The First Pope - Chapter 41
Chapter 41
The white mist in the woods was gradually stained with blood. The crescent moon overhead instantly turned into a blood moon. It felt as if a long time had passed, yet also like a mere instant. A thick, blood-red fog directly replaced the star-filled night sky. The trees in the forest withered, their leaves falling to form a thick carpet on the ground.
The Blood Domain descended layer by layer. At the edge of the blood-colored expanse, several figures could be faintly seen approaching.
Polly and the elf guards all leaped into the trees. Instead of taking up the longbows on their backs, they drew out wands. They chanted a spell in unison, and a towering wall of fire suddenly erupted from the ground, halting the rapid spread of the blood-red fog.
Olivia glanced up at the Blood Domain overhead, expressionlessly raised her longbow, and a pale green arrow quickly materialized on the bowstring. She aimed at the sky and fired the arrow, then turned her head and said to Cynthia in a low voice, "Take Hanni, Sarah, and the others somewhere safe."
Hanni's injuries had not yet healed, and Sarah and the others were too weak. If they stayed here, they could easily be caught in the crossfire of their spells.
If there were only one or two Third Generation Vampires, Olivia could ensure their safety. But judging from the intensity of the Blood Domain, there were at least four of them.
Olivia didn't want to be distracted by worrying about the safety of Sarah and the others while fighting.
That included Cynthia… Although her Power of Light had grown quickly and her Grand Light Spell was powerful, it still wasn't enough against Third Generation Vampires.
Only by having Cynthia take the God Race members to a safe place first could Olivia focus on dealing with these vampires.
Cynthia could also see how aggressively the vampires were advancing. After a moment of thought, she nodded and said, "Alright, I'll take them away first."
They were facing Third Generation Vampires. Sarah and the others would be of no help here; it was better to get them settled somewhere safe.
"I'll send an elf guard to protect you."
"No need." Cynthia glanced at the Blood Domain, which had already been pierced by Olivia's arrow. The corners of her lips curled slightly as she said in a low voice, "Her Majesty the Queen should have a little faith in my strength sometimes."
She turned to look at Olivia, her golden eyes holding a faint gentleness. "I'll come back for you as soon as they're settled."
Olivia's hand, holding the longbow, paused. Just as she was about to tell her to wait until they had finished things here, she heard Cynthia add, "I'm someone who takes contracts very seriously. I would never do something like abandoning an ally."
Cynthia's words made Olivia swallow the refusal that was on the tip of her tongue. She turned her head and met Cynthia's gaze for a moment, tacitly agreeing to her decision to return after dropping off Sarah and the other God Race members. She used a wind spell to send her down.
After sending Cynthia down, Olivia released her fingers from the bowstring, dispersing the half-formed arrow. She caressed her longbow, her eyes slightly lowered, softly repeating two words, "Ally…"
It had been a casual agreement at first, but now those two words held a strange weight.
Olivia suddenly recalled how Cynthia had been using her Healing Spell tirelessly for the past few days to help her recover, and she drifted off in thought for a moment.
Actually, this God Race member was quite reliable when she was serious.
When the Blood Domain descended, Sarah and the others, who had been sleeping, were startled awake. Although the dense dark aura within the Blood Domain made it hard for them to breathe, they quickly gathered together, trying to use Light Magic to resist the pressure.
The Light Magic guided Cynthia, who was looking for them. When she reached their vicinity, she happened to run into Hanni and Avira.
Seeing that everyone was gathered, Cynthia raised her hand and summoned a barrier of light, gesturing for them to enter. "Let's leave this place first," she said.
This Blood Domain was clearly the work of a Third Generation Vampire. Knowing they would be of no help if they stayed, Sarah and the others obediently ran into the barrier. Hanni, however, hesitated. "Aren't we going to stay and help the Elf Race?"
To Hanni, abandoning the Elf Race like this felt like deserting their comrades. The Wolf Race was very loyal.
Cynthia raised her hand slightly, and a chain of light wrapped around Hanni, pulling her into the barrier. Meeting Hanni's bewildered gaze, Cynthia smiled gently. "Behave."
She suddenly squeezed the not-fully-healed wound on Hanni's arm, making her cry out in pain. Cynthia nonchalantly withdrew her hand. "You're injured, so just stay put. Don't go making trouble."
Reminded of her condition, Hanni remembered her severe injuries. She clutched her arm and nodded with teary eyes.
The Blood Domain had just been broken by Olivia's arrow, and a new one had yet to form. Cynthia used this opportunity to quickly lead Sarah, Hanni, and the others out of the Blood Domain's range.
They headed north and entered a desolate valley. The valley was filled with nothing but withered trees, weeds, and bizarrely shaped rocks. Seeing that it was secluded enough, Cynthia stopped. "Let's rest here for now."
They had traveled far enough. The battle between the elves and the vampires wouldn't reach this place.
"Although the Elf Race is holding them back, some vampires might still find their way here. You must remain vigilant."
In truth, with the vampires' speed, they wouldn't be safe no matter where they fled. They would only be truly safe once the Elf Race drove these vampires back.
Cynthia understood this clearly, so even though the valley wasn't too far away, she decided not to search any further.
"I'm going back to help Olivia. You all be careful." After giving her instructions, Cynthia was about to leave when a glimpse of something in her peripheral vision made her stop.
