Chapter 314: A

Less than half an hour after parting ways with Herbert and the others, "Vilanmeya" was dead.

The severed head was cradled in someone's arms like a treasure.

She died quietly.

Anyone who saw this scene would understand her condition.

Upon seeing this unexpected sight, Herbert's first reaction was disbelief.

Dead?

I don't believe it.

I won't accept it!

He refused to believe that Svanje had died just like that.

To die so easily—how could that possibly be real?

If Svanje hadn't truly died, then she was now in disguise, and had successfully fooled Stela.

Friend, what the hell are you doing?

Is this the result you wanted when you insisted on acting alone?

Of course, deep in Herbert's heart, another possibility kept gnawing at him.

Just a hypothesis… what if Svanje really was dead?

Through carelessness, an accidental slip that unfortunately cost her life… that wasn't impossible either.

To really die just like that, without so much as a ripple?

"…Tch."

Herbert frowned tightly, tilted his head to glance at Elisha, watching the subtle shifts in her expression.

Bewilderment, confusion… and fury.

The Young Lady vampire was seething, staring fixedly at Stela.

Although Elisha's relationship with "Vilanmeya" wasn't exactly good—the two had barely exchanged a few words, and were even in a mutually restraining relationship—

Still, as part of a team, after witnessing one of their own die and the corpse being desecrated by others,

Elisha would still feel she had been provoked.

Fortunately, the Young Lady vampire hadn't lost her reason to anger and hadn't acted rashly.

Without Herbert having to speak, she took the initiative and whispered: "Herbert, what do we do now?"

Because of Herbert's earlier performance against Douglas and Carlo, Elisha's mindset had shifted slightly once more.

It was by following Herbert's arrangement that the two of them truly snatched victory from chaos, leaving one enemy dead and one crippled.

After this battle, Elisha's trust in Herbert had visibly increased.

In the end, in this world, what matters most is still strength.

No matter what that strength actually is—personal strength, or the ability to control others.

As long as one has strength, one can earn the respect of others.

Herbert was silent for a moment, shook his head, and said softly: "Don't rush. We still need to see how things develop."

Although two Legends had already died, there should still be at least two or more Legend-tier powerhouses left in the city of Malagas.

Such a vast city, accumulated over thousands of years—surely it couldn't have only Douglas and the other Legend…

And another point that made Herbert wary and hesitant was the plaza in the center of the city.

That place had already been completely transformed into a chaotic sacrificial ground.

Yet in the span of a few breaths, that enormous aberrant dragon was devoured clean by the frenzied crowd.

Only the pale skeleton and broken scales remained, propped up like a corpse clad in armor.

And beyond those scales lay thousands upon thousands of agonized, curled-up bodies.

"Ahhh—"

"Eat! Eat! Eat!"

"I can't eat anymore!"

"Ahhhhh!"

"No, don't eat me, don't…"

Those men, women, young and old chosen as Sacrifices, those slaves and masters alike, now found themselves in excruciating agony after their feast.

Their bellies swelled grotesquely, but within a few breaths quickly shriveled back down.

Shhh, shhh, shhh…

A fine, rustling sound rose across the entire plaza, countless insects vibrating their wings.

Bumps of various sizes appeared on the Sacrifices' bodies, scurrying rapidly beneath their skin and emitting ghastly sounds.

Soon, the bumps crawling beneath the skin finally burst through at the eye sockets, and tiny black snakes wriggled out.

The dark-red, blackening little snakes poked their heads out from the Sacrifices' flesh, flicking their tongues, and gazed toward the center of the plaza.

At the same time they opened their jaws wide, emitting an unnerving sound.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

They devoured the eggshells beneath them clean, then charged at the aberrant dragon that was now nothing but bones and scales.

Crack, crack, crack…

After a few breaths, even those tough scales had been gnawed and digested by them; the ghastly-white dragon bones rapidly crumbled as if weathered by wind.

And after swallowing the bones, a batch of white snakes appeared among the black ones, their scales a pallid white like bone.

Apart from these, only a scattered few red snakes, their scales turned the crimson of fresh blood.

Yet the serpents seemed dissatisfied with this state; tens of thousands of snake heads moved in unison, looking toward the Gao Ta where the city lord resided, and furiously roared at the figure on the balcony.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

Facing the threat of the venomous serpents, Stella's expression did not change. She gave a faint smile, bowed her head respectfully, and said: "My Lord, please do not be anxious."

