47: Tacit Understanding

"Protect the Young Master!"

From deep within the Manor, a flurry of shouts suddenly erupted.

A tall, thin young noble, clad in silk pajamas, burst out from the core castle, surrounded by several retainers, enveloped in fury and Bloodline Aura.

The mixed Bloodline Aura on him surged, forming a layer of faint red mist.

The retainers in the Manor frantically gathered around him, attempting to form a defensive line.

"A Black Iron-tier Bloodline Knight..."

Li Ke stood on the tower of the Manor's main gate, his dark red short hair gently swaying.

His gaze pierced through the chaotic battlefield, landing on the figure of the young noble, and he understood.

"This should be the Henry Family's hidden heir."

"Typical noble manipulation."

As the young noble rushed out of the castle,

what greeted his eyes were servants and Family members fleeing in all directions,

flowerbeds wantonly trampled and turned into mud,

and overturned, broken rockeries and stone sculptures.

Everything the Family had painstakingly built over a dozen generations was reduced to nothing in this short night.

His eyes instantly became bloodshot,

his gaze sweeping over the chaotic crowd, fixing intently on a figure wearing a bright red spiral mask.

"Ahhh!"

The young noble let out a bestial roar,

he raised his longsword, its blade flickering with a faint Bloodline glow,

and then, with astonishing Aura, he charged fearlessly towards Hatties, who was at the center of the battlefield!

At this moment,

Hatties stood in the middle of the chaotic battlefield,

dozens of twisted, incomplete corpses lay scattered at his feet.

A chillingly fierce Aura emanated from him, as if he were an Asura who had emerged from a pool of blood.

"Whoosh!"

Hatties casually flicked his right arm,

his fingertip creating a slight popping sound in the air.

Behind him, an armored retainer, who had tried to sneak closer to launch a surprise attack,

instantly stiffened, then collapsed limply,

a gruesome spiral-shaped blood-hole appearing on his neck,

bright red blood gurgled out, staining the snow beneath him.

Hatties retracted his arm, standing still Li Ke a javelin,

he slowly raised his head, quietly watching the valiant young noble charging towards him.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The young noble arrived in an instant,

his longsword, using the standard three knightly thrusts, was accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound, aiming directly for Hatties's face!

Hatties remained still, his arm blurring into an afterimage as he swung it forward fiercely.

Clang!!!

His fingertip struck the tip of the sword,

producing a crisp sound of metal clashing.

The young noble's expression changed dramatically; he felt a twisting force transmit along the sword.

Although weakened by the power on the sword, it still caused his tiger's mouth to tremble violently and his arm to go numb.

The sword hilt spun uncontrollably twice in his hand before he barely managed to steady it.

Seeing this, a hint of panic flashed in the young knight's eyes.

"Ah!!!"

He roared again,

his longsword abandoned its delicate thrusts, transforming into a swift horizontal slash.

Whoosh!

The sword, accompanied by a whistling wind, swept towards Hatties's waist!

However, Hatties remained still, his arm disappearing for a moment in its original position.

Clang!!!

A duller, louder clang.

The longsword in the young noble's hand hummed, the blade vibrating incessantly, Li Ke a wildly struggling snake.

"Buzz..."

This time, the young noble could no longer grasp the sword hilt,

the longsword leaped and flipped through the air,

finally landing with a "clank"

on the snow not far away.

The young noble's face instantly turned pale.

He subconsciously retreated, trying to distance himself from Hatties.

Seeing this, Hatties slowly lowered his hands,

a clear hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes beneath the red spiral mask.

His figure flickered, disappearing from his spot,

the next moment, he silently appeared beside the young noble.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Four crisp bone-cracking sounds exploded almost simultaneously.

"Ah!!!"

The young noble let out a painful, shrill wail,

his limbs twisted and broke at extremely strange angles,

bones piercing through flesh, exposed to the cold air,

his entire body, as if its bones had been removed, collapsed limply onto the snow, twitching continuously.

Hatties turned his head, not looking at him again,

his figure once again merged into the slaughter.

At dawn,

when the first glimmer of light appeared on the horizon.

The resistance within the Henry Manor had been completely dismantled.

The air was filled with the strong smell of blood, and the charred smell of burning wood.

Li Ke's expression was calm,

stepping over patches of blood-stained earth,

he slowly walked into the deep vault of the Henry Manor.

The vault was very cold, and the air faintly carried a nauseating stench of decay.

Rows of gold and silver treasures, antique artifacts... were neatly arranged on shelves.

Li Ke did not stop to examine these assets,

instead, he found a special compartment in the corner of the vault,

which contained many human organs preserved in transparent containers, emitting a strange Aura.

Hearts, livers, eyeballs... and even intestines that were still slightly wriggling...

"Well, I'm not wronging you here."

Li Ke smiled, instructing his people to carefully collect this evidence,

then he ordered the guard team,

to publicly announce, in the name of the Charles Manor,

that the Henry Family had colluded with evil forces,

and with conclusive evidence, had been purged!

......

A few days later,

Charles Manor, study.

Li Ke unhurriedly drank the rich black tea in his cup,

his fingertips gently playing with a palm-sized glass bottle.

Inside the bottle, half a tube of dark red viscous liquid was held, gently swaying in the light.

These past few days, the Charles Family had naturally taken over all of the Henry Family's territories and assets.

Among them were a small rock-steel mine and a high-quality grape plantation that had been managed for many years.

Butler Barton had been incredibly busy these past few days,

leading his staff to meticulously inventory the various assets left by the Henry Family.

According to the "Purge Operation" rules set by Alvin Oak,

any noble participating in the operation, after purging a Family that colluded with evil, would need to escort the main members of that Family to the prison in Oak Tree City, awaiting the final judgment of the noble court.

But before the convoy escorting the Henry Family captives departed,

Li Ke specifically intercepted several younger, healthier direct descendants.

Following the [Food Supplement Secret Method],

he attempted a Bloodline extraction,

and finally obtained this small tube of dark red viscous liquid before him.

This was the [Red Bat Bloodline] passed down through generations of the Henry Family...

Li Ke held the glass bottle up to his eyes,

carefully observing the dark red Bloodline essence within the bottle, his brows slightly furrowed.

This Bloodline was impure, full of various difficult-to-remove Impurities,

and the extraordinary qualities it contained were also very thin, almost imperceptible in terms of useful power.

"Not much value."

He casually tossed the glass bottle onto the desk.

At the same time,

Butler Barton hurried in, a hint of solemnity on his face.

"Master, news just came in."

"Last night, the Ironwood Family also made their move, defeating the Punk Family near Xilin Town."

"Now, among the noble forces surrounding Xilin Town, only our Charles Family and the Ironwood Family remain."

Upon hearing this, Li Ke's lips curled into a faint smile.

"It seems everyone has an unspoken understanding."

First, clear out the surrounding small fry,

then free up hands to deal with the truly tricky opponents.

Once everyone has properly arranged their resources,

the next step will likely be the true confrontation between the Charles Manor and the Ironwood Family.

Li Ke picked up his black tea and took a small sip.

He looked inward, into his Dantian Qi Sea,

the nine drops of ink-black Devilish Qi liquid,

were now almost completely merged, faintly showing signs of forming a dark spiritual pool.

"I'm very close to Foundation Establishment."