200. Where is the Ambush
H.A.R.M. Cascadia.
The pavilion doors finally opened.
Albany Laurent quietly walked over to his colleagues.
He couldn't fathom why General Kane held such a strong prejudice against Redeemed Spirit warriors. While Granny Chloe and Samir Jabal were allowed to participate, he found himself sidelined once again.
"Now, could you tell me what were you discussing?" Theodore Montgomery asked, steadying his breath as he gazed calmly at Chloe through the doorway.
"Just guard Cascadia," Chloe said with a roll of her eyes as she brushed past the crowd.
General Laurent distributed the pre-prepared secret letters to the other H.A.R.M. Generals. The letters contained a simple message: guard each city with extra vigilance during this period to avoid falling for any diversion tactics.
He then approached his master and quietly whispered a few words.
The decision had already been made, so there was no reason to hide it from his master. Chloe simply preferred to avoid any interaction with him on this matter.
"..." Upon learning of the mission, Theodore Montgomery slowly closed his eyes.
He understood perfectly well why they had excluded him from the discussion.
They simply feared he would pressure Aisha into assassinating the Ascendant King before she was ready or willing.
The Admiral maintained his composed demeanor.
He exhaled deeply.
When his eyes reopened and fell upon the girl in the doorway, his gaze softened with a hint of sadness.
Being viewed this way left a bitter taste in his mouth.
What disgusted Theodore even more was realizing they were right about him. After careful self-reflection, he knew he would indeed push Aisha to do it.
"..."
He refrained from saying "be careful" to his second disciple.
Such words would only fill her with revulsion rather than comfort.
He gave a slight nod to Aisha Patani before turning to leave.
They had made their plans without him.
Then he also had to do what he should do, such as focusing his attention on monitoring Blood Moon Vampire King, while also preparing for the aftermath of a failed ambush, and dealing with the vampires' counterattack.
… …
I strolled out of the H.A.R.M. headquarters at a measured pace, glancing back at my companions who had joined me as we had planned in the pavilion.
Chloe was the most senior Gold Bell Vampire Hunter in Cascadia. Although I had suspected she was pretending to be young, I hadn't expected her to be even older than General Grant.
Thinking of how Chloe used to call me "Big Brother," I clenched my fist involuntarily as goosebumps spread across my arms.
She was a harmonizing vampire fighter, feeding her inner core with flesh and blood—a relatively normal path, but restricted her body's maturity at an early age. She had been a promising candidate for a Ward of Nature, a prodigy even better than Aisha, but a devastating injury limited her potential. She remained stuck at the second stage of Harmonization. The Embryo of Harmony in her inner core had grown into a chubby, baby form, though she remained far from condensing a true Infant of Love.
In comparison, Samir Jabal was far less impressive. Though he had also developed an Embryo of Harmony, his was still in its early development stages.
It dawned on me that I had already surpassed these veteran warriors in Realm level alone, not even counting my body conditioning and vampire blood gifts.
My progress had been remarkably fast.
Among our team of four, Aisha Patani was my greatest asset.
She might have limitations, but in terms of sheer destructive power, she ranked second only to the Admiral in all of Cascadia.
"Do we need to prepare mounts?" Chloe glanced at Aisha. While vampires might not excel in movement techniques, they were natural born masters of concealment, illusion, and swift movement.
General Grant's crimson steed stood waiting at the entrance of the H.A.R.M. headquarters.
But such a magnificent steed would create too much commotion while running. Rather than enabling an ambush, it would only serve to alert the vampire of our approach.
"No need," Aisha Patani said, fixing her calm gaze on me. She obviously expected me to carry her.
Samir smacked his lips. What could this mean? Was she planning to ride General Kane instead of the bloodsteed?
I halted, casually grasping Aisha's collar from behind.
"..." Aisha stared at me, swatted the back of my hand away, and glanced pointedly at her waist.
Without hesitation, I slipped my arm around her slender waist and transformed into a gentle breeze, vanishing from sight as I headed in the direction Chloe had indicated.
"Impressive." Chloe blinked. This young man has quite some skills, both in swift movement and with the ladies.
Not only was his vampire slaying prowess impressive, but he had also quietly captured the heart of Cascadia's most beautiful woman.
She cast an expectant look at Samir Jabal beside her.
"In your dreams." Samir rolled his eyes. Although he didn't know any teleportation techniques, his exceptional movement skills made him swift as lightning—not much slower than Kane.
"Tch." Chloe curled her lips sulkily and followed.
... …
Two days later, outside Cascadia.
This was a place beyond the jurisdiction of H.A.R.M.
There were no majestic cities, nor rising smoke from cooking fires in sight. The landscape stretched endlessly before us, untamed and pristine. Emerald mountains rose imposingly against the horizon, their peaks shrouded in wisps of morning mist. Crystal-clear streams wound their way through the valleys below, their waters reflecting the soft light of day.
As we went deeper, we could no longer even name the places.
"Actually, this is already considered outside of New Terra." Aisha leaned against me, a rare hint of longing in her clear eyes.
"Are you feeling nervous?" I glanced at her. Despite holding her waist, our reserved personalities and the black armor between us kept any sense of intimacy at bay.
"Kill the bull, and I'll be free." Aisha's eyelashes fluttered, her breathing unsteady for a moment.
The top two warriors of Cascadia were not truly master and disciple. One merely imparted knowledge and gave orders, while the other simply carried them out.
"The sharpest sword in Cascadia" was indeed a fitting description.
She was nothing more than a sharp blade Theodore Montgomery had picked up. From the start, she existed solely to kill. Only after completing this final task could she transform from weapon back into a person—finally free to leave and begin her own life.
Everyone thought she would resent her master.
But in reality, she didn't.
Because she had never acknowledged any master.
When her old friend departed, Aisha finally understood exactly how Montgomery viewed her existence.
The relationship she had treasured most deeply was, in the Admiral's eyes, merely a tool to harden her spirit and teach her a lesson.
Montgomery hadn't harmed her old friend—in fact, he had taught it combat techniques and gave it a weapon. He had simply chosen not to interfere when it sought revenge. This left her without even the satisfaction of being able to hate him.
In this dangerous world of vampires, Aisha needed fighting skills and resources to survive. The Admiral cared nothing for the traditional bonds between master and disciple—he simply wanted a lethal weapon capable of defeating the Ascendant King.
She would give her all—even risk her life—to complete this task, but nothing more.
Yet, the burden was exhausting. Even the sharpest sword needed a scabbard to rest in—to get a moment's respite.
Aisha looked at the hand on her waist. She had never felt so at ease exposing her vulnerability to another person. It was a very novel experience.
"We've arrived," I said as I landed swiftly, letting go of Aisha.
This was Chloe's designated rendezvous point.
On the way here, I was surprised to find that beyond Cascadia's borders, there weren't vampires swarming everywhere as I had expected.
The Bull Vampire truly excelled at concealing its aura — even my Aura Revealing Sight detected no trace of vampiric presence.
Golden light gathered in my eyes as I combined the Aura Revealing Sight with my Golden Eagle blood gift.
Beyond the distant mountains, I detected a thick red mist rising. The demonic aura emanating from it dwarfed even that of the old Leviasaur I had slain earlier.
Then I saw it—beyond the distant mountains, a thick red mist rose into the air. The demonic aura radiating from it dwarfed even that of the old Leviasaur I had slain.
But there was only one aura.
Where is the ambush?
I frowned slightly.
Could it be that the Golden Eagle blood gift was ineffective against the Blood Moon Vampire King?