Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 749 Bitch and Killer

Belisia's footsteps echoed in the dungeon, getting closer and closer to him.

The last time I saw her was on that rainy night.

Lausanne II's vision was somewhat blurred.

How many years ago was that?
Where? Everstar City? Emerald City? In his own secluded, hard-to-find assassin's hut, or in the leader's simple house in Turnbull, which resembled an army sentry post?
King Lausanne II closed his eyes tightly.

The footsteps stopped beside him.

"Why, are you surprised to see me?"

Her voice was sweet yet languid, reminiscent of the warm winter sun.

“No,” the vampire assassin’s voice was hoarse, “Catherine hinted that you would come.”

The woman sighed softly:
"No wonder she's a bitch, she sold me out right now—she doesn't care about our past relationship at all."

Lobsang II did not open his eyes, and he tried his best to keep his voice steady: "They asked you to persuade me to surrender?"

"almost."

"That's not it—"

“That’s impossible,” Belicia said first, then sighed softly. “We all know that.”

King Lausanne II opened his eyes.

He slowly turned his gaze toward the person who had come.

I looked at his face, which I once knew so well.

"But you still came."

Belica looks different than before.

She remains beautiful and charming, with a captivating smile, even more so than before.

But Lobsang II knew that she was no longer the girl who used to giggle with him on the rooftop as they watched the sunset.

It hasn't been like that for a long time.

Or perhaps, she never was.

“You should see the entourage of those big shots out there,” Belicia sighed, as if complaining to an old friend about life’s troubles. “Do I even have a choice?”

King Lausanne II remained silent for a few seconds.

"You have it."

The assassin said softly:

You should have had a choice.

Everyone should have it.

The girl who had once accompanied him to watch the sunset from the rooftop paused for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Did you storm that tower?"

"tower?"

King Lausanne II raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, the tower,” Belicia said nonchalantly, “that abandoned watchtower outside the North Gate Bridge, so tall and pointed, so old and dilapidated, doesn’t it look like someone bending down and beckoning: Are you coming?”

Watchtower...

The assassin's mind raced.

He shifted his gaze and looked at the woman again.

That woman, still smiling, still charming and alluring.

The assassin understood something.

“You,” he said with certainty.

Belica smiled.

Yes, it's me.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"First, we'll use the knife-wielding prostitute as bait to spread the word and lure you to the North Gate Bridge..."

Belicia slowly walked up behind him.

"I'll lead you to that watchtower and tell you: Yes, this is a hunting trap, and the backer of the Knife Bitch is probably at the top of the tower."

Lausanne II's gaze froze.

"Most ordinary people would probably have given up, but..."

But she understands me.

The vampire assassin murmured.

"But I understand you."

Belicia spoke calmly and confidently, her feet never stopping as she slowly approached the dim light in the corner.

"And with your pride and arrogance, or rather, your extremism and prejudice..."

As the woman drew closer to the light, the shadow she cast behind her grew wider and larger.

Until it completely enveloped Lausanne II.

"You should at least give it a try."

"Belicia said softly."

He will try to move forward.

Belicia gazed at the small, flickering flame before her, which was still burning persistently.

Overcome obstacles.

Break free from the trap.

Even at the end of the road.

Even if you are covered in bruises.

Until he broke through the obstacles and even stormed the tower.

Let's see what the view is like at the top of that impossibly high tower.

As for why he absolutely had to do this...

Belicia pulled a cigarette case from his pocket, elegantly picked out a cigarette, pressed the cigarette butt against the case, and flattened the tobacco.

"As old Turnbull said: Only someone like you can use pain and self-destruction as a fulcrum to completely break through yourself, completely kill that once meticulous, innocent squire, and transform yourself..."

In the deep darkness, King Lausanne II remained silent.

"...to become that man covered in blood, stepping over countless corpses, charging into the extreme realm without changing his expression, a man whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all—Lossan II."

Belicia sighed.

"In the past, those targets you set your sights on, even if they knew in advance and were well-prepared, even if they were surrounded by impenetrable bodyguards, even if they hid their identities and concealed their tracks, could not escape death in the end, except for Black Sword..."

