Lord of Cinder in American Comics

These words drew the attention of the surrounding students. Geralt's unbridled behavior during his time at the Dragon Academy demonstrated that he possessed strength and status no less than Constantine's.

Currently, there is only one hunter apprentice, Clint, making this a rare career choice that inevitably evokes envy.

However, Grant Ward did not respond to Geralt, but simply refilled the incomplete magazine with one silver bullet followed by one explosive bullet.

This unique loading method causes significant damage to the weapon, but it is a huge blow to the enemy. This is why Grant's burst fire was able to ignite the Water of Life.

"I think things are fine now..."

Grant politely declined Geralt's invitation, his voice coming from under the car, and no one saw the somewhat distorted expression on Grant's face.

"Alright, if you change your mind, you can find Clint, he'll take you to the hunters' place."

Having said that, Geralt stopped trying to persuade him. Looking at the dark building across the street, he pulled out a greatsword.

This is a true greatsword, a complete replica of a longsword, only several times larger.

Upon seeing Geralt's weapon, Clint gripped the longsword at his waist. The short blade was nothing more than a toy compared to Geralt's greatsword.

He tucked his longsword behind his back to avoid drawing attention to his weapon and to prevent being ridiculed.

However, Geralt singled out Klint.

"Clint, watch closely, this is your lesson, the way of the hunter in combat."

Geralt held his sword to his side, looking at the enemy who had not yet shown his face, only showing everyone his back.

"This is the Executioner's Greatsword, a decapitation sword used to sever heads. It's perfect for dealing with this kind of enemy who won't die unless their head is severed."

Geralt laid the Executioner's Greatsword flat, revealing the blade to his eyes.

"Then, before the battle, we need to briefly enchant our weapons. This will damage the weapons, but it is necessary to allow you to exert greater attack power and provide some other assistance."

As he spoke, Geralt pulled out a small parchment package, opened it with one hand, and the black powder inside immediately burst into flames.

Geralt rubbed the black powder evenly onto the blade, and the blade burst into flames. In the darkness, Geralt looked as if he were holding a giant, burning torch.

"Finally, we charged at the enemy and wiped them out."

Geralt gave a cryptic smile and charged straight toward the building across the street.

Instead of breaking down the closed door on the first floor, Geralt used the building's exterior wall to leap onto the window that had been smashed by the bottle.

All anyone present saw was Geralt carrying a burning greatsword and jumping in through the window.

Then, within the dark building, flames flickered, accompanied by the wails of enemies and Geralt's enigmatic laughter.

In the firelight, vampires were constantly being set ablaze and burned to ashes. Even on this side of the road, the students could smell the sulfurous odor left by the burning vampires.

This was a one-sided battle; not a single vampire could leave the building. When the flickering firelight in the darkness faded, Geralt appeared at the broken window.

Back among the students, Geralt had already sheathed his greatsword and asked Clint, "What did you learn in this lesson?"

What did he learn? Clint was completely confused by the lesson; all he saw was Geralt pull out his weapon, enchant it, and then kill all the enemies.

But since his mentor had asked, Clint reluctantly gave a long explanation.

"Before the battle, we must prepare... and use the appropriate powerful weapons..."

Clint got more and more excited as he talked, and he even started to believe himself. Looking at the other students who had watched the entire battle, they kept nodding in agreement with what Clint was saying.

However, Geralt slapped Clint so hard he nearly knocked him to the ground.

"I love watching you spout nonsense with such a straight face, and you actually manage to come up with so many profound truths."

Geralt's gaze was somewhat cold, making Clint feel uncomfortable all over.

"This lesson is called 'How the weak appear in front of the strong.' Strength is the most fundamental power..."

Chapter 183: Time to Find Someone to Take the Blame

Geralt was giving lessons to his apprentices, while Stark had to dodge anti-aircraft fire from the rooftops and maneuver between buildings.

“Ash, they have anti-aircraft firepower on almost every rooftop. I even saw anti-aircraft missiles on some of the buildings. Damn it, I'm locked on…”

He released infrared decoy grenades and chaff from Stark's armor and made a sharp 90-degree turn using the building as cover.

The anti-aircraft missiles following behind Stark had a turning radius no smaller than the armor. Unable to deflect in time, the missiles struck the building, and a large amount of shattered glass fell from the sky.

"Ash, we need heavy firepower support."

Stark, who crash-landed from the sky, stopped next to Ashe. The firepower was so intense that he would have been a target as soon as he took off.

"Don't worry, we've arrived."

In the sky, the AGM air-to-ground missile, its rocket engine glowing with a deep blue flame, cleaved through the clouds, leaving a long trail of white smoke. Guided by Frank in the distance, it struck the buildings with the heaviest anti-aircraft firepower.

The tandem shaped charge warhead, containing 6.8 kg of high-energy mixed explosives and equipped with a trigger fuse, instantly hurled the vampires upon contact with the rooftop.

The shattered cement blocks, along with the vampire, were in freefall, crashing onto the asphalt road.

Before the wounded vampires could even get up, the hospitable soldiers presented them with silver jewelry. Amidst the vampires' grateful thanks, they all happily ascended to heaven.

After clearing the initial airspace, Ash ordered the air combat units that hadn't followed to prepare for takeoff.

Just then, Davelin called.

The background noise from the phone was mixed with the screams and wails of the interrogators, as well as the slapping sounds of flesh colliding.

