82: shock

Locke's purpose in doing this was to wait. Once he returned from killing Victor, he could go to the secret chamber where Marcus was to carry out his plan to trap him like a bat in a jar.

Although he was confident that he could take down Marcus in a one-on-one fight, why wouldn't he use an easier method? He wasn't the type of person to be arrogant and reckless.

Meanwhile, to better stall for time, Emilia deliberately darkened her face and looked at the few old men: "Hmph, dead. It really was too easy for that bastard."

Hearing her say this, the hearts of those old men skipped a beat, and they began to secretly contemplate countermeasures.

"F*ck, could she already know?"

"Motherf*cker, even though that old man Victor has woken up, he is clearly not on our side..."

"What if that bitch Emilia decides to attack us later?"

On the other side, several Vampire nobles belonging to Emilia's faction glared viciously at the old men opposite them, which invisibly added even more pressure to their hearts.

The atmosphere of the entire meeting became increasingly tense.

Every second was torture for them.

They wanted to leave but didn't dare, fearing that if they stood up, they would be targeted by Emilia and Serena and immediately lose their lives.

Just then, through the pink 【Star Slave Contract】 mark on her lower abdomen, Emilia sensed Locke approaching and the corners of her mouth curved slightly. She then gave the stubborn old men of the Marcus Faction a cold sneer.

The reason she smiled was because once Locke arrived, it would be the death date of these few people, and at that time, the entire Vampire castle would welcome a reshuffling of power.

She could feel the distance between Locke and the conference room constantly shrinking.

A few seconds later, sensing that Locke had reached the door, Emilia turned her gaze toward the entrance, waiting for Locke's appearance with a look of great anticipation.

Due to Emilia's silence, the atmosphere of the meeting dropped to freezing point.

Just when the atmosphere was about to freeze solid, the originally closed conference room doors were violently kicked open.

With a loud "clang," the two heavy doors swung wide open.

All the Vampires looked toward the sound, only to see a tall man in a black stand-collar trench coat standing at the entrance, his head lowered, hands in his pockets, one leg raised—he clearly hadn't even had time to pull back the foot used to kick the door.

The bright moonlight shining through the window spilled onto his sharp-featured profile. In a daze, everyone felt as if the one appearing before them was the master of the night, the king of the Vampires.

A gentle breeze blew, causing his trench coat to rustle loudly.

The few stubborn old men, whose nerves were already strained, were stimulated by this and immediately stood up, instinctively scolding: "Don't you know an important meeting is being held? How dare you..."

"Which guy is so bold? Don't you see Elder Emilia is here? How dare you be so dis... respectful..."

But before they could finish their scolding, the moment they saw Locke, their faces immediately turned as ugly as if they had eaten shit, and they completely dared not speak again.

After all, the scene of Locke slaying Kraven was still deeply imprinted in their minds. They didn't want to become the next souls under Locke's sword.

Locke calmly fixed his gaze on the few people from the Marcus Faction, but he didn't speak immediately, instead walking slowly toward the head of the long bronze conference table.

The aura unique to a Sequence 9, invisibly emanating from him, suppressed everyone.

Except for Emilia, Serena, and Erica, everyone else involuntarily held their breath.

The originally noisy conference room instantly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Moreover, with every step he took, every Vampire in the room subconsciously stepped back to make way for him, while completely daring not to meet his gaze.

One must know that outside, each of them was a Vampire noble commanding dozens or even hundreds of Vampires.

Each was an old timer who had lived for hundreds of years, yet even so, they were suppressed by the aura Locke hadn't fully retracted.

In everyone's heart, a voice was reminding them: "If you don't step back, you will die."

Therefore, all the Vampires, when Locke passed by, either turned their heads away or lowered them in fear, not daring to look at him at all for fear of being targeted.

This scene had a somewhat epic feeling of a powerful expert appearing and all ghosts retreating.

Locke noticed their expressions and gave a scornful "Hmph."

"Truly a rabble. No wonder the Vampires have been able to wipe out the Werewolves led by Lucien for so many years..."

After inwardly despising these Vampire leaders, he smiled and nodded at the three of them.

Seeing him return safely, Serena and Erica's hearts were much more at ease.

Since Locke had returned, it meant that Victor had perhaps already been defeated and killed.

"You're back!" Serena's eyes widened, and she carefully scanned him up and down, her face filled with indescribable joy.

Erica's eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and she nodded vigorously at him with a brilliant smile.

Emilia, at the very head of the table, acted completely differently from the other two.

Her eyes, looking at Locke, held no trace of worry; they were filled with stars and brimming with adoration and lust.

"Wow, Master, this outfit is just too handsome!"

Locke smiled at the three of them, then slowly walked toward Emilia's seat.

When passing by Serena, she reached out to pull him back.

Seeing he didn't stop, she tilted her head slightly and whispered a reminder: "Hey, Locke, what are you doing? That's a seat only for Elders. You should be standing behind me right now..."

Because Emilia hadn't told her and Erica about her relationship with Locke on the way back, Serena preconceived that the reason Locke had such strong abilities was perhaps because he had received secret cultivation from Elder Emilia.

Otherwise, she couldn't understand why Locke could rise so quickly in such a short time, and why he had ordered the two of them to welcome Elder Emilia at such a time.

It's just that Serena completely didn't expect that she had gotten the relationship between the two completely backward.

So, watching Locke walk straight toward Emilia, Serena's face showed some astonishment, and the same was true for Erica beside her.

The others in the room also had the same thoughts as Serena.

The neutral faction's expressions shifted slightly: "So this kid is actually someone secretly cultivated by Elder Emilia. No wonder he has such strength..."

The Marcus Faction cursed inwardly: "F*ck, so this guy is actually one of that bitch Emilia's people. No wonder Kraven's mission failed."

And the people of Emilia's faction became even more joyful: "My god, this is truly double happiness. To think that such a powerful guy is actually a member of our faction!"