Chapter 32:

Lady Femis was fully awakened after Murphy hit her in the face with a Dark Spirit blast. She was indeed very weak, but after resting for several hours, she had recovered significantly. A vampire of the Black Iron Body rank has an extremely strong recovery ability, especially during the night. Even the arm that had been severed before had regrown. However, it was evident that the Young Lady had objections to the way Murphy woke her up! Without a hood covering her face, those pearly white little fangs biting down, combined with the icy gaze from her crimson eyes, in any other scenario, Murphy would definitely not be able to escape this beating. He might even be directly executed for assaulting a superior. Fortunately, this was not an ordinary scenario. “Luckily spared, my lady. Thanks to your valiant efforts on the front lines, my servants and I were able to successfully complete this important task. However, there is some bad news. Your loyal blood servant is going to die.” Murphy bowed elegantly to the Young Lady in the vampire way, then pointed to Lady Adele, who was running a high fever and suffering, saying: “The malice left behind by the Wolfsbane brutes is tormenting her, and my assistant has proposed a rather risky plan. She believes that only by embracing Lady Adele now might we be able to expel the malice from her body and allow her soul to linger in this realm of darkness. However, she is your servant, my lady. Her life, her being, and her future can only be decided by you.” Upon hearing Murphy’s explanation, the Young Lady first showed delight at the completion of the mission, but then became anxious. She lightly leapt and landed next to Lady Adele as if stepping on air. She placed her hand on her maid’s forehead. The scorching heat from the skin made the Young Lady frown, then she released what seemed to be a life-viewing spirit technique. The feedback made Femis’ expression even more troubled. “I’ve heard from my father about the crazed Wolfsbane brutes applying venoms and plagues to their claws and fangs to enhance their destructive power. It’s an extremely vile Dark Spirit magic. Humans infected with this venom won’t become vampires, but after their life force is depleted, they’ll become undead creatures like walking corpses. Their gradually decaying bodies will become prisons for their souls, eventually tormenting them into half-living, half-dead blood-eating abominations.” The Young Lady stood up and said to Murphy: “It seems the dark rumors were true! My poor Adele has fallen into this predicament. Embracing her would indeed help by bestowing upon her new life through the Blood Vulture clan’s sin-descended power. But I cannot do it.” “Hm?” This answer made Murphy blink. This always cold and indifferent lady who showed little humanity, wasn’t this her most loyal and trusted human servant? Didn’t she herself say that Adele had served her for many years like family? Now that her family member is about to die, she simply says she can’t do it? Ha! As expected, this seemingly cute Young Lady is rotten to the core, just like her ruthless clan patriarch father, a heartless monster. “It’s not what you think!” Seeming to sense Murphy’s thoughts, Femis immediately coughed a few times and explained: “I am the blood descendant of my father, a continuation of the Blood Vulture clan’s most ancient bloodline source! Without my father’s permission, I cannot casually embrace others, even Adele.” “But she’s going to die!” Miriam, standing by the campfire, was somewhat afraid of the Young Lady, but upon hearing this terrible explanation, she couldn’t help but speak up: “She was bitten by that brute because of your orders. She is dying for your goals. Since she is a loyal blood servant, she would eventually need to be embraced anyway. This is just happening sooner! Is your father’s permission really more important than the life of a devoted servant?” “Silence! Human, you have no idea about the details.” The Young Lady coldly rebuked the rude Miriam, then turned to Murphy. After hesitating for several seconds, she made up her mind, waved her hand, and said: “You do it!” “What?” Murphy, who was watching from the side, didn’t expect this bystander to suddenly become involved. He suspected the Young Lady was still confused from her weakened state, so he made a weird expression and said: “But she’s your blood servant. Your master-servant relationship hasn’t been dissolved yet. If the clansmen find out I embraced another clanmate’s blood servant, I’m afraid I’ll be tied to the top of Blood Vulture Castle and suffer the sunlight punishment as soon as I return to Kadman City. Aren’t you putting me in harm’s way? I can’t take on this task. You’d better do it yourself. As my assistant said, this is an emergency situation. The complete annihilation of your Midnight Hunters is proof enough of the dire circumstances. I believe the Clan Patriarch is not unreasonable.” “I cannot do