The First Pope - Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Beneath the Ice Lake was not bottomless water, but rather a series of dim, narrow tunnels.
Cynthia was still conscious when the red mist sent her into the Ice Lake. Her feet touched solid ground, and the thick, bloody mist enveloping her slowly dissipated. She cautiously tightened her grip on the Light Crystal in her hand and calmly observed her surroundings.
Suddenly, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came from behind her. Cynthia frowned and turned to find Sarah, Hanni, and the others.
They lay on the ground, motionless, with no signs of waking.
Cynthia went over to check on them and found they were merely in a deep sleep. She tried to awaken them with Light Magic, but it had no effect.
The place they were in seemed to be an abandoned tunnel. Ahead was a pitch-black path with no end in sight, while behind them was a smooth, hard stone wall. The vampiric aura here was not very strong, and the presence of darkness was also faint.
Although she didn't know where this place was, Cynthia felt it should be relatively safe.
A quick glance confirmed that Avira was nowhere to be seen. Cynthia's eyes darkened slightly. Avira had suddenly thrown them down here, specifically into a remote and safe place. At first glance, it seemed like she was protecting them.
But Cynthia didn't think so.
Protecting other races was a thought Vampires would never entertain, and besides, they didn't have such a deep relationship with Avira.
Avira's sudden act of tossing them here seemed more like she was worried they would interfere with something if they stayed.
But interfere with what?
Cynthia thought of the vampire aura she had sensed before the red mist appeared. She raised an eyebrow slightly. That vampire didn't seem to be with Avira; otherwise, there would have been no need for Avira to throw them here. Could it be that the various vampire clans had already begun to grow wary of each other?
Now she was curious about what this place was for. Cynthia looked up, staring with interest at the dark path where no light could be seen. After all, this place didn't look like a temple.
Since Sarah and the others couldn't be woken and this place was relatively safe, Cynthia enveloped them in a three-layered light barrier and decided to scout ahead alone.
Regardless of the Vampires' situation, she had to find a safe way out for Sarah, Hanni, and the others.
The tunnel was narrow and so dark that not a speck of light could be seen. Cynthia walked forward for some distance, guided by the shimmering light of the Light Crystal. The tunnel gradually widened, and at the same time, the faint scent of blood began to spread through the air.
She didn't know how long she had been walking when she finally saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel. But the smell of blood in the air grew stronger, forcing her to cast a barrier around herself just to breathe more easily.
At the end of the tunnel was a clearing. It wasn't very large and was carved with deep, crisscrossing trenches. Flowing within them was not lake water, but viscous blood.
The paths for walking in the clearing were even narrower. Cynthia stopped at the tunnel entrance without proceeding. She looked down at a trench not far from her, her gaze slowly shifting to the right along its path, and discovered that all these intersecting trenches led to different tunnels.
Cynthia bent down to carefully study the blood in the trenches for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. Vampires only liked fresh blood; this kind of putrid-smelling blood was more favored by dark magic arrays.
And the way these trenches intersected also looked like the traces of a magic array.
Cynthia had heard from Olivia that a clan of witches specializing in dark magic and dark magic arrays had sided with the Vampires, aiding the villains. The dark magic arrays that had previously destroyed the temples in the Slade Sea Region and Ochester were their handiwork.
What were the Vampires planning now? They wouldn't go to such great lengths just to gain easier control over the Sitatul Continent, would they?
Cynthia was completely baffled. She could only stand up and choose a new tunnel to continue her investigation.
Like Cynthia, the group from the God Race was also baffled by the sight of the bloody trenches. They had carefully dodged the Vampires, winding through the tunnels, and eventually arrived at a clearing filled with trenches.
However, unlike Cynthia's location, their side had many trapped humans.
"...Could this be where the Vampires keep their blood slaves?" The first God Race member to emerge from the tunnel stared at the dense crowd of people lying in the clearing, barely able to distinguish the living from the dead. She gasped and muttered in a low voice.
"How could these humans be blood slaves? Vampires have no appetite for the dead."
"Then why have the Vampires captured so many people and locked them here?"
"Vampires are bloodthirsty by nature. Who knows what they're planning." The speaker, a God Race member, pulled back her hood, her long silver hair neatly tied behind her head. She scanned the dense crowd and said, "There should still be living people among them. Let's rescue them."
Chloe, who had been silent all this time, glanced at the speaker and said expressionlessly, "We don't have time to save them, Darcy."
She turned away coldly. "The life and death of other races have nothing to do with the God Race."
The God Race followed Chloe to find another path. After a few steps, one of them noticed Darcy was still standing in place and called out in confusion, "Darcy?"
"Coming." Darcy pulled her gaze away from the clearing, raised a hand to put on her hood, and walked back to her companions.
A God Race member observed Darcy's expression and said tentatively, "Clan Leader Chloe, she's just..."
Darcy raised a hand to stop her from continuing. "Enough," she said with a smile. "We'll follow Chloe's orders."
Following the guidance of the Divine Stone, the God Race group soon found the tunnel where Sarah and the others were. However, their luck was not as good as Cynthia's. Just as they found the right place, they ran head-on into Vampires escorting humans.
The vampire was stunned for a moment at the sight of several dozen God Race members, but he quickly grew excited. He casually threw the chains to the ground, scanned Chloe and the others, and licked his lips with a sinister smile. "It's been a long time since I've seen so many of the God Race."
