Gospel of Blood

“The two elven bloodbornes from Luna Island?”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly.

Duke Yorok nodded respectfully and said,

“They are Alec from the fourth generation and Campel from the third generation.”

“Alec?”

Charlotte’s eyebrows knitted together as a certain careless figure came to mind.

Back when the “Ancestor Recognition Ceremony” was held in the Roman Duchy, she had watched the entire event and had a deep impression of this elven bloodborne who killed Prince Henry.

As for Campel…

If she remembered correctly, he should be one of the three Legendary bloodbornes from Luna Island that Yurst once told her about.

Speaking of which, including the awakened Bardock, the Nez Clan currently has nine Legendary bloodbornes.

Among them, six are in the Starfall Kingdom and three are in Luna Island.

Elder Robin, duke Yorok, and Duke Charles are all Blood Dukes from the Starfall Kingdom. This includes Bardock as well.

Among these four, Bardock holds the highest status, followed by Charles, then Elder Robin.

However, Bardock has been asleep for nearly a millennium. Although he is still of Legendary strength, it is barely so. People respect him mainly for his high status.

Duke Charles, too, is respected. This old scholar of the Nez Clan is even less powerful than the somewhat insecure Bardock, with his strength being more of a Schrödinger’s Legendary.

When Charlotte first entered the Nez stronghold, the Legendary Bloodborne who made a move was him, and at that time, the feeling he gave Charlotte was—”Is this it?”

Among the four, only Elder Robin and Duke Yorok’s powers have not diminished.

Besides them, there are two more Legendary elders whose strength is only slightly better than that of a count due to old injuries.

Nominally they are Legendary, but because their strength has declined, they are no longer referred to as Dukes. They are Elder Aldrich and Elder Edwin.

Charlotte has met both of them and indeed felt their weakness.

However, the Nez Clan is proficient in divination and inscriptions, so even if their strength is undiminished, they are not particularly good at combat.

Additionally, humans have long known the weaknesses of the bloodbornes. Unless it’s nighttime with a bloodline boost, the Legendary Dukes of the Nez Clan can hardly defeat a human Legendary from the Starfall Kingdom of the same level.

Otherwise, they would not have been driven out of the ruling class by the humans and the Holy Court’s allied forces in the Starfall Kingdom back then.

As for Luna Island, the three Legendary are Femaror, Campel, and Alec.

Femaror is the leader of Luna Island’s elven bloodborne, but it is said that he is still asleep, so he did not attend this gathering.

Those who attended the gathering were the elven bloodbornes Alec and Campel.

Like most Legendary Bloodbornes of the Starfall Kingdom, Duke Campel is also old and frail.

However, the young Alec is a very powerful Legendary.

It is precisely because Alec is strong that although Luna Island has fewer Legendaries, the strength of the two Nez branches is not much different in high-end combat power.

Moreover, because Luna Island is closely related to the elves, the bloodbornes of Luna Island might sometimes even be more formidable.

As for high-end combat power other than Legendary…

The Nez Clan has over a hundred bloodbornes at the count level, with 80% of them in the Starfall Kingdom, and almost all of them attended this gathering.

The rest are all mid-to-low-level bloodbornes below the count level.

Nine Legendary, over a hundred Blazing Suns, more than a thousand Silver Moons, and over four thousand Starry Sky—this is the current strength of the Nez Clan.

Clearly, even in decline, the five major clans are still the five major clans. With this strength, they can still stir up storms in the Starfall Kingdom.

Of course, these level distinctions no longer matter to Charlotte at present.

The True Ancestor of Blood has an absolute bloodline suppression over the bloodbornes, and even Legendary can’t cause waves in her hands.

Unless… the opponent possesses a powerful artifact.

For instance, luna Island reportedly has powerful artifacts left by the Moon Goddess, according to Sebastian, which can even threaten Gods.

However, such artifacts are often difficult to use and, due to their stringent conditions, require various setups and can hardly be moved.

In other words, the Legendary beings roaming the world, except for the high-ranking clerics of the Holy Court with strong faith, generally do not have powerful artifacts for protection.

Of course, in most cases, legendary don’t need them.

But let’s return to the present.

Regarding the attitude towards the Luna Island branch, after a brief contemplation, Charlotte realized that with the support of the elves, they are unlikely to submit to her like the bloodbornes of the Starfall Kingdom.

“Where did they escape to?”

She asked calmly.

“They used an emergency teleportation array, which connects to Gale County in the northeastern part of the kingdom. They… are probably heading towards Luna Island.”

Duke Yorok replied respectfully.

When he looked up again, he was slightly taken aback.

The True Ancestor’s figure… had already disappeared.

…

Eastern part of Starfall Kingdom, North Sea.

Over the vast sea, two figures turned into crimson streams of light, flying rapidly northwest.

They wore the uniform black robes of the Nez Clan’s gathering, but the patterns on their collars were gold.

These were symbols of the Elder Council and also identification for Blood Dukes.

They were the two elven bloodborne Legendary of the Nez Clan’s Luna Island branch: Duke Alec Frost Nez and Duke Campel Storm Nez.

The two elven bloodbornes were extremely fast.

They did not look back, their faces filled with tension. Even the usually careless Alec was now much more serious.

“I never expected… the bloodborne myth behind Castell is the True Ancestor! She has already returned!”

“This is a serious matter. We must quickly inform Lord Femaror and swiftly sever ties with the Nez Clan to avoid being bound by the 『Blood Oath』 and becoming her vassals again!”

Duke Campel said solemnly.

Duke Alec sighed as well.

“What a pity… Just a little bit more, and we could have further expanded our influence on Starfall Island. If successful, Lord Femaror’s plan could have advanced even further…”

Duke Campel shook his head.

