Seeing Qin Chu silently looking out the window, Noah asked, "How is it, sir? As a prince, what are your feelings looking at your own people?"
"What are your thoughts?" Qin Chu glanced at the residents outside the street again. "Sparse population and densely packed housing, no wonder they were wiped out."
Noah: "..."
"Look at their lives, how ordinary they are! Look at the smoke rising from the rooftops over there, look at that family of three carrying their child home!" Noah tried to steer the conversation back on track. "Don't you feel any more goodwill towards this race?"
Qin Chu was very puzzled: "How can an artificial intelligence be so sentimental?"
But because of Noah's words, Qin Chu looked outside again.
He remained silent for a while, then spoke frankly: "If there were fewer men and women fooling around on the streets and alleys, I might have a better impression of them?"
Noah: "..." Hopeless.
Not long after entering the town, the streets immediately became lively, as if they had recognized the sign on the carriage.
"Look! It's His Highness the Prince!"
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
The cheers outside the carriage were so enthusiastic that Qin Chu was taken aback.
The prince's insignia seemed to hold some special significance; every vampire passing by the carriage looked up and cast a friendly and respectful glance at him.
Qin Chu even saw a couple in the alley who were being all lovey-dovey and didn't bother to hide. They pulled up their pants and rushed out to wave at him.
It's really unnecessary...
Qin Chu couldn't bear to look, so he raised his hand and closed the side window.
Qin Chu didn't feel much about Noah's words just now, but this strange welcoming scene reminded him of two images.
Once, he was patrolling a vampire planet. As soon as he and his team landed, the bustling streets below were swept away like leaves in a whirlwind, leaving not a trace behind.
Another instance was when the First Legion's warships returned to the capital star. As soon as the starships docked in the port, enthusiastic cheers erupted outside, and everyone's voices were filled with unwavering trust.
Two completely different images flashed through Qin Chu's mind, leaving him with mixed feelings.
"What did this prince do?" Qin Chu asked.
“The prince doesn’t need to do anything. For the vampires, the prince’s very existence is their source of confidence,” Noah replied.
The cheers grew fainter and fainter in the distance. The carriage chugged along, gradually passing through the town and slowly entering Duke Tess's territory. The surroundings were sparsely populated and desolate.
As they approached Duke Tess's castle, Qin Chu was dozing against the side of the carriage when he suddenly heard two soft sounds behind him.
He opened the back window and saw his rumored girlfriend hanging upside down in the window, waving at him: "Hey, missed me?"
What a load of rubbish.
After glancing at the face through the back window, Qin Chu raised his hand and slammed the small window shut.
Some people can't even block the door, let alone the window.
Qin Chu heard a faint chuckle from behind the car, followed by a few slight noises from the roof, and then the butler's exclamation from the driver.
The person who had been clinging to the back of the carriage like a gecko stepped on the carriage frame and opened the front door, crawling inside.
As soon as K popped his head out, Qin Chu kicked him right in the face.
"Tsk." K quickly dodged by pressing himself against the car wall, still shaken. "If you had kicked me like that, I would have lost my face. How could you be so heartless?"
"Get out." Qin Chu's expression was extremely cold, but in reality, he had a terrible headache.
In the cramped space of the carriage, his nose was filled with the smell of braised pork from the hunter.
Noah made all sorts of adjustments, but it all came to nothing.
The situation was spiraling out of control, and just as Qin Chu was about to throw the man out, he heard the steward's voice from outside: "Your Highness..."
The butler very considerately reminded him, "At this speed, we'll be at the castle in less than ten minutes. Your Highness, would you like me to park the carriage in a secluded spot?"
Stop in a secluded place?
Qin Chu: "..."
K: "..."
The hidden meaning behind those words was rather strange. It was awkward for Qin Chu to continue attacking, but it was also awkward not to. He could only reply with a straight face, "No need, let's keep going."
Upon hearing this, the butler seemed very worried and cautiously asked, "Is...ten minutes enough?"
Qin Chu: "..."
K understood the butler's meaning early on, leaned against the car wall and laughed, even raising his voice to reply, "Well... I'm not quite enough."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Chu coldly said, "That's enough."
A loud bang came from inside the carriage.
The butler driving the carriage quickly ducked down and saw a figure burst through the front door and fly out of the carriage.
This guy is insane; he was still laughing even as he was being kicked away.
He was extremely agile. Just before flying out, he reached out and grabbed a corner of the car roof, swinging twice before hanging steadily on the roof.
As night deepened, the crescent moon rose higher in the sky, growing ever brighter, and the area outside Duke Tess's castle was bustling with activity. Gentlemen and ladies, dressed in formal attire, chatted merrily, anticipating this wonderful evening.
The carriage stopped, the door opened, and Qin Chu saw Duke Tess, who had come to greet him personally.
"Your Highness, it is truly an honor for me to have you attend today's banquet." Duke Tes bowed to Qin Chu with great respect.
This man had a small mustache and looked to be middle-aged. This vampire, whose age was not much different from Qin Chu's, still held the same reverence for Prince Qin Chu as any other vampire.
It must be said that, judging solely from his appearance and behavior, one would never guess that this person is a radical advocate of war. Simply agreeing to attend his banquet caused Qin Chu's mission progress to slow down significantly.
