Chapter 68:

Murphy could only lament that his little players always managed to come up with new activities for him.

Just a moment ago, he received a report from the soldiers under Maxim that a group of “beggar” vampires who had crawled out from the Great Rift had been discovered by Lumina and Sister Pomegranate, and were now under control.

Upon receiving the news, Murphy and Tris immediately rushed to the place where those vampires were being housed.

On the way, Tris kept “self-reflecting”:

“I was just saying it, trying to provoke Femis a little. I didn’t expect it to actually come true. This isn’t right, with the concentration of Astral Spirit in the inner city, even if they weren’t dragged into the Astral Realm, there’s no way they could have lasted seven days!

Something’s not right, Murphy.”

Murphy also looked helpless.

Although he knew that the ragged vampire beggars suddenly appearing at this time couldn’t be because of Tris’ cursed mouth, he still took this opportunity to say to Tris:

“You know you have a cursed mouth, so don’t just blurt things out about things like this, or maybe it was your poisonous mouth that even made some passing deity unable to bear it, so they prepared this surprise for us.”

“Tsk, what deity would care about vampires? Do you really think our status as Eternal Sin Descendants is a joke? The Astral gods avoid us like the plague.”

Tris rolled her eyes, and seeing Maxim waiting ahead, she didn’t say anything more and just followed behind Murphy, while the loyal servant’s expression was very strange.

When he saw Murphy approaching, he immediately came forward and said in a low voice:

“The ones who escaped were several clan patriarch’s guards and their servants, with Sir Jed at the lead.”

“Ah? What a coincidence?”

Murphy was also taken aback.

As far as he knew, the Salrokdar clan patriarch had about 1,500 personal guards, the elite of the elites of the clan. That Jed was only one of the 30 squad leaders, and he managed to still be alive and escape in the current situation.

The probability was just too low.

He also noticed Maxim’s strange expression, and knew what his servant was worried about, so he reached out and patted Maxim’s shoulder, saying in a low voice:

“I’ll make it clear to him, don’t worry.”

“Yes.”

Maxim nodded, watching as Murphy entered the house behind him, while Tris, who was coldly observing everything, took a sip of wine and suddenly said to Maxim:

“Are you prepared?”

This question made Maxim turn back in confusion, and then he heard Tris say:

“What if that Jed doesn’t agree to your leaving? What if he’s not going to give my little Murphy this favor?”

“I...”

The loyal servant clenched his fists.

He was full of struggle in his heart, and then he saw Tris show a smile and say to him:

“You have to understand, in the current situation, the Blood Vulture clan is essentially defunct, taking those rotten rules along as they’re half-buried in the grave.

My little Murphy is going to do something big, and as his servant, you need to be more flexible in your thinking.

You can’t always expect others to grant what you want.

You know what to do in a situation like this, being a local from Transia, right?”

Tris’ words hit the mark.

But Maxim already understood what the Lady Tris meant, he nodded, retreating to the side and pulling up his hood, hiding his expression and thoughts behind the mask so that no one could see them anymore.

Meanwhile, inside the house, the Young Lady who had rushed over after receiving the news had finished checking the bodies of the seven clan patriarch’s guards, seven men and women, but they were all truly miserable.

Their armor was tattered and showed severe energy corrosion, and their bodies were emaciated to the point of being skin and bones, clearly not a result of normal consumption, but as if something had forcibly drained their life force.

Each of them had haggard faces, withered hair, sunken eyes, and filthy bodies that gave off a rotten smell.

Lumina and Sister Pomegranate’s reports had no issues, these were indeed a group of vampire beggars who had suffered for seven days before finally escaping from the inner city.

Their dozen or so servants were in a similar state, but it’s worth noting that there were no human Blood Servants among them, they had all already undergone the initial embrace and become vampires themselves.

Obviously, ordinary humans couldn’t possibly have endured in the harsh environment of the inner city until now.

“What’s the situation?”

Murphy asked.

The Young Lady shook her head, using her handkerchief to wipe the stains off her fingers as she said in a low voice:

“It’s all very bad. They’ve experienced prolonged blood draining, leaving their physical state quite exhausted, their very essence of blood almost depleted.

Several of them have even had their minds severely tainted by the corruption of the Astral Realm, showing signs of dementia and insanity.

This is irreversible mental damage!

Even if they recover later, they’ll have to remain in this half-crazed state until their final rest.

Tris’ cruel words earlier were right.

Tonight, when the Astral Rift’s Spirit vortex shifted, was their only chance to escape, and they did indeed seize that opportunity to flee from the inner city.”

“Are you really sure they escaped from the inner city? I feel like things aren’t that simple.”

Murphy expressed his doubts.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the miserable seven clan patriarch’s guards before him, and said in a low voice:

“You and Tris’ professional knowledge both confirm that even higher vampires couldn’t survive in the inner city, so I suspect they must have hidden in some area that could temporarily withstand the Astral Spirit pollution.

Although I’ve never been there, I also know the Blood Vulture Halls is right in the center of the inner city area, and there are vast underground areas beneath the surface castle structures.

