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"Oh, right…"
Ashley Barrett seemed to suddenly remember something, quickly pulling up a data list on her tablet and pointing at the slowly increasing numbers.
"There's a popularity poll that someone started online, and the 'combined favorability' support rate for you and Spider-Woman is steadily rising!"
"Hmm?"
Homelander took the tablet and glanced at it, his brows instantly furrowing as he asked, displeased, "Why is it only 5%?"
Ashley Barrett quickly explained, "Sir, you can see the start time of this combined poll… it only temporarily opened after you resolved the Vampire crisis in Chicago."
Homelander said, somewhat surprised, "So, in just two short hours, nearly… 150,000 people voted to support me teaming up with that little bug?"
"That's right!"
This was somewhat unexpected for Homelander; he hadn't thought that little bug's popularity would be even higher than Starlight and Queen Maeve?
After a moment of thought, he nodded noncommittally.
"Keep a close eye on the changes in this support rate for me. If it gets high enough in the future, cooperating with that little bug isn't impossible."
"Also, from now on, all ordinary missions will be handed over to others to handle… From this moment, I will specialize in dealing with supernatural events that other heroes can't resolve."
Homelander seemed to have found a new, exclusive path for himself, immediately deciding to delve deeply into it.
After all, popularity and buzz were the "true meaning" of life to him!
… … … …
… …
Somewhere in Detroit.
"Don't be afraid, come here."
In a luxuriously decorated room, a strong young man with short golden hair and slightly sinister eyes beckoned to a young woman in a pure white lace dress opposite him.
The young woman's delicate body trembled slightly, clearly a little scared… or perhaps, apprehensive.
But soon, she mustered her courage, puffed out her chest, and walked towards him.
Two days ago.
To quickly raise the $399 needed to buy the latest iPhone 5 (64GB version), she had secretly, with the help of her best friend, put her "virginity" up for public sale on a certain escort website.
She had originally thought that with her ordinary looks, freckled face, and a figure not as curvy as her peers, even if she put it online, it would likely go unnoticed.
But who would have thought that on the very same day, several people contacted her online?
So, after a round of bidding.
Ultimately, the man in front of her, who looked somewhat fierce but exuded an unusual aristocratic aura, defeated the other bidders with a price three times the starting bid—$1200—successfully acquiring her virginity.
The man generously paid a $120 deposit and agreed to meet in this private castle.
After receiving the deposit, the young woman was truly happy.
She even felt a faint sense of pride.
She never imagined that the virginity she was often mocked and ridiculed for by her classmates would be worth so much money?
"Sir, I… I'm still a first-timer…"
"Don't worry, I'll be very gentle."
The golden-haired man raised an eyebrow, then gently pulled the young woman into his arms.
Under her slightly shy yet hopeful gaze, he slowly bared his fangs, four sharp, pointed canine teeth like those of a Beast, and bit down hard on the young woman's fair neck.
"Uh… Ah…"
The young woman's eyes widened suddenly, her face filled with an expression of disbelieving terror.
It was as if she was saying: Why? You clearly said you only wanted my body before, so why are you trying to kill me now? Most importantly, I haven't even gotten my new iPhone 5 yet!
But a special enzyme released from the man's fangs instantly caused the young woman's body to stiffen, rendering her completely immobile.
Furthermore, this enzyme could also trigger extreme metabolic reactions in the human body, thereby assisting in accelerating the blood-sucking process.
That's right.
The golden-haired man was not human, but a Vampire, and furthermore, the most noble prince in the entire Vampire Empire.
His name was Salus Tepes Dracula, and his father was the famous Demon Lord, Vlad Tepes Dracula!
"Ha, refreshing!"
After drinking all the blood from the young woman's body, Salus tossed the shriveled, decaying corpse, like a withered tree, aside.
He propped up his legs, an expression of enjoyment on his face, and looked at the figure that had appeared opposite him at some point, asking in a rather rude tone:
"Lilith, why are you only just arriving? How are your subordinates preparing?"
"Salus, no matter how the World progresses, your actions are still as crude as a Beast; I see no connection to elegance in you."
Lilith seemed accustomed to his unpleasant attitude.
After directly finding a seat and sitting down, she spoke with an elegant posture:
"Don't worry, the seven Night Demons responsible for opening the Pocket Dimension have all successfully descended…"
"However, they encountered a bit of resistance from the human side during the process… A few cults were unexpectedly wiped out, so you might need your people to…"
However.
Before she could finish speaking, Salus waved his hand, his rough voice interrupting her, "I have plenty of manpower under me; you can have as many as you want when the time comes."
But the next second, his expression suddenly changed; he leaned forward sharply, asking with an oppressive tone:
"But the premise is, you must ensure that this time you can help me kill that old man… I mean, completely eradicate him from Earth!!"
Clearly, the "old man" Salus referred to was his father, Dracula!
The reason he was willing to cooperate with Lilith was not because of their "kinship" as half-siblings, but because their ultimate goals aligned: they both wanted to get rid of their troublesome old father!
However, unlike Lilith.
Salus had not experienced the tragic abandonment; instead, Dracula had always groomed him as his successor, favoring him since childhood.
But human desires are insatiable, and greed knows no bounds!
This universally known truth applies equally to Vampires, a special group with a strict hierarchy.
As time passed, Salus, who had been a prince for nearly a thousand years, gradually grew discontent with his current status and secretly coveted his old father Dracula's position as Demon Lord.
