The changes in the bats instilled a strong sense of crisis in Norton.
He felt like a panacea, possessing a strong attraction and evolutionary influence on other species.
No wonder Werewolf always want to hunt me, no wonder I was targeted by unknown creatures in the forest when I went to dispose of a corpse, no wonder even the Church wants to hunt Vampire.
Ultimately, it turns out I was just a high-level evolution material!
"I give up, I feel like the Church set me up!" Norton leaned against the wall, completely defeated.
His dream of becoming an honest, long-lived Vampire was now a pipe dream!
"Does it have any special abilities, Coal Ball? Can it understand human speech?" Norton reached out and tapped the bat's belly, looking at its withered appearance, wanting to try to stimulate it to see if it had evolved any special abilities.
Unfortunately, this thing still couldn't quite understand his words and didn't demonstrate any abilities.
Forget about suddenly turning into a little bat girl, it didn't even change much in strength. Apart from becoming a bit more wiry than before, it didn't show any improvement whatsoever.
Since it's consuming Norton's blood, the little guy's recovery ability might change slightly. Also, the stamina bar restriction has been removed. Aside from that, it probably won't have any other passive abilities.
After all, he didn't have it, so how could the bat that fed on Norton's flesh and blood possibly have it?
"Squeak squeak squeak..." Coal Ball clung to Norton's hand, pulling it aside, and flapped its wings to fly out of the attic.
It seemed to have just completed its evolution; its aged body had gained new strength, which gave it the idea to go out and hunt for food.
Only Norton stood frozen in place, staring at the bat's distant figure.
He seemed to experience a kind of magnetic field-like sensation.
Yes, it's like a magnetic field, or like radar.
The magnetic field was pitch black, with only a flying figure appearing and disappearing within it.
Norton had an instinctive feeling that his status, or rather his Existence Level, was superior to that of the flying bat, to the point that he could crush it at will!
However, the magnetic field was completely dark, with only the silhouette of the bat still flying in the air.
"Hiss! I think I've actually awakened something!"
"Rustling..."
A bat flew into the rich man's yard and landed on the eaves of his house.
The bat, hanging upside down, didn't immediately go to suck the blood of the livestock below. Instead, it tilted its head slightly, seemingly trying to locate something.
Bats are common these days, but because of their disgusting appearance, they are often associated with filth. Someone started saying that bats are poisonous and that eating them would kill you, and this gradually turned into a rumor that spread.
Just like the rumor that gecko urine is poisonous, it is still believed by a group of people to this day.
Norton's clock tower is located on the dividing line between the rich and poor in Lino City. Seventy percent of Lino City's land is occupied by the mansions of the rich, leaving only the remaining thirty percent to be crammed with all of Lino City's poor.
Therefore, bats either fly to slums or wealthy areas. Wealthy families have many livestock, including chickens, ducks, fish, geese, horses, donkeys, cattle, and sheep, all of which are prey for bats. So bats only fly to wealthy areas.
However, this wealthy family was somewhat interesting, because it was the family of Mary, one of Karl's girlfriends.
The Papal State do not have a feudal system. From top to bottom, the Church suppresses everything, so there are no such things as counts or marquises. All powerful families are associated with the Church.
For example, the Low-Ranking Bishop Good in Lino City was from a very prominent family.
However, their status was not due to their prominent family backgrounds. It was not that the Low-Ranking Bishop Good was able to become a bishop, but rather that the Low-Ranking Bishop Good acquired his prominent family background after becoming a bishop.
The Church is the fundamental authority that determines who achieves prominence, therefore the Holy Lord Church has complete control over the Papal State.
As for whether the children will become priests, missionaries, or Church knights after entering the Church, this is entirely within the Church's internal control.
The clever ones are groomed for higher positions, the good-looking ones become missionaries, the kind ones become priests, the less attractive ones become Church knights, and the ugliest ones are taken out to be food. Their positions are already determined when they enter the Church.
And Mary's family was the family of Father Abraham of Lino City. Yes, priests were also allowed to marry and have children.
Even marriage, in the feudal and oppressive Papal State, is a sacred matter. After all, procreation is the foundation of human life, and even the divine Shenyin originated from God and woman; therefore, the continuation of the family line cannot be prohibited by the Church.
The night was gradually fading; it was only a little past four in the morning.
Church members of the priest rank and above have a day off, usually the day before Mass, during which they are allowed to rest, bathe, and change clothes to prepare for the upcoming Mass celebration.
Although Archbishop Duoxia suspended Mass in Lino City, the day of rest was not cancelled.
Today happened to be a day off, which prompted Father Abraham to rush home from Church after his midnight confession.
There was no way around it; several accidental deaths had occurred at the Church in Lino City recently, making it a rather unlucky year. And today, another missing missionary was discovered. Abraham was even hesitant to stay at the Church; it was truly frightening.
When Father Abraham arrived at the gate of his mansion, he didn't even need to knock. The servants on night watch immediately opened the door, then knelt down and prostrated themselves in utmost respect to welcome Father Abraham.
In fact, even in this era, the servants in this place did not need to perform such a grand ceremony every time. The reason why he knelt on the ground to welcome Father Abraham was mainly because of the priest's own little quirk.
As the lowest-ranking member of the Church's upper echelons, Father Abraham may have some prestige in front of outsiders, but within the Church's upper echelons, anyone dares to bully him at will. Even his lawfully wedded wife, witnessed by God, was forced to become someone else's plaything.
This caused Father Abraham to develop a severe psychological disorder. Power and status became his greatest obsession, so he demanded that all his servants kneel down to greet him. He would invent all sorts of cruel tortures to torment servants for even the slightest mistake, in order to highlight his power and status.
Looking at the servant kneeling beside him, Father Abraham nodded in satisfaction, and was about to step into the courtyard.
Sudden.
"Flutter..." A soft sound of flapping wings rang out, and then a dark shadow attacked Father Abraham.
A bat, withered and thinner than the others, pounced on Father Abraham's neck like a black lightning bolt. Its two steel-hook-like claws easily pierced the tender flesh of Father Abraham's neck, clinging to him. Then, it viciously bit through his skin with its two sharp teeth, and blood immediately flowed out.
"Aaaaaah! Help me, damn it, help me!!!" The intense pain and the approaching shadow terrified Father Abraham, who screamed in panic as he frantically slapped the bat on his neck, trying to knock it off.
The servants kneeling beside him were terrified. They wanted to rush forward to help Father Abraham remove the bat from his neck, but they were too afraid of Father Abraham's years of cruel and tyrannical rule to step forward.
"Swish..." The bat stuck out its tongue and quickly licked the blood from Father Abraham's neck.
The bat itself, however, returned to its round shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It seemed that it ate too fast, causing it to be unable to swallow the blood, or perhaps the priest's blood contained the holiness of God, because after quickly licking it a few times, the bat suddenly made a vomiting gesture like a human.
A little blood gushed from its narrow mouth and landed on the open wound on Father Abraham's neck, mingling with his blood.
Father Abraham struggled frantically, and his pain finally made the servants, who had been too afraid to approach, rush forward and grab at the bat on Father Abraham's neck.
"Flutter..." The arrival of the servants startled the blood-sucking bat, which finally spread its wings and flew away from Father Abraham's neck.
"Damn it, damn it! I'll kill you all, I'll kill you all!!!" Father Abraham, left alone, clutched his bleeding neck and shouted angrily.