Severing the Blood Hand

Yvette was half-believing, but this was Qin's turf, after all. She gave Bai Pu a deep look before following Guna to meet the lord.

In the room, only Qin and Bai Pu remained.

The atmosphere was a bit ambiguous.

Qin pulled Bai Pu onto the bed and gave him a gentle push.

Bai Pu hadn't expected that Qin, a seemingly delicate scholar, would have such strength. He fell onto the bed, and as he tried to sit up, bracing himself with his hands, Qin pressed a finger against his chest.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just giving you a physical examination."

Qin took out a red-framed magnifying glass from her black robe and leaned over Bai Pu's chest, examining the wounds inch by inch.

"Your physique is indeed very special. Normally, if someone is scratched by a Plague Dead and not treated promptly, they will quickly transform into a new Plague Dead. Yet, you managed to hold out for so long and still had the energy to fight... There must be a mysterious substance within you acting as an antibody."

After a pause, Qin continued, "However, this mysterious substance seems to have been forcibly integrated through an external injection. You can't freely control its power; otherwise, you wouldn't need me to detoxify you."

Listening to Qin, Bai Pu felt admiration. The "mysterious substance" Qin mentioned was clearly the Evolution Source Blood!

Bai Pu couldn't freely control the Evolution Source Blood. He could only activate its adaptive defense by passively taking damage. This was also because he hadn't awakened yet; perhaps things would change after he became an Awakened.

"Scholar Qin, can you help me master this power?" Bai Pu sat up, buttoning his tattered linen shirt. "My home was destroyed by the Blood Ring. I want revenge."

"Our positions are aligned. However, before I agree, I'll need some help from you as well," Qin said with a smile.

Looking at Qin's smiling face, Bai Pu felt a chill crawl up the back of his neck.

The way Qin looked at him now was exactly the same as how Dean Zhao from the Superpower Corporation looked at him!

It was like he was a rare and precious experimental material.

"What do you need?" Bai Pu asked.

"Your blood."

Qin met Bai Pu's gaze and said with a smile, "Don't look at me like that. When I collect your blood, I'll be careful and take precautions. It won't endanger your life."

"I'm not worried about that. I want to ask, what's the point of needing my blood?" Bai Pu pressed.

Qin explained, "With the Blood Ring's invasion, many people in the Brandenburg Territory have a dormant Flesh Plague curse within them. If the curse erupts, everyone in the territory, except for a few individuals with compatible physiques, will turn into Plague Dead! Then there will be no point in fighting this war."

After a pause, Qin continued, "However, your blood can be used to create an antibody for the Flesh Plague, restoring the infected to health. As compensation, I can help you temporarily develop the power within you and create an Alchemy Potion that greatly boosts strength for a short period!"

As Qin explained, the Spirit Realm Will also sent a mission prompt.

[Side Mission: Blood Donation]

[Mission Objective: Provide 1000 milliliters of blood to Qin.]

[Mission Deadline: None (equivalent to your remaining stay in this plane)]

[Mission Difficulty: C+]

[Mission Reward: Stimulation Blood]

Bai Pu accepted the side mission without hesitation.

A C+ difficulty should pose no life-threatening danger. However, this difficulty rating was based on Bai Pu's unique physique, which already integrated Evolution Source Blood. For anyone else, the mission difficulty could skyrocket to S.

Therefore, the value of the Stimulation Blood reward couldn't be measured by a simple C+ mission reward.

Upon receiving Bai Pu's consent, Qin became very excited. She opened her toolbox and took out a series of chilling instruments.

Sharp feather tubes, bladders from unknown animals, ropes made from tree bark fibers...

Frankly, if the mission difficulty rating hadn't been only C+, Bai Pu might have fled. But now, he could only endure the discomfort, allowing Qin to tie his upper arm with the rope, watching the feather tube insert into his vein, and counting the blood flowing into the animal bladder...

After several blood draws, even with Bai Pu's physique being twice as strong as an ordinary person's, he couldn't help but feel dizzy and lightheaded.

