Just like Aveline Hightower, Vampire Hunters who spent a long time in the martial world often picked up some bad habits.
They insisted on things like master against master, junior against junior.
But someone like Kourosh Zarrinkamar, who rose through the ranks of H.A.R.M., a personal attendant lieutenant general with blood-drenched hands, only cared about eliminating the enemy as quickly as possible and wouldn't let any opportunity slip.
The spear thrust came at the young man with the full devastating force of a Crystal Realm expert!
Rose's heart clenched. She dreaded facing the full brunt of Kourosh's attack head-on herself. And as merely a Wave Realm prodigy, how could John possibly withstand such attack?
She tried to gather all her energy to stop Kourosh, but was too late. In desperation, she shouted, "Duck! I'll attack his right shoulder!"
These words were actually meant for Kourosh, intended to disrupt his focus.
But how could mere words affect a veteran lieutenant general who had clawed his way up from an agent? The long spear in his hand continued its deadly arc with unstoppable force, never hesitating for a moment.
The cold gleam, like a shooting star, aimed straight for the throat!
… …
The air crackled with sudden power, my clothes billowing around me like a storm had erupted. As I locked eyes with the aged lieutenant general, a glint of sudden awareness sharpened my gaze, a predator recognizing its prey.
The spear tip, a whisper of death, rushed towards me. With a subtle shift of my body, my slender fingers snapped out, grasping the cold shaft of the spear with impossible speed and precision.
The overwhelming force, the momentum that could have ripped through a vampire in an instant, vanished under my grip, melting away like frost under a scorching sun.
Kourosh's expression went slack with astonishment. He tried to pull the spear back for another thrust, but found it completely out of his control—I had wrenched it from his grasp and now held it aloft in my hand.
The sudden shift in power, the sheer audacity of my move, brought the entire scene to a standstill. Not only Kourosh, but even Rose, who was charging forward to save me, and the colonels desperately trying to restrain her, were frozen in place.
The old lieutenant general's face, a roadmap of past battles, contorted with a mixture of shock and fury. "Brat!" he roared, his voice ragged with indignation. "How dare you!"
With a gutteral cry, he unleashed his inner core with abandon, his Crystal Realm aura surging wildly as he prepared to attack bare-handed!
"She's just injured," I said, my voice a chilling counterpoint to his rage. "but you're rotting, aren't you?" With a flick of my wrist, I sent the spear hurtling back towards him.
Empowered by the Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection, the spear exploded forward with devastating force, unleashing a thunderous boom!
Kourosh's eyes widened in terror, a flicker of panic replacing his arrogant fury. Before he could react, the spear's butt slammed into him—piercing his abdomen with a sickening crunch and pinning him to the ground with force to spare.
The metal vibrated with a continuous, fine hum.
… …
Rose was stunned speechless as she witnessed Kourosh lying defeated on the ground.
Her heart was filled with indescribable shock, followed by confusion—how could a Crystal Realm expert be defeated so effortlessly?
I walked over, giving Rose a reassuring glance, then crouched down beside Kourosh, and reached out to pull at his clothes.
"Get away!" Kourosh cried in panic, releasing his grip on his bleeding abdomen as he tried to stop me.
Slap!
My expression remained an impassive mask as I struck the old man's face with a fierce slap.
Kourosh's head lolled to the side as he spat out blood and broken teeth. His grizzled beard was stained dark red, and through his muddled consciousness, he managed to slur out a roar: "You dare interfere with official H.A.R.M. duties of Surrey? Aren't you afraid General Laurent will have your head!"
"Worry about your own head first," I replied coldly.
With calm deliberation, I tore open the old man's black uniform.
Rose's eyes widened at what she saw.
Beyond the spear wound, Kourosh's torso beneath the ribs was a horrific sight—completely stripped of flesh and skin. His exposed bones were eaten away and pockmarked, while his visible internal organs pulsed grotesquely, all coated in a sickly dark green fluid.
His condition was unmistakably the result of severe poisoning, likely by a vampire.
Something had seemed amiss from the moment Kourosh made his move.
With the Mountain Lord's abilities, I possess a heightened sense of smell. When the old man unleashed his aura, the stench of rotten meat hit me—Kourosh was already more than half dead, even if I hadn't intervened today.
No wonder he had attacked me first. He had wanted to use a weaker opponent to establish dominance and intimidate Rose.
I rose to my feet and gazed down at the old man, who now seemed to be frailing before my eyes. "Tell me," I said softly, "how were you managing to guard the vampire here, given your condition?"
The entire confrontation had unfolded so swiftly that most of the agents stood frozen, unable to process what they had just witnessed.
At these words, their faces filled with panic as they stood rooted to the spot.
Rose's chest heaved with a mixture of incredulity and fury. "No wonder you kept refusing to return for your report! Were you afraid General Laurent would replace you as his personal attendant? Why didn't you tell him? He could have helped you heal!"
"I don't need healing! I need Martial Abbey Cleansing!" Kourosh snarled like a wounded lion, spittle flying from his mouth. "I've fought my entire life to become a lieutenant general of H.A.R.M.! I won't be cast aside for treatment, reduced to a pathetic retirement!"
Hearing this, Rose trembled with rage, speechless for a long moment.
Fifty years of spotless service would earn Kourosh a chance for cleansing at the Abbey—a ritual that could not only preserve his strength but enhance it.
But the problem was, Kourosh still needed at least another three to five years before he earned his due.
Meanwhile, Cascadia lay completely vulnerable to the Vampire Lord of Black Stone Spring—the very threat they were tasked with guarding against!
Instead of discussing the situation openly with General Laurent, he chose deception.
"I see. You think General Laurent is too young to outlive, and you're afraid accepting his help would bind you to him. You plan to seek patronage elsewhere after your Martial Abbey Cleansing... Heh, like with General Grant, right?"