He took a deep breath, a look of intoxication on his face. "Your blood is truly delicious."
A fourth-generation Vampire... Chloe wasn't panicked by the sight of him. She turned her head and exchanged a look with Darcy, who had walked up beside her. Darcy signaled for her to lead the others away, then took a step forward to meet the vampire, saying with a smile, "Is our blood really that delicious?"
Chloe retreated with two-thirds of the God Race. Seeing them about to leave, the vampire moved to block them but was stopped in his tracks by a white light.
Darcy and the God Race members who remained behind were now holding white stones. One of them cut her finger and carefully dripped blood onto the stone. The blood seeped into the stone, which instantly erupted with a golden light that shot toward the vampire.
The vampire dodged instinctively, but his arm was still grazed by the golden light. The corrosion of the Power of Light quickly spread from his arm to his shoulder.
Darcy tossed the stone in her hand, a faint smile on her lips as she watched the vampire's horrified expression. She offered a kind reminder, "Actually, besides being delicious, the blood of the God Race has other uses. I hope you'll remember that next time."
"However, it seems you won't have another chance to meet the God Race."
While Darcy and her group dealt with the vampire, Chloe and the other God Race members finally found Sarah and the others.
The Divine Stone was no longer glowing. Chloe looked at Sarah and the other God Race members sleeping against the stone wall. Although her face showed no emotion, the tension that had been coiled tightly in her heart slowly eased.
Upon seeing Sarah and the others, the God Race members behind her ran over to check on their condition. But when she was still four or five meters away from Sarah, a barrier blocked her path.
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked with a frown when she saw them being pushed back.
The God Race member turned to look at her, her face filled with astonishment. "There's a barrier here, and its aura is very similar to the Divine Stone's."
Similar to the Divine Stone's aura... Chloe froze. She walked over and raised her hand slightly to touch the barrier.
The God Race members behind her exchanged glances and began to discuss among themselves. "Did another God Race member discover the secret of the Divine Stones?"
"But where did they find Divine Stones?"
"This is a protective barrier. Aren't Divine Stones only for attacking?"
They discussed for a while without reaching a conclusion and finally turned to look at Chloe. Chloe slowly withdrew her hand and said quietly after a moment of silence, "This barrier is not something a Divine Stone can create."
It looked very similar to the magic used by the Elves, only one utilized the power of nature, while this one used the power within the Divine Stone.
Chloe lowered her eyes in thought. Could it be that another God Race member had already learned to use the power of the Divine Stone more skillfully than they had?
The labyrinth of tunnels ultimately led to a blood pool several thousand meters wide. Andre was floating in mid-air, directing his subordinates to place Blood Coffins into the pool.
The blood pool bubbled, and the Blood Coffins floated on its surface. A crimson mist swirled around the coffins, gradually spreading outwards.
Andre sensed this pure dark aura and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He was looking down, carefully observing the pool's reaction, when a vampire suddenly ran over and said in a low voice, "Elder Andre, there were fluctuations from a fight to the northwest. It seems some of the God Race have broken in."
"Capture them."
"But they seem to be able to use Light Magic."
"Oh?" Andre lifted his eyelids to glance at the vampire and sneered, "Light Magic scares you this much?"
"If you're as cowardly as those Lasombra wastes, then get back to the Blood Domain."
The vampire hurriedly shook his head in denial and said in a heavy voice, "I'll take my men to capture them."
Andre snorted coldly. "I'll go myself." He raised a hand to create his Blood Domain, closed his eyes for a moment to sense the location, and his figure gradually vanished. "I'd like to see just how powerful this Light Magic is."
After Andre left, only two fourth-generation Vampires remained to guard the pool. Avira emerged from the darkness. She clenched her right hand in the empty air, and an invisible force pushed the two fourth-generation Vampires into the blood pool. Immediately, two blades formed from condensed blood pierced through their backs, shredding their hearts.
Avira walked up the steps to the edge of the blood pool. She looked down at the still-bubbling blood, her red lips curling slightly. She reached out and summoned the two floating Blood Coffins, placing her palms on them. She chuckled lowly, "Quite bold of you, daring to bring just anything out."
"I just wonder if the Tzimisce and Lasombra are prepared to face the wrath of the other clans."
Avira lifted the Blood Coffins from the pool and pushed open the lids. A thick, blood-red mist poured out from within.
Some of the mist drifted near Avira but seemed to shy away as if in fear. Avira frowned, waved the mist away, and then looked inside. Her expression instantly turned grim.
Lying inside the coffin was a vampire with a pitch-black dagger plunged into his chest. The vampire's attire was ancient and magnificent, but the aura he exuded was only that of a fourth-generation Vampire.
Avira expressionlessly pulled the dagger from the vampire's chest. After the dagger was removed, the vampire's fingers twitched, but before he could awaken, a slender, pale hand plunged into his chest in place of the dagger and directly crushed the heart within.
With a cold face, Avira closed the coffin and threw it back into the blood pool.
To go to such great lengths, mobilizing subordinates to come here just to place two fake Blood Coffins to lure her over... If the Tzimisce and Lasombra hadn't brought that thing out, she wouldn't believe it for a second.
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