Chapter 325:

Words : 3003 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

“Old Edward dispatched a faction composed entirely of Blood Vulture traitors to ambush the Carpe family’s transport convoy at the Transia border? How does this ancient one always manage to cause such unexpected trouble? Can we confirm the authenticity of this information?” Murphy quickly received the news about what happened at the border from Femis’s report. He wasn’t surprised personally, given that any actions between Blood Vulture and Wolfsbane wouldn’t be surprising due to their enmity. He just wondered why Old Edward would make such a choice at this time? That ancient clan patriarch had just maintained a superficial peace with the Blood Vulture Clan under the coordination of Lord Payne, was he deliberately provoking Lord Payne? “This is information I extracted from the brain of the Wolfsbane faction’s vanguard captain using some ‘secret techniques’ I learned from the Blood Pact Knights’ inquisitors. This intelligence cannot be falsified unless they pre-planted false information in that guy’s mind.” Femis answered very confidently: “But whether it was Old Edward’s direct order is still questionable. I personally suspect this is another ‘independent action’ like the previous Grey Claw faction’s operation. And the leader is Lady Cecilia who just led the traitors to join the Wolfsbane Clan. Yes, that would be my mother who has gone mad.” “Alright.” Murphy played with the core bead. Although Femis didn’t say it explicitly, he could already understand the kind of “authorization” that Femis wanted to obtain from him through reporting this matter. Regarding the incident itself, Murphy certainly couldn’t ignore it. Aside from the cooperation terms reached between the Carpe family and Crimson Citadel through Lieutenant Frayzer, those production lines being transported by the convoy were important resources that Murphy couldn’t give up. The location for Transia’s First National Armament Factory had already been decided, and they were just waiting for the production lines to be in place to start manufacturing weapons for Murphy’s army. This was the most important matter related to defending against the Black Plague, so this transport convoy must be rescued! But Femis’s meaning now was that she wanted to take charge of this matter, which made Murphy hesitate. He didn’t doubt the young lady’s determination. He was just worried that the young lady would be “tempted” by her mother who could now be confirmed to have joined the Dusk’s embrace. If Lord Payne was so cautious when dealing with Dusk-related matters, then Murphy felt he had reason to be even more cautious. “I guess even if I asked you to come back now you definitely wouldn’t agree, right?” Murphy asked. There was no response from the young lady in the bead for a long time, and this silence had already declared her resolve, so Murphy didn’t try to persuade her further. He drew circles on the table with his finger and said in a gentle tone: “I will ask Kudel and his retainers to go assist you. Also, since this happened at the Seicob territory border, Knight Valand and his winged cavalry have sufficient reason to get involved. I can leave this matter to you to handle, Femis. But I have one requirement.” “Tell me.” The young lady breathed a sigh of relief on the other end and asked, then heard Murphy say to her: “You cannot track down ‘Lady Cecilia’ alone, this is not a request but an order! In fact, I now strongly suspect that one of the objectives in pushing this matter forward may be precisely to facilitate a reunion between you and your mother. Regarding matters about your father, I haven’t hidden anything from you. I have sufficient reason to believe your mother has gone mad. No, what she has done has exceeded the scope of ‘madness’, and the source of everything she has done is to snatch you back from Salrokdar. You need to understand the potential risks in this matter. No one knows what kind of ‘gifts’ your mother received from Dusk, and I cannot allow my friend and important family member to just walk into a trap alone. You must act together with Kudel! If you violate this condition, then in future matters related to your mother, I won’t give you any special privileges, and won’t even let you be involved.” “I agree and completely understand.” The young lady didn’t insist further on the restrictions Murphy gave her. She readily agreed to Murphy’s requirements, then informed Murphy of the location and information about where the Wolfsbane Clan would launch their ambush. After recording this information, the vampire lord tried to contact Lieutenant Frayzer after a brief consideration but couldn’t connect. Probably because the communication distance was too far and had exceeded the limit of what the computation bead could handle, this forced Murphy to shift his communication target to another person he really disliked. After waiting for over ten seconds, the vibration of the core bead indicated the communication was connected, and the quite dissatisfied voice of the half-dwarf marshal came through, carrying a tone of rebuke: “I’m very busy! Sissy Murphy, if you’re actively contacting me just for some ridiculous matters, I will immediately delete your communication privileges from my end. Therefore, you still have a chance to apologize.” “I don’t think I should apologize for this, because there is indeed something about to happen that will make you lose face.” Murphy didn’t want to argue with this stubborn and petty dwarf marshal, so he directly informed him about the Wolfsbane Clan’s ambush on the Carpe family transport convoy. He said: “Although this ambush will happen within Transia’s borders and I’ve already made preparations for it, but Marshal, shouldn’t you examine your previous promises? You said all actions related to the Wolfsbane Clan in your defense zone