The first to enter was the burly Grote, clad in Dwarven-forged full plate armor. In his hand, he carried a massive, hand-wide greatsword gleaming with a deadly edge.
No one doubted its lethality.
His Northern Warrior gaze was open and full of hostility.
He scanned the room before taking a place to the left, both hands resting on his sword hilt, the blade plunged into the floor like a sculpture of a warrior unsheathing his blade from the earth.
Once he took position, Emi entered, cloaked in his black priest robes. Wales immediately recognized the two.
He was quite familiar with these Vice Presidents of the Dark Pact.
A flicker of cold intent passed through his eyes. Once he eliminated these two rats tonight, there would be nothing stopping him from swallowing the entire Dark Pact.
But then something unexpected occurred, another figure stepped in.
Wearing a temple priest’s robe, medium in build, with a scar running diagonally from forehead to cheek that nearly split his face.
Stanley. Wales recognized him, this was a dark priest of the Evening Bell Church. In fact, Demon Heart had done much business with the Evening Bell Church, having sold them many sacrificial offerings.
But that wasn’t the end.
Right behind Stanley came a woman wearing a black leather jacket on top and tight leather pants below. A pure black mask covered her face, and she carried a greatsword nearly as large as Grote’s.
A wild aura rolled off her.
Wales fixed his gaze on this masked woman, sensing a deadly danger from her he couldn’t explain.
He had thought that with Viscount Berna gone and the military ravaging the Dark Pact, no top-tier Professionals would show up tonight, yet four had arrived.
And one of them radiated a lethal threat.
Wales adjusted his attire, preparing to rise.
But then the unexpected happened.
That masked woman, instead of taking a central seat, stood respectfully by the door like a servant waiting to receive her master.
Had Viscount Berna returned to Green City? His thoughts raced.
A handsome figure stepped into view under the reddish magical light.
Tall and flawlessly handsome, exuding noble elegance in every motion.
But that wasn’t what caught Wales’s attention.
What drew his eyes were the sharp fangs at the edge of the newcomer’s lips.
A vampire, not Viscount Berna.
Tap tap, the man walked in.
Wales was about to speak when something made his eyes narrow sharply.
The four individuals who had entered first all bowed deeply to the vampire.
As if welcoming their king.
Wales subtly sniffed the air and extended his mental force, intent on identifying this vampire’s level. After all, even Viscount Berna had never commanded such reverence from top-tier Professionals.
A stranger, why should he command such respect?
But then, shock hit him.
He couldn’t sense any aura from this vampire.
He was like an ordinary human. That’s right, ordinary.
But how could that be? Could someone whom four top-tier Professionals bowed to be a powerless mortal?
This vampire was shrouded in an overwhelming mystery.
Li De entered the room and sat down unflinchingly across from Wales.
His gaze burned into the legendary Mind Eater, ruler of Demon Heart, peer of Viscount Berna.
Upon receiving Emi’s urgent report, Li De knew the situation was serious and had rushed to act.
It had been a month since he Embraced Grote. To maximize their strength, he returned to Dawn City at full speed and transformed Stanley, the dark priest of the Evening Bell Church, into a Bloodline Descendant.
After Stanley awoke, he brought him back to Green City with Betty in tow, to face Wales head-on.
Though the plan to take over the Dark Pact was new, it had become vital to his future plans and could not fail.
Wales’s gaze was complicated. He had thought the imposing Betty would be the real power here.
But the vampire with no detectable aura was the one who sat at the head of the table, with everyone else reverently standing at his sides.
This vampire was their master.
It was shocking. Not even Viscount Berna had ever inspired such respect.
Wales’s eyes filled with doubt, but no matter how he tried, he could sense nothing from this vampire, no magic, no aura.
And he was half-demon, his sensitivity to energy surpassed any human by orders of magnitude.
But even he sensed nothing.
Worse, in a moment of deep focus, he felt a trace of holy power within the vampire, as if it were the power of the Gods of Light.
Yes. The Gods of Light!
By the Abyss, he must be going mad.
Was he really sensing the power of the gods from a vampire?
Was his demon blood acting up?
All of Wales’s earlier arrogance and carelessness vanished. Now he was facing the situation with full seriousness.
This peer of Viscount Berna, a dark boss with half-demon blood, now treated Li De as a deadly threat.
If it were just that he couldn’t detect Li De’s aura, it wouldn’t be so shocking, but the visible reverence of Grote and the others sealed the truth.
In the dark world, only power earns respect.
This proved it again, this vampire was a powerhouse whose aura was so overwhelming even Wales couldn’t perceive it.
And if even he couldn’t sense it, then it could mean only one thing:
The word echoed in his mind and made his breath catch.
Within seconds of Li De’s entrance, cold sweat quietly beaded on Wales’s forehead.
Li De’s expression remained unchanged. Grote and Betty flanked him on either side, with Stanley and Emi standing behind him.
His aura was completely hidden. As someone who possessed faith energy, Li De could confidently conceal himself even from Transcendents if he so wished.
After all, he was a pseudo-god worshiped by thousands, served by holy priests and zealots. Even if the title required a “pseudo,” faith energy was a higher form of power, one that couldn’t be detected without touching that level oneself.
Even the Elf prodigy at Level 17 hadn’t sensed it.
How could a half-demon hope to?
Taking advantage of the moment, Li De opened Wales's attribute panel.
Wales Ronal (Half-Demon)
A simple display. All questions marks.
As expected, this infamous Mind Eater who loved devouring hearts stood on the same tier as Viscount Berna and Spark.
Li De took a deep breath. With the continued rise of the Crimson Mage Tower and Dawn City, the enemies he had to face were becoming ever more powerful.
Now he was squaring off against one of the top figures in Green City, a Level 19 Mind Eater, a dark boss with demonic blood.
In fact, Li De was sure there were probably only around a dozen or so individuals in the entire city who had reached Level 19.
These were the true powerhouses of Green City: Spark, the Level 19 Vice President of the Green City Mage Guild; Viscount Berna, leader of the Dark Pact with six Level 15 top-tier professionals under his command.
And in front of him now. Wales, the master of Demon Heart, one of the three dominant underground forces in the Western District, and a formidable being with half-demon blood.
The higher one climbed, the stronger the enemies they faced. It was inevitable.
Li De didn’t shrink from this challenge. On the contrary, he was brimming with excitement. To go head-to-head with a Level 19 powerhouse, it was enough to make one’s blood boil. This was a foe on the verge of Transcendence.
"Wales, I am the new master of the Dark Pact. Iro."
Li De’s tone was calm. Had Viscount Berna been present, the name might’ve struck a chord. Li De had once used it during a Dark Pact gathering when introducing himself.