Chapter 43 - 43 Plans

"The Chaos gods won't care for the world as they wish to ruin it, but our conflicts and petty wars are giving them more chances in defiling the minds of weaker men. I am not an enemy of Neferata, as I can see she wanted to turn the lands of men against each other to put the eyes of various powers away from you and your sisters. I cannot say much for now but all I can say is that her goal will be futile.

Nagash will revive and will always become a hindrance to her goals, and the reason I am showing this is that I have knowledge she does not know off(Lore knowledge actually). I have access to knowledge that would revolutionize how people should see the whole world but your mistress has something that I do not have." Mark smiled as he saw the surprised face of Melissa.

"What does the Queen have that you want?" Melissa was confused as she can see how much power this man in front of her has. She is more confused as to why he does not have any ambition to conquer the world with such strength. Mark saw her confusion and could vaguely tell what she is thinking.

"You think it is a pity that I do not yearn for global domination or something similar to that aren't you? What use would it be for me to govern such a chaotic world? I'd rather keep silent in a corner than have to take care of mortal troubles that has no use for me, but the world is going to end so I have no choice but to step out." Mark said as he wanted to come out as a mysterious being that didn't want to do anything to worldly affairs but situation calls for action.

Melissa was silent as she had felt she was an open book, she was not sure but she is always flustered in facing Mark as she felt she could not hide. Mark might be young but he has practiced to hypnotize people and to do so he must have great talent in reading people. Having to live in a family of a crime syndicate gave him more chances to get a read on various peoples in all walks of life.

Experienced these vampires were but they could hold no candle against the scheming environment of the modern day underground families. Maybe Mark should dip his feet in the crime groups in Gotham in the future but that would have him placed in the radars of the Batman which he does not want. But one thing Mark could admit is that he is still not knowledgeable in the ways of the people here.

"But I am more curious to what the Count of Pinot would feel that his wife is now currently here in my small town without his knowledge. Yet from what I see you think badly of the count which means that the heir is not yours and you have used deception making him think you gave birth to the young lad, not that you could take even birth anyways. He's 10 years old now I think, but never mind that as you would have to disappear anyways once you work for me." Mark did not mention what he needed from Neferata as to not lose some advantage he has in negotiations to come. But before he let Melissa go to send a message he must ensure he has a way to monitor her actions.

"I have shown you enough so for now you are to teach these beastmen how to read and write. Tell them it is my will and they will follow, never mention to them anything about the ruinous ones and make sure that they are literate enough in six months. And I'm sure you might have noticed but the light inside the backyard is artificial so it would not affect you as a vampire at all." Mark could see the shock Melissa has in her eyes when he said the last part.

Vampires had lived their life in darkness thus was fearful of the light, but like every human they also had the instinct and yearning for the warmth of the sun like every living thing. Yet they are harmed by it and might be the reason for some to develop a hateful nature towards the living. People will always be jealous of things that others have which they have not.

"Also, you are not to enter this room without my permission or you'll suffer the consequences." Mark left the room after saying that. Melissa was reluctant as she looked curiously towards the large table carved with various details. But she shook her head and walked towards the village of the beastmen, earlier she had walked in the shade to avoid the light due to instinct but hearing those words from Mark made her curious.

As she walked at the edge of the shade under the trees she felt trepidation as she felt that she might get hurt but her instincts tell her there was no danger. She first took out the gloves that she wore on her left hand and slowly reach out at the edge of the shadows. Soon she could see her hands being illuminated by the light but it did not become burned nor smoke come out.

Her cold heart felt like it had been bathed by warm blood as she stared at her still okay arms, she felt dazed as she slowly walked towards the light feeling trepidation as well as anticipation. She now stood under the open area feeling overwhelmed at how free she felt right now. Mark discovered this as he took blood samples from Melissa unknowingly walked out an open area which made him realize he carried vampire blood but it was still in the same condition.

Thus he surmised that maybe the light provided inside the backyard is all artificial. It now resulted in Melissa feeling an emotion she thought she had lost since she was transformed into a vampire, freedom. Unknowingly she stood there with tears in her eyes feeling overwhelmed of this new feeling. Sure she might have changed masters for her survival but now her hidden dissatisfaction is slowly being corroded away as she stared at the air feeling warmth that did not hurt her.

[In the Shop]

Since the dwarves are still knocked out from all that drinking, Mark went to change the arrangements in the shop. Thankfully it was a magical shop tied to the system so he did not need to do some heavy lifting, just plain old imagination. He felt bored waiting for the results of the letter he sent to the Elector Count of Marienberg as well as the decision made by the Duke knowing that the nobles under his banner are scheming against him.

Mark sat down and felt he had not gotten a moments rest since those annoying bunch came to his place. He would like to get rid of that third son already but he knew that it would be hard to travel in this winter time. That's why he only sent pairs of prisoners out to send the message to the Baron of Westerland. But he was not sure of how the Duke would act now that he has knowledge of the betrayal of his subjects.

Mark assessed the options he could do now and thought of his initial plan of taking the compound V along with the Enhancement serum. He had wished that the two serums would raise their effects exponentially but it would result into a random result. But with the omnitrix he would now not worry of his current safety in gaining strength early on. He could even find time in studying the compound V now that he has a Techadon alien to transform to.

Mark knew having a larger dose of concentrated compound V would result into getting a stronger power like Queen Maeve and Home Lander. Even Soldier Boy was given concentrated Compound V which made him the strongest man in his Era. But Vought could not make so much concentrated compound V due to how much money it burns. Thus the other Super heroes were only given diluted versions of it, Mark remembered that Vought was even able to determine what power an individual could get in their future versions of Compound V.

That was a super soldier serum made by a human genius, so what about an alien genius who treat human tech like playthings. Mark's only problem is how much gold he would have to consume to be able to build the facilities needed to make the compound V. Thus earning a higher noble title and a larger fief would be needed. He could make do with the fact that he is now equivalent to the highest potential a human could reach which made his life a little bit easier here. Mark smiled as his thought of gaining anything from the plans he had made could earn him a good clear reward.

[Mission]

[Host must gain profits from the new prisoners, system would calculate the results based on how much the host would gain. Rewards may vary depending on the amount of profit made by host in various aspects.]

[Time Limit: 2 weeks]

[Rewards: Depends on how much host gained but would focus mostly on manuals and guides for cultivation]

Mark was still unsure on how he would be evaluated by the system as the mission is too vague to understand. But he did see that it focused on the prisoners side which meant to gain from the Baron of Westerland. That was why he sent a letter to him written by Mark personally proposing a deal that would benefit both him and the Baron. But to do that he must put himself in a position where he would not be underestimated by the other party.

Thus the show of force by imprisoning his son and defeating the other group that arrived unarmed which would make the Baron pay attention. One advantage of humans from other races is the fact that humans reproduce faster and are very numerous. But they are weaker physically, so how would the Baron react hearing his best soldiers who had experience in wars get played like children by a single person.

He would get greedy, greedy to know how Mark did it, greedy to have what Mark has so he will not opt for a violent reaction. Sending that letter was a way to calm him down as Mark knew his feats would have been heard by many nobles already. Mark was even sure Neferata would get this information already seeing the Vampire she sent was not able to return to her post.

Mark aimed to get as much he could get and he wanted the people that needed to know that he is not an easy bone to pick. In this world strength is a language that everybody understand very well, and Mark plans to show more of that to make scheming people fear of ever messing with him. And that chance has now come, he could see from his shared sight and hearing from the golem that Hans has brought news.