The vampire viscount knelt on one knee, his head deeply bowed, “Territory…” Then his voice choked, as if he didn’t know how to respond.
Yan Tóng’s voice softened, saying, “Stand up and speak. I don’t think I’ve met you before, have I?”
“I am merely a distant descendant of Earl Chaos, with no remarkable bloodline. I barely advanced to the rank of viscount and was given the opportunity to serve the old earl. At that time, you were already the princess of the Monrow. So, you wouldn’t recognize me.”
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“His Excellency has something to give to you.”
Yan Tóng’s expression faltered slightly. She didn’t need to ask the viscount to know that the small clan left by Chaos on the Evernight Continent would not be in good shape. The old earl had been captured by Edward, and Monrow likely wouldn’t confront the Holy Son over a remote branch. Yet, she hadn’t expected that under such circumstances, Chaos would still leave something for her.
The vampire viscount continued, “You know… when His Excellency was taken away by the Pascal Clan, it wasn’t peaceful. He seemed to have a premonition and handed me an item when visitors were announced. He instructed me to escape through a secret passage and ensure it reached your hands.”
Yan Tóng’s expression was calm, but she listened intently.
“Luckily, I escaped, but I couldn’t find any definite information about you. Later, I heard that you might have gone to the human side. Only now, with the official announcement of your return, did I dare to seek you out.”
Yan Tóng could already imagine what had happened in the castle where she spent her childhood and most of her teenage years. She asked, “How many from the clan are still alive?”
Hearing this, the viscount suddenly broke down, weeping uncontrollably, sobbing, “My lord is dead, many of the descendants are dead too. The rest, I heard, were captured for some sort of blood extraction. Those whose blood wasn’t pure enough were killed on the spot. They… they want to exterminate our clan!”
Yan Tóng fell silent for a moment, her voice as cold as the wind from the deepest arctic, “Besides Edward and the Pascal Clan, who else?”
“There seem to be some other powerful clans involved. Oh, right, I can confirm that two viscounts are from the Dracula Clan.”
“King of No Light?”
The viscount lowered his head, looking somewhat terrified, and replied, “I’m not sure if it has anything to do with Emperor Medanzo.” The actions of just two viscounts couldn’t represent the will of the clan, and he dared not accuse a great dark lord without evidence.
Yan Tóng nodded, “Alright, I understand. I will handle this. What is the item you were supposed to bring me?”
“Here it is.” The viscount unbuttoned his clothes and retrieved a well-sealed wooden box from his undergarment, nervously explaining, “Your Highness, I only hid it like this because I was afraid it would be stolen.”
“It’s fine, bring it over.”
The viscount’s hands trembled slightly as he stepped forward, handing the wooden box to Yan Tóng.
The box was about a foot square and three fingers thick, with intricate carvings on its surface, sealed with a special adhesive. It didn’t look like it could hold much.
Yan Tóng had never seen such a sealed box before, and she didn’t recall seeing anything similar in the old earl’s study. The patterns on the surface were actually origin arrays, with unknown functions. However, to Yan Tóng’s eyes, the origin fluctuations were extremely weak, suggesting that even if it worked, it wouldn’t be very effective.
What was inside that the old earl had so desperately wanted to send out?
As Yan Tóng reached for the box, perhaps due to nervousness, the viscount’s hands shook more, triggering a mechanism. With a snap, the lid opened, revealing the contents.
It was a book.
The viscount was startled, stammering, “This… this… Your Highness, I swear, I never opened it!”
Yan Tóng remained calm, “It’s alright, it must be what Chaos intended.”
The book was clearly an ancient human tome, not the heavy, ornate style common among vampires. Its cover was blank, with no words. The pages were thick, making the entire book look like it contained only a dozen or so.
Yan Tóng picked up the ancient book and opened the cover, revealing a single word: “Death!”
In an instant, an indescribable aura burst from the book, like a towering peak and a deep sea, exuding an overwhelming dominance, instantly suppressing the entire Deiathus Castle!
Yan Tóng’s eyes turned entirely red, and from the depths of her pupils, the ancient book opened on its own. An old man emerged from the pages, striking her with a distant punch.
King Finger!
Yan Tóng’s blood energy suddenly exploded, and a massive black scythe appeared in her hand. She knelt on one knee, planting the scythe in front of her, blocking King Finger’s strike.
