The First Pope - Chapter 65
Chapter 65
The word "alliance" coming from the mouth of a Second Generation Vampire held no credibility whatsoever.
Vampires were arrogant, conceited, and cunning. They viewed the other races on the Sitatul Continent as nothing more than prey. When a hunter offered to cooperate with its prey, it could be nothing other than a trap.
"An alliance is unnecessary." Olivia looked at Avira with a cold expression, rejecting her outright. "We will drive the Tzimisce and Lasombra out of the Sitatul Continent ourselves."
"If they are considered traitors among your kind, then let Samantha bring her own people to deal with them. Just because they are traitors doesn't mean your Ventrue clan can become friends with the Elves and the God Race."
The saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" never applied to Vampires.
The Vampires had only one relationship with the various races of the Sitatul Continent: that of an enemy.
"Don't be so serious, Olivia." Avira spread her hands towards Olivia, her scarlet eyes filled with helplessness. "The Ventrue clan has no desire to be friends with the Elves and the God Race either."
"We just happen to share the same goal. Cooperating would make things simpler, so why refuse?"
"Can't enemies cooperate with each other?"
Avira shifted her gaze to Cynthia's face, lifting her chin at her and curling her lips into a smile. "What do you think, Cynthia?"
She deliberately softened her voice when she said Cynthia's name, and combined with her ambiguous expression, it made her normal question seem tinged with a hint of flirtation.
Cynthia, who had intended to answer seriously, paused. She glanced at Olivia beside her and said with a straight face, "Of course, I agree with Her Majesty the Queen's view. There is certainly no need for enemies to cooperate."
Avira: "..."
The iciness on Olivia's face softened slightly.
"Then we won't cooperate." Cynthia's refusal didn't discourage Avira. She moved closer to Cynthia with a smile, raising a long, fair hand as if to take her arm. "I can at least tell you some news, can't I?"
Before Avira's hand could touch her arm, Cynthia naturally took a step back, then moved to Olivia's other side, putting distance between herself and Avira. She said with a smile, "If the Elder has something to say, we can certainly listen."
After being rebuffed by Cynthia a few times, Avira lost the mood to tease. She withdrew her hand and said, "The Tzimisce have only sent one Third Generation Vampire to deal with you. However, this one is very cautious. She doesn't plan to move against you for now. She's waiting for her allies."
"Allies?"
"Witches from the Sethite clan," Avira said nonchalantly. "They are currently serving the Lasombra clan."
She raised her eyes to meet Cynthia's and said with a smile, "Although Iman is a Third Generation Vampire, her caution is beyond your imagination. She's already considering returning to the Blood Domain to bring back a few more Third Generation Vampires to deal with you."
Cynthia met her gaze for a moment, then curled her lips. "Then it seems it would be best to deal with her first."
Avira winked at her. "I can tell you their location and even offer you a little help."
"Cleaning up traitors, won't you do it yourself?" Olivia found Avira's frivolous demeanor particularly grating and simply averted her gaze.
Avira looked innocent. "I'm a Vampire. How could I possibly attack fellow Vampires?"
Olivia let out a cold laugh. Not wanting to hear any more of Avira's ridiculously hypocritical words, she turned and strode away.
Avira glanced at Olivia's back, then turned her gaze to Cynthia. Cynthia smiled at her before turning to leave with Olivia.
"Such a cold and uninteresting personality. What's there to like?" Avira watched their figures disappear into the darkness, somewhat baffled by Cynthia's taste.
Olivia's appearance was beautiful, but she was too cold. She looked like the type who wouldn't be able to let loose in bed. Avira had no interest in that type; she had always preferred personalities like Cynthia's.
Of course, she now found that Hanni's silly type had its own unique charm.
A whirlwind took the place of their legs, carrying Cynthia and Olivia back to the woods outside Manden City. When Polly saw them return safely, the heart that had been in her throat slowly settled.
Going to a meeting with a Second Generation Vampire, even with Olivia's immense power, was still extremely worrying.
After setting Cynthia on the ground, the whirlwind circled her once, rustling a strand of her silver hair before slowly dissipating.
Watching Cynthia, who was enveloped by the gentle breeze, Olivia's tightly furrowed brow unconsciously relaxed. She slightly raised the hand hanging at her side, and a faint green light gently smoothed the strands of hair at the back of Cynthia's head that had been ruffled by the wind.
Cynthia didn't know what was happening behind her. Seeing Olivia staring at her, she assumed she wanted to talk about Avira and took the initiative to speak. "It seems there really is a schism within the Vampires, and the Lasombra and Tzimisce truly want to turn the Sitatul Continent into another Blood Domain."
At first, it was just a guess, but now that they knew the Tzimisce and Lasombra wanted to bring out the First Generation Vampires' Blood Coffins, it was basically confirmed.
If the Blood Domain of the First Generation Vampires were to be unleashed on the Sitatul Continent, combined with the darkness that had festered since the temples were destroyed, the continent would become completely uninhabitable for other races.
"The Ventrue and Brujah will not allow them to bring the First Generation Vampires out of the Blood Domain," Olivia said faintly. "There are only eleven First Generation Vampires in total. It would take the Blood Domain of at least half of them to completely envelop Sitatul."
