Chapter 155:

From the unfortunate vampire Mary, Murphy quickly learned about the various events that occurred in Kadman City an hour before the Astral Realm rift erupted. But she herself didn’t actually know much either. According to her, that day she was hiding with her lover Mork in a dark little street-side room doing some spicy things that couldn’t be described without getting censored. It was only because of vampires’ keen perception of spirit energy that they noticed the Nocturne barrier being suddenly shut down. Afterwards, Mork took her to investigate all around the city’s shadows. Well, from this detail, we could see that the fool vampire who previously reminded Murphy to “eat well before hitting the road” was actually a loyal fellow to his family. This could be seen from his willingness to risk being burned by sunlight to investigate the crisis for his family, which was not something any random vampire would bother involving themselves in. However, these two unlucky lovebirds obviously had terrible luck. According to Mary, they had only just gone out and hadn’t figured out what was going on when they were immediately ambushed and beaten down by those treacherous scoundrels who disregarded martial honor. Those traitors who had already defected to the Wolfsbane Clan not only shut down the city’s barrier core but also made off with much of the family’s wealth, and even members like the corridor guards and the patriarch’s personal guards who were theoretically absolutely loyal were involved. Mork was killed on the spot, his vampire heart even stolen, while Mary barely escaped with her life. But not because the traitors spared her out of chivalry, only because they ran out of time and casually tossed the heavily injured Mary onto a garbage pile to die before swiftly evacuating the city. Mary crawled out of the garbage pile just in time to witness Kadman City being swallowed by the Astral Realm rift. She should have died there. But she was lucky enough to be discovered by a group of fleeing family outcasts and brought out before the Astral Realm’s spirit energy completely engulfed the city, eventually making her way to take refuge in Bataxin after much wandering. “Mork and I were official family members, so we had a certain prestige among the outcasts. That’s why when we settled in Bataxin, we caught the attention of the local overseer, old Joel.” Mary had now been brought out of the basement. She guzzled the blood bottle Murphy tossed her to recover some strength while collapsed on the ground, taking out her family’s signet ring she had hidden somewhere to prove her identity. She then continued reporting the following events to Lord Murphy. It was evident that the suffering Mary had endured had nearly driven her to despair. Murphy’s appearance was undoubtedly her only hope of surviving and reclaiming her identity, so she spilled everything she knew like water pouring from a bamboo tube without needing any prompting from Murphy. “But Joel was a fool, a madman, and a disgusting scumbag! He took advantage of my weakness to do some...disgusting things to me! He even tried to make me his descendant, but he was just a mediocre nobody! He had already exhausted all his potential just by barely passing the Silver Trial at the lowest possible standard. He could never compare to my poor, beloved Mork.” Mary’s tone took on a tinge of sadness, but she quickly continued: “Joel learned of everything that happened in Kadman City and thought the Blood Vulture Clan had been wiped out, so he foolishly started colluding with the Thorn Clan. I don’t know if he had already been secretly in cahoots with the Thorn Nightwalkers beforehand, but his information was soon answered. They sent people over and kept taking in family traitors. I strongly objected! Especially after hearing that Lady Tris had become the new grand duchess, I felt we should return to Kadman City and pledge allegiance to her. However, I overestimated the integrity of my kinsmen.” She reached out and touched her chest. There was a horrific brand there, as if seared by a red-hot horseshoe infused with spirit energy to prevent a vampire’s healing ability from mending the wound. She said: “Fear drove Joel insane. He knew his actions would invite terrible retribution if discovered, so he branded me with the shameful mark of a slave and locked me and my servants in here. He then began even more actively contacting the Thorn Clan. We had already lost hope until your warriors discovered us.” Murphy narrowed his eyes and looked down at the utterly debased female vampire. After a few seconds, he said: “You’re clearly lying, but I’m not asking if you’re loyal, that’s something we can discuss later. The issue is that what you’re saying doesn’t match the reports from my warriors. It was you who actively called out my name, which is what made them spare you all. Yet you claim you heard news of Tris becoming the grand duchess! But you didn’t know beforehand that I had become the lord of these lands. You’re obviously hiding something! Mary, I’ll give you one last chance. Speak clearly!” Murphy’s keen perception and his ability to unravel the holes in her words with a single sentence made Mary’s entire body tremble. She let out a wail, then a few seconds later hugged Murphy’s feet and cried out: “No, my lord, I haven’t deceived you! I’ve just... I’ve just experienced something very strange, and I thought that