Before following Duke Tess into the castle, Qin Chu secretly turned his head and glanced at the carriage behind him. The hunter he had kicked out on the road was nowhere to be seen.
As Qin Chu walked into the courtyard, he also realized the Duke's influence.
Judging from the number of guests, it was estimated that all the prominent figures in the vampire clan had come. Qin Chu also saw the eight little vampires playing in the courtyard.
The fact that the parents of these children brought their newborns to the banquet shows that they trusted the Duke implicitly.
Duke Tess led Qin Chu to the main seat, looking at the vampires dancing to music in the courtyard, clearly very satisfied. But he quickly sighed: "If we could bring those overconfident humans from outside our territory under our control, our people would never again have to stoop to drinking the blood of livestock."
This exclamation was truly heartfelt, sounding like a human dreaming of a life where they could eat meat every day.
As a pure human being at heart, Qin Chu couldn't help but chuckle and said to Noah, "Unfortunately, once the war starts, it won't be those overconfident humans who die."
Noah: "You should adjust your attitude a little, otherwise, before humanity even attacks, I'm afraid you'll be so disgusted that you'll wipe out the entire race."
Qin Chu had to admit that Noah really did understand him a little.
During his conversation with Duke Tess, Qin Chu, who usually didn't pay much attention to other people's attire, noticed that this flamboyant middle-aged man was wearing a ruby the size of a pigeon egg around his neck.
The main issue is that this elderly duke, who is also having an affair, has excellent taste in clothing, exuding an elegant and noble air, which makes the nouveau riche-looking ruby all the more jarring.
"That's actually the heart of a vampire," Noah explained, seeing Qin Chu's interest.
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu looked down at himself: "Could it be that someone actually hangs their heart on the outside?"
"Of course not! The setting of this world comes from an ancient legend within the vampire clan. It is said that only when a vampire voluntarily sacrifices his life and power to other vampires will he leave behind such a mineralized heart."
Qin Chu raised an eyebrow: "Why don't you have any serious information? You're talking about this kind of nonsense with such confidence?"
Noah: "..."
Qin Chu was conducting his daily routine of satirizing Noah when he suddenly heard Duke Tess say, "To celebrate your arrival, I have prepared a special gift, and I hope you will all be satisfied."
As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Tess clapped his hands, and Qin Chu suddenly smelled a hint of blood.
Servants came up one after another, clearing away all the wine and drinks from the banquet and moving some of the ordinary food to the edge. In the center of the large courtyard, a conspicuous open space gradually appeared.
A soft clinking of glasses came from behind. Qin Chu turned around and saw about a dozen vampire servants carrying a huge round table slowly walking towards him.
A huge tower of wine glasses was built on the round table, each transparent goblet filled with a bright red, viscous liquid.
It's blood.
As the round table was brought up, a strong stench of blood filled the air above the castle.
Under the influence of the bloody smell, many vampires couldn't help but bare their fangs. The once elegant and noble nobles revealed their true colors, baring their sharp teeth and staring at the round table like a pack of ravenous beasts.
Qin Chu's fangs were also itching.
It wasn't because of hunger, but rather a subconscious anger.
Noah anxiously reminded him, "Sir, please calm down. From the very beginning, our mission has determined that you are on the side of the vampires. Therefore, you need to take responsibility for the entire mission."
"I am very calm," Qin Chu replied.
Qin Chu had never drunk blood, but he could clearly tell from his sense of smell that the blood in the cup was fresh human blood.
The amount of blood at the banquet was almost the total blood volume of seven or eight adults. Although he knew that these vampires didn't necessarily kill people when they took blood, the current situation still made Qin Chu extremely repulsed.
Duke Tess's words confirmed Qin Chu's guess: "The blood was just taken tonight from the purest virgins. I hope everyone here can enjoy tonight's banquet."
As he spoke, he, as the host, picked up the first cup of blood.
Without finishing his drink, Duke Tess turned his gaze to Qin Chu: "Your Highness, your existence is the glory of the vampires and our greatest asset in conquering human territory. Please allow me to offer my belated congratulations."
Hearing this, Noah was extremely nervous.
He was terrified that this reckless duke would hand the first cup of blood to Qin Chu, otherwise Qin Chu would definitely splash the blood on this idiot's face and drain all the blood from his body.
At that point, this persona will completely collapse, leaving no room for redemption.
Duke Tess clearly had such intentions, but as he handed over half of his wine glass, he suddenly smiled apologetically and said, "I forgot about the curse on you. I hope you can forgive my rudeness."
He withdrew his hand and drank the blood in the cup in one gulp.
With Duke Tess's action, a blood-soaked carnival began in earnest.
A large number of vampires surged toward the round table, and the stench of blood in the air grew even stronger.
Qin Chu withdrew his gaze and looked elsewhere.
His already cold expression became even more frigid, and a strong murderous aura emanated from the corners of his eyes and brows.
While the vampires were engrossed in their revelry, Qin Chu calmly observed the layout of Duke Tess's castle.
Then his gaze swept across the room and he saw someone he hadn't expected.
K had somehow sneaked in and was now leaning against a corner.
He was also holding a wine glass, which contained not blood, but wine from the previous banquet.