Chapter 72: The Unfortunate Soul
The new recruits in the Human Resistance Army were stunned. How long had Lady Dawn been gone? An hour at most? And in that short time, she had destroyed the Orb of Eternal Night?!
The veterans, however, were ecstatic. Lady Dawn’s unwavering strength meant that all their problems would be solved, and that one day, they would overthrow the vampires. Under the Commander’s orders, everyone charged towards Nevernight.
Jasmine was indeed incredibly fast. Upon arriving in Nevernight, she immediately entered the city through a secret tunnel maintained by the Hunter’s Association. The Hunter’s Association, true to their reputation as “rats of the sewers” in the vampires’ eyes, had tunnels everywhere. As Jasmine entered the city, she was spotted by a vampire. Unfortunately for him, he had to meet his maker first.
But perhaps he wasn’t so unfortunate after all. Most of the vampires who died later were likely burned to death by the sun, a fate far more agonizing than being swiftly dispatched by Jasmine. So, maybe this vampire was actually lucky.
Jasmine moved like a shadow, swiftly reaching the location of the Orb of Eternal Night. She had intended to destroy it immediately but was surprised to find a male vampire engaged in a tryst with a low-ranking vampire. Jasmine was already irritated. The stench of blood in Nevernight was far stronger than in Oakham’s manor.
Moreover, to avoid detection, Jasmine had to rely on her sense of smell to navigate the city, unable to shut it off. This made her even more uncomfortable. The overwhelming stench of blood made her nose burn, and she finally understood why Adele had been so irritable that day and had lashed out. The smell of blood could truly make one dizzy and agitated.
She wanted to leave this city as soon as possible but hadn’t expected such an important location to be so poorly guarded. There was just one vampire indulging in carnal pleasures. He froze when he saw Jasmine, then seemed to recognize her, pointing and shouting, “You’re Lady Dawn of the Human Resistance Army?!”
So, she was quite famous among vampires. Jasmine had seen her name and a brief description of her attire in the correspondence between the Blake patriarch and other vampires. They knew that she was the one Adele had encountered on the airship. With access to the memories of some vampires, it was easy to obtain her image.
However, her identity should still be a secret to most vampires. The Council of Elders’ policy was to suppress this information. They didn’t want vampires to know that humans possessed such powerful individuals.
This meant that the vampire before her must hold a high position.
Jasmine didn’t care about his status. She just felt like she was about to get an eye infection. And with him shouting like that, the other vampires must have heard him. After all, vampires had excellent hearing. Not all the vampires in the castle were indulging in pleasure. There were guards and maids on duty. They would soon arrive, alerted by his screams.
This thought made Jasmine even more irritable. She covered her ears and said, “Shut up!” before sending the amorous couple to meet their maker. But the male vampire was surprisingly resilient. Even with her thread-like sword piercing his chest, he managed to struggle free as Jasmine approached the Orb of Eternal Night. He used fire magic to burn the threads and crawled towards the exit.
Clever. He had figured out that her thread sword was vulnerable to fire.
Jasmine grabbed the Orb but didn’t let the vampire escape. Threads shot out from under her robe, wrapping around his ankle, attempting to drag him back. But Jasmine was too agitated, her control faltering. Instead of pulling him back, she accidentally severed his foot.
The male vampire screamed in agony. The nearest vampires, alerted by the commotion, burst through the door. They saw him writhing on the ground, screaming, and they saw the human holding the Orb of Eternal Night, her eyes cold and piercing, staring at them coldly.
Some vampires cautiously approached Jasmine, demanding, “Who are you?!”
Others, seeing the Orb in her hand, felt their hearts skip a beat, yelling, “Put down the Orb of Eternal Night!”
And some were more concerned about the injured vampire on the ground, “Ah! Second Young Master!”
Jasmine, in her agitated state, chose to eliminate them all, along with the Orb in her hand. In just ten seconds, everything, including the Orb, was reduced to ashes. The annoying noises ceased, the black barrier outside dissipated, and warm sunlight bathed the city. Jasmine stepped onto the balcony, raising her hand as if to embrace the sun.
