Battle Under the Moonlight Part 6

"Nobles!" Adel's eyes were filled with fiery excitement.

Once upon a time, those people were out of reach, but now they had become their prey.

Just thinking about it made Adel shiver with excitement.

"There are only two people left over there. Get ready to move," Adel said after observing for a while.

Most mutants had night vision capabilities, giving them an advantage in nighttime combat compared to humans.

"Be cautious, the other person might be a cleric hired by Mansra," Adel warned, noticing one of the mutants beside him trembling.

"Why are you shaking?" Adel slapped the mutant, scolding in a low voice, "We've all undergone the Tears of God ritual. Normal holy power might hurt, but as long as we don't reveal our true forms, they can't really harm us!"

"No, boss, I'm just excited," the mutant gulped, his eyes glowing red, "Hunting a cleric is just too thrilling~!"

Sin had an effect on people, amplifying their beastly nature.

But this influence wasn't overwhelming. As long as personal negative emotions were managed, maintaining a healthy psyche was relatively simple.

However, the environment didn't allow it.

Mutants constantly faced pressure from the Church. Each mutant was like a spy, even more dangerous—exposure meant death.

Besides, they had to deal with their unusual needs.

Vampires needed blood, banshees needed to be near death, and ghouls had needs evident from their name. Other mutants had similar requirements.

These needs constantly reminded them of their mutant identity, increasing their psychological burden.

Most mutants lived on society's margins, bearing both the psychological burden of their identity and the negative emotions from the upper classes.

Thus, most mutants, unable to vent their negative emotions, became more twisted.

Now, the thrill of role reversal made every mutant feel a surge of excitement.

When Adel received the signal from Rupert, he ordered the charge towards Mansra and his men.

But they didn't lose their rationality in their excitement.

Adam had used information asymmetry to control them, but most surviving mutants were capable.

They were well-prepared, refraining from using their abilities and fighting like normal humans, wielding weapons for close combat.

In human form, they had some immunity to holy power.

Seeing the mutants charging, Mansra raised his hand slightly, his eyes full of disdain.

Adam, who had been watching Sam, now turned his attention to the scene.

So far, everything was going smoothly. Rupert's men were preparing to transport the smuggled goods, and Sam could hold out for a while.

The key now was Mansra. If he couldn't handle the mutants, tonight's operation would be a success. If he could, Adam would consider intervening, possibly with Jin.

But Adam preferred not to take the latter option. Nobles' coats of arms were linked to accomplishments, and Mansra's presence indicated confidence in his power.

Also, there was the mysterious cleric Mansra had hired. Adam didn't have high hopes of keeping Mansra here.

However, if an opportunity arose, Adam wouldn't miss it.

"Aren't you going to intervene? These are mutants," Mansra said, glancing around.

"If I intervened every time there were mutants, I'd have dealt with your werewolf already," the black-robed man sneered, extending his hand to catch the moonlight filtering through the trees.

"Besides, I'm a mutant myself," Purdo said softly.

Then he looked around, saying, "Be careful, more people want you dead than you think."

"I guarantee your life, not your cargo," Purdo said, making no further moves.

Mansra's face darkened, but he remained silent. He turned to the charging mutants.

"No mutant forms…"

"There are traitors among us." Mansra's claim of hiring a cleric was a lie.

Given his situation, hiring a cleric for dirty work would cost most of his smuggled goods—not worth it.

After weighing his options, he met Purdo again in the basement.

Then he spread the word that he had hired a cleric, using it to test for Rupert's spies.

Now it was clear the mutants knew the information.

"Who betrayed me?" Mansra asked calmly, maintaining noble composure, addressing the mutants.

"Go to hell!" Adel snarled, uninterested in answering. He raised his blade, aiming for Mansra's head.

But at that moment, Mansra vanished from Adel's sight.

Purdo had grabbed Mansra, pulling him away from the attack.

"You were sure I'd intervene…" Purdo looked at Mansra, puzzled.

Mansra hadn't activated his coat of arms. Without Purdo's intervention, Adel would have split his head.

"You promised to keep me alive, so why waste my strength?" Mansra broke free from Purdo, ignoring the approaching mutants, and adjusted his clothes.

"This makes me think I underestimated you," Purdo said, waving his hand. The air rippled like water.

A mutant charging him hit Purdo's finger like a wall, falling stunned.

Despite his words, Purdo's thoughts were elsewhere.

"Rumors say nobles' coats of arms influence their heirs. Seems true."

"The bait of paradox, indeed."

Adel, gritting his teeth, lunged at Mansra with his blade.

At that moment, a drop of water shot over, hitting Adel's blade. A tremor ran through the blade, shaking Adel's hand.

Pain coursed through him, sweat beading on his forehead. He tried to pick up the blade, but it was covered in cracks.

Purdo stood firm, Mansra beside him, only a few steps away. Yet with Purdo's protection, those steps seemed insurmountable.

"Not much holy power, use your abilities!" Adel growled, shaking his arm as his aura changed.

A bloody scent emanated from him, his hands growing long claws stained with a red substance.

Vampire transformations didn't drastically change their appearance. In this form, their speed increased, and their claws caused continuous bleeding.

As a non-pureblood vampire, Adel could absorb life force from blood, storing it in his body as solidified blood, enhancing his physique—what they called blood energy.

Since learning Adam's knight training method, Adel had improved his use of blood energy.

Without mastering the life chart, Adel wasn't a Vi-phase knight. But with blood energy, he could mimic some life force abilities of an E-phase knight.

Transformed into a vampire, Adel's claws slashed forward, aiming to tear everything in his path.