Chapter 1057: Glory of the Vampires
It was Angelina who appeared before them. She pulled a long face, staring coldly at them. Shortly after, everyone detected the dissatisfaction in her eyes. They closed their mouths quickly, lowered their heads, and gazed at the ground in uncertainty. This scene seemed a little strange, at least in the eyes of outsiders. Angelina was considered as having the smallest built among them but now, she displayed an unprecedented and powerful presence. The dense, ice-cold aura exuding from her was as though a boulder falling from above, cras.h.i.+ng heavily on their hearts and turning their pale complexion as white as a sheet. The bloodline senses between vampires was extremely powerful, especially due to their unique reproduction method, causing them to trace back to their origin. In this case, the vampire who was closer to the ancestor would have more power over the vampires below. This was also why Ashvril had so many enemies below her and this was also an important reason why she wanted to get rid of Angelina. If Angelina became mature and grew stronger, Ashvril wouldn’t stand a chance against her, being a vampire who transformed from a human. If Ashvril didn’t get rid of Angelina, she would be in huge trouble after Angelina became stronger.
“How daring of you all. Do you still remember what I said back then?”
Angelina reprimanded, totally unlike the vampire who behaved like a docile cat in front of Rhode. Right now, she was like a wolf queen standing on the peak of a cliff, staring down at the pack of submissive wolves with her fierce, green eyes. No one dared to raise any questions or doubts. There was only submission.
“I wanted all of you to stay calm, but what did you do? Burn down Athos City? Since you have the guts, why didn’t you burn down the Darkness Capital?”
Angelina crossed her arms, staring at the group of vampires. Her voice was calm and ice-cold. Even though they were important subordinates to Angelina, it didn’t stop her from lecturing them. In fact, Angelina was aware of their weaknesses. All in all, they might seem cautious, but they were full of adventurous spirit. Although they appeared careful when executing the plan, they lacked the ability to a.s.sess the situation. The fact that they ambushed Athos City was a perfect example. Even if Carol and her group didn’t own up to the fact that it was their doing, Angelina knew what was going through their heads. They must have decided to backstab Ashvril while she was weak and escape from the consequences. Anyway, even if they weren’t involved with what happened afterwards, they were sure that other vampire families would ‘a.s.sist’ them in rocking Ashvril’s rule. Then, they could look for Angelina in the Void Territory later on and start all over again. Perhaps when that happened, Ashvril would be entirely doomed and they could take advantage of it… Well, this daydream wasn’t bad at all.
But it was only a daydream, after all. They didn’t think of the fact that Ashvril wasn’t as powerful as she was when she first took over the throne. Besides, the new and rising n.o.ble families hadn’t risen yet back then, while the ancient, well-established n.o.ble families still existed now. Moreover, many vampires were discontented with Ashvril for overthrowing the predecessor and secretly caused a lot of trouble for her. During that period of time, Ashvril was in a rocky position, but didn’t she still manage to survive? And now, this group of rascals thought that they could easily attain their goal by watching the fires burn across the river? Surely they wouldn’t think that the other vampire families were only there for show!
In fact, Angelina didn’t wish to see Ashvril’s power weaken too much because if Ashvril continued to maintain her authority, Angelina could take over her position and authority as long as she defeated Ashvril. The strongest point was also the weakest. As long as Angelina overthrew the Ashvril who ‘n.o.body could waver’, Angelina’s image among the vampires would improve dramatically. When that happened, it was still possible for her to reappear in glory, merging with the well-established n.o.ble families with her royal bloodline. It could also be said that this was Angelina’s ultimate goal. But on the other hand, if Ashvril’s position was unstable, it wouldn’t mean much if Angelina knocked the weakened Ashvril off her seat as that would just be Angelina waiting for others to overthrow her too. It would be the difference in sequence at the very most. This was the difference between the perspective of a ruler and her subordinates. Carol and the other vampires could only see what was before them, but Angelina was already considering her moves after she took over…
Even though Angelina couldn’t execute her plan like she could in the past with her current ident.i.ty, gazing at these inexperienced vampires left her fuming, so she used this chance to lecture them.
