The First Magic World War

Charles cracked a smile and said, "I, too, hoped that my first deceit in life would come from a beautiful upperclassman…"

Julian interjected, "You mean Menilman, the upperclassman?"

Charles immediately spat out the sip of tea he had just taken and said, "Don't joke about that kind of thing!"

Julian burst into hearty laughter, regaining some of his innocent vivacity. He didn't actually hate Charles so much. Even though Charles had nearly played him like a fiddle and deceived him out of the Asilo Clan's secret scroll, Julian could sense that Charles never intended to betray him, which he found quite "novel."

As a vampire and a descendant of one of the three imperial clans, Julian knew how humans felt about vampires: hatred, fear, trepidation, but if given the chance, nearly every human would choose to become a vampire, just for the promise of a long life.

Yet Charles was unlike any other human he had ever encountered.

Once he knew Charles's identity, Julian guessed immediately that he wasn't a vampire at all but a human who had practiced Bloody Glory.

Although most vampires detested humans who practiced Bloody Glory, their hatred actually stemmed from the secret technique's creator, Protagora, the Great Philosopher of the Human Race, who had slaughtered too many vampires.

Julian didn't feel there was any deep-seated hatred between him and Charles.

Countries wage wars against each other, each loyal to their own side, showing no mercy, but that doesn't necessitate mutual hatred between individuals. This was Julian's philosophy of life.

Unable to help himself, Charles asked, "You know about Upperclassman Menilman, too?"

Julian whispered, "The name of Fars's First Rose is famous even to me. I had the fortune of seeing Miss Menilman once and even entertained the idea of having my father propose a marriage to Count Sumei on my behalf."

Charles spread his hands and asked, "Why didn't you? Did you lose to Zimmerman?"

Julian shrugged his shoulders and gave Charles an answer that made him want to laugh and cry at the same time, "I was only five years old that year."

This time, it was Charles's turn to laugh heartily. He felt somewhat relieved that he hadn't taken another sip of tea, or he would've had to spray it out again!

Charles reflected for a moment on who he had liked when he was five years old.

After giving it some thought, he remembered that back then, his favorite had been Optimus Prime, the Cybertron robot that could transform into a flat-nosed truck. In less than two months, because Optimus couldn't fly, he had taken a liking to Red Spider, the talkative guy who could turn into an F-15 fighter jet. Later, because Red Spider was too weak and always got beaten up, he shifted his admiration to the cool and formidable Megatron…

Well, at the age of five, he hadn't yet taken a liking to pretty girls.

Julian shrugged and said, "Although I still admire Miss Menilman, times have changed."

He raised his eyebrows suggestively at Charles.

Charles lifted his left hand high and said, "I have someone else I like."

Charles was actually quietly astonished that Julian had managed to find out so much about him, including his identity and some less reliable rumors. This young member of the Asilo family indeed had the talent for espionage.

The two wisely did not bring up the war between Byron and Fars, and the atmosphere was as harmonious as ever. Julian suddenly said, "There's a dance tonight hosted by Victory Champagne Count, would you like to attend?"

Charles hesitated slightly and said, "That doesn't sound too appropriate, does it?"

Julian replied with a slight smile, "The Augusladin High Priest will also be attending."

Upon hearing that, Charles immediately agreed. Since his arrival in Notruden, he had not had the chance to meet the Augusladin High Priest. Having the opportunity to meet the superior of the delegation and inquire about his next course of action was indeed a favorable turn of events.

Just after Charles had agreed, he remembered something and asked with curiosity, "The Champagne Count? Isn't he one of our Counts from Fars? What is he doing in Notruden?"

Julian explained with a smile, "Not the Count Bedivere, it's Count Ranmalock."

Then it dawned on Charles.

The Champagne Count was a nickname for Count Bedivere, a figure from Fars, famous for having a champagne winery within his domain that was renowned throughout the Old Continent.

Several times Charles had wanted to purchase a bottle of champagne from the Bedivere Count's winery, but had been disappointed each time due to the unavailability of stock.

It was actually Count Ranmalock of the Inglima Empire who had unmatched martial prowess. Rumored to have ascended to the Sacred Order when he was young, he was invincible in the dueling arena and had never tasted defeat on the battlefield. Therefore, he earned the reputable nickname of Victory Champagne Count, with a far greater fame than Count Bedivere and was once a figure spoken of in the same breath as Zimmerman.

Realizing it was this legendary figure's banquet, Charles became excited and casually mentioned, "I fear my status may not be sufficient to attend Count Ranmalock's dance."

Julian clapped his hands, and soon someone came in and placed an invitation with gold leaf before Charles.

Charles, acknowledging the rapid advancement of his position, still felt a profound gap between himself and Julian. Fortunately, his attitude was good, and he wasn't troubled by these trivial matters. Taking the invitation, he said, "Are you selling that handgun?"

Julian replied, "Of course I'm selling! Those are just some weapons I've recently discarded. However, I can't give it to you for free. I didn't come to the Inglima Empire through official channels and I'm really short on cash, otherwise I wouldn't be selling them."

Charles then understood why the young female shop assistant had said that even if he had come earlier, he wouldn't have seen those Vampire weapons. He smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I happen not to be short on cash at the moment."

Julian promptly said, "This Withing Rose can shoot regular bullets and Blood Energy Bullets. Each time it hits an enemy, it absorbs the enemy's life force to create new bullets, so it's practically with infinite ammunition."

"I abandoned it because it's just a Lower-Ranked Supernatural Object, and each bullet only has the power equivalent to the full strike of a Fifth Order Transcendent. After I advanced to an Intermediate rank, it wasn't much use to me."

Charles didn't mind the tier of the Withing Rose; he was in need of a convenient weapon for the time being. Besides, the Withing Rose, with its nearly unlimited ammunition as it could draw life force from enemies, seemed quite suitable for him to use.

After pondering for a moment, Julian said, "We're friends after all. Two hundred Gold Pounds, how about that?"

Charles immediately took out his wallet, counted out two hundred Gold Pounds, and placed them on the table. The fortune he had made in Cappadocia City was once again being put to good use.

Julian accepted the Gold Pounds and had the Withing Rose brought in.

After examining it for a while, Charles felt a slight warmth in his left arm, and the Withing Rose, like a blossoming and wilting flower, merged into the Bloody Vortex inside his left arm.