A loud crash echoed as yet another formidable vampire was unearthed.

Surrounded by six warriors of the Yaoguang family, the vampire found itself quickly cornered.

Dick was quite satisfied. The discipline among the ordinary warriors of the Yaoguang family was impressive, and their combat coordination was exceptional. They didn’t all rush in at once—six warriors of the fourth and fifth levels were more than enough to handle one vampire. The other fifth-level warriors returned to their positions, ready to confront any other vampires that might appear.

But there were no more. With three vampires slain, the number seemed just about right.

Meanwhile, the low-ranking warriors of the Smith family continued digging. Until Dick gave the command to stop, they had to excavate every corner. What if there were still vampires hiding? If the Seven Star Fort's experts left, any remaining vampires would surely wreak havoc on the Smith family warriors. So, for the sake of their own future safety, they couldn’t afford to slack off.

Fortunately, Albert, due to his old age and lack of practice in special techniques, wasn’t another seventh-level warrior—otherwise, the situation would have been far more troublesome.

Albert was the first to be captured by the elders of the Smith family, and soon the two vampires were slain by the Yaoguang family warriors.

Kant was still holding on, but barely, as he faced the relentless assault of Barbara, Guo Huai, and over a dozen intermediate warriors from the Smith family.

Suddenly, a figure dashed through the night, illuminated by the torches of the Smith family estate. From several meters away, a flash of blade light swept across the battlefield. A Smith family warrior who had been attacking Kant was struck down, sent flying by the sword’s force. Even Barbara and Guo Huai were knocked back by the powerful aftershock, hitting the ground hard.

Damn it! Now, this is a real advanced warrior! Dick’s heart sank. The sheer power difference between high-level warriors and lower ones was apparent. The sword energy could extend several meters—though ineffective against other high-level warriors, it was devastating for mid- and low-level combatants. Such was the overwhelming gap in strength between ranks.

"Master! Help me!" Kant exclaimed in joy, though by now his legs were trembling from exhaustion.

"You killed my second-level vampire—you all deserve death!" The newcomer’s face was twisted with rage.

"And you think you can?" came an eerie voice from behind Dick, startling him. He spun around to see who had spoken.

“Third Elder!” Dick's face lit up with joy. Huo Guang, a mighty eighth-level bloodline warrior, had arrived—their true savior. Perhaps he wouldn't die after all.

“Well done, lad,” Huo Guang said with a pat on Dick's shoulder, his tone warm. “You’ve done well in this mission—exposing vampires, uncovering a fake seventh-level warrior, and even drawing out an eighth-level member of this secret organization. You'll certainly be rewarded for this, haha!”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Eighth-level warrior…” Dick stammered, still in awe.

“What’s wrong? Don’t believe me, you brat?” With that, Huo Guang leaped into action, his greatsword cleaving through the air toward Kant’s so-called "master."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dick watched in awe as the battle unfolded. In just a few exchanges, the arrogant eighth-level master who had come to Kant’s rescue was split in half by Huo Guang’s sword.

Even among eighth-level warriors, the difference was staggering. Of course, Huo Guang was a bloodline warrior—a rare and powerful breed.

Seizing the opportunity, Dick dashed forward and knocked out the now desperate Kant with a single punch. Capturing him alive might yield valuable information.

After all, Kant had called that man his "master," which likely meant he was part of some secret organization that kept vampires in their ranks.

Kant, without a shred of dignity, confessed everything after he awoke. With his powerful master dead, all hope had fled him, leaving no resistance in his mind. He spilled every secret like water from a broken dam.

It all led back to the elusive "Dark Blade" organization, which had vanished decades ago. Back then, they had bred magic beasts, and now they were raising vampires. Their methods were as strange as they were dangerous.

The frail vampire Kant had been keeping was only a third-level vampire, meant to frame the Seventh Elder’s line and topple the clan leader’s faction. The two stronger vampires had been kept by Kant’s now-dead master, a second-level vampire breeder.

For Dick, the investigation into the Smith family’s involvement with vampires had come to an end. Now it was up to the Third Elder to take Kant alive and pursue the larger mission. After all, the Dark Blade organization was hiding in the shadows, filled with advanced warriors, and it wouldn’t be easy to root them out. The Yaoguang family would need to join forces with other factions to deal with this.

Still, the Yaoguang family had struck first, uncovering the vampire plot, slaying an eighth-level warrior from the shadows, and capturing a fake seventh-level traitor. Dick and Barbara had earned great merit for the family.

Guo Huai, too, had caught the tail end of the mission and was likely to receive a fair share of rewards. After all, his bravery in the face of overwhelming odds had even earned praise from the Third Elder.

The mission, crucial as it was, had reaped rich rewards. As the leaders of the operation, Dick and Barbara were each awarded five hundred contribution points.

“So many points! This feels amazing!” Dick marveled. He had never seen such a large amount before.

“It’s not that much,” Barbara replied. “After all, we uncovered a major conspiracy involving high-level traitors and hidden dangers on the continent. Our Yaoguang family will also be rewarded handsomely by the Yan Kingdom. But thank you, Dick. If it were just a vampire, a hundred points would have been generous.”

Now Dick understood—the hefty rewards were due to Kant and his eighth-level master being exposed.

“Why the politeness, Sister Barbara? If it weren’t for you backing me up, I’d never have had the guts, haha!” Dick knew well that much of the reward was due to Barbara’s influence. Even the mighty Third Elder seemed rather "gentle" towards her.

After all, this wasn’t a particularly high-level mission, and it was strange for an elder like Huo Guang to appear here without a reason.

“Dick, is a mage’s mental power truly that extraordinary?” Barbara asked.

“The mental power of a mage is definitely stronger than that of a warrior, but I’m only a third-level mage. My abilities aren’t enough to sense a high-level warrior’s presence. But, Sister Barbara, there’s an old saying—'a guilty conscience needs no accuser.' No matter how calm Kant tried to appear, given the stakes of his family’s future, there were bound to be some signs of unease.

I deliberately used my nose to ‘sense’ him, just to make him nervous—so that he would believe we had some special detection ability. The more he doubts, the more tension he feels. That’s all I needed. No matter how powerful, humans are still human, not gods. They always have emotional weaknesses.”

Dick’s psychological tactics left Barbara deeply impressed. Cunning or clever, it was all about perspective. To her, Dick’s wit was a sign of brilliance and wisdom.

In his past life, Dick had spent over two decades in the offices of a city government, honing his skills in reading people’s minds.