Chapter 357 The Blood Monarch, Again!

Shyvana's father's personality was completely different from what all of them thought. It made sense why the other vampire families saw the Coldharbour family as weak. Still, at least he was decent, which was what most people should aim for.

"So instead of dwarves, you brought lizardmen? That is even better for the task we have in our hands." Hephas said.

The ore they needed to excavate was called Azularite, which existed only underwater, making its excavation a pain in the ass. Hephas wanted that ore because of its properties, which allowed him to manufacture weapons, and armor for his soldiers.

It was a magical ore, so its durability and sharpness were on a different level, not only that, but it ranked among the top best ores!

That reason alone made Arthur understand why count Hephas was so eager to get his hands on those ores and why he was willing to pay an absurd amount for the lizardmen to excavate them.

"We have some houses behind the castle. You all can live there, and I will explain your work tomorrow. Is that okay?" Hephas said to Hattami and the other lizardmen.

They had just arrived from a long and tiresome journey, so Hephas did not want to put them right at work and gave them some time to rest.

Hattami and the others left, leaving only Arthur and his wives inside the main room.

"So, who is this person, Shyvana?"

"He is someone with the blood essence so strong he gets insane when using it! He is the one who got the lizardmen to work for us, and he came here looking for a way to stop his madness."

The count could not believe it when he heard that.

"Are you sure?" Hephas looked to one of the nearby servants and said, "bring something for us to kill."

After a few moments, some vampire guards returned with a magical beast, a two-headed lion with green skin, and its tail was a sting.

Arthur slowly walked toward the beast, who pounced on him after the guards released it. All it took was one hand for Arthur to block its attacks and another to slap, thus decapitating the creature.

Blood spurted from the wound, yet it did not fall on the ground but flew toward Arthur, entering his body. This time, the amount of blood was small, so he did not go insane, but it was still enough for Hephas to sense the madness, and he was then sure Shyvana was speaking the truth.

"So you truly are this talented with the blood essence. You are Arthur, right? Would you like to marry my daughter?"

"Father!" Shyvana said, blushing when Hephas said something like that but knew it was only a joke.

Hephas laughed out loud and said, "I am just kidding. So, let's discuss the important part, Arthur. Can you follow me?"

The two of them left, going toward Hephas's office, where he spent his day taking care of his territory. There were many things to do to keep things in order; a difficult job.

There, Arthur and Hephas sat on a desk facing each other, and then Hephas said, "I assume Shyvana did not tell you about your madness problem, right?"

"No. Shyvana only said her family could help me."

Hephas tapped on his desk and said, "I know you brought us the lizardmen, and that is a great help, but it is small compared to what we will have to do to help you,"

"Think about it like this. Even if you did not bring us the lizardmen, we would still find someone to get the ores. To cure your madness, that will be quite the journey."

Arthur understood that the lizardmen were only a tiny thing; he brought the count, and if his cure demanded more, he would do it.

"Can you explain how this cure works?"

"First of all, there was only one vampire, long ago, who had the same talent as you with the blood essence, and he was from our lineage. It happened at least ten thousand years ago, but we still have records about him, and it is known that he was called the Blood Monarch,"

"Supposedly, he left one inheritance on this planet for future generations, but no one knows where it is, and people searched in this continent but found nothing. This inheritance is what the general people know about, but we know more!"

When Hephas told the story, it shocked Arthur, but after second thought, it did make sense. His blood essence came from the inheritance from this Blood Monarch, so it made sense that the Blood Monarch had the same problem as he when younger.

"An inheritance? And there is more to it?"

"Yes, correct. The inheritance people know about has some of his memories, but not all of them! And one of these missing memories is the part about the cure to the madness. In one of his diaries, it is written, 'Whoever finds my inheritance, and it is not from my family, will suffer, and the madness will consume its own mind.' That was his way of ensuring the inheritance would return to our family,"

"Tell me, you did not find any inheritance, right?" Hephas asked after he explained everything.

It turned out the inheritance Arthur got was only a part of it, and the other part, which only the Coldharbour family could find, had the means to cure his madness. So the Blood Monarch did that to ensure the death of those outside his lineage who dared to get the inheritance.

"No, never."

"I see. Well, there is a slight problem with this. We do have the Blood Monarch's diaries, yet we still did not find the location of his second inheritance, but we do know it is here, in this continent."

Of course, things had to be complicated for Arthur. So he would have to track the second part of the inheritance to find a way to cure his madness, and that was a hell of a problem!

Arthur's wives could not go with him on this, as he was scared to lose control and attack them, so it was a mission he had to do alone.

"So you are saying that to give me access to everything you know about the second inheritance, I will have to give you something in return."

"Indeed. There are two things I ask you. First, someone good you have to offer me, and second, if you get the second inheritance, you will pass on to me how to cure this madness in case someone from my family has it in the future generations."

Hephas was indeed a decent person. He could ask for all the other information Arthur would get from the inheritance, like the location of treasures, special techniques, or anything precious to mages or vampires. Yet, he only wanted the cure for the madness to help his descendants.

"Is there something, in particular, you want help with?"

"Tell me your qualities, and I will see if something impresses me."

Arthur looked at him with a serious face and said, "I am a peak rank three mage, like you. I also know how to produce potions that work for rank 3 mages, and I am an expert in magical formations."

With just that sentence, Arthur caught Hephas attention. "You are this strong? I already have a few things you can help me with."

"Say it."

"My daughter, Shyvana, is at rank 2 now. Could you help her reach rank 3 using some of your potions? I can fetch you the ingredients and tools; all you have to do is craft it."

"No problem. Something else?"

"Yes. Would you be willing to enter my family?"

"What? Are you asking to marry your daughter?"

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"Yes and no. You don't need to marry her now, and only when you feel like loving each other. If it never happens, you are still part of this family."

Arthur could not fully comprehend the reason, but Hephas explained it. The Coldharbour family was declining in power among the other families. Hephas wanted Arthur to join it to increase its strength, but also for him to become the leader of a vampire council and train them to get stronger.

"So you want me to help your daughter with some potions, which is not a big deal, then become a member of your family to outsiders, and then train your strongest vampire soldiers so that they no longer are jokes?"

"Yeah, basically. Maybe you don't know, but a civil war is coming, and we must get stronger, or our family will perish. I cannot give you any information now, but if you become someone I fully trust, then I will."

A civil war! That was precisely what Arthur needed, as that would help him change the current leader of the demon continent, making it stop the fight against the central continent!

As for joining the Coldharbour family? It was not a big deal. Arthur would not officially join it, as he was not from their bloodline. It was more like entering by paper, enough to fool the outsiders.

"Fine, I can do it. But with one condition, you must help me with a ritual to give my wives the blood essence too."

"Well, these types of rituals are expensive and..." Hephas tried to speak his way out of it, but Arthur was not buying it, and in the end, he said, "Okay, I can help you with that."

Their conversation went well; the next day, a ceremony was held in the Coldharbour castle to announce its new member!