Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 751 The Choice of a Villain
"Federico said something similar."

In the dungeon, King Losang II sneered:
"Turnbull, along with the Blood Bottle Gang, got caught up in the Kevin Deer family's infighting and suffered a terrible fate as a result—and so on."

His choice ultimately led to a crushing defeat on that rainy night.

Belicia frowned slightly, then let out a cold laugh:
"Then I guess that the exiled young master who knows the 'truth' must have also told you: the old gang leader was originally a loyal subordinate of Viscount Sona, serving him faithfully, which is why he was betrayed and disgraced by the old duke?"

The assassin gave a light snort, not denying it:

"Of course the young master has his own selfish motives."

Whether it's bringing down one's own cousin.

We still need to clear my father's name and exonerate him.

As for which of the two is more?
Even Federico himself probably didn't know.

From a nobleman to a traitor, from a life of luxury to a life of wandering, from high spirits to a life of ignominy, that young master was locked up in a windowless, dark room for too long, had too much contact with all sorts of monsters in human skin, and was too deeply immersed in the blood-soaked and fragrant underground prison, to the point that he became mentally unstable.

He could only convince himself to believe, day after day, through the endless murmurs of evil spirits:
Both are one, the same.

By grasping power, justice can be restored.

To reclaim justice is to grasp power.

"But you still chose to cooperate with him."

Belica watched as the expensive cigarette she had tossed to the ground soaked into the dirty water, becoming damp, soft, and blackened.

King Lausanne II remained silent for a moment.

“Those vampires, they tried to persuade him to join them.”

I've tried both soft and hard methods.

The new 'father' they found for that young master is said to be of a high status.

Belicia frowned:

"join in?"

King Lausanne II closed his eyes.

“In such darkness and despair, not everyone has the courage to reject them.”

Reject the temptations of immortality, youth, and freedom.

Refusing to abandon the weak body of a mortal.

Refuse to use numbness to forget the pain.

A second life that refuses to start over.

King Lausanne II looked at his severed right arm, noticing countless tiny, almost imperceptible, distorted growths twitching at the cut, his eyes blank.

"Young master, he is one of them."

"The assassin said softly."

Belicia was stunned.

She gazed deeply at the assassin, understanding the meaning in his eyes, and sighed softly.

"But you don't believe him, especially what he said about Turnbull?"

After hearing this, King Losang II remained silent for a long time.

"Do you still remember the old gang leader? Do you remember what kind of person he was?"

Belicia, who had been lost in thought, snapped out of it and his eyes flashed with a cold light.

“Of course,” she said coldly, making no attempt to hide her malice and disdain, “a dead man.”

King Lausanne II gave an indifferent hum and shook his head.

"No, he's a bad person."

"the wicked?"

Belicia was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing:

"Those of us who've made it in this line of work, from resisting the Mongols and swindling to murder and arson, aren't we all villains? Fisseau, Maurice, Qincha, Anton, the Knife Bitch, Fogg, the Red Viper, including you and Black Sword..."

"They are not qualified."

King Lausanne II coldly interrupted her:
"At most, he's a bad guy."

Even Black Sword is just a ruthless man who takes life and death lightly...

"Only him."

Losang II's gaze froze under the woman's puzzled expression.

The bottle contains not wine, but the blood of the people.

Turnbull.

The vampire assassin spoke softly:
"Only Turnbull can be called a 'villain'."

A villain whose pride and vanity are intertwined, whose self-esteem and inferiority reflect each other, and whose ruthlessness and shrewdness coexist and grow together.

Evil.

Evil.

The evil of the devil.

Belicia was silent at first, then scoffed dismissively.

"But if you knew how this 'villain' rose from a street thug like Catherine is today, climbing up the Kevin Deer family's social ladder, groveling before them, and gradually climbing the ranks of the Blood Bottle Gang—"

"Worse."

Lausanne II interrupted her again.

"Before he became wealthy, he wasn't a scoundrel."

The assassin's expression was serious, as if he considered this extremely important:
"He's a criminal."

The crime is more serious than the charge.

The punishment should be appropriate even if the crime is not committed.

"Lossan II said silently."

Belicia didn't reply, but her indifference was evident in her expression: So what?

In the entire Blood Bottle Gang and even the Black Street Brotherhood, among the most prominent figures, who isn't a criminal?
The only difference is whether or not they get caught.

"The order is also wrong."

"In what order?"

“Back then, the biggest backer of the Blood Bottle Gang was not Emerald City,” Losang II recalled, “and most of the gang’s leaders who had the final say were from the East Sea.”