King Finger was unmoved, delivering his punch and vanishing without a second glance. His figure passed through Yan Tóng and disappeared, a mere illusion.
After King Finger’s strike, he vanished. Yan Tóng held the scythe, motionless. Suddenly, there was a boom, and the sofa she had been sitting on exploded into dust. A series of booms followed, and everything in the living room exploded, turning into fine powder.
Not just the furniture, but even the walls, floor, and ceiling began to explode, the destruction spreading rapidly to the entire main building of the castle. The collision of the forces of King Finger and Yan Tóng was terrifying, and the thousand-year-old Deiathus Castle couldn’t withstand it.
As the main building began to collapse, two massive blood energies rose from the third floor, fiercely resisting the destructive force. Their blood-colored domains showed strange phenomena, but they were destroyed as soon as they formed. Ultimately, the two ducal-level forces could only protect a small area around them.
In a moment, the main building completely collapsed. After the dust was swept away by the cold wind, only three cylindrical ruins remained, each standing with two dukes and Yan Tóng.
The dukes looked at each other, their shock evident. They stepped to Yan Tóng, asking, “Princess, are you alright?”
Yan Tóng slowly lifted her head, her face pale, a crimson line of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Leaning on the black scythe, she struggled to stand, but the handle of the scythe crumbled into dust. Yan Tóng stumbled, nearly falling.
The dukes hesitated, carefully maintaining their distance from Yan Tóng.
Vampires are delicate and sensitive; approaching her while she was seriously injured might cause misunderstandings.
Yan Tóng steadied herself and slowly stood up. She looked down and saw a hollow hole, matching the size of King Finger’s fist, through her abdomen. Her expression remained unchanged, and she simply closed her coat to cover the wound.
“Was that just… King Finger?” one of the dukes asked cautiously. At his level, if there was anything that could make him fear just by name, besides the Supreme Beings of the Holy Mountain, it would be King Finger.
“It was him, but not in person, just a projection with only one attack’s power.”
The dukes’ eyes showed both relief and lingering fear. King Finger’s strike wasn’t easy to block. If that blow had hit them, they probably wouldn’t be able to stand either.
“Why did King Finger’s projection appear here? Was it because of that guy just now?”
Yan Tóng said, “He is already dead.”
The viscount who brought the book was in the center of the battle between King Finger and Yan Tóng, unable to survive. In the instant of the destructive force, he was turned to ashes, leaving no trace.
One duke’s expression was grim, “The humans are plotting to kill you!”
The other duke added, “On the day of your return, their King Finger and the Blue Sun King tried to intercept you, to prevent you from ever returning to the Twilight Continent. Could it be that they already know something?”
“That’s impossible! All matters concerning Princess Yan Tóng are top secrets of the Council. Even the Speaker knows only a part of it. How could the humans know?”
“Don’t forget, the humans have many divination experts. In this regard, they are much stronger than us.”
“Is divination that powerful?”
As the dukes discussed, a point of darkness descended from the void, instantly engulfing them and shrouding the entire castle. Even the dukes couldn’t see anything.
The darkness itself wasn’t scary, but the terrifying aura within it made the two dukes kneel, place their hands over their chests, and chant in unison, “Emperor of Demons!”
A figure seemed to emerge from the darkness, but no one could discern its appearance or attire. It walked directly to Yan Tóng and asked, “How are you?”
Yan Tóng replied, “Not fatal, but my blood core is injured.”
The Emperor of Demons seemed stunned, pausing before saying, “How could this happen? Ji Wentian, even as strong as he is, sent only a projection without consciousness. This shouldn’t have happened.”
“They seem to know my weaknesses well and targeted them precisely.”
The Emperor of Demons sighed, “It seems related to your experiences in the human world before your awakening. They must have done something to you, allowing them to locate and target your weaknesses so accurately. Ji Wentian, with his arrogance, using such means, shows that the humans’ determination to kill you is unshakable.”
Yan Tóng remained calm, “It’s normal. After all, I am the weakest link.”
The Emperor of Demons shook his head, “No, even now, you are not the weakest. In fact, you are one of the hardest to kill. Normally, they shouldn’t choose you. There must be another reason behind this.”
The Emperor of Demons paused, “Perhaps you already have an idea.”
“No, I’m not sure.”
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