Chapter 277: I Am Ai Mu Ti

Luo Jie!

The young man waved from the window, happier than the female sorceress beside him, and said with a teasing smile, "Ha, you said you were going to look for a friend, but you disappeared all day. I bet with Mei Lige you went to the brothel, sigh…"

Hearing the word brothel, the sorceress named Mei Lige raised her hand and cast a spell.

A whirlwind swept the young man up, hurling him from the third floor to Lei En and his two companions' feet, where he landed with a slap, like a dog rolling in mud.

Yasuke.

Luo Jie called out his name, stroked his chin and looked down at him, "This is on you."

Yasuke scrambled up embarrassedly, brushed the dirt off himself, and lamented, "I just bought this new outfit, paid a huge price to have it custom‑made by the city's top tailor, and I've only worn it half a day."

He looked up toward the window, "Mei Lige, you were too harsh."

Hee…

The sorceress above covered her mouth and giggled twice, a crisp, pleasant sound with a hint of coyness.

Lei En observed Yasuke with his Soul Eye.

His appearance was striking, features delicate and handsome, an elegant bearing with a touch of wildness, eyes that seemed to speak, a pair of small twin‑pointed sideburns, exuding masculine charm; if not for his lack of pointed ears, one would surely mistake him for an elf.

Yasuke's custom outfit was lavish to the point of excess—most people could never pull it off—but on him it fit perfectly, without any trace of vulgarity, highlighting his unique sense of style.

With his looks and a few flowery words, he could lure countless women onto his bed.

Moreover, Yasuke was no mere pretty face; his strength was quite impressive.

He is a high‑rank herbalist; judging by the Element in his soul, his offensive power is modest, but his support and healing are outstanding, mastering many plant‑based spells.

Herbalists are relatively rare spellcasters, and those who reach high rank are even rarer.

This was Lei En's first time meeting a man whose looks could rival his own. Of course, it was only a matter of eligibility to compare; Lei En still believed he was the more handsome.

If it came to strength, Yasuke was far behind.

At that moment, the sorceress's figure turned into a breeze and vanished, then, as if flashing, she blinked from the third floor to the courtyard, and waved to close the gate behind Lei En.

"Welcome, everyone, to my home. Luo Jie, won't you introduce them?" she said graciously.

"Hmm." The usually cold‑faced Luo Jie's eyes softened.

He nodded, gestured to Lei En and his companion, and said simply, "This is Lei En, I've mentioned him before. And Yisu, he's Lei En's friend and now also mine. Yisu is a shadow assassin and will take part in the hunting plan."

As soon as Luo Jie finished speaking, a scream rang out:

Ryan Augustus!

Yasuke's face lit with astonishment, his gaze fixed on Lei En as if staring at a priceless treasure, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "You are the Earl of Glamorgan, Weizelan's youngest councilor, the Empire hero who saved Fu Kong Cheng?"

His expression was fervent, nearly lunging forward.

Lei En felt a tingling scalp, instantly recalling the frenzy of a past‑life fan meeting an idol, and he calmly stepped back half a pace.

Yasuke, seemingly oblivious, warmly grasped Lei En's hand.

He said eagerly, "Lord Earl, I am a wandering bard named Yasuke. I have admired you for a long time and have written over a dozen poems and three songs for you; you must listen."

Yasuke fished a booklet from his coat, flipped it open quickly, and began reciting.

"A hero stands firm in my heart,

His steadfast Willpower, unafraid of evil and challenge, defending the Sky City,

The world turns for him,

He is the bulwark after the heavens' disaster… " The bard recited with rich emotion, his tone rising and falling, echoing through the little courtyard.

Luo Jie and Mei Lige suppressed smiles, and Yisu's expression was odd.

Lei En could neither laugh nor cry; in two lifetimes he had never seen such a scene—someone writing a poem for him and reciting it aloud.

This is practically a public execution!

If it were a love poem from a woman, it might be tolerable.

Men, however, find it too awkward, yet Yasuke seemed unaware, reciting while gesturing richly, immersed, with a certain charisma that made Lei En reluctant to interrupt.

Fortunately the poem was short, only a dozen or so lines, and he finished quickly.

