After successfully entering the high-walled inner city of the Betty family, everyone’s tense nerves finally relaxed slightly.
Ize followed the team and soon met Dio’s family — the current leader of the Betty family and Dio’s father, a middle-aged man with a majestic face that could not hide his exhaustion.
When the father’s gaze fell upon Swanhild, a flash of complex shame crossed his face. He took a step forward and spoke in a heavy tone, “Nephew Swanhild… the Betty family is eternally grateful that you could come. Regarding what happened to the Raimond family… we failed to lend a hand in time. Truly… my heart is filled with guilt.”
He was, of course, referring to the Raimond family being wiped out by a vampire surprise attack.
Swanhild remained silent.
To be honest, before arriving here, he had harbored some resentment toward the Betty family deep in his heart.
But the moment he stepped into Betty territory and witnessed the same tragic scenes that had mirrored the Raimond lands — the destroyed houses, scorched earth, and low-level vampires wandering outside the inner city — most of that resentment vanished.
He realized clearly that even if the Betty family had sent reinforcements, they likely would have only added more sacrifices in the face of those terrifying vampires.
He shook his head, his voice somewhat raspy. “Uncle, there is no need to apologize. We all know the strength of those monsters. Right now, working together to fight them is what matters.”
Standing to the side, Ize couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when he heard Swanhild’s words. His evaluation of the boy went up a notch.
‘I thought he’d follow the script of a bitter youth shouting about revenge and past slights, but I didn’t expect him to be so reasonable. This smooth transition saves a lot of trouble.’
“Brother Dio!”
At that moment, a crisp voice like a silver bell rang out. A girl with twin tails, wearing an exquisite pink dress, ran out of the inner hall. She lunged straight at Dio and hugged his waist tightly. This was Dio’s younger sister, Dini.
Looking at the sister in his arms, Dio’s usually stoic eyes softened instantly, revealing a deep-seated tenderness and determination.
He gently ruffled Dini’s hair and whispered, “Yes, your brother is back.”
He made a vow in his heart. In this life, he would never let the tragedy of his previous life happen again.
After the brief family reunion, the atmosphere quickly turned solemn again.
Everyone sat together to discuss the most pressing battle situation.
The Betty family’s current situation was indeed not optimistic.
The inner city was barely holding on, relying on sturdy fortifications and the last 5,000 combat-ready troops. However, the outskirts had almost entirely fallen, supply lines were cut, and the people were in a state of panic.
Dio organized the memories of his past life in his mind and spoke up with a steady voice, “Father, I believe we can no longer engage in large-scale frontal wars of attrition with the vampires.”
“Why?” Rose asked, puzzled. “If we don’t go out to meet them, are we just going to let them besiege us?”
Dio explained, “The most terrifying thing about vampires is their ability to convert others. Every soldier we lose will soon become a new low-level vampire in their camp. As we decline and they grow, our military strength will only dwindle while their numbers may actually increase.”
He paused and pointed to several key points on the map.
“The only ones posing a fatal threat to us are Horn and his four executives — Heart, Spade, Diamond, and Clubs. As long as we deal with them, the remaining low-level vampires will lose their command and core combat power, making cleanup much easier. The converted commoners and soldiers are slow and have low combat effectiveness; our city defenses are enough to handle them.”
Dio’s father sighed with a heavy expression. “We all understand this logic. But… Horn and those subordinates of his are all extraordinarily powerful. Our family’s most elite Knight Captain was also…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the shadow of failure loomed over everyone’s heart.
At this point, Rose spoke up, “Father, you might not know this yet, but Dio… he has become very powerful now!”
She gave a detailed account of how they had been attacked by Heart on the way and how Dio had severed her arm with a single strike, forcing her to flee in disgrace.
Listening to his daughter’s story, the worry on the father’s face was gradually replaced by shock and a hint of unbelievable surprise.
The look he gave Dio was full of newfound scrutiny.
When he learned that Sarah, who was traveling with them, was actually the eldest daughter of the Ulysses family, he rose solemnly and gave her a standard noble salute.
The name Ulysses represented the supreme imperial power in the Olay Empire; its weight went without saying.
Night fell. Once the preliminary strategic direction was set, Dio’s father arranged for everyone to go to the guest rooms to rest and recharge for the unknown challenges ahead.
***
The next morning.
Under Dio’s guidance, Ize followed Sarah, Emma, and the others to familiarize themselves with the inner city’s defensive layout. Unlike the deathly silence of the night, the inner city seemed to regain a bit of life during the day.
Scattered crowds could be seen on the streets. Though everyone’s face bore unmistakable exhaustion and fear, some street vendors still braced themselves to set up stalls for the sake of survival, selling what little grain and necessities they had left.
At the back of the group, Emma followed closely by Ize’s side. Her gaze was soon drawn to a small stall selling sugar cubes.
The vendor was a tattered old grandfather, and a thin, sallow little boy was huddled beside him. The boy stared longingly at the translucent sugar cubes and couldn’t help but reach out his small hand, only to be gently patted back by the grandfather.
“Grandpa… I’m hungry…” the boy muttered in a weak voice.
