According to the long-standing rules, the internal affairs of the blood clan were handled by the active Ancestors. Even Great Lords who were not Ancestors had to obtain authorization from the Queen of Night. Even someone like Habus, who had lit the Blood Mark, had to wait for Lilith’s personal acknowledgment before he was recognized as a Second Generation Ancestor, rendering seasoned Great Lords like Metatron completely speechless.
Currently, there were two Second Generation Ancestors in the blood clan who were active: Metatron might have encountered some problems, while Habus was always responsible for the Holy War and had close ties with the Eternal Night Council. In the current situation, it was hard to distinguish whether he was a friend or foe.
There were rumors that the Dark Evangel Howard had recently awakened. His situation differed from the Blue King Renno, who was nearing the end of his life. Howard, on the other hand, could wake up on his own, indicating he could maintain a period of free activity.
However, Howard and Metatron had always been at odds, and this time, neither had made a public appearance. If Howard returned to hibernation, he would undoubtedly become a primary target for the demon race. Howard, as a Second Generation Ancestor capable of activity at any time, also had the ability to summon Lilith, making him a significant unpredictable factor.
Nightpupil thought about this, and the parts she couldn’t understand earlier now had answers. The seemingly crazy actions of the demon race on the Twilight Continent might actually succeed.
The demon race likely used the pretext of the council investigating inappropriate behavior during the war as a cover to convince the werewolves and spider demons to agree to their plan. Those two races wouldn’t object to seizing blood pools and destroying blood clan altars to weaken the blood clan, especially since the werewolves had suffered heavy losses in the nearly hundred years of Holy War and might be even more proactive.
This time, the actions on the Twilight Continent were carried out simultaneously at multiple points, and various methods were used to block the nodes connecting to the Queen of Night. With the Blue King fallen and Metatron and Habus both in unstable positions, if the remaining hibernating Second Generation Ancestors couldn’t awaken, everything would be completed in just a few days. Ordinary blood clansmen wouldn’t even realize what had happened.
Even if the Queen of Night woke up one day, the situation would already be determined.
Understanding this, a flash of killing intent appeared in Nightpupil’s eyes, and she was about to end Little Lynch’s life. But Qian Ye stopped her and asked Little Lynch, “What did you mean by the new order?”
Little Lynch replied, “His Majesty the Demon Emperor believes that since the Dawn Rebellion, the blood clan has gradually deviated from its dark origins, leading to polluted bloodlines and original sin. The gradual disappearance of the Blood River is proof. The blood clan needs to cleanse their original sin and return to the dark source to gain rebirth.”
“Ridiculous!” Nightpupil was enraged.
“Yes, yes!” Little Lynch nodded repeatedly.
Qian Ye didn’t have the mood to ask further. Thoughts and beliefs were strange; it was difficult to discern whether Little Lynch’s betrayal was out of fear of imminent death or genuine belief in the demon race’s rhetoric. Perhaps even Little Lynch himself wasn’t sure.
Qian Ye looked at Nightpupil, saw the coldness in her eyes, and applied more force, shattering Little Lynch’s blood core with a single strike.
“You said… you wouldn’t kill me…”
“Did we? I don’t remember.” Qian Ye left Little Lynch’s corpse and leaped out of the window with Nightpupil, disappearing into the vast night.
After leaving the castle, Qian Ye and Nightpupil ran through the night, crossing mountains and plains, heading towards the distance.
As they ran, Qian Ye suddenly asked, “How do the blood clan feel about their kin? Why would someone like Lynch betray the sleeping father and join the demon race?”
“This has nothing to do with the blood clan. Long-lived species may have weaker familial bonds, but they still exist. It’s often more about power and position. This Little Lynch, I have no memory of him in my knowledge of the Lynch family, meaning his siblings were much more outstanding. Yet, he now sits in the position of the successor. Among humans, aren’t there many examples of fathers and brothers slaughtering each other for power and wealth?”
Hearing Nightpupil’s explanation, Qian Ye felt a bit better and then asked, “Am I considered a blood clan now? Why do I feel no different from before?”
“Of course, you are a blood clan. The part of you that was human is now sealed in the Black Book. This is something Reno would never get wrong.”
Qian Ye felt somewhat depressed and asked, “Why is my entire body now that of a blood clan?”
“Reno said that the human body is too fragile. At that time, you were practically dead, and only our blood clan’s constitution could repair the damage and bring you back to life. Additionally, only the blood clan can use the Azure Pool.”
