Volume 4: Shadows of Conflict, Chapter 164: A Match Made in Heaven

“What kind of bandit behavior? If you hadn’t kidnapped us and brought us here as bandits, he wouldn’t have seen such a beautiful manor, nor would he have been attracted to it. And kidnapping you? Don’t you think so?” Sophia slightly altered Chu Tianyu’s absurd reasoning and repeated it all to Count Shawei.
“You? This…” Hearing this, Count Shawei was truly speechless by Sophia’s words. His face turned red, and he stood there stunned.
Seeing Count Shawei’s angry expression, Sophia immediately grew furious. Remembering his arrogant and condescending attitude toward her and her father earlier, she wondered why he hadn’t considered the feelings of those he oppressed. Now, after being robbed by Chu Tianyu, he was so indignant—it made Sophia even angrier. She put aside her teasing tone and spoke coldly, “What’s the problem? Feeling wronged? Feeling oppressed? Where did your arrogance and your tendency to oppress others go? Your so-called plan to restore Europe’s glory through the power of the church—what do we see now? Nothing but killing. Your so-called ideals are nothing but a process of imposing your will, completely contrary to the church’s principles of kindness and compassion! According to your theory, any means are acceptable to achieve goals, but are the goals achieved through such means really as you imagined? Just like today—when you were robbed and extorted, could you remain calm, accept it without resentment? Similarly, even if you achieve your ideals, what will the outcome be? I won’t say anything else, but I can guarantee one thing: resentment will abound!”
Faced with Sophia’s relentless questions, Count Shawei tried several times to retort, but his words were blocked by her next question. Until her last question…
Upon hearing the last question, Count Shawei’s expression shifted instantly. His eyes showed confusion and deep thought.
After venting her anger, Sophia also felt as if she had let out a long-held breath, feeling much lighter. Yet her eyes remained fixed on Count Shawei’s face, observing his changing expressions and trying to understand his thoughts.
After a long while, Count Shawei finally reacted. It seemed he had figured something out; his whole body relaxed. Like losing his support, he slumped back in his chair, slowly closing his eyes. But his head was tilted slightly upward, as if in a deep sigh.

“That’s your opinion?” Count Shawei remained in his previous posture, eyes closed, as he asked slowly.
“No, I heard it from my father!” Sophia replied honestly, not blinking an eye.
“Hmm…” Count Shawei nodded, as if he had expected this, seemingly letting go of everything at once. With a hint of sadness and helplessness, he said, “Anyway, since things have come to this, whatever you say is fine. I have nothing more to say!”
“Well then, since Count Shawei says so, does that mean you’ll unconditionally agree to our few requests?” Sophia quickly seized the opportunity to ask.
Facing Sophia’s question, Count Shawei glanced at her and shook his head gently. “Live or die, it’s up to you…”
Sophia grew angry—all her efforts had been in vain! Just as she was about to say something else, a shadow flashed beside her, everything blurred, and a scream as loud as that of a slaughtered pig rang out simultaneously.
By the time Sophia and Count Shawei reacted, they saw Chu Tianyu standing beside the sacrificed Krigu, who had just been knocked unconscious. Chu Tianyu was firmly stepping on his elbow.
It seemed that Chu Tianyu’s foot, resting on the arm, was almost in contact with the ground, showing just how powerful the kick was. It was clear that Krigu’s arms, aside from the skin still covering them, had their bones and even muscles crushed into pulp.
But what shocked Sophia and Count Shawei wasn’t Chu Tianyu’s sudden violence against Krigu, but rather a round red ball that slipped from Krigu’s hands—about the size of a regular table tennis ball.
“A Vampiric Bloodthirst Explosion!” Sophia and Count Shawei exclaimed in unison in shock.
It turned out that when Chu Tianyu threw that punch, he intended to leave Krigu alive. So instead of killing him outright, he only knocked him severely and knocked him unconscious. However, his strength wasn’t enough—perhaps because Krigu’s staff intercepted the attack momentarily. As a result, Krigu woke up before Chu Tianyu and the others could deal with Count Shawei. But being a cunning man, he didn’t act like an ordinary person upon waking. Instead, he lay on the ground, trying to understand the situation before quietly waiting for an opportunity.