Sarah looked at her in confusion. "What is it, Cynthia?"
Cynthia pointed to a huge rock in the distance and frowned. "Is that… a bloodstain on it?"
The boulder was taller than a person, its surface not smooth but covered in sharp protrusions. As the night deepened, a dark patch on it looked like a bloodstain, but it could also have been a shadow.
Cynthia raised her hand, and a ball of fire enveloped the boulder, dispelling the surrounding darkness. Sarah ran over and examined it closely for a moment before turning to Cynthia, who had walked up, and nodding. "It seems to be a bloodstain."
And judging by the color, the stain hadn't been there for very long.
But why would there be a bloodstain here? Had some humans fled to this place?
Hanni saw the God Race members gathered around a large rock and was curious about what they were doing. She was about to pull Avira over to have a look when she suddenly realized that Avira, who had been by her side all along, was gone.
Hanni froze for a moment, then looked around and found Avira had gone to the other side of the valley by herself.
"What are you doing over there?" Hanni leaped nimbly over a pile of rocks to Avira's side. Because the rocks blocked her view, she only discovered after jumping over that there was a lake hidden here.
The night was dark, but it didn't affect Hanni's vision. She bent down slightly and stared at the lake's surface for a while, saying in surprise, "Is this lake frozen?"
Although the temperature here was a bit cold, it shouldn't have been cold enough to freeze an entire lake.
Curiously, Hanni reached out to touch the water's surface but was stopped by Avira.
"Don't touch it." Avira pulled Hanni back a little, her gaze fixed on the lake. Her red lips curled slightly as she murmured to herself, "So this is where it is."
Hanni looked at Avira in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Their sudden disappearance caught Cynthia's attention. She brought Sarah and the others over. Looking down at the Ice Lake, she was startled, surprised to find a lake hidden here.
Cynthia climbed over the rocks to Hanni's side. She first observed their surroundings before asking Hanni, "Is there anything strange about this lake?"
Hanni pointed at the lake's surface. "It's frozen solid."
"…Anything else?"
Hanni shook her head. "Nope."
Cynthia subtly glanced at Avira. Seeing her staring intently at the Ice Lake with a strange smile on her face, a trace of vigilance rose in her heart. She gave Hanni a look, signaling her to follow her and leave.
These past few days, all her attention had been on Olivia, leaving her no time to probe Avira's secrets.
Of course, another reason was that Avira hadn't done anything strange. She had stayed with Hanni the whole time, appearing even more harmless than the foolish white wolf.
But that didn't mean Cynthia believed she was truly harmless.
Hearing them start to leave, Avira casually glanced up, paying them no mind. Instead, she bent down, intending to touch the ice, but she suddenly sensed something and froze.
Cynthia sensed the approaching vampires a few seconds after Avira did. She pulled Hanni to a stop and stared in a certain direction, her expression grave.
"Hanni, take Sarah and the others…" Before she could finish the word "leave," the person beside her suddenly slumped to the side. Cynthia subconsciously caught Hanni, but her peripheral vision caught Sarah and the others already collapsed on the ground.
Cynthia's heart sank. Her lips moved, silently chanting a spell, but a blood-red mist appeared faster than the Light Fire. A swirl of red fog swept them up and threw them into the Ice Lake.
Avira eliminated all traces of the Wolf Race and God Race from the valley, then turned her head to look back. Her brown eyes had, at some point, turned red. She let out a soft laugh and then jumped into the Ice Lake as well.
The surface of the Ice Lake rippled for a moment before quickly becoming as smooth as a mirror again.
Not long after they jumped into the Ice Lake, several vampires appeared beside it, carrying two coffins. Andre walked up from behind, bent down, and placed his palm on the lake's surface. The water suddenly began to churn, and then a black vortex appeared in the center of the lake.
Andre gestured with his chin at the vampires carrying the coffins. "Take them down."
The vampires carried the coffins and jumped into the vortex. Andre followed right behind them.
The vortex spun silently in the middle of the lake. Occasionally, vampires would emerge from it, leave for a while, and then return to the valley with humans or other races bound in chains.
Time passed bit by bit, and the darkness of night slowly faded. The quiet valley suddenly welcomed a group of people dressed in black cloaks.
They were extremely cautious, their hair and clothes completely concealed by wide cloaks, their hoods pulled down so low that only the tips of their noses and their lips were visible.
"Is this the place, Chloe?" The few people at the front used the rocks for cover, peering towards the Ice Lake. "But this place looks very strange," one said doubtfully.
The person called Chloe held a Divine Stone that was flashing with golden light. "This is it," she said in a deep voice.
She gazed at the vortex in the center of the Ice Lake, her tone indifferent. "Our people may have been captured."
This wasn't the first time they had encountered such a situation. More than half of the clan members they had retrieved so far had been "retrieved" from the hands of vampires.
"This place looks dangerous. There are elves and Third Generation Vampires fighting in the woods over there. Could there be Third Generation Vampires here too?" a God Race member behind Chloe asked worriedly. "Should we go down?"
"How many usable Divine Stones are left?"
"A few hundred."
Chloe nodded. "That's enough," she said gravely. "We were the ones who summoned them here, so we must bring them back safely."
This was her… duty as the clan leader.
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