CA – Chapter 95
Chapter 95
The Holy See didn’t restrict the freedom of its priests. Besides the mandatory weekly Light Baptism, being away for a day or two wouldn’t attract attention.
The “disappearance” of Willie and the others didn’t draw much notice at first. Even their attendant clerics didn’t think much of it. It was only after a long time, when they failed to show up even for the Light Baptism, that the attendants began to worry.
The news was reported to Tang Qiu immediately. She was a bit surprised to hear it—not by the sudden disappearance of Willie and his group, but by how clean and decisive Lisa had been.
She had thought Lisa would choose to deal with them one by one, not all at once.
These were all Cambecus’s people. By doing this, Lisa had essentially severed Cambecus’s last connection to the Gosse Church with her own hands.
Lisa had been willing to leave Eden for Karen’s sake, and now, to stay with her in the Gosse Church, she had been forced to act against Cambecus’s people. Why was she so devoted to Karen?
Tang Qiu frowned, feeling puzzled and confused. She had once guessed that Lisa’s attention on Karen was to send the genius knight to Cambecus’s side as a Holy Knight, but now that guess was clearly wrong.
After all, Willie and his group still controlled half the power in the church and had numerous clerics under them. Their mysterious disappearance caused quite a stir. The church had just gotten back on track thanks to the efforts of Jennifer and the others, and it was nearly thrown into chaos by this group of clerics. Jennifer was worried about the chaotic situation and hesitated over whether to find the blonde bishop to discuss a solution, but unexpectedly, the church calmed down the very next day.
Because that group of troublemaking clerics had disappeared along with Willie and the others.
Jennifer was silent for a long time after hearing this. In the end, she dismissed the idea of asking the blonde bishop about it. Sometimes, less curiosity meant fewer troubles.
The matter of Willie’s group’s disappearance was hastily passed over. The priest positions in the church couldn’t remain vacant for too long, so Tang Qiu simply chose a time to promote Jennifer and the others.
Besides, the entire church already knew they were exercising the authority of priests anyway.
The church’s internal situation and external image were improving bit by bit. Tang Qiu had made a few appearances while Jennifer and the others were placating the commoners. Seeing that they could now handle any situation with skill, she turned more of her attention back to Rose Manor.
Rose Manor had fallen silent since that “terrifying” night, but the silence was only on the surface. The number of slaves they had previously obtained from the nobles was enough for them to “consume” for some time.
Maggie had already had a knight deliver a letter of aid to Tang Qiu, but Tang Qiu had yet to make a move against Rose Manor. Instead, she wrote a letter and sent someone to deliver it to Reese at the Bill Church.
A fourth-generation vampire stood behind Rose Manor. Moreover, Glanna had appeared there before. With too many unknown factors, Tang Qiu didn’t want to act rashly.
Tang Qiu planned to wait for Reese’s reply before considering her next move. What she didn’t expect was that before Reese’s reply arrived, a letter from a Holy Knight of a neighboring country’s church came first.
It was another letter of aid.
Night fell upon the land. Tang Qiu expertly donned her cloak and hood and left through the church’s back door. After crossing a wide street and turning into a small alley, a cold hand grabbed her arm and pulled her in. Her back hit a hard, cold wall, but in the next second, she had switched places with the person in front of her.
Tang Qiu placed her hands on Lucille’s shoulders, the corners of her lips under the hood curling up involuntarily. Just as she was about to speak, Lucille pressed a finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet.
A moment later, the sound of rhythmic footsteps approached as a squad of knights in silver armor patrolled past outside.
Tang Qiu opened her mouth, took Lucille’s finger between her lips, and gave it a light bite. Then, she gently pushed away the hand wrapped around her waist and said with a smile, “Let’s go.” As she spoke, she adjusted her hood.
Lucille glanced down at her hand, her eyes darkening slightly. She pulled Tang Qiu back again. With the fingers still faintly damp, she pinched Tang Qiu’s chin, forcing her to look up. Lucille supported the back of her neck with one hand and lowered her head to kiss her lips directly.
Darkness enveloped the two, who had almost merged into one. Occasional amorous sounds of kisses and gasps escaped. Tang Qiu went from a placating response at the beginning to becoming somewhat lost in it by the end.
It had to be said, Lucille’s kissing skills were improving rapidly, even though Tang Qiu had been busy with church affairs lately and hadn’t given her much opportunity to practice.
Her lips traveled from the corner of Tang Qiu’s mouth to her chin. Lucille buried her face in the crook of Tang Qiu’s neck and took a deep breath. Then, she suddenly grabbed her wrist. The sleeve slid down to her elbow, making it more convenient for Lucille, who lowered her head and bit into Tang Qiu’s forearm.
She sucked the blood somewhat urgently, the sound of her swallowing abnormally distinct in the darkness.
While calming her breathing, Tang Qiu raised a hand to gently stroke Lucille’s hair.
A figure emerged from the depths of the alley. Lola stood with her arms crossed, a teasing look in her eyes as she watched Tang Qiu and Lucille. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I thought you two just had a simple owner-and-pet relationship.”