"There's another well‑written one, please listen…"

Yasuke turned a page, about to continue, but Lei En hurriedly stopped him, "Mr. Yasuke, thank you for the poem; let's call it a day, there will be many more chances to perform later."

"Very well, my lord, it's settled then." Yasuke, a bit resentful, muttered, "Besides poetry, my music is also excellent; I play the lyre and sing, you'll surely like it."

Lei En's face stiffened as he gave a slight nod.

Damn, I'll have to avoid this guy from now on, never give him a chance to recite poetry.

"Lord Earl, and Mr. Yisu, please come in quickly." Mei Lige, as the hostess, ushered everyone into the warmly arranged living room.

Luo Jie was clearly familiar with the place.

He unsheathed the pair of swords on his back, set them aside, and reclined on the sofa, relaxed as if at home.

Mei Lige lightly tapped with a bare hand, sending a soul‑energy ripple; a pot of hot tea flew out from the kitchen as if an invisible hand carried it, pouring a cup for each person.

"Please enjoy; this is my personally cultivated rose tea, dear guests, please don't reject it." Mei Lige, while serving, sat naturally beside Luo Jie, showing no hesitation about their closeness.

Her gaze focused mainly on Lei En, awaiting his reaction.

Lei En didn't know how to taste tea; having become a noble for only half a year, he sipped, smacked his lips, and pretended to evaluate, "Good tea…"

Mei Lige kept smiling, politely not probing what was good about it.

Yisu, on the other hand, seemed to know his way; after drinking, he wore a face of pure enjoyment.

"Tsk, Mei Lige, I've known you for years, and finally you're willing to bring this out, this tea…" Yasuke began a long tirade, but Mei Lige gave him a light glare, causing him to shrink his neck and mumble two soft sounds.

Lei En looked at the demonkin, "Master Luo Jie, you may now speak of your plan."

"Alright."

Luo Jie sat up straight, his face solemn, and said, "Our target is a vampire count named Aieriting, who has operated for years on Zhu Bile Mountain. On the surface he is a winemaker, and in the southern outskirts of the city he runs a fairly famous vineyard called White Raven Winery."

Mei Lige and Yasuke's expressions shifted slightly; it was also their first time learning the target's identity.

"Mr. Ai Ruiting is a vampire?" Mei Lige was somewhat incredulous, "I've been to White Crow Winery; the red wine produced there is of very high quality, one of the top red wines of the Hohawen Principality, quite famous. I've also interacted with Ai Ruiting two or three times."

"Yes." Luo Jue nodded confidently.

"Fifteen years ago, I tracked a Mid-stage vampire for three months, eventually locating White Crow Winery and confirming Ai Ruiting's true identity; I could never be mistaken."

"Most of the winery's staff are ordinary people; only a small number of senior managers are vampires."

"They are subordinate vampires under Ai Ruiting's control, who usually conceal their identities and run the winery just like genuine winemakers; it's normal that you didn't notice."

Mei Lige listened to Luo Jue's words, her expression suddenly clear.

Yisu asked, "Then what should we do?"

Luo Jue took a map from his waist pouch, spread it on the table, and said, "The winery's underground contains many cellars; as a surface cover, Ai Ruiting has excavated a large cavern deeper down as his own lair. Over the past six months, I slipped in to explore a few times while Ai Ruiting was away. Because of Arcane array protection, I couldn't go deeper, so I only drew the outer map."

Lei En looked at the map, which was divided into three sections.

Each section represented a level of the cavern, with a dozen or so chambers connected by tunnels, like a massive underground maze.

Moreover, this is only the top three levels of the cavern, not reaching the core.

A vampire count's long‑standing lair is unlikely to be easy to assault, and there are certainly more enemies than just Ai Ruiting.

"Ai Ruiting's subordinate vampires number no more than fifty."

"Furthermore, most of these vampires have their own hideouts; only a few stay in the cavern long term."

Luo Jue continued, "Rest assured, vampires of legendary or higher rank act independently and do not submit to other vampires, so aside from Ai Ruiting, there are no other legendary vampires in White Crow Winery."

"My plan is simple: confirm Ai Ruiting is inside the lair, then charge straight in."

"A vampire's lair typically has three entrances and exits."

