The countess, seeing her family's power waning, grew anxious, forgetting the pain of her broken fangs. She gathered all her strength and launched her most powerful attack at Ning Beichen.
A cloud of blood mist spread through the ancient castle hall, like a whirlwind, leaving crimson everywhere, permeating every corner of the fortress.
This blood mist could obstruct human vision, but it had no effect on vampires, making it the countess's last desperate gambit.
However, she never expected that her blood mist would be utterly useless against Ning Beichen. Within the mist, she was as conspicuous as a shining spotlight to him.
Thus, the countess, who intended to ambush Ning Beichen in the blood mist, met a tragic end. Before she could even attack, Ning Beichen landed a heavy punch on her seductive, mature, and alluring face.
With a bang!
The beautiful countess understood the meaning of "a face blooming with peach blossoms." In her blurred vision, she only saw a grinning face before she fainted.
It wasn't that Ning Beichen used great force, but rather that her family's power had expired, leaving her incredibly weak. A gentle punch from Ning Beichen was enough to knock her unconscious.
Ning Beichen followed his usual routine, flicking his fingers a few times at the countess, immobilizing her from a distance.
He was unsure how effective this restraint would be against a vampire, but he didn't care; the countess wouldn't escape his grasp anyway.
The unconscious countess soon woke up.
She opened her eyes and found herself still lying in her castle hall. Then, she remembered what happened and her first instinct was to get up from the floor.
But her expression quickly turned to one of utter panic, for she discovered she was completely unable to move, not even able to use her vampire strength.
This had never happened to the countess before, filling her with both shock and fear. She struggled desperately, trying to regain control of her body.
Yet, after trying for a long time, it was to no avail. She was like a stone, utterly immobile.
In her memory, only mysterious sorcerers possessed such abilities. Could this "King of Darkness" be a sorcerer?
As she was consumed by unease, Ning Beichen appeared before her. He lifted her from the ground with one hand and roughly tossed her onto a chair. The countess landed on the seat, allowing her to get a clearer view of Ning Beichen's detestable face.
"Where is James? Don't feed me nonsense. If you utter one useless word, I'll sever one of your fingers. Then, you can only pray that vampires have the ability to regrow limbs."
Ning Beichen cut straight to the chase.
"King of Darkness, you know I don't act alone. I have a powerful family behind me, and the protection of the Badge Disciples. If you dare do anything to me, I swear, you'll soon be reduced to a pile of bones."
The countess looked at Ning Beichen, unwilling to surrender. She still spoke with the imperious tone of a countess, threatening Ning Beichen.
However, Ning Beichen showed no regard for her or her backing. He directly broke one of her fingers, and her screams echoed throughout the entire castle.
"That's the first finger. If you still refuse to speak, the next will be the second."
Ning Beichen's tone was devoid of threat, as if he were stating a mundane fact.
Unfortunately, the countess had too much faith in her family and the Badge Disciples. She still refused to reveal James's whereabouts.
Thus, her screams soon echoed through the castle once more.
"That's the second. I'll ask you again, where is James?"
Ning Beichen continued his merciless interrogation.
"King of Darkness, you will surely face retribution for treating me like this!"
The countess gritted her teeth and shouted.
Perhaps her life had been too smooth sailing, making her forget that Ning Beichen was her enemy, not her blood slave.
"Incorrect answer!"
Ning Beichen spoke, and with a *crack*, the countess's finger broke again, causing her to collapse into hysteria amidst her screams.
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Please, stop tormenting me, James is at..."
The countess gave Ning Beichen an address.
"I'm very curious, what exactly did James do to make you Badge Disciples go to such lengths to deal with him?"
After learning the address, Ning Beichen posed his second question.
James was not a person of importance; he was merely a university professor. By all rights, he should not have had any dealings with the Badge Disciples.
"James found the whereabouts of the Blood Key, but he refused to hand it over to us."
After her breakdown, the countess no longer resisted Ning Beichen's questioning and revealed what she knew.
"What is the Blood Key?"
Ning Beichen asked curiously. He knew nothing of this Blood Key and its purpose, which could make the Badge Disciples value it so highly.
"It is a key that can open the treasury of the Blood Clan. The Badge Disciples and the Blood Clan have been searching for the Blood Key for thousands of years without any trace..."
The countess revealed what she understood.
"You mean James has the Blood Key?"
Ning Beichen was not overly surprised, as James himself was an archaeology professor, the most authoritative in the world.
Therefore, if he had indeed found this Blood Key, Ning Beichen would find it quite normal.
The countess nodded, confirming that James had found the Blood Key.
"He refused to give you the Blood Key, so you decided to deal with him? You didn't even let go of James when he contacted me?"
Ning Beichen stated.
"The Blood Key is too important to us, so this information cannot be leaked."
The countess replied honestly. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to send assassins after Ning Beichen.
"Heh, your Badge Disciples are quite tyrannical."
Ning Beichen remarked sarcastically.
The countess remained silent, implicitly agreeing. Indeed, for their Badge Disciples, they held most of the world's humans in contempt.
Ning Beichen asked her a few more questions. After she answered them all, he delivered a karate chop to her.
With a *snap*.
The countess fainted again. When she woke up the next day, she found that Ning Beichen had already left.
Just as she was about to get up and inform her family and the Badge Disciples of the news, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her heart, and she fainted once more.
If she thought Ning Beichen had let her off so easily, she was far too naive.