“Be good, we can’t eat this sugar… Once it’s sold, Grandpa will buy you some black bread…” The old man’s voice was hoarse and tired, his eyes filled with helplessness and heartache.
Sugar was a luxury in this era, priced far above ordinary food. In the face of survival, the desires of the palate were a luxury.
Watching this scene, Emma gently tugged at Ize’s sleeve. She looked up at him with “I want to eat” written clearly on her face and whispered, “Junior Ize… do you want to eat sugar?”
Ize: “… I don’t.”
He was a bit confused. Although Emma was a glutton, she never took the initiative to say such things to him, especially in such a tense atmosphere.
“But I want to eat it…”
Emma insisted in a low voice. Feeling that her reason wasn’t sufficient, she added seriously while peeking at the grandfather and grandson, “You… you must want some too, right?”
Ize understood instantly.
Emma wanted to help the pair but was too embarrassed to say it directly.
“Right,” Ize changed his tune, “I suddenly want to try some too.”
A smile immediately bloomed on Emma’s face. She ran to the stall and said to the old man, “Grandfather, I’ll take all of these sugar cubes.”
Hearing this, a flash of surprise appeared in the old man’s eyes. He hurriedly and carefully packed all the sugar cubes.
Emma returned happily carrying a large bag of sugar. Looking at the clearly excessive amount in her hand, Ize couldn’t help but chuckle. “Senior Emma, isn’t this… a bit much?”
He knew she wanted the old man to earn more money, but this was a bit over the top…
Emma didn’t care at all. Instead, she explained as if she had gotten a bargain, “It’s not much, Junior Ize! This sugar is very cheap! It’s only thirty silver coins per pound!”
“Thirty silver coins per pound?” Ize was stunned.
Sugar was indeed not cheap in this world, but compared to the market price near Starry Academy, which was often one gold coin per pound, it was indeed cheap.
However, he felt something was off.
“Yeah!” Emma calculated happily. “I bought three pounds in total. The grandfather even gave me a discount and only charged me one gold coin!”
Hearing this, Ize’s expression became strange. “Senior Emma, how many silver coins are in one gold coin?”
“100 silver coins!” Emma answered as if it were obvious.
“Then for three pounds of sugar at thirty silver coins a pound, it should be ninety silver coins.” Ize face-palmed and pointed out helplessly, “How exactly did he give you a discount?”
Emma: “…”
She blinked her large eyes and froze for a few seconds. A red flush quickly climbed onto her cheeks as she defended herself in a small, embarrassed voice, “Then… then according to that, it’s still only a little over thirty-three silver coins per pound… it’s still much cheaper than the academy!”
Looking at Emma like this, Ize sighed internally. He felt deeply that this senior really needed to supplement her brain.
To ease the awkwardness, Emma stuffed most of the sugar cubes into Ize’s hands. “Junior Ize, please distribute these to Sarah, Dio, and Swanhild.”
Ize was puzzled. “Why me? You bought them. Wouldn’t it be better for you to give them yourself to show your sincerity?”
Emma’s face turned even redder, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz. “I… I just don’t know how to bring it up…”
Ize realized the truth and accepted the task helplessly. “… Alright.”
He had almost forgotten that this senior suffered from social anxiety.
***
The peaceful time passed in a flash.
As the last rays of the setting sun fell and darkness rose, the atmosphere in the Betty inner city changed instantly.
Outside the city walls, hair-raising roars and scratching sounds surged back like a tide.
Without the protection of sunlight, those low-level vampires who had lost their sanity and were left only with instinct became active, frantically charging at the solid city defenses.
However, tonight’s commotion was far more frantic than usual.
The sound of guards running and shouting on the walls grew more urgent. The warning horns blew one after another, sounding more shrill and piercing than ever before, permeated with unprecedented tension.
At this moment, the war room was brightly lit.
Ize was busy in front of a small stove. A faint aroma of milk and nuts filled the air.
He was making “walnut milk” for Emma to nourish her brain.
“Junior Ize!” Emma’s eyes sparkled. “I haven’t had this walnut milk in so long!”
Ize didn’t stop his movements and responded calmly, “I made it specifically for you.”
He couldn’t exactly say he felt she needed a brain boost, could he?
The word “specifically” created ripples in Emma’s heart.
‘Junior Ize has been praising me a lot lately… and now he specifically made me something to drink… Does he… like me?’
This thought made her face grow slightly warm, and her heart rate accelerated involuntarily.
Feeling the meaningful gazes from Sarah, Dio, and the others, Emma suddenly became flustered. She hurriedly called out, “Sarah, Dio, Swanhild, come and try this! This ‘walnut milk’ Ize made is delicious, you can’t buy it anywhere else!”
To add more flavor, she also proactively added a few pieces of the sugar she bought that morning into each bowl. “I added sugar, I think it tastes even better now!”
In a short while, everyone tasted the walnut milk.
Sarah smiled and praised him, “I didn’t expect Junior Ize to have such skill. The taste is very unique.”
Dio also picked up the bowl and drank it in a few gulps without saying much.
