"Brother Guo Huai, why don't you give it a try?"

"Try... me?" Guo Huai glanced around in alarm.

"That middle-aged man, Kanter," Dick pointed to the group of Smith family elders and mid-tier warriors left behind. "Capture him, Brother Guo Huai. It's all up to you."

"Alright, I'll try!" Guo Huai couldn't back down now, not on a mission, especially with Barbara watching. It’s just a trial, after all. What if he's not really a high-level warrior?

With resolve, Guo Huai drew his greatsword and charged at Kanter in the crowd.

With a deafening crash, the crowd scattered as a thunderous clash of weapons rang out. Poor Guo Huai was forced back several meters by Kanter's sword.

The Smith family elders and mid-tier warriors all stared at Kanter in terror.

"Interesting! You've managed to suspect me? I’d love to know why." Kanter, now fully revealing his powerful aura, had abandoned all pretense, looking every inch a formidable expert.

"Everyone acts with purpose. Collaborating with vampires in such a grand scheme—it must involve tremendous profit. Who would do it without significant gain?" Dick remained calm. "I'm merely guessing, but I figure that for Elder Albert of the Smith family, it was likely your rise as a young talent that presented the best opportunity to seize the clan leader's position."

"Seizing the clan leadership isn’t easy. The greatest chance comes when the son of a clan elder breaks through to a high-level warrior. And with such a breakthrough, one gains a century of extended life. With that kind of benefit, collaborating with vampires might just seem worth it, don’t you think?"

Dick shared his suspicions openly.

"Why not blame the faction of the Seventh Elder instead of me? The vampire was found in his house, wasn’t it?" Kanter asked.

"At such a critical moment, the Seventh Elder panicked and used his clan token to summon help, which got him killed. Isn’t that just asking for trouble? It’s clear he was set up. But if you wanted to frame him, you’d need solid evidence, right?

"So, I figure you'd hide a vampire in his home. That way, the proof would be irrefutable. That's why I was confident in having the vampire dug out from the Seventh Elder’s place—everything would fall into place," Dick explained.

"I’m curious. Did you suspect me just by sniffing around? Do I carry the scent of a vampire?" Kanter, surrounded by enemies, remained unperturbed, even entertained, continuing the conversation.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"The Seventh Elder is at least a mid-tier warrior. For someone to steal his token without him noticing, that person must be highly skilled, likely beyond the scope of a mid-tier warrior—perhaps a seventh-tier warrior. To be safe, I requested additional reinforcements from the family.

"Though you’ve disguised yourself as a fifth-tier warrior, don’t forget, I’m not only a fourth-tier warrior but also a third-tier mage. A mage’s spiritual sense is sharper than a warrior’s, Kanter. You underestimated me. My spiritual energy detected the slight instability in your aura."

Dick, entirely untroubled, continued speaking with the powerful Kanter.

"You suspect I’m a seventh-tier warrior, yet you’re not even a bit nervous?" Kanter asked, his gaze fixed on Dick.

"Precisely because I sensed that instability in your aura, I have another theory. The dark forces you've allied with likely used the vampires’ unique abilities to help you take a shortcut to the seventh tier. But such shortcuts come with flaws, don’t they?

"Even if you’ve extended your life by a century, your true combat power isn’t that of a genuine high-level warrior, am I wrong, Kanter? You’ve been chatting with me all this time to probe for information, to find out how your scheme was exposed so you could return to your master with answers. You’re confident you can escape our encirclement with your strength, aren’t you?

"But you’ve miscalculated. You’ve underestimated the bloodline warriors of Seven Star Fortress. Even with just two of them here, do you really think you can escape? Heh!" Dick smirked.

Dick had once heard of a family technique to bypass the mage bottleneck but at the cost of power. Even though Kanter had gained an advantage in his clash with Guo Huai, Dick doubted he was as strong as he seemed.

"Sister Barbara, do you trust my judgment?" Dick asked, glancing at her.

Barbara drew her greatsword in response, a silent affirmation.

This was no time for chivalry. In a one-on-one fight, they stood no chance against Kanter. With a tacit understanding, Barbara and Guo Huai, both fifth-tier bloodline warriors, charged at Kanter together, sparking a fierce battle.

Damn! Dick’s assessment had been off. Though Kanter wasn’t a true seventh-tier warrior, both Guo Huai and Barbara were only fifth-tier. It was one thing to defeat a sixth-tier warrior, but this Kanter was clearly beyond the scope of ordinary sixth-tier combatants.

"Are you all just going to stand there watching while your family collaborates with vampires? Do you think the Smith family can escape unscathed?" Dick shouted at the Smith family elders and mid-tier warriors. "If I claim your entire family has conspired with vampires to betray us, do you think Seven Star Fortress would hesitate to annihilate your clan?"

"Bastard! All Smith family mid-tier warriors and elders, fight against these traitors, Albert and Kanter!" Markham wasn't stupid. Dick’s threat was as clear as day. In these times, the louder voice wins. In the face of Seven Star Fortress’s might, the Smith family was little more than ants.

"Eradicate the traitors! Capture Albert! Take down Kanter!" The situation was clear. Whether they were part of Albert's faction or not, everyone knew they had to distance themselves now. A dozen mid-tier Smith family warriors, from fourth to sixth tier, charged into the fray against Kanter.

Fortunately, Kanter wasn’t truly a seventh-tier warrior. With so many opponents attacking in waves, his pseudo-seventh-tier strength began to falter.

A loud rumble echoed nearby as another fight broke out, this time outside a cellar. A vampire! This one was noticeably larger and more robust than the one found in the Seventh Elder’s house.

Fortunately, Seven Star Fortress had more bloodline warriors now, and the vampire was swiftly surrounded and overwhelmed by six warriors from the Yaoguang family.