27: Secret Order

The two vehicles bumped along the muddy road for about 30 minutes.

Finally, they stopped inside an abandoned tunnel.

The tunnel walls were peeling, and the ceiling was covered in spiderwebs.

Judging by its appearance, this must have been a train station that was once heavily used but is now abandoned.

"Everyone, get out of the car."

Claube stopped the car and jumped out first, followed by the remaining four Vampires, who then drew the Glock pistols tucked into their waists.

And Locke naturally couldn't stay in the car.

Even if he wanted to, the others wouldn't let him have his way; the two people beside him hustled him out of the car.

However, after getting out, he found himself vaguely surrounded by Claube and the other four.

Locke naturally noticed their little maneuver, but he didn't care much about it.

Instead, he wore a curious expression on his face, observing the layout of the tunnel as if he were just looking at the scenery.

He truly acted like a naive fool who had never been on a mission before in response to their strange behavior, his innocence almost pathetic.

His behavior put the group of five at ease, and the looks they directed at him were tinged with contempt, though their vigilance toward him hadn't diminished much.

The circle surrounding him showed no signs of dispersing.

Looking at Locke's empty hands, Claube probed, "You're out on a mission, kid, and you didn't even bring a gun?"

Locke scratched his head and gave a silly smile.

"Because didn't Lord Kraven say this mission was just to welcome Elder Emilia? So, I figured there wouldn't be any danger and no need for combat, so I didn't bring a gun."

"Because you're welcoming Elder Emilia, you dressed like this?"

Claube, finding his suited appearance an eyesore, gestured up and down at him:

"Come on, we're here to carry out a mission, not attend some banquet. You're not just wearing a suit, you're even wearing a tie. What? Do you really think you're here to have fun?"

"Since I'm meeting an Elder, naturally I want to look presentable."

Locke naturally didn't care about their opinions.

Even if this suit paired with a red plaid tie looked a bit flashy, so what?

If these people knew what he was wearing was meant to save his life, they would probably change their expressions immediately.

Claube was speechless, then gestured to the person beside him.

The other person understood immediately, stepped forward, and tried to frisk him.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Locke looked disgusted, quickly pushing the person away with a guarded expression.

"We are going to welcome Elder Emilia in a while, so we need to check in advance to ensure you aren't hiding any weapons that could threaten the Elder's safety."

"I wouldn't do something so stupid."

Locke shrugged, showing a helpless expression: "Besides, I really didn't bring any weapons. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

After saying this, he took off the suit jacket he was wearing, raised his hands, and spun around.

Claube carefully checked every place on Locke where a gun might be hidden, and after confirming he truly had no other firearms, he nodded.

The other person received his signal and stepped back.

"Alright, let's go. Get into formation and follow me to welcome Elder Emilia."

Locke put his suit jacket back on, his eyes gradually turning cold as he stood in the center of the crowd.

Honestly, if he weren't worried about alerting Emilia and spooking her, he would have already drawn his gun and shot all five of them dead.

And it was the same for these five Vampires.

Checking whether he had a gun was nothing more than wanting to ensure he had no power to resist later, to make sure the mission was foolproof.

And the reason they hadn't made a move against Locke before Elder Emilia arrived was the same.

As an Elder who had lived for centuries, Emilia was naturally cautious. If she discovered that one person from the originally planned group was missing, she would definitely become suspicious.

Because of this, Locke and the five Vampires reached a delicate balance at this point in time.

Before long, a bright light shone into the abandoned station.

The "rumble, rumble, rumble" of train wheels sounded like a death knell ringing in the night.

As the sound appeared, Locke turned his head and rubbed his fingers together.

"Finally here. I've been holding back for so long..."

The light drew closer and closer, followed by a black steam train that looked quite old.

Inside the train, the buxom Emilia was scanning the station with binoculars from a distance.

After confirming that the number of people who came matched the agreed-upon number, and that many of them were old faces, she finally set her mind at ease.

"Lady Emilia, aren't you being a bit too cautious?"

A young attendant beside her couldn't help but ask upon seeing this: "Besides, with your reputation, who would dare to come and assassinate you?"

"Alek, it is better to be cautious in all things. Elder Emilia naturally has her reasons for doing this. Just shut your mouth and learn obediently."

A female Vampire dressed in medieval aristocratic attire beside him rebuked him with a cold face.

"It's fine."

Emilia waved her hand, not taking Alek's words to heart: "You all should also prepare for battle."

"Hmm? Did you discover something unusual, My Lady?" Seeing her say this, the Vampire dressed as a noblewoman immediately stood up, placing her hand on her gun and assuming a defensive posture.

Emilia shook her head: "I just have an ominous premonition in my heart, but we have already reached our territory, so just being careful will suffice."

The reason Emilia was so cautious was mainly because she currently possessed less than ten percent of her strength, and she didn't feel very secure.

This was mainly because she had been cultivating the secret codex to increase her strength.

She had gone out this time precisely to trade for the secret technique.

The origin of this secret codex was not simple, nor was it cheap.

It was something Emilia had exchanged for by emptying out most of the wealth she had accumulated over several centuries, obtaining it from a powerful and mysterious figure at the New York branch of the Secret Cult.

Therefore, she had cultivated it impatiently after obtaining it.

Of course, the results were good. Once this secret technique was successfully cultivated, the impure blood in her entire body would be purified. Each time she cultivated it, it could be purified once more, giving her the chance to transform into a completely pure-blooded Vampire, and her strength would also increase significantly.

The side effect was that her strength would be weakened for a period of time during cultivation, which was why she had asked Kraven to send people to pick her up.

Sss—

The train approached the station and began to slow down and brake, causing the rails in the dark night to immediately spark brilliantly.

These sparks were like the rage Locke was about to unleash, continuous and unending.

The train door opened.

Emilia led the three people behind her off the train, then extended her hand toward Claube: "Claube, thank you for coming to meet me. Let's go."

Claube remained unmoved, just staring fixedly at Emilia and her group with a cold sneer on his face.

Awoooo~~

Just then, a few wolf howls broke the dead silence inside the tunnel.

This sound naturally made Emilia and her group alert, and they immediately drew their guns, aiming them at the darkness on the other end of the station.

At the same time, Claube and the other four drew their guns and aimed them at the four of them, including Emilia.

Emilia and her group wore expressions of astonishment, looking in disbelief at Claube and the five others who had their guns trained on them.

"I think, Elder Emilia, you... probably won't be able to leave today,"

"Am I right, Cl...au...be?"