174 Chapter 174: Journey Back

As Caesar and the fox-kin approached the border, they were greeted by a cloaked man waving his hands. The gates were wide open and a few unconscious guards were lying on the ground, presumably Edwards work.

From afar, Caesar nodded his head and signaled for Edward to return, he was quite surprised at how weak the guards at the borders truly were. He figured that the dark continent races would have long ventured into the human continent if the guards were that weak.

Thinking to here, he gazed downward, "Ahri, why do none of the dark continent races leave?" he asked. He had assumed that they placed some form of importance to their territory, however, the land was much less peaceful and rich than the human continents.

As his voice entered into Ahri's ears, her brows fluttered as she glanced upward, "many of the stronger races are adamant on conquering the dark continent, while the weaker races are fearful of the churches retaliation… of course, some races refuse to leave their home due to pride" Ahri explained and peacefully closed her eyes once again.

The fox-kin belong to the latter two, in the past, they were quite prideful and refused to leave. However, Musashi also feared that the church would retaliate, as they would have to recreate their stronghold, and that would certainly garner some unwanted attention.

Thus, the fox-kin were relatively stuck in the dark continent; that is until Caesar arrived. Although the church would certainly become enraged if they had ever figured out that the fox-kin clan escaped, it wasn't very likely. The fox-kin shared features extremely similar to humans besides their tails and ears, furthermore, if they were hidden within Rahvin kingdom, no one would bat an eye.

This fact was already proven by the large number of elves that moved into His kingdom. The citizens were reluctant at first, however, they soon opened up to them. Even the enslaved fox-kin that revolted were let go from Rahvin kingdom with one eye closed, humans were somewhat kind when it came to humanoid creatures. Granted, there were many evil humans, which is why the slave trade was created in the first place.

Thinking to here, Caesar glanced back at the large line of migrating fox-kin. They covered themselves in cloaks and made sure to cover their ears and tails. If an outsider observed them, they would simply think it was a group of merchants or a poor village moving due to the floods.

They passed by the border without any mishaps and using Caesar's knowledge, they avoided any human civilization as they ventured. The horses pulled the carriages through the vibrant and beautiful savanna. The luscious grass swayed left and right with the wind, causing the children to giggle happily and run on the sides of the carriages.

The clean air seemed to cleanse the fox-kin who were used to the gloomy winds and the abnormal amount of storms. They had to constantly be on guard within the forest due to the strong monsters hidden in the depths.

For the past year or so, they had been constantly at war with the trolls and were never given a break. News of death and insufficient food had long become normal, but now, they could finally rest, eat, and even sing whenever they wanted.

The children carried blissful smiles on their faces and in return, the families were happy. Although the many deaths still scarred some of then, they could now move on into a better place. After all, the warriors fought to retain the happy smiles on their families faces.

With such thoughts in mind, the many citizens, warriors, and even children conversed with each other. Happy laughter and banter echoed throughout the surroundings and was carried by the wind, to which even Caesar smiled at the forefront.

Ahri, who was seated on his left, caught a glimpse of his slight smile and leaned her head on his shoulder, "do you believe that this is what my grandfather had wanted?" she asked quietly, barely audible enough for Caesar to hear.

Caesar shook his head, "this isn't it… he wanted his clan to regain its past glory, to stand toe-toe with the noble vampires, to reawaken the nine-tailed fox bloodline. That was his end goal, and that is why you were so important to him" Caesar replied with a smile and wrapped his arms around Ahri's waist.

He placed her on top of his lap and slouched down to rest his chin on her shoulder, "We must not get comfortable nor content. Acceptance is the first step to mediocrity, never be happy with what you have, because that will become the limit of what you want" He continued and brandished his sharp fangs, lightly tapping her soft skin.

Ahri rolled her eyes and leaned her head back a tad bit, granted him easier access. It had been a very long time since he had drunken her blood, and from what she knew, it was a delicious taste. He must have been holding back for quite a while, as such, it was the least she could do for him.

"Thank you for saving my clan…" She whispered as Caesar's fangs penetrated her neck. The feeling of euphoria assaulted her, causing her arms to around the nape of Caesar's neck. Although it felt extremely pleasant, Ahri could never get used to the feeling of having her mana forcefully sucked out.

This continued for a few minutes before Caesar reluctant parted from her graceful neck, "it is not your clan, it is our clan… what is yours, is mine, and what is mine, is yours… Just as you are mine, I am yours" Caesar whispered into her ear before she collapsed onto his lap.

A trail of blood trailed down Caesar's lips as he looked up toward the sun. It had been quite a long time since he gained any progression with his physique, in fact, he felt as though there was something blocking him from progression.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but the fact remained that he was in dire need of power. He could barely defeat a paladin whilst nearly completely utilizing his mana reserves. Let alone an archbishop or deacon, he was very weak in comparison to some of the stronger forces.

In the beginning, he progressed far too quickly and got drunk power. He never tried to learn how to control his power, nor did he seek out more information about vampires. He simply kept killing and killing until he evolved. But now, it would appear that he required something else to evolve.

Caesar stroke Ahri's soft hair as he pulled the reigns of his horse, it would take a few months for them to arrive at Rahvin kingdom, due to the larger number of people, it would take even longer for them to reach their destination in comparison to last time.

A cold mist escaped from Caesar's hands as he sculpted a few objects whilst whistling a soft tune. He figured he would use this time to get better at controlling his affinity, he was tired of creating fragile arrows.