Chapter 87: Deadly Foe
Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
In reality, the swarm of vampires Han Jin had seen was nowhere near the largest. Around twenty miles away, countless vampires were gathered together like numerous ants. In the middle were thirty or more vampires who were kneeling down on the ground, their bodies trembling. In front of them was an extremely large vampire who was stroking a long piece of burnt coal with slightly quivering hands.
The ‘coal’ was distorted in a very strange shape. Obviously, it had suffered unimaginable pain before it had died. In its chest was a large hole. If Han Jin were there, he would have immediately recognized it.
A vampire came, holding a skull with both hands and with great care, but it was so nervous that it accidentally dropped the skull. The large vampire suddenly looked up, stretching out its right hand at the same time. Its nails brushed against the waist of the vampire. Black blood instantly shot out. The slash had somehow split the vampire into two from the waist. It instantly fell down, screaming and struggling.
The large vampire stood up and heavily hammered its foot down onto the bleeding body, causing a bone-chilling cracking noise. The other vampires around it all sucked in a breath.
At this time, two flocks of vampires came, respectively, from the south and the southwest. They successively landed. The large-sized vampire immediately got down on its knees and said in a trembling voice, “Lady Caroline, Lady Betty.” All the other vampires followed and knelt down, none of them daring to raise their heads.
The two flocks were led by two female vampires, pretty and coquettish in appearance, and both in black long dresses with similar styles. Their white breasts and the deep folds between them were partly exposed. The slits of their dresses were very high, similar to a qipao of Han Jin’s previous world, through which their long and straight legs were visible from time to time, making them extremely alluring.
Though they looked similar in many aspects, they were not sisters. Apart from their enchanting appearances, the one named Caroline looked to be extremely stern, while the other one named Betty looked relatively soft. Their expressions were also different. Caroline stared at the charred husk with an unfathomable grief and sorrow in her eyes, while Betty was calm. Her eyes flashed with some kind of strange emotion, which was by no means sadness. The other vampire beside Betty even showed a malicious glee, though they soon hid that.
Caroline threw back her head and mournfully roared. Her voice became louder and louder, but suddenly stopped. The vampires behind her also started screaming.
Her throat was still quivering, but no sound came from it. The scene looked quite strange. However, it was only quite to human ears. All the other vampires could still feel a chilling terror deep in their bones.
Silent screams broke through the sky and echoed around her. On the vast field of Beitman, the vampires were still playing their games. Blood, flesh, and everything else related to living things became their toys, but when the silent screams came, they all stopped and froze, flew into the sky, and rushed toward the direction of the scream. The bloodthirsty vampires could ignore the summons of Lord Zaganide, but would never dare ignore the grieving of their king.
In a farther place, at the entrance of the underground city, a tall and sturdy figure in black was sitting upright on a blue stone, his hand holding an octagon cup made of chrysophoron, inside which was some kind of red liquid. The figure abruptly stood up when he heard the scream, even accidentally dropping his cup. “What… caused this much pain for Caroline…” he murmured.
Caroline fell to on the ground, holding the charred husk in her shivering arms, stroking it and groaning. Tears were rolling down from her eyes.
“Sister Caroline, we can’t change the past. I think…” Betty said.
“Shut up!” Caroline stopped her in a hysterical scream.
Betty paused, and let out a low sneer. She was also one of the kings. It made her feel discredited to be disrespected like that in front of so many other vampires.
Caroline slowly stood up. A moment later, she started to incant a spell. Gusts of frightening and dramatic magic fluctuations spread all around. All the other vampires’ expressions drastically changed. They didn’t know what their king was going to do.
A blood-red curtain hung down from midair, in which there were countless figures flashing and becoming clearer and clearer. A moment later, the vampires could clearly see, from the curtain, a robust soldier wielding a long sword. Under the cover of golden light, the sword was struck into the chest of a vampire.
Then, the whole process repeated. When Caroline saw a vampire attempt to flee while ignoring the safety of its companions, a trace of malicious light flashed across her eyes. The vampire had offered no help to its companion from beginning to end, and had tried to flee alone in the end. Others might not know this, but she did.
“You must be glad now, Betty,” said Caroline, icily.
“What do you mean, Sister Caroline?” Betty asked while remaining calm and composed.
