Chapter 3026: Blood‑Stained Addiction 02

This is blood clan territory; the castle ahead belongs to the foremost of the seven great blood clan counts, Saiyin·Sitelande. He is a very ancient and powerful pure-blood aristocrat, and also the focus of your mission in this world. Your memories, as well as the key to correcting the plot's collapse, are all with him.

It gestured for Jin Chen to look at those black-robed people. Those are people from various places, also mixed-blood individuals born from the lowest blood clan and human unions, their status lower than ordinary human blood servants.

They appear here after screening; entering the castle gives them a chance to be selected by several nobles including Count Saiyin·Sitelande, becoming blood servants or a count's first attendant. Our first step is to infiltrate and get close to Count Saiyin·Sitelande.

"Infiltrate." Jin Chen repeated.

"Right!" Before Ling Gun Gun finished speaking, Jin Chen had already risen from the flower bushes, turned, and walked toward the rear of the black-robed procession.

The procession passed through the shadow of the tall corridor, the temperature suddenly dropped, and the ground reflected the flickering firelight.

They walked along a wide corridor, with arched stained-glass windows made of black iron and colored glass on both sides; plant shadows fell on the glass, swaying with the firelight as if living creatures were peeking.

At the front was a tall, slender blood clan member without a hood, leading this silent procession.

"Key plot character alert! The one at the very front is the castle guide, unimportant. What matters is the black-robed person beside him—yes, the third from the front left! Heaven's Way Blessed One, Aosiding!"

"Aosiding is a former Holy Knight sent by the Holy Court; our mission is to stop him from derailing the plot…"

Ling Gun Gun continued to faithfully introduce Aosiding's background and potential threats, but Jin Chen had already shifted his gaze.

The guide led the black-robed people in batches into different side doors, apparently screening according to some classification standard; Jin Chen joined the batch containing Aosiding and moved forward with the flow of people.

The procession continued forward; the corridor grew deeper and darker, each person's shadow stretched thin and twisted.

Jin Chen reached out, his fingertips extending from the wide sleeve of his black robe; his distinct knuckles glowed pale under the greenish candlelight.

In the next instant, that hand slipped like through a thin mist into Aosiding's back chest.

Aosiding's body suddenly stiffened; he could not even turn fully, barely twisting less than halfway, his face frozen in utter bewilderment and shock, his pupils locked on the shadow beneath the hood behind him.

Jin Chen's fingers closed inside Aosiding's chest, gripping the still-beating heart.

Only then did the surrounding black-robed people realize what had happened; the guide blood clan steward ahead snapped his head back, let out a harsh shout, and his form blurred into a crimson shadow lunging forward!

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Ling Gun Gun's scream exploded in Jin Chen's mind, the fluorescent kitten's fur all standing on end—"How could you just kill the protagonist? Kill him now?! I haven't finished yet—he can't die like this!"

The corner of Jin Chen's mouth beneath his hood twitched slightly as he slowly withdrew his hand; his fingertips were clean as before, unstained by a trace of blood.

"Why can't I kill him?"

The blood clan steward's attack had reached his face, its sharp claws about to touch the edge of the hood.

At that instant.

The fluorescent kitten turned into a blinding ball of light, its radiance spreading outward, and everything froze.

Moonlight froze on the stone slabs, the lamps ceased to sway, and the entire world halted.

In this frozen world, Jin Chen slightly tilted his head, a faint curiosity appearing in his blue eyes; he poked the shoulder of the guide suspended mid‑air with his index finger, as if finding it amusing, the corner of his mouth curving ever so slightly.

Ling Gun Gun shifted from the ball of light back to its fluorescent kitten form, looking utterly exhausted, its glow considerably dimmed; it lay on Jin Chen's shoulder, panting a few breaths before recovering.

"He's the Heaven's Way Blessed One! He bears this world's power marking! You have no reason, no prelude—you erased him outright before the world's main storyline even properly began, which is tantamount to slapping the world's consciousness; the world will deem it an irreparable invasion and destruction, and then… collapse for us to witness!"

Ling Gun Gun spoke while extending two fluorescent paws, laboriously pulling out treasures from Jin Chen's space.

Fortunately, fortunately, the Host still has plenty of good stuff; it remembered leaving something behind… found it!

Rewind to save point!

In an instant, the surrounding scenery began to reverse.

The frozen scene resembled a rewinding videotape: the blood clan steward drifted backward, the black-robed people retreated to their original positions, the flying dust gathered, Aosiding's fallen body rose again, his shocked, bewildered expression faded, returning to his former composure…

In the end, everything returned to that corner; the procession silently walked toward the two black metal doors, with Aosiding a few steps ahead, utterly unaware of the death about to occur behind him.

Jin Chen followed at the rear of the procession; beneath the shadow of his wide hood, he lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes falling on the right hand that had just crushed Aosiding's heart, his fingertips lightly rubbing it.

—

This truly is a feast.

Expensive spices smoldered slowly in a silver censer, releasing smoke scented with musk, amber, and rotting rose, yet they could not mask the ever‑present sweet, iron‑rust tang of fresh blood.

The hall was filled with elegantly dressed, graceful blood clan members.

They wore velvet robes, adorned with antique jewelry; their pallid faces, in the eerie light, looked exquisite yet inhuman, each holding a crystal cup brimming with dark‑red liquid, whispering and laughing softly.

Any trivial reason can serve as an excuse for the blood clan to hold a banquet—a successful hunt, a newly acquired antique, or merely the boredom felt during a long night.

And today's selection is undoubtedly one of the most eagerly awaited feasts of recent times.

The fresh, pure, screened blood tribute always stimulates the dulled senses of these ancient beings; to be chosen by a noble count as an exclusive blood servant or even a first attendant is naturally an honor for those black‑robed folk—if not, the remaining leftovers are more than enough for other aristocrats to indulge in.

At the far end of the hall stand seven seats, each distinct in style yet equally luxurious and conspicuous.

Now, behind six of those seats sit or lean, with varying numbers of the newly selected handsome youths nestled beside them; their expressions are either numb, obsequious, or tinged with fragile fear.

Only the central, highest seat behind it remains empty.

Saiyin·Sitelande. Foremost of the seven great counts, master of Eternal Night Castle.