Progenitor Vampire: I Have Many Skills!

Lennon scoffed, though he hid it.

"Yes. He was someone capable of instilling fear in all the contestants in just two battles, making no one else want to challenge him," he said, patting Matthew on the shoulder.

"It’s inevitable. He easily defeated the Young Lord of Dark Spring and also maintained complete control of the fight when he fought Young Lord John. Even Miss Juliet could have trouble. He’s a truly talented person," added one of the elders.

Every word they said was a jab at Kaiden, who could only keep smiling, but clearly didn’t know what to say or do.

He had lost this time.

He looked at his subordinates, some of whom were among those whispering about Matthew, and glared at them.

After that, he stepped away from the crowd, and one of his subordinates followed closely behind him.

"Master..."

"Who is he, exactly?" Kaiden interrupted him to speak.

"He’s a Lewis."

"The king’s son?"

"I don’t know, sir. We can’t investigate because the elders protect him, since he’s participating in the tournament."

"Tsk." He clenched his fists. "How strong is he?"

"Quite a bit stronger than the rumors say." His subordinate shook his head. "His perception is too high, higher than many elders possibly."

"That strong?" Kaiden was shocked and looked at him. "And he’s been anonymous all this time? Were the Lewis secretly training him?"

"I thought about it, and it’s likely. But I don’t know, he says he’s a bastard son. He could be lying about his identity."

Kaiden nodded.

The Lewis were quite good as a Clan, more powerful than any Clan in White Edge City, but they had the resources of an entire kingdom at their disposal, so it was understandable.

But raising someone in complete anonymity is very complicated.

’Unless it’s a bastard child, that might make sense. But he would have to keep a very low profile at all times,’ he thought.

"How old is he?" Kaiden asked.

His subordinate smiled sheepishly. "I don’t know, but since he passed the elders’ inscription test, he’s under 40. And from his appearance, he looks like he’s in his 30s."

"Very young..." Kaiden frowned again.

It wasn’t impossible for someone so young to be so good at martial arts and vampire powers at the same time, but it was very unusual.

"Try to investigate some more. The Lewis family isn’t doing well these days and is in trouble because they’ve been doing things that the Great Heir Dietrich doesn’t like. It’s possible to find something."

"But sir... Why look for information about him? The tournament ends tomorrow. This kid is really talented and strong, so he’ll probably win. After that, there will be nothing left to do."

"You don’t understand." Kaiden scolded him. "He was invited by Lennon. By Lennon! The guy I hate most in this city, my main competitor! If it turns out that Lennon has connections with the Lewis family and their business, then the loss I would suffer would be enormous. Even though they are weakened, they are still the Lewis family! Only figures as big as the Great Heir could offend them and get away with it."

"I-I see..." His subordinate nodded, sorry he hadn’t seen that before. "I understand, sir. I’ll investigate further."

"I’m counting on you."

After that, Kaiden returned to the previous conversation, even though they had already said everything there was to say.

Matthew wasn’t really interested in what these guys had to say. He listened a little to what they had to say about martial arts and some unique arts they mentioned, then returned to his main focus.

The assassins.

These guys never travel alone, so if one were nearby, then there should be at least one other.

He focused on those who had murderous intentions toward Lennon, but none of them tried anything unusual. Kaiden didn’t do anything either.

The dance went smoothly, but he couldn’t get it out of his mind that they had tried to kill Lennon as soon as he walked in.

They were determined to kill him.

’They should make their move. I don’t think they’ve given up just because they lost a needle,’ he thought.

But as the hours passed and the dance came to an end, with everyone else showing off, Matthew and Lennon were the only ones who remained still, expressionless, and quiet.

Many businessmen and elders approached Matthew, hoping to make friends. Matthew didn’t reject them, but he didn’t engage much in conversation either, so he was labeled as a man of few words.

This was where the appeal of this dance lay for the contestants: it helped them build contacts.

It didn’t matter if you were number 1 or number 32; the rich would want to sponsor you in one way or another, which would bring you fame and fortune.

But they were of no use to Matthew. Instead, those guys should be proud of themselves for having met him.

After an elderly man dismissed the dance, the crowd gathered, chatted, and then began to leave.

Nothing happened.

Matthew protected Lennon until they were safely inside the carriage.

"It’s strange," Matthew said at that moment.

"The fact that they didn’t attack?"

"Yes."

The carriage sped along the long stone roads as it headed toward the usual hotel.

After that brief conversation, silence returned to the carriage because Matthew was deep in thought.

Lennon didn’t understand why a martial artist like him would be so concerned about this; he could only think that he was a grateful man.

But the reality was that he had been wondering for a while what the Dark Guild was doing, meddling in his territories.

’Are they conspiring with those bastards from the church? Or perhaps it’s with the Independent Clan that rules these lands?’

The latter was quite likely, but if it was, there was a more than 90% chance they were also in cahoots with the church.

According to what the Wagners told him, these guys had approached all the Clans to offer them a helping hand. They promised power.

Not wealth, nor resources.

Power.

Vampiric power. Real power.

It was an offer difficult to refuse for those of the great Clans who longed to attain the mythical rank of Immortal Vampire. That mythical league of the 150,000.

Therefore, it was not unreasonable to think that the Independent Clan had allied itself with them; after all, it had rejected all communication with the Schwarz and the Scháfer.

That option was the most viable, but if they tried to get their hands on this city, he had to act. It was too close to the Kingdom of Richter, and he didn’t want Emma to be hindered in her mandate by these idiots.

As he was pondering this, he suddenly spun around and raised his hand.

Suddenly, a dagger fired from a distance was firmly grasped in his palm, aimed at Lennon’s head.

"Aghh..." A scream was heard.