The First Pope - Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Vampires are all conceited and arrogant, and the Lasombra clan is even more so. They believe they were born to control everything. Even if their combat prowess can't match the Brujah or their prestige and status can't compare to the Ventrue, it does nothing to diminish their ambition for power and profit.

They look upon the true rulers of the Vampires with disdain, let alone the other races they see as prey.

When other clans learned that the Wolf Race and the Elf Race had allied to ambush them, they might have turned the tables and set a counter-ambush. But the Lasombra would not. Only by crushing their opponents head-on could they feel satisfaction and pleasure.

Moreover, an "old friend" was among their opponents this time. Nothing excited Edeli more than taunting a rival who had once been defeated at his hands. So, upon learning that the Wolf Race and Elves were lurking nearby with ill intentions, he eagerly sought them out.

Within the Blood Domain, dozens of figures emerged from the thick fog. The Vampire in the lead was tall and robust, his handsome features tinged with a sinister air by his blood-red eyes. He floated in the air, his gaze sweeping over the area below before finally landing on Helen. A malicious smile touched the corners of Edeli's lips as he said, "Clan Leader Helen, we meet again."

"You truly are persistent, chasing after me like this. Are you trying to stop me from destroying the temple, or are you seeking revenge?" Edeli raised a hand to touch his own eye, looking down on Helen from above. He let out a low chuckle. "Still, a world of darkness must have its own unique charms, wouldn't you say?"

Helen tilted her head up slightly. Her golden hair had, at some point, turned snow-white. Faced with Edeli's provocation, she simply gave a casual smile and said faintly, "It's not bad. I truly have Elder Edeli to thank for his help in all this."

Although Helen's tone was calm, Olivia could feel the suppressed rage within her. She tightened her grip on her longbow, her gaze toward Edeli growing even colder.

The Wolf Race placed great importance on strength, and Helen's power as clan leader was not to be underestimated.

Before her injury, Helen had been brilliant and dazzling. She rose to power when the Vampires were at their most rampant. Facing the ever-present threat of her clan's annihilation, she did not shrink back. Instead, she led her people in several bloody battles against the Vampires, successfully defending their current territory and forcing the Vampires to abandon their plans of enslaving the Wolf Race.

Regrettably, she eventually fell into a Vampire trap. Though she survived, she suffered an incurable injury from the corrosion of dark power. Not only could her strength never return to its peak, but she was also robbed of her sight.

And Edeli was one of the Vampires who had besieged her back then.

Though Olivia had never seen Helen in her prime, every time she recalled the previous Elf Queen's lament for Helen, her hatred for the Vampires deepened.

However, someone was even more agitated than Olivia about Helen's situation. The moment Edeli appeared, Joanna's face had darkened. Usually gentle, she took a step forward upon hearing Edeli's mockery of Helen and retorted coldly, "Stopping you from destroying the temple and taking revenge on you are not mutually exclusive. Edeli, I'm surprised you dared to leave the Blood Domain."

"I suggest you prepare to be torn to shreds."

Her tone was fierce, her breathing unsteady with rage.

Helen turned her head slightly toward Joanna and reached out to pat her shoulder reassuringly.

She and Joanna had grown up together. Beyond their roles as clan leader and vice clan leader, they had been friends for centuries.

During the time Helen was injured, it was thanks to Joanna that the Wolf Race had been able to recover so quickly.

Faced with Joanna's threat, Edeli snorted in contempt. He gave a signal to the Vampires behind him, watching as they turned and vanished into the bloody mist. He smiled arrogantly. "Wanting to tear me to shreds depends on whether you have the strength to do so."

The moment his words fell, the Vampires who had disappeared into the mist reappeared among the wolves. The wolves threw back their heads and roared, transforming one after another and clashing with their foes.

Olivia looked up at the Blood Domain above, expressionlessly raising her longbow. Her fingers touched the string, and a pale green arrow rapidly materialized.

The arrow shot out with a whoosh. The surging power of nature shattered the Blood Domain. The blood-colored mist, though torn apart, did not dissipate but began to coalesce again. However, it was then broken by an invisible barrier as Joanna unleashed her wolf domain to confront Edeli's Blood Domain.

Below, wolves and Vampires were locked in a chaotic melee, while the sky became its own battlefield. Olivia put away her longbow and took out her staff. A fierce wind swirled around her, disrupting the cold, dark aura.

Edeli snorted at Olivia and his figure suddenly vanished. A rain of arrows formed from the power of darkness shot toward Olivia.

Olivia took a step back, waving her staff with her right hand. Searing flames intercepted the arrow storm. At the same time, a pale green light flared to her left, repelling Edeli, who had approached at some unknown moment for a sneak attack.

The battle had erupted in an instant. Cynthia stroked the staff in her hands, looking up at Olivia, who was wreathed in flames. Just as she was considering what Light Magic to use to support her, a white figure stealthily approached.

Cynthia turned sharply and saw Hanni a few steps away. "Hanni?" she asked, surprised.

Hanni put a finger to her lips, then glanced nervously toward Joanna. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Joanna hadn't noticed her. She ran to Cynthia's side and whispered, "Let me take you to the temple, Cynthia."

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Why did you sneak over here?"