Jingle Bell.

The chains binding the prisoner rattled softly, interrupting the woman.

Of course, except for the Black Sword.

Only the black sword.

Belisia, standing by the lamplight, turned to look at the prisoner shrouded in shadow, smiled, and continued:
"Of course, the knife-wielding bitch and the watchtower are just the beginning. As for how to capture you in the trap, especially to prevent you from escaping when things go wrong..."

In the firelight, Belicia gently extended her wrist, bringing one end of the cigarette to the flame:
“‘Alpha Wolf’ Feisuo paid to recruit people, but on my advice, he posted the bounty in batches and released information that was half true and half false.”

The shadow cast beneath her grew thicker and thicker, almost covering the entire dungeon.

"The first batch consists of cannon fodder who come to die without knowing the truth and hoping to make a fortune, but they are hot-headed and numerous, so consider them a warm-up for you."

The cigarette burned black and produced smoke.

King Lausanne II remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Next up are the experienced veterans: mercenaries, adventurers, Brotherhood outlaws, and tournament participants. They are not only skilled but also know how to fight tough, so they will be well-prepared, forcing you to be careful and constantly wear you down."

In the smoke, the tobacco in the cigarette began to glow red and shiny.

The assassin remained silent.

"In the end, only a very small group of people, for various reasons, whether noble or stubborn, rational or absurd, insisted on coming even knowing your background, risking their lives to kill you."

He risked his life for another...

If we can't win, does that mean we should do nothing at all?

The stone-sculpted King Lausanne II seemed to remember something, and his frozen expression finally stirred.

The lamp flame was barely perceptible, yet it relentlessly pierced through layers of tobacco.

"Only at the very end will you face the subordinates of that great figure in the kingdom: those unimaginably luxurious lineups, those top-tier experts who are all named and capable of confronting you head-on—but you can't bet them all at once. You should know that you are just arrogant, not a fool."

What if he gives up halfway and escapes, or what if he hasn't been exhausted enough and is gathering strength for a counterattack...?

Belicia withdrew her wrist and took a light drag on her cigarette.

The cigarette butt suddenly ignited brightly and quickly spread its flames.

"After all, it's easy to kill a master of the highest level, but difficult to capture one."

To catch it in the vast Emerald City and even the South Bank Territory would be even more difficult.

That's right, capturing a top-tier assassin requires so much preparation.

Or, capture a top-tier assassin alive; all that preparation is needed.

Belicia put down his cigarette and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

As she moved, the cigarette butt immediately dimmed, leaving only ashes where it had been burned.

While Belica calmly stated his position, Lausanne II remained silent.

It turned out to be the case.

He thought calmly.

That's why he discovered in the trap that his adversaries were sometimes strong, sometimes weak, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, some respectable, some despicable, and they even suspected and fought among themselves. This made him sometimes swift and decisive, and sometimes flustered and embarrassed. He was forced to adapt back and forth between dealing with small fry and fighting against masters, which exhausted his physical strength, distracted his energy, and confused his perception. It was like...

“A quagmire,” the assassin rasped. “That trap was like a quagmire.”

He stepped in, caught in a sticky and irritating struggle, yet he always felt that the obstacles in his path could be broken with a snap of his fingers, that the trap before him was not insurmountable, and that the tower in front of him was within reach...

Until they got deeper and deeper into it.

Unable to move.

Belica smiled, closed her eyes, looked up, and took a light drag on her cigarette.

"That bitch thought she knew your weakness and that she could subdue you by spilling some blood... Meanwhile, Fei Suo was terrified out of his wits. Apart from throwing money at people to hire, he hid in some unknown corner and didn't dare to show his face... The big shot sitting in the Kongming Palace was helpless against your constant hiding and running around. It's said that even the famous royal guards couldn't catch you..."

The vampire assassin remained staring at the dark ceiling, motionless.

"But only I, only I know what your true nature is."

Belicia exhaled a hollow, empty puff of smoke.

“Lossan II, you are a killer with a temper, and also the most individualistic and stylish killer—this completely distinguishes you from those mediocre peers who work for money, fame, and power: you are more dangerous, more proactive, and more unpredictable.”