His heart pounded forcefully, vigorously drawing nutrients from Bai Pu's body to pump out fresh blood to replenish what was needed!

The familiar hunger surged again, as if a black hole within him was constantly devouring.

Fortunately, Qin had prepared dry rations: long, hard loaves of bread and frozen wild boar ham. Qin's maid sliced the bread and ham thinly, spread them with jam, and they tasted quite delicious.

While Bai Pu was feasting, Qin began her research. Bai Pu's work was already completed after the bloodletting; he wasn't needed for any further assistance.

Notably, after the blood draw, Qin's favorability towards Bai Pu increased by a full 500 points, reaching the friend level.

Full and satisfied, Bai Pu felt drowsy and fell asleep on Qin's bed.

When Bai Pu woke up, he found several more people in Qin's room.

Among them was the female knight Yvette, who was looking at him with a complex expression.

Bai Pu stretched, feeling completely refreshed.

Glancing at his arm, Bai Pu suddenly discovered a startling fact: his entire body had been scrubbed clean, and his tattered linen clothes were gone, replaced by a rather exquisite silk pajama set!

No wonder Yvette had that look.

Bai Pu sat up abruptly and asked, "How long have I slept... No, did I pass out?"

With his 9 points in Spirit, Bai Pu wouldn't sleep too deeply, and even a slight disturbance could wake him.

Yet, in his sleep, not only had his clothes been changed, but he had also been dragged and scrubbed! If he hadn't woken up, there was only one explanation: he had fainted.

Qin smiled and said, "Oh, you're awake already? You used so much energy, I thought you'd sleep a bit longer."

Yvette: "..."

"Ms. Qin, please don't joke. What did you do? Why did I pass out?" Bai Pu asked, a little displeased. He immediately opened his status panel, found no abnormal status effects, and felt slightly relieved.

Qin waved her hand and said with a smile, "When I drew your blood, I injected you with the essence of the Sinora Blood Vine's fruit. This essence can quickly replenish blood, but its side effect is causing a period of unconsciousness.

"Theoretically, even an elephant would need a full eight hours of sleep. It's astonishing that you woke up in just four hours! I'm even more curious about your body."

As she spoke, Qin handed him a bottle with a feathered dropper filled with a red potion. "Here you go, this is the promised reward."

This potion was clearly the reward for the side quest: Blood Donation, Stimulation Blood.

Bai Pu glanced at it. The Spirit Realm Will sent a prompt.

[Stimulation Blood: Special Item, Quality Unknown. Pure blood essence extracted from the host of Evolution Source Blood. Hosts of Evolution Source Blood who inject it can temporarily gain (7) Free Attribute Points for 120 minutes.]

[Warning: Individuals other than Evolution Source Blood hosts who inject Stimulation Blood must pass a strength check. If the strength check fails, the injector will become a servant of the Evolution Source Blood host.]

"It's good that Mr. Dio woke up earlier; our time is very tight."

The speaker was a young man with a golden, slightly curly beard. He stood in the center of the room, his helmet off, his long golden-blond curly hair falling to either side like a majestic lion's mane.

The man wore black light armor inlaid with gold, a long sword with an eagle emblem at his waist, and a wide-collared fur-lined cloak. The scattered gold and silver threads and gem decorations on it indicated his noble status.

Beside the man were a scholar in a gray robe and a fully armored strongman, presumably his subordinates.

Qin spoke at the opportune moment, "Dio, allow me to introduce you to His Excellency Frederick William, the Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia; and these two are the learned Court Wizard Galan and the reliable Zweig Lieutenant."

The term "Elector" referred to a prince who held the right to "elect the Holy Roman Emperor," meaning a powerful feudal lord with the privilege of voting for the emperor.

Bai Pu didn't have much historical knowledge, but he had heard of Prussia; it was the predecessor to the German Empire! This Duke William was an ancestor of the later German Emperors.