ignoring those outrageous facts might make you think I’m not talking nonsense, rather than saying them outright. I had heard a voice before! It suddenly appeared in my mind, proclaiming to me that you would come to save us. I don’t know how to describe it, but it was like it just manifested in my heart and announced where hope lay.” “A voice?” — Dawn soon arrived. The citizens of Bataxin, fearful all night, cautiously opened their doors, fully expecting to see corpses strewn everywhere. After all, the commotion of over a hundred vampires and hundreds of Blood Servants battling in the city last night was enough to terrify everyone within. It was even possible that this ill-fated city itself was destroyed in last night’s great war. However, that was not the case! There was nothing on the streets, not only no corpses strewn about, but even the aftermath of battle was barely visible. Only some Blood Servant members of the “loyal faction” were joyfully directing the city’s vagrants to clear the streets, loading faded stone statues that glimmered coldly in the sunlight onto carts to be taken outside and destroyed. Any knowledgeable merchant knew that those were the only remnants left behind when a vampire died. Since no one stopped the city’s residents from going out, they quickly gathered to inquire about what exactly had happened last night. Soon, a sensational piece of news spread like a thunderclap through this small town with only a few thousand permanent residents. Bataxin’s previous Blood Vulture overseer, Hatham Joel Lessenbra, was personally executed by the Count of Kadman for colluding with northerners and attempting to undermine Blood Vulture authority. Joel’s subordinate descendants who had been lording over others were all eliminated, and his Blood Servants, kept like wild dogs, had been captured. Supposedly, they would be executed today at noon on the city’s main trade street. The new administrator of Bataxin, the lady nicknamed “Grandma” Blanche Palen Fedo, was collecting evidence of these lackeys’ crimes. And this was what surprised everyone. The merchant woman Blanche Palen Fedo, born in a small village in the Ice Bay region north of Bataxin, had somehow risen to high status and been granted a knighthood by the Count of Kadman, fully responsible for certain commercial affairs under the count’s rule. Reportedly, she had been authorized to form a small organization to manage Bataxin. According to rumors passed down several times, all members of this organization would be appointed by Lady Palen herself, so the city’s major merchants had already hurried to the Horseshoe Inn where the knight was staying, hoping to gain some benefits for themselves. These matters had little relation to the common folk of the city, no matter which lord was ruling over them, commoners never got a say. They were only interested in two things. First, Palen was not particularly well-known among the merchants eking out a living in Bataxin before, just a wealthy merchant running trade routes and selling daily goods. There were also persistent local rumors that Palen’s wealth came from murdering her own poor husband, killed by her and her daughters. That was a terrible accusation, but the question was how such a merchant of complicated origins became a servant of an esteemed vampire count? Second, just how many vampires died in the city last night? Seeing those faded statues being carted out of the city one by one made one’s head spin, fearing that maybe all the Blood Vulture lords who had recently gathered in the city were killed by the newly appointed count? Wasn’t it said that the Blood Vulture Clan was already ruined? How did such a powerful vampire count suddenly emerge? Well, it seemed the Blood Vultures’ domain was not lost after all. That was for the better, too. The commoners were familiar with the 400-year rule continuing, so they wouldn’t have to adapt to the new order of these lands after enduring the horrors of the Ten-Year War. Although the vampires were a bunch of good-for-nothing bastards, it was hard to imagine what Transia would be like without them. Meanwhile, at the old Horseshoe Inn, the smug innkeeper was instructing the head chef to take out the establishment’s best ingredients to prepare an exquisite lunch befitting a knight for his esteemed niece Lady Palen. All the inn’s employees wore smiles, as happy as if they had found money on the street. Because most of them were from the same village as Lady Palen, and now that she had achieved success, everyone’s future would undoubtedly improve. Just look at these common folk of Transia, their dreams so humble. However, in the inn’s best room upstairs, Lady Palen was not so delighted. She was currently discussing important matters of grain trade with the five largest local merchants seated before her. She did not mince words, directly telling them: “If you do this well, you’ll get what you want! The count has already promised that after obtaining enough grain for his domain, he will bestow Bataxin upon me as my territory. And I promise you all as well! Once I secure this territory, you will absolutely have a place on the city’s governing council! You all know me, when my late husband and I did business together, we were renowned for our integrity! But if we bungle this, gentlemen... Just think about last night’s ‘Bataxin Massacre’. I feel that it wasn’t just a show for the vampires, what do you think?”