The First Magic World War

All the "scientific knowledge" Charles had learned in his life couldn't account for such a grotesque physical transformation, so he had to attribute it to the "magic" of this world.

He had tried seven or eight times to transform from his fleshly form into Blood Flame and back again, which allowed him to improve his "proficiency." He could now change forms within seconds. In his Blood Flame state, he was immune to most physical attacks and could float hither and thither, which marginally qualified as a Flight Technique.

Limited by the fact that Charles was still only "Fourth Order," the flight speed of the Blood Flame was not fast, barely faster than an ordinary person running, and he could not gain much altitude; floating to the ceiling was already somewhat strenuous.

However, his body could change shape, which meant he could pass through many places ordinary people couldn't, so at least he wouldn't have to worry about being locked up in a dungeon anymore.

"It's not like the unrestrained and dazzling flight of a fire streak through the sky as depicted in the tales of heretics from the sword-fantasy sagas!"

Charles resumed his human form and, though he complained and despite his reservations, his face was still full of smiles; he had not expected to master the Bloodflame Transformation Art first.

The Bloodflame Transformation Art was a Secret Technique unknown to Bloody Glory.

Protagora, after all, was not of the Blood Clan. Though he had learned countless secret techniques from the Blood Clan through combat, these were limited to the entry-level skills of various clans and did not extend to the profound secret techniques.

Charles pulled out a diary and flipped to the third page of the "Vampire Secret Scrolls."

The first page of this scroll was about Blood Flame Qi, the second page was about the Bloodflame Transformation Art, and the third page recorded the Adonis Clan Blood Clan's Secret Technique—Flame Hand!

Flame Hand involved condensing Blood Flame Qi into a hand that could vary in size. At most, eighteen hands could be cultivated, each capable of draining the life essence of its target.

Usually, the Adonis Clan members would not use the Flame Hand to attack enemies directly.

They would arm the Flame Hands with weapons; using cold weapons was one thing, but in coordination with firearms, it could wield the destructive power of a small army.

While Charles was studying the secrets of the Flame Hand, he also noted that the countdown to the arrival of the Blood Clan Evil God Kahnstan had been extended to: 71 days, plus 8 hours, and another twenty minutes and seventeen seconds!" which gave him some small comfort.

The kerosene lamp suddenly went out. Charles snapped his fingers, and a ball of Blood Flame ignited at his fingertips. He checked the oil lamp and found it was out of kerosene. He added some fuel and relit it.

By now, the skies outside had turned dusky. Charles decided not to continue his cultivation, put away the diary, and fed some sheep milk to his three Agile Cat cubs, playing with them for a while, which significantly brightened his mood. He grabbed some bread and had it with the coffee left from the night before.

He walked to the window and glanced at the sky.

The weather today should be nice; the sky was very blue, opening the window welcomed a fresh breeze, and the temperature was quite pleasant.

Charles secretly thought, "I'm not going to work today; I should also prepare a carriage."

As the chief of the Lucavaro District Patrolling Army, and with only a nominal boss who never interfered in practical matters, Charles didn't even need to apply for leave to skip work, as the "supreme authority" to approve leave applications in the Lucavaro District Patrolling Army lay in his own hands.

Charles brewed another pot of coffee and browsed through the newspapers for a while. The original Charles Mecklen had a habit of subscribing to newspapers; Huang Haisheng, having crossed over, had not canceled the subscription but had the delivery address changed from the Savings Union apartment to Elysian Pastoral Street No. 58.

After reading the newspaper for a while, Elysian Pastoral Avenue started to buzz with activity, and Charles guessed that the carriage shops were opening for business, so he leisurely grabbed his cane and headed out the door.

When he left the house, he carried a few items: a magic alchemy cane, a savings certificate from the Savings Union, a wallet, a diary, keys, an alchemical pistol, a Magnum Hand Shuttle, Blood Rose concealed in his left hand, and a Vampiric Hand Axe tucked at his lower back.

He had added another weapon today, the assassin's dagger was concealed within the Vampiric Hand Axe.

The magic alchemy cane, which he held in his hand as a gentleman's accessory, didn't attract much attention, and neither did the wallet, keys, or certificate, while Blood Rose hardly weighed anything. But the diary, two pistols, and the Vampiric Hand Axe made for a somewhat bulky collection of items.

Charles had hesitated over whether to buy a space equipment, but those were pricier than extraordinary items from the antispace, easily breaking a thousand Aegeus. With Charles's current net worth barely over a thousand Aegeus, buying one seemed less appealing than not buying at all.

Charles also specifically made a trip to the Gate of Brilliance, and, coincidentally, the exit faced the largest carriage shop on Elysian Pastoral Avenue, so without much hesitation, he headed straight there.

This carriage shop was huge, constantly stocked with dozens of well-trained horses ready for sale. They not only sold brand-new carriages but also second-hand ones and provided experienced coachmen.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Upon entering the carriage shop, Charles was immediately greeted by a senior broker from the shop with a smile, asking, "Are you looking to rent a carriage, sir, or would you like to purchase one?"

Charles replied, "I'd like to buy a carriage. No need to recommend a new one, just recommend a second-hand one."

Second-hand carriages were cheaper than brand new ones, mostly around seventy percent off. Moreover, many second-hand carriages were decorated, unlike the new ones that still required purchasing additional items like cushions, carriage lamps, reins, and ornaments.

The broker smiled and said, "Luckily, we recently had a noble gentleman who wanted to change to a brand-new model and sold his original carriage."

"This second-hand carriage was also bought here when it was new. The original owner only used it for half a year, it is practically indistinguishable from a new one."

Charles nodded and soon saw the "almost new" second-hand carriage under the guidance of the broker.

It was a standard noble four-wheeled carriage from the Fars Empire.

Fars and several other empires on the Old Continent had carriages crafted to eight standard styles: single-seat, double-seat, utility, comfort, elegance, luxury, opulence, and nobility.

On Earth, the categories would be similar to: electric single, senior scooter, A0, A, B, C, D, and E; or mountain bikes, off-road motorbikes, subcompact, compact, mid-size, full-size!

Apart from the single and double-seaters being two-wheeled, all other styles were four-wheeled.

The noble carriages typically used large wheels with a diameter of 1.5 pimis, featured a coachman's seat with a canopy at the front and a luggage rack at the back, and the carriage's interior was usually 2x6 or 2x8 pimis, offering ample space.

Charles checked it over and even used his Insight but found nothing wrong with the second-hand carriage. He casually asked, "How much for this carriage?"

The broker smiled and said, "When it was new, it sold for five Aegeus and three Fu Er. Now, it's only four Aegeus!"

Charles decisively said, "Please help me switch to this one."

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