So, under the pretext of humans constantly encroaching on Vampire territory, he deliberately defied Dracula several times in meetings, engaging in fierce verbal conflicts with him.
And was eventually expelled by Dracula from the Pocket Dimension where the Impossible City was located.
However, Salus, despite being punished, did not choose to be well-behaved.
After escaping Dracula's surveillance, it actually helped him to act more freely.
So, from that day on, he began secretly recruiting leaders of various Vampire cults, forming a secret alliance, and gradually expanding his influence.
All for the day when he could overthrow Dracula and take his place!
But Salus did not rush to formally declare war on Dracula.
Because he knew more clearly than anyone that as long as he couldn't truly kill his father, he would never have his day in the sun.
So, he could only choose to endure first.
And this endurance lasted for several more centuries…
Until one day, Lilith suddenly approached him and said she had a way to completely kill Dracula, he didn't even think twice before choosing to ally with her.
Salus realized that the opportunity he had long awaited had finally arrived!
"Of course."
Lilith said with absolute certainty, "I have made thorough preparations this time. As long as you can bring that old man's head out of that Pocket Dimension as agreed, he will surely die."
At this point, she looked at Salus with some uncertainty, hesitating, "On the other hand, are you really daring enough to act against that old man in front of so many cult leaders at the meeting?"
"Hehehe…"
Facing the challenge, Salus grinned, revealing a smug, sinister smile, and said confidently:
"What's there to be afraid of? Right now, at least half of the cult leaders are on my side; they've long been dissatisfied with that old coot's weak and incompetent leadership."
"Vampires are the strongest race in this World; how can we bow down to humans, who are merely food?"
"Once you kill that old coot as promised, I will organize all the Vampire cults and then command them to reclaim all the territories we lost in the past…"
Lilith looked at him with some surprise and said faintly, "This means Vampires will go to war with humans again?"
"No, no, no."
Who would have thought, Salus shook his head and corrected, "Going to war with humans is only the first step of the plan. Next, I will rebuild human ranches and slaughterhouses, just like centuries ago… Finally, I will conquer the entire World and completely exterminate those humans who refuse to become slaves!!"
"This idiot is seriously overestimating his own strength."
Lilith cursed silently in her heart.
She couldn't understand how brain-dead this guy had to be to come up with such a self-destructive, insane plan?
Do you really think human missiles and nuclear weapons are just for show?
And those super-powered individuals and superheroes, how could they stand idly by?
By then, the entire Vampire race would probably face complete extinction.
Although Lilith hated Dracula immensely, and even took equally drastic measures to kill him.
But it's undeniable that the truce agreement of "Vampires and humans not infringing upon each other," which he had consistently enforced for a millennium, had indeed protected the Vampires' survival and continuation in the human World to the greatest extent.
However, for her, who had now become a Demon Lord, the survival of the Vampire race had nothing to do with her anymore.
As long as she could successfully kill Dracula, she couldn't be bothered with anything else.
"Good luck!"
Lilith said dismissively, then changed the subject, asking, "Do you have any leads on the whereabouts of Red Slayer?"
"No definite news yet."
Salus pouted, clearly uninterested, "But my people have successfully identified a suspicious target who is very likely connected to Red Slayer… Selena, the newly appointed leader of the Wizard Society in New York!"
"Oh?"
Lilith's eyes lit up at the news; she nodded slightly, awaiting his next words.
Salus continued, "There's a rumor that she was just an ordinary lower-tier familiar before, but a few months ago, for some unknown reason, she broke through the shackles of her bloodline, personally killed the 'Master' who turned her into a familiar, and successfully ascended to a higher level… From then on, she no longer feared sunlight!"
"I think, to cause such a drastic change in a short time, it can only be the blood of Red Slayer, whom you mentioned before, right?"
"Oh, and it seems her accomplice was the one who killed Deacon…"
"I see."
Lilith raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, then suggested, "If you're not confident in forcing the whereabouts of Red Slayer out of her, you can hand her over to me to deal with…"
However.
Before she could finish speaking, Salus interrupted with a sneer, "Lilith, do you take me for a fool?"
"I don't care what the You-Know-Who hiding behind you wants to do by looking for this so-called Red Slayer."
"But she personally promised me that as long as I find the exact whereabouts of Red Slayer, I can get a fragment of the dark book…"
Salus leaned forward again, threatening maliciously, "So, my dear sister, you'd better not get in my way!"
Salus's temper was notoriously violent and overbearing.
So even though he was facing a Demon Lord at this moment, he showed no fear.
Moreover, since he dared to reveal Selena's information in front of Lilith, he naturally had full confidence that she wouldn't dare to secretly act behind his back.
The reason was simple.
Because once Lilith lost Salus's help, she would no longer be able to find a suitable person to successfully bring Dracula's head out of the Pocket Dimension where the Impossible City was located.
In that case, all her previous preparations and schemes would be in vain.
And this involved not only the Hell Lord Maduk Kurios but also the mysterious organization that resurrected Lilith and helped her successfully ascend to Demon Lord.
So, no matter what, Lilith would not allow that situation to happen.
This was precisely the real reason Salus dared to display such an aggressive posture in front of her.
Although this guy wasn't particularly bright, his intuition in certain areas was quite remarkable.
"I understand."
Lilith didn't say much, nodding calmly, and then her figure gradually disappeared into the Shadow.
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad…