CA - Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Teleportation scrolls appeared after the age of the gods and were widely used by the Holy See during the Holy War. As invaluable tools for self-preservation, escape, and travel, their importance could not be overstated. After the Holy War, however, they became significantly more popular among the nobility and royalty.
A teleportation scroll could tear through space to transport a person to another location, but it had a fatal flaw: it was ineffective within a domain.
For someone of Cambecus’s status, any enemy he faced would certainly be capable of trapping him within a domain. In such a situation, even a hundred teleportation scrolls would be useless.
But a teleportation scroll that could ignore domains was a different matter entirely.
That was a true life-saving tool.
However, only three such scrolls existed on the entire continent, and all were in the possession of the Holy See, said to have been left behind by the first Pope.
The current Pope kept one for himself, gave one to the Holy Son, and the last one was given to Cambecus.
The white light of the teleportation scroll tore through the domain and space, enveloping Cambecus and the Holy Knights beside him. The chaotic sounds in his ears vanished. Freed from the dual pressure of the werewolf domain and the Blood Domain, Cambecus felt a weight lift from his body. He exhaled, the nerves that had been stretched taut like a string slowly beginning to relax.
The teleportation took only a few seconds. By the time Cambecus’s feet touched solid ground, the white light had not yet completely faded.
The sudden change in light caused Cambecus a moment of blindness. The darkness prevented him from seeing his surroundings, but the overly quiet atmosphere made him suddenly uneasy.
His manor should not be this quiet. Besides the vampires hidden in the shadows, Cambecus kept dozens of Holy Knights and priests in his estate.
With such a significant teleportation fluctuation, it was impossible that no one had noticed.
As the thought crossed Cambecus’s mind, he had already raised his hand. He quickly chanted an incantation, but to his surprise, no Power of Light coalesced before him.
Suddenly, the screams of the Holy Knights reached his ears. Cambecus stumbled back several steps as his eyes finally adjusted to the light, faintly making out several unfamiliar figures in the darkness.
“Who are you?” Cambecus demanded in a harsh voice, his stern demeanor a front for his inner fear. “How dare you trespass in the manor of a Red-robed Archbishop.”
As he spoke, he tried to retrieve another scroll from his Space Gem. However, just as his hand touched the gem, a golden longsword shimmering with a brilliant light stabbed toward his arm. Cambecus dodged clumsily, but his arm was still pierced, and the Space Gem was knocked from his grasp by the sword, rolling off to some unknown corner.
Because the golden longsword radiated a dense Power of Light, the light barrier Cambecus had hastily erected failed to block its sharp edge.
This was the golden longsword used by a Holy Knight… Cambecus froze.
The sconces on the walls lit up, and the dim yellow light was enough for Cambecus to see the corpses littering the floor around him.
The Holy Knights who had teleported with him had become cold corpses in the blink of an eye. A glint flashed in Cambecus’s eyes as he brandished his staff, and golden flames instantly enveloped him. However, a golden sword aura moved even faster than the flames. Cambecus felt a numbness in his palm, and his staff was already knocked from his hand.
Cambecus’s face paled. The staff fell at someone’s feet. He followed the pair of black knight boots upward, past the straight, slender legs wrapped in trousers, to a shapely torso and long, blood-red hair. His gaze fixed on the person’s face.
Her features were exquisite and beautiful, but her expression was as cold as frost. Cambecus searched his memory but found that he did not recognize this red-haired vampire.
Unable to discern her purpose, he could only feign composure. “What is your objective in breaking into my manor?”
“I am well acquainted with Elder Eden, and I bear no hostility toward vampires,” Cambecus said, his tone softening into a gentle facade. “We could discuss this somewhere else. What do you think?”
Lucille bent down to pick up the staff from the floor. Without even glancing at Cambecus, she raised her hand and established her Blood Domain.
The oppressive force made Cambecus’s expression shift slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white figure emerge from the bloody mist. Focusing his gaze, he recognized the person as the Holy Knight who had just disrupted his spell and knocked the staff from his hand.
The Holy Knight had curly golden hair but wore a silver mask that prevented him from identifying her.
Too much had happened tonight, and Cambecus was still in a daze. From the moment the white wolf had appeared, he realized that events were no longer under his control.
Cambecus took a deep breath, discreetly sizing up Karen while trying to engage her in conversation. “Are you one of Reese’s Holy Knights?”
Before Karen could speak, a voice tinged with a faint smile answered Cambecus’s question. “She is my Holy Knight, Archbishop Cambecus. You’ve mistaken her for someone else.”
A slender figure emerged from the dense, bloody mist. In stark contrast to Cambecus’s disheveled state, Tang Qiu’s bishop robes were still spotless. Her snow-white long hair draped behind her, making her appear even holier. Of course, if one could ignore the powerful aura surrounding her, she still looked like a delicate and elegant bishop.
When Cambecus saw Tang Qiu, his pupils constricted slightly. “You…”
Tang Qiu smiled and nodded at Cambecus, completing his unfinished sentence. “I am a werewolf.”