"It is merely that a small accident has occurred. That foolish Shadow Dragon betrayed your trust, lost its own blood, and failed to become the most suitable Sacrifice."

"But it does not matter. Your most loyal servant had long since prepared additional Sacrifices."

As she spoke, the stone bricks at the center of the plaza slowly cracked apart, and several special dark elf corpses floated up from underground.

Judging from the aura emanating from their bodies, every one of these corpses was at the Legendary level!

"Please, enjoy your Sacrifices."

They were members of the Moore family — the other Legendary powerhouses that Herbert had been wary of.

And now, they had died at the hands of their own people, at the hands of the Grand Matriarch they themselves had elected.

The betrayers, too, had met with their own betrayal.

When Stella's words fell, the venomous serpents, long since ravenous, swarmed forward at once and began devouring rapidly.

They — no… He was devouring the provisions the God-Blessed had prepared for Him, savoring this rare delicacy.

The blood sacrifice ritual had already begun operating in full.

A madness and depravity beyond mortal imagination descended upon this place in utter silence.

Turning this place into a hell on earth… no, perhaps even the abyss of hell would not be this mad at every waking moment.

This was the handiwork of Miss Xie Shen.

Only the most depraved, most mad of evil gods would delight in such a scene.

If an ordinary mortal were here, merely a single glance would be enough to be influenced by such madness.

Completely transformed into a lunatic devoid of reason, with indescribable ravings echoing in their ears at every moment, knowing only to drool.

Even Elisha, who belonged to the evil camp, felt somewhat unsettled upon seeing this scene.

Her evil reigned over those mortal slave traders, but before a true evil god, it still could not be brought to the table.

"Urgh…"

The Young Lady vampire restrained the urge to retch, wanting to step in front of Herbert so he would not look at it too long.

With Herbert's current strength, still not yet at Legendary, his mind could easily be influenced and corrupted by such a sight.

But when she stepped forward, she discovered Herbert's expression was remarkably calm, with only undisguised… disgust in his eyes.

Yes.

Not fear, not anger, but rather blatant disgust.

The scene before his eyes was simply too explicit — no censorship board whatsoever could tolerate such a scene existing.

Yet Herbert, the Holy Knight who should least be able to stomach such a sight, after furrowing his brow and examining the scene carefully, actually only felt somewhat nauseated.

"…Ugh, this quantity and the way they make their entrance really is disgusting."

But for Herbert, that was all it amounted to — just nausea.

Beyond that, there were no other feelings.

Herbert was not afraid of serpentine creatures; if anything, he rather liked them, especially that cool, slippery texture.

His only complaint about the scene before him was the operation of those black serpents burrowing out from the corpses.

It did not suit his aesthetic.

As for depravity, madness, evil — he truly felt absolutely nothing.

And the reason he could do this did not come from Nie Nasha.

Rather, it relied on the holy oath he had sworn.

The blessing brought by the Oath of Purity successfully guarded his mind!

Although Herbert had always joked that the Oath of Purity was a "magical chastity lock," what it guarded had never been merely that bit of filth between the sexes.

Its true function was to prevent a weak Holy Knight from being harmed by evil forces.

Allowing Holy Knights, when facing evil gods, demon lords, and other powerful evils they could not oppose, to remain uncorrupted in mind, able to thoroughly hold fast to inner purity.

The small venomous serpents gathered together, entwining, coiling, devouring one another, gradually merging into a single massive serpentine body…

Just as Herbert watched all this with disgust, a rather friendly voice reached his ears:

"This is a beautiful metamorphosis, is it not?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this voice, Herbert looked toward the dark elf atop Gao Ta in considerable surprise.

That dark elf city lord was reclining on a serpent-head-shaped balcony, her pupils already transformed into reptilian vertical slits. She gave him a slight nod and a faint smile.

That enchanting appearance did not look at all like a depraved, mad evil god's chosen — it looked more like a dignified noblewoman flirting with a young aristocrat.

Inviting that handsome youth to explore together in the boudoir the forbidden abyss of depravity and madness.

"You actually came, and so early — far earlier than I imagined…"

After clearly seeing the coldness in the youth's eyes, Stella raised a brow slightly and asked with considerable curiosity: "Herbert, do you really trust her words that much?"

!!?

Upon hearing his name called, Herbert's pupils contracted slightly.

She knows my name?

And before Herbert could respond, Elisha, unable to hold back any longer, spoke first.

"Hey!"