"I've pinpointed each entrance and exit, so we'll split into three teams, destroy two of the exits simultaneously, then block the remaining one; after the five of us regroup, we'll act together."

Luo Jue pointed to three spots marked in red on the map: two red Xs and one circle.

The red Xs indicate exits to be destroyed; the circle marks the rendezvous point.

Lei En studied the distances carefully; the farthest exit lies in a remote forest about two li from the winery, while the nearer one is less than five hundred meters away.

"Leave the destruction of the exits to me; I can handle them alone," he volunteered.

Luo Jue was somewhat surprised, "Are you sure?"

"Of course." Lei En produced the Arcane Flood Staff, flashed it before everyone, and said, "With this in hand, even ten exits I could finish within a minute."

"Epic Staff!"

As a legendary spellcaster, Mei Lige's keen eyes instantly recognized the quality of the Arcane Flood Staff, and she couldn't hide her envy.

Apart from Yisu, who already knew, both Luo Jue and Ya Si Ke were astonished; any Epic‑grade weapon is priceless and exceedingly rare.

"Count, may I have a look?" Mei Lige asked eagerly.

"Madam, just call me Lei En."

Lei En casually handed the staff to Mei Lige; she caught it gingerly, ran her fingers along the shaft, identified its attached magical effect, and exclaimed, "Truly an Epic Staff, impressive!"

After admiring it, Mei Lige returned the staff to Lei En, "Thank you."

"Alright, the task of destroying the exits is yours," Luo Jue said without hesitation, producing two noticeably larger Alchemical Bombs, "These are my custom 'Explosion Flame' devices, their power boosted nearly fivefold; just activate them with soul energy and toss them out."

Lei En nodded, stowing the Alchemical Bombs inside his ring.

"When Lei En meets us, charge in immediately," Luo Jue reminded, "We're all familiar with vampires, but legendary vampires are orders of magnitude stronger than ordinary ones; their strength and speed far exceed ours, so we must be especially wary of their spells."

"Blood spells have weaker burst power, but they penetrate everywhere and are hard to guard against."

"Especially inside a vampire's lair, Ai Ruiting surely built a blood pool to supply continuous energy, generating wide‑area spell weakening and negative effects; if we're affected too long, we could lose control and even turn into blood servants."

"Therefore," Luo Jue said, looking at Ya Si Ke, "your primary task is to dispel the negative effects for us."

Ya Si Ke folded away his flippant expression, replied earnestly, "Understood."

"On the way into the lair, don't let any vampire escape to raise the alarm," Luo Jue continued, "After we locate Ai Ruiting, I'll lead the main assault, because only I can match his speed."

"Mr. Yisu, act according to your combat style and look for a chance to strike a killing blow."

"Assist me when necessary."

"Mei Lige, use your spells to disrupt Ai Ruiting; if a suitable moment arises, unleash a high‑power spell to bombard him. The vampire count's magical resistance is high and he's hard to lock onto, so prioritize your safety."

Luo Jue assigned each person a combat role.

Finally, it was Lei En's turn.

"Lei En, I'm not entirely sure of your capabilities, but I know you have a steel body and the highest defense among us, so when we first enter the lair, you need to charge ahead, draw enemy fire, and fend off the initial wave."

"When confronting Ai Ruiting, if you can't keep up, fall back immediately to Mei Lige and Ya Si Ke's side to protect them."

"What do you think?" Luo Jue asked.

"Um…" Lei En scratched his head; he had expected to be a front‑line combatant, but didn't anticipate Luo Jue assigning him as the iron guard.

Since the two of them last emerged together from the dwarf fortress, Luo Jue hadn't seen himself take action.

Even though he knows he is a combat Wizard with spellcasting ability and has defeated a Legendary High-rank Death Knight, Luo Jue still made the most conservative assignment.

Lei En also understood that Luo Jue didn't undervalue his strength; every extraordinary team needs a role that can both take hits and protect the spellcasters.

It's just like a tank in a past‑life game!

A tank's job is to take the blows, but it's indispensable and the core of a team. Others have rather mediocre defense and can't endure hits, so I must fill that role.

"No problem."

Lei En confidently assured, "With me there, those two won't be harmed a hair's breadth." (End of Chapter)

(End of Chapter)