would be handled by you, but what I’ve seen with my own eyes is not like that. While I decisively resolved the threat from the Grey Claw faction, you allowed a bunch of Wolfsbane pups to create friction at the borders between both sides. I fulfilled what I promised, but you failed to keep your word. So can I understand this as the situation in East Prussia being beyond your control? Or perhaps the actual capabilities of the ‘Steel Heart’ Marshal whose fame has spread across the entire continent are just this much? If that’s really the case, then I don’t mind sending my warriors to help you eliminate those jumping clowns who shouldn’t exist during the war preparation period. After all, considering we will soon fight side by side against the Black Plague, Crimson Citadel has an obligation to provide aid to backward forces. So, here’s the question, do you and your legion really need my help?” “So, you contacted me tonight just to humiliate me?” Marshal Loren said quite unhappily: “What makes you think those Wolfsbane pups entered Transia through my defense zone? Your place is simply leaking from all sides, they have plenty of ways to slip in. My defense zone has no problems! Kid. You’ve said what you wanted to say, now tell me, what exactly do you want me to help you do?” “We can defeat those ambushers, but don’t have enough force to surround and annihilate them, and honestly, I’m already tired of having a bunch of ignorant Wolfsbane trash jumping around in my territory when I’m so busy. I guess you probably feel the same way.” Murphy said in a low voice: “I just want to invite you to join tomorrow night’s hunt. What I mean is, since they’ve come, don’t let them leave. They say the friendship between men who’ve hunted together always becomes more solid, so I also very much hope to maintain a good personal relationship with you. Also, I want to ask again about when you can return the armed Blood Servants you’re holding? I’m really short on manpower right now.” “Within one month. They would have been sent over earlier, but my general suggested we provide you with an additional batch of military supplies so it was delayed, but the good news is you will soon have a small-scale artillery force.” Marshal Loren gave a definite time, saying: “Those guys will enter Transia together with the ‘military observation team’ we’re sending out, just like the agreement we reached before. This observation team will be responsible for commanding the border defense forces that will enter your territory later. You cannot interfere with their command.” “I’m not a commander nor a soldier, I won’t ask for trouble.” Murphy’s tone became relaxed, and he said in a roundabout way: “Well then, here’s wishing us a happy hunt tomorrow night. You’d better check one more time if your defense zone really has no problems.” Before he could finish speaking, the core bead’s communication had already disconnected. Obviously Marshal Loren had no interest in discussing this professional issue with Murphy. But within ten minutes after this “spirit phone call” ended, five military officers responsible for border patrol at Pioneer Fortress were called to the marshal’s office for a thorough scolding. Clearly regarding the issue of how the Wolfsbane vampires crossed the border, Marshal Loren was not as confident as he appeared. But this wasn’t the marshal’s fault. It’s just that the vampires’ unique “Blood Servant culture” was too devastating when used for sneaky bad deeds. The marshal couldn’t possibly execute every civilian and vagrant in his defense zone as potential Blood Servants, right? Whether it was the officers making up for it afterwards, or the short marshal mobilizing his army for the sake of his face, it could basically be certain that after tomorrow night, that group of Wolfsbane vampires planning bad deeds would no longer be able to leave this area alive. This was exactly the purpose Murphy wanted to achieve with this “spirit phone call”. Transia currently had quite a few problems, and he really didn’t want to divert attention to deal with problems from within vampire clans anymore. After completing the communication with Marshal Loren, Murphy stood up in his office. He took out a set of midnight cloak from the wardrobe and fastened it on his shoulders, then hung the Miser’s hunting crossbow and Beast Tamer’s whip from the weapon rack on his waist. Just as he was about to leave, he saw the office door being pushed open, and Tris appeared before him with her arms crossed. “You’re going personally?” The Grand Duchess asked: “Because this involves Cecilia? You’re worried Femis will step into a trap?” “It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t worried.” Murphy didn’t hide it, saying frankly: “Only Femis and Adele know what kind of person Lady Cecilia was before, but I can be certain that after she joined Dusk’s plans she has already become one of the most dangerous existences on this continent. Whether emotionally or rationally, I cannot sit by and watch Femis face this threat alone. I’m even guessing now whether there was another force pushing behind your theft of the Life Seed over 200 years ago This sounds somewhat unreal. But I’d rather imagine Dusk to be more formidable, than underestimate them. This may be our first direct contact with Dusk, I must be present. Femis and Kudel will be in the open, I’ll be in the shadows. This way we can ensure nothing goes wrong to the greatest extent possible.” “You’re always so cautious when it comes to protecting your own people.” Tris sighed, saying: “Just now, Knight Valand’s osprey delivered a letter to Natalie, little Sharon wants to invite the leader of the Witch Hunters to their forest to attend her ritual of re-establishing the bond with the Forest Spirit. You can travel together with Natalie. I suggest you bring along Eugene and Marianne, those two experienced Master