“Don’t be too greedy. At least… we have already learned the secret of the Gods from Robin. The Nez Clan has truly lost the protection of the divine, otherwise, the True Ancestor would never have set foot on Starfall Island!”

“It seems that perhaps that God… are really in trouble!”

“However, we should not worry too much. The True Ancestor has a notorious reputation. As long as we sever ties with her in time and spread the news of her return, we won’t need to worry. Her past enemies won’t allow her to regain her former power.”

“Remember, the times… have changed! And the Gods… are not invincible! No matter how powerful the True Ancestor is, she can’t stand against the Holy Court, the entire blood race, and the many mainstream churches of Myria!”

The two elven bloodbornes flew rapidly, comforting each other.

After a while of conversation, their panic-stricken hearts gradually settled. Although still afraid and tense, they regained their faith and no longer felt so fearful and anxious.

They flew swiftly, bat wings spread, heading northwest towards Luna Island. Behind them, the distant Starfall Island had disappeared, leaving only the endless sea and the cloud-filled sky.

As they entered the North Sea, the sea fog began to thicken. Unknowingly, the hazy mist covered the entire sea.

The ocean, being the place with the most abundant water elements, also represented immense magic power. Under the dense sea fog, even as Legendary, the vision and perception of the two elven bloodbornes were greatly limited.

Helpless, they could only rely on the instincts of the bloodborne and their past experience to head towards Luna Island.

Time passed unknowingly. Flying through the mist felt endless.

With no end in sight for the ocean or the fog, everything seemed infinite. Even the energetic Blood Dukes began to feel a bit fatigued.

“Strange… Is this sea area this long? How long have we been flying?”

Looking at the endless sea and mist, Alec frowned slightly.

Campel, whose strength was slightly weaker, also had an uneasy expression.

Glancing around, he suddenly realized something, and his expression changed instantly.

“Not good! We’ve been flying in circles!”

“We… might have entered some kind of mental illusion!”

As if to confirm Campel’s words, the surrounding mist changed as soon as he spoke.

The hazy white mist gradually turned blood red, transforming into crimson mist. The sea beneath them quickly faded, revealing a flat black stone surface.

Above, the layered dark clouds parted, revealing a blood-red full moon. As the crimson mist dissipated, the two Legendary bloodbornes were shocked to find themselves inside a majestic and solemn ancient castle.

Seeing the familiar steps, the familiar throne, and the familiar holy symbol on the throne, the two elven bloodbornes’ faces almost simultaneously changed color.

“Dark Night… Castle!”

“Not good! Run!”

They were horrified, unleashing all their bloodline power, trying to escape this legendary terrifying place before the surrounding space stabilized. But the next moment… a vast and terrifying aura descended, quickly suppressing the restless bloodline power within them.

“Run? Where do you think you can escape to?”

A calm female voice sounded.

A bit lazy, slightly mocking, but at the same time incredibly melodious, carrying an enchanting charm that penetrated the soul.

Hearing this familiar yet strange voice, the expressions of the two elven bloodbornes changed instantly. Trembling, they looked up at the throne on the steps, where the beautiful yet terrifying figure had appeared.

Charlotte sat on the throne, looking down at the two Legendary bloodbornes with a smile. She narrowed her eyes with a smile, as if chatting with old friends.

“Why are you running? Afraid I’ll devour you?”

“Tru… True Ancestor!”

Upon hearing Charlotte’s words, Duke Campel’s legs went soft, and he kneeled on the ground.

Alec, on the other hand, was tough enough. Even facing Charlotte’s bloodline suppression, he stood strong, gritting his teeth and speaking with difficulty.

“True Ancestor!”

“Indeed, we are bloodbornes, but we… are also elves of Luna Island!”

“Oh? So… you want to use the Elven race to threaten me?”

Charlotte’s smile faded slightly, her voice turning cold.

After speaking, she shook her head.

“Forget it. Since you chose to resist, bear the price of your resistance.”

With that, Charlotte stopped communicating with the two bloodbornes and began forcibly casting the Servant’s Final Oath on them.

She didn’t intend to turn them into blood thralls.

Turning bloodbornes into blood thralls was a taboo among bloodbornes. Even as the True Ancestor, she needed to consider the bloodborne’s perception.

One blood thrall… was enough with Albrecht, anyway, no bloodborne would care about the “rights” of the despised Dark Clan Shedite.

Of course, the Servant’s Final Oath wasn’t a good thing either. This harsh contract also led to the despair of those signed, but at least… it was more acceptable.

The reason was simple: this kind of magic was difficult and not as easily promoted as the blood thrall contract. The threat was small, belonging to high-end casters’ toys.

As for when Charlotte learned such magic, that would have to be asked of her loyal servant, the ever-lustful Mr. Nice.

Charlotte’s divine power enveloped the two Legendary bloodbornes.

Vast mental power poured out, flooding their consciousness.

However, as Charlotte manipulated her mental power into the minds of the two elven bloodbornes, she was slightly stunned.

What she saw was not the unique mental worlds of Legendary bloodbornes.

But… two mysterious crystals emitting white mist, constantly rotating.

What were these things?

Were they… not real people, but puppets?

Charlotte was stunned.

Before she could react, the mysterious crystals quickly cracked and then shattered.

In the Dark Night Castle, as the crystals shattered, the bodies of the two Legendary bloodbornes instantly disintegrated.

Like smoke blown by the wind, their bodies turned into white mist and then vanished.

It was as if they had never existed.

Until the last moment of their bodies’ disintegration, the two elven bloodbornes seemed unaware of what had happened. One still had a fearful expression, while the other remained stubborn and resolute.

As their auras dissipated, only two piles of fine ash remained on the ground of the Dark Night Castle, resembling the ashes after cremation.

Looking at the two piles of ashes, Charlotte frowned.