Chapter 42:

While the little players were in action, the NPC group was also carrying out their own tasks. Miriam led nearly a hundred people rescued by Murphy in a mass exodus towards a safer area outside the city. Murphy asked them to set up a temporary base there, and they would discuss distribution once the little players brought back enough supplies. He originally wanted to send Maxim over to maintain order, but Miriam said she could handle it alone. This girl knew the situation was urgent, and she had studied administration, specializing in the art of management and governance. She felt this was a great “internship opportunity”, and her current status as a “Murphy blood servant” was enough to intimidate these civilians long ruled by vampires. After she left with the people, the safe passage at the ruined city wall suddenly became deserted. Murphy and Maxim took over the little players’ spawn point, continuously clearing the twisted creatures crawling out of the shadows. While resting nearby, Tris casually tossed a few spirit spells to clear the area, while also explaining the origins of these things to the two novices. “These are not creatures from the Astral Realm. They are merely impure astral energy coalesced in the material world, attracted into form by the fear and various emotions of living beings in this city. You could say they represent the intangible dark thoughts harbored in Kadman City, just their numbers alone show how much evil is buried here. The true number of astral beasts currently present in this city is far less than you imagine.” Tris said as she rested with her eyes closed: “In the countless tales of the Astral Realm, it is never described as a hospitable place. Thus, the monsters flung into the material world each have their own signature deadly skills, you must never underestimate them. The astral energy has already seeped beneath the surface of this land, and before it is depleted, spawns of despair and fear like these will continue to emerge endlessly. So many died this time, and the lingering anguish will prevent their souls from resting peacefully. We’ll likely see troublesome things like haunted graveyards and ghouls’ nests emerge later on.” “But how did this happen in the first place?” As Maxim used the Blood Vulture sword arts to slaughter the embodiments of despair before him, he respectfully asked Tris: “Lady Tris, why has such a calamity befallen Kadman City?” “It was obviously an enemy attack!” Tris glanced at Maxim, then at her little Murphy. She could sense other vampires’ spirit imprints on Maxim, marking him as someone else’s property. Yet he treated little Murphy with the reverence of serving an elder, so it was not hard to guess that little Murphy must have other intentions. Tris did not intend to get involved in such matters, but for Murphy’s sake, she treated Maxim well and explained: “An astral realm breach of this magnitude could never be a natural phenomenon. In my five hundred years, I can definitively tell you that the largest scale of astral fluctuations was at most an unlucky village being swallowed up. What happened to Kadman City must have been the result of a spirit mage calculating this region’s coordinates in the Astral Realm beforehand! They used some grand ritual to temporarily force open a breach between this area and the Astral Realm, thereby triggering this disaster. But...” Tris hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stated directly: “There was a traitor in the city!” “Hmm?” Murphy flicked out a few sword strikes, killing the embodiments of despair lunging at him, then unleashed a wide-range spirit blast around the street corner ahead, shattering the astral shadows there. This precise and lethal attack successfully raised his Spirit Apprentice job level to 8, while his Blood Vulture Swordsman level reached 9, indicating his understanding of the Blood Vulture sword arts was transcending “master” towards “grandmaster”. He glanced at his own experience bar, also at level 9, only one step away from activating the Black Iron Trial to surpass the job ranks. “What do you mean there was a traitor in the city?” The vampire stepped back, allowing his loyal servant to handle the “spawn point”, and returned to Tris’ side, asking in a low voice: “Did you sense something?” “Did I need to sense anything?” Tris rolled her eyes, took out a small bottle of liquor and drank, then said to Murphy: “To open such a precise astral breach, a grand ritual alone is not enough, little Murphy. They needed a guiding set of coordinates, in other words, when the astral breach opened, there must have been one or more traitors in Kadman City directing its position. Moreover, the ‘Nocturne’ spirit barrier forged by the Blood Vulture Clan in this city over 400 years did not activate when danger arrived, which in itself indicates something was amiss. The Blood Vulture Clan led by Salrokdar is riddled with holes! Even without this attack, it would eventually crumble at the hands of these traitors. Disaster was inevitably coming, just in a different form. But if you insist I name the mastermind behind the scenes, I’ll tell you that in the human world, only the Circle Tower has the capability