Witch Hunters’ lethality when facing vampires can serve as effective force supplementation. I won’t participate in this operation. I need to speed up decoding the mysteries of that command scepter to help ensure the safety of your Gnolls and warriors when entering the Foul Swamp. Murphy, I don’t know if you have this feeling. But Dusk. The more I come into contact with intelligence about them, the more I can sense that what these guys want may not just be the Black Plague spreading across the continent, they want something even more terrifying. Just like the bits of information little Sharon obtained from the old Count of Seicob. They are a group of madmen who view this era as a mistake, and they wield powers that inspire fear. Their layer upon layer of arrangements in Transia make even an old vampire like me feel danger and fear. I don’t want to hide it. Actually I’ve thought more than once about taking you and fleeing from here. I doubt whether we can win. “You’re not old at all, you’re at the most beautiful time of your life.” Murphy stepped forward with a smile, drawing the rarely showing weakness and worry Tris into his embrace. He gently patted her shoulders, saying: “No matter who they are, no matter what they want, when we drag them out of the shadows, their greatest reliance will have already collapsed and dissipated. Devils cannot have faces! That would only point out targets for heroes to crusade against, and now, this devil named Dusk already has a face that we can track. Lady Cecilia is the best entry point, along with that mysterious ‘Source’. We will win, I promise you. Even if we end up one move behind in the end, I won’t let you walk alone.” Tris didn’t respond. She pressed her head against Murphy’s chest, listening to that vampire heart beating slowly. After maintaining such silence for several minutes, she finally said hoarsely: “Why didn’t you appear earlier? Earlier in my life, that might have given me more courage to face the hammering and provocations from fate.” “Those beautiful things are so precious precisely because they require patience to wait for, moreover, it’s not too late now.” Murphy lowered his head and gently kissed Tris’s hair, saying: “We still have lots of time to walk together to the end. I confirm this point, it was you who rescued me from the most downtrodden fate back to the human world. You have already become my deepest connection to this world, like a lighthouse for the lost. To me you were never simply a bewitching goddess who needed to be pursued. Although I really want to continue such gentle conversation with you, but it’s getting late, Tris, I should set off.” “Mm.” Tris raised her head, taking the initiative to leave a kiss mark on Murphy’s cheek, then watched him disappear into the shadows of the Blood Vulture Halls. Tris stood in place for several minutes before returning to her own office. Murphy’s gentleness seemed to have finally helped her make up her mind about some determination, to face the “monster” from her past life that she created with her own hands. She took the pearl bracelet representing the “Source” in her hand, and used some quite complex method to activate certain arts hidden within it. Spirit power began to vibrate. It wove together an information flow capable of crossing space in a way that even Tris had never seen before. “Christine! I know you’re listening.” Tris said hoarsely: “Let’s meet.” The office was silent, until nearly ten seconds later when a vague voice came from that distant place, sounding more like a whimper in the wind rather than speech. “You harbor killing intent, making me feel as if seeing the rise of the long-dormant Crimson Witch. It seems I’ve provoked you, my terrifying elder. You’ve already determined to eliminate me just for a foolish emotion. You’ve already drunk the poison called love, becoming too weak and sensitive and foolish. You’ve actually become the kind of person you warned me never to become. An ordinary fragile person Hmm, we will meet, Lady Tris. Not now, not here. Wait patiently. We will meet again!” “I warn you! Stay away from Murphy.” Tris shouted at the other side. But only received light laughter as a response. After the laughter fell, that voice sounded again: “Of course, I would never disobey your will, just as I dedicate all loyalty to you. We can certainly ignore the series of problems triggered by Murphy. As long as you join us, as long as you’re willing to step onto the path of destiny that belongs to you.” “Don’t even think about it!” Tris rejected decisively: “I won’t fall in the same gutter twice.” “Hmm, then let’s hope your lovely little boy toy can fend for himself. Love has now filled you, who was once invincible, with weaknesses.” She was clearly provoking, but Tris wasn’t baited. Instead, she frowned while sensing the spirit power vibrations. The wisdom belonging to the Spirit Sovereign spun rapidly in her mind, even making Tris’s eyes flash with red arc-like illusions. After a three second interval, Tris let out a long breath. She said: “Ice Bay, Nortov Sea Cliff. Got you! Remember the first spirit tracking lesson I gave you? When you were observing me through this bracelet, little elf girl, I could also sense you!” “!!!” “Whoosh” The Nocturne Scepter flew into her palm, drawing open a rift leading to the source of spirit power vibrations as Tris waved it. In the instant dragon-like blood wings spread open, a terrifyingly large spirit lightning bolt capable of covering half a city was violently hurled by Tris across the rift, smashing down upon that lonely fortress on the sea cliff below where cold winds blew and snow drifted. The next instant, crimson lightning storm erupted amid the snow, crushing one-third of the upper half of that lonely fortress. “Where are you running! Little bitch!” “Boom”

Chapter 325:

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