The players set out to return to Crimson Citadel early the next morning. Just transporting the large amount of supplies back would take two days and three nights on the road, causing players to complain furiously about how hardcore and meticulous this game was in this aspect.
They said, “Why not just open a portal and let everyone return to the main city? That would be so much better! Instead of wasting time on the road like this.”
Fortunately, there were still remnants of roving gnolls along the way, so it wasn’t completely uneventful. They could pass the boring travel time by casually farming some points.
However, those wolfsbane cubs who were captured last night had already been sent back to Crimson Citadel ahead of time.
Due to the gravity of the matter, Hunting Baron Kudel personally escorted them. Before the first ray of dawn arrived, these fellows had been delivered to the Blood Vulture Halls.
Murphy and Tris had received the news in advance.
But the one who came to receive these prisoners was not the two of them, but the Silver Bow Knight Lainnia Galanord Cappadocia, the commander of the Blood Pact Knights stationed in the Transia region, with a cold expression on her face.
Clearly, Murphy had played a little trick.
He didn’t intend to personally appear before the Blood Pact Knights to accuse the Wolfsbane Clan of colluding with gnolls in an attempt to subvert Crimson Citadel. He knew well that truth only has meaning when it’s discovered by the right person.
And the Bow Knight lady was also very willing to play the role of “inquisitor” at this time.
Judging from the coldness emanating from this lady’s entire body, she obviously had “opinions” about the Wolfsbane Clan intervening in Transia’s situation at this time and in this manner. Moreover, when it comes to the art of “interrogation” among vampires, even the most excellent Blood Inquisitor of the Blood Vulture Clan could only bow in defeat before the arrogant descendants who could directly smell sin.
As long as Lainnia wanted, these Wolfsbane prisoners would definitely confess everything honestly, even down to how many lovers their own mothers had.
This process would naturally be accompanied by indescribable pain, which was the inevitable punishment for having one’s crimes exposed. But this was not something Lord Murphy needed to worry about now.
At this moment, he was in the Blood Vulture Halls welcoming the young lady and her group who had successfully completed their mission and returned.
“Adele, there’s a new Blood Rat Gang in the sewers, led by Dorothy. They have some abilities and might be of great use in the future, so they’ll be under your Shadow Intelligence Bureau’s management,” Murphy said to his vampire housekeeper, with his hands behind his back.
“The Blood Rat Gang currently has a ‘big job’ on their hands. I need you to take over immediately and personally be responsible for the upcoming operations. Dorothy will brief you on the specifics.”
“As you command, Master Murphy,” Lady Adele nodded, then quickly vanished into the shadows of the hall.
As Transia’s first intelligence director who occasionally doubled as Murphy’s own housekeeper, she always had many things to keep her busy. This trip to the Seicob domain with the young lady was even considered an “administrative vacation” for her.
Perhaps she should thank that mysterious Lady Cecilia for nurturing her over the past many years, making her long accustomed to assisting superiors as an outstanding deputy with the identity and mindset of an excellent vice officer.
“Count Andrei, you and your servants can rest in the halls for a few days, but there will be important tasks entrusted to you afterwards,” Murphy then said to the White Mountain Count, whose status and position in today’s Transia was quite “delicate”.
“Also, my regent is currently in Bataxin City negotiating aid with officials from the Nordtov Treasury Department. I heard from Miriam’s report that the remaining members of the White Mountain faction of the Thorn Clan will also arrive in Bataxin City soon.
As their leader, I think you should personally go to welcome them.
I will designate a special ’embassy area’ for you midnight exiles in the Blood Vulture Halls. Once my city construction reaches a certain scale, I will also build a diplomatic residence for you that may not be exquisite but will definitely be adequate.”
“Thank you for your reminder, Count Murphy. This matter is very important to me,” Andrei thanked Murphy with impeccable royal etiquette, and then said to Murphy with a hint of what might or might not be “gratitude”:
“At the same time, I also thank the Blood Vulture Clan for accepting us, a group of losers with nowhere to go, at this time when we are in a precarious situation.”
