Chapter 54: Vampires?

Only after confirming that no pursuers were coming did the group finally breathe a sigh of relief. After some discussion, they found a quiet place and slowly made their way to the hotel where they were staying.
“Hehe, Rod, that last move of yours was really satisfying! Haha, did you see that guy’s expression? Hahaha… I wonder if he wet himself!” With nothing much to do, the group started chatting about Rod’s final strike, with one mercenary excitedly commenting.
“Mm-hm, that was a precise strike, Rod. Not bad—almost on par with Bit’s style! Keep working hard; I believe one day you’ll reach my level!” Bit continued to be shamelessly proud.
“Luck, it was all luck! Haha, even heaven can’t stand such people—just give me some luck!”
To be honest, Rod admitted that his last move relied entirely on sheer luck. Hearing their comments, he felt embarrassed. As for Bit’s narcissism, he simply ignored it. After spending a day with him, Rod realized Bit was actually quite nice aside from being self-centered.
Walking along the quiet streets, they could occasionally hear footsteps outside—apparently, the soldiers were searching the entire city for them.
With a bitter smile, Rod thought it made sense. After all, he had knocked out the young master of the city lord’s mansion, so it was normal for the soldiers to search for him. It would be strange if they didn’t. If they couldn’t find him, how would they explain it to the city lord?
“Damn it! There isn’t a single decent person in that city lord’s mansion!” Rod complained inwardly, realizing that almost every time something happened, it was related to that mansion.
“Hehe, Rod, you’re realizing it now? But it’s not too late. There’s nothing good in that mansion. Those damned guys think they can do whatever they want just because they’re in power. Hmph, it seems we’ll have to wait until Bit comes to sort them out!”
Bit, hearing Rod’s words, promptly stepped forward to fantasize again.
“Stop talking and be careful. Let’s hurry back and take care of that guy. If we don’t go now, he might really die!”
Glancing at the two of them and then at the boy behind Rod, Aida frowned. By now, the boy was completely unconscious, with blood slowly seeping from his wounds. If they didn’t act quickly, he might die from blood loss.

At that moment, everyone guessed who the culprit was, exchanged helpless looks, and quickened their pace as they headed forward. They approached the hotel carefully, avoiding the soldiers, and after almost circling the entire Water Moon City, they finally reached the hotel. “Phew… We’re back at last. Damn it!” Seeing the hotel, they finally breathed a sigh of relief and complained. After carefully checking the surroundings again and finding no soldiers, they finally relaxed and rushed inside, moving swiftly without any delay, returning to their rooms as quickly as possible. “Hurry up and put him down!” Rod was urged urgently. Ada stepped closer to the boy, laid a cushion on the bed, and placed him there. Pushing aside the tattered clothes, they saw the gruesome wounds, and both frowned, cursing inwardly. This guy must have suffered severe torture to end up like this; no wonder he tried to escape—how could anyone not run away from such abuse? “Rod, open the door. It’s Bit!” Just then, Bit’s voice came from outside. Frowning, Rod opened the door to find not only Bit but also Bruce and a few members of the mercenary team. Stunned, he looked at Bit in confusion—had this guy gone to report them? Rod’s opinion of Bit changed significantly at that moment. “Where’s the person? I heard you brought someone back?” Bruce asked doubtfully, blocking the door. Rod led them inside, quickly closed the door, and took them to the bed. “Damn it!” Seeing the boy’s condition, they all frowned and muttered in frustration. “Hurry up and apply medicine to him!” Bruce said firmly, pulling out a medicine bottle from his pocket and handing it to Ada. “Heh heh, it seems I was wise after all—knew the captain had useful things!” Bit said with a sly grin upon seeing the bottle Bruce brought out. Hearing this, Rod realized Bit’s intentions and couldn’t help but smile bitterly, realizing he had judged Bit unfairly. Ah… Even in a coma, the boy couldn’t help but scream as his wounds were touched. “Be gentle!” Bruce said firmly, seeing the boy’s pained expression in his unconscious state.

One shocking wound after another filled people with shame, especially the old and new scars on his arms that overlapped endlessly. After great effort and with everyone’s cooperation, they finally managed to apply medicine to those wounds, stopping the bleeding. Seeing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hmm, now that we’ve offended the city lord’s residence, it seems we can’t stay here long. Early tomorrow morning, you all take this guy and head outside the city to wait for us. We’ll meet up there.” Clearly, Bruce knew everything that had happened. After sitting in silence for a moment, he spoke in a deep voice.
“Captain, I…” Rod stepped forward, speaking hesitantly and awkwardly.
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. If it were me, I would have acted too. Well, since it’s already happened, let’s not talk about it anymore. Get some rest. You all leave first tomorrow—just be careful!” Bruce said helplessly with a sigh. What good was it for him to say anything now that the incident had already occurred? Besides, the boy’s appearance had touched his heart.
It was getting late, and everyone gradually left the room, leaving only Rod, Ada, and the still unconscious boy inside. Looking around the room, there was only one bed. The thought of sharing a bed with Ada made Rod’s scalp tingle. “Cough, cough… You go ahead and sleep. I’ll meditate. Hehe, just meditating will do!” Rod said with a bitter smile after the awkwardness.
He went to the boy’s bed, found a spot, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate. Fire elements slowly gathered around him. As a magician, he was naturally highly sensitive to elements—especially as a fire mage. With a complex expression, Ada watched Rod meditate before returning to her own bed.
No one noticed that he had changed a lot that night. Rod didn’t even realize it either. Since returning, Ada’s gaze toward him had seemed a bit strange!
Lying in bed, tossing and turning, the room was quiet. The cold wind outside howled loudly. With his eyes open, staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t fall asleep. He simply sat up and looked at Rod, who was still immersed in meditation. “This guy is really hardworking. I didn’t expect your race to have reappeared. Are you the only one? I wonder if history is about to change again!” At that moment, Ada’s face was serious.

He turned to look at the boy lying on the bed: “Vampire? Heh, interesting. It seems times are about to change!” With a sigh, he quietly got off the bed, glanced back at Rod to ensure he hadn’t changed, and then headed for the door. Soon after, Aida returned to the room, this time carrying a bowl in her hands. Under the moonlight, the liquid inside appeared extremely dark. “This might be more effective for you as medicine!” she murmured as she approached the bed. She brought the bowl of dark liquid to his lips and fed it to him slowly. Subconsciously sensing something strange, the boy, still unconscious, slightly opened his mouth and began to drink on his own, taking larger and larger sips until he seemed eager to swallow the entire bowl at once. Once the last drop entered his mouth, Aida wiped his lips clean with a piece of paper and left the room with the bowl, heading outside again. When she returned to the room, what she saw stunned her—slivers of moonlight streaming through the window converged entirely on the boy, who absorbed it all like the sea absorbing light. His complexion gradually changed; the paleness vanished, replaced by a hint of color. Seeing this, Aida smiled bitterly. “His recovery ability is really strong!” As she watched, she murmured to herself and went to her own bed. It was clear that the boy’s condition had improved significantly since that incident. With their race’s extraordinary recovery abilities, he would likely recover completely soon. In the quiet of the night, with the cool breeze like water, Aida, no longer sleepy, sat cross-legged like Rod and began her own meditation as a magician. As she practiced, the already strong fire elements in the room grew even denser due to Rod’s invocation. However, as her practice continued, Aida frowned. A discovery shocked her—she realized that as a magician, her connection to elements was not as strong as Rod’s, and her ability to absorb elements couldn’t even compare to that of a warrior like Rod. Shocked and filled with doubts, she thought: Even their race can’t be this weak, right?