Swanhild also finished his silently. The Dragon Soul Igneel urged from within his body, ‘I have never tasted anything this good. Get another bowl.’
Just then, with a *bang*, the door to the war room was kicked open. A messenger scrambled in, his face as pale as paper, his voice distorted with extreme fear.
“It’s… it’s bad! Outside… four vampires with abnormally powerful auras have appeared at once! According to the portraits, they are confirmed to be… Horn’s four executives — Heart, Spade, Diamond, and Clubs! All four of them have appeared at the main gate of the inner city!”
“The First and Second Knight Captains… have… have fallen in battle!”
“All four together?” Dio’s father stood up abruptly, his expression grave to the extreme.
These four vampires usually acted alone, or at most in pairs. For them to come out in full force meant things were looking extremely grim.
However, a cold light of battle intent flashed in Dio’s eyes. He snorted coldly. “Perfect timing. It saves me the trouble of finding them one by one.”
Ize, listening from the side, couldn’t help but give Dio a mental thumbs-up for his immense confidence.
‘Second Senior’s aura provides such a sense of security!’
He even started to fantasize that if Dio could handle all the trouble alone, perhaps he could return to the academy sooner to continue his leisurely life.
Just as Dio was surging with momentum and prepared to turn toward the battlefield —
“Senior Dio, wait!”
Emma quickly picked up a bowl of walnut milk she had just reheated and hadn’t had time to drink yet. She held it out to Dio with an encouraging smile.
“I… I’ll offer milk instead of wine. I wish you a swift victory to wipe those vampires out completely!”
Dio waved his hand, his tone steady and confident. “No need. Dealing with those pieces of trash won’t take long.”
With that, he turned and left.
Watching this, Ize suddenly felt the scene was familiar. An absurd thought popped into his head: ‘Warm wine to slay Hua Xiong? Is he really going to pull off a “Warm Milk to Slay Vampires” act?’
However, reality is often more dramatic than imagination.
Dio’s figure appeared on the city wall, his chilling gaze sweeping below.
Heart, Spade, Diamond, and Clubs — four female vampires with different forms but similarly dangerous auras — stood proudly.
“The big guy who ambushed me last time, you really are here!” Heart stared at Dio venomously. The grudge from her severed arm made her grit her teeth.
Spade, on the other hand, sized up Dio’s strong physique with glowing eyes. Her crimson tongue licked her lips as she laughed flirtatiously. “This man… looks quite good. He’s mine!”
Dio’s voice was icy as he questioned them, “The four of you were once human. Do you now willingly discard everything to hunt your former kin?”
Spade laughed as if she had heard a joke. “What’s so bad about being a vampire? Strength, immortality, eternal youth and beauty… which of those isn’t better than a fragile, fleeting human identity? Besides…”
Her tone carried mockery. “Those high-and-mighty nobles and wealthy merchants in the human world — when they devour the flesh and blood of the commoners, is there any fundamental difference between their faces and ours? At least we are honest about it!”
Having memories of two lives, Dio had certainly seen the dark side of humanity.
But his eyes did not waver. Instead, they grew sharper. “Though there are flaws, it is still the Way of Humanity. What you do has strayed from being human. Is there even a shred of humanity left in you?”
‘Senior Dio’s words are on a high level!’ Ize praised in his heart as he listened from behind.
Before his voice faded, Dio moved!
His figure blurred instantly, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night. He appeared before Spade almost as if he had teleported!
The core of the sword techniques he inherited from the Sword Saint was one word: “speed.”
The long sword in his hand carried a highly condensed, blazing white battle qi. At a speed undetectable by the naked eye, he slashed straight at Spade’s snowy-white neck!
This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless!
Spade never expected Dio to be so decisive and vicious, not even letting her finish her flirtatious remarks. By the time she reacted, the cold blade had already touched her skin, and the chill of death instantly enveloped her body!
Although Level 3 vampires had strong recovery abilities, if their heads were severed and they couldn’t replenish a large amount of blood in time, they would still perish!
Extreme fear caused her to explode with all her potential, leaning back with everything she had! However, at this life-or-death moment —
*Gurgle…*
An extremely ill-timed, loud stomach rumble abruptly erupted from Dio’s abdomen!
Immediately following that, a violent, stabbing pain suddenly exploded in his dantian!
The battle qi that had been surging and as solid as steel instantly withered.
His sword swing inevitably stalled slightly, and its speed plummeted!
‘What’s happening?’ Dio was shocked. This sudden turn of events was completely beyond his expectations!
Though Spade didn’t understand why, how could she miss such a fleeting opening?
The red light in her eyes surged. Seizing the opportunity, her slender leg, carrying the massive strength of a vampire, kicked hard against Dio’s abdomen as he curled up in pain!
*Thud!*
Dio’s tall frame flew backward, slamming heavily into the hard stone of the city wall behind him. A dull thud echoed as gravel trickled down.
Ize, who was watching the battle, stood there dumbstruck, his mouth hanging open. “…???”
What… what was going on?
Couldn’t stay cool for even three seconds?!
‘Could there be something wrong with the sugar?’