Chapter 11

The laws of the vampire community were much stricter than Adam had imagined.

For over a thousand years since being collectively expelled from the first city, the vampires, hidden among the native-born humans of Earth, had adhered to certain constraints.

For example, they couldn't indulge in killing without reason, nor could they reveal their true identities to humans without permission.

But the most stringent rules among them were two: one, the prohibition of unauthorized progeny, and two, the prohibition of making agreements with humans without authorization.

Unauthorized progeny referred to the creation of new vampires without the permission of a count-level vampire. Vampires needed human blood to survive, but being a race detested by humans, the creation of new vampires without guidance posed a significant risk. If an irresponsible vampire created a new one and let them loose without proper guidance, it could lead to widespread human casualties, sparking public outrage against vampires and risking exposure and harm to other vampires.

To address this, whenever unidentified new vampires were discovered, the community would react swiftly and cautiously. Upon confirming their identity, if they were found to be unauthorized progeny, they were often eliminated.

Therefore, Kudian and Vine's mission, besides rescuing captive vampires, also included bringing the perpetrator back for vampire judgment.

The other taboo—making agreements with humans without authorization—included all agreements that required revealing vampire identity, including assistance, obedience, and even servitude.

Generally, such agreements could only be made by vampires of count rank or higher, and the parties involved were typically human figures of authority. The vampires provided support to these figures, who, in turn, used their power to protect and provide special assistance to the vampires.

From a certain perspective, such agreements were necessary, but they were restricted to those with authority. Making agreements with humans from the lower echelons of society was seen as a pure risk by vampires.

To deal with such situations, it was common to eliminate any informed humans involved and severely punish associated vampires, with the most severe cases leading to the death penalty.

Adam had violated both of these rules, and Kudian, already incensed, wasn't about to be lenient. He bared his fangs and claws, assuming a combat stance.

Adam wasn't familiar with the rules of the vampire community, but seeing the scene before him, even a fool could understand what the other wanted.

Did he want to fight? Well then, bring it on.

Adam took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, extending his left hand towards Kudian, accepting the challenge with an expression that suggested he wasn't intending to go all out.

In an instant, Kudian lost his temper completely. Adam's actions and demeanor weren't just provocation; they were also contemptuous.

As a 150-year-old thirteenth-generation vampire, Kudian couldn't tolerate such provocation from a newly turned vampire. Even if Adam didn't have any justification, he would probably still act!

Without hesitation, Kudian crouched slightly, then swiftly charged forward. Compared to ordinary humans, his speed was incredibly fast, easily more than five times faster.

But to Adam, it was evidently not fast enough.

The next second, Kudian was in front of Adam, swiping his claws towards Adam's face.

But just in the nick of time, Adam leaned back, evading Kudian's attack. At the same time, his knee, seemingly unintentionally, collided with Kudian's exposed abdomen.

The impact wasn't particularly strong for Adam, but it was enough to send Kudian rolling on the ground. The cool demeanor he had just put on vanished, replaced by bulging veins, protruding eyes, and bared fangs, giving him a fearsome appearance.

In an instant, Vine, who was watching everything clearly from the side, gasped, and his heart, which had already stopped pounding, suddenly thudded.

Next, Adam grabbed the still dazed Kudian by the collar and slammed his face into the ground. For Adam, it was a gentle press, but for onlookers, it was a brutal smash!

"Bang!"

The intense impact created a faint haze of smoke, cracking the stone balcony.

Adam let go of Kudian's collar, lifted him up, and threw him next to Vine.

In an instant, Vine's eyes widened, his breath held, fists clenched.

Meanwhile, Kudian had rolled his eyes, blood flowing from his seven orifices, his mouth gaping with barely any teeth left—his once handsome face now a bloody mess.

"Whose descendant is this, so uncouth?" Adam's tone was akin to an elder reprimanding a younger one, which was indeed the case.

The chubby person who had been trembling behind the curtains had collapsed to the ground, his face turning purple, mouth agape in shock, his mind reeling.

Vine, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded.

What on earth was going on? How could such strength appear here? Who is this person?

"Summon your leader to see me!" Adam's demand was quite audacious. Even if they were superior vampires, it wasn't reasonable to expect a lord to come all the way to this remote place!

Vine hesitated for a moment but, constrained by Adam's power, didn't dare to delay. He quickly replied, "Sir, this is the territory of the Bizza family. You appeared here suddenly, before I inform our lord, would you mind cooperating and providing some necessary information?" With that, he took out a notebook and a wooden pencil from his pocket.

"Alright." Adam stood with his hands behind his back, tilting his head as he asked, "What information do you need?"

"What is your name?" Vine inquired.

"Adam."

"Last name?"

"None."

"None?"

"Yes." Adam indeed had no last name. Apart from Eve, who was given the surname of Garden of Eden, everyone else had a surname, except for himself.

Vine hesitated for a moment, then lifted his pencil and asked, "Who was your maker?"

Adam pondered for a moment before replying, "Yahweh."

This was the true name of God! Vine naturally knew it, and his pencil trembled as he wrote it down. Glancing at Adam, he then asked, "How many generations of vampires do you belong to?"

"Probably first generation, or you could say the progenitor." Adam smiled at Vine, but Vine didn't show the astonishment Adam had anticipated, as if he didn't even know about the progenitor vampires like Adam.

Had this history also been concealed among the closely-knit vampire community? What motives were behind this?

This line of questioning had reached its limit, and Vine felt Adam was mocking him, but he had no choice against Adam's power.

Unable to continue, Vine closed his notebook and put the pencil back in his pocket.

"Alright, sir. May I inform the baron of your request and then report to our lord? I'll notify you as soon as there's any news." With that, Vine approached Kudian and lightly pressed his chest with his hand.

The unconscious Kudian transformed back into a black bat, now just an unconscious bat.

"I'm curious about your shapeshifting spells. How do you turn into bats?" Adam asked.

Upon hearing this question, Vine's face immediately showed a surprised expression. "Don't you know? This technique has been around for over a thousand years."

Seeing the way the other person was staring at him as if he were some kind of monster, Adam suddenly understood.

Genetic coloring, transforming into bats...

In this world, it wasn't just humans who kept progressing; other intelligent species surely didn't remain unchanged for millennia either.

God cursed the vampires, but He also gave them power.

However, the application of that power required experimentation.

Over the course of two thousand years, the vampires' various techniques had advanced to a level that Adam couldn't even imagine.

The two in front of him were merely low-level vampires; the higher-level ones probably knew even more and were even more powerful.

Without saying anything further, Adam just waved his hand, indicating they could leave.

With Adam's permission, Vine immediately transformed into a bat and flew off with Kudian.

Adam walked over to where Kudian had fallen, dipped his hand into some of the blood Kudian had spilled, and put it in his mouth.

"Belongs to the lash lineage."

Things were somewhat unexpected. One, the vampire community itself must have developed some sort of civilization. In the dark world, they had their own ethics, morals, laws, and secrets. This civilization, unlike human technological civilization familiar to Adam, was full of variables.

The other unexpected thing was that even the vampires had surprisingly concealed that part of history—Adam's history as the vampire progenitor.

Originally, Adam intended to contact the vampire community and ask for their help in finding Uriel and Lilith on this vast Earth.

Now, it seemed there was still a long way to go.