Belicia scoffed dismissively.

“So, my dear, remember: the one who caught you wasn’t Catherine, not Fissor, not that king who never lays a finger on the ground, and certainly not their lackeys,” Belicia said calmly, “but me.”

she was.

That girl with vacant eyes, furrowed brows, and a lonely, heavy smile; that girl who would sit with him on the rooftop, quietly watching the sunset.

"I see."

Lausanne II lay peacefully in the dark shadows.

"It has always been so."

Belicia took another drag of his cigarette and added coldly.

But that's all.

Whether it was then or now.

She walked to his side, forcing herself to look down at the prisoner, her eyes fixed on him.

But she soon discovered that when this moment arrived, she did not feel the relief and ease she had expected.

On the contrary, when Lausanne II looked at her slowly, there was no anger, no indignation, no pain in his eyes.

And only a faint...

sorrow.

Belicia's heart tightened.

“I remember you don’t smoke often,” the assassin said softly, “unless something bad is going on.”

It's a really annoying and frustrating thing.

"Isn't seeing you bad enough?"

Belicia abruptly turned her head away, refusing to look at him anymore.

"Besides, this is no ordinary tobacco, but a rare commodity that Kongming Palace exclusively supplies to high-ranking officials and nobles—it's silky smooth when you breathe it in and has a rich aftertaste."

Belicia closed his eyes and sighed amidst the swirling smoke:
“You know, whether it’s Turnbull, Fischer, or that bitch, I’m starting to understand their choices: after all, who wouldn’t want to be born with this kind of enjoyment?”

King Lausanne II was silent for a second.

"But if you were born this way..."

The assassin said in a deep voice:

How can you possibly understand their choices?

The dungeon was completely silent.

Until Belicia gave a cold snort.

"Tell me, before you were captured, did you finally manage to climb that tower and see the view from the top?"

The woman threw away her cigarette butt and changed the subject:

Is it true that once you stand on top, everything below becomes incredibly small and insignificant?

She was met with only silence.

After a long while, King Lobsang II's voice sounded faintly, filled with deep weariness:

"Let's go back."

Belica frowned.

"What are you going back for?"

"Leave here, go back," the assassin said calmly. "Don't get involved with anyone or anything here again."

Belicia remained silent for a moment.

"That's it? Nothing else?"

Lausanne II closed his eyes in the shadows.

"Yes, let's go. Once we're out this door, let's not look back."

Belicia did not reply immediately.

Her breathing gradually quickened.

A few seconds later, the woman's footsteps sounded, drawing ever closer to the assassin. "The culprit who ruined you is right before your eyes," Belicia said coldly, "and this is your reaction? Let me go back?"

She moved further and further away from the lights, and the shadow she cast gradually disappeared.

The dungeon was brightened up again.

“As for the group outside the door,” Lausanne II seemed to ignore her question, “no matter what they want you to do, what benefits they promise, or what threats they make… you should not get involved.”

"You're so calm, so indifferent, without even a trace of resentment or bitterness?"

Belicia stomped out his cigarette butt, his voice urgent.

"Even back then, when we were still together, I poisoned your daily food, causing you and old Turnbull to die mysteriously at the hands of the Black Sword?"

Lausanne II tightened his grip.

Perhaps... it's not so unclear.

but……

"It doesn't matter anymore."

The assassin remained expressionless.

At this point, it's all meaningless.

"unimportant?"

Belicia pressed on incredulously:

"Even before that, your two failed attempts to kill Black Sword were because I tipped him off in advance, allowing him to be on guard and escape the pursuit?"

Lausanne II remained motionless.

"Even back then and now, am I still the bitch who betrayed you, framed you, caused your utter defeat, led you to your utter ruin, and left you in this state?"

The woman walked up to him, and unconsciously began to grit her teeth.

"Can you really let go of all this, darling?"

"Let go of all the injustices and misfortunes you have suffered, whether in the past or present?"

King Lausanne II had a cold expression.

Are you willing to just rot and die in this stinking cesspool?

Belicia took a deep breath, slowly crouched down, and moved closer to the assassin.

