Chapter 202: The True Betrayal

In the Twilight Continent, Qian Ye, Yeting, and Howard flew low and fast.

Suddenly, Howard murmured, “Though Middle’s main castle wasn’t my first, I built it with my own hands. When it was completed, the human empire didn’t even exist yet. I never thought that a place I lived in for over a thousand years would be destroyed like this.” He sighed deeply.

After running for half a day, Howard began to pant. Looking up at the sky, he said, “My connection with the mark is getting weaker. Are you sure you want to bring along this useless old man?”

Yeting replied, “There is only one Dark Gospel. With you here, the Bane clan won’t perish.”

Howard caught his breath and said, “Alright, you’ve convinced me.”

For any ancient clan, the bloodline of the original ancestor is the source of everything. A living ancestor or a great lord among the descendants is paramount. The importance of the Dark Gospel alone surpasses all other members of the Bane clan. This is the traditional standard of judgment for the Blood Clan.

Qian Ye, lost in thought, noticed Howard falling behind and slowed down, extending his hand.

Howard hesitated but then chuckled bitterly, muttering, “Since I’m already a useless old man, why should I care so much!”

He grasped Qian Ye’s arm and felt a surge of strength, increasing their speed. Yeting also sped up, darting across the mountains and plains. Howard then realized that both Yeting and Qian Ye had been conserving their energy and were not running at full speed.

“You… are not very much like dukes,” he could only marvel.

As night fell, the three finally reached Fleet Castle, only to find a pile of ruins.

This castle was one of the two largest castles of the Mowei clan on the Twilight Continent. Its owner, Duke Vandrive, was steady but mediocre, never awakening the bloodline of the original ancestor in his lifetime. However, he was gentle and helpful, earning him a good reputation among the Blood Clan.

The King of Blue had been dormant for many years, rarely venturing out, leading to a decline in the Mowei clan’s overall strength. Although the clan had several dukes, Vandrive, as an acting duke, managed one of the most important castles, which was a testament to his status.

If the Master of Mesfield hadn’t appeared, Howard’s castle could have held out for days under the siege of the Assembly’s army, perhaps even longer. But the present Fleet Castle, without the presence of a dark lord, seemed to have collapsed within a day.

Occasional figures flitted through the ruins, cautious in their movements, but they couldn’t escape the keen eyes of Yeting and Qian Ye.

“Those are demonkind, likely left behind to capture or intercept any Blood Clan members who come to investigate or communicate,” Yeting noted.

Qian Ye pointed to a distance, saying, “Their camp is there, in that half-collapsed building. I’ll go.”

“Good.”

Qian Ye’s figure flickered and vanished from sight. Moments later, the half-collapsed building was enveloped in a crimson-gold force field and crumbled layer by layer.

Within the domain, a few demonkind struggled to fly, but they fell after a dozen meters. In an instant, everything within the domain turned to dust, while everything outside remained intact, as if cut by a knife.

Howard raised his eyebrows, exclaiming, “What a powerful domain!”

The intense dawn origin power in Qian Ye’s domain was blinding even to him, let alone the demonkind inside. Qian Ye’s Dawn Domain was unparalleled in weakening and destroying the dark races.

After a moment, Qian Ye retracted the domain and signaled. Yeting and Howard flew over.

Among the ruins, dozens of fallen demonkind lay strewn about. Two counts could still sit, but just barely, while the marquis in charge stood shakily, looking like he might fall at a touch.

All the demonkind gazed at Qian Ye with fear. As dark descendants, they had just experienced the hellish Dawn Domain, something they never wanted to experience again.

“Where is Acting Duke Vandrive now?” Howard asked, hitting the nail on the head.

The marquis only sneered, “You Blood Clan remnants, do you think you can run forever? Asking me for information is a delusion!”

Howard, unperturbed, smiled, “Soon you’ll understand why they call me the Dark Gospel.”

A piercing scream soon filled the air.

“Ready to talk now?” Howard, still standing, remained motionless. The marquis, however, lay convulsing on the ground, foaming at the mouth and nose.

Hearing Howard’s voice, he screamed again, backing away in extreme fear.

Howard waved his hand, sending a cold, bloody aura to calm the marquis.

