The horses were gone, so they could only travel on foot.

In 1880, New York's steam-powered elevated trains covered all of Manhattan, but the first vehicle that didn't require horses wouldn't arrive until 1886.

Li Qianxia and Ismei from the Sorcerer Academy, being female, were specially allowed to ride in the horse carriage.

The sun had already completely broken free from the Earth's obstruction, brazenly grilling everything. Seated in the carriage, Li Qianxia's only worry was that she might not be able to detect enemies immediately.

Having heard her words, Ismei said, "The demons that can roam under such a scorching sun really don't need to be resisted, for you cannot resist them."

"Which ones specifically?" Yang Qinglan sat at the head of the carriage.

One older and one younger nun sat on the right side, Li Qianxia and Ismei on the left—Li Qianxia closer to Yang Qinglan, facing the older nun.

The carriage, which would have been enough to cause heatstroke and dehydration, became quite cool and pleasant to be in due to the presence of Yang Qinglan. The air was also very fresh.

"Almost none, very, very few," Ismei said while reminiscing. "Taking vampires as an example, only Princes can move about in the daylight, such as J.P. Morgan, who funded Edison and transformed him into a vampire."

"Capitalists are all vampires," Li Qianxia nodded in agreement.

"What?"

"Nothing, continue."

"A Prince wouldn't waste time on people like us, and moreover, they are being watched by the dean of the Demon Hunter Academy, the church's Cardinal, and even the Pope, so we don't need to worry."

"What level of demons will we likely be facing this time?" Yang Qinglan asked again.

Ismei glanced at the Emerald Bee Sword amidst her black hair and answered, "Viscounts, or possibly Baron direct descendants of Morgan."

She added, "I hope it's the former."

"You'd rather face a Viscount than a direct descendant Baron... Is there a big difference between direct and non-direct descendants?" Li Qianxia asked.

"A big difference," Ismei nodded gravely. "A direct descendant Baron—if particularly outstanding—could alone attack our convoy and cause greater casualties than we have now."

"That strong..."

Ismei turned her head and looked at Li Qianxia, a fellow Demon Hunter, with the expression one reserves for a failing student.

In fact, she also wanted to scorn Yang Qinglan, who understood nothing, but Yang Qinglan was a nun, not part of the same system, and moreover a nun who was a prospective Holy Daughter, the possessor of the Evangelical Book's Divine Servant, a destined great figure.

Li Qianxia let out a cheeky snicker, not bothering to take notes during the lessons.

"By the way," she remembered something, "are there a lot of ghosts... spirits in this world?"

"Many," Ismei replied.

"...Where might they mostly be?"

"Wherever the light doesn't reach."

"Hiss—" Li Qianxia sucked in a breath of cool air and scooted closer to Yang Qinglan, saying to her, "Tonight, I'll sleep with you."

Ismei laughed, "Actually, Qian Xia, you don't need to worry; very, very few ghosts are as strong as face-stealing ones. Most spirits are harmless and at most cause ordinary people to catch a cold."

"No way, no way, nono, oysters, oysters, what a drag, what a drag!" Li Qianxia held her hand upright in front of her face, fanning left and right as if to shoo away the mental image.

The younger nun snorted with laughter but was immediately glared at by the older nun and hastily bowed her head.

"Hmm~! No matter how weak, I can't do anything to ghosts. I am a ghost enthusiast; I would never harm a ghost!" Li Qianxia proclaimed righteously.

The old nun and Ismei looked at her half-hidden body behind Yang Qinglan and the hand she was tightly holding but said nothing.

Ismei took another glance at the Emerald Bee Sword in Yang Qinglan's hair.

"Ashley, you are very impressive," she couldn't help but say.

"Just call me Lan," Yang Qinglan didn't share her opinion on the compliment.

Her tone carried the intention of not wanting to talk further—at least not about this subject—which made Ismei refrain from asking more.

