Chapter 2217: Nighttime "Fishing

Chapter 2217: Chapter 2217: Nighttime "Fishing

Shard had a variety of alcohol on him, the coroner also provided the disinfectant alcohol from the morgue, and Mr. Benhart suggested, "Mixing them together might make you drunk easier." So the alcohol and the disinfectant were mixed, and after receiving the blessing of the two vampires, Shard downed it all in one go.

For the current Outlander, the strength of his physique wasn’t only evident in his ability to easily punch through a wall, but more so in his ability to control his power.

Even High Ring Sorcerers who haven’t specifically studied arcane techniques to enhance physique or held ceremonies to permanently boost it, possess strength far beyond ordinary humans. After all, Circle Sorcerers are not purely a spellcasting profession. Yet, high-ranking sorcerers like Miss Galina, in daily life, never crush the glass when lifting it, and those renowned Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers don’t need specially reinforced spoons and knives while eating; that’s true strength manifestation.

Shard could also control his body like this, so even when he mixed with the High Rank Witches on his own bed, he never worried about the bed collapsing again... as long as he didn’t get as wild as that one time. In short, controlling one’s strength and the body’s reaction to alcohol are both indications of competent self-control.

Therefore, after drinking that odd-colored brew, a contorted expression appeared on Shard’s face, indescribable in words to Mr. Benhart and Mr. Albert. Shard shook his head, then his entire face turned red:

"I bet what I just swallowed is fiercer than the flames in the earth’s core."

"Look at what he’s saying; I’d bet he’s already drunk."

Mr. Benhart finally let out a sigh of relief, while the coroner cautiously held up three fingers in front of Shard:

"What number is this?"

Feeling that peculiar dizziness, Shard blinked:

"Three."

"Great, let’s start planning."

Miss Belindel had already marked on the map where the vampire beast might appear tonight, that’s the broad Lower District on the west bank of the Taton River, centered around Herring Street.

Shard changed into the "drunkard’s clothes" provided by Mr. Benhart, and staggered into the "Barking Dog Tavern" on Herring Street at eight in the evening. Before long, he came out, wobbling with a black bottled rum in hand.

By now, he had used Illusion Technique to disguise himself, of course, Shard wasn’t foolish enough to pose as a noble lady or such in the Lower District so late, so he looked more like Ms. Annie Bonnie, the one-eyed member of the Princess Trading Partners, at this moment.

To prevent attracting trouble because of her own appearance, Shard slightly adjusted his actual look, aiming for the best disguise without causing issues.

Mr. Coroner Albert had to work night shift tonight, so he didn’t come along; only Mr. Benhart was stationed far away to respond. Shard also knew the chance of encountering that monster immediately after stepping out was low, so after wobbling out of the tavern, he leaned against a gas streetlight pole pretending to be in desperate need of rest due to severe drunkenness.

The Vampires said that the blood scent on Shard now could be carried by the wind, so Shard deliberately chose a windward spot to stay. Feeling he’d stayed long enough, he grabbed the bottle and staggered toward the Taton Riverbank.

[Just pretending to be drunk doesn’t seem quite right, should you say something?]

"She" gently laughed and asked, so Shard started muttering things like "Why don’t I have money" and "Those damn thieves." But after a while, feeling it wasn’t quite like a drunk’s reaction, he switched to humming a Draleon folk song he’d heard, with lyrics improvised, hoping he could convey the coarseness of a drunken scoundrel:

"A cat came running from afar,

Meowing at my jujube,

I asked the cat if it liked eating birds,

If not, it should fetch a flea for me."

[A bit too crude.]

"She" gently reminded him with a hint of reproach.

"Uh... sorry."

So Shard just hummed a tune.

He soon came to the riverbank street. To respond to City Hall’s "energy-saving" calls, the riverbank streetlights were alternately switched off. Hence, the nighttime riverside street was dimmer than ever, and coupled with people’s concerns over the current situation, and the rumor of "the Taton River drowning countless unfortunates," when Shard arrived at the street, not a single person was in sight.

He staggered toward the riverside railing and then made a retching sound leaning on the rail. With his head drooping down, he pretended to have passed out over the railing. Shard awarded himself in his heart for a fine performance, but unfortunately, after "passing out" on the railing for over ten minutes, the target didn’t show.

