The Count of Roses: Let Me Thank You... [IX]

Yi Bai's scalp tingled, a sharp, prickling sensation crawling down his neck. As he watched the bloody and grayish domains in the reflection, clashing and battering against each other with a near-manic intensity, he knew this was no small matter.

The Count of Roses looked as though she was about to silence her treacherous black-hearted companion for good, her expression chilling.

Time dragged on, each second slipping away slowly as the battle in the reflection raged unabated. The sounds of booming impacts filled the air, the clash of crimson and gray tearing through everything, leaving a wasteland of debris and dust in its wake.

Yi Bai sank into a chair, his mind working steadily, trying to figure out how to confront the blood-soaked future that awaited him in this cursed vampire life.

He wasn't sure exactly what had transpired, but the sheer chaos unfolding before him made it clear that whatever it was, he couldn't escape being caught up in it.

"Could it be...?"

A flicker of insight struck him as his gaze drifted over to the full-length mirror in the room. Suddenly, everything clicked.

"Ah!" The realization hit him like a bolt from the blue.

"If it's the Mirror Lady, then everything makes sense."

"My identity as a vampire isn't hard to trace. All the Count of Roses has to do is admit she turned me, and the whole thing unravels."

Yi Bai sighed and shrugged. "Guess there's no running from it."

He groaned inwardly. The only one who might have stirred up trouble with the Count of Roses was that damn Mirror Lady—who, as he'd suspected, was likely behind all of this. And who else would dare cross someone with the power and heritage of the Count of Roses?

"Well, once everything's cleared up, it really is just as it is," he mused. "On the bright side, I've actually helped the Count of Roses build a stronger alliance with the Mirror Lady than even the Kurool family could muster..."

"That means there's no reason for the Count to come after me, right?"

With a self-assured grin, Yi Bai leaned back in his chair. His thoughts were clearer now, and oddly enough, he found the spectacle of the battle less terrifying and more... entertaining.

A battle of blood-clad, high-level vampires wasn't something many could watch in real-time. No gimmicks, just raw power—domains colliding, raw savagery, and overwhelming destructive force. It was the kind of fight that sent chills down your spine, and Yi Bai couldn't help but watch with a mix of awe and curiosity.

Half an hour passed.

The battle showed no signs of stopping.

An hour passed.

Then two...

Yi Bai yawned, his mind beginning to wander. The sky outside the window was perpetually dark, giving him no sense of time. Thankfully, his animal-hide belt had a timer embedded in it. From the moment he'd logged into the game, it had been running.

"Wow!" he exclaimed in surprise, glancing at the timer.

He had been watching the fight for over six hours without even realizing it. The outside world was no doubt seeing many of its players fall or perish—but Yi Bai, on the other hand, had been leisurely observing it all from the comfort of his room.

"Can't deny it, those blood-clad, high-level vampires sure have stamina," Yi Bai murmured with a touch of envy, his thoughts wandering. When you get bored, your mind starts to drift to odd places.

Just six hours ago, he had been worried about whether the Count of Roses would beat him senseless. But now? He was contemplating whether blood-clad vampires like the Count and her ilk could be... squeezed for even more power.

A shiver ran down his spine. He quickly pushed the thought aside. He wasn't ready to face that kind of strength yet—not before becoming one himself.

Then, with a thunderous crash, the battle in the reflection suddenly went quiet.

The sounds of combat died down, and the eerie grinding of teeth from a small zombie girl could be heard, a strange and unsettling noise. Clearly, age didn't determine power. Despite the centuries of difference, Jiāng Líng and the Count were practically equals in battle, neither able to overpower the other.

The Count of Roses reappeared in the reflection, her face twisted with exhaustion and rage. Her hair was even more disheveled, and her clothes were tattered. Outside the grand valley, one of the mountain-protecting buttons had been blown to pieces.

Yi Bai's throat went dry. He instinctively averted his eyes. The sight was too much.

He couldn't help but think about the strength of these blood-clad vampires and how far he still had to go before reaching that level.

"Once Jiāng Líng stopped pestering her..." Yi Bai thought, "The Count finally spoke: 'Yi Bai, tell me, what exactly happened in the last horror game?'"

She was trying hard to maintain her composure, but the stress and rage were obvious. She had already let her tattered clothing slip from her mind.

Yi Bai hesitated. "Ah, well... it's a bit of a story."

Then, without missing a beat, he launched into an explanation, recounting everything honestly. There was no point in hiding anything now; it would only make the Count more upset. No one, not even vampires, enjoyed receiving a beating for no reason.

"In the end, this is pretty much what happened," Yi Bai wrapped up after a rapid-fire retelling, then he flashed a sly grin.

"And now I've struck a deal with Xī'ěr, and the Mirror Lady's essentially on our side too."

"Plus, I'm your direct convert, Count of Roses, so our relationship is, well... solid, to say the least!"

"This means the Mirror Lady and us? We've just formed a rock-solid alliance!"

"How many blood-clad vampires are there in Yīn Míng City? With our alliance, we already control several!"

"Count of Roses, the future of Yīn Míng City is practically ours!"

"And don't thank me—I didn't do much. Mostly, it was just Xī'ěr liking me as a big brother..."

He gave a cheerful thumbs-up, happy with his persuasive tactics. He'd managed to turn the situation around by placing the blame squarely on Xī'ěr's fondness for him.

In the reflection, the Count's great valley began to tremble violently, as if the very land was shaking in response.

Yi Bai deliberately turned his eyes away, but they kept wandering back, drawn to the spectacle.

"I was just checking if the Count was okay," Yi Bai mumbled to himself, trying to rationalize his fixation on the battle.

The Count of Roses, fuming, was momentarily speechless. Even a powerful blood-clad vampire like her couldn't find the words to respond to Yi Bai's flawless defense.

In the end, all her rage boiled down to one sentence:

"Well, I really have to thank you, huh..."