Chapter Ten

1

In the capital city of Othrie, the defensive Magic was completed ten minutes ago.

"How is it?" someone entered a black sedan where another person had been waiting in the back seat for quite some time.

As a specialist in communication with gods and demons, High Priest Lin engaged in negotiations for sixteen hours continuously, but the final outcome was evidently unsatisfactory.

"Your Majesty, things have escalated to this point. Negotiations cannot solve the problem, and the divine race has been merely going through the motions, showing no sincerity. Even if we were to make concessions to restore the reputation of the divine race, it would be futile."

"Drive on," Emperor Ziliesson ordered the driver. Both he and High Priest Lin looked somewhat weary. The war with the divine race was about to officially begin, presenting a significant challenge. The war had arrived two years earlier than planned, putting Othrie at a significant disadvantage. However, they had anticipated that ever since Othrie purged the undercover Angel, the divine race had been on high alert. If either side failed to make concessions during the negotiation, war would be inevitable.

"Your Majesty, I suggest you rest early tonight. The military forces in major cities will resist vigorously."

"The situation is not optimistic. I can't sleep at all. I want to visit the Qin Military Factory to see the new weapons."

"I heard from Fengyu that they have already begun testing. Ever since the breakthrough in digital Magic, new weapons have been emerging almost daily."

Looking out of the window, Ziliesson said, "Perhaps we have indeed made a wrong decision, and it is not the right time..."

"Well, that may not necessarily be the case. Even if the empire does not provoke the divine race, they will come after us."

"Artificial particles... Indeed, the divine race will not allow humans to control new technologies. We have given them the perfect excuse."

"We have offended them not just once or twice." The High Priest closed his eyes briefly to rest. Above, defensive Magic was being formed, and the Emperor had been closely monitoring the situation of Qin Fengyu...

2

The black sedan entered a tunnel, and due to energy constraints, the tunnel lights were dim, with only every five hundred meters having a functioning light, in the total length of five point eight kilometers.

"Your Majesty..."

"Yes?" Ziliesson heard the voice of the driver ahead, noted a hint of tension in it.

"The front and rear escort teams have lost contact... There may be a problem at the tunnel entrance." The driver stopped about a kilometer away from the tunnel entrance, scanning the surroundings and checking the rearview mirror extremely vigilantly.

"The escort teams have lost contact? Is it related to the divine race?"

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, the driver said, "I am of the Dark Element. If it were the divine race, I would feel an oppressive sensation, but instead, I feel relaxed." Although he mentioned feeling relaxed, he did not let his guard down.

"Your Majesty, stopping is not the solution. I suggest we proceed at full speed," High Priest Lin advised to advance through the tunnel entrance at full speed, without stopping, no matter what happened.

"But... Your Eminence, we don't know the situation ahead, it might be more dangerous this way..."

"There are no other vehicles in the entire tunnel, it's not safe to turn back either..."

The High Priest's words were abruptly interrupted by a sudden impact. It seemed that something dangerous was approaching the tunnel entrance, engulfing it in darkness, raising the level of danger. The driver activated the sedan's "L" particles, switching it into weapon mode with fully armored protection.

"Bang!" The sedan was hit by an unidentified object, but thanks to the artificial particles' protection, it remained unscathed.

"Full speed ahead!" Ziliesson commanded, and the driver accelerated. Looking in the rearview mirror, they saw the pursuing objects seemed to be... damaged vehicles.

The black sedan rushed out of the tunnel entrance, where several wrecked cars lay strewn across the ground, shattered to bits. Swerving on the road, leaving four tire marks at the intersection, one damaged car after another appeared on the ground. The driver decided to take action.

Particles disengage the armor as the driver activates the Magic cannon in the rear of the vehicle, aiming at the center of the shadow behind while driving, and fires. With a single shot, the shadow retreats immediately.

"Don't let your guard down, Your Majesty!" The driver restores the armor, but then the left side door is suddenly attacked as if lifted by a giant hand!

The sedan somersaults in mid-air, and the driver assembles the Magic cannon once again, hitting the target with another shot. The Magic cannon swiftly disassembles, and the vehicle lands safely.

"Your Majesty, if the vehicle is breached, abandon it and leave. I will cover the rear."

"Be careful!" Everyone inside the car looks up to the roof, where a person is standing.

Without a word, the driver accelerates rapidly, weaving through high-speed turns, the Emperor and the Grand Priest tense and excited. Little did they expect that someone would plot to capture the king on the eve of war!

"Crack!" A piercing sound comes from the rooftop.

The person on the roof lets out a roar, and the artificial particle system inside the car alarms as the armor is breached and the artificial particles are damaged, reducing elemental affinity by twenty percent. It will take three seconds for the particles to recombine. The roof of the car is mercilessly clawed, and green eyes shine in the darkness.

"A vampire!" Purple Lie Song immediately recalls the ghostly vampire at the sight of those eyes.

"Ugh…" The driver is grabbed by the throat with the claw, instantly creating a long wound, severing an artery...

