On the subject of "Dusk," Murphy had always been very "restrained." So far, only he and Triss had been involved.
The Vampire Lord didn't want too many people learning about this at this stage.
After all, judging from the information they'd gathered so far, this mysterious force called Dusk was so powerful that it had infiltrated every major faction. They also had more than two backup plans in Transia alone.
If they counted the gnoll warlocks searching for lost treasure in the Filthy Swamp, that made three.
Murphy still didn't know why Dusk was determined to make such a big move in Transia, but one thing was certain: those people definitely had no good intentions.
This was something he had to take seriously. It was even more important than preparing for the Black Calamity.
Murphy didn't want Dusk to drag everyone around him into danger. That wasn't just about protecting them; it was also about protecting himself.
So before the lich Bella began her story, he signaled with his eyes for Adele to leave the office. E-Sis obediently did as he asked, which naturally drew an extremely displeased complaint from Bella:
"You've turned the pearl of the Quiet Valley into your lapdog! You damned vampire!"
It cursed furiously, with a rage no undead creature should have been capable of:
"If Truman were still here!
"If he saw this, that valiant King of Gladiators, that mighty hydra whose renown spread across the Eternal Rift, would tear your head off in the cruelest way imaginable!"
"Yet the 'King of Gladiators' you speak of died precisely so the rest of you could live. If I wanted to be cruel, I could even say that you were the ones who got him killed!"
Murphy said coldly:
"He could have lived. As a half-elf, he