The First Pope - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Over ten thousand blood slaves were imprisoned in Nobi City. Among them, there were fewer than ten werewolves and elves; the rest were mostly human.
Flames had burned the pure white, magnificent castle to black charcoal. The rescued humans crowded the streets. Young elves, each holding a tree branch, weaved through the crowd. Whenever they saw a human who was weak or gravely ill, they would point their branch at them from a distance. A pale green light would fly from the tip of the branch, delivering pure life force to the sick.
Joanna stood atop the city wall, looking down at the busy elves in the crowd. She shook her head slightly and muttered to herself, "What a wonderful and kind Elf Race."
Though her words were a compliment, her tone was flat.
The werewolves were all outside the city, basking in the sun. Joanna stared down at the elves for a while longer before looking away. She glanced up at the sky, and just as she was about to order her clan to leave, a gray wolf leaped up onto the wall. "Vice Clan Leader," it said to Joanna, "there's a witch below looking for you."
"A witch?" Joanna was a little surprised. She followed the direction the gray wolf indicated and, sure enough, saw a petite figure in a corner of the city wall. The loose black robe was indeed the preferred attire of the witches.
Joanna narrowed her eyes, showing no intention of going down. Instead, she asked the gray wolf, "What did she say?"
The gray wolf clearly hadn't had enough sun. As soon as it jumped up, it flopped down, resting its chin on its paws. "She said she has something she'd like to entrust to you to give to Clan Leader Helen."
Hearing that it was something for Clan Leader Helen, Joanna's attitude changed slightly. She reached out and patted the gray wolf's head, saying in a low voice, "I'll go down and see. You go inform the others. We'll be heading back to our territory shortly."
When Joanna came down from the city wall, Chelsea was still looking up with a serious expression, completely unaware that the person she was waiting for was already behind her.
Joanna stood behind Chelsea, sizing her up and shaking her head slightly. Although witches were a bit stronger than humans, to werewolves like them, that level of power was hardly worth mentioning.
With their frail little bodies, a werewolf could probably crush one with a single hand.
"Which family of witches are you from?" Joanna spoke up, letting Chelsea know she was right behind her.
Chelsea was startled to hear Joanna's voice from behind. She turned around and looked at Joanna, her calm expression tinged with a faint, almost unnoticeable excitement. "Hello, I am Chelsea, the Young Master of the Morgan Family."
"My maternal grandmother was Elder Hettie."
Elder Hettie… Joanna lowered her gaze, searching her memory. An image surfaced in her mind, and she nodded slowly, smiling. "I knew your grandmother."
Hettie Morgan was said to be the most powerful elder in terms of witchcraft among the witches. She had once saved her people from the clutches of a Third Generation Vampire and led them to safety.
Their escape route had passed through werewolf territory, and they had received some help from the werewolves.
That was the first time Joanna had seen a witch with such great power, so the impression she left was quite deep.
"Your grandmother was very powerful," Joanna praised sincerely. Just escaping the pursuit of a Third Generation Vampire was proof enough of a witch's ability.
It was just a pity that in the last thousand years, the witches had only produced one "Elder Hettie." And as far as Joanna knew, Elder Hettie had passed away over a decade ago.
Witches had longer lifespans than humans, but they were not immortal.
Hettie Morgan was the pride of her family, so at Joanna's sincere praise, a smile couldn't help but appear on Chelsea's face. "Before she passed, Grandmother still remembered Clan Leader Helen's help to the witches."
She took a letter out of her Space Gem and handed it solemnly to Joanna. "This is a letter my grandmother left behind. Please help me deliver it to Clan Leader Helen."
Joanna glanced at the perfectly sealed envelope, reached out to take it, and said softly, "I am deeply sorry for Elder Hettie's passing. I will be sure to deliver this letter into Clan Leader Helen's hands."
Chelsea thanked her gratefully. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Joanna, she turned and left.
Joanna watched Chelsea's back until it disappeared before looking away. She held up the envelope, examining it for a few moments, then tossed it into her Space Gem and transformed into a white wolf, running toward her clan.
After the Wolf Race departed, the humans in the city began to evacuate. Betty had been helping the elves treat the humans, running all over the place.
When Chelsea found Cynthia, she was sitting on a green stone, her hand curled under her chin, gazing gently and intently at the silver-haired girl opposite her. She listened earnestly to the girl's tragic story, occasionally offering a few soft words of comfort when the girl paused her sobbing.
When did another God Race member show up… Chelsea walked over and sat down beside Cynthia. She sized up Sarah with a deadpan expression and said to Cynthia in a low voice, "One of your people."
