CA – Chapter 74
Chapter 74
On the night of a full moon, a werewolf’s power would reach its peak. Not even the formidable vampires were willing to confront a werewolf at such a time.
Let alone an Inquisitor with only ten Holy Knights.
June’s expression shifted drastically. Her hand tightened around her silver-white staff as the screams of the knights filled her ears. Biting her lip, she lowered the carriage window and retrieved a teleportation scroll from her Space Gem.
Outside, the priests fought for their lives, their various light spells illuminating the dark night.
June lowered her head and unfurled the teleportation scroll. A white light flickered and then abruptly vanished.
Her face turned ugly. This was a werewolf who had come prepared; she had sealed the space in the area around the carriage.
Just like a Black Witch’s Dark Domain or a vampire’s Blood Domain, werewolves also had their own domains. They simply preferred the thrill of tearing their enemies apart with their claws, so they didn’t use them often.
A domain would seal off space, rendering teleportation scrolls useless.
June angrily tossed the scroll aside, gritted her teeth, and opened the door, staff in hand, to step outside.
Four of the ten Holy Knights were already down. Although the five priests had yet to be attacked, their lips, chanting the spells, had turned white under the werewolf’s immense pressure.
June raised her staff and began to chant, her eyes fixed on the white-haired werewolf. The creature’s wide cloak and the veil on her face obscured her features.
Flames of light erupted from all sides, surrounding Tang Qiu. The Holy Knights blocking her path breathed a slight sigh of relief. However, in the next second, a black shadow shot out from the flames, moving like lightning. Two Holy Knights, unable to dodge in time, had their throats slit by sharp claws and collapsed to the ground.
June’s hand trembled, but she continued to chant in a low voice, this time preparing a more powerful spell: Radiant Light.
However, werewolves were not vampires or Black Witches. Their natural advantage against the Holy See was that light was not their bane.
If June were facing a vampire instead of a werewolf right now, she could have held out for much longer. But before her stood a werewolf on the night of a full moon.
Tang Qiu finished off the Holy Knights one by one, pausing briefly to flick the blood from her hands as she glanced at the priests in front of June.
The werewolf’s aura was too powerful. It might have been manageable from a distance, but up close, the priests’ chanting had already started to waver.
June raised her staff, and a Radiant Light spell enveloped Tang Qiu. The burning sensation made Tang Qiu frown. She silently chanted a spell of her own, and a light barrier appeared noiselessly around her, blocking the Radiant Light.
Seeing the werewolf enveloped by the Radiant Light, June breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to wipe the sweat from her forehead and prepare her next spell, she saw the werewolf, who should have been trapped, walk out of the light completely unharmed.
The moment she was clear of the Radiant Light’s range, Tang Qiu instantly dispelled the barrier. With a flash, she was already among the priests standing before June.
Screams made June retreat a few steps unconsciously until she bumped into the carriage door. She stumbled, falling against the carriage.
The werewolf was now in front of her, her sharp claws glinting with a cold light. June frantically raised her staff to defend herself, but in the next second, the staff snapped in two.
A warm hand closed around her neck. June’s head was forced back, her face flushing red from lack of air. Her eyes widened as she struggled to see the werewolf’s face through the white veil. She pleaded, “Wait… we can talk.”
“…Whatever you want, I can get it for you.”
Tang Qiu looked down at June, tilting her head. The hand on her neck slowly loosened.
As the pressure on her throat eased, a flicker of joy appeared in June’s eyes. She was about to say more when a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
“Next time, remember to give the little priest a chance to explain herself.” Tang Qiu bent down and hoisted the woman over her shoulder. A thought occurred to her, and she shook her head, muttering to herself, “There probably won’t be a next time.” She leaped down from the carriage, her figure instantly vanishing into the night.
It was late at night when Tang Qiu returned to the Bill Empire. She took a secluded path to Lucille’s manor. Just as she vaulted over the high wall, Lucille, having already scented her, was waiting below.
She first looked Tang Qiu over, then glanced at June on her shoulder and asked with a frown, “Who is this?”
Tang Qiu glanced at Lola, who had followed Lucille out. She tossed the person in front of her and said softly, “This is for you.”
Lola ignored June on the ground. She stared at Tang Qiu without blinking, subconsciously raising a hand to touch her own eye. She turned to Lucille, her tone filled with disbelief, “…She’s a werewolf? How can she be a werewolf?”
How could a werewolf have ended up in the Holy See?
Lucille frowned slightly, grabbed Tang Qiu’s wrist, and with a flash, they leaped directly through an open window on the second floor.
Lola, full of confusion and questions, looked up at the second-floor bedroom. She opened her mouth to say something, but the window slammed shut with a bang.
Lola: “…”
Temporarily setting aside her curiosity, her gaze shifted down to the still-unconscious June. Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly. Lola licked her sharp fangs, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
Lola walked over, bent down, and lifted the person up. She roughly tore open June’s collar, then lowered her head and bit down hard on her throat.
Tang Qiu stood by the window, watching Lola feed. A faint smile touched her lips. “The blood of a bishop should help her recover faster.”
Lucille followed Tang Qiu’s gaze. Though her tone was calm, it was laced with a hint of anxiety. “What exactly happened while I was away?”
