A Knight's Lance Like a Dragon from Beyond the Heavens (The Title Was Too Long, Leaving No Room to Ask for Monthly Votes)

None of Charlotte's adventurers were Transcendents. Once a fourth-rank Knight was determined to flee, ordinary people simply could not catch him.

Besides, if Winterburn escaped, then so be it. By the time he returned with reinforcements, Charlotte would have long since vanished to parts unknown.

Just as Charlotte was preparing to wrap things up and continue fooling his adventurers, he heard a piercing whistle tearing through the air. A Knight's Lance flew like a dragon from beyond the heavens, carrying crushing force as it pierced straight through Winterburn's body. Its momentum did not fade, dragging the fourth-rank Knight dozens of paces before nailing him alive to the ground.

A chill rose within Charlotte at the sight. The person who had struck possessed strength beyond anything he had ever seen.

If this person was an enemy, then even if all hundred-plus adventurers followed him into a fight to the death, the outcome would likely be nothing more than a massacre.

The adventurers were stunned as well. Though they were all low-level adventurers, they had spent years living in the wilderness and fighting frequently. Their strength might have been mediocre, but almost none of them lacked discernment. Many cried out in shock, "A High-Order Transcendent!"

Charlotte took a deep breath. He knew there was no use hiding and no possibility of escape. Holding the Vampire Hand Axe in one hand and the Magic Rapier in the other, he strode forward and shouted, "Who is it?"

A calm voice said lightly, "There can be no mistakes in the Empire's plans this time. Fortunately, I happened to be here. If this man had escaped and leaked the Empire's grand scheme, you would have been a criminal."

"State your name and rank. I will file a complaint with the military."

These words had been spoken in Byronian. Most of the adventurers did not speak Byronian, but Fars and Byron were both among the five great empires of the Old Continent, so they could tell that the other party was a Byronian. Many of them despaired. They had just been pretending to be Byronian spies!

And now they had run into a real Byronian!

Almost everyone could imagine what would happen to them.

Charlotte silently said, Thank the Goddess, thank Sheffield University, thank higher education. He answered in flawless Byronian, "My apologies. I am carrying out a secret mission and cannot reveal my identity."

Charlot Mecklenburg was fluent in seven languages, Byronian among them. His reply was perfectly articulated, without the slightest Farsian accent.

The most fundamental difference between him and these adventurers was that he had genuinely received the Empire's finest education.

A tall, handsome middle-aged man emerged from the darkness with two attendants. His skin was fair, his golden hair brilliant, and a faint layer of blood-red shimmered in his eyes. He was a typical vampire. He said approvingly, "Not bad. You did not abandon your principles because of authority. I may consider dropping the complaint for now."

"You use Blood Flame Qi! Are you from House of Adonis?"

Charlotte relaxed and replied, "Yes!" At the same time, he threw the Vampiric Rapier in his hand, piercing Winterburn's body, and shouted, "I need all of you to lend a hand and finish off these Farsians."

"Those willing to do so, I will regard as my own people."

"As for those unwilling... I am afraid... forgive me."

"Sorry. You know too much."

The mysterious middle-aged vampire swept his gaze over the adventurers. A mountain-heavy pressure radiated from him, like an ancient beast staring down a pack of helpless white rabbits. Everyone felt fear rise in their hearts and trembled.

The adventurers looked at one another. Before long, someone made the smart choice and stabbed a detective from the Fiery Steed Detective Agency.

Charlotte's scheme was, bluntly speaking, utterly unsophisticated. It was simply the pledge of allegiance from Water Margin before joining Liangshan. These adventurers had come from all over, divided into more than ten small adventurer groups. They had no real sense of being a team and could abandon him at any time.

With the pressure of this mysterious Byronian High-Order Transcendent, Charlotte forced these people to submit pledges of allegiance. This could greatly strengthen the team's cohesion and his personal prestige, while also explaining why a "Byronian spy" had a group of low-level Farsian adventurers following him.

He knew Blood Flame Qi and spoke Byronian, so he could pass himself off as a Byronian. These adventurers, who could not even speak Byronian, could never pretend to be vampires. They could only be Blood Servants he had temporarily subdued. That was an old tradition among the vampires of the Byron Empire.

Under the oppressive might of the mysterious Byronian High-Order Transcendent, more than a hundred adventurers, willing or not, came forward with pinched noses and took turns stabbing the seven Wild Horse Society detectives once—with knives, swords, daggers, or war hammers.

That was right. Even the already dead Addison and Winterburn, along with the two detectives killed in battle, did not escape this treatment.

The three Fiery Steed detectives captured alive died rather miserably.

Charlotte reached out, pulled the Vampiric Rapier free, and stored it in his left arm. Then he pulled out the Knight's Lance and respectfully offered it to the mysterious middle-aged vampire with both hands before ordering a search of the dead detectives' bodies.

They found a little over seven Écu in cash. Five Écu had come from Addison alone, which was only natural. Other than fugitives like him, who would carry their entire fortune on their person?

He assessed the value of the seven detectives' equipment and distributed the proceeds, along with the cash, fairly among the adventurers.

Only after threats came rewards could the adventurers be put at ease.

On Earth, this combination of favor and intimidation was merely common sense.

Sure enough, the adventurers relaxed somewhat, and the tense atmosphere eased.

The tall, handsome middle-aged man nodded slightly, smiling as he looked at Charlotte with great satisfaction. "Not bad! You have some of the bearing of a Byronian soldier."

"I am Lord Leo, and like you, I bear a special mission. I am temporarily requisitioning you and your subordinates. State your name."

Charlotte let out a breath and replied, "Qian Nan! You may call me Qian Nan."

With a casual touch, the Byronian lord's Knight's Lance transformed into a rapier, which he smoothly slipped into the scabbard at his waist.

Charlotte had seen this kind of advanced weapon, capable of shifting between two forms, not long ago. He could not help crying out, "The Spear of Sharlons? You are actually from House of Arthur!"

Lord Leo's Knight's Lance was even more ornate than the one in Louis Smythe's possession. Its value was surely greater as well, worth at least fifteen hundred Gold Ecu.

House of Adonis was one of the Six Royal Families, but Arthur was among the Three Imperial Families, naturally holding a status above all other vampire clans.

Lord Leo nodded faintly, concealing his pride without showing a trace of it. "Grand Duke Ferdinand of the Duchy of Behemoth is going to Strasbourg to meet Julius VI. I need his route and detailed intelligence."

"Qian Nan! You entered Fars before I did."

"What information can you provide me?"

Charlotte was startled. What do these Byronians want with Grand Duke Ferdinand's route into Strasbourg? He casually answered, "I was just about to head to Machu Picchu. It is only two hundred kilometers from Strasbourg. I heard Grand Duke Ferdinand will pass through the ruins of this ancient Orc Kingdom fortress."