Volume 4 Chapter 129

Volume 4 + Chapter 129: Vampire Ancestor’s Blessing

“You really are troublesome, Storm King. I truly underestimated your resolve.”

The Vampire Ancestor, Elizabeth, stood before the Storm King and could not help but remark with a sigh.

This upper-race king who ruled over the undead had challenged Elizabeth in the name of protecting this land, attempting to stop her from turning all nations into her enemies.

This was because the Storm King had observed ominous anomalies and deduced that if Elizabeth were allowed to continue unchecked, it would bring about an immense catastrophe.

For this reason, the Storm King and the Vampire Ancestor—each representing the Undead race and the Vampire Clan respectively—had engaged in a brief but fierce war.

As the myriad races of the world already knew, the outcome of that war was Daleks’ defeat at Elizabeth’s hands.

This widely watched conflict ended in victory for the Vampire Clan, and the Undead race temporarily withdrew from the stage of history.

However, what the world did not know was that the Storm King had not died.

Strictly speaking, he was in a state of being sealed by Elizabeth.

Clad in decayed armor, the Storm King still maintained a combat stance. The ghostly flames blazing across his body were frozen at a single moment in time as he was imprisoned within a massive, constantly flowing sphere of blood.

This was the divine-era blood magic cast by Elizabeth herself—Infinite Blood Prison.

In terms of raw strength, Elizabeth was indeed far superior to the Storm King. Their powers were not on the same level at all.

The difference was almost like that between a mortal race and an upper race.

However, Daleks possessed an extremely special domain—the Domain of Decay.

As long as death occurred within the Domain of Decay, the Storm King could absorb the soul power of the undead within it to replenish fatal injuries.

In a certain sense, this bore similarities to the Vampire Clan’s blood pools.

After all, both were dark beings endowed with traits of immortality.

Defeating the Storm King was not difficult—but truly killing him was exceedingly troublesome.

Most importantly, the Storm King had come to fight Elizabeth with a resolve that did not fear death at all. He was even prepared to wager the undead army he had cultivated over countless years.

Even Elizabeth had to admit that the will to protect embodied by the Storm King was astonishing. Had it been any other upper-race king in such a situation, they likely would have surrendered long ago.

If the battle continued like this, it would never end—seven days and seven nights without a decisive outcome.

Thus, Elizabeth chose the simplest and most convenient solution: sealing him.

And so, under her divine-era blood magic, the Storm King was sealed within the Infinite Blood Prison.

Even so, the Storm King did not beg for mercy. Instead, he continued to resist, using the Domain of Decay to counter the erosion of infinite blood, maintaining the stalemate.

However, due to the disparity in strength, as long as Elizabeth herself remained unaffected and continued to sustain the Infinite Blood Prison, the Storm King could never escape.

“I can’t help but admire you,” Elizabeth commented. “Are the strong ones of this era all as tenacious as you, or are you the sole exception? If they were all like you, then conquering foreign races might actually be fun. Completely crushing one’s opponents—battles with no suspense at all—are simply too boring~”

Had Elizabeth not chosen to declare war on everyone from the very beginning, but instead conquered nations one by one, the current situation would have been entirely different.

Starting from nearby territories, sweeping aside weaker neighboring nations, then carefully selecting distant powers with some strength to balance against others, conquering nearby strong nations step by step…

Once the land was filled with the flags of the Crimson Empire, and the northern dragon race was finally subdued, an unprecedented achievement would be complete.

But that would be far too dull.

Wouldn’t that just be beating up children?

Striking them down one by one before they even realized what was happening—by the time everyone was finally stunned into awareness, it would already be too late.

That was why Elizabeth preferred to add a bit of difficulty for herself.

Besides, as she had explained to the Storm King, conquering this land was merely a means to achieve her ultimate goal.

She had to defeat everyone in the most elevated manner possible—by the most incomprehensible, the most impossible method… Only then would Elizabeth feel she was truly approaching her objective.

The Vampire Ancestor Elizabeth of the past had died with endless regret—falling before an enemy she could never possibly defeat, all to protect the Vampire Clan.

That terrifying catastrophe not only claimed her life, but also engulfed other upper-race kings of the mythological era.

Now that she had been revived, she had obtained a precious opportunity—one she would absolutely use to realize her grand vision.

“Ancestor.”

A woman’s voice sounded from outside the chamber.

Elizabeth turned her head to see the Vampire Clan Duke, Flora, kneeling on one knee.

“So it’s you, Flora. What is it—did you also come to admire the Storm King’s gallant bearing?” Elizabeth said cheerfully. “If you want to take a commemorative photo with him, that’s fine too.”

“Forgive the interruption, Ancestor,” Flora said respectfully. “But there are important matters the others wish to report to you—intelligence regarding the movements of the foreign races. After learning that you defeated the Storm King, the foreign races have begun to act.”

“Oh? What are they up to?”

“They are all waiting in the main hall, Ancestor. Everyone wishes to personally and thoroughly explain the situation to you.”

“I understand. Since there’s nothing urgent at the moment, let’s go hear it.”

Elizabeth agreed and left the place together with Flora.

After all, all internal factions had already been swept clean, faith in the Vampire Ancestor had been firmly established, and the next stage of development would naturally be war with the foreign races.

…

“…That is the situation, Ancestor. Representatives from various nations gathered in the neutral territory of the Pear Isles. With the Elven race and the Fox race acting as dual alliance leaders, they formally established an Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance, attempting to unite and jointly oppose our Vampire Clan.”

Led by Herman, the ministers reported the full sequence of events in detail to Elizabeth within the grand hall of the Vampire Clan palace.

“Oh, so they banded together and formed an alliance,” Elizabeth smiled faintly. “It seems the war with the Undead really frightened them. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t even dare think of such a thing.”

“Ancestor, this Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance far exceeds our expectations. In order to oppose us, they actually set aside certain conflicts and grudges. Even the Dragon Kingdom joined them, allowing the dragon race to become an accepted member of the alliance.”

“The dragon race?”

Elizabeth blinked.

“Could this be the Silver Dragon Princess’s idea?”

“It should be,” Herman replied. “The Silver Dragon Princess personally represented the Dragon Kingdom and strongly advocated resistance against the Vampire Clan, declaring that they would not form an alliance with us and would fight us to the end. In order to unite everyone, the Elven race even offered themselves as guarantors for the dragon race.”

Elizabeth seemed delighted. “Looks like I bullied little Xia Yi a bit too much last time. I really pushed her buttons—imagine getting the dragon race to set aside their arrogance and ally with the ants they once looked down on, all for her sake.”

“After learning of the Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance, other nations have also chosen to join. The number of member states continues to grow.”

“It seems things have become a bit more interesting. Fighting them one by one would be troublesome,” Elizabeth said. “Perfect—this time, I’ll capture Xia Yi as well and keep her here as my little blood pack.”

“The Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance has issued a formal declaration of war against us,” Herman concluded. “They demand a response within three days. If we do not choose unconditional surrender, they will initiate a full-scale war.”

“They truly are arrogant—thinking this will be enough to defeat the Vampire Clan. It’s time to let the people of this era experience the terror of the mythological age.”

Elizabeth stood up and raised her hand. Blood-red energy gathered in her palm, swelling to a certain magnitude before she released it.

The blood energy spread outward, enveloping everyone present.

This caused noticeable changes in the bodies of all those present, as they felt their bloodline power surge and their strength increase further.

The Vampire Clan members in the hall stared at their hands in disbelief, shock written across their faces.

Each of them had received a mysterious blessing as a result of their faith in the Vampire Ancestor.

“Ancestor… this is…?”

Flora was astonished. Her strength had long stagnated, yet now it had advanced once more, stepping into an entirely new realm.

Such a phenomenon was nothing short of a miracle beyond all conventional understanding.

“This is the protection granted by my divine authority,” Elizabeth said with a light laugh.

The Vampire Clan was no longer the same as before. From top to bottom, they now regarded Elizabeth not merely as a ruler, but as a god—the god of the Vampire Clan.

As a result, the systems of faith power and divine authority blessings from the mythological era were gradually reemerging within the modern Vampire Clan.

Bestowing divine authority blessings upon these individuals was only the beginning. As faith power continued to accumulate, Elizabeth’s divine protection would keep spreading—until every single Vampire Clan member received her blessing.

“Thank you for your grace, Ancestor!”

The Vampire Clan members in the hall responded in unison, overflowing with fervor for the coming war and eager to engage the foreign races in a bloody battle.

“Inform the Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance that the Vampire Clan will utterly crush all of its members—just like the Storm King. Even if every nation on this land unites, they will still be no match for us.”

“The Vampire Clan has entered a new era. The one who rules the Vampire Clan is no longer merely a Blood King. Therefore, the title of the Crimson Empire must be formally changed. Its new name shall be—”

Elizabeth’s eyes glimmered faintly as she proclaimed loudly to all present.

“The Sacred Crimson Empire!”