Monarch of Evernight (Web Novel)
chapter-57

[Volume 2 - Bloom of the Other Shore Flower]

Qianye jumped onto the truck, carefully searched inside and outside, confirmed that he eliminated all traces of himself, and then collected one origin gun from the guards and Qi Yue.

The gun Qi Yue had on him was pistol-type origin gun. The model name was Hornet, the quality was good, and since it could achieve a conversion rate of 30 percent, it could already be considered a rank two firearm. The guard division merely had second-hand assault rifles retired from the expeditionary armies; however, they were still products of the last century, and although they were old-fashioned, they could still barely be considered rank one.

The Empire and the dark races’ used the same standards to class origin firearms. If it has at least a 20% conversion rate, it was a rank one firearm, and then every increase of 10% would increase the rank by one. If the Red Scorpions’ Scorpion Needle Custom was considered rank four, the Flowing Gold Rose Standard that Qianye obtained should be considered rank three. As for the first antique Light of Daybreak model, it wasn’t popular in this day and age and couldn’t even be considered rank one.

Qianye searched and picked up the mithril bullet from the guard’s body too. This little fellow was a deadly weapon against the dark races. He opened the sealed box and gave it a look. The thick aura of mithril emanating from the bullets continued to cause him some discomfort as usual.

That being said, the battle against the vampires just now showed Qianye a new possibility. If he could control the power of blood inside his body and inject it into an origin bullet, he might not need to rely purely on silver to fight vampires. Judging from the effects the rank four vampire elder had suffered, he could practically one shot a vampire warrior of the same rank if he were to use Heavy Caliber and his blood energy. He should be able to heavily injure a vampire warrior one or two ranks higher than him if he hit a vital spot too.

Qianye still didn’t understand what was going on with his body, but was the most pragmatic of soldiers. He would use all available methods to attack his enemy and cared only about the results, not the means.

Other than these pieces of equipment, Qianye had also found a dozen or so imperial gold coins. These coins were a sizable amount of wealth considering Qi Yue’s status and identity.

Qianye pulled off the guard’s tactical backpack and threw out anything that he didn’t need. The only thing he kept inside the backpack was a precision tool used to maintain firearms. Then, he tossed the vampire’s Flowing Gold Rose and all tactical accessories into the backpack. He took apart the guard’s assault rifle and packed it into the bag too.

He carried only an intact Light of Daybreak and Hornet with him. With that he began to turn back. Soon, Qianye found the case he had hidden earlier. He sat beside the case and cultivated for a while. Some time later he heard a crisp ringing sound from the leather suitcase’s timer lock. His alarm set for three hours had gone off.

Qianye pressed the leather suitcase’s switch softly, and the case opened automatically to reveal some goods wrapped in many layers of flannel. A small origin level was attached on top of the object. One end of the blue wire was connected to a timer, whereas the red wire stretched all the way to the case’s cover.

The suitcase was actually filled to the brim with plastic explosives. The number of explosives inside the suitcase was enough to blast the goods and the case holder to smithereens.

Qianye carefully took apart the level, timer, and automatic detonator. Then, he pulled away the flannel to reveal the goods inside and immediately inhaled sharply. Anger gradually surfaced on his face.

The suitcase contained four neatly placed black crystalline objects. Every one of these black crystalline objects was as big as a palm and about a centimeter thick.

Black crystals!

Qianye had no idea that Qi Yue had used black crystals to trade for origin guns with the vampires until now!

The black crystals inside the case was a standard cut labeled at middle grade purity. Not only that. It wasn’t your average propellant but a manufacturing grade black crystal! Qianye knew that one of a black crystal’s important functions was to create the compressed energy chamber of an origin firearm.

If these black crystals were to be used in the creation of a grade three origin firearm, it could produce two of them. It would also take two black crystals to create a grade four origin firearm.

It would appear that the power behind Qi Yue had a steady source of black crystals. That was why they thought of conducting long term business with the vampires.

If that complete set of Flowing Gold Rose from earlier were to be auctioned at the middle or upper continents, its functionality and artistic value were worth 20 standard black crystals. They would earn four times the profit. It was no wonder they were willing to risk so much to trade with the vampires. If this trade were set up properly, then the gold coins would come pouring in.

However, what angered Qianye was the fact that these black crystals could be turned into eight Flowing Gold Roses if they were to fall into the vampire’s hands! If they didn’t care for quality, then they could create ten normal grade three origin guns in total! Excluding other expenses, he could say that the vampires had made more than 300% profit from this deal too.

Vampires had always been humankind’s greatest enemy out of all the dark races. This was because humans are literally one of their main dishes to this day. On the continents deep into Evernight Continent where the dark races reigned supreme, there were countless humans who were penned up like livestock to supply the vampires with blood.

The grudge that had lasted for tens of milleniums could no longer be defused by any means. Only the death of either party could settle this grudge once and for all.

However, the Qi Family was actually selling tactical resources like these to the vampires in secret despite their history. There was no other way to describe this but as supplying the enemy! Imperial laws stated that sharing ties with the dark races was a grave crime. If such crimes were to be brought to light, even the lightest punishment would result in a life sentence. It wouldn’t come as a shock at all if the Qi Family were to be annihilated for what they were doing right now.

However, Qianye’s short service in the Red Scorpions told him that things weren’t as simple as they seemed. Evernight Continent was far away from the empire’s territory, and on this land the imperial expeditionary forces reigned supreme. The Qi Family was supported by none other than the imperial expeditionary forces themselves, and if Qi Yue wasn’t lying, he was in fact the son of an active division commander.

