Chapter 202:

Night had fallen, and with the beating of Blood Wings larger and more graceful than Murphy remembered, the still petite young lady was flying towards her clansmen, stirring up a gust of wind, followed by an elegant “death drop” landing unique to the Blood Vulture Clan.

Her flying black hair still seemed familiar from when she left a few days ago, but Murphy keenly noticed that she seemed to have grown a little taller.

She now reached from his chest to his shoulder height, but was still a pitifully short person.

“Did you get taller?”

Lady Tris also asked puzzlingly, proving that Murphy’s eyesight was good and hadn’t gone blind from becoming an “real-time strategy player”.

“Yes, Lord Payne helped me trace back my bloodline power, and when I broke through to the White Silver rank, the Descendant of Sin blood was further purified. Actually, I could have grown even taller, but I’m already used to this appearance, so I controlled it.”

The young lady answered in her previous calm manner.

But compared to her former aloofness that kept people at bay, her eyes and brows now carried much more gentleness, more befitting someone of her age, although the young lady was actually already 30 years old.

She glanced at Adele again, winked at her good friend, then took a deep breath and bowed to Tris, saying:

“White Silver rank Spirit Master Femis Cecilia Lessenbra, reporting and paying respects to you, Grand Duchess. Please allow me to return to the family ranks.”

“Of course, Countess of Anderma. Transia will always be your homeland, and we are in great need of your strength as we rebuild,”

Tris said very stylishly and authoritatively while playing with the luxurious Nocturne Cane in her hand.

After Salrokdar’s death, her resentment towards the past had dissipated, and she could finally have a sincere conversation with the young woman before her who had such a complicated background.

“I pay my respects to you, Countess,”

Murphy bowed and said:

“The rebuilding of Kadman County has already begun, but considering the threat of the Black Disaster, the reconstruction of your territory may have to be delayed for some time.”

“I don’t mind, Murphy,”

Femis shook her head and said:

“Anderma Hills was never a prosperous place. In fact, all of Transia is like that. People from other places call our region poor and treacherous. The saddest part is that we can’t even find reasons to defend our homeland. It really is a terrible place.

And now, the devastation of the Ten-Year War has made it no different from a savage land. Besides, I’m not very good at management and leadership. Having a title is enough. Please continue to administer my territory on my behalf as the Governor of Transia.”

As soon as Femis finished speaking, Murphy’s lord system refreshed with a ding:

【Added new managed territory ‘Anderma County’, please dispatch personnel to inspect the territory as soon as possible to record specific information on subjects. Transia region governance authority updated to: 2/3, the northern Count of Seicob territory in this region has not yet been explored.】

“Sigh.”

Murphy sighed inwardly.

Getting a new territory to manage was a good thing, but he was severely lacking in manpower at the moment. Not only were there not enough little players, but there was also a shortage of administrative managers he could entrust with responsibilities.

Miriam had already written letters to her classmates, planning to send them to Shaldor port through the Carpe family’s channels to recruit as many professionals as possible to come and take office. Professor Malcolm also promised to invite some students and friends over.

But given Transia’s “good reputation”...

To be honest, even with the temptation of generous titles and power as compensation, Murphy didn’t have high hopes for this.

Although going all-in is a kind of wisdom, and there’s an old saying that it’s better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix, considering that people from other worlds don’t understand Chinese, it’s hard to say if there are any students with grand visions in the administrative department of Shaldor Engineering Academy willing to risk being wiped out by the Black Disaster to come to Transia and “join in the grand endeavor” with Murphy.

“Don’t look so gloomy, Murphy. I’ve brought aid from Lord Payne and the Blood Pact Clan,”

The young lady seemed to have guessed Murphy’s worries. She smiled and pointed to the convoy behind her. A total of 10 wagons were loaded with various supplies from the Blood Pact Knights corps, as well as some fine armor and weapons, dwarf firearms, and various alchemical materials.

Most impressive were the small machine tools placed on the last two wagons.

These were for making some precision tools, including a small bullet processing machine that Lord Payne had specially allocated from the Blood Pact Knights corps’ logistics supplies.

It might not be of much use, but for the current Transia, it was truly a godsend! Just this alone was enough to make Murphy grateful to Lord Payne, whom he had not yet met.

In addition to supplies, there were also 30 Blood Pact Knights and 60 armed blood servants who arrived with the convoy. To be precise, they were reserve blood knights undergoing knight assessment and their attendants.

Within the Blood Pact Knights corps, there was no such term as “blood servant”. Although in the eyes of other vampire clans, there wasn’t much difference between armed blood servants and blood attendants.

These knights were sent to support the construction and restoration of order in Transia. They were all Black Iron rank elite monsters, led by a White Silver rank scout knight. The knight attendants were also all Black Iron Rank human warriors. Murphy could not see the characteristic servility and weakness of other blood servants in their eyes.

This was enough to prove that Lord Payne was indeed very skilled in leading troops. He must have armed the hearts of these humans who obeyed vampires with some noble ideals and hopes.

“I pay my respects to you, Blood Vulture Grand Duchess,”

The scout knight riding a crimson warhorse dismounted, stepped forward and gave a knight’s salute to Tris, then took off her helmet, revealing long chestnut hair.

Oh, it’s a tall and slender vampire girl. The little players would definitely like her. However, the overly slender body and those characteristic pointed ears, as well as the delicate face different from humans, all indicated that...

This was an elf vampire?