Belicia was taken aback: A person from the East Sea?
"The most profitable businesses, regardless of where they go, all use the seven ports of the East China Sea."

King Lausanne II said in a deep voice:
“Until Turnbull changed everything.”

Belicia's expression changed.

"What do you mean?"

"That means the old leader didn't rise to power in the Blood Bottle Gang because he was connected to the Kevin Deer family..."

King Losang II said slowly:
"It was the Iris family, they saw it, they saw Turnbull, they saw this incorrigible villain..."

Seeing him navigate the chaos and disorder surrounding the year before and after the bloody year, maneuvering skillfully to eliminate his rivals...

Watch as he manipulates power amidst the boundless flames of karmic retribution sweeping across the kingdom, advancing step by step, until his power grows ever larger...

"...Seeing him lead the Blood Bottle Gang, incredibly breaking free from the control of the Wave-Treading Palace and eliminating his dependence on Huigang."

The assassin narrowed his eyes:
"Only then did they make up their minds and extend an olive branch to Turnbull and the Blood Bottle Gang."

Only then did he dare, after many years, to return control of the underworld to the Duke of South Shore.

From another family that was no less powerful than theirs.

Take back the kingdom's biggest illegal business.

This has allowed the tricolor iris, which had been dormant and declining since the time of the wise ruler, to grow strong again.

The dungeon fell completely silent.

“I went through those days, and I know what kind of person Turnbull is.”

King Lausanne II's voice was calm:

"Yes, for survival, for safety, and to achieve his goals, he never hesitated to turn to a powerful figure like Kevin Deer for protection and support."

When necessary, they will not hesitate to fawn and be subservient.

Willing to be used, or even abandoned.

"But believe me."

King Lausanne II raised his eyes.

“The entire Blood Bottle Gang,” the assassin said coldly, “has no one who despises those born into nobility more than him.”

It wasn't jealousy or resentment.

It wasn't a deep-seated hatred.

It's not real-world hatred.

It was contempt.

Contempt that comes from the deepest part of one's soul.

A beggar can hate a king, but he cannot despise him—no matter how much he claims he doesn't care about what the king has.

Only another king, or even a higher being, can truly speak from the depths of the soul…

Disrespect for the king.

Belica's expression changed, and she fell into deep thought.

"Therefore I know that he would never easily get involved in what you call aristocratic infighting, let alone take sides and become a pawn, let alone fight and die for the interests of some big shot."

That's not his...habit.

Losang II seemed to remember something, and clenched his remaining fist:
"Because he is too shrewd and too experienced."

He was too adept at assessing situations, controlling circumstances, maneuvering among various powerful forces to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and navigating the deadly power struggles to protect himself—whether facing the Sun Sword and Shield or the Tricolor Iris.

The assassin sneered:
"The more chaotic and tangled the situation, the better he can sniff out opportunities, bet on the right things, and profit from them, rising rapidly in rank—"

At this point, King Lausanne II suddenly paused.

He noticed that Belicia was eating and laughing.

"why are you laughing?"

Belicia shook her finger and gave him a sideways glance.

"I was thinking, as a murder tool who takes money to do things and might not even see him a few times a year, you unexpectedly know him well."

King Lausanne II remained silent.

Yes.

But that's why.

Because he was Turnbull's tool for killing.

That's because he only needs to use him when he's killing someone.

Therefore, he knew perfectly well when and why Turnbull would decide who to kill, including how to kill them.

Should we make a decisive decision now or wait for the right moment?

Is it for a fit of anger or a business deal? Is it to kill the immediate enemy or a potential threat?

Is it a clean and efficient approach or a grand and elaborate one?

There is nothing that reveals more about a person, especially a bad one.

but……

“I knew him before he became rich,” the vampire assassin said quietly, “longer than you think.”

But it's not something to be proud of either.

Belicia ignored the complex emotions in those words and simply snorted.

"Black Street Brotherhood".

King Lausanne II's eyes flickered.

“Countless gangs like this emerge across the country every year, and in the end they either die, disband, or surrender to the Blood Bottle Gang.”

Belicia said coldly:
"But have you ever thought about why only the Brotherhood, which had just started out, survived the most dangerous years and escaped several crises of destruction when it was fighting against the Blood Bottle Gang, and even took root in Everstar City and grew stronger, to the point that you had to personally kill them?"

King Lausanne II frowned slightly.

He lifted his eyes from the damp, foul-smelling ground and looked at the woman.

