“Qin Lun, will this little trick really work?” Grant asked somewhat unwillingly as he watched Seras sucking blood from Hawkeye Clint’s chest.
“Whether it works or not is hard to say, but this girl’s abilities are poor, and she isn’t famous. It’s hard to imagine her dropping high-value items, so stop complaining!” Qin Lun put the recovered Mithril Arrow back into his Storage Space and waved his hand cheerfully.
After the Joker killed Integra, Qin Lun conveniently pulled the Mithril Arrow out of Hawkeye’s chest, finally letting Clint breathe his last.
After the Mithril Arrow was brought into the Shattered Starry Sky, the magic patterns on it became fixed. Although all its magic energy was used up after each use, it could be replenished by spending Shattered Crystals back in the Star Void. It was a very costly but reusable item.
To the surprise of both Qin Lun and Grant, Hawkeye’s death not only gave Qin Lun a hidden side quest called “Snipe the Avenger,” but it also dropped an archery specialization scroll. Even though the learning conditions for this high-level archery were extremely strict, it was the only specialization skill that had dropped for them so far.
It was important to know that progressing in a combat skill from mastery to specialization involved three levels. Often, one needed to master the basic skill first, then use many low and mid-level Reflex Training Scrolls to advance.
Most skill scrolls available in the market were the lowest level “Skill Mastery.” Even “Intermediate Proficiency” was rare, and advanced specialization skills were unheard of.
Qin Lun guessed that Hawkeye dropped this archery specialization scroll possibly as a combat compensation calculation by the Star Void. Because Clint himself had no superhuman bloodline, yet he was a named Avenger, his involvement in this world’s history was actually higher than the Queen of Sandstorm’s.
Killing such an Avenger and getting no drop rewards seemed unreasonable, hence this specialization skill scroll appeared.
Unfortunately, Hawkeye was dealt with by Qin Lun alone; Grant had no share in the contribution. He could only watch with envious eyes as the other captive—the vampire girl Seras—was utilized.
Before killing Hawkeye, Qin Lun had discussed with Grant and decided to use Seras to further drive a wedge between the Avengers Alliance and Alucard.
The method was simple. Seras was Alucard’s descendant, and her abilities were similar to his. After sucking blood, she would also trap the victim’s soul inside her body. For a strong person like Hawkeye Clint, who was on the verge of death and had a high-quality soul, if Seras sucked his blood now, she would definitely turn his soul into an enslaved Necro, denying him any chance of entering heaven.
Hawkeye was an American hero. The Avengers Alliance would never sit by and let him become a vampire’s enslaved Necro; it was a matter of principle. If Alucard protected his descendant Seras, the two sides would have to fight to the death.
At this time, Qin Lun and Grant did not know that Integra’s death had unexpectedly provoked Alucard, making him lose his mind and even causing the River of Death to riot. Several Avengers and Green Hunters had already decided to kill Alucard. Whether Seras sucked Hawkeye’s blood or not was no longer important.
Another consequence of killing Hawkeye was a small disagreement between Qin Lun and Grant. Originally, both thought Hawkeye and Seras were somewhat weak and wouldn’t drop good items, which was why they decided to use the vampire girl as bait.
But they didn’t expect Hawkeye to drop such a high-value item, making Grant immediately reluctant. After all, Seras was captured by him alone, and the ownership of any dropped items would be his.
Although Grant himself didn’t fancy this mutated vampire bloodline, even the worst Bloodline Item could be sold for the value of Dark Gold Equipment in the Shattered Starry Sky. It was a large sum of income hard to give up.
In the end, Qin Lun still persuaded Grant. Compared to Hawkeye, Seras, who hadn’t truly become a vampire species, was much weaker, and her reputation among superhumans was far lower. The former was a famous Avenger agent from S.H.I.E.L.D., while the latter had only been a vampire species for a few months and had little historical involvement.
Killing such a Plot Character, it was hard to imagine the Star Void giving a Bloodline Item worth tens of thousands. The value was too small, and it would ruin their subsequent plans, making the loss greater than the gain.
“Hmm? I can’t sense the ‘little things’ I left outside anymore. Let’s go, someone’s coming!” Qin Lun suddenly frowned and called out to Grant.
As they left, they glanced back at the “work” left on the desk and Seras, who was still sucking blood out of instinct. They couldn’t help but look at each other, each revealing a sinister smile, then quietly retreated into the dark corridor outside the living room.
