hundreds of years, your family has lived as heroes in this town. But now, you've turned into the culprit. This drama is just so entertaining!"
"What do you want?" Anna asked angrily as she tried to break free.
"I came here to tell you an important piece of news!" the bride said. "Your brother isn't dead yet!"
"Wh-what?" Anna could not help but widen her eyes.
"You didn't hear me wrong. He isn't dead!" The bride let go of her hand and walked around her. As she walked, she sniffed Anna's blood greedily. "But his situation isn't very good. He was bitten by a werewolf!"
Anna almost lost it when she heard this, but before she could move, the bride hugged her from behind and laughed beside her ear. "But fret not. As long as the werewolf venom is neutralized before the first full moon, he won't turn into a heartless monster. And this antidote, Master Dracula happens to have exactly just one. If you want it, come to the castle and make a deal with Master!"
Without waiting for Anna's response, the bride let go of her, turned into a vampire, and flew into the sky. The people witnessing this were terrified as they scrambled in panic.
"Deal?" Anna bit her lips, struggling in her heart…