“You said I had at least two chances to kill Black Sword, but you tipped me off both times beforehand…”

"Yes, but why?"

Belicia interrupted him without any politeness:

"Back then, the Blood Bottle Gang was wealthy and powerful, and Turnbull had gathered a large number of warriors with superpowers. On the other hand, the Brotherhood of Steel was a bunch of useless scum, and even now, they are neither reliable nor decent."

She squinted her eyes:
"Back then, I was just a womanizer who only knew how to hook up with men. What good would it do me to risk telling them things?"

King Lausanne II was stunned.

Belicia's tone shifted, becoming increasingly malicious:
"Or, did I receive orders from someone?"

The vampire assassin didn't react; he just stared blankly at his old acquaintance, who evoked complex emotions within him.

“Really,” Belicia sighed, looking down with apparent regret, a few seconds later, “you said you knew him very well.”

he.

For a moment, King Lausanne II's breath hitched.

Looking into the other person's seemingly cunning but actually cruel gaze, he understood something.

Turnbull.

He spoke softly.

Belicia chuckled and turned to pace away.

“You said it yourself, no one is more shrewd than him, no one is more experienced than him,” the woman’s voice remained steady, but her expression was subtly complex. “Then you should know even more the unbelievable things he is capable of doing to achieve his goals.”

King Lausanne II remained silent.

"Clearly, that self-righteous old wall lamp believed that in the eyes of the big shots in Kongming Palace, if the Blood Bottle Gang, as the black gloves and hounds, wanted to survive, and even live a comfortable life, and wanted to continue to squeeze bones out of them, then they could not be the only ones to dominate, could not have smooth sailing, and even more so, could not be without competitors."

Predictable, more controllable competitors.

"But you know, people in this line of work are either driven by poverty or have long criminal records. They're all the most unfortunate guys at the bottom of every industry. How high can their character be? What qualifications do they have to compete with the Blood Bottle Gang or the Kevin Deer family's Black Gloves? To catch the eye of big shots?"

Belicia blocked the light, took out another cigarette, and held it to the lamplight.

"So in those years, those rivals that the old gang leader had allowed or even indirectly fostered, from the Spice Gang to the Iron Bat Society, from the Blade Thieves—you should be quite familiar with them, some of whom you killed—to the Northern Bandits, and all sorts of notorious thieves and criminal gangs that claimed to challenge the Blood Bottle Gang, were mostly short-sighted profit-seeking groups that would come together and then disperse, disperse and then come together again..."

Belicia lit a cigarette, his eyes flashing with a sharp look.

“And none of them went as far as Black Sword, as far as the Brotherhood.”

They survived the Blood Bottle Gang's well-timed blows and injuries.

King Lausanne II gritted his teeth.

“That’s right, Turnbull. He created Black Sword, he created the Brotherhood,” Belicia said, turning his wrist and taking a graceful drag on his cigarette, “and created your destined rival.”

And his own grave.

King Lausanne II remained silent for a long time.

Belicia wasn't in a hurry; he simply stood by the wall, silently smoking.

“I reported back to him.”

"Ok?"

The voice of King Lausanne II echoed in the darkness, calm and undisturbed:

"After the second pursuit failed, I reported to Turnbull and admitted that it was my poor execution that made Black Sword suspicious and allowed him to escape."

No, we were incredibly lucky.

Belicia burst into laughter.

"Then I bet that old wall lamp was first incredulous, his face grave, he gritted his teeth and smashed a cup, then took a deep breath to calm down, and finally laughed heartily with boundless pride? Did he even pat you on the shoulder generously, telling you he didn't mind, after all, everyone makes mistakes sometimes? Maybe, maybe he even pretended to be generous and gave you the full agreed-upon payment, saying he believed that as long as you put in more effort, you would definitely succeed next time? Hahahaha, maybe he even asked if you wanted to stay for dinner, and casually asked how things were going between us? Maybe he had a woman in his heart, and his sword was no longer sharp, so he asked if you wanted to find another girl to warm your bed? Hahahahaha..."

By the end, Belicia was laughing so hard she was doubled over.

King Lausanne II remained silent.

Although he couldn't see it, amidst the endless laughter, the vampire's damned senses made him clearly aware:
Tears welled up in the woman's eyes and trickled down her cheeks, where she had been smiling.

He should have told me.

"The assassin said in a low voice."

Given your personality, would you still cooperate with him and wholeheartedly put on an act, playing this game of "deceiving you" with him?
“Don’t be too sad,” Belicia said, his laughter fading, his tone playful but his expression cold. “I only found out later—he doesn’t usually say much to bitches.”

