Four days later, Saturday.
"Today marks your eighth day in the imperial capital, Brierda, meow."
"After busy work and packed, fulfilling days, you have finally arrived at your first day off."
Seated in the dining room on the mansion's ground floor, Lanqi was already reading the newspaper, no longer bothering to stop Wing Chun Boss Cat's broadcast.
"Starting Wednesday, your research in the empire has garnered ever more attention. Many military-industrial experts visit you every day, while more and more people are surveilling the perimeter of your villa. Even on your way home from the Eliot Building, imperial military vehicles tail you."
"On Thursday, you got in touch with the Kingdom of Posen's intelligence operatives through the Creti Central Daily. After two days, you received Nigel's reply this morning. He will prepare an identity for Tata as a woman from the northwestern border territory of Nixassend, telling you not to worry."
"At the same time, because you gave Nigel advance notice, Posen intelligence agents followed his instructions and began intentionally exposing flaws in the identity of the sixty-two-year-old publisher Lovia. The Imperial Operations Department quickly acquired evidence of Lovia being a spy."
"You've notched another achievement and earned Duke Dex's praise, even making the papers. Although Kestrel Nicola still suspects you, he's shown noticeably more restraint and presented you with a silk banner as promised."
Boss Cat could hardly keep a straight face as it reached this point, glancing toward the banner hanging on the wall:
[Loyalty and Valor Foremost, Protecting the Nation with Iron and Blood]
"Lanqi, meow, do you have any idea what kind of expressions the students made when they saw Kestrel Nicola present you with that banner?"
Boss Cat pawed at Lanqi's newspaper, trying to get him to look at it.
"Not a clue," Lanqi replied, lowering the paper slightly to look at the little black cat on the table.
Having gotten familiar with the school over the past several days, he often let Boss Cat out.
Many people were now thoroughly convinced that Professor Landry possessed a Tier 5 spirit cat bonded beast.
"Getting a banner presented by Secret Service Section Chief Kestrel Nicola is practically official certification. Rumors are spreading all over school that if you want to be patriotic, look up to Professor Landry! They say you dare to take the lead, stand bravely at the crest of the wave, possess both talent and virtue, and serve as an exemplar for our generation," Boss Cat said.
In the open kitchen on the other side of the dining room, Talia, who was preparing breakfast, cast a speechlessly flat look at Lanqi and Boss Cat.
Professor Landry had by now become an authoritative expert on mana fission in the Creti Empire, coming into contact with an increasing number of imperial VIPs. Next week, he would need to attend numerous academic conferences and talks across the empire.
She could not help but feel fortunate that Lanqi was currently wearing Landry's skin. If he had used his original identity, and Baby Xiu saw this newspaper, she would probably have lost her mind.
Right then, a knock came at the door.
It was likely the ordered groceries arriving.
"Lanqi, go get that," Talia called out to him, watching the stove.
"Right."
Lanqi stood up, set the newspaper down, and went to open the front door. He had the school staff place several large crates of ingredients in the foyer, thanked them, and closed the door.
His home was now fully protected by barriers Talia had personally erected to block sound and detection; security was not an issue in the slightest.
"Why did you buy so much?"
A moment later, Talia walked over to the foyer as well, hands on her hips as she looked down at the crates of food.
"You kept saying the ingredients at Saint Creti Monastery are wonderful, so I decided to buy a bit extra. I figure we can finish them," Lanqi answered honestly.
"..."
Talia thought it over and figured he had a point.
Once they returned to Iclite, they wouldn't be able to eat the specialty ingredients of Saint Creti Monastery anymore.
She took a portion of the ingredients over to the kitchen countertop, tied her apron back on, and resumed making breakfast.
Before long, one exquisite dish after another was served at the table.
"Tata, your cooking really is getting better and better! What's the secret?"
Perched on the dining table, Boss Cat sniffed the delicious food in admiration.
"I don't know," Talia said, shaking her head as she sat down across from Lanqi. "Time to eat. You can read the paper later."
Lanqi was a textbook workaholic. When buried in work, he often forgot to eat and sleep; without someone around to look after him, even his meal times became erratic.
Whenever Boss Cat cooked, it would only call Lanqi once and then wait quietly nearby, often waiting until the food went cold before Lanqi started eating, which was terrible for the stomach.
"Oh, right."
Lanqi obediently set the newspaper aside, picked up his fork, and reached for the equally lavish spread today.
"You shouldn't have much work today, right?"
"It's a rare leisure day. They seem a bit embarrassed to disturb me on a Saturday, though next week might be different. Once things pick up, even weekends might vanish."
"Then let's go soak up the sun by the river near the monastery this afternoon."
"Why?"
"Humans aren't machines. Only machines don't need rest. Humans do. No matter how busy you are, you need to rest."
The two of them and one cat enjoyed breakfast on the ground-floor dining room like this, casually chatting about their future life at Saint Creti Monastery. Before they knew it, the plates were empty.
During these past several days, they had also monitored the secret organization's discussions via the [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program-7].
They had gathered quite a few imperial secrets, and could even glean information concerning the Blood Clan.