She should have guessed long ago what Lucille’s unusual possessiveness toward her prey meant.
However, it wasn’t that rare for a vampire and their prey to develop into lovers. Many vampires had this particular interest.
It was just that Tang Qiu’s identity as prey was a bit special.
Lola’s appearance made a flash of displeasure cross Lucille’s dark red eyes. She released Tang Qiu’s arm, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her hand, and then licked it clean. Glancing sideways at Lola, she said coolly, “Didn’t you go to feed?”
Lola nodded. She glanced at Tang Qiu, who was cleaning the wound with Holy Water of Light, and teased with a smirk, “Feeding is easy for me. After all, I’m not a picky eater.”
Tang Qiu, who was washing her wound, was amused. She grabbed Lucille’s arm as her expression darkened. Her sky-blue eyes were moist and filled with tenderness, her voice brimming with unstoppable laughter. “I think she has a point.”
Lucille: “…”
Tang Qiu had come out tonight to go to Rose Manor. She had received a distress call from the neighboring church and wanted Lucille and Lola to infiltrate Rose Manor to confirm if it was genuine.
Rose Manor was located in Anersai City, right next to the capital. Because the manor occupied half the land, the commoners living in Anersai City, aside from those who had moved their entire families away, were all crammed into the other half of the city.
Due to the crowding, the environment in that half of Anersai wasn’t very good.
This was exactly like the situation in Vandent. If a toxin were to spread from Rose Manor now, the speed of infection would be impossible to stop.
Tang Qiu had once suggested that Maggie evacuate the commoners from the city, but judging from the results, the empire’s execution of the plan hadn’t been very effective.
Taking Tang Qiu along to infiltrate Rose Manor was a bit dangerous, so she chose to wait outside. In fact, Lucille had wanted her to just wait at the church, but after some thought, Tang Qiu decided to go with them.
After all, there was a fourth-generation vampire in Rose Manor. Tang Qiu was worried about Lucille’s safety. By waiting outside, she could provide support if Lucille was inadvertently exposed.
The high walls of Rose Manor blocked all lines of sight. Wary of vampires patrolling nearby, Tang Qiu hid in a patch of woods not far away. She wore a ring that concealed her aura of light, so as long as she was careful, she wasn’t worried about being discovered.
Time passed, drop by drop. Tang Qiu stared at the high walls of Rose Manor, waiting patiently. Suddenly, there was a strange sound behind her. She frowned and turned to look. A leaf slowly drifted down from above, landing right at her feet.
A wooden arrow flew out of the darkness, piercing straight through the leaf and sticking into the ground.
Tang Qiu looked down at the wooden arrow, her eyes flickering. She looked up thoughtfully in the direction the arrow had come from.
A white figure flashed past. A moment later, another wooden arrow flew out.
Tang Qiu bent down and pulled out the arrow. She looked it over. The arrow was just a dry twig, but because the person who used it was extraordinary, both ends of the twig had turned green and sprouted new leaves.
Only the Elves, the darlings of nature, possessed such an ability… Tang Qiu thought for a moment, then took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light from her Space Gem and placed it on the ground.
The moment the Holy Water of Light touched the ground, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—several wooden arrows flew out of the darkness, sticking into the ground and surrounding the bottle.
A few white figures emerged from the darkness. Two of them were whispering to each other, “I told you she was from the church.”
“She was exposed with just one test.”
“But this person is really tactful.”
The Elves had walked up to Tang Qiu and surrounded her. She glanced at them, then calmly took off her hood and greeted them with a smile, “I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
The Elves, who had been staring at the Holy Water on the ground, looked up when they heard Tang Qiu speak. One with a good memory immediately recalled her identity. “You’re that incredibly generous priest we met in the Shas Principality?”
Because she was the first church member who showed them no hostility and was also generous, the Elves remembered Tang Qiu very clearly. After recognizing her, one of them had already turned to find Delphine.
Tang Qiu picked up the Holy Water of Light from the ground and tossed it to the Elf in front of her, saying with a smile, “A greeting gift.”
The Elf happily accepted the Holy Water, then pointed at Rose Manor and said expectantly, “Are you here to rescue your companions? Is the ransom still ten bottles of Holy Water per person?”
Tang Qiu: “…”
An Elf covered the speaking Elf’s mouth and whispered, “Wait until the Que- ahem, wait until the Captain gets here before you say anything.”
Tang Qiu didn’t miss the Elf’s slip of the tongue. She discreetly observed the Elves for a moment and found that their personalities and auras were the polar opposites of the Dark Elves.
There might be Elves with cold personalities, but that coldness would never be like that of the Dark Elves—an indifference that rejected everything. Their lifeless eyes were frozen with ten thousand layers of ice.
When Tang Qiu first met Lucille, she had thought her personality was cold enough, but the Dark Elves were even more so.
And the dense dark aura surrounding the Dark Elves… it was completely at odds with the Elves, the darlings of nature who could freely command the elements of water, fire, earth, and wood from birth.
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