A large electric eel released lightning through the entire water around Enrico. Jumping into the air, he created two water spears to step on right near the eel.
"Zero Impact."
Six punches were launched in sequence at the eel, causing minor damage, but it was still intact and released another wave of lightning around itself, throwing Enrico back, badly injured.
"Damn it, I should have stayed in the zombie dungeon."
[ I told you that you went in too quickly, idiot ]
"You didn't say anything."
[ ...but I thought it ]
All the bosses were at Phase Two level, making it impossible to defeat them without help, and to make things worse, he was weaker because of the cursed restrictions of the system. Taking another lightning strike, he was thrown into the water, and noticing the eel charging before releasing that attack, he simply made an ugly face since his body wasn't responding, and vanished just as the attack was unleashed.
'That was hell... so this was the boss the students of Shengtian fought?'
Opening his eyes, he saw that it was night, and on his shoulder was Yumeha pretending to be asleep. How did he notice? Simple—he could see her closed eyes trembling.
"Corvina, I know it feels good to sleep near me, but you don't need to pretend. You can lean on my shoulder whenever you want."
"Really?"
She immediately sat up happily. But noticing Valen's and the guard's gaze beside him, she became embarrassed and sat back down. She pretended to sleep in front of them just to stay close to her master.
'I can't believe I showed that... idiot Yumeha, don't ruin your disguise.'
"...So we already know the guard's name, but what about you, lady?"
"Nyxaria. And I'm not a lady, I'm twenty-three."
She seemed to be another turned one. Looking at Verlate, to Enrico it was clear from his eyes that the guard didn't want to be in that dimension. Well, that's how turned vampires lived: until a vampire or human with better blood appeared, they couldn't refuse any order from their current master. The girl, however, seemed to want to follow her master by her own will.
"Sorry for the question, but how strong is Lord Belthar?"
"He's a Circle Ten."
Valen seemed to tremble at that news. On his face was the expression of someone about to abandon his plan to join the rebellion—but Enrico would never allow that.
"I found you all interesting, so I'd like you to see something. But first, I want Verlate to tell me sincerely: are there more vampires following us?"
"No, sir."
"If you're lying, my master will punish you in a way you'll never forget."
Sweating, Verlate closed his eyes, trying to sense someone outside with his tree magic, being able to see everything clearly.
"Yes, sir. I'm sure."
"Seems like the trust of the vampires of Sanos will play in my favor again."
"What do you mean?"
Nyxaria began to completely distrust Sylas and took out her whip to restrain him. The other two were confused as Verlate began to suspect him as well. Seeing Nyxaria move to capture him, Verlate was about to stop her—until all three suddenly smelled something, and their minds went blank for a second, focused only on that scent.
With every passing second, they grew more frenzied, searching with their eyes. When they saw the vial of blood in Sylas's hand, the three were about to attack.
"If you make a mess, I'll destroy this vial."
As if they had heard something dreadful, they froze. Their eyes glowed red, agonizing, wanting the vial to remain safe. They had lost reason and now obeyed only those words.
"Seems all three of you have weak minds."
The stronger the mind, the greater the resistance—which was why he didn't use this trick on the council. It was highly likely they'd try to seize it the instant they saw it, even before he acted. And since they would never want to ally with him, as they followed only the path of destroying other races, it was pointless.
'I wanted to have them, but I only see them causing trouble in the future. That's why I'll only use this blood on weak-minded vampires.'
As most vampires were weak-minded and easy to control, domination over those useful would be simple, with only about thirty percent of them possessing strong minds.
And even with a strong mind, he could still control them—with the only exception being exactly those who, no matter what, sought destruction and treated others, especially humans, as mere food.
"From now on, you will obey the orders of the owner of this blood and my master. And rest assured—you will receive many rewards."
"I agree."
The first to step forward was Valen. He didn't know why this person wanted him, but he knew that besides being delicious blood, it was something that would make him stronger.
Behind him, the other two seemed to resist fiercely, each for their own reason—even though Verlate seemed to hate obeying his original master. Each had different thoughts.
'If I do this, won't I just be following another hateful vampire?'
'I have to think of my master. Even if he no longer likes me, he's still the one I must follow.'
It seemed both were conflicted. Enrico extended his hand toward Valen, placing blood on his palm. For some reason, seeing it like that made the scent even stronger.
"You may drink, Valen."
"Alright."
With Valen drinking the blood, Enrico looked at the two who remained quiet, trembling. Still, they resisted well. It seemed he had been mistaken, as their minds were stronger than he thought.
'Let's see how long they hold out.'
"Valen, you may drink it all if you want. It seems your companions don't want any."
Valen's eyes shone red, craving more as he felt his power rise. It was a sensation of pure adrenaline, with his circle on the verge of advancing.
'The mas...ter's is... bet—what am I saying? That's impossible.'
"Forgive me for the delay in my decision, Lord Sylas. I accept. And you may punish me for my hesitation, my lord."
She immediately stepped forward to drink as well. Enrico glanced at his vial, noticing it was nearly empty, and smiled beneath his mask. Shaking it in front of Verlate, he feigned sadness.
"What a pity... this is all that's left. But I could get much more for the two of you who accepted."
Valen and Nyxaria felt their circles begin to evolve and stepped out of the carriage so as not to destroy it with the explosion of their evolution.
"I wanted you to follow my master... such a shame."
"I accept... satisfied now?"
Smiling, he tossed the vial to him, and Verlate immediately began drinking before leaving the carriage like the others. Behind him, Yumeha clapped, delighted by the spectacle of three vampires kneeling before her master.
'With this, I have three new subordinates.'
Enrico noticed the ground start to shake, but not because of the evolution of the three outside. Seeing a light in the distance, he exited the carriage with Yumeha behind him. Everything trembled as if the world were about to be unmade by a greater power.
"Seems Ysabella has found her father... this is good, very good."
Now that the pieces were on the board and both sides were growing equal in power, it was time to begin the third phase of his plan.