…
Only moments after Qin Lun and Grant left, light footsteps sounded again in the deathly silent manor.
“Sir, this is the HELLSING headquarters!”
The damaged living room door creaked open from the outside, and two men and one woman appeared at the entrance.
Of the two men, one wore black priest robes with a square radio on his back, while the other wore a rough hemp robe of an Ascetic Monk, holding a black leather Bible. He was the white-haired youth Qin Lun had spied on the beetle warship, suspected to be the first Knight of the Round Table, Lancelot.
Compared to the two men, the woman standing behind them, her face covered with a white veil, was more low-key. She wore a large black robe and carried a red cross medical kit in her right hand, seeming like a nun responsible for battlefield medical care.
After entering, the three instinctively covered their noses. The thick smell of blood in the hall was unbearable even for ascetics like them.
“This is the HELLSING headquarters agency?” The white-haired youth scanned the blood splattered on the walls and ceiling, frowned slightly, and said with disgust, “Jack, are you sure? This looks more like a slaughterhouse to me.”
“These bloodstains were splattered after people died. This scene was intentionally set up by someone.” The young priest with the radio on his back crouched down, dipped a finger in some blood, tasted it, then spat it out, speaking with a grave expression.
“The male corpse on the floor is Hawkeye Clint Barton. The girl… still breathing, is a vampire species. Judging by the strength of her aura, she will wake up soon.” The priest stood up and walked to the desk in the center of the hall, where there was something resembling human remains.
The remains were gutted, limbs and organs turned into a mushy pulp. The chest was forcibly ripped open, the ribs stained with blood strands exposed in the air like sharp blades, resembling a freshly slaughtered animal.
Jack felt a strong nausea after just one glance and couldn’t help but look away. Suppressing the churning in his stomach, the priest forced himself to turn back and examine the remains again.
“The victim is female, head missing. The body was desecrated after death. From the bone injuries… the killer seems to possess excellent surgical dissection skills!”
While examining the remains, Father Jack’s attention gradually focused. After picking up a small piece of cloth from the remains, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Sir Lancelot, this person… is Integra, the leader of the HELLSING agency. This armband is unique to her!”
“She is Integra?” The white-haired youth frowned slightly. “Jack, check again. I don’t believe the last direct descendant of Van Helsing would fall so easily. The Pope explicitly ordered that Van Helsing, having devoted his life to hunting heretics for the Lord, must not have his bloodline cut off. Even those scoundrels in the Papal Chamber shouldn’t do something like this.”
“Sir, I think Father Jack’s judgment is correct. Look!” The nun, who had been silent behind Lancelot, suddenly looked up, pointed at the ceiling chandelier, and spoke softly.
Lancelot and Jack looked up simultaneously, and their bodies shuddered upon seeing clearly.
By now, most of the original supporting lights in the ruined villa had gone out. Besides a flickering desk lamp on the office desk, there was no other light in the hall, which was why the three had initially overlooked what was above them.
However, all three had vision far beyond ordinary people. They quickly saw what was above them: a woman’s head with a peaceful face and an Angel-like smile hung in the center of the chandelier, her smooth golden hair hanging down, presenting a stark, bizarre beauty.
“It is indeed Integra. I never expected…” Lancelot’s gaze wavered slightly, but anger soon appeared on his face. He growled in a low voice, “This is blasphemy! Who did this? Jack, check her body again.”
“Yes, Sir!” Jack took a deep breath and replied somewhat gloomily.
Due to differing stances, the Papal Chamber and the HELLSING agency had always been at odds. However, everyone held respect for Integra, this strong woman, and were unwilling to push her too hard. This was also why the Crusaders retreated after their initial attack failed; the Church also didn’t want the blood of Van Helsing’s descendant on their hands.
Jack examined Integra’s remains again, but this time he was much more careful. It was less like an autopsy and more like a respectful preparation for burial.
“Huh?” Upon re-examination, Father Jack indeed found some peculiarities. When dissecting the body, the killer seemed to have deliberately left the back intact. The skin on the back of the remains lying flat on the desk was mostly undamaged, except for a line of writing in blood.
“Ugly people… dissected… a beauty?” Father Jack translated it with a frown, not quite understanding the meaning between the lines.