After observing the daily life of the upper-continent vampires, Qianye discovered that they were quite different from his previous impressions. He had thought they were all born for war.
The vampires before him were living in a relatively peaceful environment, which meant that there was a clear difference between soldiers and civilians.
The vampires in the ancient castle all possessed blood energy, but one could tell from their movements and apparel that many weren’t trained warriors. They looked more like smiths, designers, and management staff. The true warriors only made up a tenth of their numbers.
In the peaceful parts of the Empire mainland, people like these would be considered general civilians and most of them wouldn’t even awaken daybreak origin power. There might be some skirmishes in the Empire but they rarely involved ordinary civilians.
In the areas where the two factions were at war, however, there were very few true civilians. Those who could find their footing in the border regions were either clan or tribal settlements. Due to their racial advantage, everyone would awaken darkness origin power and thus everyone was a soldier. No one was going to care whether they were young, old, or weak in times of war.
Hence, this was the first time Qianye had actually seen vampire civilians. Whenever they saw Qianye, these people would fall to their knees in greeting no matter what they were doing. Their eyes were full of reverence and fear.
Many of the corpses in the plaza belonged to civilians. Going by the authority given to this operation, most of the vampires in the castle would probably be killed if Qianye and Nighteye hadn’t arrived to stop the second-in-command.
On the contrary, the slaves and inferior races were more likely to survive. After all, they were considered properties instead of enemies.
Qianye was overcome with a faint sense of discomfort. Even though they were vampires, his heart felt heavy when so many civilians were being slaughtered. Life and death on the battlefield was one matter. That was war and not a one-sided butchering, nor was it a systematic extermination of families and clans.
Qianye looked back to see that Nighteye had appeared behind him.
“Done with arrangements?” Qianye asked.
“Yes.”
“What do we do about them?” Qianye pointed at the civilians.
“We can only leave them behind.”
“Is there no other way? Can they not go to the place you just mentioned?”
“That is a secret hideout of the vampire race, for use when the entire race is in danger. The resources there are limited, and the road ahead is long. Only those with sufficient strength can escape the pursuit and reach the shelter. These people… won’t get there even after a month.”
Qianye glanced at the surroundings. “They’ll find out about their missing unit after a while. Shall we stay behind and finish off their reinforcements as well?”
Nighteye hesitated for a bit, then shook her head. “The leader might be the Jeruson family, but the soldiers under them are the council’s direct subordinate forces. Let’s not fight them until we’re clear about the situation. We can still argue that this incident was a misunderstanding, but there will be no more leeway once we kill the reinforcements.”
Nighteye spoke tactfully, but Qianye understood her meaning.
The suppression across hierarchies was much more serious in Evernight than it was in the Empire. Considering Nighteye’s status and identity, she could easily “explain” why she had killed some soldier who had dared to burn vampires at the stake. It would be difficult to get away with a second slaughter, however. That would be a clear resistance against the council’s operations.
She said after a while, “The current commander of the council’s direct forces is Arachne Warlord Noxus. He’s young, headstrong, and difficult to deal with. I’d like to avoid making an enemy out of the arachne.”
Qianye sighed. It was easy to see what would happen to the remaining vampire commoners once the follow-up forces arrived. “Tell them to flee as far as they can.”
“Okay.” Nighteye also felt that this was the only way.
“What do we do next?”
Nighteye said, “I plan to head to the closest Perth clan territory. That’s the only place I can get in touch with Lilith or at least Medanzo. The daily affairs of the vampire race are being handled by the Lightless Monarch and, to a certain extent, Habsburg.”
“The Lightless Monarch… I don’t have a good impression of him. He wanted to capture you when you were in the neutral lands.”
“He didn’t know my identity back then. Medanzo has been stuck in his current realm for many years, so he’s intent on supplementing his weakness in bloodline. That was why he has been collecting the origin blood of talented people. Right now, though, he’ll have to think hard even if my origin blood is dangling in front of him. He might not be able to pay the price.”
Qianye frowned. “He’s a great dark monarch after all. If we get into a direct fight, I might not be his match.”
Nighteye was surprised. “Why would we have to fight him?”
“In short, you should be careful. I have a bad feeling about him.”
“Don’t worry, looking for him is just the first step. He can’t take responsibility for this matter, either. We still have to inform Lilith.”
After some thought, Qianye couldn’t really give her better advice regarding the vampire race’s internal affairs. The two instructed the people in the area to scatter before vanishing into the night.