The family’s Holy Blood Pool is also deep within the halls, right?

“It was he who started the horrific events in the halls. That madman who personally buried the clan no longer deserves to be our patriarch. As for Femis, heh, you don’t know yet? When the city was devoured by the Astral Realm, the fool charged into the closing Blood Vulture Halls, but escaped again due to her status as the family heir.

We begged her to take us with her.

But she cruelly abandoned us, leaving us as sacrifices for her father’s ugly deeds!

I guess she didn’t tell you any of this.

Obviously, she has hidden many things from you, proving she is only using you.

Murphy, listen to me!

I have a plan now that needs your help. It seems you have already won Femis that little viper’s trust, good! This shows the Night Mother is blessing you and me.”

He took out a small crystal vial from his Spirit bag and handed it to Murphy. In the darkness, he said hoarsely:

“Give it to that little bitch, just a few drops is enough. You’ve already reached the threshold of the Black Iron realm, I can sense it. You need a prey to complete your ascension in strength.

I’ll help you, Murphy.

Femis is the perfect prey.

After you execute her by your own hand, Salrokdar’s bloodline will be severed, and you and I will have true power.”

“True power?”

Murphy took the small crystal vial without hesitation, but he clearly craved to hear more. Jed needed Murphy’s allegiance at this moment, so he was being quite generous, speaking with an inexplicable excitement:

“Yes, true power!”

As Jed’s fingers twitched in the darkness, something appeared at his fingertips.

It looked like an irregular stone slab glowing with a crimson light in the darkness. Murphy was immediately drawn to this object, as if a voice in his mind was calling him to touch it.

He subconsciously reached out his hand, but immediately pulled it back, as if burned by an invisible flame.

“Heh heh, don’t be afraid, touch it, touch this treasure we barely survived to retrieve, one-third of the Lord’s Sigil!”

Jed laughed softly:

“With your position in the family, in the era when Salrokdar ruled, you could never have laid eyes on it in your lifetime. But the times have changed, Murphy.

Listen to me, whoever holds this is the next Blood Vulture Lord! Even the most strict Blood Pact Knights cannot deny the transfer of power.

However, the prerequisite is that Femis must die!

Salrokdar’s bloodline must be extinguished. Your commoners will become the first members of the new Blood Vulture clan led by me! Yes, although the Holy Blood Pool has been polluted, we can still rebuild the clan through mass initial embraces.

You see, I am being so frank with you, but Femis would never tell you her true intentions and plans.

As I said, that little bitch has only been deceiving you.

She is as cunning and callous as her father.

But I am different, I will generously share all this with you. We both climbed up from the bottom, Murphy. We understand the sweet ambition of wanting to make a name for ourselves.

We are meant to stand together by nature.”

Murphy did not respond, nor did he heed Jed’s somewhat manic persuasion and temptation.

He seriously doubted that this guy might also have had his mind tainted by the Astral Spirit, or perhaps he was truly desperate and needed Murphy on his side at this moment?

Regardless of which truth it was, it meant Murphy could exploit the needy Jed in return.

His attention was focused on the crimson stone slab in Jed’s hand. The moment his finger touched it, the information tag popped up:

Name: Civilization Tablet – Vampire 【1/7】 – 【Desire】Fragment

Quality: Miracle Artifact

Effects:

1. Holding the tablet and completing binding will grant the holder the title of【Blood Vulture Clan Patriarch/Blood Vulture Lord】, nominally granting control over all Blood Vulture vampires, and inheriting the Blood Vulture family’s claim to rule over the Transia region.

2. Holding the tablet and completing binding will grant the holder the special power keyword【Primal Sin Ability – Desire】, bestowing the special talent【Desire Perception】.

3. Holding the tablet and completing binding will qualify the holder to participate in the vampire race’s special event 【Holy Blood Seal】.

4. Gathering all tablet fragments can reforge the【Civilization Tablet – Vampire】, giving the scattered Blood clan the possibility of integrating into a complete civilization.

Status: Currently bound to Salrokdar Collins Lessenbra, first heir is Femis Cecilia Lessenbra.

Creator: 【Data Deleted】

Item Description:

【The seven cardinal sins of the vampire clans are not just edgy conceptual claims, but special powers on the level of the soul granted to their race at the source of their birth!

The tablet fragment before you is not only a symbol of power, it represents the unknown secret origins of the vampire race!

As the skills used to create it can no longer be investigated or replicated, it is called a “Miracle Artifact”, and every Miracle Artifact that still exists in the world possesses wondrous powers beyond mortal objects.

Get it!

Alpha!

Obtain it, and you’ll get an admission ticket to participate in the deepest upheavals of the world’s changes.】

“Truly a splendid and great object! I cannot imagine how many sacrifices you and your companions had to make to obtain it.”

Murphy pulled his hand back and took a deep breath.

He leaned forward slightly in the darkness, speaking in a fawning tone to Sir Jed:

“Then, please allow me to volunteer as your sword in the darkness, my respected Lord Jed.”