Why would a werewolf enter the Holy See and even climb to the position of bishop… Shock threw Cambecus’s thoughts into chaos. He had managed to feign composure before, but now, upon seeing Tang Qiu, he was completely panicked.
“…A werewolf…” Cambecus managed to force a smile. “That is truly surprising.”
He glanced around the room, which was not very large. Since teleporting here, he had been completely surrounded. Four or five vampires blocked all his escape routes, and a Holy Knight stood nearby, watching him constantly to prevent him from chanting any spells. With a heavy heart, Cambecus could only focus all his attention on Tang Qiu. “Perhaps we can talk.”
“What do you want, Grace?” Cambecus said with sincere urgency. “If you let me go, I can give you the position of a Red-robed Archbishop.”
“The conflict between werewolves and the Holy See is all because of the Elf Race. I can plead with the Pope on behalf of the werewolves. I can do anything you want,” Cambecus said with a confident expression. “You must believe that I have the power to do so.”
“Of course I believe in your power,” Tang Qiu chuckled lightly. “After all, I already witnessed it back in Eden.”
Although Tang Qiu spoke with a smile, the killing intent in her eyes was almost tangible. The curve of Cambecus’s lips slowly vanished. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Killing me will do you no good.”
Tang Qiu stroked her chin thoughtfully and said in a soft voice, “Killing you puts me in a good mood. Doesn’t that count as a benefit?”
Seeing that her attitude showed no signs of softening, Cambecus tore off his mask of pretense and gnashed his teeth in hatred. “How did you know I would be here?”
Only a few of his trusted confidants knew the destination of the scroll… Cambecus thought of someone, and flames of fury ignited in his eyes. “Lisa.”
That woman… He had been too merciful with Lisa.
Upon hearing Lisa’s name, Karen lowered her gaze slightly, but when she looked up again, her expression was once again calm.
Tang Qiu had no desire to waste any more words on Cambecus. She spoke in a low voice to Lucille beside her, “Let’s do it.” With that, she was the first to charge forward.
Werewolves had a much stronger resistance to the Power of Light than vampires. Cambecus had already expended too much of his spiritual energy, lost his staff and Space Gem, and had no Holy Knights to protect him. He didn't last long under the combined assault of Tang Qiu, Lucille, and the others.
With his arms and legs broken, Cambecus broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. Unable to concentrate his spiritual energy, he couldn't even chant a spell.
Lola knelt on one knee, her hand gripping Cambecus’s neck as she licked her lips. Cambecus’s mind was hazy. He shook his head, his vision a blur. He could only make out Karen standing beside Tang Qiu.
The golden curly hair made Cambecus feel a sense of trance. A sliver of clarity returned to him, and for some reason, he remembered Karen’s identity. “Karen… Are you Karen?”
Lola held him down to keep him from moving. Hearing Cambecus’s shout, Karen turned her head slightly to look at him.
As if grasping at a final straw, Cambecus pleaded, “I am your father… Karen, make Grace let me go.”
“I can protect you, Karen…”
Karen frowned, a flash of disgust in her eyes. She coldly averted her gaze and walked a short distance away, longsword in hand.
Before coming here, the bishop had told her the purpose of this trip and had also asked for her opinion. To Karen, Cambecus was merely a wicked Red-robed Archbishop; any other identity he held was irrelevant to her.
She was a Holy Knight. Justice and light were the beliefs she would forever follow.
Lola glanced at Karen’s back and let out a low chuckle. She bent down and bit into Cambecus’s neck. Cambecus let out a bloodcurdling scream, then lost consciousness.
Only after Lola began to feed did Erin run over from a safe area. She handed the recovered Space Gem to Tang Qiu. “That Red-robed Archbishop’s things.”
Tang Qiu took it and glanced inside, pulling out a scroll. She studied it for a moment, then a smile touched her lips. “So Cambecus had something like this.”
It was a high-level light magic scroll, usable only by a Red-robed Archbishop. The spell would be cast instantly upon unfurling the scroll.
Tang Qiu had noticed earlier that Cambecus had been holding the scroll, hesitating whether to open it. Such scrolls were extremely difficult to create, so they were likely few in number. Furthermore, a single light spell wouldn't have been enough to ensure his escape, which was why he had switched to the teleportation scroll. But he never would have imagined that he would now lose even the chance to use it.
Tang Qiu cheerfully stored the scroll in her own Space Gem.
After feeding, Lola needed to find a quiet place to break through the fourth-generation bottleneck. Although their hybrid nature would be discovered sooner or later, Lucille didn't want other vampires to find out just yet, so she took the initiative to lead them away.
Mario, Beth, Jemma, and the others were still waiting for Tang Qiu at the original location. Seeing that Cambecus was dead, Tang Qiu instructed Lola before leaving to dispose of the body in the bloody swamp within the Dark Array before storing it in a Light Gem.
Cambecus was dead, but his corpse could still be of use. Presenting it to the Pope would be an excellent choice.
How would the Pope react, she wondered, upon seeing that one of his “arms” had been severed?
Tang Qiu lowered her gaze slightly, concealing the thoughtful look in her eyes. With Cambecus dead, the power he commanded would scatter. The Holy See was likely about to face another turbulent undercurrent.
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