[V7C013 – In Life and In Eternal Rest]
Nighteye felt somewhat lightheaded from the ma.s.sive drain that came with activating the Eye of Destruction. In her current state of near-exhaustion, this came as a great burden. Having failed her last-ditch a.s.sault, Nighteye pulled herself together quickly, removed the image in her eyes, and glanced back at Li Fengshui.
How could Li Fengshui be where he was before? There was only that military expert whose innards had been crushed.
Nighteye had just sensed danger when she suffered a heavy blow to the back. An extremely cold origin power broke apart her faltering blood energy and went straight for her blood core, effectively freezing it in the blink of an eye.
The primo staggered for a while but slowly collapsed in the end. Li Fengshui withdrew his right hand from behind her, but his fingers were trembling involuntarily and there was an inconcealable terror in his eyes.
“As expected of the vampire princess, she’s truly powerful.” Li Fengshui’s voice was somewhat shaky.
One of his subordinates said, “No matter how powerful she is, didn’t she fall in your hands in the end? How could she even have the chance to attack if you weren’t already injured?”
“This injury…” Li Fengshui’s expression was unnatural as he shot a glance at the hanging corpse of the woman. He then said while shaking his head, “It’s not that simple. I can’t help but feel terrified when thinking back about it. If not for the three backup plans and successful ambush, she might have turned the tables on us. Heh! Who would’ve known the Zhao clan was hiding such an agent?”
“But it’s you, general, who was one step ahead of them and gained a big victory!”
Li Fengshui was expressionless. “The deciding factor for this battle was intelligence, not strength. It just so happened that strength is the true key to overcoming enemies. I’d rather have the strength to overwhelm adversaries than having to resort to intelligence. I’m unfortunately lacking in power and will never be able to break through that cultivation bottleneck.”
He sighed lightly. “We can’t stay here for long, let’s set out.”
The group thus departed swiftly from the small village.
Moments later, silhouettes flickered continuously in the village square as a large number of high-ranking vampires appeared one after another. The leader, a lanky old man, sniffed around and said, “She was here just now.”
“She couldn’t have gone far,” another old man said regretfully.
“Indeed not far, but we won’t make it.” A shorter marquis pointed at the night sky where a star was moving rapidly away.
These marquis-level characters all possessed shocking eyesight and were able to discern the airs.h.i.+p pulling away from the continent’s borders. Just from its unbelievable takeoff velocity, they knew that there was no way to catch up. A wars.h.i.+p of such speed was rare even in the entire Evernight world.”
“So close.” The leader was clearly pained.
“How could she have escaped if the Carltons had spoken up sooner?”
“Heh heh, the Lightless Monarch has probably found a target to vent his anger.”
The high-ranking vampires didn’t have the slightest intention of giving chase and only continued chatting in the village.
Outside the floating continent was a large vampire fleet crowded around a ma.s.sive vessel at its center. This giant airs.h.i.+p was twice as large as the empire’s biggest regular airs.h.i.+ps and resembled a small castle in its magnificence. This was the Lightless Monarch Medanzo’s s.h.i.+p, a craft he had spent thirty years to build and upgraded continuously over the millennium.
In the Bridge, Medanzo was listening to a subordinate’s report, his expression transforming drastically throughout the process. “Nighteye? S-She’s appeared again?”
The count replied hurriedly, “There should be no mistake. The pursuers have confirmed her ident.i.ty several times and Bloodline Concealment is an ability exclusive to her. She has also used the Eye of Destruction several times during the interception.”
“Continue.” Medanzo had seemingly regained his calm, but he knocked over the golden goblet while reaching out for wine.
The cup fell with a clang and sprayed the red liquor all over the floor. In the blink of an eye, all eyes fell upon the rolling goblet for a moment and then moved away. Two vampire maids flashed past them like the wind and had soon cleaned the place spotless. A new receptacle was soon placed at the monarch’s side, filled with rich wine.
This was a small matter, but how could someone as strong as Medanzo fail to even hold his cup? One could imagine just how shocking this matter was to him.
That count continued reporting but placed the focus of the recount on the chase, opting to gloss over all the other major issues.
“What? They let Nighteye escape!?” Medanzo couldn’t believe his ears. Soon, an invisible tempest began to brew in the hall. All the vampires felt their blood core beating faster and faster.
That count’s face was as white as paper. “Yes, they were half an hour too late to catch her.”
Finally, Medanzo could no longer hold back his anger. “Half an hour, only half an hour!!! Those useless Carlton people!!! Why did they not release the news sooner? These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds just had to drag it out for two entire days!”
A marquis below the throne seemed to have a good relations.h.i.+p with the Carlton clan. He drummed up his courage and said, “Your Majesty, with their blood pond destroyed, the Carltons are in their weakest state. It’s normal for them to be cautious.”
