Chapter 423: The Secret of the Bloodline

As the Dwarf and Kislev allied forces marched rapidly toward the Winter Palace, the atmosphere in the palace's magnificent council chamber was heavy; this was one of the few places Snorri Thorsson had not reached while scouting in stealth.

Seated on the throne was a woman with seductive eyes, though her brows were now tightly locked, and she swirled the goblet filled with crimson liquid in her hand. The ministers whispering below were clearly all Vampires as well, but their temperaments were vastly different.

"My lords, that rebel has already come for the Winter Palace; we must decide now whether to fight or to flee."

Kaetalin's scarlet eyes kept darting toward the grandfather clock hanging on the wall; to avoid exposure, she had been wearing heterochromatic lenses. Being forced to make a choice is always difficult, and the Bloodline, with their endless lives, is no exception.

"We cannot leave! How many years have we planned to build this foundation? If we abandon these forces, we will have to return to living in the shadows! I, Halevi, am willing to serve as the vanguard!"

A fellow clad in scarlet Plate Armor roared while waving his fist; it was clear he was a militant of the Blood Dragon family. It was easy for these Vampires to leave on their own, but the clumsy and slow Undead army was another matter.

Profaning the dead placed them in opposition to the forces of Order, and followers of basically every god made it their duty to hunt them. Most Vampires, who lived like rats in human society and had to be terrified even to drink a drop of blood, had tasted such bitterness and did not want to experience it again.

In this world, individual martial prowess is limited; even a powerhouse at the peak of mortality like Agelimu would find it difficult to face an entire squad of elites. Even a Demigod wielding Authority could not claim to resist an entire army single-handedly.

For these second- or third-generation Vampires of mediocre strength, acting together created too great a demand for blood-food, easily attracting the attention of lords. If they split up, a single priest with a squad of temple guards or a Grail Knight would be enough to send them fleeing in panic.

"Hehe, as long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood. If you want to fight a Demigod, go ahead yourself; this lord has not lived enough yet!"

A sinister voice rang out from the side; the speaker could be mistaken for a zombie if one did not look closely. Their pale skin was stretched directly over bone, and their massive bald head was eye-catching.

"You, Trimble, of course can be open-minded; who doesn't know that your Nikulachi family is most skilled in summoning, able to raise a field of skeletons from any graveyard? I, Sir Jiafeierde, swear to advance and retreat with His Majesty the Tsar!"

Opposite them, a gentleman sitting with his legs crossed swirled his goblet and mocked them; in this hall, besides Kaetalin and her handmaidens, this fellow looked the most human.

"Talk, talk is cheap! Who doesn't know, you, you can still return to Silvania to enjoy life?"

"You beast, are you worthy of attending a noble banquet?"

"Just kill! I have yet to taste the blood of a Demigod's Divinity; I wonder how it compares to Dragon Blood!"

After Queen Niefuruita of Lamia joined forces with Arkhan the Black to develop the elixir of immortality, she distributed the first-generation elixir to over a dozen important figures in the city-states at the time, including the Zhendan ambassador—the so-called progenitor of the Jade Blood Clan—out of various considerations; these people thus became the Vampire progenitors.

Opinions differ on the exact number of progenitors, but after Alcadizaar sacked Lamia, five successfully escaped and spread their branches across the Old World; they managed their descendants in the form of families.

The Lamia family created by Niefuruita was undoubtedly the orthodox line, and Kaetalin was one of them. Aibolashi, the champion of Lamia, overcame the blood thirst by drinking Dragon Blood after slaying a Dragon, and his family thus called themselves Blood Dragon.

The progenitor of the Nikulachi family, Wosolun, was a powerful necromancer and a major contributor to the development of the immortality elixir. The Strigoi family was created by the city-state general Usoran; this group had once been glorious, but now they were at the bottom of the contempt chain.

The most widely known Vampires in the Old World were mostly members of the Von Carstein family. Its progenitor, originally named Ankat, was a less-than-important advisor in the Lamia era, but six hundred years ago, he stole the rule of the Silvania province through marriage and had been famous ever since.

"Report! Master, my lords, the rebel army has approached the first line of defense!"

Just as the arguing was incessant, a blood thrall rushed in. Vampires beyond the progenitors were weaker generation by generation through the blood kiss; when they became too weak to cast spells, they were expelled from the "Ghost Registry."

"Let me see!"

Jiafeierde of the Von Carstein family tapped his goblet on the armrest of his chair to summon a light screen; this was a spell that allowed him to share the perspective of the bats he raised.

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"Is he that King of the Southlands, Snorri Thorsson, who is touted as having martial prowess rarely seen among Dwarfs and wisdom surpassing Elves by three parts?"

"What kind of move is that? The Storm Hammer doesn't seem to be like that, does it?"

"The one with the longest beard must be Krag Master; no, who is that? The madmen of Karak-Kadrin have come too?"

The Vampires knew how much capability Vladimir had; their attention was focused on the Dwarfs.

"Slayer Keep is not far from here; even if we hold this wave, there will be an endless stream of armies! The corpses of those stone-born cannot be raised! You lot can fight if you want; I am going to find another place to live!"

"You dare! We took a blood oath to advance and retreat together back then!"

The Nikulachi Vampire turned to leave, and Halevi's blood-colored sword was placed directly against its neck. The Blood Dragon family did not use magic and were most at odds with those who relied entirely on it.

"Look again, look again! We didn't expect the first line to do anything anyway." Seeing this lineup, even the most nonchalant Sir Jiafeierde could not help but snap the stem of his goblet.

The reason this group of Vampires refused to retreat despite such great risks had to do with the ecology of their race. As a side effect of immortality, their path of advancement was blocked.

In old-school Vampire factions, the progenitors at the top and their offspring could wantonly enjoy the blood of pure virgins, while the blood thralls at the bottom found even human blood a luxury, often having to fill their stomachs with beast blood.

The difference in food was only a small part; once they gained endless life, no ghost wanted to be an immortal slave. Therefore, many ambitious ghosts chose to leave their families to start their own businesses; Noctilus was a good example.

"They have reached the second defensive position!"

The handmaiden said softly; in the light screen, a large group of Ghouls appeared before the Dwarfs, and several corpse carts provided them with buffs.

"Tsk!"

Under the gaze of the ghosts, Krag Master made his move; he struck the Doom Anvil, triggering the earth to crack and send half the Undead flying, and the Kislevites followed closely to clear the path ahead.

"Seems to be just a more powerful mage?"

"Halevi, what do you think?"