“You’re too kind,” Murphy waved his hand and replied in a gentle yet distant tone:
“In the face of a situation like the Black Disaster, everyone should work together for mutual benefit. Moreover, the alliance formed between Grand Duchess Shani and Grand Duchess Tris is enough for us to address each other as ‘brothers’ at this moment. I mean, there’s no need to say these distant words.
Get ready.
The brothers of Blood Vulture and Thorn will face a common enemy in the coming days. You will soon know the specific contents of the action, and I’m also looking forward to your performance on the battlefield.”
The White Mountain Count nodded and left the entrance of the hall with his servants.
There was no need to say much about the dozen or so vampires who followed Femis, led by the “Crimson Lady” Mary. They all had their respective responsibilities in Crimson Citadel, and they didn’t dare to have any outbursts in front of Murphy, whose authority was growing day by day.
Without even needing the governor’s orders, these guys obediently scattered to do their jobs on their own initiative.
So only Murphy and Femis were left at the entrance of the hall. Murphy made a “please” gesture, Femis nodded and went first, with Murphy following half a step behind.
“I must report to you that Andrei behaved very properly during this trip,” the young lady said softly to Murphy.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t find any opportunities that could be exploited throughout. He’s very clever, he knows his situation so there was nothing presumptuous about him, just like a cunning little mouse.”
“It’s alright, we’ll catch an opportunity sooner or later. We can wait patiently for a long time, while Andrei, who’s treading on thin ice, only needs to make one mistake to fall into a desperate situation. The advantage is on our side!
Moreover, given the current situation, these northern exiles living under our roof are no longer a big problem.”
Murphy sighed and told Femis about the collaboration between the Wolfsbane Clan and the local gnolls that he had just learned about.
The young lady’s expression was quite wonderful after hearing this.
She couldn’t help but ask, “So old Edward has gone mad? How could he choose to cooperate with gnolls at this juncture? And even secretly support a dangerous gnoll warlord? Doesn’t he fear Lord Payne coming to his doorstep to cause trouble?”
“According to Tris, this might be an independent action by an internal faction of the Wolfsbane Clan, similar in nature to the foolish actions of Andrei’s White Mountain faction in Bataxin City,” Murphy replied in a serious tone.
“I think Tris’s guess is probably correct, this matter shouldn’t have much to do with old Edward.
However, there’s another possibility. The Wolfsbane Grand Duke might have known about all this from the beginning, but he’s clearly choosing to play dumb. After all, whether the Greyclaw faction succeeds in destroying us independently or his unruly subordinates get eliminated, he would have a satisfactory gain either way.
“Such behavior would be despised even in normal times, let alone at this moment when the Black Disaster is approaching. This can already be called ‘betrayal in the face of battle’! The leader of that Wolfsbane faction actually collaborated with the enemies of order to eliminate the Blood Vulture remnants. They must be subjected to severe punishment.
And I am very willing to carry out this punishment in the name of the Sovereign and the Blood Pact Clan!”
“So, do you need me to send troops to support you? You only have 30 reserve knights and an equal number of blood servants in your hand now, which is hardly enough to make a difference against a warlord who has already established his power,” the Third Lord on the other side yawned in a way that invited imagination. She said in a slightly oddly paced panting voice:
“But I don’t have many knights I can mobilize now either. The situation in the outer defense areas near the Dark Mountain Range has started to deteriorate. Lainnia, you know the responsibilities we bear and where our work efforts should be focused!
Haven’t you eaten? You pitiful creature.”
“...”
Hearing that rebuke, Lainnia, who was trying hard to maintain her seriousness, couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
She certainly knew what her lord was doing.
Just as Tris complained that all three Knight Lords of the Blood Pact Knights were psychopaths, the loyal Bow Knight had to admit that Grand Duchess Tris’s complaints in this regard were completely correct.
Lord Palanno’s pursuit of “pure love” regardless of the occasion was at most inappropriate, but the personal lifestyle issues of the Third Lord on the other side were obviously more serious, to the point where her subordinates had to cover for the Third Lord.
And the most terrifying thing was that the promiscuous Third Lord not only sought out handsome men, but also wouldn’t spare beautiful women. In terms of appetite, she could be described as ruthless.
