While all of these abductions were taking place, both Jarek and Eira remained unaware as they practised late into the night, working on their laws.
Unlike mortals, they didn't need to sleep to recover their energy, so they tend to spend the night cultivating.
Cultivators only sleep when they feel like it.
The only reason why someone like Jurgen tends to sleep so often is to rest after a night of passion.
And so the night passed with Jarek having learned the new laws he had acquired from the academy, and with Eira perfecting her current skills.
After dealing with Leif and his group, she couldn't help but feel like something would happen.
When morning arrived, both halted their cultivation.
Jarek had to attend his classes, and Eira also had matters to deal with for the day as usual.
As she looked towards the window, intending to catch a glimpse of the outside, her eyes noticed something.
'What is that?'
When she got closer, she saw an arrow sticking right next to her window.
When she grabbed it, she noticed a piece of paper tied to the tail of the arrow.
After untying it from the arrow, she read the contents contained within.
After about a minute of reading, her face turned cold.
"How dare they..."
At this moment, she wanted to do nothing but tear Thrain and his group into pieces.
But she calmed down, knowing that acting impulsively would only lead to a negative outcome.
And so, even as she saw a vampire watching her from the top of another building, she didn't make any move against him.
She watched as the vampire took out an artifact.
It was a Call Artifact, which essentially functions like a phone to be used for long-distance communication, but with certain limitations.
On the other side, Thrain, who was in an inn, received the message conveyed by the vampire watching Eira, smiled as he thought, 'The plan will indeed work.'
What made him think so?
It was the fact that Eira was able to restrain herself even after receiving that letter.
If she had acted without any consideration of the hostages' lives and just slaughtered his subordinate using her protector, then it would have shown that his plan was useless.
But because she was able to restrain herself, it showed that the hostages had value.
Initially, he had worried about whether the lives of the hostages mattered to both Jarek and Eira.
The fact that abducting them was too simple only amplified his worries.
But now he could rest assured that his efforts weren't useless.
Eira then waited for Jarek to come.
Just like usual, he arrived at noon.
The vampire who kept a watch on Eira's home also noticed Jarek's arrival.
The same could be said for Jarek, as he also noticed the presences hidden throughout nearby buildings.
"What happened?" He asked, sure that something had happened when he hadn't come for the past three days.
He could guess what had transpired, but wanted to hear the details.
"Yesterday..." Eira began to explain the events that had taken place the previous day, recounting how she had dealt with the vampires who wanted to capture her.
Jarek listened intently to Eira's words.
"Also, they left this message specifically for you today." Eira then passed a piece of paper to Jarek.
Jarek read through it quickly.
'We have all nine of your people. If you want to get them back, Jarek must come to the waterfall area outside town on his own when night falls. Don't think of playing any tricks; we are watching you. If you don't comply, then your people won't live to see tomorrow.'
Unexpectedly, Jarek's face didn't betray any expression, only calculation.
'It seems he's desperate.' Jarek concluded after analyzing Thrain's actions.
"Then let's wait until nighttime."
Of course, he was going.
Not because of the hostages, but because of his own personal reasons.
He was confident walking straight into the trap Thrain had laid for him.
He had waited years to exact his revenge against those who had taken his mother's life.
He wasn't going to wait anymore.
He would come straight for Thrain even if he hadn't resorted to desperate measures.
And so Jarek spent a few hours in Eira's home before leaving when the sky had turned dark.
Jarek dashed into the designated area.
With the speed of a Grandmaster, he arrived within the vicinity in a short period.
When he was about a hundred metres away from the waterfall, he slowed his pace and approached the open area, which didn't have many trees around.
He looked at his surroundings, his eyes emitting a dim glow, and he slightly frowned.
"You can stop hiding now." He said this looking in a particular direction.
Moments later, two figures emerged from their hiding positions, knowing that hiding was useless.
What came into Jarek's sight was a man who appeared middle-aged, yet he exuded an imposing aura.
[
Name: Thrain Bloodfang
Age: 403
Race: Vampire
Cultivation: Grandmaster (Early)
Physique: None
]
'Is he of noble birth?' He thought as he looked at Thrain's information, which looked different from most commoners, his name.
He then turned his gaze to the man on Thrain's right, to see a face he was all too familiar with.
[
Name: Luneth
Age: 450
Race: Vampire
Cultivation: Master (Peak)
Physique: None
]
For the first time since Jarek came into this world, he felt overwhelmed by his own strong emotions.
Memories of that tragic day surfaced within his mind as soon as his eyes fell upon Luneth.