Gospel of Blood

Outside the Central Castle.

Members of the Nez Clan gathered in the square, staring anxiously at the tightly closed castle gates.

As time passed, their worries grew more pronounced.

This was especially true for the higher-ranking bloodbornes.

The lower and middle-ranking bloodbornes were somewhat better off. Most of them had not experienced that tumultuous era and had only heard about the terrifying True Ancestor from their elders. But many of the higher-ranking bloodbornes had personally felt the horror of the True Ancestor, and the long wait made them feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

“Your Excellency the Great Elder! Are we just going to wait here?”

Finally, a high-ranking bloodborne couldn’t help but ask.

Great Elder Robin glanced at the questioner and asked in return.

“What else should we do?”

“That’s the True Ancestor! Your Excellency the Great Elder! Have you forgotten how we erased Her traces and suppressed those royal blood descendants? She must have come back to punish us! She will surely devour us one by one to restore Her power!”

The high-ranking bloodborne spoke anxiously and fearfully.

Other high-ranking bloodbornes around him agreed, their expressions filled with terror.

“Yes! Your Excellency the Great Elder, we cannot sit here and wait for death!”

“She has come to settle accounts with us! She must be here to settle accounts with us!”

Great Elder Duke Robin looked at everyone.

“Then… what do you suggest?”

“Fight back! Of course, fight back! She did not attack us immediately upon appearing, so Her power must not have fully recovered!”

“We still have the artifact, and Gods are not invincible. While She is still weak, we should seize the opportunity to seal Her!”

“No, we should retreat! Even if Her power hasn’t fully recovered, she is still our progenitor. The suppression of the bloodline alone is enough to doom us!”

“That’s right! We should retreat quickly while Lord Bardock is holding Her off, then seek help from other clans! Even if there are conflicts, if they know She has returned, they will surely be willing to put aside their prejudices and join us in opposing Her!”

The high-ranking bloodbornes spoke over one another, but the consensus among them was the fear and hostility toward the True Ancestor.

Great Elder Robin remain quiet.

He looked at several dukes from the Elder Council.

Besides Elder Bardock, the Nez Clan had a total of eight Legendary.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, to vie for the Starfall throne and discuss the next steps, almost all the Legendary of the Nez Clan, including the elven blood descendants from Luna Island, were present.

No, to be more precise, not only the Legendary blood descendants but almost half of the middle and high-ranking blood descendants of the Nez Clan were gathered at the stronghold at this moment.

This was the reason for the division of opinions among the blood dukes.

Some believed that this was a rare moment when the Nez Clan had gathered all its strength and should take advantage of the numbers to seal the returning True Ancestor while Her power was weak.

Others thought this was unfortunate. With the main forces of the Nez Clan all here, if the True Ancestor went on a rampage, the Nez Clan might be removed from the six major clans by tomorrow. So they strongly supported a swift retreat.

However, unlike the terrified and anxious counts, the blood dukes, though serious, remained much calmer.

Moreover, several senior dukes who had awakened from their slumber were lost in thought as they gazed at the closed castle.

“Sir Charles, what do you think?”

Great Elder Robin looked at one of the dukes with a goatee.

Charles Nez, one of the oldest blood dukes of the Nez Clan and the most senior elder besides Bardock.

Like Bardock, he had also awakened from the thousand-year Holy War and had experienced the era when the True Ancestor dominated the continent.

Hearing the Great Elder’s question, the old blood duke hesitated and said,

“Lord Bardock is right. The returned True Ancestor… seems to act differently from the one in my memory.”

“Sir Charles, are you saying we should wait here and continue to observe? Isn’t that too risky?”

“Yes! That’s the True Ancestor! What if… what if She is just stalling for time to stabilize us?”

The blood counts couldn’t help but interject.

Duke Charles glanced at them calmly and said,

“Everyone, I understand your fear. Honestly, I am also afraid, but… we must recognize two facts now.”

“First, we old bones were either injured in the Thousand-Year Holy War or wounded in the Star-Moon War. Now… even counting Lord Bardock, we only have four Legendary forces that can be mobilized: Lord Bardock, His Excellency Robin, His Excellency Yorok, and His Excellency Alec.”

“The terrifying bloodline suppression just now, I think you all felt it too. I can say unreservedly that in front of the True Ancestor… all low-ranking blood descendants are mere ants!”

“Even with the artifact, do you think… that four Legendary can defeat our progenitor?”

After speaking, without waiting for an answer, he looked toward the direction where the dukes were.

“Alec, do you think you can do it?”

No one responded.

“Alec?”

Duke Charles repeated with a frown.

Still, no one answered.

Following the old duke’s gaze, everyone realized that at some point, the elven blood descendant Alec had disappeared.

Not only that, but two other elven blood descendants from Luna Island who had awakened and participated in the struggle for the throne were also gone.

“Where are Alec and the others?”

Great Elder Robin frowned and looked at the blood descendants responsible for standing guard.

The dukes had all focused their attention on the central castle and hadn’t noticed when the legendary blood descendants disappeared.

One by one, crimson eyes turned toward the standing guard blood descendants.

The guards shivered and weakly pointed in a direction.

“Lord Alec… Lord Alec and the others just went that way…”

That way…?

The Nez blood descendants looked over and saw that it was the location of the backup teleportation array of the stronghold.

Duke Robin: …

Duke Charles: …

Duke Yorok: …

“Damn it! Those Luna Island bastards! They talk so confidently every day, but when it comes to fleeing, they act so decisively!”

Duke Yorok said angrily.