it!” Lady Femis seemed to be constantly avoiding this issue. She stomped her feet in frustration and said to Murphy: “Since you’re being told to do it, just do it! What’s with all the nonsense? Save Adele, Revnor Murphy Lessenbra. This is my order!” When I was training under Lord Jed, I heard some seniors say that if I could rely on myself to complete the Black Iron trial, fully master my bodily functions and unlock my own potential, and then receive your embrace, I would have a brighter future as a blood clan member than an ordinary vampire. So I intended to delay my embrace for a while. This is a good opportunity. If you would allow my little wish, I would...” “I agree.” Murphy waved his hand and said: “Whenever you’re ready, just come find me. I won’t hide it from you, Lady Tris’ fresh blood power is indeed lacking at its source, and I’m also looking for ways to make up for this power. It’s better for both of us to act prudently.” “Then I have no problem, Master Murphy.” Maxim nodded, saying: “May I observe your embrace of Lady Adele? Although I’ve lived as a blood servant, I’ve never actually witnessed this ritual. I want to see it with my own eyes so I can be prepared later and not disgrace your glory.” “Then come, be my guardian!” Murphy patted his loyal servant’s shoulder and brought him back to the campfire. He nodded to Lady Femis, who immediately let out a sigh of relief. She said: “You must begin immediately. The malice of the Wolfsbane is flowing through Adele’s veins. She cannot last until dawn without losing her consciousness...be gentle! Don’t be so rough. After all, it’s the first time for both of you.” “Hey! My lady, your words can easily cause misunderstandings.” Murphy felt that this lady of his sometimes really did speak without thinking, yet she herself didn’t seem to realize there was anything wrong with her words. She didn’t act like a centuries-old monster. Maybe she was intentionally feigning innocence due to a split personality? He placed the feverish Lady Adele, whose body was scorchingly hot, in a spot away from the campfire. His two assistants were observing from the side, and even Miriam took out her notebook, intending to record the embrace ritual she was about to witness. This was a rare experience! Even in Transia where vampire culture was prevalent, there were very few ordinary people fortunate enough to observe an embrace ritual. This ritual was equivalent to human reproduction in vampire society, an incredibly sacred process. “What should I do?” Murphy took a deep breath and looked towards Lady Femis, who was presiding over the ritual. Although he was prepared, he was still nervous for his first time. The Young Lady did not answer immediately. She leaned down and kissed Lady Adele’s forehead, then whispered something in her ear before standing up with a solemn expression and saying to Murphy: “The embrace ritual is most often a blessing bestowed by the powerful upon the weak, but your strength is weaker than Adele’s, so you must be very careful during the ritual to prevent her powerful blood from invading your body in reverse. That would be disastrous and could endanger both your lives. But the ritual itself is simple. Apart from the traditional ceremonial steps, the true core is just one thing! You must drain all of Adele’s blood, then merge one-third of your blood into it before reinjecting it into Adele’s body. Through the sacred connection formed by the merging of blood, the sin-descended bloodline you’ve inherited will also be shared with Adele. At that point, she will shed her mortal shell and become part of the Blood Vultures. In theory, you should notify your elders and obtain permission for such a ritual, but given Tris’ situation...it’s an exception. Begin!” The Young Lady gestured, and Murphy took a deep breath. He sent a simple prayer to the Night Mother, then leaned down, his fangs extending from below his lips. As he approached the slender, feverishly hot neck of the deathly pale Lady Adele with protruding veins, he suddenly looked up at Lady Femis again. She seemed unable to bear watching this scene and had turned her head away. This made Murphy’s strange feeling even more apparent. The Young Lady clearly had deep feelings for Lady Adele, and now if he did this, wasn’t it akin to a brazen act committed in front of her? Damn! The more he thought about it, the more twisted it became. He really shouldn’t dwell on it! He was supposed to be an upright vampire. Suppressing the slight palpitation in his heart, Murphy’s fangs pierced Lady Adele’s neck. In her agonized unconsciousness, she let out an involuntary moan, and then her scorching hot blood surged into Murphy’s mouth as he drank it. Mmm... Exceptionally sweet, with a faint aroma reminiscent of dark woods... Wait! This scent is off, brother! The woody aroma of blood? If Murphy wasn’t mistaken, this should mean... This Lady Adele, how does she have a one-fourth elven bloodline?