85: eliminate

When the members of Victor's faction saw the sword, they stood up straight, appearing even more shocked than the people from the Marcus Faction.

Since the importance of this sword to Victor was self-evident, seeing it now in the hands of Locke inevitably caused a storm to rise in their hearts.

Locke's expression remained unchanged, his brows slightly raised, as he looked calmly at everyone present:

"Nothing is impossible. The facts are already laid out before you; is there really anything to question?"

Those few people subconsciously swallowed hard, then very cautiously probed:

"Lo... Lord Locke, may I ask how Elder Victor's sword came to be in your possession? Did he bestow it upon you?"

They dared not think of the worst, yet a feeling of unease was already forming in their hearts.

Especially seeing Locke's casual attitude, they inexplicably felt that the truth was likely exactly as they feared—the worst-case scenario.

It was just that, subconsciously, they refused to believe such a thing could happen, which made it impossible for them to accept.

They even mustered the courage to brave Locke's pressure just to seek confirmation from him.

Therefore, no one dared to blink, staring fixedly at Locke.

"Hmph, that's a truly interesting question you've asked." Locke glanced lightly at the few of them, then retorted:

"Do you think that old geezer Victor would be willing to give his personal sword to me?"

"Then how did this sword end up in your..."

Locke sneered, "Why? Naturally, it's because I took it myself. Do you think I just picked it up on the side of the road?"

"Then where is Elder Victor? Did he not object? This is his most beloved and precious sword; how could he easily just give it to you?"

"Hahahaha..."

Hearing such an ignorant question, Locke couldn't help but throw his head back and sneer.

Because he truly couldn't fathom that even at this stage, this group still trusted Victor so much.

Everyone was left at a loss by his unbridled laughter, yet no one dared to urge him to continue.

Fortunately, after a few seconds, Locke calmed down. It really wasn't his fault; he had just thought of something funny.

"You all want to know why Victor was willing to give the sword to me, right?"

Faced with his question, everyone nodded involuntarily.

"That is naturally because the dead have no way to voice their objections."

As Locke said this, his eyes stared directly at everyone present.

"Just like everyone sitting here, if anyone wants to oppose my rule over the Vampire Clan, by all means, stand up and try it right now."

"You're saying you killed Victor?" The few noble old men belonging to Victor's faction still wouldn't give up.

"Then who else would I have killed in the secret chamber just now?" Locke was completely indifferent.

"Just now... just a moment ago..."

Those few old men suddenly became somewhat despondent, muttering to themselves, and then frantically shook their heads, questioning Locke's words.

"This is impossible, this is absolutely impossible. You just killed Kraven, and only a few hours have passed; how could you have had the time to hunt down Elder Victor as well?"

"Is killing him such a difficult task?"

Locke calmly gazed at the person who had asked him the question.

The white-haired old man didn't dare to meet Locke's gaze. After lowering his head, he stiffened his neck and said:

"This... Elder Victor is the second most powerful person in our Vampire Clan. How could you, someone who only became a Vampire a few days ago, possibly defeat him?"

Everyone present, except for Emilia and the other two, agreed with what he said.

They had never seen an Elder like Victor, who had lived for several centuries, fail.

Let alone dying at the hands of Locke.

Unless Marcus were standing in front of them right now saying this, they might believe it immediately.

"You all seem to be mistaken; killing him didn't require wasting much time at all."

Locke slowly stood up, then drew the silver longsword with the cross-guard that was in front of him, pointing its tip from afar at those few people,

and as he spoke, he gently swung the longsword, mimicking the motion he had used earlier to slay Victor.

"If not for the fact that I didn't want to take unnecessary risks, why would I have spent a few hours playing with him, even letting him escape through the secret passage to outside the ancient castle?

However, it's fine. In the end, I didn't let him escape, and with the final sword strike, I split his head in two."

Seeing him recount it so vividly, the doubts and suspicions in everyone's hearts gradually diminished.

And Emilia, standing behind Locke, seeing that the time was ripe, knelt on one knee according to the plan and loudly swore:

"I, Emilia, am willing to honor my master, Locke Galahad, as the sole ruler of the Vampire Clan, above all Elders."

The Vampires belonging to her faction followed suit, kneeling before Locke and swearing the same oath.

"We are willing to honor Lord Locke Galahad as the sole ruler of the Vampire Clan!"

The people from Victor's original faction were still somewhat hesitant; after all, logically speaking, Locke had just killed their backer, and it was impossible for them to be willing to submit so easily.

However, Serena, who held the most power in their faction besides the deceased Victor, did not hesitate in the slightest at this moment and knelt down alongside Emilia,

and then also shouted toward Locke: "I, Serena, am willing to honor Locke Galahad as the sole ruler of the Vampire Clan."

The noble old men sitting beside her, despite their reluctance, knew that the situation was already decided.

Victor was dead, and they knew it was time to find a new backer.

Furthermore, they all knew that the relationship between Locke and Serena was very subtle, so if they took this opportunity to nominate Locke to become the supreme ruler of the Vampire Clan, it might actually be a good thing for them.

After thinking it through, many even felt that losing Victor and replacing him with someone stronger to take over didn't seem like a bad thing.

At least they wouldn't be suppressed by the Marcus Faction in the future.

If not for Locke's gaze that seemed to disdain everyone and his overwhelming pressure, they naturally wouldn't have wanted to believe that Victor had been killed by Locke.

But now that the facts were laid out before them, after Serena bowed her head, the dozens of Vampire nobles beside her, after weighing the situation for a while, also knelt down in unison, lowering their noble heads.

Although the Vampire Clan's internal factions were intertwined, they all relied on the nobility of bloodline to rule. But the nobility of bloodline, to put it plainly, the higher the nobility, the more it simply represented greater martial strength.

Therefore, when Locke displayed strength far exceeding that of the several Elders, most people were not that resistant to submitting to him.

Only the Marcus Faction, which still had a backer, remained. The leading noble old men still sat upright on their chairs, maintaining their posture, with no intention of yielding.

Because they believed that even if Locke had killed Victor, it did not mean Locke could be a match for Marcus.

They had a mysterious confidence in the strength of their nominal progenitor, Marcus.

They naturally believed that as long as one was a Vampire, it was absolutely impossible for their strength to surpass Marcus.

They just didn't know that Locke was no longer a Vampire, but had crossed pathways to become a Night Demon of another transcendent sequence.

"Impossible. We of the Marcus Faction do not agree to this."