Lord Leo opened his eyes, and his two servants silently took out a water bottle, placed three pieces of blood bait into the clear water, shook it vigorously to mix it, and poured the mixture into a tin cup, which they handed to their master.
Lord Leo drank a cup of blood water, feeling slightly more energized. He then softly chanted a brief incantation, from which more than ten small bats, each the size of a palm, flew out of his body and soared into the sky.
For the past few days, he had been casting this spell daily to scout distant areas!
The thirty-seven vampire clans each have their unique secret techniques. The Arthur clan, as one of the three royal families, has blood magic as its foundational secret technique. The Arthur clan excels in magic, and this bat spell can be used to attack enemies, transform into countless bats to escape, but primarily it serves for reconnaissance.
Lord Leo did not fully trust Charlotte.
The dozen or so bats flew out for two to three hours, but only two returned, merging back into Lord Leo's body. This caused the vampire lord to suddenly feel a surge of energy as he quietly remarked, "Ferdinand is indeed going to pass by nearby."
"Qian Nan wasn't lying; he can be trusted."
Charlotte's statement that Archduke Ferdinand would pass through Machu Picchu was not just a random guess.
While organizing documents for Senior Sister Menilman, Charlotte had come across a file about a recently imprisoned South Seraphine nationalist who had been captured for plotting a rebellion. The document mentioned the route Archduke Ferdinand would take to reach Strasbourg.
Charlotte was about to head to Machu Picchu, so he mentioned that Ferdinand would pass by, which unexpectedly earned him more trust from Lord Leo.
When Lord Leo sent out his blood bats to scout the area, Charlotte wisely didn't intrude and continued studying the blood scroll.
Upon seeing the return of the blood bats, Charlotte quickly put away the blood scroll, respectfully walked over, and asked, "Do you need me to send someone to scout?"
Lord Leo shook his head and replied, "The South Seraphine nationalists are already in position. Sending your men could alert the enemy."
"We can handle it ourselves."
Charlotte initially felt relieved upon hearing that no one needed to be sent, but was then surprised when Lord Leo said he would go along, asking in surprise, "Me?"
Lord Leo smiled slightly and said, "The South Seraphine nationalists aren't that powerful, and their assassination attempt might not succeed. Our task is to make sure with a final shot if needed."
"How's your marksmanship?"
Charlotte hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's decent. I can shoot out a candle at twenty paces."
Lord Leo reached into his collar and pulled out a massive firearm.
It was over 1.5 pi meters long, roughly 1.8 meters in Earth's metric system. The barrel was slightly thinner than an arm, but the gun was so thick and intimidating that over 90% of its parts glinted with metallic sheen, exuding a sense of ruggedness, sturdiness, and weight. It was not only capable of firing but would also make a formidable melee weapon.
The Old World hadn't developed sniper rifles as a category yet, but rifles existed.
The design style of this rifle was completely different from those of the vampires, clearly the work of the high-end alchemy workshops of the Faris Empire, and it was a special model.
Lord Leo chuckled and said, "Consider yourself lucky! This is one of the signature products of the Faris' six major alchemy workshops, the Firewell Workshop's Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle!"
"Space equipment stores, Anti-Space conceals; you can hide it in any everyday item, making it very convenient to carry."
"This gun comes with a spatial magazine. When you retrieve it from its concealed item, its anti-space function converts into a spatial magazine, but space can't be compatible, so when hidden in other objects, the spatial magazine converts back to anti-space and ejects the ammo. So, you still need to carry the bullets with you."
"In addition, it can also convert battle energy, blood energy, magic power, and other energies into bullets, but low-level superhumans can't fire many shots, so it's mainly for emergencies."
"Its effective range is 3,700 pi meters!"
"Of course, unless you're a superhuman marksman, no one can shoot accurately at that distance."
"I brought two of these Anti-Space Long-Range Rifles this time, and this one is yours."
"When the time comes, you can try firing a few shots. After all, there aren't many opportunities to openly fire at an archduke, even killing someone wouldn't land you on the gallows, given that the South Seraphine nationalists will take the blame."
Charlotte swallowed nervously. At first, he thought Lord Leo had space equipment on him because how else could such a long rifle be hidden in such a simple garment?
But when he heard the term "anti-space," he was even more surprised. Anti-space superhuman items were unique to this world.
A magic item with anti-space properties can be concealed in any place, effectively turning an ordinary item into a temporary specialized storage space.
This feature was astounding and highly creative.
Magic equipment in the Old World wasn't just limited to cold weapons; however, hot weapons were rarer and more expensive.
This Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle was a magic item, and combined with its anti-space properties, its value would certainly be no less than the Sanlun Long Spear that Louis Smee possessed!
From what Lord Leo said, this long-range rifle was not going to be taken back!
What a windfall!
But Charlotte, being a transmigrator, quickly cleared his mind, thinking, "If the weapon used to kill Archduke Ferdinand is an Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle, then whoever possesses such a weapon will be suspected as the murderer!"
"This is setting me up to take the fall!"
"Vampires, truly no good ones among them!"
"Bah! They're not even human."
Charlotte pretended not to realize the implications, beaming with delight as he accepted the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle. He then lightly tapped it against his ever-present alchemical staff, and true to its name, the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle melded seamlessly into the alchemical staff, making it only slightly heavier.
Lord Leo then handed over a pouch of bullets, saying, "These are specially made anti-magic armor-piercing rounds; one shot can kill a Titan Ogre. Although Ferdinand is a high-level superhuman, he won't survive a single shot."
Charlotte took the bullet pouch, opened it, and saw that the anti-magic armor-piercing rounds were seven to eight times larger than regular bullets. The pouch contained only twenty rounds, but it was very heavy and not practical to carry around.
He waved over an adventurer and said, "I remember you have an empty backpack?"
The adventurer handed over a leather shoulder bag, removed the miscellaneous items inside, and said, "I got a new backpack and couldn't bring myself to throw this one away. Though it's a bit old, it's still sturdy."
Charlotte packed the bullet pouch into the bag and said, "My lord! Let's set off."
Lord Leo smiled slightly and walked out of the Machu Picchu stronghold, as if someone were guiding him, picking up speed until he was sprinting.
4o