Actually, Qian Ye could guess this without Nightpupil’s explanation. He sighed and shook his head.
Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared in the distance, followed by a column of flames rising into the sky. In the firelight, an ancient castle could be seen burning fiercely, definitely not a natural fire.
Qian Ye and Nightpupil exchanged glances, and Qian Ye said, “That’s the third castle. We’re not far from the initial Morra Territory, right?”
Nightpupil narrowed her eyes and said, “Clearly, not every family is willing to surrender.”
“What should we do? Should we go to help?”
Nightpupil gritted her teeth and said, “No! First, we need to go to the Bane Clan’s territory!”
Qian Ye glanced at the burning castle in the distance and said, “That’s Monroe’s territory.”
“I know… no saving.”
Qian Ye didn’t say anything more and silently followed Nightpupil, continuing toward their destination.
The Bane Clan’s core territory, where the Dark Evangel Howard was located, was still quite a distance away. As they ran in silence, Nightpupil suddenly said, “Do you think I’m cold-blooded for not saving my own kin?”
Qian Ye responded, “If it were the Empire, they would likely stop to rescue under such circumstances.” The danger to Howard was merely speculative, while the death here was real. Real choices had to be made on the battlefield.
Nightpupil was silent for a moment and then said, “The concept of long-lived species differs from humans. A human Celestial King can at most protect a region for a hundred years, but a coronated Prince or Great Lord of the long-lived species can protect the entire race for hundreds or even thousands of years. Over a long period, the difference in rank is more important than anything else. It can be said that, for the fate of the entire blood clan, the significance of a Dark Evangel is greater than all the Marquises combined.”
Qian Ye said, “Alright, I’ll try to understand.”
Nightpupil suddenly stopped, and Qian Ye, caught off guard, nearly overran and barely halted beside her.
Nightpupil looked into his eyes and said, “You… go.”
“Go where?” Qian Ye was confused.
Nightpupil sighed and said, “To the neutral territories, Yonlun, there are many places to go, but don’t return to the human Empire or Twilight.”
“And you?”
“I’m going to the Bane Territory.”
“Of course, I’ll go with you.”
But Nightpupil shook her head, “No, this isn’t your war. You aren’t a true blood clan. The war between the blood clan and the demon race, we will handle ourselves. However, you must promise me that you won’t return to the human Empire. Now, at least physically, you are completely a blood clan. Those humans might stab you in the back one day.”
Qian Ye’s face was serious, and he asked, “Do you sense something?”
“From the beginning, we were on the brink of failure. Along the way, we passed through territories belonging to three major and minor clans, five of which showed signs of disturbance, three were being destroyed, and two were likely traps. I believe there will be a real battle waiting for me at the Dark Evangel’s Middle Castle.”
Qian Ye said, “If you are involved in this war, it is also my war. Are you worried that I am biased against the blood clan?”
“Between you and my people, there is a lot of hatred.”
Qian Ye fell silent. In fact, he had something he hadn’t mentioned. When he heard the name Habus, a bone-chilling pain pierced his heart, followed by overwhelming killing intent.
When Zhang Boqian visited the floating land battlefield, he only mentioned that Lin Xitang had ultimately perished in the Demon Emperor’s domain. Afterward, the Eternal Night Council was tight-lipped about it, never issuing a public announcement, though bits of information circulated. For example, the credit for that battle and the related spoils eventually went to the blood clan, and during that time, the sitting Prince of the Eternal Night faction, Habus, was also in the Demon Emperor’s domain.
Qian Ye didn’t know if Nightpupil had noticed his momentary loss of composure or if he could control himself if he ever saw the legendary Fire Crown.
After a while, the two stood in the night sky, silently looking at each other.
Qian Ye said slowly, “I have plenty of hatred for the werewolves too. But in Yonlun, I realized that there may not be irreconcilable hatred between factions, let alone between races. On the battlefield, it’s war, and even if there is hatred, it is between warriors and the strong, not the civilians.”
In the end, Qian Ye added, “In short, I’m not leaving!”
Nightpupil was amused by his childish stubbornness and said, “You never listen, so let’s go.”
They sped up, and by dawn, they had crossed half of the Twilight Continent and appeared outside the Middle Castle.
Though called a castle, the Middle Castle was a massive fortress, almost a large city. Built on a mountain peak, the buildings covered half the mountain. The castle was constructed on a gentler slope, with a sheer cliff on the other side, beneath which lay a canyon filled with black-red lava.