"How long do you plan to keep lurking?"
Talia had been following along beside Lanqi.
The primary source of intelligence purchases was Number 3, who either traded for other intelligence or bought on credit. Among the information were details concerning the Blood Clan. It seemed that for this organization, the Blood Clan lurking within the Creti Empire was no secret; members among them were investigating the vampires as well.
She felt more and more that Lanqi joining this organization was the right call.
"If they truly need my help, I'll see if I can lend a hand," Lanqi answered, focusing on finishing his food.
...
After the meal, Talia tidied the kitchen briefly and returned to the dining room, only to find Lanqi working again.
"Right now, the greatest hurdle remains finding the coordinates of Blood Moon City. There's an overwhelming probability Duke Mikhail is inside."
On Lanqi's dining table lay a massive transit map of Brierda, covered in red-ink annotations detailing the varying probabilities of spatial interfaces at different locations based on his investigations over the past days.
"Meow meow, is Blood Moon City dangerous?" Boss Cat asked somewhat uneasily, squatting beside him.
It only played in high-tier matches, but it knew full well that it was weak.
"The assault on Blood Moon City may be the most perilous battle yet, rivaled only by the Northern Demonic Realm of the Protos Empire," Lanqi muttered to himself, taking a sip from the cup held in one hand, his eyes fixed on the map.
By level-conversion logic, the Northern Demonic Realm of the Protos Empire had been a two-boss encounter: Phase 1 against the Level 88 Askesan, and Phase 2 against the Level 88 Duke Morotian.
The assault on Blood Moon City, however, had four bosses: Level 88 Seventh Progenitor Marquis Heriteer, Level 88 Eighth Progenitor Marquis Somerset, Level 88 Ninth Progenitor Marquis Bernhard, and Level 90 Third Progenitor Duke Rasheal, along with several count-rank Blood Clan vampires above Level 70.
"Furthermore, our lack of personnel is an issue. If we can't gather enough reinforcements before the optimal date, we can only try infiltrating to extract Duke Mikhail, and then play the long game against the Blood Clan in the empire," Lanqi added.
"And what if we can find enough teammates?" Talia asked.
She hadn't questioned Lanqi in detail about Blood Moon City before.
Inside Blood Moon City, Lanqi's [Radiant Virtue] would likely be weakened to some degree. It was a natural environmental barrier for the Blood Clan, and she wasn't sure how the light-dark determinations would fare. Moreover, they couldn't rely entirely on the Little Sun; in a team fight, it could easily be destroyed by stray area-of-effect damage.
Blood Moon City was essentially an ultra-ancient strategic fortress dominated by the Blood Clan, giving them total home-field advantage.
As a summon, [Radiant Virtue]'s greatest weakness was that it could be targeted and attacked.
Fortunately, after being augmented by the black divine-era radiance of [Original Slate - Sealing], its multipliers had been boosted, providing at least some reassurance.
"Then it might be possible to brute-force it and bring the Blood Clan's karma to an end once and for all."
Ever since the Kingdom of Posen, Lanqi no longer banked on best-case scenarios; he always factored in the worst-case possibilities.
"How much combat power would it take to breach Blood Moon City by force?"
Talia knew breaching fortified defenses was no easy feat. Raiding Blood Moon City was perhaps no less difficult than mounting a frontal assault on the imperial capital, Brierda. Yet all hope rested on the premise that Lanqi possessed sufficiently detailed intelligence on Blood Moon City.
The dream bestowed by the Goddess of Fate had given Lanqi a profound understanding of Blood Moon City's layout and mechanics.
Of course, it was also possible that tens of thousands of years ago, Lanclos of the Black Sun had paid a heavy price to assault Blood Moon City, and that knowledge had been preserved by the Goddess of Fate and passed down to Lanqi in another form alongside his mission.
"The mechanic of Blood Moon City is that the three marquises each anchor a protective barrier. They cannot be killed, but defeating any of them will weaken Blood Moon City's energy supply for a set duration, during which the core protective barrier in the Blood Palace will temporarily lose its immunity," Lanqi pondered for a moment before explaining to Talia and Boss Cat.
"Blood Moon City's core is located in the Blood Palace and can be charged by Third Progenitor Rasheal. If the core is damaged, it will gradually regenerate over time. Under normal circumstances, it remains at 100%. In an extreme crisis like an ambush, Duke Rasheal will spare no expense to overcharge it to 120%, triggering Annihilation Mode. If we reduce the core's energy to 0%, we win and can take the Blood Clan back to the surface to seal them away. If the core reaches 120%, we're all dead."
"Therefore, from the very beginning, someone must enter the Blood Palace to stall Third Progenitor Rasheal and prevent him from charging it. If no one stalls him, it's an instant raid wipe."
"Then, the remaining personnel must split into four teams. Three stronger teams will clear out the elite vampire counts along the way while defeating the three boss-tier Blood Clan marquises, while a team with fast mob-clearing capabilities must bottle up the entrance of Blood Moon City to prevent brainwashed imperial troops from breaching inside to reinforce the vampires."