Even now, you have a chance outside the door to redress everything that happened—

Wow!

Before Belicia could finish speaking, a sharp metallic clang was heard, and a sudden change occurred!
boom!
"Ah! You—"

Amidst Belicia's abrupt cry of surprise, Lausanne II, who had just opened his eyes, swiftly grabbed the woman by the neck with his left arm!
“You talk too much, my dear,” Lausanne II said coldly, his fingers tightening their grip, “and you’re too close.”

Before him, Belisia knelt on the ground, struggling to breathe, desperately clawing at the hard vampire claws around her neck, but to little avail.

Lausanne II tightened his grip, pulling the powerless Belicia in front of him.

In the vampire's unique vision, her neck was long and fair, with the blood vessels beneath her skin pulsating slowly.

The allure of its fragrance.

【Blood……】

King Lausanne II tried to suppress the desire within him, but couldn't help swallowing.

Belicia was unable to shout, and breathing became increasingly difficult.

But after the initial shock subsided, she quickly calmed down.

"But if I don't, I won't come near you..."

The woman lowered her hands and stared intently at the other person.

"How can I possibly understand you, or defeat you..."

King Lausanne II gritted his teeth.

His sharp fingers gently traced across the skin of her throat.

The sensation in his fingertips told him: she was trembling.

Belicia gently stroked the other's face, forced a smile, and uttered the last few words:

"...Capture you?"

In that instant, King Lausanne II's pupils widened suddenly!

He loosened his grip slightly, giving Belicia space to breathe deeply.

But King Lausanne II stared intently at his hands.

He suddenly realized that it wasn't Belicia who was trembling.

It is your own fingertips.

why?
"Let's do it, darling, what are you waiting for?"

Belicia finally calmed down, but instead of resisting, she looked at the hand gripping her neck and smiled sadly:
Don't you want my blood?

blood.

Looking into the other person's eyes, King Losang II suddenly understood something.

The next second, the assassin completely released his grip, and his arm fell limply to the ground.

Freed from his restraints, Belicia lay on the ground, coughed several times, and then burst into laughter.

"I know!"

Her laughter, both desolate and relieved, echoed in the dungeon, causing the corner lights to flicker and the shadows to dance on the walls.

"The first time I saw you, darling, I knew we were the same!"

Belicia sat sideways on the ground, legs askew, and slowly raised her head:
"You and I, bitch and killer, we are all shattered tools, just glued together with clay and barely usable."

"But the cracks inside cannot be glued back together."

"Broken, complex, awkward, contradictory, and cursed by the past."

Lausanne II's breath hitched.

"That's why we can attract each other."

The woman's eyes reddened, and her expression became incredibly terrifying:
Even if we are destined to destroy each other.

King Lausanne II was stunned.

I want someone to love me deeply...

For some reason, looking at Belisia laughing maniacally and acting like a madman, he suddenly remembered what that psychic freak had said:
[...You must first offer your true heart.]

He stared blankly at the woman in front of him, knowing that she was still within arm's reach.

He could slit someone's throat in an instant if he wanted to.

Drinking blood.

but……

King Lausanne II closed his eyes, completely suppressing his thirst.

"I know."

The assassin spoke wearily, interrupting the woman's increasingly mournful laughter:

"I know you're a bitch."

nonsense.

“Well, congratulations then,” Belicia paused, then said sarcastically, “How come I never noticed it myself all these years?”

"But she's not my bitch, nor is she the dead Bot's bitch."

King Lausanne II spoke slowly, his tone calm and composed:
“You’re Turnbull’s ‘bitch’.”

The words fell.

Belicia's breath caught in her throat for a second.

"you know?"

"Yes, I know."

Lausanne II closed his eyes again.

“From a certain point onward—perhaps from the time when I stopped fearing my opponents in the extreme realms, and when few of his men could match me in ten rounds—Old Turnbull stopped trusting me completely. There was a deep sense of apprehension in his eyes when he looked at me.”

But he doesn't care.

He didn't care about Old Turnbull's convoluted schemes or his deliberate decision to keep "Lossan II" hidden behind the scenes, away from the Blood Bottle Gang's affairs and interests, so that he could just be Turnbull's assassin.