The three elders of Luna Island had fled!

Realizing what had happened, the remaining members of the Nez Clan began to stir. For a moment, they hesitated, whispered among themselves, and their gazes flickered toward the teleportation array.

“What? Are you planning to retreat too?”

Duke Charles asked, glancing around.

“Lord Charles, even Lord Alec has fled. Shouldn’t we…?”

A blood descendant couldn’t help but ask.

Immediately, other blood descendants echoed this sentiment, clearly showing an inclination to flee.

The sneaky escape of the three Legendary blood descendants had a massive impact on their morale. Even the counts who had been adamant about uniting to seal the True Ancestor were now hesitant. After all, if the Legendary, who had a sharper sense of danger, had fled, what could they possibly do by staying here?

Seeing the blood descendants waver, Charles shook his head.

“Run? Where would you run to?”

“Alec and the others can flee to Luna Island, where they will be protected. That place is favored by the Moon Goddess. Even the True Ancestor will respect it. But Luna Island only protects elves and those with elven blood.”

“Alec and the others are blood descendants but also elves. What about you?”

The Nez bloodbornes fell silent.

Charles sighed and continued,

“Second, the True Ancestor… is likely the mysterious God behind Castell. If it is indeed Her, then She has probably been resurrected for hundreds of years.”

“He likely arrived on the Castell warship to Starfall, and it wasn’t Countess Castell who drove off Kraken, it was Her. If She can drive off such a beast and has hidden Her identity for hundreds of years only to reveal Herself now, it means… the True Ancestor’s power has likely largely recovered.”

“I have just felt Her power. Although not as terrifying as in my memories, it is already far beyond what our weakened Nez Clan can contend with. Perhaps Lord Casey might stand a chance, but even then… we have lost contact with Lord Casey for too long. We don’t even know if he can still awaken from the astral plane.”

“Escape? Where to? The True Ancestor can sense the coordinates of all blood descendants. We have faced her directly, and without divine concealment and protection, we are already marked in her mind. No matter where we flee, she will eventually find us. Even if we escape, the Nez Clan will become history.”

Hearing Charles, the Nez bloodbornes fell silent again.

Bloodbornes are social magical beings, the clan is immensely important in bloodborne society. Bloodbornes with clan protection and those without it are worlds apart.

Blood clans are not united. If the Nez Clan completely declines, even if the surviving Nez bloodbornes seek help from other clans, they will likely be used as cannon fodder against the True Ancestor. This is a very likely scenario, given the exclusivity among blood clans.

And if they do not join other surviving clans, the marked ones will eventually be found by the True Ancestor. At that point, their fate would be decided by the True Ancestor.

Run?

Where to?

Scatter and run?

That would be suicidal. God’s speed differs from the mortal. Such a foolish choice would only result in being picked off one by one.

Perhaps gathering together might offer a slim chance of survival. But even that was very slim.

Despair.

It felt like despair no matter how they thought about it. The Nez Clan had declined too much.

A thousand years of war and two Star-Moon Wars had made the Nez blood descendants, who were not particularly adept at fighting, even worse off.

The original protective barrier over Starfall Island had been destroyed. Their power had weakened so much that they could even be infiltrated by the Shedite Clan.

If they hadn’t declined so much, the Nez Clan wouldn’t have had to contend with the Starfall royal family and bring in Castell’s forces. If they hadn’t declined so much, the throne would not be undecided, and the human nobles wouldn’t dare to rebel.

Other clans were better off. Although their princes were also in deep sleep, they maintained contact with their descendants. They had enough duke-level power and deep accumulations from over a thousand years to resist other Gods. Even the True Ancestor would have to consider before making a move.

But the Nez Clan couldn’t. Without knowing the God behind Castell, the Nez Clan were already worried about potential conflicts. Now, knowing that the God behind Castell is the terrifying True Ancestor, how could they possibly fight?

They hadn’t even made a move, yet the other side was already at their doorstep.

The more they thought about it, the more terrified and hopeless the Nez bloodbornes felt.

Seeing their ashen faces, Duke Charles sighed,

“Everyone, our situation is indeed perilous, but it’s not hopeless.”

The bloodbornes’ hearts stirred.

“Lord Charles, what do you mean?”

Charles looked at the Great Elder Robin.

“Lord Robin, you should know what I mean, right?”

Duke Robin nodded solemnly.

“Although I am also surprised, perhaps out of fear, you may have all overlooked a detail…”

He paused, scanning the crowd.

“Have you not noticed? Since the True Ancestor appeared, despite our intense confrontation, not a single clan member has died, not even those who ‘offended’ her.”

“Remember, in the distant past, those who acted like that would have been turned to ash.”

The Nez bloodbornes were taken aback.

They looked at each other and then realized it was true. Great Elder Robin continued.

“Lord Bardock is a staunch opponent of the True Ancestor. Yet even he changed his attitude directly when facing her.”

“I think… there might be something we don’t know.”

He then said meaningfully.

“Perhaps, as Lord Bardock said, the returning True Ancestor cannot be compared to the one in our memories. After all, every resurrection of a God is also a rebirth.”

“The True Ancestor has not taken direct action. So, there must be something she wants from us. I think… this might be the lifeline for our Nez Clan.”

“Of course, we still know too little, especially about the returning True Ancestor. I think… we might learn more from those who are familiar with her.”

As he spoke, Great Elder Robin looked in a certain direction.

Thousands of crimson eyes followed his gaze, focusing on the figure of Yurst, who was trying to hide in the shadows, hoping to remain unnoticed.

Yurst: …