Yang Qinglan was actually very interested in Demon Hunter technology, but asking directly would inevitably not yield any answers from the other party.

She felt she needed to learn some hypnotism Skill or the like.

The rhythmic sound of the carriage wheels rolling over the road could be heard as their bodies gently swayed with the rhythm.

Gazing out the window, she looked at the almost reflective surface under the scorching sun in the year 1880 and wondered where Changzhou was and whether he was feeling the heat.

"Ismei, can you talk about other monsters?" Li Qianxia requested.

"No problem. Let me start with the target of our mission, the Vampires. They possess lifespans far beyond that of humans; an ordinary vampire can easily live for 150 years and maintain their youth until the moment before death.

"Of course, that requires fresh blood.

"The Viscounts or Barons we might be facing this time could live from 200 to 300 years, while the highest-ranking Princes could live a thousand years.

"This time our target, Edison, was enticed by the Vampires' longevity, which led him to collaborate with J.P. Morgan. J.P. Morgan, interested in Edison's inventions, not only provided him with his own True Blood but also financed his research with substantial funds, established a company, and promoted Edison's reputation as a genius inventor in the newspapers."

"True Blood?" Yang Qinglan caught these two words.

"I don't understand the specifics, but it's probably the most important blood. There are two methods for Vampires to create their kind. Viscounts and above, or Barons with relatively pure bloodlines, can perform the First Embrace by biting the other person and injecting their True Blood, turning them into a Vampire.

"Princes no longer need to use their teeth to inject True Blood.

"Regardless of the method, the transformation requires a process. Edison's final transformation was set for 4 a.m. on July 15th."

"What about the second method? Does it involve... that with humans?" Li Qianxia remembered the ramblings of Brixi from the same Abbey Ismei belonged to.

"Exactly," Ismei nodded, "but the hybrids born from such unions are weak, even though they have lifespans as long as Vampires and do not fear light like humans, they cannot reproduce, similar to mules."

"There are exceptions with mules. Are there none with these Vampires?" Yang Qinglan asked.

"Maybe there are, but I..."

The carriage was filled with idle chatter.

There were no monsters during the daytime, and logically, it was the best time to travel. However, under the scorching sun of mid-July, even Demon Hunters couldn't travel for long periods.

Most importantly, the more physical energy expended during the day, the more dangerous it becomes to face monsters at night.

Therefore, after traveling a distance, they planned to rest and recuperate.

The ideal scenario would be to sleep and prepare for the night's battle.

"There's a small forest not far ahead where we can rest," the old Demon Hunter walked to the carriage window and said to Yang Qinglan.

Yang Qinglan nodded slightly but said nothing.

The old Demon Hunter once again felt the cool air spilling from the window of the carriage before reluctantly heading back to the front.

Watching the old Demon Hunter leave, Isme continued,

"...The ones that awaken the corpses are 'Living Corpses.' These demons are born suddenly. Once they come to life, they will awaken all the corpses within a hundred meters around them.

"These living dead are highly toxic, with sharp teeth and claws, immune to pain and psychic attacks, and craving for warm blood and fresh flesh."

"We've arrived!" Just then, the voice of the old Demon Hunter came from outside the carriage, "Stay alert!"

Isme instructed the four people inside the carriage, "Some low-level demons, relying on special weapons, can roam about at dawn and dusk, and at noon, they might be lurking in the shadows."

"Shall we just rest in the carriage?" Li Qianxia asked Yang Qinglan.

"You rest, what about me?" Yang Qinglan had already spent 3 points of her ability to reduce the temperature inside the carriage during the journey.

"Oh, I forgot." Li Qianxia looked carefree and awfully irritating.

Yang Qinglan raised her left hand and tapped the back of it on Li Qianxia's forehead.

"You... even my brother has never hit me!"

"That doesn't mean I won't hit you."

"You're a nun, you study philosophy, you—"

Boom!!

The ground trembled as if constantly shifting, sending shock waves surging violently like layers of waves.