Rose clenched her teeth, wishing she could slap him herself.
"This is the business of H.A.R.M. What does it have to do with you?" Kourosh shouted, grasping at the last straw of hope before sinking. "What does it have to do with you?!"
"Bring Albany Laurent!" he shrieked, his voice cracking. "Bring the Admiral himself! You... you vampire hunters, What right do you have to interfere with H.A.R.M. business!"
The facade finally crumbled, his earlier taunts about Rose's identity forgotten in his frantic bid for survival.
Rose, her face a mask of cold disdain, turned away and prepared to rush back to Surrey. "Just wait," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "You'll get what you deserve."
Kourosh was right—the matters of H.A.R.M. should be handled by people from H.A.R.M.
Kourosh closed his eyes, breathing heavily. The numerous agents surrounding him wore conflicted expressions as they parted to let Rose pass.
But then, I stretched out my hand towards Rose and said calmly, "Give me the letter."
"Huh?" Rose turned to me, her brow furrowed in confusion. Despite the uncertainty swirling in her eyes, she instinctively reached for the letter, a flicker of unwavering trust shining through.
I took the letter, held the envelope between my fingers, and waved it in front of Kourosh. "Open your eyes. Do you recognize General Laurent's handwriting?"
"What are you getting at?" Kourosh opened his eyes with an icy glare.
Of course the letter was authentic. He had recognized Rose at first glance. Both General Laurent and Rose were disciples of the Admiral, and rumor suggested that they were dating, how could a letter she delivered from her lover be anything but genuine?
"As long as you acknowledge the authenticity."
Under the crowd's puzzled stares, I tucked away the letter and retrieved my identification badge from my silver bell, then tossed it onto Kourosh.
Kourosh grasped the badge, staring at me with confusion.
He saw me slowly turn around, now holding a wolf-emblazoned cloak, which I casually draped over my shoulders.
Suddenly, my face exuded a powerful aura of authority, causing the agents to subconsciously fall silent.
I adjusted my collar with one hand, my voice calm.
"Kourosh Zarrinkamar has allowed vampires to run rampant and failed to report it."
"John Kane, personal attendant colonel of General Grant, by order of General Laurent's written decree, is temporarily taking over this post."
I lowered my gaze to the old man on the ground. "Lock him up," I commanded, my voice decisive and unquestionable. Then I turned and walked towards the nearby house.
As my voice faded, Kourosh finally looked at the badge in his hand, his pupils constricting, his breathing becoming rapid.
Neither the identification badge of a personal attendant colonel nor General Laurent's handwritten order alone would be enough to shake his position here.
But the two together...
"Let me see that letter!" He whirled his head around, but received no response. He couldn't—wouldn't—believe that Albany Laurent had sent someone from H.A.R.M. to investigate him!
The agents exchanged hesitant glances, avoiding Lieutenant General Zarrinkamar's gaze as they quietly drew their vampire-suppressing chains.
Their earlier united front against outsiders had dissolved—this was now purely H.A.R.M.'s internal business.
General Laurent's authority clearly outranked Kourosh Zarrinkamar's.
... ...
Lock him up?
Rose wondered when General Laurent had issued such an order. But to her amazement, the colonels and agents who had just opposed her with drawn weapons now completely reversed their stance.
Though hesitant, they advanced toward Kourosh step by step.
"General Zarrinkamar... We apologize..."
The colonels crouched down, pulled the spear out of the ground, and hauled Kourosh to his feet with combined effort.
They respected Kourosh's years of hard work and dedication, so without General Laurent's order, they wouldn't—and dared not—disobey Kourosh, choosing instead to turn a blind eye.
Now that H.A.R.M. had uncovered his deception, there was nothing left to argue.
Despite his youth, the newly arrived personal attendant colonel appeared just as formidable as Lieutenant General Zarrinkamar had been in his prime, wielding both authority and power with absolute command.
As the vampire-suppressing chains wrapped around him, Kourosh's eyes finally lost their light.
Though supported by his subordinates, he hung his head low, his spirit completely shattered.
"General Zarrinkamar... Colonel Kane's identification badge..."
Two colonels tied him up securely and gingerly retrieved the badge from his iron grip.
When this old lieutenant general would be escorted back to Surrey, he would likely become the first personal attendant lieutenant general to face execution by General Laurent's own hand.
Having concealed the truth themselves, they feared their own fates now hung in the balance.
What is going on here? Rose murmured to herself, as she strode toward the house John had just entered.
She pushed open the door and found John seated behind the table, studying the files intently.
... ...
"Full of surprises, aren't you!" Rose quipped. "Your identity seems even more mysterious than mine." Her gaze softened, momentarily lost in the memories of our shared past, as I recalled trying to uncover who she was back in Pinewood County.
A wistful smile touched her lips, but her eyes held a hint of melancholy, a shadow of uncertainty.
... ...
A sense of unease settled over Rose, a feeling that their connection was fraying at the edges.
With the wolf-emblazoned cloak draped over his shoulders, John transformed into a completely different person.
A silver bell and an appointment to personal attendant colonel—either of these required decades, even centuries of hard work and dedication to obtain. Yet, this former police sergeant had acquired both in little more than a month.
Looking at John's back, she couldn't shake the image of him striding up a mountain path, advancing at a pace she could never hope to match.
"Is everything all right?" John asked.
Rose bit her lip, suddenly realizing how peculiar this person was. He was like this in Pinewood County, and again in Bellingham. After performing remarkable feats out there, he'd returned without speaking a word, as if these extraordinary accomplishments meant nothing to him, as if he didn't care at all.
"Everything is fine!" she said.
Then his matter-of-fact voice spoke again: "Do you know anything about the Vampire Lord of Black Stone Spring?"