Charlotte's marksmanship was nothing special. After firing one shot, he found no further opportunity to shoot a second armor-piercing explosive round.
He initially planned to wait patiently, but then the diary in his pocket trembled slightly, and an idea entered his mind.
"You may issue the following task to NPC Lord Leo: Kill Harriet Alva."
"Reward: He will gain more control over the labyrinth."
"NPC Lord Leo may issue the following task: Help him escape the labyrinth."
"Reward: Teach him the Bloodline True Word technique."
"You may issue the following task to NPC Harriet Alva: Kill Lord Leo."
"Reward: He will gain more control over the labyrinth."
"NPC Harriet Alva may issue the following task: Assist him in killing Charlotte Mecklenburg."
"Reward: Some trivial friendships."
Charlotte took a moment to carefully ponder this, finally understanding the unique characteristics of labyrinth NPCs.
As the master of the Machubi labyrinth, he could assign tasks to NPCs, and anyone who entered the labyrinth could accept tasks from them and receive rewards.
The game-like nature of the Machubi labyrinth wasn't due to the influence of the labyrinth's evil god Agmirlas, nor was it the fault of the labyrinth itself, but rather the influence of Charlotte as its master.
After the labyrinth was formed, it reflected the master's thoughts, shaping its unique style and characteristics.
If the real Charlotte Mecklenburg had been the master, the Machubi labyrinth would have likely taken on an ancient atmosphere, matching the cultural vibe of the Old Continent. But the current Charlotte, whose soul belonged to Huang Haisheng from Earth, found that the world structure most closely resembling a labyrinth in his memory was that of detailed and rich video games.
Thus, after the Machubi labyrinth was formed, it underwent a crude gamification process based on Charlotte's memories, introducing incongruous elements like NPCs and even absurd logic such as "NPC Harriet Alva may issue the following task: Assist him in killing Charlotte Mecklenburg. Reward: Some trivial friendships." However, since the labyrinth was ultimately shaped by the power of an evil god, it wasn't truly a game, and Charlotte couldn't fully control it yet—he would have to explore it gradually.
Charlotte had no intention of assigning tasks to the two NPCs that would give them more control over the labyrinth, as that would be akin to "handing someone a blade to hold against you." He certainly wouldn't assist Harriet in killing himself, which would be utterly foolish. The only reasonable course of action was to help Lord Leo escape the labyrinth.
Each of the thirty-seven vampire clans had its unique secret techniques, all derived from a fundamental secret technique. For example, the Asilo clan's fundamental secret technique was the Angel's Thrust, and the Adonis clan's fundamental technique was Bloodflame.
The Arthur family's fundamental technique was the Bloodline True Word.
As one of the three royal families, the Arthur family was known as the foremost wizard clan among vampires. The Bloodline True Word technique was vast and profound, and with this secret technique, the Arthur family had produced many saints over the generations.
Of the thirteen extraordinary techniques created by Protagoras, none included the Bloodline True Word, and Charlotte was quite eager to learn this secret technique.
By this time, Lord Leo and Harriet were locked in fierce combat.
Neither of them knew why they were fighting, but both agreed that killing the other was the only logical course of action.
After all, they belonged to different countries, Fals and Byron, and were a human and a vampire—there were countless reasons for them to fight to the death.
Harriet was constantly on guard against Charlotte's ambush. Every slash he made left him three-quarters of his strength in reserve, causing him to gradually fall behind. He knew that if the fight continued like this, he would surely lose. He needed to find and kill the hidden Charlotte before he could focus entirely on Lord Leo. With a low roar, he activated another knight's certification—the Certification of Glory!
Beyond the blood-colored battle flag, a vague figure emerged behind Harriet—the embodiment of Sarlosus Robin, the god of war and a founding duke of the Fals Empire, who had helped King Axel ascend from a commoner to the throne with his loyalty and bravery.
This ancestor of the Robin family also symbolized the honor of warriors!
With two knight's certifications in play, the blood-colored battle flag behind Harriet unfurled, sending out a ripple that spread outwards. His sword strikes grew even fiercer.
After sending out three successive blood-colored ripples without finding Charlotte's whereabouts, Harriet began to feel a slight panic.
Lord Leo had been fighting for a long time and had roughly gauged Harriet's strength. Although Bright Qi was a very popular extraordinary path in the Old Continent, and was not well-received in the Byron Empire due to its antagonism with vampire powers, he was still not completely ignorant of it.
As Harriet grew anxious, he inevitably showed a slight opening. With a loud shout, Lord Leo's sword transformed into a knight's lance, and two shadows leapt out from his body's shadow—his two servants, who were also trapped in the labyrinth with him.
The lance of the Arslan family was a renowned weapon of the Arthur clan, with its full power only unleashed in knight's lance form. With the knight's lance in hand, Lord Leo's blood energy surged, elevating his power by another level. The lance became a storm of light, blocking every one of Harriet's counterattacks.
Harriet had not expected this vampire lord to possess such a trump card. Having never faced high-ranking vampires on the battlefield, he had no experience dealing with them. Though he fought back with all his might, he could no longer defend against the sneak attacks from Lord Leo's two servants.
With two flashes of light, deep wounds were carved into his back and side.
Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Harriet took a brutal hit from Lord Leo's knight's lance, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fled toward the exit of the Machubi fortress.
But Lord Leo would not allow his prey to escape.
With a sharp command, he quickened his pace in pursuit, flanked by his two servants, who followed like shadows.
After a half-hour of desperate running, Harriet finally realized that he couldn't find the way out.
Panic gripped his heart as he tried to rely on his military experience to find an exit, but how could he have known that Charlotte was shifting the labyrinth and changing the paths?
Lord Leo had been in the labyrinth for a long, long time and knew that there was no escape from this cursed fortress. He was in no hurry, calmly following Harriet while drawing a long-range spatial rifle from his collar.
He had told Charlotte that he had brought two long-range spatial rifles, and he wasn't lying.
Lord Leo's marksmanship was far superior to Charlotte's. Even while running at full speed, he fired a steady shot.
Harriet's battlefield-honed instincts prompted him to roll aside, taking cover behind a building just in time to avoid the shot.
Charlotte also drew a Silver Rhino. The long-range spatial rifle was powerful, but the Silver Rhino was much more flexible and convenient to use. Charlotte had taken a liking to this extraordinary short gun, though it was a shame that one had to be returned and the other couldn't be seen by anyone.