She glared at Stella with considerable displeasure, baring her sharp canines and extended crimson claws, her intent to intimidate laid bare without concealment.

What status do you have, to dare call him so intimately!!?

I've only dared secretly call him that these past few days!

You called out so easily — wouldn't that make me a laughingstock!

No way!

Elisha was very unhappy, but she couldn't get angry over this matter, otherwise Herbert would notice... how could that be allowed!?

So she seized on the point, using another excuse as the reason to make trouble, and questioned: "Stella! Did you kill Vilameia!!?"

And faced with the vampire Young Lady's anger, Stella's reaction was very flat. She glanced at her contemptuously and said lightly: "I did it, so what? Were you close to her?"

Elisha bared her fangs and shouted: "Nonsense! She was my companion!"

Companion — right, I came for revenge for my companion!

"A companion? So what? She was my clansman, you know?"

Stella's expression was cold. She gently stroked the head in her arms and said in a tone of light mockery: "I clearly gave them one chance — I let my father and the others leave, and didn't personally hunt them down."

"But those greedy fellows weren't grateful at all. They betrayed my compassion for them and even dared to come back... truly too foolish to comprehend."

"And your anger — I can't comprehend that either."

She lowered her gaze, looked indifferently at Elisha whose expression had shifted slightly, and spoke lightly:

"This foolish clanswoman of mine snuck into my room, trying to assassinate me... she wanted to kill me, so isn't it perfectly normal that I killed her?"

"Is there any problem with what I did?"

Elisha:?

That line... why does it sound like there's nothing wrong with it?

"This..."

And while Elisha was at a loss for words, Herbert over there had been observing Stella's micro-expressions the whole time.

Herbert's brow moved slightly. He held back the vampire Young Lady who wanted to take the fight, stared at Stella, and said slowly: "Stella, you know me?"

Stella's expression had been quite cold while talking with Elisha, but upon seeing Herbert she smiled — the double standard in her treatment was very obvious.

"Know you? Hehe, of course I know you — Herbert Albert, right?"

She squinted slightly, sizing up the young holy knight who stood out so dazzlingly amid the evil and darkness, and said softly: "Young and proud son of nobility — I didn't expect you to be so bold, to actually dare come here."

"Not only do I know your identity in the Mist Monastery — the only person with a chance to make contact with my sister."

"I also know everything you've done in the Frost Crystal Kingdom. You killed several old clients of the Moore family that they'd only just managed to get in touch with."

Stella's words made Herbert's mood sink slightly — this Mist Monastery really was like a sieve, anyone could lean in and take a look.

And, just as Svaney had once said, Stella really had fixed her eyes on him like a venomous snake in the shadows.

Stella took Herbert's silence for nervousness and continued with a smile: "I'm curious — do you really trust the words of my clansfolk like that? Are you truly willing to take this risk and come here with her, to assassinate me?"

"Herbert, don't you know what Moore really means? A traitor!"

"Now, Vilameia has already betrayed your expectations and trust — don't you know what to do?"

Elisha:?

What do you mean, what are you going to do to him?

"What are you trying to do? I ask you, you... hmm?"

Herbert gripped Elisha's hand, squeezed it hard, signaling her to calm down.

He frowned at Stella and said slowly: "Then what do you mean? Are you asking us to give up resistance now?"

"Do you think I, as a holy knight, would surrender to evil?"

Hearing Herbert's words, Stella's smile grew more bewitching and radiant. She saw through the boy's bluster, and shook her head gently.

"Surrender? No, this isn't asking you to bow to evil — I want to make a deal with you."

"The ritual has already begun. According to my original plan, every living being in the city would become a Sacrifice offered to my lord — but now that you've come, I can give you a chance."

"Herbert, as long as you agree to one request of mine, I'll spare the rest of those people. Doesn't this deal sound wonderful? Haha~"

On Gao Ta, Stella laughed brightly with pleasure, her golden slit-pupils fixed on the boy whose whole body had tensed up, savoring his nervousness.

You've finally shown unease too~

"Young holy knight, you certainly don't want to see everyone die, do you?"

Herbert pressed his lips together, his expression twisting slightly. After quite a while he asked in a low voice: "... What request?"

Miss Xie Shen's favored one looked down from Gao Ta, smiling, gazing at the pure and flawless holy knight with lowered eyes, and issued an invitation with a low laugh.

She said:

"How about becoming my companion?"

"Just like me — become a follower of my lord!!!"

(End of this chapter)