At dawn, Adam and his group finally returned to the Fat Lizard Lord's house.
The neighboring Corsica mansion had already been sealed. With Athens in chaos, many factions had recalled their personnel stationed in the city, including Corsica himself.
Although the solitary elder Bi Bu had returned to Corsica while Adam was hiding in the Athena Library, Adam still preferred to access the basement from the Fat Lizard Lord's house. It looked more comfortable, and here they could move freely.
Pushing the door open with a flourish, the room was pitch black and empty. Adam's face darkened. Siling, closely following behind him, kept her head down, silent.
"I hope this kind of mistake doesn't happen again."
Thanks to Adam's blood, Siling's wounds had healed. But making such errors in combat was foolish, even unforgivable. Surviving a half-baked fifth-generation vampire this time didn't mean the next time would be safe. The battlefield changed in an instant; one careless moment could wipe out their side entirely.
Tears welled up in Siling's eyes. Adam had never been this harsh with her before—or perhaps no one had ever been this strict.
"Alright, Siling won't repeat it," Yujia chimed in, trying to smooth things over, but Adam shot him a sharp glare.
Even after drinking Adam's blood with the others and becoming second-generation vampires, Yujia hadn't left. Two reasons: one, even as a second-generation vampire, he was still vulnerable. Leaving Adam now would make him nothing more than prey. Two, in front of Adam's overwhelming presence, the timid and weak-willed Yujia surrendered once more.
So he had no choice but to follow Adam, though for the past two days, he had been nothing more than a lookout during hunting missions.
"Alright, everyone, rest briefly, then continue training the secret arts. Time is short." Adam ignored Siling's tears.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
"Hello, is Count Besh here?"
"Who's asking?" Adam replied.
"The Lizard Captain sent me with a message," the voice said.
"Let them in."
Tengwan nodded and opened the door. The visitor was a patrol officer under the Fat Lizard Lord, whom they had met before.
Stepping inside, he was visibly startled, a hint of panic in his movements. The dark room held eight figures in black. Except for Siling, who was shedding tears, the rest watched him coldly.
"What's the message?" Adam asked.
"He… he says the Spartan Legion has ordered all city police and soldiers in Athens to gather and hunt vampires during the day. As a deputy scout, he's been conscripted. He asked whether Count Besh would participate. If so, he should join immediately."
"Hmm?" Adam hesitated a moment, then replied, "Understood. Where's the gathering?"
"At the Grand Square in front of the Senate. The Lizard Captain will have people waiting for you."
"Good. You may leave now."
After saluting, the officer hurried away.
"What's the point of asking?" Classic muttered. "His Highness would obviously participate in the daytime operation."
"No, exactly the opposite. We should join immediately!" Kumu smiled. "The Fat Lizard did the right thing. At a critical moment, sending a reminder is wise."
"Huh?" Classic looked puzzled.
"Prepare," Adam said, turning to the group. "Yujia, bring out all the potions. Everyone coat yourselves. We must join this operation!"
Why must they participate?
The Spartan Legion was openly confronting all vampires in Athens, forcing those hiding in the shadows to surface and negotiate. It was also a declaration of authority to the world. They might even use this chance to eliminate the Senate's faction entirely.
High-ranking vampires might survive such chaos; daylight posed little threat to them. But for lower-ranking vampires, under the blazing sun, if the Spartans truly intended to kill, survival would be impossible.
Even if the Legion couldn't deliver a fatal blow to all vampires in Athens before dusk, it would surely subdue them—most couldn't withstand such pressure.
For Adam, it was an opportunity.
With potions that allowed them to walk in sunlight, his group could blend into the operation unnoticed. With the Fat Lizard Captain's coordination, Adam's hunt for vampires would proceed smoothly.
The Lizard had been clever—he immediately recognized the situation. Without his timely notice, Adam in the basement might not have realized what was happening, missing a prime chance. Taking the Fat Lizard in had been the right choice.
Decision made, everyone coated themselves with the potions and rented two carriages to the Grand Square.
When they arrived, the troops hadn't fully departed. The square teemed with people, chaos reigning.
But the patrol officers were easy to spot in their uniform red attire. Adam quickly located the Fat Lizard, wandering among the crowd.
"Your Highness, I command one unit—sixty men, all patrol officers, ready at your disposal," the Fat Lizard said cheerfully.
Adam staggered back.
"What… is that smell?" He felt nauseous. The others covered their noses as well.
"Garlic," the Fat Lizard replied. "Everyone participating must eat it. A lot. It's breakfast."
Garlic… vampires weren't harmed by it, but hated the smell enough to turn away instinctively.
Looking down, Adam noticed the Fat Lizard's sword glinted silver. Scanning the square—silver swords, silver shields, silver spears…
These were makeshift silver weapons. The Spartan Legion had seized the Senate's underground treasury, melted dozens of tons of silver overnight, and coated the weapons. Rough, crude, but deadly against vampires.
And that wasn't all.
Nearby, sacks spilled blue-purple flowers. Workers loaded them onto carts—verbena, sourced somehow by the Legion.
Clearly, the Spartans had planned this meticulously. A battle-hardened army, efficient, precise, merciless.
Adam was stunned. A ten-thousand-strong force, crude but specifically built to combat vampires! For ordinary vampires, encountering such a force—even at night—was disastrous.
Surrounded by silver weapons, smelling the pungent garlic, with verbena scattered across the ground, a chill ran down his spine.
Once humans weaponized against an opponent's weakness, they weren't so easy to defeat. No special skills, but no critical flaws either. A force like this could cripple the vampires of Athens in a single day—it was not impossible.