Chapter 1314: The Night Above and Below
Another unfortunate soul was thrown by Qi Xuansu into the Baron’s underground cellar, where he would now keep Enforcer Ross company.
By now, it was no longer merely a cellar. It had become a temporary prison reconstructed by Qi Xuansu using his Pseudo-Immortal cultivation.
Just as the Baron had hoped, Qi Xuansu was drawing all attention toward himself while sealing off information, buying time for the Baron to explore the tomb. Then Qi Xuansu would simply wait here like a hunter by a trap, ready to give the Baron a surprise when he returned with his spoils.
Of course, it was possible that the Baron might take the treasure and flee. But Qi Xuansu believed that the Holy Court had not made any moves yet, which likely meant they were waiting to reap the benefits, just like he was. People like them would never allow the Baron to escape so easily.
Thus, Qi Xuansu did not need to worry about it at all.
The Baron’s best solution would be to give up the divine artifact and hand it over to the Holy Court in exchange for preferential treatment or compensation. After all, the Baron had connections in the Upper District. When dealing with their own people, the Holy Court still cared about appearances and what they called contractual integrity, so they would not simply seize it by force.
The Baron being a vampire was merely a minor detail.
In the West, vampires were similar to secret societies in the East. They could never stand on equal footing with the Holy Court and had effectively become its vassals. It was much like how many secret societies in the East were merely the black gloves of powerful figures within the Daoist Order.
Vampires were little more than servants of the bishops, while werewolves were their hunting dogs. Only the Daoist Order was considered a true enemy by the bishops.
Thus, the Baron was actually considered one of their own rather than a heretic or apostate.
Although vampires liked to use noble ranks to measure power, many independent vampires did not follow that rule. For example, a vampire possessing strength close to that of a progenitor might still call himself an earl. In such cases, the title was often an actual aristocratic rank. With the rise of maritime trade, the status of a noble was no longer judged by the size of their territory but by the extent of their wealth.
The same applied to the Baron. Calling himself a baron did not mean he only possessed the strength of a baron.