The sedan continues on its path uncontrollably, with the green eyes turning back to the Grand Priest and the Emperor. The Emperor's gaze meets the green eyes, a confrontation between bloodthirsty demon and sovereign. Despite the vast difference in strength, neither side shows any sign of backing down.

The green eyes transform into a shadow behind the Emperor of the Empire, and the claw is just inches away from Purple Lie Song's neck...

Ahead of the speeding sedan, there suddenly appears another figure with green eyes. This person appears openly and leaps into the air upon seeing the black sedan approaching, using their arms to strike swiftly.

Purple Lie Song and the Grand Priest hold their breaths, trapped between two opponents with no reinforcements in sight. Escape seems impossible.

In the blink of an eye, the vampire from the rear is knocked out, and the two vampires collide at a speed that is almost imperceptible to the naked eye, crashing through the roadside barrier and into a high-rise building. In their high-speed battle, the vampires show no mercy to their bodies, as vampires can regenerate as long as their souls remain, even if only one finger is left.

Meanwhile, the Grand Priest Lin reacts promptly, gripping the steering wheel and pulling the emergency brake lever, bringing the sedan to a halt just in time.

"Let's go... the situation is complex, and there may be other vampires lurking."

"We must go to the Chen family!"

Bang! After two loud noises, many eyes of different colors emerge, and Purple Lie Song and Lin the Grand Priest quickly head towards the east of the city.

"Traitors!" Two green-eyed vampires stand in the dilapidated building below, their hands stained with blood, wounds on their bodies healing.

"Zhao Yuansong, I had my fill of blood before I came to handle this..."

"We didn't turn anyone into vampires! Bloodsucking is just a tool, no longer the essence of life. Ye Kai... come back!"

"Are we still vampires if we don't rely on blood for sustenance? You actually accept such a disgusting way?"

"We became vampires because of a drop of the Queen's blood!"

"Nonsense!"

Ye Kai and Zhao Yuansong pierced each other's bodies with their claws, then yanked them out fiercely, stepping back ten meters away to allow their bodies to heal.

"Duke Jiakong has already attempted to usurp the Queen before, I, Ye Kai, am not alone in this. The path of a vampire leads to no return. Before this, we were all humans—Othrians. Even if we are to establish our own territory in the future, it should be here in Othria. We will not be fugitives!"

"You intend to usurp the Queen! It is impossible, not unless I am dead!"

"Foolish loyalty."

Zhao Yuansong and Ye Kai, with green eyes glaring, were teammates in the inter-school competition, but their differences now led them to draw their swords against each other.

Zhao Yuansong smiled slightly. He believed that by receiving a drop of Queen Perra's blood, one should respect and protect the Queen, while Ye Kai sought freedom...

Since becoming a vampire, Ye Kai had not been particularly valued. He had painstakingly learned to control his vampire blood, gradually mastering it through experimentation. Initially, he did not intend to become a vampire and accepting that he could only feed on blood shattered his dignity and dreams. Eventually, he found pleasure and honor in being a vampire, yet in the end, he wanted to return to his roots. He refused to accept this fate; without blood, he could not find happiness.

"Isn't reveling in a sea of blood a joyful thing? It's not that I am coming back, it's that you must join in!"

As their conversation soured, they started fighting again. The fight was brutal, with no regard for their own bodies. Both had their arms severed, and new bones extended from their bleeding arms, transforming into weapons they called "blood weapons." Blood splattered everywhere. Zhao Yuansong's blood weapon was a crimson greatsword. In their third clash, he severed Ye Kai's blood weapon, embedding the greatsword in the wall while his sharp claws sliced across Ye Kai's face.

"Ah!!!" Ye Kai fell to his knees as the greatsword was withdrawn, covering his eyes. For a vampire, the eyes were the most vulnerable and hardest to heal part of the body.

"I cannot kill you, and you cannot kill me, but losing your eyes will make it difficult for you... 'thing'."

Thinking he had won, Zhao Yuansong turned to leave but was suddenly cleaved in half by the blood weapon. It took longer for his body to heal as Ye Kai seized the opportunity and struck him down, cleaving him into a human cudgel.

"Are eyes so important to us vampires? Your blood is nearly exhausted as well. Slowly...wait for it to regenerate. Once you miss this chance, there will be no more. Perra is gone, Qin Yang is gone, Qin Fenyu is gone, the new aircraft carrier is gone, Othria is left a hollow shell."

Ye Kai smirked, his eyes bleeding profusely, planning to kill Zhao Yuansong and complete the most critical step of his plan.

"You...Ye Kai, come back! Come back!"

"Your good intentions...are useless."

After hearing Ye Kai's final words, Zhao Yuansong suddenly fell silent. He only felt the extreme coldness of his severed hand, as if he had crossed from summer into winter in an instant.

An ice block rolled to the ground, appearing right in front of Zhao Yuansong, who was unable to move—a severed head, Ye Kai's head, was crushed underfoot, reduced to powder.

"Counting all along, but you forgot to count me—Coyalu."