…
Castle Ava was located at the edge of the Twilight Continent’s hinterlands. Constructed nine hundred years ago by Duke Lynch, its history couldn’t be considered that long. Today, the lord of this castle was the Junior Lynch, a mighty marquis. The old duke had reportedly been asleep this whole time, but no one could tell whether or not he would awaken.
It was dusk at the moment. The setting sun was flaming red and the moon was already visible in the sky, a beautiful moment to say the least. Marquis Lynch Jr. was seated before a floor-to-ceiling window, reading some ancient texts. He would occasionally pick up the beautiful golden goblet to enjoy the high-quality blood wine, all the while enjoying the scenery outside the window.
A scene of near-withering like this would fill his heart with an inexplicable sadness whenever he gazed upon it. This was the marquis’ favorite emotion because only with it could he write satisfactory pieces of poetry.
This time, however, he was completely startled to find two figures standing outside. They were only one glass window away but the marquis never discovered their arrival. The castle’s defenses weren’t activated, either.
Nighteye removed her hood. “Aren’t you going to let us in?”
The marquis trembled in fright as he opened the window. He then placed his hand over his chest and bowed deeply, “Please forgive me, I’d never expected you to visit a small place like Castle Ava.”
Nighteye entered and sat down in the marquis’ chair. Qianye simply stood beside her but didn’t reveal his countenance.
Marquis Lynch closed the window, stopping the cold mountain winds outside from entering. “Your Majesty, how can I help you? Shall I prepare a grand banquet? Due to the urgent nature, some of the famous local dishes may not make it to the table, please forgive us.”
Nighteye said, “I don’t need a banquet, don’t let anyone else know of my arrival. Things seem calm here. I take it the demonkin and the council have not arrived?”
The junior Marquis Lynch’s eyes widened. “Why would the council come here? As for the demonkin, this is the Twilight Continent. I don’t think they’ll have the guts to move freely in our hinterlands?”
Nighteye frowned. “None of them have arrived?”
Lynch seemed puzzled. “No, if you want I can summon the soldiers in our territory and confirm everything. From what I know, no unfamiliar demonkin have appeared in our lands in the past month. There are demonkin in the city below, but those families have been working their factory here for three hundred years.”
Nighteye said, “That’s good. I suggest you immediately strengthen your castle guards and contact the main Perth family. It’s best if you can go and hide out over there, or have them send troops reinforcements.”
Lynch was shocked out of his seat. “T-This is something big, isn’t it? What has happened, Your Majesty?”
“I suspect an all-out war with the demonkin is beginning.”
“An all-out war!” Lynch cried out. “How can this be? Isn’t the holy war on hold? And you’re the leader of the new world’s pioneering efforts!”
“Do as I say.” Nighteye didn’t want to explain. She then got up and said, “How is the old duke doing? Is there a mechanism in Castle Ava to contact Her Majesty the Queen? I need to use it.”
Marquis Lynch looked surprised. “Your Majesty, we do have such equipment, but it’s been hundreds of years since father last used it. I might have the family bloodline but I’m not strong enough to activate it, you’ll need my father.”
It was easier to contact the Queen of the Night on Twilight Continent than from other places. Even so, the operation would require a duke from the Perth clan. The dukes were important characters of the race. If they needed to contact the Queen, the matter had to be of great urgency.
The Queen’s slumber could not be disrupted so easily. Lilith awakened fewer and fewer times as the River of Blood distanced itself; even her projection rarely appeared. Comparatively, the Demon King and the Spider Queen were much more active.
Not every duke of the Perth clan had the right to build their castle on Twilight Continent.
Nighteye picked Castle Ava because the place was likely to house a method of communication with the Queen.
Marquis Lynch’s expression seemed a bit unnatural when he heard Nighteye’s request. In the end, he said, “Follow me, Your Majesty.”
Qianye naturally followed when Nighteye moved. Marquis Lynched said with a frown, “Your Majesty, it won’t be convenient for your follower to enter the place.”
“He’s not my follower.”
Qianye revealed a wisp of his blood energy, producing a terrifying suppressive might that turned Marquis Lynch pale. The man took a couple of steps back and glanced at Nighteye in shock. He no longer dared to say anything and merely led the two down the castle.
The trio passed through a long corridor and six checkpoints until a giant bronze door finally appeared before him. They were now deep inside the mountain.
“This is where my father lies asleep. It was three hundred and fifty years ago that I last woke him up.”
