Banners hung from the castle, emblazoned with the emblem of a bone harp, signifying that this fortress belonged to the ancient bloodline of Caten among the twelve venerable clans of the Blood Race.
Caten, being the last in the hierarchy of the ancient clans, had been declining for nearly a century without any signs of revival. When Ye Tun extended Qian Ye’s life, she chose to venture into Caten territory to steal the source blood.
Looking at the scale of this marquisate castle, it was clear that when it was built, the Caten clan was not yet so impoverished.
Ye Tun gazed at the ancient castle and said, “From the emblem, it seems to be the Mora family of the Caten clan. The Mora family has a long and storied history, but their bloodline talents are mediocre. Even earls are rare among their descendants. They maintain their current status mainly through intricate kinship and bloodline ties accumulated over the years. Plus, this domain is on the edge of the continent, drawing little interest. If I remember correctly, the current marquis is nearing the end of his life, and there isn’t a marquis among his descendants yet.”
Qian Ye nodded, “Good, if we have questions, he should cooperate.”
Both Ye Tun and Qian Ye were now ducal-level combatants. With two dukes paying a visit, an old marquis would surely be intimidated.
Ye Tun agreed, “That’s right. Such a family may not be powerful, but they are well-informed. At least we can find out what has happened these days.”
Just then, a plume of flames burst from the main tower of the castle, igniting several fluttering banners. Soon, multiple fires and thick smoke rose into the sky from the main tower.
Something was amiss—could it be a coincidence?
“Let’s go and take a look,” Qian Ye said immediately.
“Alright.”
Qian Ye’s figure flickered, while Ye Tun’s form became ethereal, trailing a long, flowing ribbon as she moved gracefully through the air. Her flight was beautiful, and her speed was no less than Qian Ye’s, who used void flashing, as they reached the Mora Marquis’ castle.
In the small square in front of the main tower, more than ten wooden frames were set up, and fully armed warriors were nailing several members of the Blood Race to the frames. Fires had already been lit under some frames, and the blood races nailed to them screamed in agony. These were not ordinary flames; they carried the essence of Dawn!
Ye Tun’s face turned grim.
Using fire to punish the Blood Race was not only cruel and painful but also a deeply humiliating and provocative act. After the human empire was established, to respond to the Blood Banquets, one of the methods the empire used for retribution was burning the Blood Race and other dark races on stakes. The empire publicly declared that dark races burned by the Dawn Flames would have their souls forever damned.
Although this was just the empire’s claim, it was true that the Dawn Flames inflicted double the pain on the Blood Race. Since the power spectrum of Dawn entered people’s sight, the various races of Eternaria had developed internal punishment methods using it, leaving the empire unable to comment.
“It’s the Demon Race!” Ye Tun could no longer bear it and descended like a meteorite into the center of the square, instantly extinguishing all the fires with the storm she created.
She waved her hand, and over a dozen dark golden blades flew out, slicing the demon warriors in half.
A formidable aura of a noble marquis surged from the foot of the mountain, followed by a thunderous roar: “Who dares attack the direct forces of the Council? What audacity!”
He flew like lightning, creating a rumbling sound in the air, straight towards the castle. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and a person appeared out of nowhere. This shock was immense; the Demon Marquis panicked, barely managing to stop in time, nearly crashing into the figure.
Startled and furious, he looked up and gasped, “Qian Ye!”
Qian Ye stood with his hands behind his back, completely unguarded, and simply said, “What’s the rush? Stay and talk.”
The Demon Marquis’ face changed rapidly, and he blurted out, “The entire Council is looking for you, and you dare show up!”
He suddenly thought of something and turned to flee. But as he changed direction, his vision blurred again, and Qian Ye reappeared in front of him.
“Why the sudden urgency to leave? Tell me, why is the Council after me, and who gave the order?”
The Demon Marquis remained silent, suddenly drawing his sword and thrusting it at Qian Ye’s blood core! This move was swift as lightning, but Qian Ye casually swatted away the sword and the marquis, sending him crashing into the mountainside like a cannonball.
Qian Ye slowly descended, standing before the Noble Marquis, and said, “Not so hasty now, are we?”
The Noble Marquis’ sword was twisted beyond recognition, stuck in the ground beside him. His right arm, which held the sword, was unnaturally contorted, and his mouth and nose were full of blood. He panted, his eyes filled with fear, and exclaimed, “You’re a Grand Duke, no, a Prince! Definitely a Prince!”
Qian Ye crouched down beside him, saying calmly, “I’m far from a Prince, but that doesn’t matter. If you don’t want me to dig out your primal furnace and slowly roast it in the Dawn Flames, you’d better answer my questions honestly. If I’m in a good mood, I might spare your life.”