With that, Lanqi finished explaining what he considered the optimal general procedure for the Blood Moon City raid.
"...So if we can assemble enough teams in Brierda to raid Blood Moon City, we can go for it?"
Talia stared at the map, tracing her fingers across the paper.
She was itching for a fight, especially against the Blood Clan bastards who had nearly destroyed Baby Xiu's family. She had long wanted to teach these vampires what retribution felt like.
"That's only a prerequisite. Even if we meet it, we have to strike during the National Day Celebration at the end of next month, on the day when all the War Gods return to Brierda. Only on that day will our chances be highest," Lanqi answered, shaking his head.
"Why... pick a day when all the War Gods are present? Wouldn't we face even more Tier 8 enemies? That should be the most dangerous day of all," Talia looked up at Lanqi, asking in confusion.
Some of the War Gods had already been brainwashed by Duke Rasheal's [Blood Mind Control]. If they had to face several more War Gods on top of everything, Talia couldn't begin to fathom how impossible the difficulty would be.
"Precisely because during the celebration's blessing ritual, the War Gods cannot move freely. That ensures none of them can join the battle in Blood Moon City, giving us roughly a two-hour window to launch our assault," Lanqi replied.
As the saying goes, great fortune lies in great risks. That day would be the one time they were guaranteed zero interference from the War Gods.
On any other day, he couldn't guarantee whether an absent War God might suddenly return, or whether those already in the capital would join the fray.
"You're worried First War God Hyacinthus is on Duke Rasheal's side, and if he charges in, we'll be wiped out?" Talia asked him.
"Correct."
Lanqi considered Loren's strength monstrous enough—the absolute ceiling of his experience—and yet Loren might not even be as strong as Third War God Goyate of the Sardonyx Seat for now.
It was hard to imagine just how terrifying the Second War God of the Obsidian Seat—reputed to be in a league of his own—really was, let alone the Diamond Seat, who stood even higher.
"We have to find teammates. Going into Blood Moon City with just the two of us is suicide."
The two of them together had broken into a full sweat just fighting the Level 84 Perlman.
Setting aside their anti-demon specialties, fighting elite humans would be even tougher.
While they also had advantages against the Blood Clan, it was inconsistent—they needed to guarantee [Radiant Virtue] could maintain uninterrupted field presence.
"It also seems you have to be the one to face Third Progenitor Rasheal. Other than you, even if we found Tier 8 allies, none of them could handle someone who manipulates minds like that," Talia crossed her arms, speaking in frustration.
"That's why we need enough powerful teammates to stand a chance of clearing Blood Moon City. If we can't clear it, our only choice will be trying our luck at rescuing Duke Mikhail."
Lanqi glanced at the [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program-7] he pulled out.
He had done everything he could to climb the ranks in the empire, but it still needed time to ferment; once an opportunity arose, he could begin seizing power.
Among the members of this organization, there might be someone willing to resolve the empire's impending calamity.
Judging by the caliber of Landry, the previous owner of this sacred communication magic, researchers or high-ranking imperial figures might only be Tier 6, but there could very well be members with formidable combat prowess.
Number 1 was even more unfathomable. To develop the pink sacred-grade [Ultra-Long-Range Communication Program], they had to be at least the originator of its principles.
"Regardless, let's clear a Shadow World first," Talia patted his shoulder comfortingly.
Lanqi needed to reach Tier 7 at least—stepping into the realm of true transcendence and undergoing a qualitative leap in stamina and mental power—before he would theoretically have a chance of enduring Rasheal.
Otherwise, even if Lanqi was immune to Rasheal's mental magic, Rasheal could still kill Lanqi—and her along with him—using ordinary magic attacks.
"Yeah. About a week from now, mid-October, is the agreed time. I've already asked Secretary Naira to apply for Shadow World challenger clearance on my behalf."
As a professor at Saint Creti Monastery, challenging a Shadow World was perfectly normal and granted corresponding leave.
As long as the Shadow World didn't take too long, he would make it in time for Duke Dex's imperial project in November.
"In next week's Shadow World, we'll get to see Baby Xiu?" Talia murmured, her expression softening.
At the thought of Hyperion, her heart fluttered with emotion. Not having seen Hyperion for two months left Talia feeling hollow. She wondered how Hyperion was doing, whether she was eating enough every day, kicking off her blankets, or feeling down.
"Right now, she's definitely in your room, listening to tunes, feeding the fox, and leaning back in the armchair reading the paper," Lanqi smiled confidently from his chair, gesturing with one hand.
Staying in Talia's room, Lanqi could already picture Hyperion becoming completely Tata-fied.
Just imagining Hyperion assimilating into her habits made him chuckle.
Talia felt Lanqi deserved a bit of a beating, but she couldn't be bothered to bicker over something so trivial.
"Too bad that after spending just one Shadow World with Hyperion, we'll have to part ways again. I miss her," she murmured, her golden eyes lowering in regret.
Although she knew that being bound to Lanqi's soul made living together with Baby Xiu impractical, she still couldn't help longing for it.
Chapter 732