Night Elf Baron Noken, one of the three owners of the Central Gladiator Arena, had a notable reputation in the Capital of Blood, but in Gu Nan's eyes, he was just a key used to trigger the mission.
The quest chain at the Central Gladiator Arena was quite simple.
There were two forces that both wanted to kill this Noken. One of them chose to do it themselves, while the other side arranged for two vampire assassins to go undercover.
These two vampire assassins were the same two currently standing in the arena.
In fact, these two were a vampire couple, but they weren't from the Capital of Blood, much less the Raymond clan, which was why they fell to such dire straits and were coerced to come here as gladiators in order to find an opportunity to assassinate their target.
Originally, in this mission, the player would get a clue like "the two rare vampire gladiators seem to be related to this matter," then uncover the identity of the assassination target from the two vampires.
The next step was simple: send Noken to the vampire couple so that they could kill him before the other faction assassinated Noken.
The reward was a promise from the two vampires to do one thing for the player, as long as it was within their power.
This "within their power" really did mean anything within their power and weren't just fanciful words protagonists threw out.
As long as they could do it, they wouldn't hesitate at all. The player could even have the female vampire sleep with them, or they could order the two vampires to kill each other—they would still immediately attack each other.
Of course, the two would stop before the final blow because neither could bear to kill the other, and the promise would become void.
However, the correct use of this reward was to have the two vampires each contribute a part of their origin blood.
They were from a special clan. When their origin blood was mixed together, it could turn a normal vampire into an extraordinarily talented first-generation Vampire Ancestor, which was a benefit designed for vampire players.
And this was exactly what Gu Nan wanted.
Since Zhong Die intended to accept the siring and become a vampire, Gu Nan didn't mind helping her out again.
Of course, his help wasn't without purpose. If Zhong Die could fill the role of a "player" and participate in the storyline events, then she'd have a higher chance of eventually taking control of the Raymond clan than Shana.
Ever since he discovered that forces from the Myriad Heavens Universe would also affect the World of Gods, Gu Nan no longer completely trusted his own memories and must prepare some more backup plans.
On the other hand, something very interesting will happen at the end to players taking the vampire route…
Endless thoughts swirled through Gu Nan's mind, while the present situation was in the midst of a sudden change.
Unfortunately for little Zhong Die, she wouldn't be able to see two vampires fight to the death anymore, because the pair that was still distressed seconds ago suddenly saw a present fall from the sky as Noken appeared directly in front of them. How could they still hold back when the target was right before their eyes?
The two figures simultaneously pounced on Noken. Their hands turned into crimson light that directly shot into Noken's chest with astonishing power.
All this happened so fast that Noken himself still had a stunned look on his face, as if he couldn't believe that he'd die like this.
In the audience seats below the arena, a black-robed man let out a low roar of anger and slapped the wall of the arena with his palm, almost slapping a hole in the wall.
He had come under the order of "change of plan, assassinate the target," but Noken had already died in front of him before the new plan could even be carried out!
His eyes shifted to the arena, glaring fixedly at Lu Xinhuan's back.
"Qing! He! Pavilion!" The black-robed man hatefully repeated this name that had a somewhat odd pronunciation. They wouldn't have needed to change their plans if not for the sudden appearance of this Legend Rank powerhouse.
With Noken dead, the two vampires didn't hesitate anymore and immediately spread open wings of blood, flying into the sky.
"Follow me," Gu Nan's voice sounded in Zhong Die's ears.
...
After night fell, two figures traversed through the forest. Their footsteps were a bit hurried, one might even say disorderly, but they also contained some inexplicable lightheartedness.
"We're free, Natasha! We're free at last!" The man's voice echoed through the forest, startling a few birds in the curtain of night.
"Yes, we… are free." Natasha's voice was just a little more mellow, but all the same, the excitement in it couldn't be hidden, "After we leave—"
"I'm very sorry, both of you," a voice came from the small wooden cabin in front of them, causing the two to look up in shock.
The two of them personally built this cabin when they first came to the Capital of Blood. Not even the people who coerced them knew about it, so how could someone be lurking here?
Gu Nan's figure slowly appeared, followed by the curious Zhong Die and the silent Lu Xinhuan.
"The two of you might not have gained your freedom yet." Gu Nan stared at them with a calm gaze and said indifferently, "I was the one who delivered Noken to you. According to your clan's precepts, you guys must pay the corresponding price."
The vampire clans' precepts were very strict rules imprinted in their bloodlines. The price for breaking it was unimaginable.
A skeptical player with a vampire character once tried… and then he deleted his account.
Natasha's beautiful face had already lost all color, while the male vampire could only grit his teeth and say, "Don't even think about using this to threaten us. Even if the clan precepts exist, we only need to—"
"Shut up, I want both of your origin blood," Gu Nan rudely interrupted.
The vampire couple's faces stiffened slightly as they involuntarily exchanged a glance. The price of their origin blood wasn't completely unacceptable. It was also extremely precious, but compared to their freedom…
"Alright." Natasha was the first to nod.
...
A few moments later, the two vampires had left, while Gu Nan had an additional bottle of pale golden liquid in his hand.
"Is this bottle of blood useful?" Zhong Die stared at the medicine bottle Gu Nan shook around and revealed a "simple and honest" smile. "Why don't you let me drink it? I'm so thirsty…"
Gu Nan's face had a mysterious smile. "If you can successfully accept the siring, I will give it to you as a present."
"Deal!" Zhong Die hurriedly agreed. The purpose of her trip was precisely to enter the Ceremony of Blood and receive the siring, so this was practically a gift with no strings attached!
"Absolutely not!" Lu Xinhuan, however, shouted from behind the two.
Gu Nan slowly turned his head and studied at her with an interested gaze, but he also had no intention of attacking.
His gaze caused a slight chill in Lu Xinhuan's heart, but she still insisted, "Zhong Die, you're the daughter of a respected Star Ruler. How can you just turn into a vampire?!"
She originally thought Zhong Die was just curious and wanted to come here to see what vampires looked like and witness the Ceremony of Blood in passing… but who would've thought that her true goal was to turn herself into a vampire all along!
"What's wrong being a vampire?" Zhong Die argued.
Lu Xinhuan's expression darkened. After a while, she finally replied, "Nonhuman races will not have humanity's best interests at heart! Lord Gu Nan, you are also a human…"
"I'm not though?" Gu Nan's expression said don't look at me, this has nothing to do with me.