The night pressed heavy.
The downpour showed no sign of stopping.
Even the temperature had dropped noticeably.
Even Norton could sense how extreme the weather had become. In his memory, he had never seen weather this severe during the past twenty years of his life.
The Church’s lockdown and its policy of keeping people ignorant had pushed the era’s technological level down to the extreme.
At first Norton couldn't understand why this world had seen almost no technological progress for so many years, but now, looking at the Church’s system, a management method that completely suppresses human nature—it’s a miracle these people even continued to reproduce. Any attempt to develop technology would likely earn you a slow roasting on the stake.
Because of that, the city's drainage system was terrible. In fact, it was practically nonexistent.
The rain curtain shrouded all of Rino City.
Because the drainage was so awful, three consecutive days of rain had already begun to cause flooding.
The muddy roads, long mixed with human filth, were now nearly impassable; water had already reached the base of people’s ankles.In ancient times, encountering weather this extreme was basically a death sentence for some poor families.
The torrential rain didn’t just grind the city to a halt; it would wipe out the surrounding farmlands as well. That destroyed the very foundation of people’s survival and struck at the Papal States with devastating force.
The rain curtain created by the storm became perfect cover for hiding one’s figure. Concealed by the downpour and the thick night, Norton moved silently along the rooftops, slowly approaching the Church.
His keen hearing had already absorbed the surrounding sounds—this was a testament to how extraordinary his ears were.
He could actually sort sounds: which were the rain, which were human voices; every noise was sorted and categorized clearly in his mind, allowing him to pick out the sounds he needed from among many.
It was rather peculiar.
“Ah, this year's harvest is a disaster. Looks like chaos is coming. If we can’t deliver the grain, the Church will eat us alive!”
“This damned rain—pray to God that it stops!”
From the leaking, dilapidated houses nearby, the lamentations of the lower-class poor never ceased; most expressed hopelessness at the storm. Compared with them, the concerns of the noble households were entirely different.
“Why hasn’t His Holiness given any word? The news should’ve reached him by now!”
“The Vatican being so quiet scares me. With rain like this, I feel like chaos is coming. Bishop Good hasn’t even replied—perhaps...”
“What good is Bishop Good’s reply? He’s only a Low Bishop; the only one who could actually receive such news is Bishop Doxia himself.”
The torrent washed the roofs and streets, the gushing water masking Norton’s almost inaudible footsteps.
Two crimson eyes swept across a finely furnished parlor, casually glancing at Carl, who was crouched in the corner eavesdropping on his father’s conversation.
Norton lifted his head and turned back toward the Church.
With such a heavy rain curtain and such dense night, it was the perfect cover for murder.
The poor of Rino City were gaunt, reeked of filth, and, most importantly, were generally anemic.
But the Church’s carefully raised missionaries, the Church Knights, and the city’s major nobles were well-nourished, fully developed, maintained good hygiene, and—crucially—had abundant blood. They were excellent food sources.
Also, secret agents from the Boar Empire made good feeding targets.
Most importantly, Norton needed to figure out whether it was specifically the blood of the Holy Knights that allowed him to super-evolve, or whether the blood of any Church member bathed in God’s radiance could trigger his super-evolution.
After all, this was still a myth-laden world. What if the trigger for his evolution was not physiological but tied to faith?
Before, Norton had been afraid to recklessly kill and invite trouble, so he had never struck.
But at this very moment, during this turbulent season, it was a perfect time to act.
He could proceed more steadily: in the coming days he could occasionally kill a missionary with a broken roof tile so the Rino City Church got used to sudden deaths. Once they became accustomed, he could stage disappearances; with so many dying, they wouldn’t care if one or two more vanished.
“Gigi gigi...” Norton thought with wicked amusement.
He couldn’t help it. From the vampire stories he’d read in his previous life, many vampire abilities were tied to drinking human blood—gaining memories from blood, bewitching humans, or infecting them into vampires or blood slaves. While none of that fit scientific reasoning, this world revolved around theology. Even if he lacked a legacy memory, trying could never hurt.
He still had virtually no abilities. If his power related to drinking human blood, he had to test it. Killing one noble would be a big deal; his best targets were relatively clean, blood-rich Church personnel.
It was definitely not personal revenge.
Norton was, after all, a good person!
At least, in Norton’s eyes. For those Church members, it would be deadly serious.
The only worry was his fear that God’s holy light might truly envelop the Church, causing Norton to be burned alive if he entered.
Or he might go limp and be slaughtered.
This he would have to test carefully.
The imposing silhouette of Rino City’s cathedral rose before Norton.
Compared with the Holy Lord Cathedral that occupied half a city, the Rino City Church was much smaller—meant to serve only a few thousand people. It still retained the castle-like walls; the central sanctuary was about the size of Notre-Dame.
Only, its decorations and outward elegance were far inferior.
Even through the rain, the ten-meter-high wall was conspicuous.
Even in such a vicious storm, two Church Knights in steel armor stood upright at the church gate, dutifully guarding the glory of the Church.
The lamps by the Church entrance glowed dimly, blurred in the rain.
Norton changed direction and ran to the church’s side.
His nails were hard enough to pierce the masonry, allowing him to scale the ten-meter wall.
“Pfft...”
Norton’s hardened nails dug into the gaps between bricks, his fingernails and toenails hooking his body as he climbed.
He had become a vampire years ago, and even now he hadn’t developed the stereotypical vampire shape—this was an insult to the vampire race.
So today Norton would unleash bloodshed, see some gore, and let the damned Church witness what a proper vampire was!
Perhaps because they had never been attacked like this before, or because they were overly confident in their wall’s defenses, the edge of the church wall had no stationed Church Knights; most knights guarded building entrances, which gave Norton an opportunity to slip inside.
“Thank goodness it’s Rino City. This is nothing like the Holy Lord City—much easier!” Norton crouched atop the wall, carefully avoiding the defensive spikes, scanning the church grounds with his eyes and sighing with genuine relief.
The Holy Lord Cathedral was covered in checkpoints and sentries—day or night there would be Church Knight patrols—but Rino City was noticeably lax.
Between the church buildings below, aside from occasional Church personnel entering or leaving, there were no other signs of guards.
Most importantly, there were no murals or portraits of God plastered everywhere, meaning there was no obvious way to be tracked.
Norton deliberately chose a time that wasn’t too late; his main targets were those occasional Church members who went out.
If he had come at midnight, those outside would likely be paired Church Knights, which would make stealth attacks impossible.
Although two hundred missionaries had been taken away from Rino City, that wasn’t the total number. The remaining missionaries and acolytes were more than enough to keep the Church running.
Norton cautiously reached a finger into the church compound through the wall.
Good—there was no expected pressure or prickling pain.
He dared a little further and slid his arm inside.
Again, nothing abnormal.
Bracing himself at the wall’s edge, Norton steeled his nerves and moved his whole body through.
Still nothing happened.
Norton felt a thrill. He slid down the wall, and, cloaked by night and rain, slipped silently into Rino City Church.
This was Norton’s first formal entry into a church since becoming a vampire.
There was no sunlight-like stabbing pain, no unusual pressure. He felt just as he did outside.
He breathed easier.
It seemed God’s sanctity only exerted itself through certain objects that represented Him.
Why did it feel like a leaky reed pipe to him?
At that moment, the layout he’d deduced earlier from sound and scent became especially useful. He already knew where people constantly kept watch, where missionaries gathered, and where the Church’s higher-ups lived. That knowledge let him move through the church like a fish in water.