She had asked Lola, but Lola had spent most of her time being tortured after her capture and couldn’t provide many details.
Tang Qiu pulled her gaze back from the window, glanced at Lucille, and squeezed her arm with a smile. “Don’t worry, it’s been resolved.”
She turned and walked to a stand in the corner. While washing her hands, she briefly recounted the events with the Inquisition.
Even though she had already used a cleansing spell, Tang Qiu still felt the sticky sensation of blood on her hands was uncomfortable.
After washing her hands thoroughly, she picked up a nearby towel to dry them. Realizing Lucille had been silent the whole time, she looked up in confusion and saw her icy expression and tightly furrowed brow. A smile involuntarily graced Tang Qiu’s lips.
“Don’t worry. Even without Reese, I had an escape plan.” Tang Qiu walked to the bed and lay down. Feeling the softness beneath her, her mind slowly began to relax. Capturing June hadn’t been an easy process.
Lucille walked to the bedside and sat down. She looked down at the blonde priest, gently brushing a strand of golden hair from her face. “Why didn’t you wait for me to come back?” she asked softly.
She was referring to going to Sevia to deal with June.
Tang Qiu turned her head to meet her gaze and said gently, “I can’t always rely on you.”
Lucille’s hand paused. “I don’t mind,” she said in a low voice.
Tang Qiu scooted closer to Lucille, inhaling her scent with a soft laugh. “You can’t always be by my side.”
Besides, there were times when Tang Qiu didn’t want Lucille to take risks. This time, for instance, she was better suited to deal with June than Lucille was.
Tang Qiu didn’t think she was so weak that she could only hide behind Lucille for protection. Theirs was a relationship of mutual guardianship.
Lucille didn’t speak. She leaned against the headboard, crossing her legs on the bed to let Tang Qiu rest more comfortably.
Taking on a Holy See squad from the Inquisition by herself and then rushing back to the Bill Empire without rest had drained a lot of Tang Qiu’s energy. Now, leaning against Lucille’s leg, completely enveloped by her scent, she was already feeling drowsy.
She rested her head on Lucille’s lap and closed her eyes. “Are you hungry?”
Tang Qiu remembered that Lucille hadn’t fed before she left.
Lucille stroked Tang Qiu’s hair and said softly, “I’m not hungry.” In truth, she was very hungry, but it was tolerable.
The corners of Tang Qiu’s lips curled up. She kept her eyes closed as she spoke to Lucille. “Was your trip back to Edry smooth?”
“Is the little king’s character like Charles II’s?”
Lucille was silent for a moment before replying softly, “It’s hard to tell.” She paused, perhaps worried the blonde priest would find her answer too perfunctory, and added, “Charles II was also very clever and bright as a child. But people’s hearts are fickle.”
When they grew up, their thoughts deepened and became muddled. Anna said it was because the royal bloodline had always been this way.
She had waited for so long, yet she still hadn’t found a king suitable to entrust Edry to.
Tang Qiu listened quietly, then said softly, “It’s just that people develop ambition and greed.”
She paused, her eyes half-open as she looked at Lucille’s leg. “It’s you who is too free of desire.”
Lucille was interested in too few things. She had no ambition, no greed. Before meeting her, she wasn’t even interested in blood. A fifth-generation or higher vampire had guarded a small country for decades.
And yet, she herself was full of secrets.
Tang Qiu sighed silently. She wrapped her arms around Lucille’s waist, buried her face against her, and closed her eyes.
Her knight was not yet ready to don her armor, draw her longsword, and cut through the thorns.
But that was alright. She could wait.
After draining June dry, Lola “thoughtfully” disposed of the body as well. When no sound came from the second-floor bedroom for a long time, she glanced up, shrugged, and slipped away from Lucille’s manor into the darkness.
Having fed on the blood of a bishop, Lola had recovered a great deal. Even the burn marks on her face had faded significantly. After leaving Lucille’s manor, she found a hiding spot on a street near the Holy See.
Linda… she hadn’t forgotten what that little prey had done.
Lola patiently lurked in the darkness, quietly waiting for her chance.
The Holy See.
Mario knocked gently on Reese’s door. Only after hearing a response did he dare to push it open.
Reese was still sitting in her chair, not yet resting. Seeing him enter, she raised her chin slightly and asked, “How did it go?”
“We only managed to intercept Inquisitor June.”
“Oh? And the result?”
“Inquisitor June was taken away alone.”
Reese raised an eyebrow. “A vampire?”
Mario hesitated for a moment before saying uncertainly, “When our people arrived, she was already gone. All that was left was the Inquisitor’s broken staff and bodies everywhere.”
“Judging by the marks on the bodies, it looks more like the work of a werewolf.”
A flash of surprise crossed Reese’s eyes. A werewolf… She lowered her gaze, feeling quite satisfied with the “knight” Tang Qiu had mentioned.
Mario stood for a while. When Reese emerged from her thoughts, he continued, “The vampire you had me keep an eye on is currently lurking near the Holy See.”
Reese’s lips curled into a faint smile. “That little dog has come for revenge,” she said with a low chuckle.
Mario stood quietly, saying nothing.
Reese touched her lips, her expression thoughtful. “Whatever she wants to eat, throw it to her.”
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