However, considering the Third Lord’s “background” issue, this “bad habit” wasn’t surprising.
After all, the Third Lord of the Blood Pact Knights was a dark elf, the race unanimously recognized by all forces on this continent as the most “playful”, bar none! Yvette was already considered a “conservative” among dark elves, at least she only “played” with humanoid creatures she approved of.
Therefore, for Lainnia personally, being able to come to Crimson Citadel on a “business trip” at this time was not just about relaxation.
She felt like she had almost escaped the “den of evil” by the skin of her teeth.
The reason for saying this was because she was one of the few people under the Third Lord who hadn’t succumbed to “workplace sexual harassment” yet, but the problem was that as a dark elf, the Third Lord obviously had a great “interest” in “severely humiliating” her, a former noble high elf, in certain situations.
Ah, it’s embarrassing just to say it out loud.
“I know you’re under great battle pressure right now, so I’m not asking you to send troops to support our fight in Transia. I’m only requesting your permission to officially participate in the cleansing war that the Blood Vulture Clan is currently conducting,” Lainnia said seriously to her direct lord, trying hard to ignore those strange “off-screen sounds”.
“My reserve knights and I will participate in the punishment of the Wolfsbane Clan as a force under Lord Murphy, and I will temporarily transfer the command to Lord Murphy.”
“Approved!” Lady Yvette’s voice came from the blood crystal, sounding satisfied. She said in a gentle tone:
“But be careful, don’t cause unnecessary casualties. Also, in a few days, I need you to come back ‘personally’ to report. I’ve prepared a rather ‘pretty’ outfit for you.”
“My lady! This is outright workplace sexual harassment, Lord Payne will punish you for this! And just last year, you were punished exactly 245 times for this issue!
I think even if you’re a dark elf with terrible character, you should have learned your lesson from those whips.”
“Isn’t that even better? Just thinking about the Lord’s majestic and handsome appearance and demeanor makes my whole body hot.
And then thinking about his punishment.
Ah, let that scorching whip fall with its sting. The more intense the pain, the more wonderful the pleasure it brings. It would be best if the Lord carried it out personally. Mmm, I’m feeling...”
“Click”
As the Third Lord’s voice became both high-pitched and shrill, the communication through the blood crystal was promptly and decisively cut off by the expressionless Lainnia.
She felt that if she listened any longer, she would suffer irreversible “mental pollution”.
“How can someone so fierce and cold on the battlefield, like the Grim Reaper itself, be so depraved in private? Could the rumors be true?” the Silver Bow Knight put away her blood crystal, unable to help but complain bitterly in her heart:
“It’s said that because Lord Payne’s ancient bloodline is too powerful, it causes the children he personally transforms to be unable to bear the power enhancement from the vampiric source, causing any bloodline that accepts the Sovereign’s embrace to develop all sorts of weird habits.
All three Knight Lords are like this.
So, is this the price of obtaining power?
It feels really scary.”
Thinking about such undignified rumors about her superiors, the stern-faced Bow Knight pushed open the door of this secret room.
As expected, Lord Murphy was waiting for her outside the door.
Through the crack of the opening door, Murphy could see the Wolfsbane prisoners in the darkness who had turned into strange glassy statues. This was the first time he had seen this unique form of “eternal silence”.
“Their awakened sins consumed their will, burning all life force from the inside out, and they met eternal silence in extreme pain.
This is the unique power of the descendants of Pride.
It sounds similar to the Thorn Clan’s emotion ignition, but they’re not the same thing. Ours can only be used on people burdened with sins, and there’s a limit to the number of times it can be used within a certain period. It’s convenient for interrogation, but not as effective as the Thorn Clan’s talent in combat.”
Lainnia explained briefly, then said to Murphy in a knightly manner:
“The sins of Wolfsbane have been confirmed!
In the name of this unforgivable betrayal, the reserve knight regiment under the Third Lord of the Blood Pact Knights requests to join the punitive war against the gnolls and the Wolfsbane Clan! Please allow us, Lord Murphy.”