He only needs to do what he does best and what is purest—wield his sword and kill people, and that's enough for him.

"Until you are sent to my side to serve his endless interests: spy, monitor, be vigilant, strike, and strike down enemies and dissidents—like the former 'Dogtooth' Bot, and perhaps more."

King Lausanne II opened his eyes and smiled indifferently:
"You're not talking about betraying me, just like me, you're just... doing your job."

One mission, one goal.

That's it.

The dungeon remained quiet for a long time.

"Did you know from the beginning, or..."

"I knew it from the first day I saw you."

Lausanne II answered slowly.

“Before joining the Blood Bottle Gang, I was betrayed and I betrayed others,” the assassin said calmly. “Therefore, I know.”

Belicia, sitting next to him, paused for several seconds before taking a deep breath.

"then you……"

“Those drugs you put in my food, sunlight or whatever, I discovered them from day one,” Lausanne II said with a smile that was hard to decipher as either sarcasm or helplessness. “I replaced your supplies—they never worked.”

Belicia slowly turned her head, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"That's right, I've never been poisoned, and I'm always on guard against you."

The woman chuckled.

"Come on! When Boss Bot went crazy and died, and old Turnbull asked you if you'd let me stay temporarily," Belicia laughed coldly, "you didn't object, did you?"

The assassin, trapped in shackles, turned his gaze and stared intently at the woman.

Belicia's laughter gradually subsided.

“As a spy or infiltrator, you want to harm me, or Turnbull doesn’t trust me, or you’ve even betrayed Turnbull—I can understand all of these possibilities.”

The assassin looked at the woman calmly:

"There's only one thing I just can't understand."

Belicia's smile vanished.

She calmly looked back at the assassin and gave the answer:

"That drop of blood."

King Lausanne II remained silent for a long time.

"Correct."

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke.

"That drop of vampire blood that is disgusting, yet can heal all wounds and miraculously bring the dead back to life."

That drop of blood was filled with shame and sin, arrogance and malice, darkness and pain.

That drop was supposedly a miraculous healing medicine, but in reality, it was a poison that only exacerbated the pain.

That drop of hope for survival was enough to drive many people mad.

From his past.

The present moment that enveloped him.

Destroy his future.

King Losang II said softly:
“I threw it away a long time ago, even before I met you.”

Who knows which nameless ditch it ended up in?

Waiting to be eroded, decayed, and broken by time.

Buried forever.

until……

"Until that rainy night in Everstar City, the night when old Turnbull and I went to the abandoned house to intercept Black Sword."

That rainy night that decided everything.

His final battle with the Black Sword.

“Before I leave,” the assassin closed his eyes, “you returned that drop of blood to me.”

Belica smiled.

"Yes, I still remember your expression—there aren't many things that could make the cold-blooded and cruel King Lausanne II's jaw drop."

The woman took out another cigarette, but just stared at it wistfully.

“You insisted that I wear it, ‘just in case,’ you said,” Lausanne II clenched his remaining left hand, the chains on his body rattling softly, “and you also said that you would explain everything when I returned.”

The assassin unconsciously clenched his teeth.

"Why, Belicia?"

"How did you find out about that drop of primordial blood? Was it premeditated or planned?"

and also……

"And why are you giving it back to me?!"

King Lausanne II's breathing quickened, and his gaze towards the other person was incredibly complex:

"If you were going to poison them, why did you give them medicine in the first place?"

"If you're going to harm me, why are you helping me?"

Since we want him to die.

Why should he live?

He must die in the darkness, and then awaken in the deepest darkness.
Do you want him to continue living in this hellish world after he wakes up?

Madness for blood?
why?
"why?"

The assassin's persistent questioning echoed through the dungeon, lingering for a long time.

Belicia remained silent for a long time.

But you never came back.

She spoke softly, avoiding his agitated questions:

"At least... I came back alive."

After he finished speaking, the dungeon fell silent again.

The prisoners' chains no longer rattled.

Don't worry, it's just a technical adjustment, it's nothing to worry about.