To Bai Pu, Duke William held an even more important identity—he was the final boss of the Brandenburg faction in this world!

"No need for formalities."

Duke William waved his hand, stopping Bai Pu's attempt to bow, and said calmly, "Lady Yvette has already reported everything to me. My aunt—Lady Eleonora—has been imprisoned, and she wants Brandenburg to send elite troops to land in Scania. In fact, even without her message, the war between Brandenburg and the Blood Ring Fortress is imminent."

Qin nodded and said, "That's right. The Blood Ring's vanguard forces have already crossed the Baltic Sea. Gustav's ambition is not limited to the Scandinavian Peninsula; he wants to conquer all of Europe."

Duke William stated, "I must return to my territory to convene the electors and lords, form a resistance army, and jointly resist the invasion of the Blood Ring monsters. I need you to confront the Blood Ring vanguard and delay the landing of the main Blood Ring forces as much as possible."

Court Wizard Galan quickly offered his advice, "Gustav sending vanguard troops across the sea is to probe Brandenburg's strength and establish forward outposts. Eliminating the vanguard commander is the most effective response and will certainly delay the landing of the main Blood Ring forces."

Qin chimed in:

"While the Duke was inspecting his territory, he encountered two Blood Ring strongholds and has already eliminated them. Including the one eliminated by Dio and Yvette, that makes three.

"From the enemies, we found secret orders signed by the Blood Ring Vanguard Commander. After Ms. Yvette's interpretation, we learned the commander's name—

"'Blood Hand' Colen."

Qin looked at Bai Pu and said, "This is a tricky fellow. He gained a fearsome reputation during the Blood Ring Fortress's conquest of Denmark, earning the moniker 'Blood Hand' due to his brutal combat style. Since the Duke cannot be in two places at once, we can only rely on our combined strength to eliminate him. Every bit of combat power is precious."

A prompt from the Spirit Realm Will arrived.

[Main Quest II: Sever the Blood Hand]

[Quest Objective: Kill the Blood Ring Vanguard Commander: Blood Hand Colen.]

[Quest Deadline: 10 Days.]

[Quest Difficulty: S]

[Quest Reward: Brandenburg Merit Points 500~1500 (depending on contribution to completing the quest).]

[Failure Penalty: Expulsion (equivalent to trial quest failure penalty)]

Bai Pu had now chosen his faction. The main faction quest was a must-take, with little room for negotiation.

However, this didn't stop Bai Pu from trying to bargain. He looked directly into Qin's eyes and said, "For Brandenburg, I will not shirk my duty. However, you also mentioned that there is a hidden power within me. After completing this mission, I hope you can assist me in developing this power so that I can truly control it."

Qin said helplessly, "I analyzed your blood sample. There is indeed a mysterious substance in your body, but at present, the strength of this mysterious substance is not enough. It needs to at least double in strength to meet the development standard."

In other words, Bai Pu needed to find a second vial of Evolution Source Blood and have Qin help him fuse it to finally complete the Awakener's trial mission and unlock the various wondrous uses of Evolution Source Blood.

"Alright, I will strive to achieve that. At that time, I hope you will keep your promise," Bai Pu said.

Qin nodded.

The prompt for Main Quest II quietly changed, with the last entry for quest rewards becoming:

[Quest Reward: Brandenburg Merit Points 0~1000 (depending on contribution to completing the quest); You gain one qualification to fuse Evolution Source Blood (Evolution Source Blood must be provided by you).]

Evolution Source Blood should still be seized from the Sting Squad.

Bai Pu checked the warning message for the trial quest.

[Countdown to Sting Squad entering this world: 35 hours 03 minutes 46 seconds.]

Update Schedule:

During the new book period, there will be two updates per day, at 7 AM and 5 PM.

We hope to bring readers a good mood before work and after work.

We can't burst with updates during the new book period, but we will definitely do so once the book is officially released! Please don't hoard the book; 24-hour readership is the only standard for measuring a book's potential and determines whether it can get key recommendations! We implore you!