Chapter One Hundred and Five: Silencing by Murder, Racing Against Time

Of course, this did not mean that Michael had already stepped into the realm of the gods. That was impossible.

Rather, within his body, the seed of divine power had awakened. By means of the Blood-Shadow Magic Mirror, it had been able to reveal only the faintest trace of itself. Given time, it would need constant tempering and growth before he could truly enter that realm and command such power.

Even so, that alone was enough to drive countless blood kin mad with longing. They had never possessed such hope in all their lives, not even the slightest chance, not even the faintest fraction of one.

Lin Xiao could already foresee that once this news spread, the most powerful forces among the blood kin, the Elder Council and the three grand princes, would likely rush here from far and wide to seize the seed of divine power and claim it for themselves.

So this secret must never, ever be revealed. For that, even the killing of innocents would not be too much.

"Kill those werewolves. Quickly, Michael."

He shouted sharply. Michael, bewildered, cut off the beam of light from the Blood-Shadow Magic Mirror and stared at him blankly, not understanding what was happening.

The sturdy young werewolves naturally understood that disaster had befallen them. They had stumbled upon a secret that could not be exposed, and now the only thing left for the others was to silence them forever.

They were not foolish. One after another, they transformed into werewolves and fled in all directions, almost vanishing into the roadside woods.

At that moment, an invisible force surged forth. The nine burly young werewolves were all seized by that mysterious power and forced to run back before them, eyes empty and lifeless. It was the hand of Number 11, who had acted without hesitation.

Though she did not know what had happened, she trusted Lin Xiao unconditionally, and she understood that this matter concerned Michael's safety. So she immediately moved, releasing her psychic force and controlling every one of the young werewolves.

"Kill them, Michael. Your secret is far too important to ever be exposed."

Lin Xiao said through gritted teeth, his gaze fixed on Stefan. If the man dared to flee, he would unleash a thunderous strike at once and bring him down under the axe.

Stefan's face went pale with terror. If he had not been all that afraid before, then now he understood that the threat of death hovered directly over his head, a sword suspended by a hair, ready to fall at any moment and claim his life.

Regret and relief mingled in his heart. So, in the end, was this how he was going to die?

"No. I won't agree. They are my companions now. Why should we kill them?"

Michael shook his head firmly, refusing Lin Xiao's method. He would never, under any circumstance, slaughter the innocent.

"Very well. Then I will do it."

Lin Xiao lifted the Star-Crushing Battle Axe and was about to step forward and begin a bloody massacre when Michael hurriedly stopped him.

"No. I won't let you kill them. I am the leader of the wolf clan now, and it is my duty to protect my companions."

Lin Xiao turned and looked at Michael for a long moment. The boy's character was indeed not bad. If he had agreed to kill without hesitation, Lin Xiao would have felt uneasy instead, afraid he had raised a wolf that would one day bite the hand that fed it.

His refusal meant he was kind-hearted and principled. That kind of nature was more important than raw strength.

He stood where he was, pondering what should be done. This matter concerned Michael's life and death, and not the slightest hint of it could be allowed to leak. Otherwise, endless trouble would follow.

"Um, Jonathan, I can temporarily erase their memories and make them forget what just happened. Would that work?"

Number 11 could not help speaking up. She did not want the two of them to clash, or else she truly would not know whom to side with.

"All right. If that's possible, then erase their memories. Let them stay in Hawkins Town from now on. That way, we won't have to worry about the secret getting out."

Lin Xiao could only choose this lesser evil. As long as he kept growing stronger and eventually stepped into a higher awakening, no—so long as he achieved the first awakening, he would no longer fear any threat. For now, discretion was the wiser course.

His eyes shifted to Stefan. The blood kin earl wore a bitter smile and shook his head.

"Among the blood kin, our consciousness differs from ordinary humans. Her memory alteration will not work on me. Kill me."

With that, he closed his eyes and stood motionless, plainly offering his neck for the blade.

That made things difficult for Lin Xiao. He could kill Damont and Lestat without the slightest scruple, but this man was, after all, a classmate, and he was not resisting at all, simply allowing himself to be killed. That was no different from slaughtering the innocent indiscriminately.

In essence, Lin Xiao was not a man who delighted in killing, especially not those who posed no threat to him.

Release him?

If he did that, and Stefan leaked the secret, all of them would be in danger. He could not place everyone's safety upon so fragile and misty an assurance.

After waiting a moment, and finding that no blade came down as expected, Stefan opened his eyes in surprise. Lin Xiao was staring at him in a daze, as though he too were hesitating over whether he should kill him.

"You are hesitating, aren't you, Jonathan? Perhaps rightly so. If you kill me, you will completely offend my father, Duke Colin. His fury will consume all of you as well.

How about this: we make a deal. You let me go, and I will keep your secret. I will also persuade my father to set aside the hatred over your killing of Damont.

I could even lie to my father and claim that Damont was killed by Lestat, who has already defected from the blood kin. In that case, not only would you not be in danger, you would actually be safer. What do you say?"

Hearing Stefan's proposal, Lin Xiao fell into thought. He had forgotten that if he killed Stefan, and then Duke Colin came looking for them, they might well be forced to face the wrath of a blood kin duke.

With his current strength, he could deal with a blood kin marquis, but against the top-tier power of the blood kin, a duke, he was certainly not the match—even if they gathered everyone's strength, they likely still would not be enough.

The best solution was undoubtedly Stefan's suggestion. But could he truly be trusted?

"You are wondering whether I am deliberately deceiving you, aren't you? Whether, once I am free, I will go to the blood kin Elder Council and ask my father to move against you and wipe you out completely?

If you are still uneasy, I can stay by your side for the time being, and later move to live near you, always under your watch. That should prove my sincerity, shouldn't it?"

Stefan said with a bitter smile. In truth, he had no intention of leaking the secret. He had long since lost interest in all this killing and bloodshed, and only wanted to live in peace. Unfortunately, he had been dragged into the whirlpool, with no say in the matter.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lin Xiao could only agree. One wrong move would affect everything else; he had no choice but to consider the consequences carefully. He had already slain Damont. If he killed Stefan too, then it would truly become a feud to the death.

Even now, if the matter were exposed and Duke Colin learned of it, things would certainly not end well. For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

Meanwhile, Number 11 finished altering the memories of all the young werewolves. They opened their eyes in a daze, unaware that they had just walked past the gates of death; sure enough, they remembered nothing of what had happened.

"Bad news, Jonathan. The mind flayer has already absorbed the bodies of all the captured soldiers and has grown to the height of a three-story building. It is now leading a large pack of hellhounds toward the residential district. It will be there very soon."

"What?"

Lin Xiao was startled. In his worry over the consequences of killing Stefan, he had forgotten that there was still an immediate threat that needed to be eliminated.

Because Lestat had delayed them, there had been no time to stop the mind flayer, allowing it to complete its transformation. As a result, he himself had also completed his class advancement, and the strength of both sides had risen considerably. Now the outcome was even harder to predict.

He thought for a moment and finally decided they should go and see whether they could take on the mind flayer together, kill that final boss, and then find a way to seal the passage to the Otherworld.

Having made his decision, he led the way back to the roadside. The car had suffered severe damage and could no longer be driven, so they would have to go on foot.

The group broke into a run. Throughout the whole time, Number 11 kept using her power to locate the mind flayer. That great boss was also quickening its pace toward the residential district, eager to absorb more nourishment and swell its own size.

Thus the two sides fell into a silent race. Whoever reached the residential district first would seize the initiative.