Chapter 224: The Eternal Slumber of the Gods

"Blood Demon Cult! Zachary! You actually defected to the Blood Demon Cult!" Count Yurst exclaimed, both shocked and enraged upon seeing the distinctive mask with the demon's eye.

Captain Zachary averted his gaze uncomfortably and, along with the other crew members, stepped aside to make way.

In the sky, the majestic black dragon slowly descended onto the deck, its form shrinking as it did.

A Blood Demon Cultist, dressed in black robes, leaped from the dragon's back and slowly approached the utterly exhausted Count Yurst, looking down at him.

With a slightly raspy voice, tinged with amusement, the cultist spoke from behind his mask.

"Yurst Nez, one of the fourth-generation bloodbornes of the Nez clan, holding the title of Count."

"A confidant of Duke Yorok, one of the ten dukes of the Nez clan, and the direct overseer of the Returning Star plan. However, due to your obsession with magical inscriptions, you often neglect your duties, causing the blood descendants executing the plan to work independently and inefficiently..."

As the cultist laid bare his background, Yurst's face alternated between pale and flushed.

He gritted his teeth and shouted angrily.

"Curse you, Shedite! Interfering in Nez affairs, are you trying to provoke a war?!"

The Blood Demon Cultist chuckled softly and replied.

"Provoke a war? Oh, certainly not."

"To be more precise, my dear Count, Shedite is also an ally of Nez!"

Licking his lips under the mask, his pupils gleamed with a heated intensity.

"I've never owned a blood servant of a Count’s caliber before. Today… I might just get the chance."

With that, the cultist gently raised his right hand, lifting a black staff, and dark red light began to gather on it.

Sensing the pressure emanating from the bloodline power, Yurst’s expression shifted slightly.

But just as the cultist was about to cast his spell, Captain Zachary stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Yurst.

"Envoy, the Duke has ordered that the handling of the conservatives is an internal matter of the Nez bloodbornes. Even if we are collaborating, Shedite cannot interfere, nor can you use the Desecration Staff against Nez!"

The Blood Demon Cultist paused, his crimson eyes fixed on Zachary. After a moment, he laughed softly.

"Since it is the Duke's order, I will naturally comply. This Count… will be left to the Duke to try out the new staff."

With that, he slowly retracted his staff, looking regretfully at Count Yurst.

The… Duke?

Yurst was taken aback.

A flash of recognition passed through his mind, a familiar figure surfacing.

Yurst's expression changed.

He wanted to say something, but the side effects of his damaged spiritual force field made him increasingly dizzy. The hallucinogenic poison in his body also fully erupted as his strength waned.

Ultimately, he passed out…

---

Yurst did not know how long he had been unconscious.

When he woke up, the mental agony had subsided, and the poison in his body had dissipated.

Recalling the attack he suffered before passing out, Yurst quickly sat up, only to find himself in a dimly lit room.

"You're awake."

An elderly, gentle voice caught Yurst's attention.

He looked up to see an old man in noble robes sitting at a nearby desk, reading a parchment.

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Shadows obscured the old man's face, making it difficult for Yurst to see his features. However, he could clearly see the parchment on the desk in the candlelight.

It was the very letter he had been writing on the ship!

Yurst's expression tightened, and he quickly reached into his clothes.

As expected, his letter, the communication crystal for contacting Duke Yorok, and his storage items containing personal and magical equipment were all gone.

"No need to search. I've taken your belongings. Of course, if you cooperate, you'll get them back soon."

The old man set down the parchment and spoke calmly.

The flickering candlelight revealed his face.

Upon seeing the old man’s face, Yurst's expression changed dramatically.

It was none other than Maxim Nez, a more ancient third-generation Bloodborne Duke, and a standing elder of the Nez clan’s Elder Council, who usually didn't get along with Duke Yorok.

"Maxim Elder?! It’s you!"

"So you haven’t given up collaborating with the Blood Demon Cult!"

"What do you want? Kidnapping me… Do you intend to completely break with Duke Yorok?!"

Count Yurst demanded angrily.

Elder Maxim glanced at him indifferently and chuckled.

"Break? My relationship with Yorok has never been good, so where’s the talk of a break?"

"Then why attack me? Collaborating with the Blood Demon Cult to attack your kin, aren’t you afraid of the Grand Elder's wrath? Ruining Duke Yorok's negotiation plans with Castell, are you trying to destroy the Returning Star plan?!"

Count Yurst continued angrily.

Elder Maxim chuckled and said.

"Yurst, don’t try to pry information out of me. I’ve been out of the coffin longer than you’ve been asleep, so stop your probing. The Grand Elder’s name doesn’t hold much weight with me."

"As for destroying the Returning Star plan… heh, the one who would ruin the plan and the Nez is Yorok. I, on the other hand, am genuinely thinking about Nez’s future."

"Hmph, negotiating with Castell. He’s regressing with age, pinning hopes on a so-called 'God' whose existence is unverified!"

Yurst’s eyes widened.

"Are you… crazy? All of Duke Yorok’s actions were approved by the Elder Council and guided by the Grand Elder’s divination!"

"Are you… questioning the Elder Council and the Grand Elder?!"

Elder Maxim gave him a meaningful look and said.

"Oh? The Grand Elder’s divination?"

"Yurst, let me tell you a secret even your Duke doesn’t know."

"Our Grand Elder hasn’t heard the Gods’ voice in nearly five hundred years."

"Success and failure both lie with the divine agents. As a divine agent, he has long lost his divination power."

The Grand Elder… lost his divination power?

No! Wait… the Grand Elder hasn’t heard the Gods’ voice in centuries?!

Yurst's eyes widened.

As he pieced things together, his face turned pale. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Seeing his reaction, Elder Maxim said meaningfully.

"It seems you’ve realized."

"Indeed… the god we serve may have truly fallen into eternal slumber."