Published at 17th of March 2026 8:37 pm

Chapter 1777 The Vampires Glory Part 2

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“It’s incredibly hard to say for sure,” Marcus replied, leaning back against the wall with a heavy sigh. “But from my years in the underworld, I do understand that the entire situation with the Vampires might not be as simple, or as black and white, as people want to think.”

Marcus crossed his arms, his expression growing deadly serious. “When any organization gets larger and more powerful, it becomes exponentially harder for its people to agree on things. Even among the Howlers right now, I imagine you all don’t perfectly see eye to eye on every decision. I have personally seen Gary and Kai go back and forth on tactical ideas, arguing behind closed doors. Now, take that natural friction... and multiply it.”

Marcus looked out the window. “The Vampires have grown into a massive, global group over the centuries. And that leads to a profound, structural problem regarding exactly how long they have been an established society.”

“What do you mean?” Xin asked, leaning forward at the heavy dining table, her brow furrowed.

“Put it this way,” Marcus explained, his tone analytical. “The Howlers currently work so incredibly well together because of two main reasons. First, when there is an immediate, terrifying common enemy—like the Underdogs, the Scatterbugs, or Unzoku—a group will usually set aside their petty differences and become totally united to face that external threat. The Howlers have had brutal problem after brutal problem that they physically needed to face together just to survive. But historically, when those external problems suddenly disappear and peace sets in... that’s exactly when internal fractures start to appear.”

Marcus pointed a finger toward the ceiling. “The second reason is that right now, your entire syndicate is held together by one single person at the absolute top. And that is your group's unwavering, absolute trust in Gary. Regardless of whether you logically agree with his strategies or not, all of you will follow Gary’s orders to the death. You trust that his heart is in the right place, due to all of the severe hardships you have bled and withered through together. This shared trauma means that you have all built up an unbreakable bond. This is your unity.”

Marcus paused, letting the weight of his words sink in for the two women.

“At one point in time, centuries ago, I imagine the Vampires possessed that exact same type of fierce unity. But as time relentlessly passes, eventually, that founding person who kept you all together... they end up disappearing. They pass on, or they step into the shadows, and there is a new, younger generation waiting to take over. This generational shift happens on both sides of any war.”

Marcus began pacing the room slowly. “As a new leader comes into play, there are always those who remain stubbornly loyal to what the old regime did, and openly resent the new blood. And as new people join the gang, they simply haven't been through the exact same bloody hardships that the founders survived together. They lack that fundamental respect.”

“And this is precisely when factions break out,” Marcus continued grimly. “People start to greedily eye the absolute power of the throne. They form their own radical beliefs, their own splinter groups, and this is exactly what we believe has happened to the Vampires over the centuries.”

Marcus stopped and looked directly at Olivia and Xin.

“The terrifying truth is... maybe the Vampire Leaders don't actually care about you Werewolves on a personal level at all. The real reason they might want to forcefully start a bloody war with Gary is actually quite simple, and entirely political.”

“In what way could an ambitious Vampire Lord prove to the rest of their fractured society that they are the absolute strongest, and undeniably worthy of sitting on the throne above all else?” Marcus asked hypothetically. “Well, wouldn't the absolute best thing be to have a massive, glorious war play out? To have their personal military achievements heavily outweigh everyone else's?”

Marcus narrowed his eyes. “Wouldn't it be politically perfect to intentionally create a terrifying, monstrous enemy—like a rogue pack of mutated Werewolves—for all of the fractured Vampire families to suddenly bond and unite over? And in doing so, they would practically deify whoever it was that managed to achieve victory and slaughter the wolves. If that is really the case... then no matter what Gary does, no matter how diplomatic he tries to be, you won’t be able to stop a war. It is inevitable. And this is exactly the grim conclusion that Lupus and I came to. So, all we can physically do is try our absolute best to prepare for the bloodshed.”

Marcus's speech hit Xin quite deep in her chest. A heavy sadness washed over her. She finally, truly knew why Gary was always desperately trying to avoid unnecessary fighting whenever he could. Because when wars started, innocent people always ended up dying, and they were dying with the Howlers' name pinned to their backs—the very group that Gary had created to protect them.

Depending on how the Vampires ultimately acted, she needed to know if the clash really was inevitable.

Just then, breaking the heavy silence of the room, Xin saw several frantic notifications rapidly light up the screen of her phone resting on the table. And it wasn’t just her. Olivia’s phone began to violently buzz as well.

When Olivia looked down at the emergency notifications, her eyes widened as if they were going to literally pop out of her head. All the color drained from her face.

“The mutated Werewolves... they're swarming Burnham Food Street! My people are there! I have to go right now!” Olivia shouted, instantly leaping up from her chair.

“Wait, it's not just Burnham Food Street,” Xin replied, her voice trembling as she rapidly scrolled through the encrypted Howlers channels. “Crowley just sent an emergency distress signal... he’s spotted a massive horde of them flooding into Cipin Park as well!”

“Is it a full-scale, coordinated attack on the entire city while Gary and the heavy hitters are away?” Marcus said. “Damn it... we should have known! The scattered sightings earlier... it was just a massive distraction.”

As Marcus frantically stood up from the wall, reaching for his weapons, the three of them suddenly froze.

They all heard a massive, heavy THUD coming from the ceiling directly above them.

The sprawling manor went dead silent for a terrifying microsecond. And then... came the distinct, heavy sound of several sets of footsteps rapidly moving across the floorboards upstairs.

They weren't alone in the safe house anymore.

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