to unleash such a grand ritual. And those able to cultivate spies in a vampire-ruled place could only be our kindred dwelling in the night. So...” Tris reached out and stroked Murphy’s cheek. She glanced at the ferocious yet obedient astral giant wolf behind Murphy, and said softly: “Wolfsbane! It must be them, you’ve had contact with them, right? This wolfen-bat power, is it the ‘spoils’ you obtained?” “Yeah, I took down a troublesome Wolfsbane punk.” Murphy did not conceal his battle. He recounted his fight with Joban to Tris, who after listening, tilted her head in thought and said: “A descendant of Korando? I’ve never heard of anyone by that name in the Wolfsbane Clan. Perhaps a recent upstart, not worth noting. But my little Murphy is truly formidable, without me bestowing true blood clan power upon you, you still defeated a Wolfsbane warrior who unlocked the Silver Trial.” Tris looked very displeased as she appraised the unconscious Lady Adele, scanning her up and down before saying coldly: “As your progeny, she actually injured herself rescuing another vampire, how disloyal. Murphy, you need to discipline her properly. Teach her the traditional virtues of vampires. Teach her who her true master is. A stray bitch running around not knowing her master needs a good beating to the head!” “Adele’s situation is complicated, Tris. It’s not something that can be explained in just a few words.” Tris’ sudden harshness made Murphy feel this matter involved him, but he decisively chose to play dumb. He simply explained Lady Adele and the Young Lady’s relationship. After hearing that this disloyal blood progeny had saved Murphy from a Wolfsbane warrior, Tris’ expression softened somewhat. She went to examine the two women, shaking her head as she said: “They’ll need a strong mental shock to awaken. You go take care of your business, I’ll handle them. Also, your Blood Vulture sword arts are already masterful, no need to waste more time on such basic techniques. The clan’s vault number three should have advanced sword arts and other useful things. I’ve marked the location on your map, you can go search with Maxim. And bring back some secret silver ingots while you’re at it. Go on! Don’t worry about me, though weakened, mere spawns of despair cannot harm me.” “Got it.” Murphy nodded, gesturing to Maxim, and the two headed towards the Blood Vulture Clan’s hidden underground vault following Tris’ marked location amidst the ruins. After they left, Tris’ expression suddenly turned cold and sinister. She glared intently at the unconscious Lady Femis before her. Her left hand’s nails extended into crimson-etched talon-like weapons, pressing against Femis’ neck. Perhaps just a light scratch... “Salrokdar’s accursed spawn, root of all evil!” Tris muttered with disgust: “Stay away from my little Murphy! Ominous wretch.” Slap! In the end, Tris did not plunge her claws into Femis’ neck, instead slapping the two women with a few powerful spirit blasts. A Spirit Sovereign’s strikes were naturally extraordinary. Though absolutely weakened in power, her masterful spirit manipulation allowed her to subject the two ladies to a short but intense mental shockwave, jolting them awake seconds later as they clutched their chests, coughing. Amidst the blood were twitching black ash-like particles, contorting into bizarre, maddening insectoid shapes amidst the gore. “Speak.” Tris said coldly to the weakened, bedraggled Young Lady with folded arms: “What happened in the inner city?” Before the Young Lady could answer, Lady Adele stood to try helping her up, only to be glared at fiercely by Tris. As Murphy’s elder, though she could not overstep Murphy to control his own progeny, her inherited bloodline still gave her dominating superiority over Lady Adele. “Stand aside! Clean up those spawns of despair.” Tris barked icily: “We’ll have a little chat later about your ‘propriety’ as a blood progeny, insolent girl!” Adele did not know why she felt totally incapable of defiance before this weakened vampire, but she knew staying would not help the Young Lady either. Under Tris’ stern, critical gaze, she could only twist her waist to retrieve her weapons from the ground and silently walk towards the passage. Meanwhile, the Young Lady finally regained her senses, seemingly after receiving a potent shock. Looking at the famous “clan disgrace” Tris, with whom she previously had little interaction, she now showed a weak, desperate expression. She said mournfully: “The dimensional meteorite pierced the Blood Vulture Citadel. The black polluted flames are everywhere. Though I could not enter the Blood Vulture Halls, I could sense our sacred pool has been contaminated, no new clansmen will be born. The clan elites all perished here... Corrupted into monstrous Blood Vultures by the invading astral forces...” “Tch.” Tris scoffed at this, playing with her black hair as she said coldly: “Isn’t that better? But I don’t want to discuss that now, little girl. Let’s talk about those things inside your body...you’ve already guessed part of the truth, right? Your earlier reckless entry into the Blood Vulture Halls was to find answers. But tell me, are you truly prepared to face the truth?”