Seeing that both Chu Tianyu and Sophia were focusing their attention on Count Shawei, Priest Krigu thought he had an opportunity. He slowly took out the vampire-exclusive Bloodthirst Bomb from his pocket, preparing to launch a surprise attack. Unexpectedly, he had been noticed by Chu Tianyu from the moment he woke up. Noting his cautious and careful demeanor, Chu Tianyu found it interesting and decided to remain quiet, wanting to see what he would do next. He closely watched every move of Krigu. After enduring for a long time, Krigu’s heartbeat began to speed up, and Chu Tianyu realized he was carefully taking out something—Krigu was about to launch his attack. Just as he adjusted his stance and was ready to throw the object, Chu Tianyu stepped on him without giving him a chance, breaking his arm. The Bloodthirst Bomb rolled uncontrollably from his palm.

“The Bloodthirst Bomb is a very powerful energy source. Its horror lies in its ability to quickly enter human cells through vaporized blood, causing mutations in those cells until the entire body seems to be boiling with blood, as if there’s a fire burning inside. The only way to save oneself is to drain all the blood!” Sophia explained while picking up the Bloodthirst Bomb.

“Drain all the blood? Then the person would die long ago!” Chu Tianyu said.

“That’s right. Even if blood is transfused at the same time, it’s useless—no matter how much is transfused, the infection persists. So, there’s really no way to save them!” Sophia said.

“How could vampires have such a vicious weapon?” Chu Tianyu asked in confusion.

“Heh, you might not believe this, but vampires originally created the Bloodthirst Bomb to make ‘drugs’!”

“Drugs?” Chu Tianyu said in disbelief.

“That’s right, drugs! This boiling blood makes those infected feel the urge to drain their blood as quickly as possible. For vampires, consuming it gives them an inexplicable sense of pleasure and excitement, just like using drugs!”

“I see!” Chu Tianyu realized.

“Hmph, Count Shawei, look at this. This is what you call acting for Europe’s future. The Church, in order to strengthen itself, has even cooperated with vampires, exchanging favors. Do you see? This is the evidence!” Sophia took the chance to attack Count Shawei.

Faced with the facts, Count Shawei looked despondent, staring thoughtfully at the red sphere in Sophia’s hand.

That single kick from Chu Tianyu sent the already semi-conscious High Priest Kriegu into another bout of pain-induced unconsciousness. But Chu Tianyu clearly didn’t intend to give him another chance. With a flick of his finger, he struck a vital point on Kriegu’s body, causing the unconscious priest to scream and wake up once more.
“Ask him how this ball came about. What other secret plans or hidden truths does their Archbishop have? In short, ask as many questions as you can. If he refuses to speak, signal to me!”
Sophia asked several questions in a row, but Kriegu, who was sweating profusely from the pain, stubbornly refused to say a word.
Sophia immediately made a helpless gesture at Chu Tianyu. In fact, Chu Tianyu had already seen this and didn’t waste any more words. He simply stepped on Kriegu’s throat, silencing him forever!
Sophia hadn’t expected Chu Tianyu to kill him so directly. She thought he would use some Eastern secret technique or torture to extract a confession!
Count Shawey, who was watching nearby, was terrified. Seeing Kriegu’s miserable state, he felt a sense of desolation, as if a rabbit had died and the fox mourned.
Chu Tianyu acted this way for two reasons. First, Kriegu didn’t resemble Count Shawey at all. This tough guy seemed brainwashed, and his actions couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards. The best approach with someone like him was to eliminate him completely. Second, by showing such cold-bloodedness, he wanted to send a strong message to Count Shawey, preparing them for their next steps.
In Chu Tianyu’s view, Count Shawey was a key figure in dealing with the church. Gaining more intelligence and information about the church would be extremely useful for him and Orsini in dealing with Archbishop Thorne in the future. After all, if they could gain the upper hand, it would lay a solid foundation for controlling Europe in the long term! Sometimes, it wasn’t enough to simply kill the opponent with force; true victory meant making them an object of scorn for others after defeating them!
So, after “disposing” of High Priest Kriegu, under Chu Tianyu’s guidance, Sophia used the same method to question Count Shawey.

But when it came to Count Shavi, the performance of the two of them was much more dynamic—Chu Tianye’s strength and Sophia’s gentleness, one strong and the other gentle, alternating back and forth. With Chu Tianye roaring fiercely beside him and Sophia speaking to him calmly and rationally, they managed to obtain everything they wanted and all the information from Count Shavi in no time.
And in the end, it was Sophia who suggested that Chu Tianye seal off Count Shavi’s sacred power. As a result, Chu Tianye accidentally destroyed it completely…
With his sacred power ruined, Count Shavi stared blankly at the man and woman before him, screaming inwardly, “God! What kind of people have I kidnapped back here?”