A Robbery Attempt

When Pavard saw his prey walking out of the city of his own initiative, he could not help rejoicing inwardly. That was the best thing that could have happened. It was not impossible for them to make a move in the city, but Hardy was not a lawless place after all; murder was a crime, so they would have to be careful to avoid the eyes of other Vampires. They could bribe their way out of punishment, but if the expenses outweighed the income, it was obviously not worth the effort.

Ye Ming walked alone under the dark of the night, getting further and further away from Hardy. The eerie caws of crows make the surroundings seem even more creepy.

"Lets do it, boss. I think it's good here," said one of Pavard's accomplice, malice thick in his voice. He could barely contain his bloodthirsty impulse any longer. All he wanted to do was to tear Ye Ming into pieces. The hysterical savagery passed down through the millenia among the Malkavians was burning in his heart. He was fidgeting impatiently like a bull in heat.

(TL note: "Malkavians carry the curse of madness...A Malkavian's level of madness varies; no two Kindred of the clan seem to be the same, from emotionless sociopaths to raving lunatics and everything in between." [ https://vtmb.fandom.com/wiki/Malkavian ])

"Not yet. There's still the occasional passer-by. If we make a move here, we're bound to attract someone's attention, and if someone reports us, we'll have to bribe our way out with money. It won't be worth it anymore. Look, see the deserted church ahead? I think that's a good spot. Almost no one goes there. He seems to be heading there as well. Let's make our move there."

The Vampire who spoke previously clenched his fists like he was trying hard to suppress the rage that was about to erupt inside him.

The other Vampire, the one walking on Pavard's right hand side, said, "Boss is right. We should do it in that church. We jumped a woman and an old man there before, remember? And both times we made a lot of money. That place is simply a lucky spot for us. Man, that woman had a damn fine body, I still can't stop thinking about it. She was so damn good. It's a pity it's not a female Vampire this time, or we'll get to have some fun again. We can then carve her body up bit by bit and listen to her scream. That's real pleasure right there. Is there a more wonderful feeling in the world?"

"That's enough, Arbito, stop it with your disgusting fantasies. What's the big deal with women? Money is much more important in my opinion. With money, you can have any kind of woman you desire; you can just go to a slave trader and pick any human slave you want. Now that's what I call a wonderful feeling."

"A crude guy like you wouldn't understand. Things that are easily obtainable are bland and tasteless, and humans are just inferior animals. There's no way it can be as exciting as dominating a female Vampire. The mere memory of the way she resisted back then is enough to get me excited. Now that's what I call real domination."

Pavard was starting to get impatient listening to their endless argument. "Shut up, both of you. Get your stupid ass ready. We're almost at the church."

Ye Ming stepped into the church as they spoke. This perplexed the three Vampires tailing him. "Why is he going inside?" wondered Pavard.

"Who cares, boss. It saves us some trouble," said Arbito.

"Something's fishy. Why would he suddenly go to that church? Did he overhear our conversation just now?" wondered Pavard warily. In all previous cases, they had caught up with their victim as the victim passed by the church and they had to drag the victim into the church themselves. Ye Ming's behavior of going into the church of his own initiative instantly alerted the cautious Pavard.

"I agree with Arbito this time, boss. Let's just hurry up and do it. I can't resist the urge to kill any longer."

Although Pavard was wary at first, the persistent persuasion of the two Vampires beside him eventually made him let his guard down. Coupled with the greed for money and the confidence in having numerical advantage, he finally nodded in assent. "Be careful."

With that warning, he moved towards the church.

Hearing that, his companion who had long gotten impatient instantly rushed towards the church like a soldier who had received an order.

"Come on, let me tear your body apart!" The companion rushed into the church brainlessly. Pavard wanted to warn him to be more careful, but before he could even say anything, he already heard a scream coming from the inside.

The other two instantly had an ominous feeling. They wished to go to their companion's aid, but they were wary of being ambushed too. While they were still outside the church hesitating, Ye Ming walked out carrying the body of their companion who had rushed headlong inside.

Throwing the dry corpse to the ground, he stared coldly at the other two. With blood dripping down his Vampiric Dagger, Ye Ming said, "You want to tear me apart? Come on, then. I'm standing right here."

The two Vampires exchanged glances. Obviously, their target had overheard their conversation, so he had deliberately gone into the church to make use of the terrain to ambush them.

The fight had already started. According to Malkavian tradition, there was no backing down now. Pavard signaled at Arbito with his eyes, and the two charged at Ye Ming simultaneously with their fangs and claws bared.

Ye Ming still used the same old routine. The first thing he did was to use the {Embrace of Pain} on Pavard. Ye Ming thought Pavard would fall to the ground wailing like the previous few Vampires he used the skill on, and he could then take the opportunity to kill Pavard. Little did he expect that the skill only made Pavard stop momentarily before he lunged at Ye Ming again.

Ye Ming was forced to dodge. He had no idea what had gone wrong. The next thing he did was to unleash the {Eyes of Terror} on Arbito. Contrary to Ye Ming's expectations, even though Arbito did start voicing out his heart's desire, his movements were not halted.

Ye Ming was extremely confused. Both mental attacks were successful, yet they were both useless. Fortunately, the two assailants were not that strong, so Ye Ming could still deal with them.

Ye Ming was immensely glad that he had hid in the doorway of the church to kill the Vampire who had rushed in mindlessly just now. Otherwise, he would be fighting three enemies at once now, and he might not be able to handle that.

Ye Ming did not give up. He continuously used {Embrace of Pain} on Pavard. Although doing this exhausted him greatly, Ye Ming really had no choice. Without this mental attack, it would take a long time for him to kill the two enemies relying purely on physical combat. A small slip-up was all it would take for the two enemies to turn the tables on him and kill him instead. His combat skills were still inferior.

Ye Ming's effort was not in vain; his plan finally bore fruit. After receiving yet another {Embrace of Pain}, Pavard's body movements finally became much slower. He had a very painful expression on his face.

Ye Ming started attacking Pavard with wild abandon. After another {Embrace of Pain}, Pavard finally caved; he dropped to the ground on his knees. Ye Ming used the chance to pierce through his skull with the dagger. Pavard's brain matter spilled out, and his limp body fell to the ground.

Arbito had gone completely berserk by this point. The Malkavian genes in him that were controlled by emotions and desires had come to the surface. He attacked Ye Ming wildly without a care for his own well-being.

But against Ye Ming, his efforts were obviously in vain. Borrowing from his previous experience of dealing with Pavard, Ye Ming unleashed the {Embrace of Pain} on Arbito without any regard for the cost. Arbito eventually followed in Pavard's footsteps. Ye Ming stabbed him through the chest, producing another dry corpse.

Ye Ming did not leave the crime scene immediately. After rummaging through the corpses and pocketing the twenty gold coins he found on them, he went deeper into the church, sat under the cross, and activated the {Ancient Blood Refining Technique} to start assimilating the Vitae he had just absorbed from the assailants.