Charlotte activated his insight ability and locked onto Harriet, who was hiding behind a building, just as he was about to pull the trigger. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he hesitated slightly.
The last time he used the spatial rifle, he had blown apart an assassin, destroying half of their body, leaving no chance to absorb their life force.
"Harriet is a high-level transcendent. If I can consume his essence blood, there's even a possibility I could directly break through to the mid-level!"
"I still have the threat of the evil god looming over me, and in three months, the Beastman Assassin Alliance will send another killer. I must seize every opportunity to improve."
Charlotte hesitated briefly and decided to take a risk.
Machubi was his labyrinth; this was his territory, and there wouldn't be a better opportunity than this.
Lord Leo, without any hesitation, fired more than ten shots, forcing Harriet to scurry around like a cornered rat.
Charlotte, holding the Blood Rose, chose a spot by a wall, focused his mind to manipulate the labyrinth, and then, with all his strength, struck out with a sword.
Harriet, just as he dodged one of Lord Leo's shots with a leap and a few rolls, found himself taking cover behind a wall corner. Suddenly, a sword seemed to have anticipated his movement and pierced directly at his heart.
Charlotte had struck first, then activated the labyrinth.
Harriet was utterly shocked. Despite gathering all his strength to activate his protective aura, the sword still effortlessly pierced through his radiant aura and struck him in the chest.
Charlotte had forgone his speed rune and instead activated the Angel's Thorn rune, channeling the Blood Glory into his four blood vortexes. This increased the power of Angel's Thorn by 40%. The Blood Rose, being a rare extraordinary weapon, combined with these factors, made the strike successful.
Harriet kicked out in a desperate attempt, but Charlotte had already released his sword and easily stepped back.
As Harriet reached to grab the Blood Rose and pull it out, the sword's hilt flashed red, and it automatically withdrew into the darkness.
Charlotte had manipulated the Blood Rose using his blood flame ability, retrieving it effortlessly.
As Harriet attempted to find Charlotte and kill the detestable enemy, Lord Leo had already adjusted his angle and fired another shot.
Although Harriet managed to dodge, a fragment grazed his abdomen, causing blood to flow profusely.
Charlotte took a deep breath and hurled his blood-drinking axe.
Despite being a high-level transcendent, a 14th-level Radiant Knight, Harriet reacted in the nick of time and managed to catch the flying axe, but then felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as a sword shot up from the ground and impaled him.
Harriet stomped down in agony, unleashing a burst of radiant aura that tore through the ground, but there was nothing underneath.
Charlotte had moved one of Machubi's underground troop tunnels over, struck with the sword, and then restored the tunnel to its original state, leaving Harriet's strike to hit only dirt.
Having successfully struck twice, Charlotte had only absorbed a small amount of life force, but it was enough to cause the Blood Glory to stir slightly. He adjusted his stance and prepared for the next ambush.
Lord Leo had leapt onto a nearby building and made a hand gesture toward him. After a moment's hesitation, Charlotte approached.
"My lord, I completed the task and killed Grand Duke Ferdinand. I was planning to return to the Empire, but I encountered a few colleagues who said they hadn't seen you and suspected you might be in some trouble, so I came back to look for you. I ran into a few blood thralls I had temporarily recruited, and they told me you were also trapped here."
"I've been circling the area for some time, trying to find a way to free you. Not long ago, I met a nearby hermit who told me that to free you, a high-level transcendent had to be lured into the labyrinth. I used every trick in the book to deceive this Falser Empire officer into coming here."
Lord Leo was slightly pleased; he had had enough of this damned place. However, being a noble, he maintained his composure and waved his hand, saying, "I didn't call you over to inquire about that."
"I know you're eyeing that high-level transcendent's rich life force and essence blood, but I must remind you, while we vampires can absorb the life force of enemies to advance our transcendent levels, we can't rely solely on this method."
"High-level vampires place more importance on the purity of their blood energy. Indiscriminately consuming life force can lead to becoming a monster, so we don't randomly consume the life force of lower-level prey, only occasionally supplementing it."
"You may still be a low-level vampire, so it's not a big issue, but you're likely at the stage where you need to condense your blood core and advance to the rank of baron."
"My personal advice is not to use that Falser high-level transcendent's life essence to increase your level. Instead, use it to attempt condensing your blood core!"
"Here's a secret for you: the earlier you condense your blood core, the longer your lifespan will be as a vampire, and you'll have more time to maintain your youth."
Charlotte was slightly taken aback; the Protegora Scroll had no method for condensing a blood core. Although this human philosopher had lived a long life, he still died like any ordinary human.
Seeing Charlotte's expression, Lord Leo asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you haven't learned the Adonis Clan's vampire secrets?"
Charlotte took a deep breath and quietly said, "Sorry, I am a non-regular descendant."
It was well known that vampires lacked reproductive abilities and could only create new vampires through secret rituals or an initial embrace.
At the founding of the Byron Empire, it was believed that vampires were noble, and they were discouraged from creating new members recklessly. Those who did were severely punished, and all vampires had to obtain a "First Embrace Certificate" to create a specified number of descendants according to regulations.
Whether through ritual or embrace, both methods were inefficient, resulting in a relatively low population of vampires in the Byron Empire. The 31 clans have a combined population of fewer than 20,000, far below the threshold of 0.1% of the total population.
Despite strict regulations, some vampires still created descendants without obtaining a "First Embrace Certificate," leading to the existence of "non-regular descendants."
These non-regular descendants technically weren't supposed to exist and weren't entitled to learn their clan's secret techniques.
Although the clan elders were generally lenient and turned a blind eye, these non-regular descendants were heavily discriminated against and often denied the proper teachings of their clans.
Lord Leo responded with an indifferent "Oh," and casually remarked, "No wonder you've always tried to conceal your transcendent level in my presence."
Charlotte forced an awkward smile. Concealing his level wasn't for that reason, but he certainly wasn't about to explain.
Lord Leo casually tossed him a book, saying, "Although you can't practice the Arthur Clan's vampire scroll, the methods for condensing a blood core can still serve as a reference. The techniques for condensing a blood core are pretty much the same across vampire clans."