"Is he a duke or a viscount?"

"what?"

"Since you say that Turnbull got himself into trouble because he got involved in the infighting within the Iris Party," King Lausanne II took a deep breath and composed himself, "then who bought you, or all those who betrayed Turnbull and me, and whose instructions did you receive?"

He frowned deeply:
"Who wants Turnbull dead? Who wants me dead? Who wants the entire Blood Bottle Gang to fall apart?"

"Is it the Duke of Lenster, or Viscount Sona? Is it the elder brother, or the younger brother? Or some other force we don't know about?"

Footsteps sounded.

Belicia strolled quietly into his line of sight.

The cigarette burned slowly in her hand.

“You know Turnbull so well,” the beautiful woman before him said, her lips parting slightly, exuding charm. “What do you think?”

Looking at her ambiguous smile, King Losang II fell silent.

[In a country without a king, there is only a tyrant.]

The next second, King Lausanne II strained to turn his gaze away and looked at the metal buckle on his chest.

At the joint of the clasp, the engraving of an iris flower is faintly visible.

King Lausanne II sighed softly.

"I used to live a secluded life, but I still remember the clashes between the Duke of Lenster and the Viscount Sona. At first, it was just a difference in political views and occasional friction."

The assassin reminisced about the past:

"Later, due to a series of misfortunes and accidents, their resentment deepened, and they gradually drifted apart, eventually causing a great uproar and tensions to rise up."

He gently closed his eyes:
"Those weren't accidents, were they?"

Just like Emerald City today.

The woman did not answer immediately.

"I do not know."

Belicia said softly:
"All I know is that Sona Kevindir broke the unspoken agreement and conventions by using his underhanded resources—including the Blood Bottle Gang—to interfere in political struggles, influence city governance, and incite widespread resentment. He also spread rumors and slanders against his brother across the country to question his rule."

"In response, the Duke of Lenster retaliated ruthlessly. He not only ruthlessly suppressed the Viscount's supporters, but also once tried to sideline Archsea City and directly transfer a series of privileges—including the supervision of the Blood Bottle Gang—to the Duke's throne."

Just like Emerald City today.

A complex internal struggle that cannot involve overturning tables, drawing swords, or shedding blood, yet is fraught with endless undercurrents, involving multiple forces and engaging in back-and-forth power struggles.

King Lausanne II suddenly laughed.

“Turnbull must be very pleased: the Duke and the Viscount are fighting to the death, yet they are both vying for his and the Blood Bottles’ support and allegiance to increase their bargaining power,” he said blankly. “He hasn’t experienced such passionate and valued years since the Blood Year.”

Belicia smiled too.

“Of course,” the woman said dismissively, exhaling a puff of smoke. “After all, he’s standing right there, in the very center of the stage, holding the scales that influence the balance.”

The vampire assassin seemed to remember something and suddenly looked towards the dungeon exit.

Holding the swing weights that influence the balance.

Just like... Emerald City now.

"But the game code is used to achieve balance."

King Losang II said quietly:
"Instead of breaking it."

But if the owner of the scales discovers:

The brake pads are broken and loose; I can't stop them at their balance point no matter which way I slide...

Belica chuckled and looked up:
“You really know him.”

Once you understand one principle, you understand all principles. What did Losang II realize?

I see, old Turnbull.

Lao Da Guo (Old Big Pot)

Old gang leader.

Old friend.

Old rival.

My old benefactor.

You did indeed, as always, not take sides.

however……

“Tell me, Belicia.”

Several seconds later, the assassin spoke calmly, no longer displaying the previous ferocity and pain.

"Back then, the Iris family was embroiled in internal strife, with the Duke and Viscount brothers fighting amongst themselves. The entire Emerald City and even the South Bank Territory were affected, impacting the national economy and people's livelihoods."

King Lausanne II remained expressionless.

"Turnbull, the old leader of the Blood Bottle Gang, who exactly was he, with his ambitions, stirring up trouble and personally instigating the war..."

His eyes dimmed:
"Or was it just a coincidence that led to this situation, and that's why they went with the flow and fueled the flames?"

The dungeon remained quiet for a long time.

"Is there a difference?"

After a long while, Belicia finally spoke.

"When your ship sails into a storm..."

The woman threw away the cigarette butt:
"Do you think the sea-herding girl cares whether you're a good person or a bad person, or whether you're the one at the bow and helm..."

Belicia's gaze was icy:

"Or is it ballast from the bottom of the ship?"

(End of this chapter)