So he let out a long "hum," feigning an abrupt awakening. Glancing around, he grabbed the bottle and walked south along the street. As he walked, he muttered some incomprehensible words, interspersed with criticism of the government and the Royal Family, as well as a longing for sudden riches.

After walking two hundred meters, Shard simply let his legs give out and slumped onto the stone bench by the river. His hands slowly climbed over the bench, allowing his body to drape over it like a worm cocooning itself. Once he was lying down, he pulled a crumpled newspaper from his pocket and covered himself with it. Then he curled his legs and fell asleep directly on the bench. Coincidentally, the cover of the newspaper facing up had a picture of Margaret.

[You seem quite practiced at this sort of thing.]

"She" spoke again in Shard’s mind, while he kept his breathing steady with his eyes closed:

"If I hadn’t inherited the Detective Agency and just fled, my initial plan would have been to find a similar place and get through one night... Why hasn’t it come yet."

With significant perseverance, Shard lay for over an hour on the riverside bench on a particularly cold summer night. When it was nearing 10 p.m., and after the mildly tipsy feeling had long faded, that peculiar sensation of being watched finally appeared.

Circle Sorcerers with high perception could easily detect such "watching" behavior, and at this moment, Shard felt the sudden gaze upon him as though it were licking his skin. The feeling was very uncomfortable; even imagining it as Mia licking goat’s milk couldn’t help but control the goosebumps on his skin.

"What direction?"

[It’s too far, wait a moment.]

Though it was said to wait, it was only a second.

[Northeast rooftop, the target is using Illusion Technique. The exact appearance can’t be seen, but it’s highly likely the person you encountered with that Witch in the alley last Sunday.]

In Shard’s curled-up position, his face was toward the Taton River, and thus that thing was watching his back.

[The opponent moved, transformed into a bat colony and landed... It entered the alley out of sight... now emerging as a blonde woman with a high nose.]

"Also an Illusion Technique?"

[No, Transformation Spell.]

The sound of high heels tapping on the road wasn’t concealed at all, and the "blonde high-nose" human-shaped monster walked straight toward Shard. And Shard, curled up on the bench, seemed to awaken groggily due to the footsteps.

Before the woman approached completely, he sat up holding onto the chair, still clutching that black-bottled rum in his left hand.

"Miss, are you okay?"

The "woman" with blonde hair and a high nose asked. Shard let the newspaper covering him get blown away by the wind, looked up at her, and had to admit she was indeed very skilled at transformation. Her appearance couldn’t be called very beautiful, but it was quite congenial.

"I’m fine, just a bit drunk."

Saying this, he staggered as if trying to stand, and the human-shaped monster naturally reached out to support Shard:

"I can’t let you go home by yourself so late. Where do you live? Let me take you home? We women need to help each other."

"I’m fine, really, okay, maybe I am a bit drunk."

The two walked together toward the alley where the woman appeared, which had no light at all, and when Shard’s figure was completely shrouded in the shadows of the alley, the "woman" who had been supporting him turned her head with her mouth open, the flame of desire igniting in her eyes:

"Darling, you’re so beautiful, I want to give you a kiss."

Her open mouth revealed the sharp fangs of the Vampire Race, and she aimed a bite at Shard’s neck.

Yet with a light sound, Shard exploded into a swarm of red butterflies on the spot. The "woman" who bit the air widened her eyes in surprise, and then with the black bottle shattering above her head, she screamed immediately:

"Black Blood!"

The bottle didn’t contain rum; instead, it was another type of alcohol with a bloody scent. As the alcohol touched the woman’s skin, it immediately began to corrode, revealing the flesh and blood beneath the skin.

"Black Blood" is a peculiar Magic Potion specially used against the Vampire Kind, with only mild toxicity to races other than the Vampire Kind. Besides "topical" use, one could also drink the potion, making the blood vessels "Black Blood" toxic for several hours to ambush bold vampire races willing to suck blood.

The formula for this peculiar Magic Potion is strictly kept in the hands of the [Vampire Sect], and this finished potion was a support item delivered from Velindale to Mr. Benhart.

The potion’s effect was even better than Shard expected. Although upon the bottle smashing, the vampire monster summoned a gust of wind to blow away at least a third of the alcohol, the remaining liquid drenched its skin and within just a few seconds, its flesh melted and collapsed in front of Shard.