"Ash, things are in trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Ash raised his eyebrows, moved the phone away as if afraid that Davelin would pop out from the other end.

The explosion from Ash's side also reached Davelin's ears.

"Are you starting a war right here in the city? This sounds even more intense than what I heard in AFH."

"What? You want to fight for the human rights of these vampires? Don't worry, they will be freed after the war."

Ash's taunts, accompanied by the sounds of explosions, machine gun fire, and grenade detonation, did not sound harsh.

"No, I mean, well done! You can't imagine what these vampires have done!"

"Ah, right, right, I never imagined I was about to face a Blood God. I have no idea what they're up to..."

This talk of giving up left Davelyn unsure of what to do; he had never seen Ash act like this before.

"Are you alright? Did something happen to you?"

"Of course I'm fine. I was perfectly fine on my own turf, but you guys pushed me into this position and now I have to deal with this kind of bullshit. Why weren't all the vampires killed during the Civil War? Why are they still around now!"

I should have been quietly holding the Fire Keeper at my sacrificial site, taking it one day at a time…

Ash's words made Deaverin realize how unwilling he was; it wasn't Ash's responsibility to begin with, yet now he was being asked to handle it.

Deaverin could only keep comforting Ash, since he was the only one left on the front lines of the battle.

Once both sides had calmed down, Davelin continued, "The virus those vampires are preparing to release can turn people into inferior vampires, making them thirsty for blood and subject to control by their superiors."

The virus has been carried away by a group of water striders, and these insects will immediately seek out water sources to lay their eggs. I need to find other people to help deal with this.”

Inferior vampires? Subject to control by superiors? Are they vampire laborers?

Compared to the sacrifice to summon the Blood God, this matter that threatens the entire human race of New York is definitely more important than a single objective, so it is understandable that Davelin would handle it.

However, when you connect the two things together, it's not like that.

According to Whistler's intelligence, the Blood God possesses the abilities of all vampire clans, is immortal, and cannot be killed by any weapon designed for vampires.

Furthermore, as the god of vampires, the Blood God can also modify these subordinates, allowing them to avoid the damage of sunlight.

Compared to the entire human population, the current number of vampires is really not that many, and these vampires are also being hunted down by the armed law enforcement forces of the tax bureau and vampire hunters, so their numbers are constantly decreasing.

But what if the vampires could carry out both of their plans simultaneously?

A powerful leader and his fearless, obedient subordinates—the image of a small mustache inexplicably appeared in Ash's mind.

Shaking her head to clear the image from her mind, Ash sent the contact information to Davelin.

"You mean the vampires are planning to summon a god? And then give this god a whole host of minions? How could such a thing happen!"

A race that sees humans as food and threatens humanity as a whole is about to rise as a major enemy of humankind.

"Ash, we have to take these guys down."

“I know, what do you think I’m doing right now? I’m being dragged into street fighting by vampires! Do you have any support you can offer? Sheffield and Ross have already handed over their only combat troops to me, so their help is very limited at this stage.”

The gunfire never stopped, yet the advance was pitifully small.

“I can’t help you right now, I have to deal with the virus in the water supply, but I can give you the tax bureau’s phone number, they will help you.”

"What do you want me to do? Tax these vampires? And after you've collected the taxes, tell them they can legally wage war?"

"No, what I mean is, the IRS has a large armed force that is more capable of fighting than the National Guard. They can assemble a fighting force at any time, and they always have a portrait of Lincoln hanging inside the IRS offices, you know what I mean?"

Hanging a portrait of Lincoln might seem to most people as a way of commemorating the founder of their department, but Ash knew that Lincoln was also a vampire hunter, and the IRS was created to tax the armed forces during the Civil War.

This means that the tax authorities have always maintained a combat force against vampires.

Ash dialed the number given to him by Davelyn, but no one spoke when the call was connected.

"Since you're not going to speak, I won't be polite. Right now, in NY's xx district, vampires have taken over the entire area. They're trying to poison the water supply and then summon the Blood God..."

After rambling on and on about what had happened, Ash waited for the other person's answer.

However, the answer was an extremely mechanical and formulaic one.

"Thank you for your letter. As an important department of Ami, the Tax Bureau is committed to providing a better environment for the people. We will carefully record your letter and study and discuss it thoroughly until we make the right choice..."

"........."

Ash's current expression is like an old man using a cell phone on the subway.jpg.

This is probably hopeless, maybe, or perhaps we can't count on it.

After hanging up the phone, Ash rejoined the fight. Since the tax bureau couldn't take the blame, pshaw, or offer any help, she'd find someone else. If all else failed, she could just call in more people.

In S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria Hill is struggling to clean up the mess left by Nick Fury. Looking at the piles of red deficits on the ledgers, she can't fathom just how greedy Nick Fury must have been to leave such a huge hole for her to fill.

Just then, her phone rang. When she picked it up, the label read: Control Bureau Ash Solal.

As soon as the call connected, Ash's voice came through impatiently: "Hill, I've been fighting in xx block for half an hour now, doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. have any reaction at all?"

“Ash Solar, I want to state that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not an illegal organization, and we will never take any action without orders in places where we have no law enforcement authority.”

Hill was familiar with Ash's various rhetoric in meetings, and to avoid Ash setting traps for her, Hill could only respond in a formulaic way, first removing S.H.I.E.L.D. from her list.