Where is Monarch? I need his help." Li Kang didn't want to ask Monarch for help unless it was absolutely necessary. Monarch was the most traditional old-school magician, and he strongly disapproved of Li Kang's ability to cast various spells with very little effort.
"Boom!" A puff of purple smoke exploded on the seat next to Li Kang, making him cough repeatedly. The other guests frowned and moved far away from Li Kang. On the seat next to Li Kang, an old man with a goatee and a small round hat appeared.
"Isn't this Li Kang? I'm very curious as to what it is that makes you actively seek me out." This old man with a goatee was the famous Magic Prince Monarch.
"Do you always have to make an entrance like that? It's unbearable." Li Kang took a sip of wine to wash away the irritating taste in his throat. "Actually, I'm here to ask you about Blood Wine."
"Blood Wine? Who told you about it? I don't have any such thing," Monarch said with a grim expression.
"Never mind how I know, I urgently need it now." Li Kang downed the wine in his cup.
Li Kang had once heard a rumor that the recipe for Blood Wine had later fallen into Monarch's hands, but because Blood Wine was very difficult to prepare and its ingredients were extremely precious, Monarch hadn't brewed many bottles.
"Why are you asking about this? Have you encountered a vampire? Then I advise you not to waste your time. Getting involved with vampires is unwise. Every vampire is under Dracula's control. Even if they can temporarily escape Dracula's control, no vampire can permanently defy Dracula's will. Dracula is the progenitor of vampires; as long as one of his kin exists in this world, he is immortal. No matter how many times you kill him, he will eventually be reborn in some form. Imagine, do you really want to provoke an immortal cockroach as difficult to deal with as Dracula?" Monarch advised him like someone who had been through it.
"But this vampire is really special. I can tell she's only in her nascent stage, but she has already broken free from the patriarch's control. She herself said that she hasn't killed anyone yet, and indeed, I didn't sense any bloody aura from her. I believe what she said is true." Li Kang recounted his brief skirmish with the vampire to Monarch in full.
"If everything you say is true, I think this child is a soul worth saving. However, it's you I don't trust, Mr. Li Kang. As a magician, you use spells without paying the normal price, and your reputation is notorious. Many of the things you've done, even the darkest magicians would disdain to do. Why should I help you?" Monarch said, stroking his goatee.
This old man was absolutely right, and Li Kang was powerless to refute him. If it were him, he would say the same thing. Magicians are all shrewd fellows; it's not easy to fool them.
"I have a piece of news, earth-shattering news. This concerns the Sorcerer Supreme, and the survival of our universe. Do you want to know?" Li Kang lowered his voice and said mysteriously.
Monarch was startled. The Sorcerer Supreme was Master Ancient One. Although he, the Magic Prince, was powerful, there was still a huge gap between him and the Sorcerer Supreme. Anything related to Master Ancient One was bound to be a major event in the magic world.
"Hmph, hmph… Li Kang, I know you too well. If you were half as bad as the rumors say, then you'd be playing me. You think you can make a deal just by mentioning the Sorcerer Supreme. You're dreaming too big. I thought you'd try something better," Monarch said, taking a sip of beer, clearly unconvinced.
Old fox, playing a good game of cat and mouse. But the old man was right; just relying on the name of the Sorcerer Supreme to gain an advantage wouldn't work, at least not with someone like Monarch, who had survived the chaos of World War II. To impress him, there had to be more explosive news.
"All those rumors about me are the most shameless slanders; don't ever believe those unreliable rumors.
This news of mine concerns a terrifying name. Have you heard of the Dread Dormammu?" A glint flashed in Li Kang's eyes as he stared intently at Monarch.
"Dormammu? The one from the Dark Dimension? How do you know that name?" Monarch took a deep breath and said reverently.
"That's none of your business. You just need to know that the Dread Dormammu has set his sights on our Earth. Is that news explosive enough?" Li Kang said in a chilling tone.
"Dormammu is indeed an enemy of all worlds, but even a powerful conqueror of realms like him cannot break through the walls between dimensions. In fact, it could be said that precisely because he is so powerful, he cannot leave the Dark Dimension. He is omnipotent within the Dark Dimension, but outside of it, he loses his source of power. Aren't you being a bit too alarmist?" Monarch took a sip of the German dark beer in front of him. Although he hated the Germans during World War II, he had fallen in love with German beer.
"So, the following news is the key point. If I tell you, it would be tantamount to betraying the Sorcerer Supreme. I think this should at least be worth a few bottles of Blood Wine, right?" Li Kang began to act like an information broker.
"If the news is true, I'll give you three bottles of Blood Wine, plus the recipe. Hurry up and tell me!" Monarch said impatiently.