The Demon Marquis calmed slightly and said, “I advise you to see reality. The entire Council is hunting you, and I’m a direct force of the Council. If you kill me, the Council will only intensify the hunt and increase the bounty.”
Hearing this, Qian Ye frowned. The Demon Marquis implied that only he was being hunted. If the scope were expanded, where would it begin?
The Demon Marquis, noticing his expression, said, “I’m not threatening, but stating facts. If you leave now, I’ll pretend I never saw you here. You should be able to escape the Continent of Twilight within a day.”
“That’s not a good suggestion,” Qian Ye replied.
The Demon Marquis let out a shrill cry as his left leg was severed at the root. A thin thread of crimson gold fire shot from Qian Ye’s fingertips, turning the flesh of the marquis into crystal. This fire thread was made of Dawn Essence, as sharp as a high-tier sword, making it difficult for dark races to heal.
“Sorry, I cut a bit too much. Rest for ten years, and your strength should recover. Oh, by the way, at least a Grand Duke needs to treat you for that ten-year recovery.”
Qian Ye apologized but aimed the fire thread between the Demon Marquis’ legs.
Terrified, the marquis shouted, “What are you doing? There, there, it won’t recover!”
“Maybe it can grow back,” Qian Ye’s fiery blade inched forward.
The marquis screamed like a pig, “No! It won’t recover, don’t do that, get that away!”
“Why is the Council after me?”
“They say you’re not dead and have a treasure. The Council wants that item.”
“What is it?”
“I, I don’t know, just heard it’s a book. Anyway, they want to find you and seize both you and everything you have.”
Qian Ye immediately thought of the Book of Black. The only book-shaped object he had was this; it couldn’t be the Song Clan Scroll. The Song Clan Scroll required Dawn Essence to practice, and was of no value to dark races.
After confirming that the Noble Marquis didn’t know what the Council wanted, Qian Ye asked, “Who in the Council gave the order?”
“It’s the… the Holy Mountain!” The Demon Marquis seemed more confident, saying, “I advise you to either surrender or flee to the humans. The Emperors on the Holy Mountain rarely issue such direct orders. No matter where you hide, they will find you.”
Qian Ye frowned. The Demon Marquis, thinking he was swayed, hastily added, “My mission wasn’t to capture you, and no one else saw you. If you let me go, I swear by the dark essence that I will never reveal today’s events. That gives you time to escape and hide. What do you think?”
Qian Ye ignored him and continued, “What was your mission? Why kill these blood races?”
“I was ordered by the Council to confiscate the ancient blood pool of the Mora family. But that old Mora dared to resist and even injured my subordinates! To uphold the Council’s authority, I decided to execute the old man and his direct descendants.”
Qian Ye frowned, “Do you have that much power?”
“Of course, the Council’s missions come with clear authorization. Within this scope, I have complete autonomy. In fact, I’ve been merciful. If resisted, the authorization allows me to exterminate the entire Mora family and their vassals. If the old man had cooperated, I wouldn’t have done this. I’m not a werewolf, no grudge against the Blood Race.”
At that moment, the noise inside the castle intensified, and over a dozen figures rushed out, heading for the landing field. Two airships took off, trying to escape. Suddenly, a dark gold ribbon appeared in the air, gracefully wrapping around the airships.
The airships spewed bright flames, crashed to the ground, and exploded into massive fireballs. No one escaped during the crash.
Ye Tun appeared beside Qian Ye, giving the Demon Marquis on the ground a cold glance. The marquis shivered and managed a sycophantic smile.
“Find out anything?”
“He says he came to confiscate the blood pool. Did you leave any survivors?”
“Accidentally killed them all. Isn’t this one still alive?”
The Demon Marquis broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively tried to move away, catching Ye Tun’s attention.
“What was your mission? Recite it exactly.”
The marquis truthfully said, “I was to confiscate the blood pools and all source blood from the Robelle, Mora, and Feni families. If resisted, I could kill on the spot. If the resistance was too strong, I could call for reinforcement from Duke Kendal. The duke’s fleet is in the void. Robelle was the first, and it went smoothly, but the Mora family posed problems.”
“Who ordered the fire punishment?”
“My deputy! Not me! He was in the castle; if you saw him…” the marquis hurriedly explained.
Qian Ye said, “This order is strange. Why didn’t the Blood Race leaders in the Council object?”
The Demon Marquis was taken aback, “This task wasn’t a general discussion item. I don’t have the authority to attend small meetings and don’t know the details. Oh, yes, I heard that during the recent battle review in the New World, a betrayal was discovered, implicating many, including various races. It might be related.”
Qian Ye glanced at Ye Tun and asked, “What about the Azure King? Any news?”
“The Azure King? Renault? He has fallen.”
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