Regardless of whether there was an even bigger mastermind behind the trade Qianye had just foiled, these two higher ties alone meant that Qianye should worry more about the hunt that was most definitely coming his way before he could even consider bringing the Qi Family to justice. Moreover, the hunt would likely come in the form of a proper arrest under the expeditionary force’s name.

Qianye thought for a little before he decided to alter his original plans. He put away the crystals and carried the suitcase back to the place where he fought against the vampires. Luckily for him, there were no signs of any outsiders passing through the scene at all.

He swiftly checked the perimeter before aligning the three vampire corpses in one row. He reset the timer detonator on the suitcase and placed it on the corpses. Then, he turned around and left the scene.

A few minutes later, Qianye heard a loud boom from behind him. The flames of the explosion surged at least several dozen meters into the sky. This proved that the explosives were powerful enough to blast the vampires’ corpses into smithereens. It would be difficult for anyone to discover the true cause of deaths.

Qianye checked his direction and decided against returning to Blackflow City. Instead, he walked northward. He could reach Boulderstone Region, the domain of the 3rd Division expeditionary forces from there.

Unlikely the relatively calm Blackflow City, Boulderstone Region was the frontline that stood against the dark races. There were countless forces, mercenaries, hunters, and all kinds of big and small organizations in that place. The state of affairs of Boulderstone Region was far more complex than in Blackflow City, and the expeditionary force’s hold over that place was far weaker than in Blackflow City.

Qianye began plotting his future once more when he reached Boulderstone Region.

Less than two hundred kilometers away from Blackflow City, Brigadier General Wu Zhengnan woke up at 5 a.m. sharp in Cloud Sail City. He walked into his office when the huge chiming clock struck 6. He had never altered this habit for the past thirty years or so he spent in the army.

As usual, the sky was pitch black. It would be another five hours before sunlight would spill from the edges of the middle and upper continents. However, the drill grounds were as bright as daylight thanks to the illumination of several hundred burning gas lamps. Numerous troops had already come out to perform their morning exercises. Shouts rose and fell in succession as the drilling grounds became filled with a ferocious atmosphere.

Brigadier General Wu Zhengnan wasn’t tall, but his figure was as solid as iron. His thick eyebrows looked like a pair of unsheathed blades, and although his eyes were of different sizes, it didn’t affect the sharp gleam that spilled out of his narrow eyelids in the slightest.

He stood at the window and watched the soldiers training spiritedly on the drilling grounds. He nodded in satisfaction before he returned to his office and picked up the latest imperial relay news, reading it.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Wu Zhengnan’s face darkened as he looked a little displeased at the interruption. He yelled in a low tone, “Come in!”

The time between 6 to 7 a.m. was the time he spent leafing through the latest information and pondering about the empire’s political situation. Disturbances were strictly forbidden unless it was an important matter.

The door opened softly as a rather attractive female aide walked into the room and said, “General, Director Qi said he needs you for something.”

Qi Sicheng was the 7th Division’s logistics director. His work was passable, and his greed was ignorable. He had never caused any problems for Wu Zhengnan.

Even more important was the fact that he had an extremely attractive wife. It had been more than twenty years, but she had never failed to please Wu Zhengnan. She had never passed his mind, and the woman had even birthed him a son in secret during this time. Qi Sicheng himself pretended that he knew nothing about this.

Wu Zhengnan’s voice softened a little as he said, “Let him in.”

Qi Sicheng was approaching his sixties, but he looked like he was at his early forties. Moreover, he was tall, handsome, and exuded the charm of a mature middle aged man. However, Qi Sicheng acted like a lamb who saw a tiger when he stood before the average-sized Wu Zhengnan. Not only did he stoop and smile apologetically often, he always gave off a cowering appearance before Wu Zhengnan.

However, it was exactly this attitude that Wu Zhengnan liked about him. On the surface though, he still wore a genial smile on his face and said, “Old Qi, come over and have a seat. It’s not like there are any outsiders in this room right now.”

However, Qi Sicheng stood as straight as a plank and said seriously, “General, we’re in an army right now. There are clear ranks within the army, and we absolutely mustn’t disturb this order!”

Wu Zhengnan sighed and said, “Old Qi, you are as old-fashioned as ever. How many times have I told you to relax a little when there’s no one around! Sigh, alright, something must’ve happened since you’ve came to me at this time. Tell me!”

Qi Sicheng lowered his voice and said, “The trade last night went awry. Qi Yue and his subordinates all died outside the city.”

“What!” Wu Zhengnan rose to his feet in an instant with an ashen face. “What’s going on? Didn’t we set up everything properly? Did those vampires go back on their word?”

“It’s not the work of those cold blooded monsters. My men found the remains of three dead vampires nearby, and they’ve also found the pieces of that suitcase. However, the goods we traded are all gone.”

Wu Zhengnan’s anger swiftly subsided. He calmed himself down and said, “So you mean that someone had set their eyes on this trade of ours?”

Qi Sicheng said slowly, “That possibility is slim. This is our very first trade, and it is just an attempt to get a feel of things and set up a deal. The things that were traded aren’t that valuable, and we’ve kept a tight lid over this matter. The goods passed through several hands only, and none of them knew about the whole trade. I’ve interrogated them all one by one and found no problems with them. Therefore, I believe the biggest possibility is that someone happened to pass by our meet up point and tried to rob the goods.”