“We still have a long life to live. You’d better be careful. Keep good care of your most precious things!” This said, Caroline cast a cold glance at the vampire beside Betty. “I think you know what I mean.”
The vampire was frightened and unconsciously hid behind Betty.
“How dare you!” Betty screamed. “If anything happens to my child, you will not get away!”
“Ha… do you think I will forgive you?” Caroline burst out into a weak laughter. “I swear, Betty, one day, you will suffer the pain I am suffering now!”
The other vampires around them all kept silent. They knew their kings were in perpetual conflict and fiercely fought against each other due to the issue of a successor. However, they had never fought so publicly. The drama today made every vampire present extremely terrified.
The expression on Betty’s face kept shifting like clouds. A moment later, she said in a low voice, “You misunderstood me, Sister Caroline…”
“Don’t you think it’s too late to explain now?” Caroline said icily. “Blake!”
“Yes, My Lord,” the large vampire quickly answered.
“You have seen their faces. I give you three days. Bring them alive to me,” Caroline said word by word. “If you take longer than that, don’t bother coming back.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
* * *
Dozens of miles away from there, Han Jin and Sunier were both in a good mood, oblivious to what had happened. The giant tortoise was like a ship sailing against the wind. It was not very fast, but it was very stable.
They soon caught up with the villagers at the end of the line. Two of them suddenly rushed out and shouted with their arms holding a girl, “Please, please take my child with you, My Lord!”
Han Jin and Sunier was surprised. They soon recognized the girl. She was the one that had given them the bean ‘for her life’.
“Slow down,” Sunier said. She jumped down, took the little girl, then jumped back onto the shell.
The girl was well-behaved all the time, but when the giant tortoise started to run under the control of Han Jin, she burst into tears. “Dad, mom… I want my dad… I want my mom…”
Han Jin kept driving as if he had not heard her cries at all. The little girl struggled and pulled at Sunier’s arms. “I want my dad… I want my mom…”
“Don’t worry about us. Wait for us when you arrive. Be a good girl…” the woman said with tears rolling down from her eyes. In fact, they were already worn out after running for the whole afternoon. Were it not for their child, they would have stayed where they were. If they kept running, they would die from exhaustion before the vampires even got to them.
“Mom…” The voice of the girl had become hoarse.
“Wait!” Sunier suddenly said.
Han Jin let out a sigh and stopped the giant tortoise.
“Can you order it to lay down?” Sunier asked.
“Yes.”
“Come up!” She gestured to the couple.
They were stunned, and a tear rolled down their cheeks. They thanked Han Jin and Sunier, and climbed onto the back of the tortoise. The little girl struggled to get rid of Sunier, and threw herself into the arms of her mother. They disconsolately wept together. The young man stroked his wife and daughter and showed a grateful smile toward Han Jin and Sunier.
“Please, take my son with you, My Lord.”
“I have only one child. Please, My Lord, show mercy.”
The other villagers instantly flocked to them. They dared not to push their children directly onto the back of the giant tortoise, but simply looked at Han Jin and Sunier with eager eyes.
Han Jin helplessly knocked his own forehead. He knew this would happen. That’s why he had continued to drive the tortoise so hurriedly. However, he was also a man full of contradictions due to his experience through the years. He wanted to be a good person, but was impeded by reality, interests, and preferences. He decided to act as a bad man, but was often affected by his own kindness.
“Can you take them all?” Sunier was full of sympathy when she saw the desirous eyes of the villagers.
“My energy…” Han Jin refused in a weak tone, trying to persuade Sunier, and himself.
“If it’s your energy, we still have time and magic crystals. But if a life is gone, no one can bring it back.” Sunier asked softly, “Can you?”
“What if I say I can’t?” Han Jin forced a bitter smile. “Let’s get down and make room for the villagers. You are really… a forgetful person who forgets the pain when the wound is healed.” He was regretting not driving away the villagers a moment ago, but now… he didn’t know what to say.
“Come on up,” Sunier beckoned.
“Thank you, thank you…”
“May the gods bless you…”
The villagers were very excited. They thanked Han Jin and Sunier while pushing their children onto the back of the giant tortoise. To Han Jin’s surprise, they just let their children go up the shell, while they themselves didn’t fight for a spot. The young couple blushed when seeing this, and jumped down to make room for other kids.