Lord Leo opened his eyes. Two servants silently took out a water flask, dropped three pieces of Blood Bait into the water, shook it vigorously, then poured it into a tin cup and handed it to their master.
Lord Leo drank a cup of bloodwater and looked slightly more alert. He muttered a brief incantation, and more than a dozen palm-sized bats flew from his body and soared into the sky.
For the past dozen days, he had used this secret technique every day to scout the distance!
Among the Thirty-Seven Vampire Clans, every clan had different secret techniques. As one of the Three Imperial Families, the Arthur Family's foundational secret technique was the Blood Kindred True Word Technique. Every member of the Arthur Family was proficient in spells. This Blood Bat Technique could attack enemies and transform its user into countless bats to escape, but its primary purpose was reconnaissance.
Lord Leo did not fully trust Charlotte.
The dozen or so bats flew out for two or three hours, but only two returned. They plunged into Lord Leo's body, instantly revitalizing the vampire lord. He said in a low voice, "Ferdinand really will be passing nearby."
"Qian Nan did not lie. He is still trustworthy."
Charlotte had not casually made up the claim that Grand Duke Ferdinand would pass through Machu Picchu.
While organizing documents for Senior Menilman, he had happened to see a file regarding a South Seraph Restorationist who had just been imprisoned. The man had been arrested for plotting an uprising, and the file mentioned the route Grand Duke Ferdinand would take to Strasbourg.
Charlotte had been preparing to go to Machu Picchu at the time, so he had casually mentioned that Grand Duke Ferdinand would pass by. He had not expected it to earn him even more of Lord Leo's trust.
Whenever Lord Leo sent out his blood bats to scout the surrounding area, Charlotte tactfully kept his distance and continued studying the "Vampire Secret Scroll."
When he saw Lord Leo's blood bats return, he hurriedly put away the "Vampire Secret Scroll," walked over respectfully, and asked, "Do you still need me to send people out to scout?"
Lord Leo shook his head. "The South Seraph Restorationists have already set their ambush. Sending your people over would only alert them."
"The two of us can go."
Charlotte had been relieved when he heard that there was no need to send anyone, but he had not expected Lord Leo to want him to come along. Slightly startled, he asked, "Me?"
Lord Leo smiled faintly. "The South Seraph Restorationists do not have anyone particularly formidable. Their assassination attempt may not succeed. Our task is to add a shot when necessary."
"How is your marksmanship?"
Charlotte hesitated before answering, "It is decent. Within twenty paces, I can shoot out a candle flame."
Lord Leo reached into his collar from behind and pulled out an enormous firearm.
It was more than 1.5 Pimi long, roughly 1.8 meters by Earth's metric system. Its barrel was slightly thinner than an arm, but for a firearm, it was terrifyingly thick. More than ninety percent of its components gleamed with metallic luster, and its entire frame exuded a rough, sturdy, heavy aura. Not only could it fire bullets, but it would also be formidable as an infantry weapon.
The Old Continent did not yet have a distinct category of sniper rifles, but rifles already existed.
This rifle's design style was entirely unlike that of the vampires. It had clearly come from a high-order alchemy workshop of the Empire of Fars, and it was a special model.
Lord Leo laughed. "Lucky you! This is the signature product of one of Fars's six great alchemy workshops, the Fire Cromwell Workshop—the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle!"
"Spatial Equipment is for storage; Anti-Space is for concealment. You can hide it inside any everyday object, making it extremely convenient to carry."
"This gun comes with a Spatial Magazine. When you take it out of a concealed object, its Anti-Space converts into a Spatial Magazine. But spaces cannot coexist, so when you hide it inside another object, the Spatial Magazine converts back into Anti-Space and spits out the ammunition. You still need to carry the bullets separately."
"Besides that, it can convert various energies, such as battle qi, blood energy, and magic power, into bullets. But a Low-Order Transcendent can only fire a few shots at most, so it is only useful in an emergency."
"Its effective range is 3,700 Pimi!"
"Of course, unless you are a Transcendent marksman, no one can shoot that far with any accuracy."
"This time, I brought two Anti-Space Long-Range Rifles. This one is yours."
"When the time comes, you can try firing a few shots too. The South Seraph Restorationists will bear the blame anyway. Opportunities to openly shoot at a grand duke—and not go to the gallows even if you kill him—are rare indeed."
Charlotte swallowed. At first, he had thought Lord Leo possessed Spatial Equipment. Otherwise, how could a mere piece of clothing conceal such a thick, long rifle?
Upon hearing the words Anti-Space, he became even more astonished. Anti-Space Supernatural Items were strange objects unique to this world.
Magic Equipment with Anti-Space properties could be hidden anywhere, essentially turning ordinary objects into temporary, dedicated spatial storage equipment.
This property was both unimaginable and extraordinarily inventive.
Not all Magic Equipment on the Old Continent consisted of cold weapons. Firearms were simply rarer and more expensive.
This Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle was Magic Equipment, and with its Anti-Space attribute added on, its price would definitely not be lower than the Shanlunshi Spear in Louis Smythe's possession!
From Lord Leo's words, it seemed he did not intend to take this long-range rifle back!
What kind of windfall was this?
But Charlotte was a transmigrator, and he regained his senses after only a few seconds. If the weapon used to kill Grand Duke Ferdinand is an Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle, then whoever possesses such a weapon will be suspected of being the murderer!
He is making me take the blame!
Vampires truly are all bad people!
Pah! They are not even people.
Pretending not to understand the crucial point, Charlotte accepted the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle with a delighted expression. He tapped it against the Alchemy Staff that never left his side. The Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle truly lived up to its name. The rough-looking rifle merged into the Alchemy Staff without the slightest obstruction, making the staff only a little heavier.
Lord Leo handed him a bag of bullets and said, "These are specially made Demon-Breaking Armor-Piercing Bullets. One round is enough to kill a Titan demon. Ferdinand is also a High-Order Transcendent, but he definitely cannot withstand a single shot."
Charlotte accepted the bag and opened it for a look. The Demon-Breaking Armor-Piercing Bullets were seven or eight times larger than ordinary bullets. There were only twenty rounds in the bag, but it was extremely heavy and impossible to carry on his person.
He beckoned to an adventurer. "I remember you have an empty backpack?"
The adventurer took out a leather shoulder bag and removed the miscellaneous items inside. "I got a new backpack and could not bear to throw this one away. It is a little old, but still fairly sturdy."
Charlotte put the bag of bullets inside and said, "My lord! Let us depart."
Lord Leo smiled faintly and walked out of Machu Picchu Fortress. It was as though someone were guiding him. Like an old horse that knew the way, he walked faster and faster until he finally broke into a run.
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