The ascending earthfire was the most abhorred smell by the blood clan and other dark races, making the canyon a natural barrier. Only top-tier experts could enter the castle from this area, and no army, even the direct forces of the council, could cross it.
Without an Ancestor gap, the Bane Clan, over thousands of years, had transformed the Middle Castle into a true fortress, with each tower and window potentially spewing deadly flames.
The Middle Castle, as seen by Nightpupil and Qian Ye, presented the appearance of a true war fortress.
Inside the castle, countless artillery platforms were firing streams of fire into the sky, bombarding a swarm of fleets in the air.
The outermost wall of the castle had fallen, and fighting was taking place at the second wall, with fire and explosions behind it, indicating the line of defense was on the verge of collapse.
In the distance, a string of lights appeared, and a fleet of transport ships was approaching. These ships, large, stable, and fast, were unmistakably from the council. They were not here to support Howard.
Outside the castle, the council army had set up a temporary camp, with supplies piled high, and groups of soldiers were being deployed to the battlefield.
Seeing this, Qian Ye truly understood the meaning of total war.
On the upper continent, at the Eternal Hall of the Eternal Night Council.
The sky was the eternal night, with the seven tribal totems of the primordial era hanging above the gate, unchanged by the passage of ten thousand years, even more enduring than the races they represented.
Any living being in this miraculous place was as insignificant as dust.
Habus stood in the air, gazing at the void fortress that shouldn’t be there, more precisely, a projection of a city-fortress. The city itself was a semi-plane, anchored in that location, casting a massive shadow in the mortal world.
The buildings in that city were tall and windowless, designed for war. With Habus’s keen vision, he could see soldiers of various races standing in the streets and watchtowers.
These soldiers, similar yet different from the current dark races, were more robust and fierce for the blood clan and slimmer and more powerful for the spider demons. They stood motionless, frozen in time, as if ready to fight at any moment.
That was the super-weapon of the demon race, the war semi-plane, now only existing in legend.
The Speaker appeared beside Habus, looking at the grand and magnificent war weapon together.
After a while, the Speaker said, “Your Highness, you can set out now. The advance forces have already departed three hours ago. By the time you reach the Fireland, they should have completed the decapitation operation.”
Habus said, “Lord Markel, can you tell me the true objective of this operation? Why deploy such a war weapon? I remember when the Void Behemoth, Tianguai, appeared on the lower Eternal Night Continent, you didn’t bring it out.”
“Void Behemoths usually don’t attack inhabited continents directly. Why risk provoking it?” the Speaker said, “You are overthinking. The target of this operation is indeed those two provinces mainly populated by humans.”
The Speaker thought for a moment and said, “If you want to know why? One reason is that the forces the council can send are limited, enough for a decapitation operation.” He looked at Habus’s expression and smiled, “Don’t worry, we don’t need to engage in pacification. We don’t need the resources and population from that land, so Ema City is enough to clean it up.”
Habus understood the Speaker’s meaning and, after a moment of silence, said, “Even if those two provinces have nominally separated from the Qin Empire, doing this will likely provoke the human Celestial Kings. Does the council mean…”
The Speaker nodded, “Yes, the possibility of a full-scale war cannot be ruled out.”
Hearing this, Habus frowned.
Even with the council’s authorization, escalating the war to a national level on the spot was beyond his authority as a Prince. But directly massacring two provinces of humans in front of the Qin Empire would inevitably escalate the war.
The Speaker said, “In fact, upon seeing Ema City, the human Celestial Kings’ primary concern would not be those two separated provinces but their homeland. Ema City is equipped with more than a single launch capability.”
Habus suddenly understood. The council had dispatched this war semi-plane to intimidate the Qin Empire. “Lord Markel, I think the council should consider sending a Great Lord to take charge.”
The Speaker said, “His Majesty Emperor Kane has instructed that you have full command of Ema City. If the human Celestial Kings insist on witnessing Ema’s power, they will be pleasantly surprised.”
Habus couldn’t help but smile bitterly, “His Majesty the Demon Emperor really thinks highly of me.”
Having control over Ema City meant having the ability to stand up to a Celestial King. Although Habus wasn’t too worried about escaping from a human Celestial King, this authority at least proved that the council did not intend to use him as cannon fodder in this mission.
The Speaker watched Habus leave, adjusted his hooded cloak, and walked step by step towards the majestic Eternal Hall.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage