Volume 4 Chapter 36

Volume 4 + Chapter 36: The Blood of The Progenitor

“Truly… perfect.”

Herman swirled the wine in his glass, his mood exceedingly bright.

He gazed at the silver-haired girl lying on the stone altar, surrounded by crimson roses, as if she were merely sleeping.

After Miu Miu displayed that overwhelming power outside and then fell unconscious, Herman had retrieved his daughter and brought her back.

What came next was simple—he only needed to wait for her to awaken.

In truth, from the beginning, Miu Miu had never had any possibility of escaping.

Because Miu Miu was Herman’s daughter, within the vampire race she was considered immediate kin.

As Vampire King, he could locate and control her every movement through the mark of vassalage.

From start to finish, Herman had complete dominion over Miu Miu’s life.

She did not even possess the right to die. Her life and death were dictated entirely by Herman’s will—she was a caged bird in every sense.

“This great plan… has finally come to fruition!”

Herman raised his glass and drained it in one gulp.

The cup contained rare elven blood—an exquisite delicacy far surpassing that of ordinary bloodservants, a pleasure almost intoxicatingly sublime.

He thought back on his efforts and felt that everything he had done had been worth it.

What he had injected into Miu Miu was the Blood of the Progenitor—an ancient treasure passed down through vampire royal lineage.

The Blood of the Progenitor came from the mythic era—blood belonging to the ruler of the vampires, worshiped as a god by the clan.

Within it rested unfathomable power.

Among the vampires, only those of the royal bloodline—vampire kings—were permitted to directly touch the Blood of the Progenitor.

Yet the blood was so overwhelmingly potent that even vampire kings struggled to withstand its might.

Thus, each generation’s king could absorb only a single drop at most before nearing their absolute limit.

Originally, Herman should have followed in the footsteps of his predecessors—absorbing one drop of the blood and living off that power for life.

But… he was not satisfied.

Even if he absorbed one drop, or even two—so what?

The vampires still could not defeat the dragon race.

Herman possessed colossal ambition. He refused to be a mere caretaker king, he sought to carve out a legacy of greatness.

And the prerequisite for greatness was power.

Without corresponding strength, no amount of ambition could be sustained.

Thus, Herman began researching the Blood of the Progenitor—this legendary treasure, the greatest secret and trump card of the vampires.

As he reviewed the absorption records of past vampire kings, he discovered something astonishing.

The amount of blood each king could absorb varied.

Some could only manage half a drop.

The most gifted of all was the single vampire queen of the primordial era—she had absorbed four full drops, becoming the equal of the dragon king of her era.

Seeking further transcendence, that queen risked everything and absorbed another half-drop. As expected, her power surpassed even the Dragon King—she became the strongest among the higher races, nearly invincible across the world.

But the price was devastating, within three years, she perished from the backlash of the Progenitor’s blood.

This confirmed to Herman that different royal bloodlines produced vastly different absorption limits—and ignited his hope.

He himself could never absorb that much blood—but then a mad idea arose:

He would create a child capable of absorbing vast quantities of the Progenitor’s blood—a perfect vessel.

Thus Herman began searching across the vampire race for women who might possess ancestral royal lineage, selecting them, mating with them, and producing offspring.

Vampire bloodlines were peculiar—if multiple children were born, the bloodline’s power would be diluted.

Whether through siring or turning, powerful vampires generally had only one child.

If Herman deemed a newborn unfit, he would kill them instantly to prevent dilution of the bloodline.

It was a long process—but vampires, as one of the higher races, lived long lives.

Any child who showed insufficient talent was eliminated immediately. Those who showed potential were raised for a time before being tested… then usually eliminated anyway.

After countless failures over centuries—after disposing of who knew how many defective vessels—Herman finally succeeded in creating one viable offspring.

Miu Miu.

As a perfect vessel, she could absorb diluted Progenitor’s blood even from childhood without dying.

This delighted Herman. Because of her unique value, she was spared—unlike all the others and allowed to live.

Now, Miu Miu had absorbed a tremendous quantity of the Progenitor’s blood, not only surviving, but awakening terrifying new power.

Using his vassal Miu Miu as a safe converter, Herman could indirectly obtain the Progenitor’s might without risking backlash.

“A great achievement beyond this era—within my grasp!”

His smile reflected faintly on the glass of his goblet.

At that moment, the silver-haired girl on the stone altar began to stir. She rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up.

“Oh? Miu Miu, you’re awake?” Herman asked cheerfully.

“……”

The silver-haired girl looked at Herman with unfamiliar eyes—cold, distant and spoke a sentence.

Herman froze.

He did not understand a word of what she said.

Yet instinct told him—it was undoubtedly the language of the vampires, but more sacred… more exalted…

“Miu Miu, what are you doing?” Herman demanded. “Get down!”

Bare white feet stepped upon the rose-covered altar, the girl gazing down at the Vampire King with open disdain.

She fell silent for a moment. Then, with gently parted lips, she spoke again—this time in the modern vampire tongue:

“Submit.”

Two simple syllables—yet they carried an irresistible force. Herman’s body began obeying her will.

Startled, he activated his royal bloodline power, attempting to assert the authority of the Vampire King and command his vassal through the mark.

The silver-haired girl raised her hand as if crushing something invisible, a faintly mocking smile on her lips.

It was—the vassal mark.

Herman could not comprehend it. How could she forcibly dissolve the mark unilaterally? A vassal should never be capable of such a feat…

The vampire girl waved her hand. With a soft laugh, the roses lifted and pierced Herman’s body.

A tyrannical force surged into him, seizing and dominating his royal bloodline.

The Vampire King of the Crimson Empire bowed his head before the Monarch of Night.

……

……

Some time later.

Dragon Kingdom, Dragon Palace.

Xia Lulu was in her office, handling daily governmental affairs.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Your Majesty.”

It was Lucia.

Lucia rarely disturbed Xia Lulu without cause. If she approached during office hours, it meant something important had happened.

“Come in, Lucia,” Xia Lulu said.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lucia stepped inside and bowed to the Silver Dragon Queen.

“Lucia, what has happened?” Xia Lulu asked.

Lucia’s expression was grave. “Your Majesty… something unimaginable has occurred in the Crimson Empire…”