Cynthia nodded. Seeing that Sarah was a little afraid of Chelsea's arrival, she quickly reassured her, "She's my friend, a very powerful witch named Chelsea."
Chelsea extended a hand to Sarah, correcting Cynthia in a flat tone, "A not-so-powerful witch."
Sarah looked at her hand, tentatively took it, and held on for a long moment.
Chelsea tilted her head and asked quizzically, "What's wrong?"
Sarah quickly shook her head. "Nothing." She pulled her hand back, but she was no longer as fearful of Chelsea as before.
Cynthia saw Sarah staring down at her own hand and thought of something. Her eyes flickered. She got up and sat down next to Sarah. After a moment of thought, she said in a serious, bluffing tone, "Sarah, Chelsea is my friend. You don't need to test her."
Cynthia's stern tone startled Sarah, who quickly explained, "I-I was just a little scared. I didn't mean to."
She clutched her hands tightly, feeling uneasy. "I can only sense her emotions. I don't have the ability to see her memories."
So it was true… Physical contact allowed the God Race to glimpse a part of the other person's memories—an innate talent.
But only sensing emotions… Cynthia frowned and asked, "You can only sense emotions?"
Sarah nodded with a dejected look. "My grandmother said my aptitude isn't very good."
Cynthia raised a hand to her chin and pondered for a moment. She lowered her voice to a volume only the two of them could hear and said, "Then can you do this?"
She extended her left hand from under her cloak and silently chanted a spell. A small white flame appeared in her palm. Cynthia stared at Sarah, observing her expression with a hint of hidden anticipation.
But to Cynthia's disappointment, Sarah looked completely bewildered upon seeing the small flame. "What is this?"
The aura of the flame drew her closer. Sarah dazedly reached out to touch it. Her finger felt as if it were submerged in warm water, and she murmured unconsciously, "This feels so comfortable."
Seeing that Sarah didn't know what the small flame was, the anticipation in her eyes vanished completely. However, seeing how interested Sarah was in the white flame, she smiled and said, "Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
She placed the small flame in Sarah's palm, propped her chin on one hand, and said with a grin, "I think it might be useful against vampires, though I haven't had a chance to test it yet."
Sarah was staring curiously at the flame in her palm. Hearing Cynthia's words, she asked in surprise, "It can be used against vampires?"
Cynthia nodded with a smile. "Of course."
She thought for a moment, then raised her eyes and scanned her surroundings, quickly spotting Betty's figure running through the crowd.
Cynthia said softly to Sarah, "Wait for me here." With that, she stood up and strode toward Betty.
Sarah looked up, her gaze following Cynthia's figure. She watched her walk over to a witch with reddish-brown hair, exchange a few words with her, and then casually pat her on the shoulder before turning back. Sarah felt a little lost.
Cynthia returned to Sarah's side and sat down, signaling for her to be quiet. She stared at the ground beneath her feet and waited for a moment. A skeleton rat burst from the ground without warning and swiftly threw a brightly colored python at Cynthia.
Cynthia had been expecting it. The moment the skeleton rat emerged, she had already begun to whisper a spell. A white flame landed on the python's head, instantly burning it to ash.
Cynthia curled her lips in satisfaction at the flame's power.
Sarah watched the whole thing with a shocked expression and said blankly, "That was amazing…"
Sitting on a rock opposite them, Chelsea, who had witnessed the entire process, silently looked up and quickly found the skeleton rat's owner—Camille.
Camille and Eunice had no interest in treating humans, but they didn't want to be too far from Betty, so they had stayed within a twenty-meter radius of her.
They had seen Cynthia go over and talk to Betty just now.
Chelsea looked at Eunice's dark expression and frowned. That Eunice was far too possessive of Betty. This pathological possessiveness always struck Chelsea as dangerous.
She was very worried that Betty would be harmed because of it.
"That python is a demonic beast."
Sarah's voice pulled Chelsea from her thoughts. She turned her head, stared at Sarah, and asked with a frown, "What did you say?"
"I've seen that kind of python before. Its size is like a normal snake's, but it's actually a demonic beast." Sarah pointed to the flame in her palm and said excitedly, "This flame is really amazing. My grandmother said that kind of demonic beast is as powerful as a Seventh Generation Vampire."
The fact that this tiny flame could destroy a demonic beast with power comparable to a Seventh Generation Vampire was surprising to Cynthia, but she was more concerned about something else right now. She looked up at Chelsea and said with a frown, "Aren't demonic beasts dark creatures?"
She remembered Chelsea saying that, aside from the vampires, all other races despised dark creatures. Why would Camille raise such a thing?
And… Cynthia glanced in Camille's direction. If Sarah hadn't recognized it, she would never have known that this "prank" Camille had been playing on her was actually so vicious.
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