Tsk, and a Salain at that? A rare breed indeed!

Murphy blinked his eyes.

Beside him, Lady Adele directly grasped the hilt of her sword. Obviously, as a half-elf, she harbored hostility towards all elves.

This small movement didn’t escape the notice of the scout knight carrying a blood-colored war bow, but she didn’t mind. She just reported to Lady Tris with a solemn expression:

“Blood Pact Knights corps Third Lord ‘Arrow of Retribution’ Yvette Liad Cappadocia’s reconnaissance vanguard Captain Lainnia Galanord Cappadocia reporting to you! By the order of Lord Payne and Lady Yvette, I and the 30 reserve knights under my command, along with their attendants, will be on duty in Transia!

We will help the Blood Vulture Clan restore governance and territorial order, while also helping you train new recruits and organize defense, until the Black Disaster is over.

During this period, we will be under the command of you and the lords of the Transia region.”

“Very well, Captain. I thank you for your arrival and extend my most sincere gratitude to Lord Payne and young Yvette,”

Tris responded appropriately, but then she stared at the archer knight before her with chestnut waist-length hair, tall and martial figure, and asked curiously:

“But your mother succeeded. I guess it’s because your father made an unexpected sacrifice?”

“I don’t know,”

Adele said softly:

“No one told me about father’s final fate, but the fact is as you said. The escape that day was unusually smooth. My mother, who had given birth to me less than two months before, led the unwilling slave gladiators out of Mejeva City.

But that wasn’t a gift of fate.

When father said goodbye to her, he told her to wait for him for 3 days at the entrance of the Eternal Rift. If he didn’t appear, it would mean his soul had returned to Avalon’s obscure cathedral.

My mother waited for 7 days.

She didn’t see my father, nor did she see the pursuers from the Mejeva family. It was then that she realized the price of the freedom she had gained. The man who loved her most in this world had paid everything he could for her foolish idea.

She had nowhere to go.

She could only try to return to her place of birth with those slave gladiators.

I don’t know what happened during this time, but mother ultimately didn’t cross the Foul Swamp. Instead, she discovered that secret valley in the desolate mountains that I told you about, and led the gladiators who viewed her as a leader to survive there.

They were all half-elves, poor souls scorned as ‘halfbreeds’ and not accepted by either race. We could only huddle together there for warmth.

But when I was 10 years old, a group of starving gnolls and trolls attacked our valley. Mother died fighting to resist the invasion. By then, she had changed from a professional explorer to a sincere Avalon believer.

I escaped in that chaos, escorted by mother’s trusted friends Uncle Bella and Aunt Bernice across the Foul Swamp.

Their original intention was to fulfill mother’s dying wish to send me back to Seicob City to my grandparents, but there were terrible things in the Foul Swamp. My uncle and aunt were buried there trying to protect me. I could only stumble back to Transia alone.

The border villagers didn’t accept me. They saw me as an ill omen.

I was exhausted and hungry, beaten half to death for stealing. If I hadn’t met the young lady, I would have died there.”

“But you didn’t return to Seicob City,”

Murphy said:

“You seem unwilling to obey your mother’s arrangements?”

“Why should I obey?”

The usually docile Adele rarely questioned back at this moment:

“What virtues did my mother have in her life that are worth me obeying her? All her tragedies stemmed from her naivety and stupidity! The only thing worth mentioning was her pursuit of freedom, but look at what she paid for that thing she threw away with her own hands and then wanted to get back!

Compared to her, I respect my father whom I’ve never met more.

I believe that when father went to his death that day, it wasn’t just because of his love for my mother. I prefer to believe that father, who never planned to leave the Eternal Rift, died for me.

That man didn’t want me, didn’t want his daughter to live the same life as him!

As for the family that could raise a fool like my mother, what attraction does it have for me?

I’d rather follow the young lady and become her servant.

Of course, I went once when Seicob City was destroyed by the plague, but as I expected, that family had long since perished in history. Their family crest had disappeared before the Ten-Year War broke out.

With this, my last connection to my mother has also dissipated, which makes me feel very relieved.

I am Adele, Master.

My name is Bella Bernice Adele!

My name comes from my father’s final parting gift and blessing, and also from the two elders who gave their lives to protect me. They are all elders worthy of my respect.

But there’s nothing in this that should be related to my mother.

I despise her.

I don’t want to become someone like her who only drags others down, that’s all.”

Silence fell in the night.

After several seconds, Murphy took out a handkerchief and handed it to Adele, saying softly:

“If vampires could cry, I’m afraid you would be in tears by now. This world is obviously not gentle enough to us. Pretend to wipe away the tears that come from the pain crying out in your soul. Do you need me and the young lady to beat up that arrogant archer knight? We’d be happy to do so.”

“No, I’m not so upset because she called me a halfbreed,”

Lady Adele pouted.

She held the handkerchief and said softly:

“I just suddenly remembered the past. I’m a quarter-blood half-elf, neither human, nor a child of darkness, nor belonging to the forest. Now I don’t even belong to the world under the sun.

My identity is too complicated.

I don’t even know how to fit myself into the system of this world.

Lord Murphy, do you have this feeling?

Like being abandoned by the world.”

“Yes,”

Murphy put his hands behind his back, looking at the night sky in the distance. He said:

“This feeling is called being a vampire. The Eternal Sin Descendant that is never accepted. But I don’t even know what sin we committed before bearing the malice from the world. In this world, who could be more miserable than us?”