But taking away half of the First Generation Vampires would weaken the barrier of their current Blood Domain by fifty percent.
A fifty percent reduction meant that Olivia, at her peak, could shatter it with just a few arrows. The Ventrue clan would never allow their territory to face such a crisis.
Cynthia observed Olivia's expression, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "So, can I consider Avira's proposal?"
Olivia frowned. "You trust her?"
Even though the Vampires were in turmoil, she still didn't trust Avira.
"I don't trust her," Cynthia explained with a smile. "It's just that our goals happen to align."
Seeing Olivia's eyes turn slightly cold, Cynthia changed the subject. "However, her proposal certainly has an ulterior motive."
She claimed to be seeking an alliance, but she just wanted to use them to get rid of the Tzimisce and Lasombra. The current chaotic state of the Sitatul Continent was exactly what the Ventrue clan wanted to see.
Although they had withdrawn from the Sitatul Continent, it didn't mean they had truly given up control over it.
They would not want to see a power emerge on the Sitatul Continent that could stand against them.
Avira's intention was simply to see them fight until both sides were grievously wounded. That way, she could solve two problems at once.
Both the other races and the traitors would become non-threatening, and the continent would remain in a state of chaos, which was precisely what the Ventrue and other clans desired.
Ever since the Wolf Race moved into Manden City, the witches had kept to their own residences, rarely appearing on the streets. Their figures were nowhere to be seen in the city squares; instead, white and gray wolves lay about, leisurely basking in the sun.
Like Hanni, these werewolves were also very fond of the Power of Light. They would hang out in whichever square had the most God Race members practicing Light Magic.
After returning, Hanni had been staying with her clan. But the moment she remembered Avira was a vampire, that she had been toyed with by a vampire, she couldn't muster any energy at all.
The werewolves gathered in twos and threes to sunbathe, while Hanni sat alone in the farthest corner, spacing out.
A tall, white-haired werewolf walked up to her, looked her up and down, and asked, "Hanni, what's wrong with you?"
"Was losing to me such a big blow?" The werewolf was a little angry at her dejected appearance. "If you want the position of young master, you should go out and train to improve your strength. Seeing you like this is a bit disappointing."
The werewolf speaking was Hanna, a friend who had grown up with Hanni and was also Clan Leader Helen's daughter. Hanni had lost to her in the competition for the young master position, and after being scolded by her mother, she had run away from their territory in defiance.
Hanni knew Hanna had misunderstood, but it was something she couldn't easily explain, so she just said sullenly, "It has nothing to do with you."
Hanna frowned. "What's really wrong with you?" She studied Hanni for a moment, and her sharp eyes noticed some faint red marks on her neck. "What happened to your neck?" she asked, puzzled.
Hanni's face flushed red. She raised a hand to cover her neck and stammered, "I got injured a while ago."
Afraid Hanna would see through her, she quickly stood up to leave. "I have something to do, I'm leaving."
With that, she brushed past Hanna's shoulder, and her figure quickly disappeared around the corner.
Hanna watched her hurried departure with a bewildered expression.
Hanni was very familiar with Manden City. After leaving the square, she ran directly to a deserted, remote street. She leaned against a wall, tugged at her collar, her expression one of unconcealed vexation.
A small stone suddenly hit her on the shoulder. Hanni looked up in confusion to see the red-haired vampire who had put her in this predicament sitting on the city wall, waving at her.
Hanni froze for a second, then a raging fire ignited in her sky-blue eyes. Her figure shot out like a bolt of lightning as she roared, "You despicable vampire!"
Avira leaned back, dodging Hanni's fist. She raised a hand to wrap around Hanni's waist, deliberately pulling her closer. Her red lips curved into a beautiful arc as she said softly, "Why are you so angry? Weren't you enjoying yourself that night too?"
"Y-You shut up!" Hanni pushed Avira away, retreating more than ten meters before stopping. She glared at her furiously. "What are you doing here?"
"To see you, of course." Avira licked her lips, her sharp fangs faintly visible. "I missed you."
Hanni bared her teeth at Avira threateningly. She knew she was no match for Avira, so after the threat, she immediately turned to flee, wanting to find Cynthia or the Elf Queen to deal with this vampire.
But she had just turned and hadn't run far before a hand pulled her back. Avira grabbed Hanni's hand, raised it to her lips, and kissed it. Seeing Hanni's face suddenly turn beet red, she couldn't help but lower her head and laugh out loud.
"Y-You..." Hanni snatched her hand back, at a complete loss for words to condemn the vampire's shameless behavior.
"Alright, we'll do the rest tonight." Avira flicked her hair, jumped down from the wall, and beckoned to Hanni above. "Now, take me to see Cynthia, Hanni."
When she said Hanni's name, it sounded full of deep affection, but her scarlet eyes were filled with nothing but mockery.
Hanni put the kissed hand behind her back and rubbed it vigorously against her clothes. As if she hadn't heard Avira's words, she transformed directly into a white wolf and ran off along the city wall.
Avira watched the white wolf's departing figure, her expression suddenly becoming thoughtful. How could she have forgotten that night that werewolves had this form?
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