Westminster Bank

Anke, the commander-in-chief of the Demon Hunters on the train, gazed at the dense swarm of Eyes of the Demon outside the window and murmured,

"Something’s wrong with the number of Demons in this fog... I can already smell the auras of three High-Tier Bronze Demons... If they all attack at once, I can handle one at most. The other Demon Hunters can take another, but that leaves one..."

"Didn’t we already go over this? Gather all the Demon Hunters in the first three carriages. We’ll use the people in the six carriages at the back to distract the one we can’t handle. Just have the conductor detach everything after the third carriage in a moment."

The Third Elder said dismissively, "They’re just a bunch of mongrels, anyway. No matter how you look at it, they’re not worth as much as the Dragon Crystals on this train, wouldn’t you agree, Miss Hestie?"

The Miss Hestie he mentioned was a stately woman of stunning beauty. She had captivating eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth. She wore resplendent attire that, far from seeming gaudy, clung to her voluptuous figure and exuded a moving, seductive charm.

If the Fairies from a bard’s tale truly existed, then Miss Hestie was surely the Empress of the Fairy Race.

She simultaneously embodied the regal majesty of an Empress and the sultry softness of a Fairy. In carriage number one, every man her gaze swept over awkwardly bent at the waist. The women, meanwhile, would instinctively lower their heads, as if unwilling to share the same frame with such a dazzling face.

No one present dared to look directly at this woman, not even the Third Elder, a man renowned in the elite circles of the Inner Side for his greed and lechery. This was because she was not only the eldest daughter of the Hestia Family—one of the Four Great Demon-Hunting Clans—but also the wife of the Petrel Family’s eldest son, a member of the Golden Clan: Barbara Hestia.

Barbara impassively set down her Magic Card, which displayed a message from her father about the latest developments in the Beowulf Family’s Dragon Hunting Ceremony. She glanced at the men and women in the carriage flashing her obsequious smiles. A flicker of displeasure crossed her features, but she spoke all the same:

"I have no desire to concern myself with whether those people live or die. I am only here to ensure the safety of the Hestia Family’s cargo..."

"Ah, I’d almost forgotten. Miss Hestie is a Black Iron Mage, after all..."

The Third Elder’s fleshy face quivered as he laughed, and Barbara felt a wave of revulsion. The feeling only intensified when she recalled the message from her father about her younger brother, Roy, being killed by one of the Bloodless.

Compared to Jill, who had been burdened with the family’s heavy responsibilities far too early, she had been much closer to Roy. She had doted on her younger brother and had high hopes for him.

She had staked a lot on him.

But now, all those stakes had come to nothing.

Barbara looked at the image of the young man on the Magic Card, at his Golden Eye and Cross Scar, and silently committed the murderer’s name to memory. ’Baron Constantin.’

Just then, a Demon Hunter hurried in, his head bowed. He didn’t dare look at the resplendent Barbara, addressing the Third Elder and Anke instead.

"My lords, a report from the rear carriages! The last three have been devoured by Corrosive Demons! A mob of the Old Race and Bloodless broke through the carriage doors and have reached carriage number three, where the Dragon Crystals and Dragon Descendants are stored... Our Demon Hunters are arguing with them now—they don’t know whether to let them in or not."

"My purebred Arabian Flying Horses, which I bought in Spain, are still in carriage number three! I don’t know how many of those Bloodless and low-class Old Race lives they’re worth, but we certainly can’t let them in."

As soon as an Old Blood Noble in the carriage finished speaking, a chorus of voices from other nobles and high-society members erupted.

"My Roman Robe is in there, the one I bought in Italy that was once worn by a Roman Emperor..."

"An Alchemy Object crafted by an Alchemy Master..."

"The prostitutes I bought from Lithuania..."

The chattering rose and fell, and the Demon Hunters assigned to guard the Old Blood Nobility could only sigh to themselves at how utterly decadent the nobles were.

"So, my lords, do we let them in or not?" the Demon Hunter asked, caught in a difficult position.

"Release them," the Third Elder said. "Release the carriages after the third one. Let them draw away those Demons and Beasts."

Anke, the Demon Hunter captain, offered no opinion, but perhaps his silence was an opinion in itself.

"I see." The Demon Hunter heard the Third Elder’s words but didn’t move, remaining rooted to the spot.

The Third Elder frowned. "You have your orders. Why haven’t you gone to inform the conductor? If you’re too slow and the Demons catch up, it’ll be your head."

But the Demon Hunter replied, "It’s not that I refuse to go, my lord. It’s just that there are some things I don’t understand, and I’d like you to explain before I leave."

"What is it?" On his fleshy face, the Third Elder’s long eyebrows shot up. "Can’t it wait until after the carriages are released?"

Anke snapped, "Just do your job! Don’t ask questions you’re not supposed to! What squad are you with? Give me your service number!"

"Some things can only be cleared up when asked face-to-face..." The Demon Hunter ignored Anke’s reprimand. "I’m just curious why you lords treat the lives of the lower class as if they’re completely worthless."

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong with this Demon Hunter.

Barbara and Anke both sensed it. Barbara took out her Magic Staff, while Anke gripped the hilt of the Alchemy Long Saber at his waist.

"Are their lives not worth as much as a damn horse? Just because of their bloodline, because they have no money or status, do their lives simply not count?"

"What are you trying to say?" The Third Elder’s fat face scrunched together. He was no fool; he immediately sensed from the man’s words that something was off about the Demon Hunter before him.

"Nothing... I just wonder, why is it that you Old Blood Nobles get to live without a care in the world, while the rest of us have to just grit our teeth and die?"

"You..."