[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ember-dragon":3,"chapter-ember-dragon-ember-dragon-chapter-354":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Ember Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1162120,1504,"Chapter 354: Night Raid on the Count’s Mansion","ember-dragon-chapter-354",354,"\u003Cp>Chapter 354: Night Raid on the Count’s Mansion\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city was shrouded in darkness and silence, with only occasional faint noises breaking the stillness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stench of blood lingered on the city walls, carried by the howling north wind into the city. Fortunately, most people were already asleep, though some were haunted by nightmares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city walls were piled with over a hundred corpses, some drained completely dry, leaving only shriveled skin and bones—a clear mark of the vampire players’ handiwork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood pooled and flowed slowly down from the walls, leaving large, gruesome stains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Langli Baitiao wiped his hands with a silk handkerchief and remarked dramatically, \"Such trouble, why did they have to provoke us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf of the Night muttered under his breath, \"Wasn’t it you, Boss, who caused the commotion...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ouch!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another head smack followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Langli Baitiao patted his shoulder again and said in a tone of exaggerated seniority, \"Young people need to take responsibility bravely. You can’t just push blame onto your elders all the time, can you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A player with the nickname [Flying Mosquito] quickly chimed in, \"Stop arguing already! We need to hurry up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once the sun comes up, we’ll have to skulk around like sewer rats again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn, let’s move quickly then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This limitation—[Sunlight Sensitivity]—was precisely why the vampire template, despite being powerful, wasn’t popular among players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Sunlight Sensitivity] was purely a debuff. Any player with the vampire template exposed to sunlight would burst into flames and turn to ash in less than a minute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Langli Baitiao, as a vampire leader, could only last two extra minutes at most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, being one of the leaders of Nocturne, he was relatively wealthy and could afford scrolls with sunlight protection spells, allowing him to attend daytime events occasionally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to popular racial templates like Dragonborn or Half-Dragons, vampires had become a fringe choice within the Ember Kingdom faction—appealing mostly to vampire enthusiasts or newcomers duped into joining by Langli Baitiao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, the latter included many gullible novices tricked by Langli Baitiao’s schemes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike regular players who actively participated in various activities, most Nocturne players spent their days in pitch-dark caves—sometimes mining, other times fighting underground creatures like phase spiders and subterranean lizards, leading an entirely nocturnal existence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only at night could these vampire players freely display the fearsome might of \"Nocturne,\" flaunting their bounty hunting orders and capturing targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Langli Baitiao had finally rallied these vampire players to seize a rare chance to participate in a large-scale battlefield mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vampires scaled the city walls one after another, landing silently on the ground within and disappearing into the shadows of deep alleys, moving swiftly through the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some clung to walls, crawling like spiders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Langli Baitiao skimmed just above the ground, his crimson eyes glowing faintly and his dark red cape fluttering behind him. He exuded a noble and imposing vampire aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tonight, we take Vichy City!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Reforge the glory of the bloodline; it’s our sacred duty!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Langli Baitiao declared passionately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But Boss, we’re vampires. Won’t we, you know, die immediately in sunlight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf of the Night, clinging to a wall nearby, scratched his head in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boss-like aura Langli Baitiao had painstakingly built shattered instantly, leaving him deflated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop talking nonsense! Just follow my lead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"See that big house with the lights on and a garden? That’s the Count’s mansion. I think his name’s Okot Sur.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The plan is simple: we storm in and assassinate the Count. That’s it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Got it, Boss.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The night hung heavy, and the moonlight shimmered like silver threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancient stone walls of the Count’s mansion gleamed solemnly under the moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vampires infiltrated the estate without a sound. Their figures flickered in and out of sight under the moonlight, like wisps of smoke merging seamlessly with the surrounding darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guards stationed at the gate remained oblivious to the intruders scaling the walls with ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crack.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next moment, the two gate guards had their necks snapped simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boss, didn’t you say only kill witnesses?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Couldn’t resist. Got itchy hands.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This stealth mission feels... off. It’s nothing like the ones I’ve seen in movies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forget that nonsense. Just answer me this—have you been spotted?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vampire players continued their search for the Count.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their footsteps were light and swift, each step landing soundlessly, like a cat prowling through the darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At **, read error-free versions in Book Bar!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vampires traversed corridors and courtyards, silently eliminating patrolling guards as they approached the brightly lit mansion hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, footsteps sounded ahead—a maid cautiously opened a door, carrying a silver tray filled with food scraps, her face weary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She murmured to herself, \"How strange... where’s Lord Bernard?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Never mind, I need to finish my tasks quickly. We’re almost out of food at home, and little Aige is probably still waiting for me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh, things in the city keep getting worse lately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a shadowy corner of the mansion, several pairs of blood-red eyes watched the maid intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boss, should we kill her?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forget it. Let her go. The mission says not to kill civilians.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid felt an unusually cold breeze around her, a foreboding chill making her hair stand on end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced nervously around, carefully emptied the food scraps into a cloth bag, and hurriedly quickened her pace, clutching her skirt as she rushed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unbeknownst to her, she had narrowly escaped death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She also had no idea what was about to unfold next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the bright light of the hall, a tall, burly silhouette appeared in the grand glass window—clearly, the vampires’ target, Count Okot Sur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Count was shouting furiously, utterly unaware of the imminent danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn fools! Be careful not to dirty my paintings!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s an original by Master Avaro, worth hundreds of gold coins. Your heads wouldn’t be enough to compensate!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And those coins are mine! Thirty-four thousand seventy-three coins—don’t lose a single one! If even one is missing, I’ll chop off your filthy hands!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where’s Alyosha? Why isn’t he here yet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the brightly lit hall, the Count’s personal guards were busy transporting his treasures, seemingly intent on emptying the mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Count Okot had even hired a mysterious mage skilled in teleportation magic, planning to flee to the southern Fadlan Empire with his amassed wealth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will leave this place and continue living as a noble in the south,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Count thought as he gazed into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>",1071,"2026-06-03T12:47:02.952Z","2026-06-03T12:47:07.061Z",1,"novelbin.me","cd5ca23e141b96d525a220e73a3849d4c2e4fa6c21534a4620b897a3c15bcde3","ember-dragon-chapter-355","ember-dragon-chapter-353",603,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fember-dragon-cover.jpg"]