‘Old Friend’ Blood Baron

Looking back, they saw that at some point, a group of figures had appeared on the vast wilderness beneath the night sky.

No.

They could hardly even be called people.

Those humanoid creatures had iron-blue skin and pale fluorescent light glowing in their pupils. They moved with terrifying speed, crossing the distance in an instant. Their mouths full of sharp fangs were enough to make anyone shudder.

"I remember this world doesn’t have Batman, right?" Pietro stammered, staring at the monster leading the group in astonishment.

At the front of those humanoid creatures stood someone in a Batsuit, glaring fixedly at Zhang Ye and the others. He had pointed ears like Batman’s cowl.

But unlike Batman, he wore no cape. Instead, gliding membranes stretched beneath his arms, forming a clearly visible wing-like structure whenever he raised them.

"Of course this world doesn’t have Batman. He isn’t Batman either—he’s a genuine vampire. I remember introducing you to these dark creatures before." Zhang Ye looked at the vampires opposite them, his expression exceedingly strange.

While Zhang Ye and the others chatted, the vampires rapidly closed in. At the same time, they split into two groups, trying to circle around behind the three of them and cut off their escape route.

"Look, my children. A fine feast. I never expected we’d get to fill our bellies before leaving Red Skull’s territory."

The vampire leader slowly stepped forward two paces, his bloodthirsty gaze sweeping over Zhang Ye and the other two as if they were exquisite delicacies.

Yet upon hearing that voice, both Pietro and Kara could not help frowning.

After a pause, Pietro cautiously asked,

"Blood Baron? John, is that you?"

Having suddenly been called by his original name, Blood Baron’s excited expression immediately froze. He searched his nearly rusted brain for memories, then blinked several times, trying to make out the other person’s true face.

When he saw Pietro’s silver hair and youthful face, Blood Baron instantly shuddered. He staggered back several steps and growled in disbelief.

"Qu-qu-qu-Quicksilver!?"

"John, it really is you! I thought I’d mistaken you for someone else. That outfit is way cooler than the one I remember!" Pietro immediately grew excited.

"Ah, really? That’s the first time anyone’s said that," John replied blankly. But in the next instant, he came to his senses. "No! No, no, no, no! Aren’t you dead!? Atlas killed you himself—he told me so!"

"Life is unpredictable, John. Aren’t I standing right here? But seriously, you’re amazing. Are all these people your subordinates?" Pietro asked curiously.

"Uh, they’re my offspring. But Red Skull has been driving us off lately. Hunting has become far too difficult. Drinking blood from corpses makes us sick, but the living are all controlled by those criminals. They won’t let us near their cities."

"Still better than scavenging through trash, I guess. Keeping such a huge family fed—calling them people is a stretch—can’t be easy." Pietro sighed sincerely.

"Tell me about it. We need blood to survive. If we don’t drink blood, we die. It’s just like humans eating animals—it’s instinct." Blood Baron spread his hands.

Listening to the two chat so enthusiastically, Zhang Ye tried several times to interrupt them, but failed every time.

As he listened to Pietro and Blood Baron talking, Zhang Ye’s expression grew increasingly strange. He truly could not understand how two people so completely on different wavelengths were having such a good conversation.

Pietro did not notice Zhang Ye’s awkward expression at all and continued chatting with Blood Baron. "I understand you, truly. To be honest, I’m so happy to see an old friend here. By the way, have you eaten yet?"

"Thank you for understanding, Quicksilver. I have to say, it’s wonderful that you survived. I’ve even started to miss the days when we fought you all. I was just about to eat, wasn’t I? You’re what I’ll be eating in a moment!" Blood Baron suddenly roared.

"Ah… I see. Is there really no room for negotiation?" Pietro’s mouth twitched.

But his words drew no reaction. The vampire offspring had long been unable to suppress their craving for blood. They let out meaningless roars and pounced at Zhang Ye and the others with claws bared.

"All right, guess there isn’t." Pietro licked his lips before turning back to Zhang Ye. "Reason won’t work, Zhang Ye. What do we do now?"

Zhang Ye shrugged. Then he sidestepped a vampire’s attack and raised the large black umbrella in his hand, sending another approaching vampire flying with a single blow.

"I’ve been meaning to say—"

Zhang Ye ducked beneath incoming claws, then hurled a ball of green magical energy that blasted the vampire away before he continued.

"The John you remember wasn’t the real John. He was Dracula’s avatar. After most vampires were wiped out, the bored Dracula released several avatars. He absorbed John’s memories and inherited the title of Blood Baron, but they were still Dracula. John died long ago."

"Oh?!" Pietro transformed into a silver flash, dodging the vampires’ attacks. At his speed, these long-starved vampires could not even touch the hem of his clothes.

After hearing Zhang Ye’s explanation, Pietro stopped. He turned his head toward those bloodthirsty monsters and sneered.

"So that’s how it is. That’s great. Since he isn’t an old acquaintance, we don’t need to hold back."

Pietro did not need to remind her. Kara had already unleashed Heat Vision. Though her strength had dropped greatly, Heat Vision, imbued with the power of the sun, remained the natural bane of these dark creatures.

Every vampire touched by the Heat Vision let out heartrending screams. From the sound alone, one could imagine the horrific agony they were enduring.

"You! What kind of monster are you!?" Watching his offspring turn to dust beneath Kara’s Heat Vision, Blood Baron was horrified. "How many heroes survived back then!?"

"Why don’t you guess?"

Kara sneered, then leaped dozens of meters and slammed down where Blood Baron had just been standing. If he had not moved quickly, that blow would have crushed him into pulp.

But that was the most he could do. After dodging Kara’s attack, he was seized by the throat in the very next moment.

The immense force left Blood Baron unable to struggle. He could only let out hoarse howls, repeatedly striking Kara’s arm with both hands as he fought desperately.

At that moment, Zhang Ye walked over.

"Don’t kill him yet. He’s still useful."