She shut off her sense of smell, blocking out the overwhelming stench of blood. Her agitation subsided, replaced by a sense of calm.
Only then did she realize: she had heard a vampire maid call the naked vampire… Second Young Master? Since they were in the White family’s stronghold, he must have been the White family’s second son.
Jasmine pondered this absentmindedly as she basked in the sunlight on the tower. Then she took a step forward, falling from the top of the tower like a feather, landing gracefully on the ground. Panicked vampires scrambled for cover inside buildings, but even there, it was difficult to escape the sunlight.
Most buildings in Nevernight, this city of extravagance, were adorned with large windows. The curtains were thin and gauzy, meant for privacy, not for blocking light. The vampires reveled in the moonlight, never bothering to draw the curtains.
This meant that the sunlight could also reach them, “intimately.”
Still, hiding inside offered some protection, preventing them from being instantly incinerated. Those who were unlucky, caught outside, were bathed in the warm sunlight, their agonizing screams drowned out as they turned to ash.
Jasmine strolled leisurely through the streets. With her sense of smell shut off, she couldn’t smell the overwhelming stench of blood. She simply watched as vampires turned to ash before her eyes. The sight pleased her. She even hummed a tune.
She deliberately slowed her pace, savoring the spectacle.
Of course, there were other beings in Nevernight besides vampires. Some were allies of the vampires, some were thrill-seekers, and some were lurking in the sewers, plotting against the vampires. With the city in chaos, many of these beings seized the opportunity to loot vampire property and escape to a better life.
Some even attacked humans. Jasmine, seeing these opportunistic scoundrels, didn’t stand idly by. Attacking humans in her presence was suicide. She mercifully granted them a swift death, sending them to hell alongside the White family’s second son.
She led the humans she had rescued, walking slowly towards the city gates. As they opened the gates, they saw the Human Resistance Army charging in. The Commander, spotting Jasmine, rushed over and greeted, “Lady Dawn.” The logistics unit followed behind him, and Jasmine’s sharp eyes spotted Freckles Anna among them.
She looked different from her school days. She was dirtier, but her eyes were filled with determination. Recognizing the Lady Dawn who had rescued her from the academy, Anna’s face lit up with joy. She wanted to talk to Jasmine, but she first focused on her duties, helping the other medics tend to the wounded.
The Commander expressed his gratitude to Jasmine. She nodded, confirming that the Orb of Eternal Night had been destroyed. She then pulled a shard of the Orb from her pocket and handed it to him, “Take this back to the base and have everyone study it. See if there’s anything we can learn from it. And don’t forget to collect the magic stones from the castle tower.”
Seeing the Commander’s solemn nod, Jasmine was satisfied. She then went to see Anna. Watching her skillfully treat the wounded, Jasmine couldn’t help but marvel at how much Anna had grown.
After treating a patient, Anna realized that Lady Dawn was standing behind her. She was overjoyed and thanked Lady Dawn for rescuing her from the academy. Then she asked cautiously, “Lady Dawn, is Jasmine… the one who told you about us… is she doing okay?”
She’s doing great. She’s right here, having just destroyed a vampire stronghold.
Jasmine couldn’t reveal the truth, so she simply nodded.
Anna visibly relaxed, a look of relief on her face that Jasmine couldn’t quite understand, “Really… That’s wonderful.”
To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Jasmine stayed in Nevernight for two more days. Only after the Human Resistance Army had completely withdrawn, leaving behind a desolate city, did she bid farewell to the Commander and head back to Blake Castle at top speed.
She arrived just in time, still within her sick leave period. Jasmine took a shower and was about to take a nap when she sensed Adele’s presence. Her heart skipped a beat. Adele is here? Why is she here? What is she doing here? And… has she been here before?
The last question was the most important. She worried that if Adele had visited in the past two days, her secret would be exposed. If that happened, she might not be able to stay at the castle anymore.
The thought filled her with a strange sadness. She was sad about losing access to delicious food, a decent salary, and… being separated from Adele.
Jasmine suppressed the last thought, rubbing her damp hair and sighing. She walked towards the door. As she was lost in thought, Adele had already arrived outside her room. They were now separated by a single door. Jasmine waited for Adele to knock.
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