This time, the demonkind didn’t resist, answering honestly, “Vandrive isn’t dead. At the last moment, he… surrendered. He and the remaining three hundred or so clansmen are imprisoned in Marquis Aival’s castle, to be transferred to the Demon Continent in a couple of days.”

“Aival, she was just a child when I last saw her, and now she’s a marquis? I never expected even she would join the demonkind,” Howard mused. “We’ve seen the war, but what we need to know now is the cause of the war and why so many of our kind have joined the demonkind.”

Qian Ye added, “Perhaps they are just afraid. In the recent Black Sun Valley, three werewolf and Blood Clan marquises surrendered. In Yongsu, there were even more such cases.”

Howard shook his head, “Immortals do indeed fear death more, but not all. Moreover, on the battlefield, your true identity is that of a third party, a subtle distinction where surrender and ransom are tacitly allowed. These traitors face different circumstances. I know some of them; they are resolute and responsible, not easily intimidated. So, I think there must be another reason. We need to find out what it is that makes them betray the Queen and their kin, forsaking the River of Blood, to join the demonkind.”

Qian Ye nodded, thoughtful. As immortals, if they don’t fear death, there is little that can tempt them. Not power, nor strength. As for faith, it doesn’t exist. For the Blood Clan, the River of Blood is the only faith. If they can abandon the River of Blood, what faith can’t be discarded?

Listening to Howard, Qian Ye felt that the underlying cause might be crucial. He regretted killing young Lord Lynche too quickly, missing the chance to interrogate further. Neither he nor Yeting had realized that such betrayal could be genuine and voluntary.

But without Lynche, there was still Aival. Even if Vandrive had surrendered, was there any point in rescuing him? Qian Ye turned questioning eyes to Yeting.

Yeting pondered, “Reno has no direct descendants, and Vandrive is the closest relative, being his sister’s direct descendant. Regardless, we should check the situation. Being sent to the Demon Continent is not a good thing.”

“Alright,” Qian Ye agreed.

In the Zhao family’s territory, at the Yu Tong Pass, the front line bordering the rebel forces and the Dark Territory, the atmosphere was tense.

At noon, the Zhao family’s outer void defense system detected a fleet of dukedom-level dark race ships in the airspace of the rebel-controlled Yu Nan and Wu Bei provinces, with some ships bearing the Eternal Night Parliament insignia.

While the fleet’s position did not threaten imperial territory, it was perilously close.

The Empire was in full war preparation, though unofficially, with all major family heads and generals above the rank of major general ready for battle. General Zhao Ruchen, stationed at Yu Tong Pass, was among them.

Zhao Ruchen excelled in defense and strategic assessment.

Although intelligence indicated internal strife within the Dark Territory, Zhao Ruchen did not dismiss the fleet’s appearance and personally boarded a warship to observe the fleet from a distance.

Upon returning, he immediately dispatched scouts to report to the Zhao family headquarters.

The response was swift, and within an hour, a high-speed vessel arrived, bringing Zhao Jundu.

Zhao Ruchen was surprised to see Zhao Jundu, who he believed was recuperating in the capital.

Hurrying to greet him, Zhao Ruchen asked, “Why are you here personally, Fourth Prince? Are you fully recovered?”

Zhao Jundu nodded in return, “The North Mountain King is at the main residence. He sensed an unknown disturbance in the Western Continent’s outer void. Your intelligence arrived just in time, so I came to see if it originated from here.”

“Unknown disturbance?” Zhao Ruchen was taken aback. A king’s perception was serious, but the ambiguity of the source was a nightmare for strategists.

Zhao Jundu, following Zhao Ruchen, climbed the watchtower and looked toward the neighboring Yu Nan province. “Have you notified the war zone?”

Zhao Ruchen was about to answer when two high-speed vessels from the Imperial Regular Army approached from the east. Before landing, two figures leaped out, flying directly toward the city.

One of the figures, a handsome young man, was Vice Commander Zhao Junhong of the Western Army.

Zhao Ruchen didn’t need to explain. After exchanging greetings, Zhao Jundu turned to the other figure, who wore the uniform of the Imperial Regular Army but with a different emblem: the Northern Guard Corps.

Zhao Jundu recognized him but couldn’t recall his name. Zhao Junhong quickly introduced, “This is General Lin Wushang, the current Admiral of the Northern Guard Corps.”