Chapter 130: Time for Action!
This was Jasmine’s plan all along. Initially, she had intended for the Human Resistance Army to gradually gain strength through strategic battles, after all, she was planning to retire after twenty years. If the Human Resistance Army was defeated after her retirement, wouldn’t she have to come out of retirement and fight again? No, absolutely not.
Jasmine had two options: the Human Resistance Army could slowly chip away at the vampire regime, or she could single-handedly take down the vampire leadership. After getting together with Adele, she had replaced the first option but retained the second.
Now was the time for her to speedrun this dungeon.
Although Adele believed in Jasmine’s strength, she was still worried. After all, even her own father had hidden tricks up his sleeve. Who knew what the Council of Elders might be hiding? But Jasmine wasn’t concerned. She trusted her own strength.
Or rather, she trusted her cheat abilities.
Sometimes, Jasmine wondered why she had been given such powerful abilities, and just how powerful they truly were. Perhaps a benevolent deity, hearing humanity’s pleas, had sent her to this world, granting her these powers.
And she believed that she was the strongest being in this world.
Otherwise, what was the point of her being here?
She reassured Adele, who sighed. Jasmine continued, “I don’t intend to fight a prolonged war with the vampires. I’ve been working for humanity for over ten years now. It’s time for me to retire. After this mission, we’ll tie up loose ends, and then we’ll retire together.”
These words were as ominous as “When I return, we’ll get married,” but Jasmine didn’t care. She was strong enough to break any flags she might raise. Seeing her unwavering confidence, Adele couldn’t argue.
She even smiled and said, “Alright. Just remember to bring back plenty of magic stones.”
Jasmine agreed.
She didn’t immediately head for the capital. Instead, she stayed in the territory, helping the researchers at the institute fine-tune the firearms. Honestly, the latest firearms they had developed had a steampunk vibe. The brown barrels were adorned with gears and roses, resembling flintlock pistols, more cumbersome than modern firearms.
But they felt much better in Jasmine’s hands, and misfires were rare now. She decided to take two pistols and a box of sunflower-soaked bullets, preparing to play the role of a dual-wielding gunslinger.
Jasmine stayed in the territory, enjoying Adele’s company for a few days, then, while Adele was sleeping during the day, she quietly slipped out of the room. She had promised Adele that they would say goodbye at night. After all, the Council of Elders resided deep underground. Day and night made no difference to them. But only at night could Adele bid Jasmine farewell.
But Jasmine didn’t want to. She didn’t want to say goodbye, afraid of jinxing herself. Despite her outward confidence, she was still slightly apprehensive. Am I really… strong enough to single-handedly take on the entire Council of Elders?
No… I can do it.
She reassured herself. After all, she was Dawn Lady, Adele’s lover, a transmigrator, a being with cheat abilities. If she couldn’t even defeat the Council of Elders, this world would be too cruel. Even if it were written as a novel, readers would criticize it.
Before leaving the room, she leaned down and kissed Adele’s forehead. Then she went to her old room, the one Adele had converted from a small study when Oakham was still alive. She hadn’t used it much in recent years.
She had hidden a small box in this room. She pulled it out from under the bed and checked its contents. The box was lined with red velvet, upon which lay two rows of glass vials, sealed with cork stoppers. The dark red blood inside the vials, motionless, shimmered against the velvet.
This was Jasmine’s blood.
She had prepared it for Adele. It felt a bit like making arrangements for her death, but she had to leave something for Adele. Even though Jasmine didn’t believe she would lose, she had to be prepared for the possibility of not returning. She had prepared her blood for Adele, in case she became too hungry.
And her blood was incredibly potent, capable of accelerating Adele’s healing. If the vampire army attacked before Jasmine returned, her blood could at least provide Adele with some protection.
She placed the box in the drawing-room, then she grabbed the two pistols and the box of bullets and left. The midday sun was bright, casting a long shadow behind her, like a lone warrior embarking on a perilous journey.
Jasmine spat twice, dispelling the ominous thought.
She wasn’t going on a suicide mission!
