Leaving the park, William drove straight to the vampire estate.
Just as he arrived and was waiting for Amelia, his phone rang. It was Philip.
"You've made your move."
"Of course," William replied without hesitation. "You gave me so much authority because you wanted to use my hand to deal with these creatures, didn't you? Don't tell me you've had a change of heart."
"Absolutely not," Philip assured him. "Once it's begun, no one would dare back out now. Otherwise, we'd face the vampires' insane retaliation."
After a brief pause, Philip continued with hesitation, "But Alexander Corvinus just called me. He hopes you'll hand Marcus over to him. He's willing to pay ten billion pounds or an equivalent value in antiques and assets for it."
"Hand him over?" William chuckled coldly. "And what do you think I should do?"
Silence. Philip remained silent for a long time—long enough that Amelia arrived in the meantime. Hearing the honk of her car, Philip finally answered, "You already have enough money, don't you?"
Not bothering to continue the conversation, William said, "Indeed. Goodbye, Philip. I have matters to attend to."
Ending the call, William stepped out of his car and greeted Amelia, who practically radiated enthusiasm as she approached him.
As they walked into the estate together, William's combat robots immediately stopped Amelia's subordinates from entering.
Amelia turned to see dozens of fully armored robots, armed with M416 rifles, pointing their weapons at her people.
She glanced at William's meaningful expression and sighed. She gestured for her subordinates to remain outside and followed William into the underground chamber.
The moment they entered, Amelia saw Victor and the vampire council members kneeling on the ground, firmly restrained by over twenty combat robots.
"Amelia, how dare you betray me and our entire race!" Victor roared furiously.
But in that moment, Amelia felt an overwhelming sense of relief. For the first time, she wasn't afraid of Victor's anger. On the contrary, she found it oddly amusing.
Her lips curled into a smile, revealing a hint of her fangs. "Ever since you coldly banished me to Eastern Europe, away from love, away from power, and had me monitored, you should have anticipated this day, Victor."
Victor growled in a low voice, "Everything I did was to prevent the three elders from tearing each other apart over power and interests.
"I gave you true authority—the power to rule independently. For centuries, the entire Eastern faction was under your command. What more could you want?"
Unmoved, Amelia scoffed, "You kept the best for yourself while throwing the wastelands to me and Marcus. In truth, you just wanted us to expand your empire for you."
"All right, enough chit-chat," William interjected, taking a rapid-fire pistol from one of the combat robots and handing it to Amelia.
"These council members are yours to deal with, Your Highness Amelia. No objections, right?"
Amelia mechanically took the pistol, her mind racing. She had expected William might ask her to act, but now that the moment had arrived, she hesitated.
Pulling the trigger would make her a sworn enemy of the Western vampires—and perhaps all vampires worldwide.
She hesitated for a long time. But when she noticed William's amused expression and the robots subtly aiming their guns at her, Amelia realized that she had crossed the line the moment she struck a deal with William. She had already betrayed the vampires.
Compromise once, and compromising again wasn't so difficult. More importantly, the situation left her with no other choice.
Her voice cold, Amelia asked, "Can you deal with those outside as well? Including Thomas?"
"Thomas too?"
"Yes, Thomas as well."
Without further delay, Amelia raised the pistol and fired at the five council members restrained by the robots.
As soon as she opened fire, William snapped his fingers. Dozens of orb-shaped drones flew over the heads of over a hundred guards, including Thomas.
A burst of ultraviolet light flooded the area, incinerating every vampire caught in its glow.
"No!"
Victor, watching the council members disintegrate into ash, struggled to stand.
Furious and filled with rage, he actually managed to resist the strength of two combat robots and began to rise to his feet.
"Zzzzt, zzzzt, zzzzt."
Several electric shocks from nearby robots surged into Victor, causing his body to convulse uncontrollably. His strength drained, he collapsed back to the marble floor, his knees shattering under the force.
Looking at Victor's pale and bloodless face, William smiled at Amelia. "Would you like me to arrange a ride to the airport or somewhere else for you?"
"No need," Amelia replied curtly, tossing the gun aside. She turned and walked away without hesitation, afraid that staying any longer would result in William deciding to kill her as well.
Watching Amelia practically flee, William walked a few meters closer to Victor and said in a low voice, "In just a few days, your entire race will undergo a massive purge. Do you regret sending Marcus's men to kill me?"
"It's not over yet," Victor said, lifting his head to meet William's gaze with calm defiance. "You haven't won, William Devonshire."
William chuckled. "You've been asleep for too long, Victor. In the past hundred years, human society has changed too fast and too drastically."
He gestured to the ceiling, and a spider-like robot descended, carrying a sealed envelope.
"Your messenger was intercepted the moment he tried to leave through the tunnels," William said, taking the envelope and reading its contents.
After a brief glance, his expression shifted into one of amusement. "I didn't expect you to have dealings with Alexander Corvinus."
After a moment of thought, William's grin widened. "Ah, I see. No wonder that old man has managed to live so well for so long. He's been raising tigers to protect himself—
"Pretending to be a saint, helping humans clean up your messes, while secretly safeguarding you. No, he wasn't protecting you. He was protecting his son. As long as Marcus lives, the vampires will never truly die out, right?"
Victor remained silent, his gaze fixed on the mechanism sealing Marcus's coffin.
Mocking him, William said, "The power Corvinus possesses is far beyond your imagination, isn't it?"
"It doesn't matter," William said dismissively. "I never planned to spare Alexander anyway. Unfortunately, you won't live to see that day."
With a flick of his wrist, William conjured a golden portal in front of Victor.
"A wizard? How is this possible? How could you be a wizard?" Victor's face twisted with disbelief and fear.
"It's impossible! As a descendant of the Knights Templar, how could you be a wizard?"
"There are many things you don't understand," William replied coldly. Using enchanted chains specially designed by Sunday, he bound Victor.
"Take him to Selene," he instructed Sunday. "If she doesn't have the courage to finish him, do it yourself."
"Who should we target, Sir?" Sunday asked for confirmation.
"Who else?" William replied without hesitation.
"Understood, Sir."
As the robots dragged Victor away, William silently sat on the marble throne in the chamber, closing his eyes as he waited.
Ten minutes later, Sunday reported, "Sir, Miss Selene personally dealt with Victor."
"Good. Tell her to wait for me at the safe house in London," William said.
With that, his gaze turned to the mechanism concealing Marcus's coffin.
------------------
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I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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