The Changed Plot

Lucius had become a huge variable here. It was precisely because of his appearance that he had stirred up the townspeople.

No one would be willing to accept a wanted murderer into their town. For the safety of their families, even the most timid among them would step forward.

"Arrest him!" Lucius shouted at the crowd. "In the name of the town chief, I declare this murderer under arrest! I promise that his bounty will be used to build up the town and provide aid for widows and orphans!"

The power of that promise was extraordinary! The moment they heard it, several men immediately rushed at Van Helsing, intending to seize him.

How could Van Helsing possibly submit? He had always been unruly. Even when pursued by people who did not know the truth, he had never bothered to explain himself. Besides, this was not the first time he had faced a siege like this. He immediately drew the gun from his waist and fired two shots into the sky!

The thunderous gunshots intimidated the townspeople. They only had axes, sickles, pitchforks, and the like in their hands, but they understood the power of firearms and naturally did not dare rush forward recklessly.

Whenever Van Helsing had been surrounded in the past, he had used this method to break free. He had thought this time would be no exception, but unexpectedly, something went wrong. Town Chief Lucius actually pulled out a pistol as well and aimed it at Van Helsing!

"Resist, and I'll shoot you dead on the spot!" Lucius said sinisterly.

Van Helsing was immediately conflicted. Was he really supposed to exchange gunfire with these townspeople, slaughter a path through them, and force his way out? If he did, he would truly confirm his identity as a murderer!

He had come here at the request of the church's Sacred Order Knights to eliminate Dracula the vampire. If the entire town was hunting him down, how could he complete his mission?

Monk Carl was no longer someone he could rely on. Faced with such a scene, Carl had already curled into a ball. After hesitating for a while, Van Helsing finally compromised. He lowered his gun, raised his hands in surrender, and allowed the burly men who rushed forward to twist his arms behind his back and force him to his knees.

"Tie him up!" Lucius, the town chief, felt that he had made a grand showing of himself today and gave the order smugly.

However, at that moment, Anna, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke. "Wait, you can't arrest him!"

Van Helsing turned to look at Anna in surprise. He did not know why this woman was speaking up for him.

Lucius's expression darkened. "Why?"

Anna said, "If he truly is named Van Helsing, as you say, then he shouldn't be a wanted criminal. He should be a famous monster hunter! I've heard his name before. They say that a hundred years ago, he killed a vampire!"

The surrounding townspeople immediately broke into an uproar. A monster hunter? A Vampire Hunter?

Lucius did not care about any of that. He remembered Roy's instructions and said, "Miss Anna, what can you offer as a guarantee for him?"

Without waiting for Anna to speak, he hurriedly continued, "Miss Anna, though I truly do not wish to say this, I must remind you: while I admire the oath your family swore to God and respect your family's centuries-long campaign against Dracula, have you ever considered that it was precisely because your family was incompetent and failed to kill Dracula that Transylvania Town has suffered the Vampire Disaster for centuries? Every family in this town has lost loved ones to vampires. This is a responsibility your family cannot escape!"

Language was a great art, and what Lucius said was indeed true. As descendants of the Villeris Family, Anna and her Brother Viken had always enjoyed quite a few privileges in town. People had granted them those privileges out of admiration for their family's courage in fighting vampires. Yet in truth, the true cause of this disaster lay with their family.

When Lucius exposed this truth according to Roy's instructions, the gazes the people turned on Anna immediately became uncertain.

Lucius's words had stirred up the painful memories of those who had lost loved ones, and many people normally had no outlet for such feelings...

"Pah!" Suddenly, a woman in the crowd could not help but spit on the ground!

Like a chain reaction, that spit caused people to begin pointing fingers at Anna.

"Baron Lucius is right. At the root of it all, the Vampire Disaster is the fault of their family!"

"I don't understand why the souls of their family can enter heaven if they destroy vampires!?"

"Exactly! What about those of us harmed by vampires? And those killed by vampires? Their souls can only go to hell..."

"It's unfair! Our faith is no weaker than theirs!"

"Why should God give their family special privileges?"

The quiet murmurs gradually turned into universal condemnation. Seeing the disgusted looks in people's eyes, Anna could not understand how things had suddenly become like this just because she had spoken one sentence???

Van Helsing listened and likewise felt that things had become big trouble.

He actually understood it himself. Before the church had sent him here, it had told him that it was precisely because the Villeris Family had guarded the church's Left Flank in Eastern Europe that the church could ensure victory in the war for faith. To prevent the Villeris Family, that symbol, from collapsing, the church had to intervene.

In other words, it was because the Villeris Family had value...

And because ordinary people had no achievements, did that mean they deserved it?

Van Helsing did not know how to answer that question either. The reason certain unspoken rules remained unspoken was because they could not be brought into the open...

"So, Miss Anna!" Lucius sneered, gripping his gun. "If I were you, I would put more thought into how to eliminate Dracula instead of running here and interfering with the town's laws!"

"Tie them up and take them away!" Lucius said, waving his hand to command the townspeople into action.

Van Helsing had no way to resist and could only let the crowd shove him along. Over a hundred townspeople from Transylvania Town escorted Van Helsing and Carl toward the wilderness outside town. There was no prison specifically for holding criminals in town; they were usually tied up and left in the wild.

As Van Helsing was escorted away, he kept looking back at Anna. Now that he knew her identity, he was already considering how he could escape later and find Anna, a Descendant of Villeris Family.

Watching Van Helsing's departing figure, Anna knew that from this day onward, her family would likely lose its footing in this town...

Just as Anna was filled with anxious thoughts, a voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"Ho ho ho, dear Anna, you've become such a pitiful little thing now!"

Anna's heart jolted. The instant she turned around, she had already drawn the dagger at her waist. However, her raised hand was stopped. One of Dracula's Vampire Brides stood behind her in human form.

Gripping Anna's knife-wielding hand, the Vampire Bride wore a smug expression. She had hidden among the crowd earlier and watched everything unfold, so naturally she was utterly delighted.

"How does it feel to lose everyone's support?" the bride asked with a giggle. "For centuries, your family has been like heroes in this town, but now you have become the culprit. This show has been such a delight to watch!"

"What do you want?" Anna said angrily, struggling with all her strength to break free.

"I came here to pass along a message!" the bride said. "Your brother isn't dead yet!"

"W-what!?" Anna could not help widening her eyes.

"You heard correctly. He isn't dead!" The Bride released her hand and began circling her, walking around her while greedily inhaling the scent of blood and vitality from her body. "But his condition isn't very good. He was bitten by a werewolf!"

Upon hearing this, Anna nearly lost control of her emotions. But before she could make a move, the bride hugged her from behind and laughed into her ear. "But don't worry. As long as the werewolf venom is cured before the first full moon, he won't become a monster who recognizes neither kin nor friend. And Master Dracula happens to have one dose of the antidote. If you want it, come to the castle and make a deal with master!"

After saying that, without waiting for Anna's reply, the Bride released her, transformed into a vampire with a vicious grin, and flew into the sky. The people who witnessed it fled in panic, hiding everywhere.

"A deal?" Anna bit her lip tightly, her heart twisting in endless conflict...