Hanni scratched her head in embarrassment. "I want to get some experience, too."

The Vampires and wolves were fighting fiercely, and no one was paying attention to them. Seeing that Olivia had torn a rift in Edeli's Blood Domain, Hanni grabbed Cynthia and ran toward it. "They won't be done fighting anytime soon. Let's hurry to the temple."

Cynthia followed behind Hanni, her eyes narrowing. "How did you know I was going to the temple?" A thought occurred to her. "Did Avira tell you?"

At the mention of Avira, Hanni didn't know what expression to make. She had been tricked by Avira during the full moon, but later… Hanni thought of something and lowered her head guiltily, mumbling, "...I-I heard it from someone else."

Afraid Cynthia would press further, Hanni simply transformed into a white wolf, letting Cynthia climb onto her back before charging out of the Blood Domain's range.

Joanna, who was fighting Edeli, sensed Hanni's presence. She took a moment to glance down and saw the silver-haired God Race on the white wolf's back. She frowned, her movements faltering for a second.

Helen noticed Joanna's odd behavior and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Joanna calmly retracted her gaze and replied with a smile, "It's nothing."

She instructed the guards beside Helen to protect her well, then turned back to the fight.

The white wolf ran wildly for some time before gradually slowing down. They were already very close to Pegel. Just as Hanni was about to ask Cynthia for the direction of the Giant God's temple, a weight suddenly settled on her back. A beautiful, red-haired Vampire had appeared from nowhere and sat down beside Cynthia.

The white wolf was two or three meters tall, so it wasn't crowded with two women on its back. Avira reached out to stroke the wolf's neck, licking her lips as she said, "A wolf's true form is quite cute when you look at it this way."

Hanni's body stiffened slightly at the sound of Avira's voice. She wanted to throw the red-haired Vampire off, but considering Cynthia was also on her back, she ultimately resigned herself to continuing forward, muttering under her breath, "Shameless Vampire."

Avira leaned down and reached for the white wolf's ear. "Did you think I couldn't hear what you were saying? Hmm?" she said with a half-smile.

The white wolf shook its head, ignoring her.

Cynthia toyed with her staff, her gaze shifting between Hanni and Avira for a few moments, a subtle expression on her face.

The relationship between these two seemed to have become a little strange.

After Edeli left Pegel, the Blood Domain here had vanished. When Hanni led Cynthia and Avira into Pegel, she worried they might run into a third-generation Vampire left on guard. However, they only encountered some fourth or fifth-generation Vampires on their way to the entrance of the Giant God's temple.

These Vampires posed no threat to them.

After the Giant God departed, his temple had sunk into the earth. The entrance was located at the base of the highest mountain in Pegel.

Opening the temple entrance was not an easy task, but because the Vampires needed to constantly send other races into the temple to complete their dark formation, they had left the entrance open after unlocking it.

This was quite convenient for Cynthia and the others.

Cynthia and Avira jumped off the white wolf's back. A patrolling Vampire spotted them and ran over to intercept, but before Hanni could even act, an impatient Avira casually dealt with it.

Cynthia observed the entrance for a moment. "Let's go in," she said.

Hanni transformed back into her human form and walked ahead of Cynthia. Cynthia glanced at her back and advised softly, "There might be a third-generation Vampire inside. Be careful."

Hanni nodded cautiously and was the first to step into the temple.

The Giant God's temple was structured almost identically to those of the God of the Ocean and the Beast God. As soon as Cynthia and Hanni entered, their attention was completely captured by the statue of the Giant God in the center. The statue was like a small mountain. The Giant God held a stone hammer, and several arrows were surprisingly embedded in his armor.

"Those arrows belong to the Goddess of the Forest." Avira had lived through the era of the gods, so she knew some of their old stories. "The Giant God and the Goddess of the Forest did not get along. He had his statue carved this way to mock the fact that her arrows couldn't even pierce his armor."

Cynthia casually withdrew her gaze and said nonchalantly, "Sounds interesting."

Avira let out a low laugh. "If you had lived in the era of the gods, you probably wouldn't find them so interesting," she said with a hint of nostalgia.

After all, what were minor squabbles to the gods were life-or-death wars for them at the time.

Cynthia glanced at Avira and suddenly asked, "Do you find the Blood Domain interesting?"

"Hmm?"

"I imagine it must be. After all, once the gods left, no other race could defeat you." Cynthia looked up at the Giant God's statue again. Compared to it, they all seemed so small. "The humans living in this era are just like the Vampires who lived in the era of the gods."

"What you once experienced, they are now experiencing."

"So?" A second-generation Vampire who had lived for who knows how many thousands of years was not about to start sympathizing with humans because of a few words from Cynthia. Avira shrugged indifferently. "Are you suggesting we Vampires should live in peace with humans?"

Cynthia's lips curved into a faint smile as she shook her head. "Of course not."

"I'm suggesting that perhaps one day, humans will become the masters of this continent, just like you Vampires did."

That sounded even more irritating than her previous statement. Avira pursed her lips, her tone dismissive. "Before that day comes, you should first pray to the Goddess of Light that humanity doesn't go extinct."

Humans becoming the masters of this continent? Ridiculous.

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