Read Novel Full Chapter 232: Wish Of Cooperation
Chapter 232: Wish Of Cooperation
Mark Addams was still young when he realized that if the world was going to change, it would never happen in the spotlight. It had to be done from the shadows. Humanity needed to be strengthened, and he believed invention was the only way to do it.
At twenty five, he succeeded in reducing the destructive effects of implanted cores inside vampire hunters.
By thirty, he managed to embed modified cores into firearms, allowing hunters to wield power without direct implantation. It was considered revolutionary.
And yet, it was never enough.
One by one, his friends fell. Their bodies failed first, unable to withstand the strain.
Then their minds followed. Personalities warped, blood depletion accelerated. Some became violent while others became hollow. Mark watched them deteriorate, powerless to stop it.
His invention was nothing more than a delayed bomb. He knew it. And knowing it destroyed him.
Depression swallowed him whole.
"Would it have been better if I never invented any of this?" he muttered one night, staring at piles of research scattered across his desk.
He wanted to burn it all. Erase every trace of his work.
The next morning, everything changed.
The Chief of Caduceus announced what they called good news. Mark would become the next chief. At the same time, Caduceus would formally cooperate with House Latros.
Mark rejected it immediately.
Becoming chief was not the issue. Working with one of the Seven Great Covenants was unacceptable. Humans had suffered too much under vampires. His colleagues agreed with him.
They protested. The response did not come from the former Chief of Caduceus.
It came from Robert Latros himself.
Rohan died a long time ago, and Robert was now the Patriarch of Latros. Mark did not know him personally, but rumors painted him as different. Less cruel, more reasonable, some even called him benevolent.
The first meeting seemed to confirm that image.
Robert was calm and collected. There was none of the arrogance Mark had grown accustomed to when dealing with vampires.
"Why did you refuse my proposal?" Robert asked.
"Mr. Latros," Mark replied carefully, "you understand the history between humans and vampires. We are not equals. Cooperation with the very race that enslaved us is not something we can accept."
"The human farms were abolished a century ago," Robert answered evenly.
"By working with us, your research will progress far beyond its current limits. Caduceus has always relied on low Vitalis cores. They slow you down. We can provide better ones."
The room stirred. Doctors whispered among themselves. Even Mark felt the temptation. It was a dangerous offer, precisely because it made sense.
"Then tell me your purpose," Mark pressed. "Why help us?"
"I want humans to possess the same power as vampires," Robert said. "Without cores, without degeneration, and without side effects."
The room erupted. Doctors argued loudly. Some dismissed it as impossible. Others accused him of lying. Mark himself did not believe it. The offer sounded unreal.
Questions piled up.
"What would you use that power for?"
"Why help humanity at all?"
"Why not create an army of vampires instead?"
Robert listened patiently to every question, as though cataloging them.
Then he spoke a single sentence.
"I want to create a new world. A world where only the strong survive."
Silence fell.
"I will send the proposal to all of you gentlemen who are interested in my vision for a new order," Robert said as he stood.
"I am late for another appointment. You may discuss everything further with my secretary."
The secretary nodded, signaling that names would be taken.
As Robert left the room, confusion lingered in the air. No one spoke at first.
"What will you do?" Larry asked quietly from Mark’s side. "I don’t think it hurts to read the proposal first and decide later."
Mark did not answer immediately, but inside, he agreed. So did the others. Reading a proposal was not a crime, even if something about it felt wrong. In the end, he signed his name.
That night, Mark threw the papers across the room the moment he finished reading them.
"This is bullshit," he muttered.
He collapsed onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. The fireplace burned quietly, filling the room with warmth, while snow fell outside, covering the city in a thin white layer.
Robert’s vision was impossible to achieve without immense sacrifice. And not from vampires.
It was carefully worded, wrapped in idealistic language about coexistence and recognition. But Mark could see through it.
"Vampires will dominate the world openly," he murmured.
They already dominated the economic sector and would surely in politic. Robert simply wanted to remove the pretense.
Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with him.
Many were tired. Tired of failure, of watching colleagues die, of seeing their research go nowhere. They wanted results, power, and success. The pressure broke them.
Some had already formed a group behind Caduceus to support Robert. Worse, the Vampire Hunter Association had begun signaling its willingness to cooperate as well.
"Don’t be so stubborn," said an old man sitting across from him. Samuel, the Chief of the Vampire Hunter Association.
Samuel gently rubbed his palm as a staff member poured tea for them.
"Vampires are all the same," Mark replied coldly. "You hunted them for decades. You should know better than me."
"I do know them better," Samuel said calmly. "That’s why I know Robert is different."
Mark scoffed. "Different how?"
"I think he likes humans."
Mark froze, then burst out laughing. He laughed so hard it took him nearly ten minutes to stop. It was the first genuine laughter he’d had in months.
"You can’t be serious," Mark said between breaths. "What did he tell you? Did he brainwash you?"
Samuel only sighed. "He once had a human lover. He married her. He never turned her, not even at the end of her life."
Mark blinked. "What?"
"It isn’t a rumor," Samuel continued. "I’ve known for years. He has tried to build contact with me for over a decade. He never gave up. And he won’t give up on Caduceus either."
The revelation was more than surprising. It was unsettling.
Vampires saw humans as livestock. That was history. That was reality.
And yet, Samuel was right.
Robert did not give up.
One day, he came to Mark’s house himself, and for the first time, they were finally able to speak face to face.