Medanzo snorted loudly. “Nonsense! How can a mere ancient blood pond be as important as Nighteye! These ignorant b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have delayed my business!”
Seeing the monarch’s wrath, that marquis no longer dared to say anything.
The Lightless Monarch eventually suppressed his roaring anger and said, “Does that mean Nighteye has fallen into human hands?”
“From the traces left behind at their departure point, the ones who had brought her away seem to be from the human military.”
“Military?” Medanzo frowned at the th.o.r.n.y problem. Even someone of his status couldn’t casually provoke such a ma.s.sive ent.i.ty. Bringing Nighteye back from the hands of the military was close to impossible.
He tapped lightly on the handrest and said after a long silence, “Activate our channels over there and contact those people. See if they can find a way to bring Nighteye back. No price is out of the question!”
Shaken upon realizing Medanzo’s resolution, the vampires in the hall affirmed his order.
In the void, a certain airs.h.i.+p had shed its disguise and revealed its true nature as a high-speed vessel. It streaked across the void like a flash of lightning and rapidly left the Twilight Continent.
Li Fengshui stood beside the cabin windows, thinking about something. An aide arrived near him with words of flattery. “General, you managed to capture the vampire princess this time. Your contributions are surely at the very peak. Perhaps the empire will have a new marshal before long.”
Li Fengshui said with a smile, “The imperial marshal position has always been for divine champions, and this rule has never been broken before. How can the threshold of a divine champion be so easy to cross? If it were that easy, I wouldn’t be stuck here for so many years either.”
The aide wouldn’t stop with his toadying, nor was he embarra.s.sed about it. “But your service this time isn’t ordinary. It should be enough for the imperial family to bestow you that treasure, right? Just one or two drops should be enough to help you break through.”
Li Fengshui said indifferently, “That treasure is extremely limited and only a couple of drops are produced every year. Every drop has been reserved, how can it be my turn?”
The aide complained, “But your contribution this time…”
Li Fengshui said while pointing upward, “Those characters up there will definitely take a cut. Besides, all of you have been following me for many years despite your own aspirations. How can I not share the bounty with everyone who risked their lives for today’s success?”
Caught unprepared, the aide’s voice choked up. “General…”
Li Fengshui waved his hand. The warmth in his eyes disappeared and was quickly replaced by a sinister chill. “I’m not in a rush to cash in this contribution, though. The Monroe Princess’ value is far greater than you and I can imagine. Whatever the military and his majesty have to offer isn’t nearly enough.”
The aide was started. “You mean, you won’t hand over the prisoner? But, isn’t this a great opportunity to overturn the Zhao clan?”
Li Fengshui smiled indifferently. “What good does it do to overturn the Zhao clan? We’ll just be helping the Minister of the Right.”
“But your enmity with the Zhao clan…”
“Heh heh, how I repay them for that depends on how much they’re willing to pay.”
The aid nodded in half-understanding. “Then, where do we head now?”
“The void continent.”
The subordinate was shocked out of his wits. “Void continent!? Isn’t that right under the Zhao clan’s eyes?”
“It’s also under the eyes of the entire empire,” Li Fengshui added. “I refuse to believe they dare to do anything under public eyes. Humph, the heavenly monarchs will never forgive them for colluding with the vampires!”
Realizing the situation, the aide praised, “General is indeed far-sighted!”
Li Fengshui said with a laugh, “Nighteye should be awake by now. Come, we should go and see her.”
Nighteye finally woke up after an unknown length of time. The scene that entered her eyes was a cold cabin room with neither furnis.h.i.+ngs nor decoration. She tried moving about but found that her body had lost all senses, retaining only a weak response. Her blood core was still bound tightly by that frigid origin power. It would beat only once in a long while, just enough to maintain her vitality.
She struggled a bit once more but felt a sharp pain coming from her hands. Only then did she discover the two special stakes piercing through her wrists and nailing her firmly to the armrest.
“These nails aren’t ordinary items. Not to mention the materials, it takes five years just to make them. It’s made of the most premium refined silver, and truth be told, each of them cost as much as a small airs.h.i.+p,” Li Fengshui said as he pulled a chair over and sat across from Nighteye.
Nighteye didn’t struggle anymore and merely said, “You think quite highly of me.”
Li Fengshui laughed out loud. “No treatment is too excessive for the Monroe Princess. I was quite astonished when I first received the intelligence. Only when I almost died to your Eye of Destruction was I able to confirm that you’re the long-missing princess. Who would’ve thought you had hidden yourself in the empire, in that small place on Evernight Continent?
Nighteye replied calmly. “This is something you’ll know sooner or later. There’s no meaning in talking about it.”
“Very well! Then we’ll talk about meaningful things.” Li Fengshui leaned forward and said word by word, “I want… Qianye’s path to the heavenly monarch realm.”