The horses pulling the carriage neighed, and the carriage creaked, tipping on the side facing the shock wave, about to overturn.

"Ah!" The young nun screamed, and the older nun hugged her tightly as both fell backward.

Isme stumbled and also fell toward the nuns' side.

Li Qianxia stood up, her whole force converging, pushing down with 'Whole Force,' and the tipping side of the carriage steadied once more.

By this time, Yang Qinglan had already lifted the curtain and stepped out of the carriage.

She glanced at the Demon Hunters knocked down by the shock waves before looking toward the nearby forest.

Tiny sparks of light gleamed as if hiding a small piece of the Milky Way.

"What's happening?" Li Qianxia came up from behind.

"Not sure," replied Yang Qinglan calmly and elegantly without panic, "probably another demon."

"Circle around! Don't keep heading this way!" The old Demon Hunter quickly got up and shouted urgently.

The force of the previous shock wave was unimaginable, and the current anomaly in the forest was obvious even to fools.

"Go!" urged the old Demon Hunter again.

The longer one lives, the more cautious one becomes, the more cautious one is, the longer one lives.

The Demon Hunters, armed with silver swords, carefully circumvented the forest glowing with fluorescence, with the carriage following behind. Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia stood outside the carriage, ready for battle.

"If we encounter danger later, call your brother over directly," Yang Qinglan whispered.

"It's so dangerous, shouldn't we call him over here? Better to have him call us over there."

"You can go over, what about me?"

"Ah, I forgot about you."

This time Yang Qinglan didn't hit her. The Evangelical Book appeared in her hand. Chants from the nuns within the carriage could be heard as 'Bright and Upright' and 'Divine Power' were once again available for use.

She still felt some worry inside. Her remaining strength might not be enough to unleash the strongest 'Divine Power.'

But without regulating the temperature, the two real nuns might have already fainted from the heat on the way here.

Just as the river flows around a mountain, the group moved far from the Firefly Forest.

As they were about to leave, fireflies spiraled into a wild dance, swarming toward a point within the forest.

Boom!!!

An unmatchably strong shock wave shook the entire forest again, blasting the dust on the ground clean away.

Wusi, whose leg was broken, rolled several times on the ground before driving his silver sword into the soil to prevent being blown away. The whole scene looked as if he was plummeting off a cliff.

"Quick! Quick! Quick!" The old Demon Hunter yelled, quickening his pace.

The fireflies dispersed by the shock wave, and then he saw with his own eyes, the light that had been split into two halves rise into two smaller glows.

This type of demon doesn't die; it only splits!

And for that monster releasing the terrifying shock waves, the old Demon Hunter had no doubt that if he stood in that forest, he wouldn't last through even one wave.

Abram, from the Combat Martial Tower, passed by Wusi and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

"Thank you," Wusi swallowed hard.

The heart that felt like it would leap from his chest seemed to sense the body was temporarily safe and finally settled down, no longer struggling to escape.

"Damn it, how many monsters came this time!" Abram's shirt was soaked with sweat, his scalp burned by the sun, yet his back felt bursts of cold.

Luckily, the fireflies only stayed in the forest, not coming out to attack them as they passed.

Looking back at the eerie sight fading into the distance, Li Qianxia couldn't help but say, "I wonder where big brother is; I hope he doesn't run into something like this."

"He'll be safer than you—take care of yourself first," Yang Qinglan walked back to the carriage.

And behind them, inside the forest.

"Didn't I tell you not to make a move!" Li Changzhou complained.

"How could I not make a move when I see the enemy!"

"And you were telling me off just now?!"

"No, I wasn't telling you off, you trash, maggot, speck of dust, garbage that not even a kitchen garbage disposal unit can grind up!"

"You even know about kitchen garbage disposal units?" Li Changzhou was surprised.

"Just to insult you and that woman, I specifically went online to your Xia Country's websites to learn about it! Stop yakking, let's run! Giddy up—"

"..."

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