Li Kang smiled harmlessly, showing his teeth, looking like a pure white rabbit. "As far as I know, our Master Ancient One has recently suffered the most painful betrayal. One of her most beloved disciples is actually a fanatical worshipper of Dormammu. Master Ancient One came to me before because that disciple and I used to be the best of friends, until that scoundrel shamelessly framed me. Master Ancient One might have thought that by using my hatred, she could manipulate me to work for her, hmph hmph…"
Monarch wisely didn't interrupt, because he knew that merely the existence of a fanatical Dormammu worshipper, even if it was Master Ancient One's beloved disciple, was not enough to shake the wall between Earth and the Dark Dimension. There must be something else.
"That fanatic's name is Kaecilius, a shameless scoundrel. I can't even curse his whole family to die because his whole family is already dead. Master Ancient One didn't elaborate on the specifics, but I can confirm that Kaecilius has already stolen the ritual to summon Dormammu. I doubt Kaecilius's intelligence alone is enough to decipher its contents, but the danger is very real." Li Kang had cursed the name Kaecilius countless times. This hypocrite ruined his future, and the most hateful thing was that he turned out to be the fanatic.
The thing he hated most in his life was being framed; this was Li Kang's taboo.
"I suggest you abandon your hatred for Master Ancient One. If Dormammu really drags Earth into the Dark Dimension, then everything will be meaningless. Come with me, the Blood Wine is yours, and so is the recipe." Monarch stood up and led the way.
Li Kang followed behind. At the edge of the cellar of the Nameless Bar, Monarch told Li Kang to wait outside and warned him that if Li Kang dared to secretly follow him, he would break Li Kang's legs and leave him in the cellar to die.
Although Li Kang swore he wouldn't do that, Monarch was still uneasy. He set up a magic array at the cellar entrance before confidently descending into the cellar. About ten minutes later, Monarch came up with three dusty black wine bottles and a roll of parchment.
"One drop of Blood Wine per serving, diluted with a cup of water. The Blood Wine recipe must never be leaked, otherwise, the vampires will spare no effort to destroy the ingredients used to make Blood Wine," Monarch said with a warning tone.
Actually, Monarch didn't even need to say this. The rule of the Bloodline had two main pillars: first, the patriarch's strange mental control over family members, and second, the Scarlet Blood Fever. This was the mark of the Bloodline, the key that pushed them into opposition with humanity and light. It could be said that without Scarlet Blood Fever, the Bloodline would not be the Bloodline.
Regarding Blood Wine, Li Kang only knew one legend: back in the Steam Age, along the Mississippi River, two royal vampire families once fought a bloody war. The reason for the war was that one of the younger royal families, relying on a self-brewed Blood Wine, had broken free from the Scarlet Blood Fever. However, the other, older royal family considered this a heretical rebellion that had to be eradicated.
Actually, from the perspective of the highest echelons of vampires, Blood Wine was a matter that had to be taken seriously, and the old vampire king handled it very correctly.
Scarlet Blood Fever is when a vampire becomes hungry to a certain extent, and the instinct to feed takes over their entire body and mind. At this time, the vampire will unleash a fighting power a hundred times stronger than usual. A vampire consumed by Scarlet Blood Fever is completely berserk; only by gorging on blood can the terrifying Scarlet Blood Fever be dispelled.
At that time, the younger vampire king, because he had Blood Wine, could survive without drinking human blood and even survive in sunlight for a period of time, appearing no different from ordinary people.
This incident alerted the Vampire Papacy in Romania. Dracula, the supreme king of vampires, personally came to America to hunt down the young vampire king. It is said that the young vampire king was completely destroyed, but the Blood Wine recipe was never found.
So, one can imagine what the vampire race's reaction would be if the Blood Wine recipe were to spread. Presumably, all vampire families would unite to thoroughly eradicate Blood Wine, this calamity that threatened the very foundation of the Bloodline.
"I swear on my life, I will absolutely not expose this recipe." Li Kang took the Blood Wine and the recipe from Monarch. He glanced at the recipe, which had Monarch's spell attached to it, appearing as a jumbled mess of patterns.
Monarch took out a crystal lens and handed it to Li Kang. Li Kang looked through the lens and saw the contents of the recipe. He was startled. Now he understood why Blood Wine was so rare, because the most important raw material for preparing Blood Wine was the blood of newborns from a mysterious tribe in the Amazon jungle.
Such small tribes could be made to disappear from the face of the Earth by the Bloodline with a mere flick of their fingers.
"I understand. Thank you for your trust in me." Li Kang rolled up the parchment and handed it back to Monarch.
Monarch nodded and said, "You'd best keep your word, otherwise I'll be the first to come after you."
Li Kang understood the weight of that warning. He nodded silently. The two returned to the front desk. Li Kang treated Monarch to a few dark beers, then turned and left the Nameless Bar.