Although Carol and the vampires were criticized fiercely by Angelina, they didn’t display any dissatisfaction on their faces. Instead, they listened silently without gasping for air. When this ‘force’ was first established, Angelina used her outstanding ability, conspiracy, and determined belief to compel the vampires into obeying her completely. These vampires were born into families suppressed by Ashvril and some of them had even thrown away their pride to become her slaves. They shuddered in lingering fear under the Blood Countess’s threat and didn’t dare to refute. It was Angelina who released them from their nightmares and gave them the courage to resist this terrifying enemy. Although there was seemingly no trust among vampires, in this small ‘force’ of Angelina’s, there indeed existed a ‘relations.h.i.+p of trust’ that was rarely seen among the n.o.bles of darkness.
“… No matter what, you all are rather capable, to burn down Athos City and come all the way here without getting caught…”
After bawling out on her shallow subordinates, Angelina calmed herself down. She lifted her head and gazed at the young ladies with knitted brows. Her eyes glinted in an undetectable sigh.
“Why are there only a few of you? Where are the rest?”
“Madam, after you came to the Land of Atonement and lost contact with us, some of us left the force, while most of the remaining ones… died during our attack on Athos City. Some were also killed by pursuers, and only us are…”
Upon hearing Angelina’s question, Carol answered softly. Even though the other vampires remained silent, they continued to lower their heads deeply, using this unique behavior to mourn for their fallen comrades. Angelina’s eyes glinted with complicated emotions. But she quickly gnashed her teeth and threw the feeling of melancholy to the back of her head. Well, this was a decent ending, wasn’t it? At the very least, she didn’t fail as badly as the other vampires who found themselves utterly isolated and eventually vanished forever. And now, some of them were still willing to follow her all the way here… But it was a pity that the others…
“All right. Since all of you are willing to come here, I don’t have to say much.”
Angelina said before falling into silence. The vampires who heard her words lifted their heads curiously. Then, they were baffled to see Angelina extending her slim, tender right index finger forward. They were agitated because they knew what this meant. However, they didn’t expect to receive such a rare honor…
“Since all of you came here and showed your loyalty to the mighty Babylonia Family, I hereby give you a choice of honor and supreme glory: are you willing to accept my blood and become my dependents?!”
Angelina gazed at the remaining seven subordinates before her, gnashed her teeth, and asked. Upon hearing her question, Carol and the vampires were startled despite being mentally prepared.
It was mentioned in the past that due to the unique ‘biological structure’ of the vampires, ‘blood’ occupied an important, sacred position in their culture. Taking Ashvril’s parents, for instance: they were a pair of high-cla.s.s and low-cla.s.s n.o.bles, whose blood fused in a human. As a result, it enraged the vampire race. This went to show how important ‘bloodline’ inheritance was to vampires. And now, what Angelina was about to give them was as though the highest honor of vampires! If they accepted her blood, it meant that they would be dependents of the once most glorious and ancient vampire family! This was a supreme honor to all vampires!
Of course, this wasn’t without disadvantages. Ancient bloodline possessed powerful strength over the younger vampires. If Carol and the other six vampires became Angelina’s dependents, it would mean that their lives were in Angelina’s hands. Not only would their thoughts be known to Angelina, but they would also obey her commands even if she ordered them to commit suicide. Judging from this point, it was more demanding than the soul contract that Rhode had with his card spirits.
“I’m willing, Madam Angelina!”
Carol was the first to step forward. She half-knelt on the ground, lifted her head, and her scarlet eyes gazed unwaveringly at the young lady before her. She had never thought of this in the past but now she wouldn’t give up this chance, even if she had to become Angelina’s dependent!
“Good.”
Upon hearing Carol’s determined answer, Angelina nodded in satisfaction. She reached out for a small blade with her right hand, extended her left hand, and gently cut her fingertip with the blade. A stream of extremely pure, scarlet blood flowed out of the wound and down the finger like a precious gem. Carol had already laid out her arms, holding onto Angelina’s right hand and sucking on her fingertip solemnly. The fresh, aromatic blood entered her mouth. She shut her eyes, her body s.h.i.+vering constantly as she felt the powerful strength flowing into her blood.
“————!”
At the same time, a scarlet magic ritual appeared beneath their feet and emanated a red, dazzling radiance, enfolding them completely. Shortly after, the red brilliance glowing from Carol’s body drifted toward Angelina, coalescing into an illuminating scarlet card. Upon witnessing the card, Angelina’s eyes glinted. She extended her hand and along with her movement, the scarlet card lost its s.h.i.+ne gradually. Then, it quietly landed on her palm. Angelina let out a satisfied laughter, before lowering her head and gazing at Carol, who knelt before her.
“All right then. From now onward, you are my most loyal dependent,” Angelina said.