She arrived at the capital and noticed that the atmosphere was different from her previous visits. Even the air was thick with tension. But the otherworldly beings guarding the innermost part of the capital seemed lax. Jasmine, crouching in a corner, overheard a conversation between two of them.
“Do you think… we should still support the Council of Elders?”
The other one, hearing this, quickly looked around. Jasmine retreated further into the shadows, making sure no one was nearby, then she listened intently. “Don’t say such things! If the Elders hear you, you’ll be executed!”
The first otherworldly being scoffed. “They won’t hear us. They never leave their bunker.”
He was right. Those cowards would never venture outside, Jasmine thought.
The other one sighed. The first one continued, “Honestly, I don’t even know why we’re still here. Those fools outside are causing chaos with their counterfeit banknotes. We’ve been stuck in the capital, bound by our contract with the Council of Elders. We never even had a chance to touch those fake banknotes. And yet they made us hand over all our money, then they deducted a portion of it, claiming it was for… something. What’s the point of being on this patrol team? It’s tiring, and the pay is terrible.”
The other one agreed, his tone also disgruntled.
It seemed that no matter where you went, it was the same. Workers always felt that they were underpaid and had grievances towards their superiors. The events of the past two years had even made the guards in the capital start slacking off.
One could only imagine the level of resentment towards the Council of Elders in other places.
And it wasn’t just the hired otherworldly beings. Even the vampires probably felt the same way.
In this situation, if the Council of Elders was overthrown, it would be difficult for them to regain their power. Once they were gone, leaderless, the vampires would be easier to deal with, and there wouldn’t be any lingering threats. After a while, Jasmine and Adele could finally retire and travel the world.
Jasmine looked at the entrance to the bunker. The Council of Elders didn’t fully trust otherworldly beings. Those hired guards might betray them. So, during the day, they kept the bunker’s entrance closed, not even allowing the otherworldly beings to stand guard. This was a bit tricky. If Jasmine made too much noise, would the vampires underground have a secret escape route?
She had no choice but to wait. As the sun set and darkness enveloped the land, the bunker’s door slowly opened. While the vampire patrol team was changing shifts with the vampires inside the bunker, Jasmine dashed inside, her movements too fast for even vampires to see. They only felt a gust of wind, ruffling their hair.
Jasmine, inside the bunker now, heard their conversation. “Wasn’t that wind a bit strange?”
They were about to report it, but then one of them said, “Forget it.” From his tone, Jasmine could tell that they were also dissatisfied with the Council of Elders. If they had been truly loyal, they would have reported this unusual event.
Jasmine navigated the bunker, using her abilities to avoid the countless surveillance cameras, quickly passing through the first ten levels. After reaching the eleventh level, she noticed an increase in the number of vampire servants. How extravagant, she thought. Using vampires as servants. These vampires were probably from fallen noble families, their pride swallowed as they served the Council of Elders to make a living.
But even with the increased security, it didn’t matter to Jasmine. She evaded everyone and reached the thirteenth level. Honestly, finding the Council of Elders’ chamber had been a challenge. The air underground was stale and stagnant, making it difficult for Jasmine to use her sense of smell. And the doors and walls were thick, muffling sounds and blocking scents. Even her enhanced senses were severely hampered.
But she had eventually found it, after searching every room. She noticed that thirteen rooms were locked, including the one Adele had visited before. Jasmine remembered where the bracelet had stopped. It had been inside that room.
This was strange…
Thirteen rooms… those should be the chambers of the previous heads of the thirteen clans. Which meant… the Elders weren’t here. Perhaps there was another passage, a secret route leading to their true location.
Jasmine figured this out. She knew she had to take a risk, to find someone and ask them where the Elders were. She decided to target the unlucky fellow who had tried to hypnotize her during Adele’s previous visit.
She remembered his scent. Following the faintest whiff emanating from under the door, she located his room. She knocked gently on the heavy door.
An irritated voice responded from within, “Who is it?” The thick door didn’t muffle the sound.
“Sir, Lady Blake invites you to join her for tea.” Thanks to the vampire’s inadvertent revelation during their previous encounter, Jasmine knew exactly what to say to lure him out.
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